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Based on the hit West End musical of the same name, "Mamma Mia" tells the story of Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), a twenty year old bride-to-be who helps mom Donna (Meryl Streep) run a ramshackle bed and breakfast on a Greek island.

With no dad on the scene, Sophie does some digging into her mom's past and unearths some likely candidates who she promptly invites to her impending nuptials.The likely dads - Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) bond as the wedding edges closer, with all of them realizing they may have a daughter.

Let me do some digging here: In 1978 ABBA-mania was at its peak and Australia was arguably their biggest audience with an estimated one in five Aussie households owning an ABBA album at that time. So it's likely that Aussie audiences are going to flock to "Mamma Mia" the new ABBA-inspired movie. And last night ( 9 July 2008) I was fortunate enough to get an invite to the Queensland Premiere of this flick.

Inasmuch as I?m still an ABBA fan, I have to say that the film would possibly be not the most scintillating as far as storylines. Of course it was created for the musical, simply to weave in the magical ABBA songs which are peppered through this movie, and which brings the entire Greek island - including the locals- to life.

Admittedly, some of the singing is average - Pierce Brosnan in particular shouldn't look to join a boy band any time soon - but Meryl Streep seemed to give it her all while having a ball.
Julie Walters and Christine Baranski have strong supporting roles as Donna's best friends, and offer great comedic value.

The soundtrack, the music, the dancing should keep you entertained. Or rather, this musical flick should have you leaving the cinema wanting to dance and sing.

Love, friendship, teaching, learning, driving, flamenco--this is how I sum up Mike Leigh's latest film, Happy Go Lucky.

Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a 30-year-old London primary school teacher whose cheerful demeanour enables her to deal with whatever life throws at her. She lives with her best friend and fellow primary school teacher Zoe (Alexic Zegerman), whose wry calmness makes her an excellent foil to Poppy's over-the-top enthusiasm. Inasmuch as the two best friends have opposng views at times, they are perfect for each other and love being around each other.

After her bike is stolen, Poppy decides to take driving lessons so she can get around town a little easier. This is where we meet Scott (Eddie Marsan) the uptight driving instructor who is the complete antithesis of Poppy. Scott's strict approach to teaching and his somewhat unstable views on things cause a complete personality clash between the two characters. Poppy always stays true to her genuinely endearing personality and is an eternal optimist no matter what she is faced with. Her happiness is unconditional.

The film is a funny, feel-good and real film that looks deeply into the character's development. It has a beautiful message that is important for us humans to know. It may seem easier to be gruff and pessimistic, but it is so much better to be positive and just get on with life. The end result is a film with memorble characters, great performances and a take-home mesage we could all benefit from.

This is a life-affirming bittersweet comedy that will win over even the most cynical heart.

Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen and Jack Black are in this film together, and perhaps someone would have imagined something more of their specialty areas, namely: sex, drugs and rock n roll rather than the animated PG offering of this flick.

Black plays Po, a clumsy panda noodle chef who fantasises about being a Kung Fu fighter with the furious Five, Tigress (Jolie), Viper (Lui), Mantis (rogen), Crane (Cross) and Monkey (Chan).

When fate shines a light on Po and he is named the Dragon Warrior--the only one who can defeat the dreaded Tai Ling (Ian McShane)--he must decide whether it really is his destiny or a perilous suicide mission.

As far as the storyline of this movie, I guess you get pretty much what you'd expect from the storyline--a morality tale about inner-strength and the uniqueness of you. The film combines the best aspects of animation, like the ability to depict scenes that would be unfilmable in live action, with a big cinematic feel of an epic martial arts movie.

The script is also decent. On one level it's laconic, like many kung fu films, with the exception of Black's comedic interludes. Certainly there's anecdotal twist and turns in this film, and I'm still grinning.

Carrie Bradshaw (SJP), author and a fashion icon- next-door, is back, her sardonic wit intact and perhaps sharper (my comparative description), as she continues to narrate her own story about sex, love and the fashion-obsessed single women in New York City.

Sex and the City finds Carrie, Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristn Davis), and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) four years after the HBO series ended, still as friends, who continue to juggle jobs and relationships while navigating motherhood, marriage and Manhattan real estate.

Chris North reprises his role of Carrie's suave yet elusive Mr. Big; David Eigenberg as Miranda's down -to-earth husband Steve Brad; Evan Handler as Harry, Charlotte's dependable and loving husband; and John Lewis as Smith Jerrod, an actor, client and devoted lover of Samantha's.

Some people describe the film as a long episode of the series rather than of a movie. And some even think that the flick is not really empowering to women as these four women only want their own Romeos.

Candace Bushnell's book 'Sex and the City' attempts to represent a break with women's image as far as the critical tradition of time is concerned. The main rationale is to touch on the distinctionction between sex and gender. Sex is the biologically determined differene between men and women, while gender refers to the cultural differences, the product of social conditioning.

Overall, the flick is a blend of productive and re-productive creativity and imagination, telling a tale of 'no reservation' reckoning--in two parallel worlds--the he and the she. In short, the flick is an entrancing blend of imagination and perhaps scholarships, with a deft touch of humour.

romantic comedy--sweet and the taste lingers.

historical novel with the streisand added

Clarck Gable and Vivien Leigh in their pre and post civil war romantic drama. The costume, the background, the actors, and the director himself,--everything in one and perfect place. Of course, it's my grandparents' era and I love it too.

Documentary and history rolled into one.

Want to be a war correspondent in the future? Then see this one for a bit of orientation experience.

See the rise and rise of Oprah.