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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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The Ages Of Love (Film)

by Julian Wood | November 21, 2011 13:13 | Edited November 21, 2011 13:22

Unsurprisingly Robert De Niro and Monica Bellucci are the reasons to see this occasionally clichéd and over-sentimental ensemble piece.

Though not titled as such for local release, this is the third instalment in Italian director Giovanni Veronesi's series on the glories and pitfalls of love. This time around, Veronesi has tapped two big names in Robert De Niro (effectively his first proper role in Italian) and Monica Bellucci. Divided into three separate stories, each part represents a different aspect of "love": in youth, middle age and even older age.

 

In the first one, Roberto (Riccardo Scamarcio) is an idealistic young lawyer looking to help poor children overseas. The attractions of Sara (the brooding Valeria Solarino), however, provide ample distraction from his sense of purpose. In the middle section, Fabio (Carlo Verdone) is a TV anchorman who gets involved with a wild woman (described in one blurb as a "bipolar nympho", but that could just be a dodgy translation). All of the above is conceived of in rather corny (not to say dinosaur-era male chauvinist) terms. The Italian music is over the top, and the settings all look false and picture postcard like. Still, we have the dessert to follow.

 

In the long-awaited last section, De Niro plays Adrian, a sixty-something American professor teaching overseas. When semi-divine student, Viola (Monica Bellucci), sashays into his class, he finds it rather hard to concentrate upon his lecture. Sure enough, love blossoms...well, for a while. The big question is: how's the chemistry between these two incandescent screen stars? Well - no spoilers - but they sort of "go there." Such bumping and grinding even in long shot may be too much for some. For others, it will be the thing that they remember most. Let us not forget that both Bellucci and De Niro are fine actors, but it's a shame that the rest of the film is not up to that same level.