HESHER
Dir: Spencer Susser. Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rainn Wilson, Natalie Portman

Hesher certainly looks like an interesting proposition: Oscar winner Portman, the ever-impressive Gordon-Levitt (who, despite big budget roles in the likes of Inception and GI Joe, shows an admirable openness to indie fare) and the (US) Office's Wilson, all in an anarchic black comedy.
And it is interesting, but also unexpectedly thoughtful and measured.
The story centres on young teen TJ, whose life is already less than rosy when the film starts, bullied and with an unengaged deadbeat solo father (Wilson). Things don't appear to be noticeably looking up when the eponymous foul-mouthed eccentric heavy metal waster (Gordon-Levitt) takes it upon himself to move into the garage. Meanwhile Portman is the local supermarket clerk whom TJ befriends.
This is actually an offbeat coming of age tale; a film about people coping (or not coping) with grief. It may be a little too off-centre for the mainstream, but it is beautifully realised and acted. Devin Brochu is terrific as TJ, very natural and never too cute; there's a lovely cameo from Piper Laurie as TJ's grandmother. And Gordon-Levitt is nothing less than a revelation in the title role. Lean and gangly with only his too-prefect skin giving away Hollywood origins, I couldn't help but wonder why he's looked short in previous movies. Here he's tall and menacing – a superstar in waiting.

Another week, another Jason Statham flick. This one is Blitz (**) and finds Jase purveying his usual range of bald grunting on native soil, a copper in London trying to stop a killer targeting police. The characterisations are a little bizarre. Statham is an extremely unreconstructed male who would be more at home with the ‘70s Sweeny types of Life on Mars, with continual chauvinist put-downs of everyone. Then there's his new boss, who just happens to be gay (and neat and tidy of course). It's tempting to assume this is an elaborate deadpan joke, but the violence is jarring and nasty and the plot both predictable and gaping with holes. Weirdly offensive.

Street Kings was an absolutely forgettable police corruption thriller with a surprisingly good cast. Street Kings 2: Motor City (**) is a sequel only in name, and the law of diminishing returns means the name cast now comprises solely Ray Liotta. Uncomfortably partnered with a brash rookie, they investigate murders of Liotta's old undercover team, a trail quickly leading to mucho malfeasance. Corruption and bodies mount, as do clichés, predictable plot turns and lazy characterisations. They sure squashed the life out of this one.

The stars, writers and directors of the memorably-titled Dead Hooker in a Trunk (***) were inspired by the fake trailers that accompany the Tarantino/Rodriguez double-bill Grindhouse. Just as memorably they are twin sisters, Jen and Saliva Soska, who created a no budget bloody girls-on-the-run flick where the hamminess and homemade look are part of its charm. Perhaps more than any other recent homage this catches the over-the-top vibe of incompetent ‘70s exploitation that characterised the genre.

Star Wars (** - ****) , the complete saga, is now out and causing its usual controversy on blu-ray. The arguments of course are about the latest batch of George Lucas' tinkering with the ‘original' trilogy. Yes, the Ewoks now blink – will the universe and fanboy's childhood memories survive this outrage?!? In reality, the changes are slight and will only offend hopeless obsessives. I sat through the whole six films again and can report that they look spic and span on blu-ray, though some of the background digital effects in Part 4 (A New Hope) are decidedly unconvincing. Also surprising is that Part 1 (The Phantom Menace), Jar Jar Binks ‘n' all, seems a lot less irritating in retrospect, despite the most boring opening crawl in cinema history. The real question now is – in what order are you meant to watch them?