Shrek (2001) 9/10

Starring : Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, John Lithgow
Director : Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
Running Time : 92 mins

When the evil Lord Farquaad (Lithgow) banishes all fairy tale creatures from the kingdom of Duloc, they all take up residence in a swamp belonging to an ogre named Shrek (Myers). He goes to Lord Farquaad to convince him to take back the fairy folk into his kingdom, and Farquaad agrees on the condition that Shrek rescues Princess Fiona (Diaz) from her prison tower, where she is guarded by a fierce dragon! So, with the help and hindrance of his new friend Donkey (Murphy), Shrek sets out to rescue the princess.

This is one of the best animated films in a long time, and came about at a time when Disney was losing a lot of its edge. The characters are all loveable and appeal to all age groups, as does the timeless tale itself, and the humour was good without being too over the top.

You’ll like this if you liked : Finding Nemo

Ghost Rider (2007) 5/10

Starring : Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Wes Bentley, Peter Fonda, Donal Logue, Sam Elliott, Matt Long
Director : Mark Steven Johnson
Running Time : 124 mins

In order to cure his fathers cancer, a young Johnny Blaze makes a deal with Mephistopheles (Fonda) to cure him, only to have his father taken from him in a nasty biking accident. Years later, the grown-up Johnny (Cage) finds himself following in his father’s footsteps as a stunt-bike driver, until he once again meets Mephistopheles who offers to free his soul if he becomes the fearsome Ghost Rider in order to kill his son, Blackheart (Bentley).

This had far too much CGI for my liking, and not just on Ghost Rider himself. Cage felt wrong for the part, a little too old and too southern for my liking. Bentley was almost laughable as Blackheart, and overall this just felt like a rush job with little or no thought put into the story line.

You’ll like this if you liked : Elektra

Pulse (2006) 5/10

Starring : Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian, Rick Gonzalez, Jonathan Tucker, Samm Levine
Director : Jim Sonzero
Running Time : 89 mins

When psychology student Mattie (Bell) finds her boyfriend Josh (Tucker) has hung himself, she discovers a link between his death and a powerful wireless signal which has been released into the internet. One by one all of her close friends succumb to the spirits that inhabit the signal, taking their will to live away and leading them to wither suicide or death!

Although this did improve towards the end, this started off so slow that is was difficult for the movie to keep my full attention. Depite some pretty creepy ghostly images, this just felt like another attempt by Hollywood to butcher what was probably a very fine Japanese horror.

You’ll like this if you liked : Soul Survivors

Igby Goes Down (2002) 7/10

Starring : Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman, Susan Sarandon
Director : Burr Steers
Running Time : 94 mins

Igby Slocumb (Culkin) is a teenaged boy who persues relationships with older women in an attempt to forget about the insanity of his father Jason (Pullman) and the cancer of his mother Mimi (Sarandon). He eventually moves to Manhattan after flunking out of every prep school he’s attended in one last ditch effort to not turn out like his parents.

Another one of those films that felt like it was aiming for cult status, yet somehow missed. Despite being quite entertaining, what with all the drama and pathos contained within it, there was something a little dry about some of the scenes which no amount of big name actors could disguise.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Rules Of Attraction

Classic Friday : Alien (1979) 10/10

Starring : Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto
Director : Ridley Scott
Running Time : 116 mins

The crew of the Nostromo receive an SOS from a derelict planet and discover what appears to be an abandoned alien colony. When they go to investigate, crewman Kane (Hurt) is attacked by a strange creature which burns through his helmet and attaches itself to his face. The creature eventually falls off and dies, but it’s left something inside Kane, something very dangerous…

This movie is a timeless classic – almost thirty years on and it still looks scarier than some modern horrors. Basically this is the ultimate claustrophobic horror movie, taking concepts from the horrors of the fifties and translating them into space, combining genuine terror with paranoia.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Thing

The Adventures Of Pluto Nash (2002) 4/10

Starring : Eddie Murphy, Randy Quaid, Rosario Dawson, Joe Pantoliano, Jay Mohr, Luis Guzman
Director : Ron Underwood
Running Time : 92 mins

Pluto Nash (Murphy) is a night club owner who is horrifed when his club is blown up by who he believes are mobsters. With his friends Bruno (Quaid) and Dina (Dawson), they travel the length of the moon to try and find out who was responsible for the dastardly deed.

