Classic Friday : Bride Of Re-Animator (1989) 6/10

Starring : Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abott, Claude Earl Jones, Fabiano Udenio, David Gale
Director : Brian Yuzna
Running Time : 97 mins

Dr Herbert West (Combs), who has discovered a way to re-animate dead tissue, now realises that he can create brand new living creatures from splicing spare parts together, and he plans on bringing the dead girlfriend of his colleague Dr Dan Cain (Abbott) back from the dead and giving her the perfect body!

Despite not being as good as the original, this was actually a lot more gory, with all sorts of gross-out weirdness happening throughout. The Frankenstein’s-monster bride was particularly nasty, especially her inevitable demise towards the end.

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

The Family Stone (2005) 8/10

Starring : Sarah Jessica Parker, Dermot Mulroney, Diane Keaton, Craig T Nelson, Rachel McAdams, Luke Wilson, Claire Danes
Director : Thomas Bezucha
Running Time : 99 mins

Everett Stone (Mulroney) takes his uptight workaholic girlfriend Meridith Morton (Parker) to his family home for Christmas, but everyone takes an instant disliking to her as soon as she shows up! Not wanting to spend Christmas in isolation, she invites her sister Julie (Danes) to come and visit, but things get complicated when Everett finds himself attracted to Julie!

This was a very likeable movie, with a lot of moments where you really wish you were there to tell some of the characters to just stop talking. Parker plays the uptight girlfriend very well, and shows that she isn’t just limited to TV anymore, and the ensemble cast as a whole work beautifully together throughout the entire movie.

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

Rush Hour 2 (2001) 6/10

Starring : Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Zhang Ziyi, Roselyn Sanchez, Harris Yulin, Alan King
Director : Brett Ratner
Running Time : 86 mins

Detective James Carter (Tucker) goes on holiday to Hong Kong and visits his friend Chief Inspector Lee (Chan), but when Carter arrives he finds that Lee is more interested in trying to catch some Triads who killed two men at the American Embassy. Whilst investigating, they stumble across an international counterfeiting racket, and things become very dangerous for the pair.

Although not as good as the original, this is still a pretty decent buddy-cop movie, taking the ideas from the first movie and turning them around so that Tucker is the foreigner and Chan is the local cop.

You’ll like this if you liked : Shanghai Knights

Date Movie (2006) 6/10

Starring : Alyson Hannigan, Adam Campbell, Sophie Monk, Eddie Griffin, Meera Simhan, Fred Willard, Jennifer Coolidge, Tony Cox
Director : Aaron Seltzer
Running Time : 81 mins

Julie Jones (Hannigan) is fat and has low self-esteem, until she meet Grant Fockyerdoder (Campbell) and decides to do something about her appearance. When they do get together, and he proposes, she finds herself faced with having to meet his parents and contend with his best friend Andi (Monk) who wants to put an end to their romance.

I didn’t have much hope for this movie, having already seen Epic Movie and Scary Movie 2 and realising how bad spoofs can be, but this wasn’t quite as bad as them. However, an awful lot of the spoofs felt like they had only been half thought through, and some were simply direct word-for-word replays of the movies they were spoofing. I think the fact I’ve learned from these so-called comedy spoofs is that you shouldn’t spoof comedies!

You’ll like this if you liked : Scary Movie 3

Hoodwinked! (2005) 8/10

Starring : Anne Hathaway, Glenn Close, James Belushi, Patrick Warburton, Anthony Anderson, David Ogden Stiers, Xzibit, Chazz Palminteri, Andy Dick
Director : Cory Edwards
Running Time : 81 mins

After the Wolf (Warburton) replaces Granny Puckett (Close) in her Goodie Shop and tries to attack Red Puckett (Hathaway), the police, led by Chief Grizzly (Xzibit) and Nick Flippers (Stiers), interview each of their suspects in connection with their ongoing investigation of The Goodie Bandit!

