Just Like Heaven (2005) 6/10

Starring : Reese Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo, Donal Logue, Dina Spybey, Ben Shenkman, Jon Heder
Director : Mark Waters
Running Time : 93mins

A workaholic doctor called Elizabeth Masterson (Witherspoon) is in a car accident and wakes up to find that a stranger called David Abbott (Ruffalo) has moved in to her house. She soon realises that three months have passed, and that she is dead! As soon as she realises this, she starts fighting David, who is the only one who can see her ghost, in order to keep her home, but as they continue to argue they find a mutual attraction for each other.

Typical Hollywood slush with no surprise in the ending, but with some good moments, this is only really worth watching if you’re a) a woman, or b) trying to show a woman your sensitive side.

You’ll like this if you liked : All Of Me

Daddy Day Care (2003) 6/10

Starring : Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, Anjelica Huston
Director : Steve Carr
Running Time : 88 mins

Charlie (Murphy) and Phil (Garlin) are two fathers who both lose their jobs and wind up as stay-at-home dads. This situation gives them the idea to open their own daycare centre so they can make money whilst they look after their own kids, but things don’t go according to plan. Then, just when things start going right for them, they come to the attention of Gwyneth Harridan (Huston), head mistress of the Chapman Academy, who has single handedly driven all day care competition in the area out of business.

Whilst this is a nice enough family comedy, and the children are just rowdy enough to keep the fathers busy and the viewers entertained, this wasn’t Eddie Murphy at his finest. Now that he seems to be concentrating on his family movies to keep his own children entertained, he seems to be losing some of his edge, especially in his live action work.

You’ll like this if you liked : Cheaper By The Dozen

X2 (2003) 8/10

Starring : Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Rebecca Romijn
Director : Bryan Singer
Running Time : 128 mins

The X-Men return, this time faced with a new enemy in the form of William Stryker (Cox), who plans to eradicate all of mutantkind, starting with those in Professor Xavier’s school! An unlikely alliance is formed between the X-Men and Magneto (McKellen) as Stryker attacks, and Wolverine (Jackman) discovers some interesting facts about his past.

I enjoyed this much more than the third instalment, which just had too many character, all of whom seemed to either have the wrong powers or were just out of place. With this, there weren’t too many characters to keep track of, and the plot was simple enough to follow.

You’ll like this if you liked : Daredevil

Home On The Range (2004) 5/10

Starring : Judy Dench, Jennifer Tilly, Roseanne Barr, Randy Quaid
Director : Will Finn & John Sandford
Running Time : 77 mins

In Disney's 44th Animated Classic, three cows, upon discovering that their farmyard home is about to be sold from under them, decide to become bounty hunters and head off in search ofthe outlaw Alameda Slim (Quaid) in the hope of capturing him and claiming the reward.

Definitely no where close to being the best of the Disney Classics, Home On The Range still has it’s own unique charm about it. Sadly it seems this was the last of the classically animated Disney movies, with films like Chicken Little and Meet The Robinsons relying fully on computer graphics.

You’ll like this if you liked : Oliver & Company

The Da Vinci Code (2006) 6/10

Starring : Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Jean Reno, Paul Bettany
Director : Ron Howard
Running Time : 143 mins

Professor Robert Langdon (Hanks) is summoned to the Louvre to investigate a murder scene. There he is warned by Agent Sophie Neveu (Tautou) that his life is in danger and that Captain Bezu Fache (Reno) suspects him of the murder. After a series of near misses with the law, Langdon and Neveu pay a visit to Sir Leigh Teabing (McKellen) and discover that the murder and the events following are an elaborate attempt to hide the fact that Mary Magdellen was the wife of Jesus and that their descendents are still living amongst us!

Despite all the hype from the book, this film just wasn’t very good. At points it feels like it’s trying desperately to be an action thriller, but fails miserably as there just isn’t enough substance or action to keep this going for the two and a half hours it manages to drag itself out for!

