Critical Week: At world's end (again)

Last week's big movie was yet another post-apocalyptic thriller, with the late press screening of The Book of Eli, although at least this time there weren't any zombies or vampires. But it was strange to see that Denzel Washington gravitas in what is essentially The Road Lite. The other biggie was the Harrison Ford-Brendan Fraser Extraordinary Measures, based on the true story of an extraordinarily tenacious father.

And the week's other films continued this mixed-bag theme: the Michael Chabon adaptation The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is disappointingly unengaging; the goofy British indie Beyond the Pole has a rather harsh sting in its tale; the involving documentary Crude is a bit too full of outrageous information; the fascinating festival-darling Argentine drama The Headless Woman is too obtuse for its own good; the enjoyable Dr Feelgood doc Oil City Confidential is mainly aimed at fans. So the best film of the week turned out to be the French drama L'Affaire Farewell, the true story of the two family men who inadvertently ended the Cold War by siphoning Russian secrets to Mitterrand and Reagan.

This week's offerings include Miguel Arteta's Youth in Revolt, Amy Adams in Leap Year, Samantha Morton's The Unloved, and the one I'm really looking forward to: Toy Story 2 in 3D. I'll also see a stage musical called Silence! It's based on The Silence of the Lambs. I'm scared.