Classic Friday : One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975) 9/10

Starring : Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, William Redfield
Director : Milos Forman
Running Time : 128 mins

A classic in the truest sense of the word Nicholson plays McMurphy, a prisoner who thinks he can get out of working in prison by pretending to be mad and getting transferred to an institution. Things don't work out well for him when he realises that the nurse in charge will do anything to keep him there, even past the length of his sentence.

Some fantastic performances, not just from the deservedly Oscar winning Nicholson and Fletcher, but the supporting cast, including a very young Brad Douriff, Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito, are equally up to the challenge of playing mental patients.

You'll like this if you liked : Girl, Interrupted

Meet The Fockers (2004) 7/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisand, Blythe Danner, Teri Polo
Director : Jay Roach
Running Time : 115 mins

Despite being nowhere near as good as Meet The Parents, there are still enough laughs in this film to keep most people entertained. This time around Greg (Stiller) has invited his future parents-in-law (De Niro & Danner) to stay with his parents (Hoffman & Streisand) who they are meeting for the first time in preparation for the impending wedding.

As with most sequels, you can get too much of a good thing. Thankfully this wasn't another Miss Congeniality 2, and did have some positive merits all of its own.

You'll like this if you liked : American Wedding

Madagascar (2005) 7/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen
Director : Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
Running Time : 86 mins

A group of animals at New York's Central Park zoo are accidentally shipped on board an African freighter and find themselves stranded in Madagascar. The animals, who have all been raised in captivity, are faced with the reality of having to cope in the wild, and the dangers they could face from each other.

This was an entertaining enough film, with a lot of jokes for both children and adults alike, although the plot was a little bit basic to fill the full hour and a half. The penguins were underused too, although their own cartoon short was pretty good!

You'll like this if you liked : Shrek 2

Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man's Chest (2006) 8/10

Starring : Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Bill Nighy
Director : Gore Verbinski
Running Time : 144 mins

In the sequel to the 2003 box office smash, Johnny Depp returns as Captain Jack Sparrow, this time trying to save his soul from becoming enslaved by Davy Jones. He again enlists the aid of Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightly), but it's a race against time to save him from eternal damnation!

Despite the surprising level of negative feedback for this film from the critics, this was actually very entertaining. Johnny Depp once again proves that almost anything he touches turns to gold by playing yet another of his increasing repertoire of comical characters. There's plenty of action and enough new information about the characters to keep the viewers interested. The only draw back is this is very long, and doesn't have much in the way of closure due to the soon to be released continuation.

You'll like this if you liked : Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Clerks II (2006) 7/10

Starring : Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Trevor Fehrman
Director : Kevin Smith
Running Time : 98 mins

Dante (O'Halloran) and Randall (Anderson) arrive at the quick stop to find it burning to the ground. Now that they haven't got a place to work, they take on new jobs at Moobies, a fast food restaurant, which basically involved them insulting or offending their customers and generally lazing around.

This is by no means Smith's best work, although it was more enjoyable than Jersey Girl, but it still has the nice feel of being a fly on the wall during the discussions of strangers. My only problem with the film was that the main protagonists are so old now, and it shows!

You'll like this if you liked : Mallrats

Starsky And Hutch (2004) 6/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Snoop Dogg, Vince Vaughn
Director : Todd Phillips
Running Time : 96 mins

I'll be honest, when I heard they were remaking another classic TV show, and with Stiller & Wilson, I thought uh oh, big mistake! However, I was pleasantly surprised that, rather than trying to butcher everything the original show stood for and setting it in the present, this was made as a kitsch 70s homage to the original show, with some nice tongue in cheek humour thrown in for good measure. Definitely worth giving a go, and it's on BBC1 next week, so check it out!

You'll like this if you like : Anchorman : The Legend Of Ron Burgundy

Hostel (2006) 8/10

Starring : Jay Hernandez, Derek Richardson, Eythor Gudjonsson
Director : Eli Roth
Running Time : 92 mins

Three backpackers get locked out of their digs in Amsterdam. They are invited to another hotel and start chatting to a man who tells them about a youth hostel in Slovakia where you can find beautiful women who only want to sleep with tourists. When they get there, they start to disappear one by one until Paxton (Hernandez) realises that they're being kidnapped and sold to the highest bidder!

I really enjoyed this film, it had great pacing and wasn't too long. The lead up to the violence is capably managed to it's overall gruesome conclusion.

