parole

reviewed The Parole Officer (PG) John Duigan hh Me, You, Them (PG) Andrucha Waddington hhhh Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (PG) Hironobu Sakaguchi, Motonori Sakakibara hh Help! I'm A Fish (U) Michael Hegner hh Rush Hour 2 (12) Brett Ratner hh The first of three British comedy films this year to be set in and around the prison service (the others, Lucky Break and Greenfingers, will hit the cinemas within a couple of months), The Parole Officer sees comedian Steve Coogan try to shake off the persistent odour of TV that clings to him like stale cigarette smoke. He's only partly successful in this aim - he has at least chosen to create a new character for his big screen debut, rather than dragging out one of his TV stalwarts and leaving them to founder in a thin narrative stretched over a feature-length format. But Coogan's socially inept, highly irritating Parole Officer character, Simon Garden, is still a recognisable relative of Alan Partridge, or perhaps both Simon and Alan have elements of Coogan's own personality (although you would hope not). This familiarity will both work in the film's favour and against - Coogan's substantial TV following is more than likely to flock to see the movie on the strength of his name alone. But the inimitable Cooganism of the performance means that the finished film seems less a film and more a vehicle for a television personality.

Anyone who has seen his TV work would agree that Coogan is certainly talented, but his skill lies in creating monsters. The aspect that has informed his oeuvre so far is that he never appeared to need to be liked. Partridge was bullish, petty and so thick- skinned you could throw darts at him without fear of puncturing his colossal ego; But now it seems Coogan wants love as well as laughs and this is one of the film's basic problems.

Simon Garden is a probation officer from Blackpool with a less than spectacular success rate at rehabilitating his clients. In fact, only three of his former prisoners have ever rejoined the straight and narrow, and even they don't like him. No matter how good his intentions, Simon's every action causes everyone he encounters to long to punch him soundly in the face. It's a highly optimistic bit of plotting therefore that sees Emma (Lena Headey), the lissom policewoman at his new job in Manchester, fall in love with him. The script also rather unwisely toys with gross-out elements, such as vomiting and a rollercoaster. This breaks what must be a key rule of screenwriting: never show a character throwing up over pre-pubescent schoolchildren if you later want the audience to accept him as a romantic lead. More for Coogan fans than cinema lovers.

The comedy on offer in Andrucha Waddington's tale of polygamy in Brazil, Me, You, Them, is rather more subtle. At first the picture looks more like another harrowing examination of rural poverty rather than the mischievous and warm-hearted celebration of female sexuality it becomes. Darlene (Regina Case) is an indomitable spirit and Amazon of a woman who, when she is left at the altar pregnant and barefoot, sets about gathering together shelter and a family in which to raise her children.

However, Darlene's family unit turns out to be rather unorthodox as she accumulates no less than three husbands (and as many children) who live with her in an isolated farmhouse in the dusty backlands of rural Brazil. It's a gorgeous film - all honey and ochre and rich, warm sunlight - and the cinematography alone is reason to watch it.

But there's also a strong sense of constant celebration in the face of hardship. This is a highly recommended hymn to the joy of living.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within has been hailed as a miraculous breakthrough in cinema animation, and in a way it is. Hyper realistic actors are digitally rendered in molecular detail to the extent that they could almost be mistaken for humans and not just a collection of computer-controlled pixels. There are some stunning visuals admittedly, with mini spaceships tearing through ravaged, post- apocalyptic cityscapes.

But for the most part, this eco-futurist tale comes on like a supermarket trolley dash through bargain basement metaphysics. Still, on the positive side, it seems the film has caused annoyance to certain prominent and quite staggeringly overpaid members of the Hollywood acting community.

The animation in Help! I'm A Fish is more traditional. As its title suggests, we are treated to numerous hallucinatory underwater sequences in a primary coloured seascape not dissimilar to the backdrop to The Little Mermaid. Three kids accidentally drink a potion that turns them all into fish - now it's a race against time to find the antidote before Joe the despotic fish (voiced by Alan Rickman) drinks it all. The more anti-fish potion Joe drinks, the bigger his ambitions for world domination. Harmless, but only for the very young.

Finally this week, Rush Hour 2 sees Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reteam for another fast-talking, high-kicking, generally mindless caper. If you saw the first one you'll know what to expect, except this time piles of cash have been thrown at the action set pieces in Hong Kong and Vegas. Crouching Tiger fans will be thrilled by a glimpse of the angelic Ziyi Zhang playing a badass villain, but otherwise, it's all pretty standard fare.

All films are out on Friday except Final Fantasy and Rush Hour 2 which are out now www.finalfantasy.com www.helpfish.com www.rushhour2.com

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