Evening Chronicle

The Truth About Ricky's Venture

The Invention Of Lying (12A, 99 mins) Comedy/Romance. Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Louis C.K., Rob Lowe, Jeffrey Tambor, Jonah Hill. Directors: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson. Contains swearing. THE truth about Ricky Gervais's new comedy, co-written and co- directed by Matthew Robinson, is that it is mean-spirited, misconceived and starved of big laughs.

Still Showing

SURROGATES (12A) Director Jonathan Mostow (Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines) takes the fascinating premise of the same-named graphic-novel series - a future where humans control robotic doppelgangers who carry out their everyday duties, and rarely leave home - and comes up with 88 plodding minutes that barely touch upon the moral implications of a mechanised society. Bruce Willis stars as an FBI agent hunting a killer who must re-enter the real world to catch the suspect. CREATION (PG) In t...

Melbourne

AUSTRALIA. The name conjures up visions of adventure, excitement, spectacular scenery and memories to last a lifetime. And Australia just got closer. Melbourne, the gateway for your visit, is easily accessible with Emirates from four regional UK airports, with just one stop in Dubai.

Win a Dream Holiday in Melbourne

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Melbourne & Beyond

THEY call them the famous 12 Apostles. The limestone stacks stand 45 metres in height and rise out of the swirling waves of the Southern Ocean. Dramatically formed by the erosion of waves and rain, they have an otherworldly quality, as if giant props from a Bond movie or fantasy epic. Then the sun suddenly shines out from behind an errant cloud and the 12 Apostles stand out from the sea in a brilliant sandy yellow.

Pop Hits to Pitch in With

Title: Disney Sing It: Pop Hits Publisher: Disney. Platform: Wii and PS3. Price: pounds 29.99. DISNEY Sing It: Pop Hits, the third game in the video-based karaoke video game franchise, features 30 master recordings and popular music videos from fan favourites, including Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat, Demi Lovato, Hannah Montana, Jesse McCartney, Coldplay and One Republic.

In the Driving Seat

CADETS can now take part in a host of new activities, thanks to a new minibus. The 2252 Bedlington Squadron were given pounds 500 from Procter & Gamble employees as part of the company's Community Matters programme.

Bid to Recruit New Specials

MORE special constables are being sought to help frontline police officers in their fight against crime. The constables regularly go out on patrol supporting police in their work. Over one weekend in North Tyneside, 12 specials attended more than 80 incidents, working alongside regular officers.

Geordie Faithful ; St James's Becomes Home to Weekly Religious Events

IT has already welcomed more than one messiah and is the spiritual home of the Toon faithful. And now St James's Park is holding church services within its hallowed grounds.

Inspiring Younger Generation ; Advertisement Feature

Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, CNN, MTV, FedEx. All huge companies, but what else do they have in common? Answer: they all started in a time of economic downturn. A recession can mean opportunity.

Man in the Media ; Book Review: Entertainment Editor Gordon Barr Reviews Chris Evans's Autobiography It's Not What You Think.

IF ever there was a household name deserving of being up there in the bestsellers lists for autobiographies, Chris Evans is it. His life story (so far) is so full of twists and turns and unbelievable scenarios, if it were presented as a fictional tale to a publishers or a filmmaker, they would probably send it packing, saying it was too far-fetched. But everything in this book did happen - and there's more to come.

Far Eastern Film Delight

Red Cliff (Cert 15, 139 mins, Entertainment In Video, Action/ Drama/Romance, also available to buy DVD pounds 19.99/Blu-ray pounds 29.99). Starring: Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung, Zhang Fengyi, Chiling Lin, Zhao Wei, You Yong, Chang Chen, Hu Jun, Ba Sen Zha Bu, Zang Jingsheng, Shidou Nakamura. SCHEMING Prime Minister Cao Cao (Fengyi) proposes the invasion of land to the south and west under the control of Liu Bei (Yong) and Sun Quan (Chen), thereby unifying China.

Singing From the Soul and Going Strong ; Tom Jones Returns to the Metro Radio Arena This Month Following the Release Earlier This Year of His Latest Album 24 Hours

WELSH singer Tom Jones is still firing on all cylinders. While many of his contemporaries are no longer with us or have succumbed to the excesses of fame and fortune, the 69 year old can still give today's pop pretenders more than a run for their money.

Stringing Us Along ; Classical

A FOURSOME who helped rescue a concert last season by stepping in at the last minute return to Tyneside next week - this time officially. The Doric String Quartet were able to cover for the absence of the Michelangelo Quartet at the launch of the 2008-09 Newcastle International Chamber Music Series at The Sage Gateshead - and next Wednesday the society repays that gesture by inviting them to open the new six-concert series.

Toon Gig for Texas Blues Man

THE intimate surroundings of the Cluny 2 will host a visit from excellent US songwriter, Eric Taylor, pictured left, next Saturday night. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Taylor briefly attended university in Washington DC before heading for California. He got as far as Texas and has remained there ever since. He was initially influenced by blues men Lightnin' Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb and Mississippi Fred McDowell, but developed his own guitar style along the way.

Get Back to Your Roots ; Another Busy Week Lies Ahead On the Roots Music Scene, As Alan Nichol Reports

CANADIAN artists have been well represented here lately and there is yet another one in the region this week. Singer-songwriter Stephen Fearing, originally from Vancouver but brought up in Dublin (he returned to the mother country aged 18), has been one of Canada's finest exports for a couple of decades now.

Rom-Com Turns Greek Tragedy

Driving Aphrodite (12A, 94 mins) Comedy/Romance. Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, Alexis Georgoulis, Alistair McGowan, Caroline Goodall, Ian Ogilvy, Sophie Stuckey. Director: Donald Petrie. ORIGINALLY titled My Life In Ruins, Donald Petrie's bumbling romantic comedy marks the long-awaited return of Nia Vardalos to the big screen, seven years after her self-penned, Oscar nominated smash My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In the interim, she wrote and starred in the ill-fated, spin-off television series ...

Panned Boredom

Pandorum (15, 108 mins) Sci-Fi/Action/Thriller. Ben Foster, Dennis Quaid, Antje Traue, Cung Le, Cam Gigandet. Director: Christian Alvart. Contains swearing and violence. PAUL WS Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt haul the sets of their 1997 collaboration Event Horizon out of storage and give them a new lick of paint for this deep space thriller directed by Christian Alvart.

Also Released

TOY STORY IN 3D (PG, 81 mins) Released: October 2 (UK & Ireland, selected cinemas) An eye-popping revamp of the 1995 computer- animated adventure from the wizards at Pixar, which brings to life the contents of a boy's toy cupboard. As Andy's birthday draws nears, his toys grow increasingly nervous about new arrivals usurping them for Andy's affections. Cowboy Woody's (voiced by Tom Hanks) fears prove well founded when action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) takes pride of place on the bed, l...

Plan for Festivities ; Advertisement Feature

IF YOU are the sort of person who puts your head in the sand when it comes to planning the company Christmas party, help is at hand. It's definitely time to start planning now and many North East venues and restaurants are already taking bookings for Christmas parties and meals.