RANGO (****)

Dir: Gore Verbinski. Starring: Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Stephen Root.

Rango is an odd proposition. It's a beautifully rendered, incredibly detailed piece of animation. It's a very cleverly constructed spoof on westerns, actors and movies. And I don't know where it'll find an audience.
The titular motor-mouthed chameleon is voiced by Johnny Depp. He becomes the accidental sheriff in a town starved of water, and overcomes the townsfolk's scepticism (which soon turns to worship) to emerge a hero. Your typical western – sort of, except it's a lot cleverer than that.
It's not every day you find a plot with nods to both Chinatown and Star Wars and quick riffs on Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and a host of other hip, cult films. It's also not often you get a voice cast as eclectic as this, featuring, amongst others, Abigail Breslen, Bill Nighy, Harry Dean Stanton, Alfred Molina, Timothy Olyphant, Ray Winstone, and Ned Beatty (basing his character on John Huston's sinister patriarch from Chinatown).
And that's the problem: it's not really for kids – despite some delightful slapstick and low humour the general tone of the film is aimed firmly at adults, who are likely to either lap it up or wonder why anyone bothered with such an odd labour of love.
But if this does hit your particular funny bone then it'll quickly become a firm favourite. Even writing about it makes me want to watch it again.

Wasted on the Young (****)
charts Aussie high school hi-jinks, but unlike the not uncommon DTV mope-fests from that country, is an ultra-stylish tale of bullying swim team jocks and seething social jealousies. With something of a Brett Easton Ellis vibe, sex, drugs and nihilism are the order of the day. Centred round rich step-brothers – nasty jock and sympathetic geek – and the girl who gets between them, this is a totally adult-free zone. The impressively tough and unpredictable story shows up the blandness of similar American efforts and really deserved a decent chance in cinemas here.

Liam Neeson goes to Berlin to give a speech at a hi-tech conference. After a dramatic car crash he is hospitalised and wakes up to find a stranger has taken his place. And everybody is trying to kill him. It's an intriguing, if not entirely new, premise and Unknown (***) does a good job of sustaining it. These sort of things are all about how long it takes you to guess the twist. Inevitably the reveal and wrap-up are less enjoyable than the ride, but Neeson is a safe pair of hands and the location and some classy Euro-talent
add interest.

Alex Pettyfer stars as the titular alien in I am Number Four (***). He's trying to be inconspicuous on Earth because other nasty aliens (you can tell they're nasty because they're really ugly) are killing off his lot – in handy numerical order. The opening scenes see the first three offed. So it's basically a run and hide movie with a little light-weight romance thrown in for good measure and Timothy Olyphant on hand for ‘wise mentor' duties. There are at least some decent action scenes, but the initial tag of ‘Twilight for boys' is hard to get out of your head.

It would be really satisfying to give an unqualified thumbs up to Love Birds (**), a sweet New Zealand rom-com starring Rhys Darby and England's Sally Hawkins. But sweet only takes you so far and this tale of unlikely lovers who (eventually) bond over an injured duck is a very slight piece. Auckland locations are nice to look a,t but the story follows such a predictable arc that only the central characters' charm keeps you going, while supporting players veer towards the cartoonish (David Fane), making for an uneven tone. Will probably suit fans of Second Hand Wedding (which I didn't like much either).