The Death and Life of Charlie St Cloud (12A)

Another Mogadon to quell the American fear of death. Zac Efron plays Charlie, a golden youth destined for a sailing scholarship to an Ivy League college when his kid brother dies in a car accident that nearly claims our hero's life, too.

With a survivor's remorse Charlie becomes a semi-reclusive caretaker at the local graveyard and plays catch with his brother's ghost in the woods, somewhat undermining the poignancy of his untimely demise. But redemption offers in the shape of comely yachting champ Tess and Charlie's unsuspected metaphysical powers: he sees dead people! While the subject matter tends towards morbidity, the film-makers strive to divert us with many dappling sunsets, the blue of Ephron's eyes and a sappy melodrama that even 13-year-old girls might scoff at.