Rock of Ages, Seven magazine review Dir: Adam Shankman; Starring: Tom Cruise, Julianne Hough, Diego Boneta, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Alec Baldwin, Russell Brand. Rock of Ages is a silly and clunkily obvious film, but one that is at least knowingly silly. This adaptation of the hit stage show, directed by Adam Shankman (Hairspray), boasts Tom Cruise as Stacee Jaxx, an ageing rock god with black nail polish who's strutting his stuff with an increasingly confused sense of direction. Cruise, as ever, is game for the challenge, camping it up while unleashing a surprisingly hefty voice upon an unsuspecting world. Paul Giamatti adds value once again as his double-crossing manager, this time with a fraying mullet. Diego Boneta and Julianne Hough do a decent, if generic, job as Drew and Sherrie, the two innocents who fall in love while working in a rock bar on the Sunset Strip and cherishing dreams of stardom themselves. Catherine Zeta Jones cheerfully hams up her role as a groupie-turned-God-botherer, while Russell Brand gives an exhausting performance as Lonny, the club-owner's sidekick. The film is a little too long, and - given the choice available - I couldn't help wondering why they selected some of the drearier songs on offer, but if you switch your brain off and relax into the thumping beats of Eighties rock nostalgia, it's carried off with just enough pizzazz to make it fun.