Nacho Libre (2006) 2/10

Starring : Jack Black, Ana de la Requera, Hector Jimenez
Director : Jared Hess
Running Time : 88 mins

A monk named Nacho (Black) dons a mask and takes up wrestling in order to make money to help improve meals at the orphanage in which he works and to win the affections of attractive nun Sister Encarnación (de la Reguera).

Normally I like Jack Black films. School Of Rock was fantastic, High Fidelity was good, I love Shallow Hal, even King Kong wasn't as bad as people say, but this was terrible! Imagine my horror as I sit down to watch this, the day after watching Napoleon Dynamite, and discovering some very familiar opening credits. Imagine my further horror as I realise that those responsible for Napoleon Dynamite had more than a slight hand in this production. After watching this, I was almost tempted to bump my rating up on Dynamite!

You'll like this if you liked : Napoleon Dynamite

Serenity (2005) 8/10

Starring : Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite
Director : Joss Whedon
Running Time : 114 mins

A brother and sister who are on the run from a government agency who have been training children to be sleeper agents. They find themselves on board the Serenity, a sort of scavenger ship which sells it's services to the highest bidder. Unfortunately with the siblings on board the crew have to be very careful about who they do business with.

This film is a wonderful example of what happens when fans get angry about a TV show being axed! So high was the demand for a proper ending to the short-lived "Firefly" that Joss Whedon was coerced into making a movie to round off the tale. Although this is a nice piece of closure for fans of the show, it is still accessible to first time viewers.

You'll like this if you liked : Starship Troopers

Secret Window (2004) 6/10

Starring : Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Timothy Hutton, Charles S Dutton
Director : David Koepp
Running Time : 92 mins

Author Mort Rainey (Depp) finds his career in jeopardy when he is accused of plagiarism by a man named John Shooter (Turturro, who threatens to report him to the police and ruin his life unless he changes the ending to the story.

I had high hopes for this film when I sat down to watch it. One of Stephen King's better short stories, award winning actors playing extras, Johnny Depp in the lead role. Yet this was not a very satisfying movie on the whole. Despite this being well directed by David Koepp, whose direction in Stir Of Echoes was excellent, the plot developments were just too obvious (even if I hadn't read the story beforehand). It just seems that Hollywood will translate any of King's stories to the screen these days, as the recent appalling Nightmares & Dreamscapes series clearly indicates, and not make any effort to try and make it good!

You'll like this if you liked : Fight Club

Just Friends (2005) 7/10

Starring : Ryan Reynolds, Amy Smart, Anna Faris, Chris Klein
Director : Roger Kumble
Running Time : 96 mins

A fat kid named Chris Brander (Reynolds) grows up and gets into trim, then runs into Jamie Palamino (Smart), the girl he loved at school but never got to date as he was trapped in the "friends" zone. He tries his best to get together with her, but this only leads to a series of convoluted set pieces, most of which are actually quite funny.

Basically this is the typical romantic comedy you'd expect from the US in recent years. This isn't Ryan Reynolds at his best, but Anna Faris is very good (as usual - she's the only good thing about the Scary Movie franchise), and it's pretty clear that Kumble takes a lot of his ideas and gross out sense of humour from having worked with the Farrelly brothers. Definitely worth watching if you've got the time to spare.

You'll like this if you liked : Say It Isn't So

Borat : Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (2006) 8/10

Starring : Sacha Baron Cohen, Ken Davitian
Director : Larry Charles
Running Time : 84 mins

Kazakhstani TV personality Borat Sagdiyev (Cohen) is sent to the United States to report back on "the greatest country in the world", and to promote his home country in the process. Unfortunately he becomes distracted when he falls madly in love with Pamela Anderson.

Sacha Baron Cohen brings his comic creation to the big screen in one of the most controversial movies of recent years. There's some pretty disgusting and cringeworthy stuff makes up the premise for this film, but it's still rip-roaringly funny! No-one involved in this film is safe from Cohen's mocking humour, and it's no surprise how stupid the American public can appear!