This is actually a really good kids movie, taking the Little Red Riding Hood fairytale and updating it into a police investigation. The animation looks a little cheap compared to things like Shrek or Finding Nemo, but the story and characters are engaging enough to allow the viewer to see past that.

You’ll like this if you liked : Shrek

Black Christmas (2006) 6/10

Starring : Katie Cassidy, Michelle Trachtenberg, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Lacey Chabert, Kristen Cloke, Andrea Martin, Robert Mann
Director : Glen Morgan
Running Time : 92 mins

Escaped mental patient Billy Lenz (Mann) returns to his childhood home where he was kept imprisoned in the attic, only to discover that it has been turned into a sorority house. When the occupants of the house start receiving threatening phone calls, their house mother Ms McHenry (Martin) tells them Billy’s story, only moments before he decides to relive his childhood!

This wasn’t that bad a horror movie. It featured lots of familiar faces (albeit mostly from TV shows) and had a reasonable enough plotline. The only problem was it started off incredibly slow, and this held off the jumps and scares a little too long for my liking. It really needed some more scares close to the beginning, and those potential jumpy moments at the start didn’t quite work out!

You’ll like this if you liked : Halloween

28 Weeks Later (2007) 6/10

Starring : Robert Carlyle, Rose Byrne, Jeremy Renner, Idris Elba
Director : Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Running Time : 101 mins

It’s been almost seven months since the last infected human was killed, and the US army have been sent in to London to try and clear up the mess following the mass outbreak. Unfortunately one survivor is a carrier of the deadly disease, and it looks like the whole mess is about to start up all over again!

Of course, this was nowhere near as good as 28 Days Later, and the cast didn’t have quite as much appeal as in the original movie, but this was still a not bad scary movie. My one gripe was the sound track on the movie – it was really just too quiet, even for a horror, and then when a scary moment came it was really too loud. Just something to consider if you go to see this.

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

The Bourne Supremacy (2004) 7/10

Starring : Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Brian Cox, Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, Karl Urban, Gabriel Mann
Director : Paul Greengrass
Running Time : 109 mins

When Pamela Landy (Allen) investigates a rogue CIA agent, her search leads her to Treadstone, the group whose members once included Jason Bourne (Damon). She concludes that Bourne was responsible for her operation to purchase some classified Russian documents going wrong, and she sets up a group to capture the ex-government worker, or so it at first seems. This disruption to his new life leads to the death of his girlfriend Marie (Potente), and he sets out to seek vengeance for her death and to clear his name.

This was a little faster paced than the first Bourne movie, but somehow wasn’t quite as good in other ways, despite having a reasonable obligatory car chase. Bourne on the run on his own didn’t feel as entertaining as when he had Marie in tow as the everyman element was missing from this otherwise decent movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Casino Royale

Classic Friday : Rush Hour (1998) 8/10

Starring : Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peña, Ken Leung, Tzi Ma
Director : Brett Ratner
Running Time : 94 mins

When Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) travels to the USA to try to find the kidnapped daughter of Consul Han (Ma), he is partnered with LA detective James Carter (Tucker) who is told his job is to keep Lee out of the way of the investigation. Unfortunately the two of them don’t like being kept out of the loop, and decide to carry on the investigation themselves.

This is probably one of Jackie Chan’s best English speaking movies, despite the fact that Chris Tucker’s voice is continually annoying throughout. There’s a decent contemporary plot to keep the viewer interested, and the on screen chemistry builds as the movie progresses.

You’ll like this if you liked : Lethal Weapon

Mr Bean's Holiday (2007) 7/10

Starring : Rowan Atkinson, Emma de Caunes, Max Baldry, Karel Roden, Willem Dafoe
Director : Steve Bendelack
Running Time : 86 mins

Mr Bean (Atkinson) wins a holiday in a Church raffle to the South of France, but when he gets there he accidentally separates a Russian film director (Roden) and his son Emil (Baldry) and finds himself accused of kidnapping. With the help of up-and-coming French actress Sabine (de Caunes), Bean attempts to reunite the father and son, with disastrous results along the way.