You'll like this if you liked : Saw

The 40 Year-Old Virgin (2005) 7/10

Starring : Steve Carell, Catherine Keener, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, Seth Rogen
Director : Judd Apatow
Running Time : 125 mins

When his work colleagues discover that he's a virgin, Andy Stitzer (Carell) fins himself being increasinly coaged into uncomfortable sexual situations with a wide variety of different women. He finally meets a woman that he thinks he could have a future with, Trish (Keener), but she's a mother of three AND a grandmother and wants to take things slowly.

This film did have it's moments, some of the set ups were genuinely funny, but it was just so damn long! The first time I saw it I thought it was too long, then I saw the uncut version! A little editing could have gone a long way to making this a great film!

You'll like this if you liked : There's Something About Mary

The Incredibles (2004) 8/10

Starring : Craig T Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L Jackson, Jason Lee
Director : Brad Bird
Running Time : 106 mins

The Incredibles is set in a world where superheroes used to be commonplace until a major influx of lawsuits lead to them having to go underground and hide their true identities. Many years later one of the cities most famous superheroes, Mr Incredible, is asked by a mysterious benefactor to come out of retirement, only to discover that a new and deadly enemy has surfaced, and he's out for Mr Incredibles blood.

This is another example of why Pixar were better off without Disney. Pixar made some thoroughly enjoyable films which are perfect for children and adults alike, and are full of clever humour and amazing animation. Now that they're owned by Disney they're making sub-standard films like Cars!

You'll like this if you liked : Mystery Men

Pan's Labyrinth (2006) 8/10

Starring : Ivana Baquero, Sergi Lopez, Ariadna Gil, Maribel Verdu, Doug Jones
Director : Guillermo del Toro
Running Time : 114 mins

Set in Franco's Spain during World War II, this movie focuses on the life of a young girl called Ofelia who is sent with her pregnant mother to live with her step-father, a murderous Spanish Captain. While there she meets a faun who sets her three tasks which will allow her to become the princess she once was in a past life.

A strange film, with a lot less fantasy than you might think, this is a wonderfully violent look at gothic fairy tales, where the imagined monsters are far less scary than the real ones.

You'll like this if you liked : The Chronicles Of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

Classic Friday : Licence To Drive (1988) 7/10

Starring : Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, Heather Graham, Carol Kane
Director : Greg Beeman
Running Time : 88 mins

In the 80s, a film was considered to be terrible if it had either of the Corey's in it. Like the Lost Boys, this had both! Despite that fact, this was one of my favourite films when I was about twelve, and it's just a shame it's not available on DVD in the UK yet!

Les (Haim) hasn't passed his driving test yet, but decides to take his grandpa's car out for a drive one night in order to impress Mercedes (Graham), the girl of his dreams. Unfortunately, and not strictly speaking through any fault of his own, more and more terrible things start to happen to the car!

You'll like this if you liked : Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Saw (2004) 8/10

Starring : Leigh Whannell, Cary Elwes, Danny Glover, Tobin Bell
Director : James Wan
Running Time : 98 mins

Two men wake up to find themselves chained up in a room with a dead body, neither of them remembering how they got there. On discovering a cassette tape in each of their pockets, Lawrence (Elwes) discovers that if he doesn't kill Adam (Whannell) before six o'clock, his wife and daughter will be killed. They are the latest victims of the Jigsaw Killer, a murderer who gets others to kill for him...

This had all the tension that you should expect in a psychological thriller, with just enough violence to keep die-hard horror fans engrossed in the plot.

You'll like this if you liked : Se7en

Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (2005) 8/10

Starring : Johnny Depp, Freddie Highmore, David Kelly, Helena Bonham Carter, Christopher Lee
Director : Tim Burton
Running Time : 114 mins

Charlie Bucket (Highmore) comes from a poor family who have never had anything good happen to them... until he wins a golden ticket to go on a tour of the newly opened chocolate factory owned by the mysterious Willy Wonka (Depp). There he meets a group of ungrateful brats who one by one get picked off through their own greed and ignorance!

Tim Burton directs an amazing version of Roald Dahl's childrens classic. Depp is suitably creepy as Willy Wonka, and Highmore is actually likeable as the eponomous hero. The sets are great, and original songs are used to great effect.