If you think of this as anything other than a children’s film, you will be sorely disappointed. Primarily aimed at those who age or IQ hasn’t yet reached double figures, this movie simply had no mystery to it, and the sets were terrible to say the least!

You’ll like this if you liked : Garfield

Next (2007) 5/10

Starring : Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann
Director : Lee Tamahori
Running Time : 92 mins

Cris Johnson, (Cage) aka Frank Cadillac, is a low-end magician in Las Vegas, trying to hide the fact that he actually possesses the amazing ability to see two minutes into his own future. Unfortunately government agent Callie Ferris (Moore) has found him and wants his help in stopping a terrorist group from setting off a nuclear device in Los Angeles.

This just felt like a cheap version of The Dead Zone. The effects were pretty weak and the storyline relied purely on a single twist. Basically not worth watching unless you’re a die hard fan of any of the cast, and even then you might be better off just watching The Dead Zone.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Gift

Shanghai Knights (2003) 6/10

Starring : Jackie Chan, Owen Wilson, Fann Wong, Aaron Johnson, Aidan Gillen, Tom Fisher, Donnie Yen
Director : David Dobkin
Running Time : 114 mins

Chon Wang (Chan) discovers that his father has been murdered by Chinese rebels, and his sister Lin (Wong) has gone after them in search of revenge! He follows her to London with his trusty sidekick Roy O’Bannon (Wilson) to prevent her from making any life threatening mistakes, but together the group discover a terrible plot to destroy the Royal family.

Not Jackie Chan’s finest moment, but nowhere near his worst, this movie pretty much relies on bad jokes and racist comments about the English to carry it through nigh on two hours of silliness. Still, I did enjoy it, just not as much as Shanghai Noon.

You’ll like this if you liked : Rush Hour 2

Scary Movie 2 (2001) 3/10

Starring : Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans, James DeBello, Shawn Wayans, David Cross, Regina Hall, Chris Masterson, Tim Curry, Kathleen Robertson, Chris Elliott
Director : Keenen Ivory Wayans
Running Time : 83 mins

Professor Oldman (Curry) and his paralyzed assistant, Dwight (Cross), decide to do a research study at Hell House, the house where an exorcism took place a year before and went horribly wrong, and disguise it as a sleep disorder study. Things start to look bad as soon as Cindy Campbell (Faris) and her college friends arrive and discover that the house may well still be haunted.

Possibly the worst of the Scary Movie franchise, it’s a wonder that 3 and 4 ever got made after this. The Wayans brothers were kicked off the movies following this terrible effort, and thankfully they did somewhat improve, but this is just a sign of what happens when you make one spoof too many!

You’ll like this if you liked : White Chicks

Transformers (2007) 8/10

Starring : Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Anthony Anderson, Jon Voight, John Turturro
Director : Michael Bay
Running Time : 140 mins

When Sam Witwicky (LaBeouf) buys a new car, he soon discovers that it has a life of its own! The car is an Autobot, a mechanical alien from the planet Cybertron, and he and his comrades have come to Earth to recover the Allspark, a powerful cube that is also being sought out by their enemies, the Decepticons. Whoever finds the cube first will possess enough power to destroy their enemies and, as a result, the entire planet Earth!

I went into this with my eyes open, not expecting anything intelligent, just little more than a movie adaptation of a terrible 80s cartoon show, but this was surprisingly good, especially seeing as how it was directed by Michael Bay! To be fair though, Shia LaBeouf pretty much carried the movie, the robots were just a little too kitsch for my liking.

