Alan Dee’s movie guide (26.08.11)

And why should that concern us? Well, Born you may not have been previously aware of Joseph Jason Namakaeha Momoa, born in Honolulu and raised in Iowa.

He’s been the beefcake body beautiful in a string of Stateside TV series, starting with Baywatch after it moved to Hawaii and moving on to Stargate:Atlantis and the recent Game Of Thrones.

But now Jason, the other half of Lisa ‘Cosby Show and a string of other stuff that didn’t do so well’ Bonet, has hit the big time.

He’s very much centre stage in the CGI-stuffed remake of Conan The Barbarian, the film that turned Arnie into a movie star.

It’s available in 3D if you’re interested, and the story need not concern us here – it’s just a big slice of muscles, mayhem and fantasy foolishness.

There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with that, of course, and the consensus of the cinema cognoscenti is that the 2011 Conan is a winner on points over the 1982 Arnie original.

But seeing as the first Conan was as creaky a celluloid offering that ever became a ‘so bad it’s good’ cult, and seeing as Arnie still owns the rights to the role so will pocket a nice hunk of change if Jason is a success, that may not be a cause for celebration.

Director Marcus Nispel is credited with breathing new life into the Friday the 13th franchise, so that’s another question mark for anyone not turned on by gore galore.

> A much better bet for a nice cuddly date movie is One Day, which has an impressive pedigree if you’re looking for more grown-up entertainment.

Director Lone Scherfig helmed the Oscar-nominated An Education, star Anne Hathaway gets another chance to use that Brit accent she perfected for Becoming Jane a few years back, and the story is based on the bestseller by David ‘Starter For Ten’ Mitchell that’s been a big word of mouth hit with literate ladies in particular.

It’s a love story spanning 20 years, starting off with uni pals Anne and Jim Sturgess heading off into the big wide world and then picking up on the same day every year.

Word of mouth is first class and the biggest risk this charmer runs is that people will mutter that it’s not as good as the book that is still fresh in so many minds.

> Elsewhere you might be able to pick up on the latest instalment of improbable death and destruction in Final Destination 5 – yes, that’s five – which also comes in a 3D version, but if you’re looking to burnish your film buff credentials you’ll be looking elsewhere for horror thrills – The Skin I Live In is the latest from Spanish superstar director Pedro Almodovar and stars hunky Antonio Banderas as a plastic surgeon devoted to developing synthetic skin, and it all gets a bit creepy if you can handle the subtitles – and if it’s showing on a screen near you.