You’ll like this if you liked : The Name Of The Rose

Scary Movie 3 (2003) 6/10

Starring : Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Charlie Sheen, Denise Richards, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Nielsen
Director : David Zucker
Running Time : 83 mins

Cindy Campbell (Faris) returns, this time as a reporter who discovers a number of world threatening events are about to take place, including killer video tapes, crop circles, and a potential alien invasion.

After seeing Scary Movie 2, I gave up all hope for the Wayans brothers. That movie just felt like a series of out-takes strung together into a nonsensical whole that had no actual flow to it. However, this third instalment, despite still not being brilliant, had the overall bonus of having nothing to do with the Wayans! At last all the stupid stoner characters were gone and we were left with an Airplane-esque movie that worked far better than before.

You’ll like this if you liked : Mars Attacks

Classic Friday : The Goonies (1985) 8/10

Starring : Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Ke Huy Quan
Director : Richard Donner
Running Time : 115 mins

A group of kids who are having to move from their home town due to it being turned into a golf course find a treasure map in an attic and go off in search of the long lost treasure of renowned pirate One-Eyed Willy. Unfortunately the starting point of their hunt is the hideout of the notorious Fratelli family, one of whom has just broken out of jail!

One of the most famous family movies of the 1980s, and arguably one of the best, The Goonies is also one of my all time favourites. I can’t really put my finger on what is so special about this, but the feeling of being in a teenaged Indiana Jones film has to be high on the list of things that this movie has going for it.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ghostbusters

The Prestige (2006) 9/10

Starring : Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Piper Perabo
Director : Christopher Nolan
Running Time : 125 mins

Robert Angier (Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Bale) are the best of friends and work together as Shemps to a famous magician. When Angier’s wife Julia (Perabo) dies during a performance, he blames Borden for her death. The two go their separate ways, but become obsessed with creating any magic trick that the other can not figure out. Borden begins to perform a trick called the Transported Man, but when Angier creates a similar illusion that seems completely impossible, Borden soon sets to work trying to find his secrets out.

This film was not at all how I imagined it to be. It was filled with enough twists and turns to keep any viewer on the edge of their seat, and even though the story starts at the end, we are still surprised by the movies turn of events.

You’ll like this if you liked : From Hell

Freddy vs. Jason (2003) 7/10

Starring : Robert Englund, Ken Kirzinger, Monica Keena, Jason Ritter, Kelly Rowland
Director : Ronny Yu
Running Time : 96 mins

Freddy Krueger (Englund) has become incredibly weakened since he was killed by his daughter, and his reliance upon haunting people’s nightmares is proving less than fruitful as the parents of Elm Street have been giving their children pills to surpress their dreams. So he decides to enlist the help of Jason Voorhees (Kirzinger), who goes on a killing spree in order to bring fear back to his home town. But when Jason becomes too good at his job, Freddy decides that he has to be stopped!

For what it is, this is an enjoyable horror romp. Englund’s Freddy seems to have been camped up considerably since the first movie, but is still an effective villain, whilst Kirzinger’s Jason remains intimidating.

You’ll like this if you liked : Final Destination 3

Welcome To The Jungle (2003) 8/10

Starring : The Rock, Seann William Scott, Rosario Dawson, Christopher Walken
Director : Peter Berg
Running Time : 103 mins

A bounty hunter named Beck (The Rock), who owes a lot of money to a local mobster, is sent to the Amazon to retrieve the mobster’s son Travis (Scott) who is down there in search of a rare golden idol. Things turn bad when local slave-driver Cornelius Hatcher (Walken) hears about the idol and comes after Travis in the hope of gaining the valuable artefact for himself.

This was a highly entertaining little romp in the vein of the Indiana Jones movies but without the supernatural element. The acting ability of The Rock seems to improve with age, and there’s a nice little nod to him taking over as Hollywood’s new action star through a cameo by Arnold Schwarzenegger, in which he seems to be passing on the torch.

