The Family Man (2000)

Directed by Brett Ratner. Starring Nicholas Cage, Tea Leoni. Cert: 15. Running Time: 120 Mins Approx.

This charming film has the flavour of many other films: It’s A Wonderful Life; Groundhog Day; and Sliding Doors and I suppose the word one would use to describe it is Capraesque.

Cage is great — at once able to pull off the cold, ruthless business man with only commerce in his life, and the family man with a big heart. The whole thing runs so smoothly and progresses so naturally that you forget you’ve been sold this idea before. It seems new, the characters seem real. Jack Campbell’s is a journey you are glad to have taken. And it pulls off the feat that the best of Capa did, to not seem overly sugar-sweet while being heart warming. A wonderful film.

Men In Black 2 (2002)

Directed by Barry Sonnenfeld. Starring Tommy Lee Jones; Will Smith; Rip Torn; Lara Flynn Boyle. Cert: PG. Running Time: 84 mins.

What do you get when you have absolutely no new ideas and a big budget? This film perhaps? Stale popcorn? Not to say it’s not watchable. Not to say it’s not above average fare. But it offers nothing new. And for being only 84 minutes long it plods somewhat.

Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are fine as usual, though somewhat telegraphing their performances. The supporting cast does what it needs to. And that’s it. It doesn’t knock your socks off. Doesn’t make you go ooh, ah, that’s cool. Not like the 1st one did. Which is what a sequel needs to do. Underwhelming.