New movie reviews in brief: The 5th Wave, 45 Years, Boy and the World

The 5th Wave

Who does it star? Chloe Grace Moretz, plus Alex Roe and Nick Robinson as competing hotties.

Who is for? Angst-filled teens who enjoyed The Maze Runner, Divergent,etc.

Worth seeing? Heck no. Let's be honest:young people deserve better than this thinly plotted slice of dystopia that makes Sweet Valley High look like Tolstoy. ChloeGrace Moretz plays Cassie, a high school student whose life changes forever when aliens invade and kill millions with quakes, plagues and more. The5th Wave spends little time on the disasters and moves quickly into survival mode as Moretzchannels Winter's Bone, running and hiding in the forest while trying to reunite with her brother, Sam.

Yet another adaptation of abestselling young adult novel,The 5th Wavethenawkwardly switches gears to introduce the requisitelove triangle.Which cute boy can Cassie trust? Is it the possibly infected lumbersexual Evan orBen, the former football teamcaptain-turned-army commander? With more plot twists than a Choose Your Own Adventurestory,The 5th Wavestarts outmediocre and ends up downright risible. I had trouble hearinga climactic scene in which Cassie is forced to choosedue to the peals of laughter from those around me. It's a pity because Moretz is natural performerwith a screen presence all her own. But she's wasted in film that can't decide whether to rip off Starship Troopers or Nicholas Sparks.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

See instead: The zombie rom-comWarm Bodies.

45 Years

45 Years gets 4 out of 5 stars

9 years ago

Duration 4:29

A finely acted example of tense, slow-release storytelling, 45 Years is a film about memory and unspoken questions, where the past is never far from mind

Who does it star? British acting legends Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay.

Who is for? Married couples and those who appreciate finelytuned performances and slow-release storytelling.

Worth seeing?For sure. Geoff and Kate (Courtenay and Oscar-nominatedRampling) have settled into a comfortable life in Norfolk, but with their approaching anniversary, there's something to celebrate. A movie where the past is never far from mind, 45 Years centres on the discovery of Geoff'sformer girlfriendKatya, who died in a Swiss hiking accident before he and Katemarried.

Like an iceberg, there's much more toKatya hiding in the depths. This is a film about memory and unspoken questions hanging in the air. Director Andrew Haighlets the tension play out,showing Kate struggling with her suspicions andher face a mask of pain, asGeoff hides behind an air ofabsent-mindedness senility.Asher doubts grow,his doddering becomes akind of camouflage. Though45 Years takes its time,the imminentanniversary party keeps the pressure on right up to afinal moment as icy as the tomb that kept Katya's secrets.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Boy and the World

Who does it star? A rainbow's worth of doodles spouting gibberish.

Who is it for? Fans of artful animation such asThe Triplets of Belleville and the work of Norman McLaren.

Should you see it? Yes if you don't mind a film light on story, but bursting with beauty. Hailing from Brazil, Boy andthe World isnominated for an Oscarin the feature length animation category and it's easy to see why. Filled with hand-painted characters that look like JoanMiro paintings sprung to life, the film tellsthe simple story of aboy searching for his father, but it's an epic adventure that takes him from the quiet countryside to thenightmarish slums of the city.

Filled with the exuberance of a carnival, Boy andthe World is a sensoryexperience like nothing else. It's afilm where music notes hang in the air as glowing puffs of colour, rain falls in an avalanche of applause and passing trucks groan like whales.Seen from the point of view of the young protagonist,the film is whimsical. Still, hidden behind the riot of colours is director AleAbreu's savage critique of globalization: this isaprotest film disguised as a party.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars