Gambit (2012)

A straight-to-DVD remake of a 1966 Ronald Neame film of the same name.
It stars Colin Firth as a pained art curator who plans to fleece a rich and bastardly Alan Rickman of a very large sum of money. He can't do it alone, however, so enlists the help of a Texan chicken-plucker named PJ Puznowski (Cameron Diaz), who makes an already average film even worse.
The big draw for a lot of people will be that its final screenplay was penned by the Coen brothers; and while a sizeable portion of it has their wit it lacks the timing and finesse that they themselves usually bring to a production.
Firth is the obvious comedy highlight, but a special mention for the two Savoy Hotel desk clerks is definitely in order.

2½ unforeseen wrinkles out of 5

QUARTET [2012]

Actor Dustin Hoffman makes his directorial debut with Quartet, a good-natured drama about an old age home for retired musicians.
It's fairly predictable, probably a mite bit too quiet for a lot of folks and it's filled with a gaggle of fussy old English farts that will most definitely drive off the average movie-goer.  However if you've got an open mind, you'll be rewarded with a sharp and funny script, packed with wonderful performances, particularly Billy Connolly and Pauline Collins.  I expected it to be sappy and emotionally manipulative but it's far from it, as Hoffman keeps it level-headed and nothing more than a genuine lazy afternoon delight.

3½ Bettie Davis quotes out of 5

The Golden Compass (2007)

I thought the book that GC was based on was highly overrated; the film isn't any better. It’s a colourful mess that oozes money but lacks soul. It feels rushed and unloved. The awful set-up for the sequels that never came is embarrassingly unabashed. Dakota Blue Richards impresses as Lyra, but the character is, like the world she inhabits, much too underdeveloped for us to connect with. The danger level stutters along at a weary pace, never reaching a level where we begin to doubt that the good guys will win. It’s a children’s adventure story so perhaps the very young, the real target audience, will be more forgiving than I am.

2 bears with no hangover sore head out of 5