This started off very weakly; I half expected it to quickly turn into just a series of silly, loosely linked sketches, but once the plot kicked in this was actually quite enjoyable, plus Emma de Caunes looks stunning throughout!

You’ll like this if you liked : National Lampoon’s European Vacation

A Cock And Bull Story (2005) 6/10

Starring : Steve Coogan, Rob Brydon, Kelly Macdonald, Gillian Anderson, Naomie Harris
Director : Michael Winterbottom
Running Time : 92 mins

Two actors (Coogan & Brydon) attempt to make a film based on Laurence Sterne’s novel "The Life And Opinions Of Tristram Shandy". As the filming progresses, it becomes more and more obvious that there are going to be immense difficulties in getting the production finished.

This was one of those films where you really have to be wanting to enjoy it from the very start. Although it had it’s silly moments, this would not be enjoyed by someone who liked Coogan in The Parole Officer or Around The World In 80 Days. It’s a clever idea, there just wasn’t enough substance for my liking.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ed Wood

28 Days Later (2002) 8/10

Starring : Cillian Murphy, Naomie Harris, Christopher Eccleston, Megan Burns, Brendan Gleeson
Director : Danny Boyle
Running Time : 109 mins

An incurable disease is accidentally let out into the general public by a group of animal rights activists, and people begin to take on zombie-like traits and driving them to murder. Those who have survived the infection try to excape from London, where the biggest outbreak took place, but find themselves in danger from both the infected and the other survivors.

This is a very effective movie, taking the idea of a mass plague and looking at the wide range of reactions there might be from the survivors. We are given a nice range of perspectives from the body of characters, both positive and negative, and the realisation that the most dangerous enemy may not be the infected is slightly chilling.

You’ll like this if you liked : Twelve Monkeys

Big Momma's House 2 (2006) 5/10

Starring : Martin Lawrence, Nia Long, Emily Procter, Zachary Levi, Mark Moses, Kat Dennings
Director : John Whitesell
Running Time : 99 mins

FBI agent Malcolm Turner (Lawrence) once again goes undercover as Big Momma, this time hoping to infiltrate the home of a computer software developer named Tom Fuller (Moses), who the FBI have discovered has created a computer virus that allows access to classified US government files. His best option is to take on a job as the family nanny, in the hope he can find out who Fuller plans to sell the virus to.

Despite not being as bad as I suspected, this was still not very good. Lawrence is his usual slightly irritating self, and I still don’t understand why he had to disguise himself specifically as Big Momma to infiltrate the Fuller residence. Why not a thinner person so he didn’t have to wear all the excess padding?

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

The Bourne Identity (2002) 7/10

Starring : Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen, Brian Cox, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Director : Doug Liman
Running Time : 119 mins

Jason Bourne (Damon) is found floating at sea, with no idea of how he got there or, indeed, who he is. The only clue to his identity is a chip implanted in his hip with details of a safety deposit box, but when he goes there to find out if there’s any information on who he is, he finds a collection of fake passports and a heavy duty gun!

This was a nicely entertaining movie, which thankfully can stand alone as well as with the two sequels. Damon works reasonably well as the slightly clueless Bourne, while also proving he can do action as well as drama, and Potente is very good as the unwilling accomplice to Bourne’s apparent crimes.

You’ll like this if you liked : Casino Royale

Evolution (2001) 7/10

Starring : David Duchovny, Julianne Moore, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott
Director : Ivan Reitman
Running Time : 98 mins

When Dr Ira Kane (Duchovny) discovers a meteorite filled with single celled alien organisms that evolve at a remarkable rate, he thinks he’s well on the way to winning a nobel prize, but when things start to take a decidedly deadly turn, he realises that all of mankind could well be in danger from the rampaging evolving aliens.

