The Time Traveler’s Wife (Cert 12, 103 mins, Entertainment In Video). Starring Rachel McAdams, Eric Bana, Ron Livingston, Stephen Tobolowsky, Brooklynn Proulx, Jane McLean *** The film wrings almost as many tears as the book, building to a harrowing finale that proves while love defies class, religion, age and social status, it cannot completely transcend time. Slick visual effects allow the hero to fade and then rematerialise in front of our eyes, leaving behind a pile of clothes. The central pairing of McAdams and Bana generate sparks of sexual chemistry, and McAdams is particularly good in a role that runs the gamut of human emotion. We get dewy-eyed with her.
The Ugly Truth (Cert 15, 92 mins, Sony Pictures Home Entertain-ment). Starring Katherine Heigl, Gerard Butler, Eric Winter *** The new romantic comedy from director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, Monster-In-Law) is uproariously funny in places and politically-incorrect to the point of offensiveness in others, building to a contrived denouement that will surprise no-one, apart from female viewers who may flinch at the underlying message that a woman should flaunt her cleavage and leave her brain in a make-up bag to land her dream man. Heigl and Butler simmer nicely together, and there are nice supporting turns from Higgins and Hines.
Couples Retreat (Cert 15, 109 mins, Universal Pictures). Starring Jason Bateman, Kristin Bell, Vince Vaughn, Malin Akerman ** Couples Retreat features lots of filthy-minded pillow talk and the occasional heartfelt exchange between eight characters, who fail to communicate with us and with each other. All of the navel-gazing rings hollow, and we don’t believe for a moment that such shallow, two-dimensional people will absorb the bombardment of life lessons.
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