You'll like this if you liked : Team America : World Police

Napoleon Dynamite (2004) 5/10

Starring : Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez, Aaron Ruell, Tina Majorino
Director : Jared Hess
Running Time : 91mins

Perpetual loner Napoleon Dynamite (Heder) decides to help one of his few friends, Pedro (Ramirez), to become school president in a series of increasingly silly plans just so he can make the school a better place than it would be under president contender Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff).

Basically I thought this film was a little too over-hyped for it's own good. I was expecting a masterpiece of cinematic beauty to grace my screen, instead I got a very slow and slightly boring film. Despite some interesting characters, and a great dance scene towards the end, nothing really happens throughout the film. It feels like it would work better as a series of three minute sketches rather than a 90 minute film.

You'll like this if you liked : Rushmore

Classic Friday : Police Academy (1984) 8/10

Starring : Steve Guttenburg, Kim Cattrall, G W Bailey, Bubba Smith, Donovan Scott, George Gaynes, Andrew Rubin, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook, Michael Winslow
Director : Hugh Wilson
Running Time : 93 mins

The mayoress of New York decides to relax the rules for allowing candidates into the Police Academy, resulting in a major influx of below average, obese and lazy recruits showing up in the hope of landing a job. Amongst the new recruits is Carey Mahoney (Guttenburg), who has been told that joining the police force is his only option to doing jail time, but he soon discovers that perhaps being a cop isn’t as bad as he first thought when he meets the lovely Karen Thompson(Cattrall).

The first and easily the best of the Police Academy series, this introduced us to a large number of the characters who would be so recognisable throughout the late 80s. The thing that probably made the series fall apart was the fact that the writers started getting a lot sillier after this first instalment, although I still enjoyed the majority of the movies.

You’ll like this if you liked : Porkys

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002) 7/10

Starring : Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Kenneth Branagh, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane
Director : Chris Columbus
Running Time : 154 mins

Harry Potter (Radcliffe) starts his second year at Hogwarts, following a warning that he should not return there. He starts hearing voices, and people begin to be found petrified all over school grounds, and when a connection to the Chamber Of Secrets is discovered, Harry finds himself getting the blame as he possesses the abilities to open the door to the chamber!

This instalment was slightly darker than the first, but still didn’t have the dark undertones of the following movies. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable romp, albeit a little on the long side.

You’ll like this if you liked : Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone

Kung Fu Hustle (2005) 9/10

Starring : Stephen Chow, Lam Tze Chung, Zhi Hua Dong, Xiaogang Feng
Director : Stephen Chow
Running Time : 95 mins

In 1940's China a slum area known as Pig Sty Alley is the only safe haven from the notorious Axe Gang. Sing (Chow) and his pal Bone (Chung) attempt to extort money out of a barber in the slum and fail, drawing the real Axe Gang to Pig Sty. However, it turns out that there are several kung fu masters living in the slum, and they decide to come out of retirement and try to put and end to the gang wars once and for all!

This is a great film, full of over-the-top action and great special effects! There are plenty of over the top set pieces and some of the special effects just look amazing. Plus, it's very funny! Don't miss out, watch this masterpiece as soon as you can.

You'll like this if you liked : Shaolin Soccer

Shaun Of The Dead (2004) 10/10

Starring : Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran, Penelope Wilton, Bill Nighy
Director : Edgar Wright
Running Time : 97 mins

Shaun (Pegg) is a directionless sales adviser who is hitting thirty and has just been dumped by his girlfriend Liz (Ashfield) who has become bored of their humdrum life together. Whilst he plans with his best friend Ed (Frost) on how to win back his girlfriend, a satellite crashes down to Earth, causing the dead to be reanimated and start craving human flesh.

Possibly one of the best romantic zombie movies of all times, this movie sparked the surprising international success of Simon Pegg, who has appeared in everything from Land Of The Dead and Diary Of The Dead to Mission : Impossible III and Run Fatboy Run. A definite must see for anyone with a pulse!

You'll like this if you liked : Army Of Darkness

Creep (2004) 7/10

Starring : Franka Potente, Vas Blackwood, Ken Campbell, Jeremy Sheffield
Director : Christopher Smith
Running Time : 81 mins

A woman named Kate (Potente) is attacked by a co-worker when she finds herself trapped in Charing Cross Underground station. She fights him off, then witnesses him being attacked by a mysterious humanoid figure. As she runs through the station and tunnels, she discovers a secret abandoned laboratory where genetic experiments seems to have taken place!