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

Sin City (2005) 7/10

Starring : Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Rutger Hauer
Director : Robert Rodriquez
Running Time : 121 mins

Marv (Rourke) seeks revenge against the murderer of his one-night stand, Hartigan (Willis) aims to save Nancy (Alba) from being raped, and Dwight (Owen) has to get rid of a dead policeman’s body! All of this takes place in Basin City, the City of Sin!

Based on the comic book series by Frank Miller, Sin City is the ultimate modern Film Noir, consisting of a number of stories happening in and around the notorious Basin City. The unusual style of the film reflects Miller’s comic book perfectly, sometimes producing the scenes picture for picture.

You’ll like this if you liked : Brick

Legally Blonde 2 : Red White & Blonde (2003) 2/10

Starring : Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Sally Field, Regina King, Jennifer Coolidge, Bruce McGill, Dana Ivey, Bob Newhart
Director : Charles Herman-Wurmfeld
Running Time : 92 mins

Elle Woods (Witherspoon) gets her first legal job with congresswoman Victoria Rudd (Field) and attempts to use her influence to pass a bill to ban animal testing when she finds her pet dog’s mother in a research facility.

Even Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon would find it hard pressed to find any substance to this appalling movie. I thoroughly enjoyed the first Legally Blonde movie, which had a decent plot about an innocent woman on death row, but this was about an ill-treated Chihuahua. Simply put, this was one of the worst films ever committed to film!

You’ll like this if you liked : Miss Congeniality 2 : Armed & Fabulous

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005) 7/10

Starring : Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane
Director : Mike Newell
Running Time : 154 mins

Harry Potter returns for his fourth year at Hogwarts filled with a mixture of excitement and fear; excitement about the upcoming Triwizard tournament, into which he has been entered, and fear that Lord Voldemort may soon return, based on the fact that his Death Eaters seem to be gaining in strength.

Whilst not as good as the previous film, despite being adapted from what I feel is the strongest book, this is still a fine childrens adventure. The only real problem is, again, the overall length. Over two and a half hours is far too long for a childrens film, and I’m sure this could quite easily have been edited down if someone had put some thought into it.

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

Daredevil (2003) 5/10

Starring : Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Jon Favreau, Joe Pantoliano
Director : Mark Steven Johnson
Running Time : 99 mins

Matt Murdock (Affleck) was involved in an accident as a child which made him go blind, but heightened his other senses to compensate. As a result, he becomes the Daredevil and fights injustice both on the streets and in the courts in his day job as a lawyer. When he comes up against the notorious Kingpin (Duncan), he finds himself fighting for his life against the deadly Bullseye (Farrell).

This wasn’t the worst superhero movie I’ve ever seen, but it could have been a lot better. Affleck wasn’t really suited to the role of Matt Murdock because, even when blind, he still looks too smug! And I never understood why Garner had to wear those green contact lenses – Elektra had brown eyes anyway, so why bother?

You’ll like this if you liked : Batman Begins

Brother Bear (2003) 8/10

Starring : Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Suarez, Jason Raize, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, D B Sweeney
Director : Aaron Blaise & Robert Walker
Running Time : 84 mins

In Disney's 43rd Animated Classic, an Inuit hunter named Kenai (Phoenix), whose brother is killed by a bear, seeks vengeance and murders the animal. This act releases an ancient curse which turns him into a bear, and forces him to see the world through the eyes of his victim. His only hope for redemption is to make friends with younf bear cub Koda (Suarez), and learn the true meaning of brotherhood.

I thoroughly enjoyed this rightfully named Disney Classic. It had the wonderful feeling of those Disney movies from the early to mid nineties, but with better characterisation and with a far more surprising ending than anything made before. It’s just a shame that Disney seem to have decided to stop making this kind of film, just when they were finding their footing again.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Lion King

The Night Listener (2006) 5/10

Starring : Robin Williams, Toni Collette, Joe Morton, Bobby Cannavale, Sandra Oh
Director : Patrick Stettner
Running Time : 77 mins

Gabriel Noone (Williams) is a radio show host who is introduced over the phone to a young boy who has written a book about his terrible childhood, but when Noone’s ex-boyfriend (Cannavale) comments that the boys voice sounds the same as that of his careworker, Donna (Collette), Noone finds himself questioning if the boy ever existed.