I really enjoyed this film, even though Ivan Reitman clearly can’t get away from his popular formula in Ghostbusters. This definitely has the same feel as the Ghostbusters movies, but doesn’t quite have the same kind of characters, relying largely on big jokes rather than small subtle ones.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ghostbusters

The Simpsons Movie (2007) 8/10

Starring : Dan Castellaneta, Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, Hank Azaria
Director : David Silverman
Running Time : 84 mins

When Homer Simpson (Castellaneta) causes an ecological disaster by dumping his pet pig’s refuse in the town water supply, the Simpson family find themselves on the run, while the town is put under quarantine in a big glass dome. Discovering that Springfield is going to be blown up to prevent the spread of the toxic waste, the Simpson’s then find themselves to be the only people able to save their town from extinction!

Compared to some of the more recent episodes of the popular television show, this was actually really good. Some of the old wit from the early years returns in this big screen adaptation, although this is nowhere near as clever as the first few seasons of the show.

You’ll like this if you liked : Beavis And Butthead Do America

The Medallion (2003) 5/10

Starring : Jackie Chan, Lee Evans, Claire Forlani, Julian Sands, John Rhys-Davies
Director : Gordon Chan
Running Time : 85 mins

Hong Kong detective Eddie Chang (Chan) is involved in a near fatal accident involving a strange medallion and discovers that he is now possessed with superhuman powers. He then enlists the help of British Interpol agent Nicole James (Forlani) to try to find out the secret of the medallion and finds himself fighting against the evil Snakehead (Sands) who wants to use the artifacts magical powers for his own wicked ends.

This movie was really pretty bad enough before someone had the smart idea of throwing Lee Evans in for good measure. The plot was weak and drifted about the place with no real direction, and it didn’t keep me as engrossed as I hoped. Still, Jackie Chan’s martial arts skills are pretty good here, though underused, and Claire Forlani looks hot!

You’ll like this if you liked : The Tuxedo

Wild Hogs (2007) 8/10

Starring : Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, William H Macy, Marisa Tomei, Ray Liotta
Director : Walt Becker
Running Time : 100 mins

Four middle-aged men who desperately want to be bikers go on a road trip together to try and take a break from their everyday lives, but when they run into a gang known as the Del Fuegos they find themselves in more trouble than they ever could have imagined.

I thought this was a really entertaining movie, filled with slapstick comedy and a cheesy Hollywood ending that still works quite well. John Travolta seemed a little miscast, and I was surprised to see William H Macy in this sort of silly film, although to be fair he did make Mystery Men. All in all this is basic family fun at it’s finest, definitely worth giving a go!

You’ll like this if you liked : City Slickers

Classic Friday : Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) 9/10

Starring : Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott, Alfred Molina
Director : Steven Spielberg
Running Time : 111 mins

Renowned archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones (Ford) is hired by the American Government to locate the Ark of the Covenant, which legend has it still contains the tablets containing the Ten Commandments, but it’s not just Indy that’s after the Ark, as he finds himself pursued throught Nepal and Cairo by Nazis!

Probably the best movie ever to involve George Lucas, this definitely stands the test of time over 25 years after its release. Ford is the perfect choice to play the swashbuckling hero, and the effects are amazing for their time. If you haven’t already seen this film, then don’t you think it’s about time you did?

You’ll like this if you liked : Pirates Of The Caribbean : The Curse Of The Black Pearl

Evan Almighty (2007) 8/10

Starring : Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, Johnny Simmons, Graham Phillips, Jimmy Bennett, John Goodman, Jonah Hill
Director : Tom Shadyac
Running Time : 92 mins

Ex-TV anchorman turned Congressman Evan Baxter (Carell) is contacted by God (Freeman) and tasked to build an Ark to prepare for a major flood which is due to hit Washington DC. When animals start to follow him to work, and he finds it impossible to shave his beard or cut his hair, God’s mission begins to interfere with his everyday life.