You'll like this if you liked : The Goonies

Casino Royale (2006) 8/10

Starring : Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelson, Judy Dench
Director : Martin Campbell
Running Time : 143 mins

Secret Service intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre (Mikkelson), banker to the world's terrorist organizations, is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game at Le Casino Royale. MI6 assigns James Bond (Craig) to play against him, knowing that if Le Chiffre loses, it will destroy his organization. The marathon game proceeds with dirty tricks and violence, raising the stakes beyond blood money and reaching a terrifying climax.

Arguably the best Bond film, Daniel Craig plays the character exactly right; both arrogant and witty, whilst also remaining smart and self-destructive!

You'll like this if you liked : Mission : Impossible III

Superman Returns (2006) 6/10

Starring : Brandon Routh, Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth, James Marsden, Parker Posey, Kal Penn
Director : Bryan Singer
Running Time : 154 mins

Superman (Routh) comes back to Earth after five years away only to discover that Lois Lane (Bosworth) is engaged to be married and has a small child. Worst thing of all, however, is that Lex Luthor (Spacey) is back up to his old tricks and has acquired some Kryptonite crystals which he plans to use to create a new continent which could cause a global catastrophe!

It's not that this was a bad film, it's just that Routh and Bosworth were both pretty wooden from the outset. Thankfully Spacey's performance helped to lift the movie a little, and I thought Parker Posey was excellent in her role.

You'll like this if you liked : X2

Scooby-Doo 2 : Monsters Unleashed (2004) 5/10

Starring : Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Seth Green, Alicia Silverstone
Director : Raja Gosnell
Running Time : 89 mins

In the second of the live action Scooby-Doo movies, and probably the last, the gang discover that someone has been taking ideas from the fake ghosts from their most famous cases and turning them into real ghosts! Comedy ensues, etc etc.

As usual, Warner Bros special effects aren't particularly convincing, especially as most of the budget was spent on animating Scooby-Doo and not on the ghosts themselves. Not as good as the first film, which I actually enjoyed, but Linda Cardellini looks surprisingly sexy as Velma.

You'll like this if you liked : Space Jam

Mean Girls (2004) 8/10

Starring : Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lizzy Caplan, Tina Fey, Tim Meadows, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert
Director : Mark Waters
Running Time : 96 mins

Cady Heron (Lohan), who up until recently has been brought up in Africa, is forced to start attending an American High School, a much different experience to what she's used to. There she meets Janis (Caplan), a girl who's considered part of the "out" crowd, who convinces her to infiltrate the "in" crowd in order to ruin the life of popular girl Regina George (McAdams).

Despite popular belief, I've thus far only ever seen two Lindsay Lohan films; Freaky Friday and this, and I actually thought this was pretty damn good. There's a lot of dark humour throughout, which some might find reminiscent of Heathers, but this is less violent and tries to go for the idea of redemption rather than death for all.

You'll like this if you liked : Heathers

The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005) 8/10

Starring : Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton, Reece Shearsmith, David Warner
Director : Steve Bendelack
Running Time : 89 mins

The characters from The League Of Gentlemen discover that their world is falling apart because their creators have started writing new characters and have forgotten about them, so some of them travel into the real world to convince their creators that they have some ideas left.

It's always worrying when a TV show you love gets made into a film. Nine times out of ten it's going to end in bitter disappointment. This is, at least in a small part, true of The League Of Gentlemen's Apocalypse. I secretly really liked the film, and liked the double bluff at the start where you're tricked into thinking the film will concentrate on different characters to those it does, but I felt that it fell apart in the middle with the plot about Geoff and The League's new script. It did pick up towards the end with a nice downbeat ending, plus it pointed out the stereotypes of their characters and fleshed them out a bit. I especially liked the development of Herr Lipp, and the increase in overall creepiness and melodrama.

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

Along Came Polly (2004) 5/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Jennifer Aniston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Debra Messing
Director : John Hamburg
Running Time : 86 mins

I really didn’t expect much from this, the adverts looked bad enough, but once I got into it, it wasn’t that bad. Ben Stiller plays a risk assessment manager for an insurance company who is phobic of everything exciting or different. On the rebound after his wife leaves him on their honeymoon, he runs into an old schoolfriend (Aniston) who he quickly starts dating. The problem is, she’s the exact opposite of him and enjoys everything dangerous and unusual!

On the whole, Stiller and Aniston are believable in their roles. There are some obvious set-pieces throughout, and Hoffman is really disappointing.