A very strange film, which never really answers any questions, mainly due to the fact it’s based on a true story. Williams does come across in a very mixed way, sometimes funny and sometimes creepy, but never really 100% suited to the role, and some of the choices in camera focus make us the viewer believe that the child must have existed because we’ve seen him!

You’ll like this if you liked : Single White Female

Classic Friday : A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1966) 8/10

Starring : Zero Mostel, Phil Silvers, Michael Crawford
Director : Richard Lester
Running Time : 94 mins

Pseudolus (Mostel) has only one wish in life – to buy his freedom and no longer be a slave. When his young master, Hero (Crawford) falls in love with a virgin from the House Of Lycus, Pseudolus sees his opportunity to interfere and gain his freedom by making a deal with the naïve youth.

This movie, based on the hit Broadway musical, is a classic that no-one should miss. One of only a few films to feature Zero Mostel (who, strangely enough, was laso in The Producers), this movie seems to have been imitated a number of times, most noteably with Up Pompeii and, to a lesser degree, Monty Pyhton’s Life Of Brian. And, like the Producers, I suspect it won’t be long before there’s a remake in the offing!

You’ll like this if you liked : Carry On Cleo

Resident Evil : Apocalypse (2004) 6/10

Starring : Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr, Thomas Kretschmann, Iain Glen
Director : Alexander Witt
Running Time : 90 mins

Following directly on from the first movie, Major Cain (Kretschmann) has ordered the Hive to be reopened, but the contamination hasn’t yet subsided and soon the residents of Racoon City become infected and go on the rampage. Meanwhile, Alice (Jovovich) awakes to find the city in ruin, and goes in search of not only survivors, but her friend who has been transformed by the virus into a seemingly unstoppable monster!

Whilst not as good as the original, which was surprisingly good, this still had all the action you would expect from a horror film based on a computer game. The main thing it lacked was the claustrophobia of the first film as, despite them being trapped in the city, they weren’t underground or completely cut off from the rest of the world.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Evil Dead

Sideways (2004) 8/10

Starring : Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh
Director : Alexander Payne
Running Time : 127 mins

Jack (Church) is due to get married, so he and his best friend Miles Raymond (Giamatti) go on a wine-drinking weekend through California in celebration. Where Miles think this will be a nice way of marking the end of Jack’s single life, Jack just thinks of the weekend as an excuse to fit in one more sexual conquest before his wedding day.

It’s amazing that such a good film can have so few sympathetic characters; Church is a complete bastard, Giamatti steals from his own mother, it’s only Sandra Oh that I really felt sorry for at any point in the film. Despite this fact, the movie remained entertaining, yet at points it was cringingly painful to watch.

You’ll like this if you liked : Little Miss Sunshine

Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003) 6/10

Starring : Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Willem Dafoe
Director : Robert Rodriguez
Running Time : 97 mins

The mysterious and nameless El Mariachi (Banderas) returns in this third instalment, now living in isolation and wanting to lead a peaceful life. Unfortunately for him, ee is forced out of hiding when corrupt CIA Agent Sands (Depp) recruits him in order to prevent an assassination plot against the president of Mexico, which has been conceived by the evil cartel kingpin Barrillo (Dafoe).

Although nowhere near as good as Desperado, this was still quite an enjoyable film, Depp is, as always, very good, and Hayek looks incredibly sexy. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough substance to the movie, and the idea of another sequel doesn’t sound very palletable to me.