It might sound cheesey, but this was a pretty decent horror / thriller. The only let down, as with The Descent, was that the creatures weren't scary enough. In fact, when the first one showed up, I thought it was just another dead body!

You'l like this if you liked : The Descent

Brick (2005) 7/10

Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin
Director : Rian Johnson
Running Time : 105 mins

Brendan Frye (Levitt) is a school boy who find himself investigating the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend Emily (de Ravin). His search leads him to discover a mysterious underground crime ring, lead by the Pin (Haas), which may be responsible for Emily's disappearance or perhaps even her death!

I really liked this film. It flowed like a classic Bogart film noir, but with a younger cast to give it that slight edge. I thought it might end up being like Bugsy Malone, with kids playing gangsters, but this was far from being that light-hearted pie throwing film.

You'll like this if you liked : Donnie Darko

The Descent (2005) 7/10

Starring : Shauna McDonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Director : Neil Marshall
Running Time : 100 mins

A group of women go exploring in a cave system, only to discover that they have taken a wrong turn along the way and ended up in the wrong cave. As they become increasingly lost within the system, they discover that someone or something else is down there with them.

This is another one of those British horrors which I thought started off well, but once I saw the “creatures”, I was a little disappointed. Much like in ‘Creep’ the atmosphere is all set up very well, and the red herrings are excellent, but the ideas for the monsters is lacking in much imagination. There’s some nice acting in this; the writers didn’t want us to sympathise with the leads, it seems, so made the whole disaster the fault of one of the main girls. So, if you like your horror claustrophobic and bloody, try this movie on for size!

You’ll like this if you liked : The Cave

Without A Paddle (2004) 7/10

Starring : Seth Green, Matthew Lillard, Dax Shepard, Burt Reynolds
Director : Steve Brill
Running Time : 95 mins

Three childhood friends who’ve grown apart over the years go in search of the missing loot of a famed plane hijacker following the death of one of their friends. Unfortunately they take a wrong turn in their canoe and find themselves having to contest with mountain men, grizzly bears, hairy women and Burt Reynolds!

This film is actually pretty good, as long as you don’t expect intelligent jokes. Most of the comedy is pure toilet humour, but I like that! A pretty good film over all, especially considering that Dax Shepard irritates the hell out of me.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Goonies

Harry Potter And The Philosopher’s Stone (2001) 7/10

Starring : Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Richard Harris, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Ian Hart
Director : Chris Columbus
Running Time : 147 mins

Eleven-year-old Harry Potter (Radcliffe) discovers that he is a wizard and is rescued from his Uncle and Auntie and sent to Hogwarts school of magic. Once there he discovers he is considered to be very important in wizarding circles as he was the only person to survive an attack from the evil Lord Voldermort as a baby, but this revelation doesn’t necessarily make him any instant friends!

An enjoyable adaptation of the first Harry Potter novel, definitely aimed at children more than anyone else as the makers don’t seem too sure about who their target audience is. Despite this, there is still a lot to enjoy, and this truly did pave the way for the spectacular sequels.

You’ll like this if you liked : Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets

Red Eye (2005) 9/10

Starring : Rachel McAdams, Cillian Murphy, Brian Cox
Director : Wes Craven
Running Time : 82mins

Lisa Reisart (McAdams) finds herself being held hostage by maniac Jackson Ripner (Murphy), who threatens to kill her father if she doesn't change a politicians hotel room so that he can have him killed.

Well, to start off, what a great film! Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later and Batman Begins) is suitably scary as Jackson Rippner (nice pun) who holds the delectable Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls and The Family Stone) hostage. Wes Craven ably directs this, giving us just enough suspense to keep us on the edge of our seats, waiting for Rippner to eventually strike! I see a lot of good things coming from Rachel McAdams in the future, despite her relatively limited portfolio. Definitely worth watching!

You'll like this if you liked : Passenger 57.