You’ll like this if you liked : Sweet Home Alabama

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) 6/10

Starring : Will Ferrell, John C Reilly, Leslie Bibb, Sacha Baron Cohen, Amy Adams, Gary Cole
Director : Adam McKay
Running Time : 122 mins

This is the sort of film that will probably only appeal to fans of Will Ferrell as he reverts back to form and plays another of his Saturday Night Live characters. This time Ferrell plays Ricky Bobby, a popular and successful race car driver who suffers an accident which makes him scared of driving. Following the accident he loses his wife and his house and is forced to move back in with his mother. His estranged father (Cole) shows up and tries to help him lose his fear, with some silly results.

Not Will Ferrell at his best (that would probably be when he plays bit parts in films like "Dick" or "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back") and a little on the long side. Some nice performances from the additional cast though, especially Cohen and Cole.

You’ll like this if you liked : Anchorman : The Legend Of Ron Burgundy

Classic Friday : Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) 9/10

Starring : Steve Martin, John Candy
Director : John Hughes
Running Time : 89 mins

Steve Martin stars as Neal Page, a businessman who has to travel home to his family for Thanksgiving, but finds that a snow storm has delayed all of his possible flights. On the way he meets Del Griffith (Candy), the worlds most irritating man, who suggests they try an alternative route. From then on chaos ensues.

This is probably John Hughes last great film (possibly with the exception of Uncle Buck) and marked the high point in John Candy's short career. A must see for anyone who likes comedies how they used to be.

You'll like this if you liked : Midnight Run

Collateral (2004) 8/10

Starring : Jamie Foxx, Tom Cruise, Mark Ruffalo, Jada Pinkett Smith
Director : Michael Mann
Running Time : 115 mins

Jamie Foxx plays Max, an LA cabbie who has the misfortune of picking up Vincent (Cruise), an assassin-for-hire. Vincent offers Max $600 to make five stops for him in one night, but after the first stop Max realises that he's in serious trouble and is being forced to drive Vincent to assigned destinations which could get him blamed for a series of murders!

A great little thriller, in which Foxx is nicely sympathetic and Cruise is surprisingly menacing. Mostly great acting, with maybe one or two acceptions.

You'll like this if you liked : Heat

Fantastic Four (2005) 7/10

Starring : Ioann Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Julian McMahon
Director : Tim Story
Running Time : 99 mins

This tells the story of four scientists who wind up with amazing abilities following an accident during a cosmic ray experiment. The accident causes something of a rift between Sue Storm (Alba) and her fiancee Victor Von Doom (McMahon), who has also been affected by the accident in a very different way to the others!

Despite some initially dubious casting, this actually turned out to be a pretty good super-hero movie! I always thought Chiklis was an excellent choice for the Thing, and McMahon always makes a great villain! The main problem with this story was the origin of the Fantastic Four, which was changed for the movie. I thought it worked quite well, but a lot of die-hard fans went ballistic when they saw the end result.

You'll like this if you liked : Lost In Space

The Girl Next Door (2004) 6/10

Starring : Emile Hirsch, Elisha Cuthbert, Timothy Olyphant, Chris Marquette
Director : Luke Greenfield
Running Time : 105 mins

Matthew (Hirsch) starts dating the girl who’s moved in next door, only to be told by his friends that she’s a famous porn star! Once this information becomes public knowledge, Matthew finds himself in all sorts of awkward situations.

Whilst this is a wonderful concept – who wouldn’t want to date a pornstar – and also brings up the problems you might face when dating someone in the porn industry, the acting isn’t really very good from the main two characters. Cuthbert is nice to look at, but is very one dimensional, and Hirsch isn’t believable in the lead role. Thankfully, some of the additional cast, namely Olyphant and Marquette, act well and give some realism to the film as a whole.

You’ll like this if you liked : American Wedding

Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004) 7/10

Starring : Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane
Director : Alfonso Cuaron
Running Time : 136 mins

Probably the best of the Harry Potter films so far, not in the least due to the presence of Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, this film sees Harry enter his 3rd year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry. This time the eponymous hero finds his life in danger when news gets out that convicted murderer Syrius Black has escaped from the magical prison Azkaban and is out to kill him!

This film may not be as long as the others, but it still feels too long for a childrens film. The effects aren't bad, but typically of the Warner studios you can still see the joins.