You’ll like this if you liked : Terminator 3 : Rise Of The Machines

The Number 23 (2006) 7/10

Starring : Jim Carrey, Virginia Madsen, Logan Lerman, Danny Huston, Lynn Collins, Rhona Mitra
Director : Joel Schumacher
Running Time : 103 mins

When Walter Sparrow (Carrey) is given a book by his wife Agatha (Madsen) entitled The Number 23, he discovers that the book appears to have been written about him, and that his entire world seems to be controlled by the number. As he reaches the books conclusion, cut short on Chapter 23, he finds that the author, Topsy Krett, might be a real murder, and he embarks on a mission to find the murderer and ask them what happened next…

A decent enough movie, Schumacher once again proving that the disaster of Batman And Robin was a one off fluke, this really shows that Carrey can act, and not only in comedies. He comes across quite well as the paranoid Walter, and is even quite menacing at times. The only problem I had with the film was the reason why his wife gave him the book, I couldn’t figure it out.

You’ll like this if you liked : Raising Cain

Ice Age (2002) 7/10

Starring : Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black, Cedric The Entertainer
Director : Chris Wedge
Running Time : 82 mins

A mammoth named Manny (Romano), a sabretooth tiger named Diego (Leary) and a sloth named Sid (Leguizamo) find a lost human baby and attempt to return it to it’s tribe as they try to escape the oncoming Ice Age which threatens to kill them all if they don’t migrate! During this, Scrat the squirrel attempts to rescue the last known acorn from the oncoming bad climate.

This was a pretty good movie, despite the animation being a little shaky. Despite not being as good as it’s sequel in terms of animation, this had a slightly stronger story line, making the films pretty equal overall.

You’ll like this if you liked : Brother Bear

Tomcats (2001) 6/10

Starring : Jerry O’Connell, Shannon Elizabeth, Jake Busey, Horatio Sanz, Jaime Pressly
Director : Gregory Poirier
Running Time : 95 mins

A group of friends make a bet with each other that the last remaining bachelor will win a pile of money off the others, but when Michael Delaney (O’Connell) loses all his money in Vegas, he has to try to get the remaining bachelors married off so he can get his money back!

Not the best movie in the world, but I thought it was quite entertaining. There was a real 80s feel to this, what with the pervasive views on sex and relationships, so it’s really a blokes film and probably wouldn’t be enjoyed as much by women.

You’ll like this if you liked : Porkys

4 : Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007) 8/10

Starring : Ioann Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Chris Evans, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Doug Jones
Director : Tim Story
Running Time : 89 mins

As Reed Richards (Gruffudd) and Sue Storm (Alba) prepare to tie the knot, a strange cosmic radiation signature is detected by the government, and the Fantastic Four are called in to investigate. What they find is an alien creature named Norrin Rad (Fishburne & Jones), colloquially known as the Silver Surfer, who has a terrible secret… every planet he has visited died 8 days later!

In many ways this was a lot better than the original movie. Obviously, as the origin is out of the way, the writers could concentrate on other aspects of the characters. It was a pretty big step to introduce Galactus, although you never see him, and the Surfer worked quite well, although some of the effects on him were a little bit suspect.

You’ll like this if you liked : Hellboy

Classic Friday : Back To The Future (1985) 10/10

Starring : Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, Thomas F Wilson, Claudia Wells
Director : Robert Zemeckis
Running Time : 111 mins

Marty McFly (Fox) is invited to witness his friend Doc Brown (Lloyd) unveil his latest invention – a time machine in the form of a DeLorean car, but when terrorists gun the Doc down, Marty has to jumps into the Doc’s car in order to try and escape. The time circuits are accidentally activated, and Marty finds himself in 1955, trying to make sure that his parents get together, or he may never exist!