In many ways this was actually better than Bruce Almighty. There was more of a plotline to this, with the building of the ark actually making sense and having a pretty decent connection to Evan Baxter’s career. Primarily, though, this seems to have been made for children, what with all the animal antics and general silliness, but I still thought it was a pretty good effort.

You’ll like this if you liked : Dr Dolittle 2

Click (2006) 8/10

Starring : Adam Sandler, Kate Beckinsale, Chrisopher Walken, David Hasselhoff, Henry Winkler, Julie Kavner
Director : Frank Coraci
Running Time : 105 mins

Michael Newman (Sandler)is a workaholic who finds it difficult to make time between his family and his job as an architect. When he buys a universal remote control for his household goods, he discovers that the remote controls his life, allowing him to skip over boring parts and relive his past experiences, but as the remote begins to remember what things he wants to miss out on, it takes on a life of its own.

This was a very enjoyable movie, though a bit moralistic and soppy towards the end. Sandler wouldn't have been my first choice on the role, as he felt a little over the top in his general anger, but he still pulled the part off pretty well, and the supporting cast had their moments too.

You’ll like this if you liked : Bruce Almighty

Along Came A Spider (2001) 7/10

Starring : Morgan Freeman, Monica Potter, Michael Wincott, Dylan Baker, Mika Boorem, Anton Yelchin
Director : Lee Tamahori
Running Time : 98 mins

Alex Cross (Freeman) is forced to investigate the disappearance of a high powered senator’s daughter who has been taken from her boarding school when he receives a call from the kidnapper. He is aided in his investigation by his new Secret Service partner Jezzie Flannigan (Potter), who was present during the kidnapping and failer to protect the girl, but together they hope to find out who kidnapped her and what their real motives might be.

I thought that this movie was pretty good, at least for the first two thirds. Once it got near the end it became a little confusing and rushed, but it still had some good twists throughout, although this can better be attributed to author James Patterson than to director Lee Tamahori.

You’ll like this if you liked : Kiss The Girls

Scary Movie 4 (2006) 6/10

Starring : Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Craig Bierko, Bill Pullman, Anthony Anderson, Leslie Nielsen, Molly Shannon
Director : David Zucker
Running Time : 90 mins

Cindy Campbell (Faris) returns once again, and once again she finds herself facing a mass Martian invasion! She finds herself falling for divorcee and father of two Tom Ryan (Bierko), but they become separated and she ends up trapped in a village with her long time friend Brenda (Hall).

Primarily lampooning The War Of The Worlds and the Saw movies, this fourth instalment is starting to feel a little lacking in the idea department, what with the plot being very similar to Scary Movie 3, but it still has the Airplane-esque feel I enjoyed in the previous movie but, unfortunately, has a rather unnecessary ending that felt like it had been tacked on for time .

You’ll like this if you liked : Scary Movie 3

Freaky Friday (2003) 7/10

Starring : Jamie Lee Curtis, Lindsay Lohan, Harold Gould, Chad Michael Murray, Mark Harmon
Director : Mark Waters
Running Time : 97 mins

Tess Coleman (Curtis) and her daughter Anna (Lohan) are a mother and daughter who don’t see eye to eye, but when they visit a Chinese restaurant they get cursed by a fortune cookie to swap bodies for the day. Only then do they realise how rough the other’s life can really be.

This was an enjoyable remake, with some nice performances all round. Definitely a good movie to watch around Christmas time so, if you haven’t seen it already and you have a lot of youngsters in your family, perhaps you should look out for it in December!

You’ll like this if you liked : The Hot Chick

Surf's Up (2007) 6/10

Starring : Shia LaBeouf, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Jon Heder, James Woods, Diedrich Bader, Mario Cantone, Kelly Slater
Director : Ash Bannon & Chris Buck
Running Time : 84 mins

Young penguin Cody Maverick (LaBeouf) decides his dream is to become a surfer after meeting his hero, Big Z (Bridges), but when he goes to the Penguin World Surfing Championship he discovers that he isn’t a very good surfer. This doesn’t stop him wanting to compete and, as he improves, he draws the attention of Tank Evans (Bader), the champion penguin surfer who doesn’t like to lose.