You'll like this if you liked : The Chronicles Of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe

Night At The Museum (2006) 6/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Carla Gugino, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney, Ricky Gervais, Robin Williams
Director : Shawn Levy
Running Time : 104 mins

This was actually quite entertaining, and Robin Williams wasn't in it enough to spoil the film. Ben Stiller plays a divorcee who takes a job at a museum to try to make his spoilt-brat-of-a-son proud of him. On his first night there he discovers that an ancient Egyptian curse brings all the exhibits to life during the night, and it's his job to make sure no-one escapes. Unfortunately, some of his co-workers have other plans for the golden tablet which contains the curse...

Although this was entertaining, and featured a number of cameos including memorable performances by Steve Coogan and Owen Wilson, I think this is mainly aimed at young children who are sure to find it both enchanting and informative.

You'll like this if you liked : Small Soldiers

Churchill : The Hollywood Years (2004) 5/10

Starring : Christian Slater, Neve Campbell, Jon Culshaw
Director : Peter Richardson
Running Time : 84 mins

This film was entirely aimed at people who understand the words spoof and satire. People who don't undestand these words should steer clear. Many people seem to think that Americans really do think that Churchill was a Yankee, but then they probably did! This tells the story of Churchill's involvement in World War II and his relationship with the Queen Of England. Some laughs can be found here, but not as many as I was hoping for. This could have been much better if a little more thought had been put into it.

You'll like this if you liked : The Pope Must Die

Wallace & Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit (2005) 8/10

Starring : Peter Sallis, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter
Director : Steve Box & Nick Park
Running Time : 84 mins

Wallace & Gromit have opened up a vegetable security company, keeping rabbits away from the precious veggies of the local community. Unfortunately, there's one mysterious beast that has eluded them so far, but where has it come from? And what does it have to do with Wallace's new invention to stop bunnies craving veg?

Although it may sound like a bad idea to take a thirty minute animation and try to make a film out of it, this worked wonderfully well. Full of nice sight gags, and great performances from all the actors involved, this film had genuine suspense and some nice chase scenes throughout.

You'll like this if you liked : Chicken Run

Spider-Man 2 (2004) 7/10

Starring : Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco
Director : Sam Raimi
Running Time : 122 mins

Despite not being as good as the first installment, Spider-Man 2 was still a pretty good film. I liked the version of Doc Ock that Molina played, he was a bit more human with more direction to his madness. Raimi stuck to his guns and continued to have lots of scenes with Maguire as Parker and not Spidey, paying his respect to the comic books of the 60s and 70s, as well as having scenes that reminded me strongly of his Evil Dead movies (specifically the activation of Ocks tentacles). Though the fight scenes still felt too CGI for my liking, this was a nice action-packed romance for the whole family. My only gripe was, once again, the "New Yorkers Rule" feeling to some of the set pieces.

You'll like this if you liked : The Incredibles

Hannibal Rising (2007) 1/10

Starring : Gaspard Ulliel, Rhys Ifans
Director : Peter Webber
Running Time : 116 mins

This film just wasn't very good. It takes two hours to explain that Hannibal started eating people because some German soldiers killed and ate his sister? It could have been done in five minutes! And then they tried to make it a twist that he ate her too? I'm sure that was covered in the previous movie (definitely in the previous book). Ulliel is reasonably creepy looking, but looks nothing like either Lector's of the past. The murders are far less grisly than in the previous installments, and shows that Harris's imagination is beginning to wane. Why this got an 18 certificate I'll never know!

You'll like this if you liked : Ed Gein

Classic Friday : Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982) 8/10

Starring : Steve Martin, Rachel Ward, Reni Santoni, Carl Reiner
Director : Carl Reiner
Running Time : 84 mins

This is definitely Steve Martin at his best. This is in my top five Steve Martin movies of all time along with The Man With Two Brains, Planes Trains & Automobiles, Little Shop Of Horrors and Bowfinger. Martin plays Rigby Reardon, a private detective who is hired by Juliet Forrest (Ward) to investigate her fathers disappearance. During his investigations, he meets the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Charles Laughton, Bette Davis, Vincent Price, Veronica Lake, Cary Grant, Lana Turner, and many more classic Hollywood stars. Reiner's use of clips and segments from classic Universal movies is done brilliantly.