You’ll like this if you liked : Leon

American Wedding (2003) 7/10

Starring : Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Eugene Levy
Director : Jesse Dylan
Running Time : 96 mins

In this, the third instalment of the decreasingly popular American Pie series, Jim Levenstein (Biggs) finally proposes to Michelle Hagerty (Hannigan). Their plans for the wedding are going swimmingly until Steven Stifler (Scott) finds out and wants to throw Jim a bachelor party! And once Stifler becomes involved it seems that whatever can go wrong will go wrong...

Probably the last of the good American Pie movies (I couldn’t honestly comment on the others as I didn’t stoop low enough to watch them – maybe one day) and still filled with enough toilet humour to keep even the most hardened teenager entertained for the duration.

You’ll like this if you liked : Meet The Fockers

Batman Begins (2005) 6/10

Starring : Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Ken Watanabe
Director : Christopher Nolan
Running Time : 132 mins

Bruce Wayne (Bale), after having witnessed the murder of his parents as a child, becomes obsessed with avenging the wrong-doings of the world. Having spent some time in the East, where he had been training with the ninja cult leader Ra's Al-Ghul (Watanabe), he returns to Gotham City to find it is now basically being controlled through crime. This pushes him into becoming The Batman, and the rest is history!

This is one of the few DC Comic movies that actually based itself, at least in part, on the original source material. Despite this fact, I thought it was still a little too slow going and, much like the comics, expected the viewer to suspend their disbelief a little too often.

You’ll like this if you liked : Daredevil

Pirates Of The Caribbean : The Curse Of The Black Pearl (2003) 8/10

Starring : Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush
Director : Gore Verbiski
Running Time : 135 mins

In the first installment of the popular trilogy, Elizabeth Swann (Knightly) is kidnapped by evil pirate Captain Barbossa (Rush), and the only person willing to try and save her is blacksmith Will Turner (Bloom) who is head over heals in love with her. He teams up with rascally rogue Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) and together they go in search of the pirate ship The Black Pearl, not suspecting that the crew are all under an ancient curse.

This is a fantastic family film; chock-filled with action, romance, and scary zombie pirates, this has something for everyone! Johnny Depp is extraordinary as Jack Sparrow, and Geoffrey Rush plays the bad guy to full effect.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Goonies

Final Destination 2 (2003) 8/10

Starring : Ali Larter, A J Cook, Michael Landes, Tony Todd
Director : David R Ellis
Running Time : 90 mins

Kimberley Corman (Cook) has a premonition that there is going to be a major car accident on a nearby motorway. Low and behold the premonition comes true, but only after she manages to save a group of people from dying in the disaster. Just like in the first film, the survivors have to die in a particular order, but due to the intervention of Officer Thomas Burke (Landis) everyone is going to die in reverse order, with the first victim last! Hoping to get some more information to help her survive, Kimberley visits Clear Rivers (Larter), the sole survivor from Flight 180.

When I heard about this film I actually tried to avoid it, thinking there were already too many bad horror sequels doing the rounds, but when I saw it on TV a few years later I was pleasantly surprised. In many ways this could really be the best of the three (so far) movies, but obviously it will never be thought of as being as original as the first.

You’ll like this if you liked : Final Destination 3

Charlie's Angels Full Throttle (2003) 3/10

Starring : Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Bernie Mac, Demi Moore
Director : McG
Running Time : 106 mins

The Angels return in this incredibly weak sequel, this time being sent undercover to retrieve two missing wedding rings that contain the new identities of every person in the FBI's Witness Protection Program. As people start dropping like flies, the Angels have to go undercover to find the evil mastermind behind the murders.

This was, to put it simply, awful! I actually had to look up the plot on the internet to know what happened, I was that bored watching this rubbish. Regardless of the fact that the Angels look pretty hot throughout this movie, the fact that there was no real substance or actual storyline left my wishing I’d never started watching the thing.

