Battle Los Angeles drags out every war and alien invasion movie cliche it can in two hours of noise and action, and very little else.

An offbeat odd-couple comedy with a deliciously bittersweet centre, this highly enjoyable film struggles slightly to communicate across a cultural divide.

The name might not be familiar but from the first bar the voice certainly is. It belongs to that rusty balladeer in Gomez.

Stars: 2.5/5. Verdict: Debut from Welly rockers needs more grunt

Stars: 4/5. Verdict: Quality instrumental beats your brain can dance to

Auckland Chamber Orchestra looked good on stage at the Raye Freedman Centre, the group's new home for the 2011 season.

With the reliably stoic Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) in the lead and a cracking trailer, this alien invasion flick had a decent amount of promise.

Grotesque parodies - and a lack of laughs - leave Deborah Hill Cone dismayed at the latest offering from Little Britain duo Matt Lucas and David Walliams.

Starman captures only some of pop icon David Bowie's intrigue.

Cold, endless forests, a pale, long-haired protagonist and a wild, forbidden love - Red Riding Hood must be descended from Twilight.

When Robert Duvall first looms into sight here, a menacing silhouette whose reputation scares children sick, it's impossible not to think of his first big-screen role almost 50 years ago.

With Doug Liman's name poised Tarantino-ishly as executive producer above the credits, this debut feature by Mongolian-born Chinese advertising whiz-kid Wuershan presents itself as an east-west hybrid.

Having helped make the world safe again for garage rock on 2001 debut Is This It and its 2003 follow-up, the Strokes seemed to lose their way on 2006 third album First Impressions of Earth.

Carlos Santana is in love with a black magic woman. Really, he is, and she's got a wild afro, saucy style, and plays drums.

Link between the plot and Tim Finn's songs is tenuous, but it's a striking piece of theatre.

It was 1956 and Eric Newby, the man who would become one of Britain's most admired travel writers, was stuck in a fitting room with a designer, a model and a lady with a mouth full of pins.

Stories of young, attractive women desperately trying to escape their small-town roots by allowing themselves to be seduced by older, apparently more worldly men, are not new.