This is probably the strongest movie the entire 1980s has to offer. The plot has been painstakingly thought through so as to avoid any possible plot holes, unlike other movies of it’s ilk. Both Fox and Lloyd are brilliant as the main two characters, and the supporting cast are energetic and clearly enjoying themselves throughout.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ghostbusters

1408 (2007) 8/10

Starring : John Cusack, Mary McCormack, Samuel L Jackson, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Tony Shalhoub
Director : Mikael Hafstrom
Running Time : 105 mins

Mike Enslin (Cusack) writes books about haunted locations in the USA. When he receives a postcard which reads "Don’t enter 1408", he can’t resist investigating the mysterious room at the Dolphin Hotel. He is told by hotel manager Gerald Olin (Jackson) that no-one has ever lasted an hour on their own in the cursed room, but Mike Enslin can’t resist a challenge and insists on staying… with terrifying results.

Based on the short story by Stephen King, this is actually a pretty good adaptation, considering some of the disasters that have graced our screens in the past. Cusack has the unenviable job of being the primary focus for a large portion of the film, but he manages to keep the viewer interested throughout. Definitely worth watching if you like classic King horror.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Shining

Resident Evil (2002) 8/10

Starring : Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Colin Salmon
Director : Paul W S Anderson
Running Time : 97 mins

In a secret underground installation called The Hive, a deadly virus is released into the air conditioning, killing all of the staff. The Umbrella Corporation, who own the facility, send in a crack military team to check for survivors, but what they discover is terrifying – the staff have all been turned into monstrous, murderous zombies! The military group have to fight for their lives against not only the zombies, but the installation itself, which seems to have the primary goal of killing everyone within it.

This film is surprisingly good – I was expecting a nonsensical, plotless mishmash of rubbish, cobbled together to sell more computer games, but this actually did have some depth to it, unlike predecessors such as Super Mario Brothers. Definitely worth checking out if you like your horror films to be nice and gory, but with substance.

You’ll like this if you liked : Dawn Of The Dead

Altered (2006) 6/10

Starring : Adam Kaufman, Paul McCarthy-Boyington, Brad William Henke, Mike C Williams
Director : Eduardo Sanchez
Running Time : 85 mins

A group of men capture what appears to be an alien and bring it to their friend Wyatt (Kaufman) so that they can exact revenge upon it for killing their childhood friend. Unfortunately the creature is incredibly dangerous and begins trying to disembowel them all.

Definitely not the best scary movie I’ve ever seen, and the alien special effects were ridiculously bad, but it had a certain charm to it that is rare in many modern horror films, reminiscent of the opening to Jeepers Creepers. Obviously enough this was brought to us by the makers of The Blair Witch Project, so cheap special effects come as no surprise!

You’ll like this if you liked : Dreamcatcher

Soul Survivors (2001) 3/10

Starring : Melissa Sagemiller, Wes Bentley, Casey Affleck, Eliza Dushku, Angela Featherstone, Luke Wilson
Director : Stephen Carpenter
Running Time : 84 mins

Cassie (Sagemiller) and her boyfriend Sean (Affleck) are in a car accident. Sean dies instantly, and Cassie barely comes out of the accident alive, but following the accident she starts to have strange visions of ghosts and spectres, and her friends begin to act very strangely towards her… to the point where she’s not sure what ‘s real anymore.

This movie made no sense at all. It tried to fill itself with twists and turns, but just ended up being incredibly confusing and unsatisfying! Plus the fact that it was a 12 certificate horror movie really made it a complete waste of time.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Others

Rocky Balboa (2006) 7/10

Starring : Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Antonio Tarver, Geraldine Hughes, Milo Ventimiglia
Director : Sylvester Stallone
Running Time : 102 mins

Ex heavy-weight champion Rocky Balboa (Stallone) has given up on boxing, instead putting his efforts into running his restaurant, named after his dead wife. But he comes out of retirement after being challenged by existing heavy-weight title holder Mason “The Line” Dixon following the current champs highly publicized defeat at the hands of Rocky in a computerized simulation.

This was quite a slow movie to begin with, crammed full of melodrama, but eventually we get down to the classic training and fighting we all loved from the originals. This is a definite must-see for all Rocky fans, and worth watching even if you didn’t enjoy the originals.

