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Jonah Hex (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

A Meagre Bounty

Jonah_Hex_DVDJosh Brolin takes a break from the quality films he’s been turning out over the last couple of years (In the Valley of Elah, American Gangster, No Country For Old Men etc) to star in this forgettable piece of comic book fluff. Adapted from the DC Comics graphic novels by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga, Brolin’s Hex is a Civil War-era bounty hunter driven by revenge after his arch rival Quentin Turnball (John Malkovich) kills his wife and child and leaves him for dead. After his brush with the afterlife gives Hex the power to speak to the deceased, Hex uses his gift to track Turnball to a tumultuous final showdown.

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Edge of Darkness (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

Liar, liar…

British television dramas are proving to be fertile breeding ground for Hollywood execs as, following the success of Kevin Macdonald’s big screen adaptation of State of Play, Casino Royale director Martin Campbell breathes new life into the 1985 mini-series Edge of Darkness. And, with a solid performance from Mel Gibson at its heart, it proves to be a successful, if fairly straightforward, Americanised thriller.

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Valhalla Rising (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

Hellboy

Set in the desolate wilderness of Scotland, in 1000 AD, Danish director Winding Refn’s film focuses on the aptly names One Eye (Mikkelsen) a mute and unbeaten warrior of supernatural strength. Murdering his clan captors, and aided by young boy Are (Stevenson), One Eye makes his escape; encountering a group of Christian crusaders, the pair boards a longboat headed to the Holy Lands but, after they lose their way in fog, ends up on unknown shores. Without food or water, and preyed on by the locals, the group search desperately for a way home, led by One Eye whose vision mark him out as a prophet of sorts. As madness descends, an hellish battle for survival ensues.

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