You’ll like this if you liked : Agent Cody Banks

Spider-Man 3 (2007) 8/10

Starring : Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Topher Grace, Thomas Haden Church, Bryce Dallas Howard, James Cromwell
Director : Sam Raimi
Running Time : 140 mins

Everything in the life of Peter Parker (Maguire) is going great, but when a strange alien substance bonds with him, bringing out his worst qualities, things start to go downhill fast. Coupled with the fact that he discovers the real killer of his Uncle Ben is still alive and well, Parker becomes quite the anger filled individual. Having finally realised that the substance that makes up his new costume is having a negative affect on him, he vows to rid himself of it forever, but once free of Peter the costume sets its sights on discredited photographer Eddie Brock (Grace).

Although very long, and containing unnecessary scenes which could have quite easily been cut from the film, this was a definite improvement on the second instalment, especially the effects for when Flint Marko becomes the Sandman. There’s was a good mix of conversation and action scenes, the characters flowed well from the previous movie, but my main gripe was the opening and closing of the film, both of which had parts that seemed quite unnecessary.

You’ll like this if you liked : Spider-Man 2

Classic Friday : The Blues Brothers (1980) 9/10

Starring : John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Carrie Fisher
Director : John Landis
Running Time : 126 mins

Jake Blues (Belushi) is let out of prison and, when visiting the orphanage he was brought up in with his brother Elwood (Aykroyd), they discover it’s going to be closed down if the nuns can’t raise $5,000 in the next 11 days! Accepting their "mission from God", the brothers hastily attempt to reform their band to hold a concert in order to raise the money, whilst trying to avoid the police and Jake’s bitter ex (Fisher).

If you haven’t seen this, then you’re probably dead inside. Although not the best comedy ever written, it is definitely one of the silliest! The plot is feeble to say the least, but the set pieces are great and the amount of guest singers they managed to dig up is phenomenal!

You’ll like this if you liked : Neighbours

The Break-Up (2006) 8/10

Starring : Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston, Joey Lauren Adams, Jon Favreau
Director : Peyton Reed
Running Time : 102 mins

Following a disastrous dinner with their respective families, Brooke Meyers (Aniston) decides to break-up with her boyfriend Gary Grobowski (Vaughn) in the hope that he’ll change when he realises he misses her, but Gary isn’t ready to budge and thinks that it’s all over. The other major problem is their shared condo, which is too expensive for either one to own alone, so what follows is a series of petty one-upmanships in an attempt to prove who is in the right.

Whilst this wasn’t a laugh-out-loud comedy, I still found it enjoyable. Rather than being filled with ridiculous slapstick, the makers have opted to go for the subtle approach and fill the movie with clever mind games rather than prat-falls and one-liners.

You’ll like this if you liked : You, Me And Dupree

Bulletproof Monk (2003) 8/10

Starring : Chow Yun-Fat, Sean William Scott, Jaime King, Karel Roden, Victoria Smurfit, Mako
Director : Paul Hunter
Running Time : 101 mins

A nameless Monk (Yun-Fat) has been set the task of protecting a valuable scroll for the past 60 years, and now needs to find someone to take over that role. So, when he is saved from capture by a young man named Kar (Scott), the two join forces to try and stop the scroll from falling into the wrong hands.

I liked this film, it was very silly and had some nice fight scenes and classic deadpan comedy from Yun-Fat. Scott was his usual sarcastic self to full effect, and though perhaps not up to his usual comedy magic he was still entertaining. My only problem was the obvious Nazi motif that seems to be getting overused a lot in recent years, perhaps in a futile hope to relive the classic Indiana Jones years.

You’ll like this of you liked : Welcome To The Jungle

Hitch (2005) 8/10

Starring : Will Smith, Eva Mendes, Kevin James, Amber Valletta
Director : Andy Tennant
Running Time : 115 mins

Alex Hitchens (Smith) calls himself "The Date Doctor", helping single men with words of advice in how to get that woman they’ve always wanted, but when he meets a gossip columnist named Sara (Mendes) he soon realises that, even with every trick in the book to hand, she’s not going to be an easy target. Things get worse when Sara starts to write a story on wealthy socialite Allegra Cole (Vallenta), who has begun dating one of Hitch’s clients, Albert Brenneman (James)!