You'll like this if you liked : Ed Wood

Seed Of Chucky (2004) 9/10

Starring : Jennifer Tilly, Brad Dourif, Billy Boyd, Redman, Hannah Spearitt
Director : Don Mancini
Running Time : 83 mins

Have you ever fantasised about watching members of S Club 7 burn alive and plummet to their death? Then this is definitiely the movie for you! This time the child of Chucky and Tiffany, going by the name of Shitface (Boyd), goes in search of his parents after seeing what he believes is them on TV. He accidentally reserects them from the dead (again!) and discovers they are homicidal maniacs! Much to his horror, Chucky and Tiffany go on a killing spree, finally kidnapping Jennifer Tilly so they can get real bodies once again!

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

White Chicks (2004) 4/10

Starring : Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Jaime King, Terry Crews
Director : Keenan Ivory Wayans
Running Time : 108 mins

Two FBI agents go undercover as white women to protect a couple of hotel heiresses from a kidnap plot, and comedy ensues. Or so you might think. This film was terrible! I've never liked the Wayans brothers - when Shawn Wayans character died in Dungeons & Dragons, I actually cheered, Scary Movie 2 was terrible, and as for Little Man... well, there was very little to redeem this film. The only true redeeming feature was Terry Crews who was absolutely brilliant! I'm glad he got his own TV show (Everybody Hates Chris), but he just left everyone in his shadow in this film.

You'll like this if you liked : True Identity

I, Robot (2004) 8/10

Starring : Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk, James Cromwell
Director : Alex Proyas
Running Time : 115 mins

Will Smith plays Detective Spooner, a technophobe who finds himself investigating the death of one of the men responsible for creating the robots that everyone uses as their own personal slaves. He suspects that one of the robots, which calls itself Sonny (Tudyk) may be in some way responsible for the scientists death. His investiagtions lead him to come under attack by a whole hoard of the new wave of robots, but why are they rebelling, and who is behind their rebellion?

An entertaining film, full of action, suspense and... did I say action?

You'll like this if you liked : Minority Report

Dodgeball : A True Underdog Story (2004) 7/10

Starring : Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Rip Torn, Justin Long, Alan Tudyk
Director : Rawson Marshall Thurber
Running Time : 89 mins

Vince Vaughn plays Peter La Fleur, owner of Average Joe's gym. When he discovers that he's close to being closed down unless he finds $50,000 to pay off his debts. Getting together with some of his loyal members, they come up with the idea of entering the Dodgeball tournement in Las Vegas, where the prize money can pay off La Fleur's debt. Unfortunately the owner of Globo Gym, Average Joe's main competitor, wants the gym closed down so that he can build a carpark for his gym on the land.

You'll like this if you liked : Kingpin

Miss Congeniality 2 : Armed & Fabulous (2005) 2/10

Starring : Sandra Bullock, Regina King, Enrique Murciano, William Shatner, Ernie Hudson
Director : John Pasquin
Running Time : 112 mins

When it comes to bad sequels to half-decent movies, it always helps to employ Regina King. After seeing Legally Blonde 2 : Red, White & Blonde (similar name, similarly bad) I should have known better than to watch this. Directed by a man who seems to specialise in Tim Allen movies, it's little wonder that this turned out to be such a poor excuse of a film.

In this pretty half-hearted effort, Sandra Bullock once again plays Gracie Hart, the dowdy FBI agent from the first film. This time she's undercover in LA, investigating the kidnapping of the current Miss USA and pageant judge Stan Fields (Shatner).

You'll like this if you liked : Legally Blonde 2 : Red, White & Blonde

AVP : Alien Vs Predator (2004) 8/10

Starring : Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen, Ewen Bremner, Colin Salmon
Director : Paul W S Anderson
Running Time : 98 mins

Despite what many reviewers have said, AVP was pretty damn good. The writers appear to have actually thought through what they were doing before making the film, and have tied in quite nicely to the existing franchise. The basic plot is Charles Bishop Weyland (Henriksen) discovers a strange pyramid in Antarctica and assembles a team to go and invistigate. Little do they know that the pyramid was constructed by Predator's thousands of years ago in order to train young Predator's in battle against Aliens! On the whole, pretty entertaining, and well worth a look.

