This week's releases 1 December

Another mixed bag this week, led by what is sure to be a stinker "Jack and Jill".  This is the new Adam Sandler movie in which he plays both Jack and, hilariously, his twin sister Jill!  If you are an Adam Sandler fan (as we are I admit) or just thinking about going to see this movie, I have some advice for you: just watch the trailer.  It just doesn't look funny.  And then read some of the reviews, even by people who don't just love arthouse movies.  You have been warned!

The good movie this week should be Attack the Block.  A British comedy/action thriller about aliens who decide to invade Earth, landing in a lower class English suburb with a lot of housing commission buildings.  A group of teen hoodlums defend their territory.  This has a lot of pluses going for it: it's from the producers of Shaun of the Dead and Scott Pilgrim, it was chosen to be the opening night film at the Brisbane Int'l Film Festival recently, the BIFF audience voting placed it in the Top 10 films of the whole festival, it has supporting acting by Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz etc) to help the unknown cast.  I don't want to hype it up too much but this should be a great Xmas holidays movie for geeks and families.

Restless is another BIFF selection that starts at Palace Centro this week.  One for the indie fans, this is about a guy whose hobby is crashing strangers' funerals and a girl who has a terminal illness.  They meet at a funeral and a romance, against the odds, begins.  Starring Aussie actress making good Mia Wasikowska (Alice from Tim Burton's recent Alice in Wonderland) this might be worth a look if you like movies where not much happens.

We Have a Pope is also showing at selected cinemas.  Not a documentary, but an imagined take on issues within the Vatican from acclaimed Italian filmmaker Nani Moretti.  A new pope has a bit of a mental meltdown over his sudden rise to one of the most prominent positions in the world.  On the eve of the new pope being introduced to the world on the balcony of St Peters, the Vatican brings in an atheist psychiatrist to try to help him so that he can perform his duties.  This sounds like it would explore some interesting ideas and give you a peek into a world we would never normally see (although not the real Vatican) but probably only for the believers.