A pretty decent film, Smith is amiable enough in the lead role, and doesn’t come across as being too up himself. It’s unusual to see him in a film as the romantic lead, but this proved that he isn’t all about action or slapstick, although there is still a fair bit of slapstick in this movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : My Super Ex-Girlfriend

Dreamcatcher (2003) 7/10

Starring : Thomas Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Morgan Freeman
Director : Lawrence Kasdan
Running Time : 128 mins

Four friends go on their annual hunting trip and meet a man who has been lost in the woods for the last few days. They soon discover that he has been infected with an alien virus and that the military are trying to quarantine the area as quickly as possible.

This was a pretty good adaptation of Stephen King's novel, right up until the ending which was completely changed! I couldn't believe it when everything started going in a ridiculous and confusing new direction, and it made the rest of the film feel weak in comparison.

You'll like this if you liked : It

Bringing Down The House (2003) 6/10

Starring : Steve Martin, Queen Latifah, Eugene Levy, Joan Plowright, Jean Smart
Director : Adam Shankman
Running Time : 103 mins

Peter Sanderson (Martin) plays a straight-laced attorney who meets Charlene Morton (Latifah) on a dating site, believing her to be a lawyer. When she arrives at his front door one day, it turns out that she's an escaped prisoner who wants his help to clear her name. So, when he refuse to help her, she decides to pester him until he will, and all hell breaks loose!

This was a pretty formulaic movie, with lots of stereotyped characters and obvious set-pieces, but would probably go down well as a simple family film, so long as you're not looking for anything too intellectual.

You'll like this if you liked : Cheaper By The Dozen

American Splendor (2003) 7/10

Starring : Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Harvey Pekar
Director : Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
Running Time : 88 mins

This is the Biopic of Harvey Pekar (Giamatti), an unusual comic book writer who published underground books full of little stories from his life. From his early days as a filing clerk to his high success in the 80s as a comic book writer, we are given an incite into his sad, lonely life through a number of interviews with himself, his wife, and the people who know him best; his friends.

This was an interesting blend of film and documentary, with actors performing scenes in between interviews with Pekar and his associates. Giamatti is excellent in the lead role, and the presence of the actual Harvey Pekar just makes his performance seem even better.

You'll like this if you liked : Crumb

The Edukators (2004) 7/10

Starring : Daniel Bruhl, Julia Jentsch, Stipe Erceg, Burghart Klaussner
Director : Hans Weingartner
Running Time : 124 mins

Jule (Jentsch) is up to her eyes in debt after causing 100,000 Euros worth of damage to the car of a rich businessman named Hardenburg (Klaussner). When she finds out that her new friends Jan (Bruhl) and Peter (Erceg) are "The Edukators", a rebellious group who break into rich people's homes and rearrange their furniture to freak them out, she begs Jan to take her to Hardenberg's house so they can do the same to him. Unfortunately he turns up, and they are forced to kidnap him so they won't get caught.

This was actually a really good film, and despite being over two hours long the time really flew by! Definitely worth watching if you can handle the subtitles, as there's a lot of conversational scenes.

You'll like this if you liked : Sideways

Classic Friday : Idle Hands (1999) 8/10

Starring : Devon Sawa, Seth Green, Elden Henson, Jessica Alba
Director : Rodman Flender
Running Time : 88 mins

Anton Tobias (Sawa) is a complete slacker. Then one morning he wakes up to find that both his parents have been murdered and turned into Halloween decorations! He soon discovers that he killed them, or more accurately his right hand, which has been possessed by the Devil! In a desperate attempt to stop himself from killing again, following the murder of his best friends Mick (Green) and Pnub (Henson) he chops his own hand off, but it runs off on its own, and is after Molly (Alba), the girl at school that Anton loves.