You'll like this if you liked : The Thing

13 Going On 30 (2004) 6/10

Starring : Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, Judy Greer, Andy Serkis
Director : Gary Winick
Running Time : 94 mins

Jenna Rink (Garner) is an ordinary 13 year old who wakes up one morning to find herself 17 years in the future, living the life she might one day lead. She discovers she's a high powered business woman working for a popular fashion magazine, and is now best friends with one of the coolest girls from her school! The down side is she's fallen out of touch with Matt (Mark Ruffalo), who had once been her best friend, and she discovers just how horrible she had become ever since she turned thirteen. Despite having everything she could ever wish for, she now has practically no friends and no contact with her family.

This film wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Despite being a definite "chick flick", there's enough here to keep most men entertained too.

You'll like this if you liked : Big

My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) 6/10

Starring : Uma Thurman, Luke Wilson, Anna Faris, Rainn Wilson, Eddie Izzard
Director : Ivan Reitman
Running Time : 92 mins

As far as super-hero comedies go, this was pretty entertaining. Uma Thurman plays Jenny Johnson, a mild mannered gallery worker who meets Matt Saunders (Luke Wilson) when her bag is snatched by a mugger. They start to go out, but things start getting a bit too weird for Matt when he realises how controlling and jealous she can be. He breaks it off with her, only to discover that she is secretly the city's very own super hero, G-Girl! What follows is a series of petty vindictive acts by Jenny to get back at him for breaking her heart!

I was worried at first that Uma Thurman might be doing a repeat performance of Poison Ivy in Batman & Robin, but thankfully this was not the case. The movie was paced well, as with most if not all Ivan Reitman movies, and had a believable ending, unlike most Hollywood nonsense!

You’ll like this if you liked : Evolution

Team America : World Police (2004) 10/10

Starring : Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kristen Miller, Masasa, Daran Norris
Director : Trey Parker
Running Time : 98 mins

Gary Johnston (Parker), a successful Broadway actor, is approached by Spottswoode (Norris), leader of Team America : World Police, and asked to go undercover as a terrorist to find out the secret plans of Kim Jong Il for world domination. He is horrified to discover that Jong Il plans on killing all of the World Leaders, with the unwitting help of Gary's hero Alec Baldwin, at a Film Actors Guild conference for world peace!

Voted Best Comedy of 2004 by Empire, how can anyone not love a film with swearing puppets in it, let alone swearing puppets scripted by Trey Parker!

You’ll like this if you liked : BASEketball

Classic Friday : Clue (1985) 9/10

Starring : Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Khan, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, Lesley Ann Warren, Colleen Camp
Director : Jonathan Lynn
Running Time : 93 mins

A group of people who have never met before turn up for a dinner party and discover they are all being blackmailed by the host! When the host is then murdered, the group have to figure out which of them is the killer, before the killer tries to kill them too!

This is a much overlooked 80s classic! Based on the boardgame Cluedo, this film even has a choice of three endings, so you have the option of getting a random different ending each time you watch. With a whole group of famous names from the era, this movie is a definite comedy classic and a must watch!

You’ll like this if you liked : A Shot In The Dark

Final Destination 3 (2006) 7/10

Starring : Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman, Kris Lemche, Alexz Johnson
Director : James Wong
Running Time : 96 mins

Teenager Wendy Christensen (Winstead) predicts an accident involving a rollercoaster and manages to avoid it while saving some other people. Unfortunately death comes after the group in the order they should have died.

If you've seen any of the other Final Destination movies, you already know the plot. Nevertheless this is pretty easy watching, though not as original as the first two, which had some downright hilarious death scenes, but for what it was it was pretty good, and had a better ending than number two. My only grip with the film was the cause of the accident because, if you pay careful attention to the premonition, it seems to be caused by one of the kids on the rollercoaster, at least in part, but that kid doesn't get on the ride in the end. Something to think about, I'd say...

You'll like this if you liked : Urban Legend

Harold & Kumar Get The Munchies (2004) 9/10

Starring : John Cho, Kal Penn, Paula Garces, Neil Patrick Harris, Ryan Reynolds
Director : Danny Leiner
Running Time : 84 mins

After getting very stoned, Harold (Cho) and Kumar (Penn) get a craving for some Whitecastle burgers, but when they discover that the local Whitecastle has closed down, they find themselves on a mission to feed their hunger. On their journey they meet a number of unsavoury customers, including an extremely high Neil Patrick Harris!

What can I say? I loved this film. This is possibly the stupidest film I have ever seen, but in a good way! There are some ridiculout set pieces and some more than ropey special effects, but these all work together to make the movie great! Classic stuff with some ridiculous scenarios!

You’ll like this if you liked : Road Trip