You’ll like this if you liked : Raging Bull

Cheaper By The Dozen (2003) 5/10

Starring : Steve Martin, Bonnie Hunt, Piper Perabo, Tom Welling, Hilary Duff
Director : Shawn Levy
Running Time : 94 mins

Tom Baker (Martin) gets his dream job coaching football at his old school, and is forced to take care of his twelve children in their new big city house while his wife Kate (Hunt) is on a book tour. As he tries to cope on his own with his new job and his dozen kids, his life begins to fall apart with disastrous and apparently hilarious results.

Just like Eddie Murphy, Steve Martin has begun to lose some of his charm as he makes more kiddie-friendly movies in his old age. Gone are the days of The Jerk and The Man With Two Brains as Martin attempts to make this hum-drum family comedy seem even remotely entertaining. If you liked him in Parenthood, chances are you won’t like him in this!

You’ll like this if you liked : Daddy Day Care

Spider-Man (2002) 8/10

Starring : Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Willem Dafoe, James Franco, Rosemary Harris, Cliff Robertson, JK Simmons
Director : Sam Raimi
Running Time : 118 mins

Peter Parker (Maguire) is a below average athlete and above average student at his local high school. Then one day he is bitten by a radioactive spider which gives him super-human powers. Eventually taking on the guise of Spider-Man following the death of his Uncle Ben (Robertson), Peter discovers that Norman Osborn (Dafoe), the father of his best friend Harry (Franco) has transformed himself into an unbalanced super villain named the Green Goblin, and is out for Peter’s blood!

A fantastic adaptation of the long running comic book, with Tobey Maguire and Willem Dafoe excellently cast as their respective characters. I can’t imagine anyone could have made this origin movie better than Sam Raimi, who seems to understand perfectly how the characters work.

You’ll like this if you liked : Superman

Monsters, Inc (2001) 8/10

Starring : John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly
Director : Pete Docter
Running Time : 92 mins

Sulley (Goodman) and Mike (Crystal) are two monsters whose jobs are to scare children and collect their screams of fear as a source of power for their community. But when Boo (Gibbs) escape from our world into theirs, there is terrible danger that the entire world of the monsters could ultimately be destroyed.

Once again Pixar seem to know exactly how to angle a cartoon so that it appeals to both children and adults alike. This had a lot of great and memorable characters for the kids, and a nice sinister plotline for the adult viewers. Definitely one for the whole family.

You’ll like this if you liked : Toy Story

Die Hard 4.0 (2007) 7/10

Starring : Bruce Willis, Timothy Olyphant, Justin Long, Maggie Q, Cliff Curtis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Director : Len Weisman
Running Time : 129 mins

John McClane (Willis) is charged with bringing a computer hacker Matt Farrell (Long) in to see the FBI, but they are fired upon when he arrives at his house. It turns out that ex-government employee Thomas Gabriel (Olyphant) is attempting to kill off a number of skilled computer hackers who have helped him develop a system by which he can shut down the entire United States.

This had the distinct feel to it that Michael Bay had been involved in production, yet this came from the director of the Underworld movies. The action was a little over the top, even for a Die Hard movie, what with the previous instalments usually opting for more acceptable and believable violence. All in all it was pretty good, but definitely not a patch on the original, and it was a little too similar to 16 Blocks.

You’ll like this if you liked : Bad Boys 2

Classic Friday : Dark Star (1974) 7/10

Starring : Brian Narelle, Cal Kuniholm, Dre Pahich, Dan O’Bannon
Director : John Carpenter
Running Time : 83 mins

Four astronauts, charged with the duty of destroying unstable planets in potential colony star systems, find themselves faced with a runaway alien beachball with a mischievous side and a smart bomb that has decided that it is God.

