Dirty Harry has got nothing on Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski.  When 78 year old Clint Eastwood menacingly snarls “Get off my lawn” to a fierce Hmong gang, he may as well be infamously sneering “make my day” as top-cop Harry Callagan. However, Eastwood’s latest film Gran Torino is unlikely to make your day, nor ruin it. Juggling the roles of director and lead actor, something he’s mastered countless times in the past, Eastwood only manages to find mild success with both.  Maybe it’s because he has too much on his plate for someone about to venture into their 80′s; off helping Angelina Jolie find her adopted son in the upcoming period-thriller Changeling. Or maybe he was having too much fun directing himself as the disgruntled and bigoted Walt Kowalski that the patchy story and notably sub-par cast in support slipped through unnoticed. Either way, Gran Torino‘s shortcomings mask its successes, making it hard not to think of the film as a minor work from the American icon.

To those in Australia who don’t watch late night TV or those outside of the US unfamiliar with Saturday Night Live, Tina Fey is something of an enigma. Of course, this is largely speaking before a certain Vice-Presidential candidate came into the picture (her Sarah Palin impressions are uncanny, and not just looks-wise). While her role in Mean Girls was slightly more dramatic as the cool, moralistic teacher, the steady rise of the comedy queen came to a peak last year in 2008 with the second season of the Emmy/Golden Globe-winning 30 Rock along with the lead role in Baby Mama.

The most important day of a woman’s life is not her formal, her promotion, or arguably even the birth of her child (although mothers would surely disagree). Fantasies about the white dress, the flowers of the bouquet and the bridal waltz song choice take precedence above all else even before any ring is placed on a finger. Wedding days are meant to be the most perfect day of a woman’s life – the first day of the rest of their lives. Unfortunately for some, the preparations for the big one come with complications – and when your best friend is the saboteur, how can you escape when they know you so well?

When Pixar raised the bar in digital animation earlier this year with the remarkable WALL-E, DreamWorks’ success with Kung-Fu Panda was all but lost in the mute robot’s boxed shadow. Half a year later and DreamWorks have hit back; revisiting their 2005 animal caper Madagascar, a film that was begging for a sequel after it went on to make over $350 million worldwide. With star studded voice talent, top-notch character animation and a solid serving of laughs; Madagascar Escape 2 Africa is guaranteed to be a box office success. However, even at its prime, the film is certainly not going to stop WALL-E from rolling his grubby tracks all over the upcoming Awards season.

Maybe it’s just me, but I find it bizarre how stoner comedies have been generally well received over the last few years. While I’m not suggesting they have had critics swooning out of approbation, they haven’t been as widely panned as you would expect for such low-brow comedy. Whether it is Harold and Kumar’s screwball quest for fast food or the Hollywood send-up in Jay and Silent Bob, there’s a likable quality to the genres crude and zany nature. Even more bizarre is that the genre has become somewhat art house, with two limited stoner comedies premiering at the Sundance Film Festival over the last two years. Of these two films, The Wackness even emerged from the prestigious festival with an Audience Award. With this in mind, it’s no surprise to see comedy Juggernaut Judd Apatow (40 Year old Virgin, Knocked Up) deliver his own take on being totally baked. The result? Pineapple Express; A mildly enjoyable film that’s probably only as funny as it thinks it is if you’re as high as Apatow’s salary.

Turns out Barack Obama isn’t the answer to the American economic crisis after all, if the opening title sequence to director Paul W.S Anderson’s latest summer action flick Death Race is to be believed. Apparently by 2012 the economy will have collapsed and crime rates skyrocketed. Prisons across the once great nation will begin to overflow and the private corporations that manage them will have sought out new, lucrative ways [...]