Film reviews: Martha Marcy May Marlene | Man On A Ledge | Chronicle | Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

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Film reviews: Martha Marcy May Marlene | Man On A Ledge | Chronicle | Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | Jack And Jill

Published on 29/01/2012 00:00

A brief round-up of this week’s new releases...

Martha Marcy May Marlene (15) ****

A young woman (Elizabeth Olsen) escapes from a charismatic counterculture and its soft-spoken New Age leader (John Hawkes) but finds it hard to shake off the cult’s malign effects. Writer-director Sean Durkin’s psychological thriller is first woozily unsettling and then coolly shocking. Olsen and Hawkes are remarkable.

Glasgow Film Theatre, from Friday. DCA, Dundee, from 17 February

Man On A Ledge (12A) ***

Psychologist Elizabeth Banks tries to talk down Sam Worthington, who is threatening to jump from a rooftop in this heist thriller. The film’s dizziest conceit is casting Worthington and wee Jamie Bell as brothers, both supposedly raised in Queens, New York. Diverting, but it’s not just the ledge that’s rickety here.

On general release from Friday

Chronicle (12A) ***

Three students (Alex Russell, Dane DeHaan and Michael B Jordan) discover they have telekinetic powers that get stronger as they use them. The trio enjoy living as superheroes until one of them decides to explore the dark side of the force.

On general release from Wednesday

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (PG) **

The sequel to Journey To The Centre Of The Earth has Josh Hutcherson and Dwayne Johnson heading off to an unmapped Pacific island to find Hutcherson’s grandad (Michael Caine). 3D adventure and slapstick comedy ensues. The fun remains marooned.

On general release from Friday

Jack And Jill (PG) **

Adam Sandler plays both an advertising executive and his boorish twin sister in his latest manchild comedy. And yet Sandler in a dress is not the weirdest thing here. That would be Al Pacino playing Al Pacino, falling for Adam Sandler in a dress. It doesn’t make up for the relentless monotony of Sandler’s regressive gags, but this self-parody is Pacino’s least hammy performance in years.

On general release from Friday

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Film reviews: Martha Marcy May Marlene | Man On A Ledge | Chronicle | Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | Jack And Jill

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