Filmed as if it’s a surfing documentary, this is stylistically speaking a very well made movie. Unfortunately I didn’t find it as engrossing as I hoped I would, with the action taking a little too long to get going and then ending almost as soon as it begins. This is worth watching for the slick looking animation, but the story is a little too vague and obvious.

You’ll like this if you liked : Madagascar

Sweet Home Alabama (2002) 7/10

Starring : Reese Witherspoon, Josh Lucas, Patrick Dempsey, Candice Bergen, Mary Kay Place, Fred Ward, Jean Smart, Ethan Embry, Melanie Lynskey
Director : Andy Tennant
Running Time : 106 mins

Melanie Carmichael (Witherspoon) is engaged to be married to New York’s most eligible bachelor Andrew Hennings (Dempsey). The problem is she’s already married to her childhood sweetheart, Jake (Lucas), so she returns to her home town, where her real name is Melanie Smooter, to try to get him to divorce her. When he refuses, she finds herself faced with a mighty dilemma…

Not a bad little movie, although I hated the double-bluff ending. Witherspoon seems much more at home doing light-hearted comedy-drama than any of the outlandish silly movies she’s made over the years (case in point, Legally Blonde 2), and the ensemble cast compliment her magnificently.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Notebook

Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) 7/10

Starring : Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Shannon Elizabeth, Eliza Dushku, Ali Larter, Jennifer Schwalbach, Will Ferrell, Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, Brian O’Halloran, Jeff Anderson, George Carlin, Seann William Scott
Director : Kevin Smith
Running Time : 100 minutes

When Jay (Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith) discover that a film based on the characters Bluntman And Chronic, who in turn were based on them, is being made in Hollywood, they travel down there to find out why they haven’t been asked to play themselves, and why they haven’t been paid! Along the way they get involved in lots of sticky situations, including getting tricked into helping out a gang of female jewel thieves and stealing an orang-utan!

This is Kevin Smith’s fifth and silliest movie to date. Rather than trying to tell a genuine story with a bit of humour to keep it light, Smith goes whole hog and inundates the viewer with silly moment after silly moment. Quite frankly, this is what he’s best at, and if you’ve seen Jersey Girl you’ll know what happens when he gets a little serious. This a great film if you accept it for what it is – frivolous.

You’ll like this if you liked : Road Trip

The Grudge 2 (2006) 6/10

Starring : Sarah Michelle Gellar, Amber Tamblyn, Arielle Kebbel, Edison Chen, Teresa Palmer, Sarah Roemer
Director : Takashi Shimizu
Running Time : 103 mins

Aubrey Davis (Tamblyn) travels to Japan to bring home her sister, Karen (Gellar), who has been admitted to hospital following a terrible fire, but things start to get weird when Karen dies and the ghosts that haunted her start focussing on her sister.

This was a little confusing, with no less than three separate storylines going on at once. This made the film become a little confusing, especially as certain elements didn’t happen in sequence. I definitely wouldn’t recommend this very highly to anyone unless they’re a horror completist, but if you just want to laugh at the so-called "scary psychiatrist", then give this a go.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Others

Classic Friday : The Evil Dead (1981) 8/10

Starring : Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Hal Delrich, Betsy Baker, Sarah York
Director : Sam Raimi
Running Time : 83 mins

A group of young people travel up to a cabin in the woods, where they discover the Book Of The Dead, the Necronomicon. The cabin’s previous occupant, a professor of archaeology, has made a recording of the translation which raises the dead, and when the group play it back the Evil Dead are released once again, and the only way to kill someone once they become infected with a Deadite is to completely dismember their corpse!

This is the ultimate video nasty, and has stood the test of time, maybe not in terms of special effects, but definitely in terms of pure scare factor. Not many people can watch this without grimacing at least on one occasion, and that’s what makes this movie so special.