One of the silliest horror films I've ever seen, and therefore one of my favourites, this film is perfect for anyone who enjoyed The Evil Dead or Shaun Of The Dead.

You'll like this if you liked : Shaun Of The Dead

King Kong (2005) 7/10

Starring : Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Colin Hanks, Andy Serkis
Director : Peter Jackson
Running Time : 187 mins

Director Carl Denham (Black) has just lost his leading lady for his latest film, so hires vaudeville performer Anne Darrow (Watts) to take on the role. His plan to aid in his flagging career is to travel to Skull Island to investigate the legend of Kong, a giant ape that lives on the fables island but, when they get there, they are attacked by the natives and Darrow is kidnapped as an offering to the God-like gorilla!

Basically this film was all about the effects; Kong looks fantastic, with even the tiniest detail painstakingly thought through in his design, as do the islands resident giant lizards. The main problem was that, as with much of Jackson's work, it was just too long!

You'll like this if you liked : Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man's Chest

Finding Nemo (2003) 9/10

Starring : Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould
Director : Andrew Stanton
Running Time : 96 mins

A clown fish named Marlin (Brooks) is horrified when his only son Nemo (Gould) is stolen from him by a scuba divers. Not wanting to lose his only living family member, as his wife died a year earlier, Marlin joins forces with an absent-minded fish called Dory (DeGeneres) and travels in search of his missing boy.

This was by far Pixar's most attractive film so far. The colours and the patterns of the water were sublime, and the characters were heart-warming and immediately captivating. This is probably my favourite of the Pixar films, although it's a close thing with Toy Story.

You'll like this if you liked : Shark Tale

Severance (2006) 7/10

Starring : Danny Dyer, Laura Harris, Tim McInnerny
Director : Christopher Smith
Running Time : 92 mins

The staff of the sales department for a multi-national defence company go on a team building weekend in Hungary. They are abandoned by their bus driver when they are forced to take a detour, and end up having to walk to their hotel, but where they end up isn't their hotel at all!

This wasn't a bad movie, although Danny Dyer was very annoying and Laura Harris just seemed like a piece of wood. However, Tim McInnerney was very good and played both coward and hero to the best of his abilites.

You'll like this if you liked : Hostel

Anger Management (2003) 7/10

Starring : Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei
Director : Peter Segal
Running Time : 106 mins

Following an incident on a plane, Dave Buznik (Sadler) is forced to go to anger management classes. As part of the class, anger management teacher Doctor Buddy Rydell (Nicholson) moves in with him in an attempt to cure him of his angry ways. The problem is, Dave isn’t an angry person, in fact he’s let people walk all over him his entire life, and the therapy is actually having the reverse affect to that of its intentions.

This was, in hindsight, an enjoyable film. A lot of the concepts felt wrong while I was watching it, but once it reached it's conclusion things made a little more sense. It's a real case of role reversal with the actors, however, as Sandler is sympathetic whilst Nicholson is very annoying.

You'll like this if you liked : 50 First Dates

Shrek 2 (2004) 8/10

Starring : Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, Julie Andrews, Antonio Banderas, John Cleese, Rupert Everett, Jennifer Saunders
Director : Andrew Adamson & Kelly Asbury
Running Time : 86 mins

Princess Fiona (Diaz) receives a letter from her parents (Andrews & Cleese) to bring her new husband Shrek (Myers) to dinner so they can meet him. Her parents, however, don't realise that Shrek and the Princess are both ogres and are horrified at the discovery. The king is then visited by Fiona's fairy Godmother (Saunders), who reminds him that his daughter had been promised to Prince Charming (Everett), the Godmother's son, and she plans on making him fulfill that agreement!

Not as good as the original, but better than a lot of the half-hearted animated movies that have been floating around in recent years. Still full of excellent visual humour, and the cast still seem fresh and enthusiastic about the characters they play.

You'll like this if you liked : The Incredibles