Altered States (1980)

As in The Fly, a scientist pushes his experiments too far but instead of a slow metamorphosis into a human-sized insect, this scientist enjoys extended psychedelic trips through a mind-expanding light fantastic - well, essentially a series of 80s rock music videos showing the star, William Hurt, looking awed against a swirling backdrop of esoteric symbols, ticking metronomes and time-lapse nature clips - and to progress the story, he eventually morphs into a caveman and then into an early version of Doctor Manhattan - pretty random scientific outcomes dictated by the makeup and the tech of the time (and anything to get the stoners to go, "Whoa, man").

★★★☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS

Music and Lyrics (2007)

Most amusing when Hugh Grant's matured pop idol parades his old hits in front of small gatherings of adoring middle-aged women, this romcom is about a pair of songwriters falling in love while sparring over the business versus the authenticity of pop music lyrics, and it is all abit cloying - like being stuck in the presence of loverbirds being all adorable with each other.

★★☆☆☆

CINECAL: ONE SENTENCE REVIEWS