You’ll like this if you liked : Re-Animator

Black Snake Moan (2007) 6/10

Starring : Samuel L Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake
Director : Craig Brewer
Running Time : 116 mins

Lazarus (Jackson) is a God-fearing ex-blues player whose wife has just upped and left him. One night he finds Ray (Ricci) lying injured in the road near his house, and he takes her in. Discovering that she is a victim of childhood sexual abuse, and something of a nymphomaniac as a result, he decides to try and rid her of her wicked ways.

This movie started off extremely slowly, and took a long time to get going, which it eventually did after about an hour. Despite this, it was still pretty okay, with some nice performances, but there wasn’t really enough energy to keep the movie sustained for the full 2 hours.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Shawshank Redemption

Scooby-Doo (2002) 7/10

Starring : Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr, Matthew Lillard, Linda Cardellini, Rowan Atkinson, Isla Fisher
Director : Raja Gosnell
Running Time : 87 mins

Mystery Inc. are reunited after years of separation when they all receive invites to visit Spooky Island. When they arrive, having not realised their old friends would be there, they meet the owner, Emile Mondavarious (Atkinson), who has summoned them because he is having trouble with what he believes are real spooks, but when they discover the true criminal mind behind things, they realise how much trouble they could be in!

Aside from on Scooby-Doo himself, the special effects in this movie were pretty weak. It was nice to see the Scooby Gang in live action, with Shaggy (Lillard) and Velma (Cardellini) being especially apt. Lots of fun for the kids, but most adults will probably want to steer clear, although I still enjoyed it.

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

Sunshine (2007) 5/10

Starring : Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rose Byrne, Chipo Chung, Benedict Wong
Director : Danny Boyle
Running Time : 103 mins

A group of astronauts and scientists are sent on a mission to try to stop the sun from being destroyed from the inside out by an unknown form of matter which can only be destroyed by a specially prepared bomb, but the mission failed. Seven years later, another team are sent out, but they discover something strange happened to some of the original crew.

This film felt too weird in my opinion. The whole concept seemed fair enough, but then it just got stupid, and was like a disaster movie that was not actually anyone’s fault. We need someone to blame in these sort of movies, and the enemy doesn’t show up until the last minute.

You’ll like this if you liked : Event Horizon

The Accidental Spy (2001) 5/10

Starring : Jackie Chan, Eric Tsang, Vivian Hsu, Min Kim
Director : Teddy Chan
Running Time : 89 mins

Bei (Chan) is a run-of-the-mill shop worker who foils a jewel robbery. Bei's actions bring him to the attention of a private investigator (Tsang) who informs him that he may be the long-lost son of a wealthy businessman who is dying in Korea. Bei travels to visit his father and discovers that he and his mother were both professional spies.

This was not particularly good, but still marginally entertaining, and just goes to show that Jackie Chan is beginning to lose his appeal. It was also quite distracting as it was so badly dubbed but still, there was still plenty of action for true Jackie Chan aficionados to enjoy all the same.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Medallion

The Gravedancers (2006) 7/10

Starring : Dominic Purcell, Josie Maran, Clare Kramer, Marcus Thomas
Director : Mike Mendez
Running Time : 92 mins

Following the funeral of an old friend, the incredibly drunk Harris (Purcell), Kira (Maran) and Sid (Thomas) break into the cemetery where he’s buried to pay their last respects, but when Sid finds a card with an incantation written on it, and they dance about reading it, they accidentally resurrect three terrible ghosts who begin to haunt them and vow to kill whoever it was that danced on their graves and desecrated their burial ground!

Although this little known horror started off slow and was a little cringeworthy, this soon picked up and became a bit of a classic horror. The ghosts look less like the jerky CGI ghosts of late and more like something from an Aphex Twin music video, which made them seem even scarier, and some of the effects felt like they were straight out of Ghostbusters, which is no bad thing!

