CINEMA

Charlie Bartlett

Wayward rich kid becomes high school shrink

What happens: Rich teen Charlie Bartlett gets expelled and is forced to slum it at a public school. There he becomes an amateur shrink to the entire student population, much to his principal (the clearly-busy Robert Downey Jr)'s annoyance.

What's good about it? It's well acted and, while it's never dazzlingly good, it's also never dull as Charlie's story rumbles on to it's inevitable - he's not as all-knowing and together as he first appears - conclusion.

What's bad about it? There's the nagging feeling that the events you're watching wouldn't ever really happen, so it's hard to actually care for the characters.

Verdict: Amusing, but rather forgettable. It's not a bad way to spend a couple of hours, but slipping the similar Ferris Bueller's Day Off into your DVD player would be a much better use of your time. Three stars.

Iron Man
Spectacular superhero movie, with Robert Downey Jr as a genius who creates a metal suit (actually, it's gold titanium alloy) to right the global problems his weapons company helped cause. Sets a high blockbuster bar for Indy 4 and The Dark Knight - we hope they're up to the challenge. Five stars.

Smart People
Ellen "Juno" Page barely stretches herself as a smart-arse, cynical teen who hero-worships her unworthy, miserable father. Cue life-changing events when her movie-stealing, skint uncle Thomas Haden Church appears on the scene. Predictable, but sharp and genuinely funny. Three stars.

Speed Racer
Primary-coloured CGI explosion from the men behind The Matrix, which assaults your eyes during the high-speed races, and insults your intelligence during the moments of supposed comic relief. Despite Christina Ricci looking hotter than she ever has, this is most definitely one for the kids. Two stars.

Shutter
Routine Oriental horror remake with the slightly more successful Dawson's Creek boy, Joshua Jackson, as a photographer haunted by the ghost of a former fling. It's a decent flick and nothing more, with a standard "you might guess it, you might not" twist waiting for you at the end. Two stars.

DVDs

Dexter: Series 1 (DVD)
Great new drama has that gay bloke off Six Feet Under as a "tame" serial killer who only offs people who deserve it. The plot has him chasing fellow mental the Ice Truck Killer to an ace unmasking. Five stars.

Prison Break: Season 3 (DVD)
This show ditched logic long ago, so it seems reasonable that escape expert Michael's been framed for a murder and put in jail, in order to break someone else out. Still gripping entertainment. Four stars.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (DVD, Blu-ray)
Get past the fact it's a musical and you should love this violent, velvety yarn of the London barber-turned-psycho. Three stars.

Bee Movie (DVD)
Funny, but still ultimately disappointing movie debut for Jerry Seinfeld. The story of a disillusioned bee (his fault) and the visuals (not his fault) just aren't as good as the smattering of blinding jokes and bee puns. Three stars.

I, Robot (Blu-ray)
Will Smith action movie that sees CGI and product placement battling each other for screen-time. He's a robot-hating cop who's finally proved right when they start rebelling. Loses a star for weird racist undertones. Three stars.