Basically if it wasn’t for this movie there would have been no Alien movies! This showed Dan O’Bannon, writer of the original Alien movie, taking his first stab at making a truly suspenseful space movie. This, due to the low budget, is more of a tongue in cheek homage to 2001 : A Space Odyssey than the horror it would eventually become, but any true fan of the Alien saga should not be without this classic in their collection.

You’ll like this if you liked : Alien

Stark Raving Mad (2002) 7/10

Starring : Seann William Scott, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dave Foley
Director : Drew Daywalt & David Schneider
Running Time : 96 mins

Ben McGewen (Scott) and some of his friends decide to break into a bank vault to steal a priceless statue in order to pay off his dead brother’s debt to local criminal Gregory (Phillips). As cover they hold a rave next door to the vault, using the load music as cover for the noise from their cutting equipment. Unfortunately nothing ever runs smoothly, and a number of increasingly irritating obstacles continually stand in their way.

This was actually a surprisingly good film, with Scott leading the ensemble cast admirably in a sort of teenaged Oceans Eleven. Plenty of non-stop action throughout, and some nice guest roles from the likes of Lou Diamond Phillips and Dave Foley, amongst others.

You’ll like this if you liked : Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels

The Messengers (2007) 6/10

Starring : Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, Penelope Ann Miller, John Corbett, William B Davis
Director : Danny Pang & Oxide Pang Chun
Running Time : 91 mins

The Solomon family move from Chicago to a sunflower farm in North Dakota following a car accident caused by daughter Jess (Stewart) which left their son Ben too scared to speak. On arrival at the farm, little Ben start seeing strange things around the house, and Jess is attacked by forces unknown… but what is behind these attacks, and what happened to the Rollins family six years earlier which made them up and move overnight…

I don’t want to say that this film was terrible, because some elements of it were quite good, but an awful lot of it just didn’t make any sense. The opening flashback attack was a complete red herring, and the ghosts seemed to attack people indiscriminately. All in all this is probably not worth bothering with unless you really like horror films which, sadly, I do.

You’ll like this if you liked : Thir13en Ghosts

Orange County (2002) 7/10

Starring : Colin Hanks, Jack Black, Schuyler Fisk, Catherine O’Hara, Mike White, John Lithgow, Chevy Chase, Kevin Kline
Director : Jake Kasdan
Running Time : 82 mins

Shaun Brumder (Hanks) wants to go to Stamford to study to become a writer, but his guidance counselor sends someone else’s transcript in error and he gets turned down. So, with the help of his girlfriend Ashley (Fisk) and his brother Lance (Black), Shaun travels down to Stanford to speak to course leader Marcus Skinner (Kline) in order to get his place back.

A pretty simple comedy, with Black actually taking somewhat of a back seat to Hanks, this kept me entertained with it’s fast paced yet not overdone humour, and the amount of cameos was astounding!

You’ll like this if you liked : Road Trip

16 Blocks (2006) 7/10

Starring : Bruce Willis, Mos Def, David Morse
Director : Richard Donner
Running Time : 102 mins

Detective Jack Mosley (Willis) is assigned to take habitual criminal Eddie Bunker (Def) to court where he is due to testify against some crooked cops. Unfortunately Detective Frank Nugent (Morse) has other ideas and plans on killing Eddie before he can travel the 16 blocks to testify and ruin his career!

A decent enough action thriller, with enough stunts and twists to keep the viewer interested. Sadly Mos Def’s accent in this is very distracting and does start to grate after a while, but Willis is his usual good self, albeit playing a much older role than we’re used to, and David Morse is excellent as the dodgy cop.

You’ll like this if you liked : 48 Hours

Say It Isn't So (2001) 6/10

Starring : Chris Klein, Heather Graham, Orlando Jones, Sally Field, Richard Jenkins
Director : James B Rogers
Running Time : 92 mins

Gilbert Noble (Klein) falls for the new hairdresser in town, Josephine Wingfield (Graham), only to be told that she may actually be his biological sister! After they’ve broken up and he’s left town, Gilbert discovers that she isn’t his sister and travels back to his home town to try to stop her wedding. Unfortunately the rest of the country thinks he is still her brother and are disgusted by his actions!