You’ll like this if you liked : Poltergeist

Open Season (2006) 8/10

Starring : Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Debra Messing, Gary Sinise, Billy Connolly
Director : Roger Allers & Jill Culton
Running Time : 83 mins

When domesticated grizzly bear Boog (Lawrence) helps rescue a deer named Elliot (Kutcher) from the cruel Shaw (Sinise), a hunter who will kill anything, Elliot tries to help rescue Boog from his owner, Beth (Messing), only to discover that he is happy with domestic life. Following a series of misunderstandings, Boog is then sent back into the wild, just as hunting season is beginning...

This is Sony’s first animated movie, the next to be released being Surf’s Up. I thought it was pretty good for a first try, and had enough humour to keep both kids and adults entertained.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ice Age

Life Or Something Like It (2002) 7/10

Starring : Angelina Jolie, Edward Burns, Tony Shalhoub, Christian Kane, Stockard Channing
Director : Stephen Herek
Running Time : 99 mins

When news reporter Lanie Kerrigan (Jolie) interviews a homeless man known simply as Prophet Jack (Shalhoub), he tells her that her life is meaningless and that she is going to die in seven days. Lanie immediately decides to try to change how she lives her life, with mixed results.

I actually hate to admit it, but I did enjoy this film. Despite it being a little on the hokey side, and being very predictable and slightly contrived, it did still have some nice moments throughout, although I would have had a different ending altogether.

You’ll like this if you liked : Keeping The Faith

Kill Bill : Volume Two (2004) 6/10

Starring : Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, Lucy Liu, Vivica A Fox
Director : Quentin Tarantino
Running Time : 130 mins

With O-Ren Ishii (Liu) and Vernita Green (Fox) dead, and only three more people left on her list to kill, The Bride (Thurman) continues her vengeance-fuelled murderous rampage, getting ever closer to her main target, Bill (Carradine).

Considering how much I enjoyed Volume One, this was a terrible follow up. It was incredibly slow compared to the first film, and had a lot of sequences that really felt like they could have been left out entirely. In my opinion this series of movies could have easily been just one long movie – the combined run times is about four hours, but Tarantino could have easily cut an hour from this.

You’ll like this if you liked : Sin City

Deja Vu (2006) 7/10

Starring : Denzel Washington, Paula Patton, Val Kilmer, Jim Caviezel, Adam Goldberg, Elden Henson, Erika Alexander
Director : Tony Scott
Running Time : 126 mins

Doug Carlin (Washington) is assigned to investigate a terrorist attack on a naval ferry. The dead body of a young woman (Patton) is found washed up after the blast, and Carlin concludes that she may be able to lead them to the terrorist. He is then introduced to a surveillance team who are able to use satellite feeds to view events exactly four and a half days earlier, and they begin to trace the young woman’s last moments to try and find the killer. But when Carlin realises that they can effect the events happening four days earlier, even in a minor way, he decides that he may be able to stop the disaster from having ever happened.

An immensely complicated thriller, using an awful lot of complicated techno-babble to try to detract from the unlikely time-travelling scenarios, this was nonetheless quite entertaining, though you do have to really concentrate on what’s happening throughout and can’t simply switch off and absorb the movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Minority Report

Classic Friday : Re-Animator (1985) 7/10

Starring : Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale
Director : Stuart Gordon
Running Time : 86 mins

Whilst working in Austria, medical student Herbert West (Combs) has discovered a new scientific method of re-animating human flesh after it has died. When he moves to the US, he attempts to continue his research with the grudging help of his new house mate Dan Cain (Abbott), who agrees to help him sneak into the hospital morgue. Sadly, things go horribly wrong when one of the re-animated corpses accidentally kills one of their teachers.

A truly gory horror flick, this has recently become one of my favourite video nasties purely based on its ridiculous plotline and over-the-top violence. Not for those with weak stomachs, but if you can deal with all the blood and gore I’d definitely recommend giving it a go.

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