Hot cross flicks

With Easter and public and school holidays upon us, it might be a good idea to spend some time at the movies. Whether or not you're going to get excited about what's on is entirely up to you.

Sucker Punch, the over-hyped, visually impressive but narratively retarded blockbuster from 300 and Watch Men director Zach Snyder, sets the tone.

A young girl (Emily Browning) is institutionalised by her abusive stepfather. She develops a rich fantasy life to psychologically escape the horrors of her world and uses it to plan an escape from the nuthouse.

There are visual tricks aplenty but they can't hide the fact that the story that they hang on is weaker and not nearly as sneaky as an actual sucker punch. Not that your average teen will mind that much because there's still plenty of mindless "wow" to keep him entertained for two hours before he goes in search of the video game. As Time magazine's critic puts it: "It's like an arrested adolescent's Google search run amok."

Disney does its bit to entertain the younger children with the animated life lesson Mars Needs Mom. Seth Green voices nine-year-old Milo, who realises that while she irritates and drives him crazy, he may need his mom (Joan Cusack), especially once she's stolen by Martians, who according to the publicity, plan to steal her "mom-ness" for their own young.

Getting back his mom is predictably a journey in which Milo learns just how much Mom means. There are plenty of visually entertaining 3D adventures to keep little people in the cinema, where they can defy the old adage about being seen and not heard to their heart's content.

Fresh from playing Jeff Bridges' son in Tron: Legacy Garrett Hedlund stars in the country music drama Country Strong as a young country star on the rise who meets an older star on the wane (Gwyneth Paltrow), and teams up with her to set him on the path to success, and her on the comeback trail.

Paltrow sings her own songs, which may be just enough for both her fans and devotees of country music. She has been trying hard recently to get herself back in the public eye, and while Country Strong is unlikely to blow anyone away, it's not going to be as badly received as her recent attempts to cook on television.

If none of these new releases catch your fancy, fear not. There are good ones on circuit, and the year still has many to offer.