Despite being produced by the Farrelly Brothers, who enjoyed success with such hits as There’s Something About Mary, this is a much weaker piece with a single joke padding out the entire movie. There are a few laughs, mostly gross-out moments, but this just doesn’t have the magic of some of the similar films of the time.

You’ll like this if you liked : Just Friends

Robots (2005) 8/10

Starring : Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry, Amanda Bynes, Robin Williams, Jim Broadbent, Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Coolidge, Mel Brooks, Stanley Tucci, Dianne Wiest
Director : Chris Wedge
Running Time : 87 mins

Rodney Copperbottom (McGregor) wants to be an inventor so he moves to Robot City to get a job with his idol, Bigweld (Brooks). However, when he turns up in the city, he finds that Bigweld has gone missing and his company has been taken over by the scheming Ratchet (Kinnear), who plans on discontinuing the manufacture of spare parts to force robots to get upgrades.

I really enjoyed this movie, and thought it was much better than either Ice Age 1 or 2. The characters had far more depth, and the innuendo was wonderfully played by all of the voice actors. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already seen it.

You’ll like this if you liked : Monsters, Inc

I Spy (2002) 6/10

Starring : Eddie Murphy, Owen Wilson, Famke Janssen, Malcolm McDowell, Gary Cole
Director : Betty Thomas
Running Time : 93 mins

Alex Scott (Wilson) is one of the United States’ best operatives, and he is sent in to investigate when an experimental stealth plane called the Switchblade is stolen. His bosses suspect that arms dealer Arnold Gundars (McDowell) has the plane, and decide to team Scott up with boxer Kelly Robinson (Murphy) as Gundars is his biggest fan and will be in the cities where Robinson is fighting.

As with many of Murphy’s recent films, this didn’t quite match up to the brilliance of his early career. The idea was weak to say the least, and although handled with some degree of intelligence, it just felt like a better casting choice would have been Jackie Chan once again opposite Wilson!

You’ll like this if you liked : Showtime

Dead Silence (2007) 7/10

Starring : Ryan Kwanten, Amber Valletta, Donnie Wahlberg, Michael Fairman, Joan Heney, Judith Roberts
Director : James Wan
Running Time : 92 mins

Following the receipt of a ventriloquist’s dummy in the post, the wife of Jamie Ashen (Kwanten) is brutally murdered, her face carved up to look like a dummy! Jamie suspects that the doll and it’s owner, Mary Shaw (Roberts) are behind the murder, so he travels back to his home town to try and find answers to why his wife was killed. But what he finds leaves him with more questions than answers…

This movie pretty much takes elements from a number of horror classics, ranging from Child’s Play to Candyman, whilst still remaining quite original in its theme. It takes the idea of an urban myth come to life and throws this in with a modern murder investigation. Although not as good as Saw, you can really tell that this was made by the same people, and I’m expecting Dead Silence 2 to be released some time next summer.

You’ll like this if you liked : Candyman

Gothika (2003) 5/10

Starring : Halle Berry, Robert Downey Jr, Charles S Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill, Penelope Cruz
Director : Mathieu Kassovitz
Running Time : 95 mins

Dr Miranda Grey (Berry) is a criminal psychologist who is accused of murdering her husband and then looked up in the institution where she works. She has no memory of committing any crime and tries desperately to recall the events of which she’s been accused, but as she tries to remember she finds herself haunted by the ghost of a young girl.

This film just wasn’t really any good. Berry was rubbish as the tormented doctor, and the overall feel to the movie was just a little off track with how it should have been. If this had have been recast and handled differently, this might have been a more entertaining story.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Grudge

Classic Friday : Misery (1990) 8/10

Starring : James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall
Director : Rob Reiner
Running Time : 104 mins

Famous novelist Paul Sheldon (Caan) is involved in a life threatening car crash, but thankfully he is rescued by local nurse Annie Wilkes (Bates). He soon discovers that Annie is his biggest fan and has read all of his novels featuring heroine Misery Chastaine. Things are bad enough as Annie keeps Paul medicated and won’t call a doctor or let him leave, but when she discovers his latest novel has killed Misery off, she becomes very upset and demands he write a new book bringing her back from the dead.

One of the best Stephen King adaptations, and in many ways better than the book, this movie is probably one of the best horror / thrillers of the 90’s without having to go too over the top.

You’ll like this if you liked : Saw

What's The Worst That Could Happen? (2001) 6/10

Starring : Martin Lawrence, Danny DeVito, John Leguizamo, Glenn Headly, Carmen Ejogo, Bernie Mac, Larry Miller
Director : Sam Wesiman
Running Time : 94 mins

Kevin Caffrey (Lawrence) is a burglar who gets caught trying to rob the home of rich businessman Max Fairbanks (DeVito). Fairbanks then steals Caffrey’s much-loved lucky ring which his girlfriend got him, claiming to the police that it’s his. Caffrey is then faced with trying to get the ring back, with disastrous results!

This was a pretty average movie, with quite an 80s feel to it. Lawrence basically plays the same character he played in Blue Streak, while DeVito is his character from Ruthless People. Not the most original of movies, but it still has some entertainment value to it.

You’ll like this if you liked : Anger Management

Epic Movie (2007) 4/10

Starring : Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays, Faune Chambers, Jennifer Coolidge, Crispin Glover
Director : Jason Friedberg & Aaron Seltzer
Running Time : 93 mins

Four orphans from different backgrounds find golden tickets which invite them to go on an Epic adventure to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. When they get there they discover that Willy (Glover) wants to use them as ingredients in his chocolate. Finding themselves trapped in his factory, the four orphans try to escape through a wardrobe but find themselves in the magical world of Gnarnia, where the evil White Bitch (Coolidge) plans on destroying everything!

This movie just wasn’t very good. Everything seemed rushed and put together in a haphazard way, and the ending didn’t really resolve all the outstanding questions raised throughout the movie. I know it's just a silly movie, but there should still be resolutions.

You’ll like this if you liked : Scary Movie 2

Legally Blonde (2001) 7/10

Starring : Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, Jennifer Coolidge, Holland Taylor, Ali Larter, Linda Cardellini
Director : Robert Luketic
Running Time : 95 mins

Elle Woods decides to take up law when her boyfriend Warner Huntington III tells her she isn’t intelligent enough to impress his family. When she turns up at Harvard, she discovers that Warner has started seeing his old girlfriend Vivian Kensington, so Elle vows to prove to him and everyone else that she’s as smart as the next girl!

Actually a very enjoyable film, sadly marred by the slapdash plot of the sequel, this has a nice plot through which Elle has to prove an accused murderer innocent of a crime she didn’t commit. Witherspoon is wonderfully vapid in this, but without coming across as totally one-dimensional.

You’ll like this if you liked : Sugar And Spice

Treasure Planet (2002) 6/10

Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Murray, Emma Thompson, Tony Jay, Roscoe Lee Browne, David Hyde Pierce
Director : Ron Clements & John Musker
Running Time : 91 mins

In Disney's 42nd Animated Classic, Jim Hawkins (Gordon-Levitt) gets a job as a cabin boy on a space ship. There he befriends the cyborg cook, John Silver (Murray), and becomes a valuable member of the crew, but when he discovers that John Silver is in fact a notorious pirate who plans on starting a mutiny against Captain Amelia (Thompson), and he must decide where his loyalties lie…

Not one of Disney’s best, but still reasonably entertaining. It’s a little bit sad that Disney felt that setting the movie at sea was too dull and changed the setting to space (probably in part due to the popularity of Lilo And Stitch), but thankfully that didn’t detract too much from the story.

You’ll like this if you liked : Lilo And Stitch