Classic Friday : National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) 7/10

Starring : John Belushi, Tim Matheson, John Vernon, Thomas Hulce, Donald Sutherland, Karen Allen
Director : John Landis
Running Time : 104 mins

It's the 1960s, and the students of Delta House are by far the worst at their college. Dean Wormer (Vernon) plots to get rid of the fraternity in the hope of improving the college's reputation, but every plan he has to disband the gang results in the fraternity, lead by John 'Bluto' Blutarsky (Belushi), to revolt against Wormer and attempt to save their fraternity from going under.

This has some of the silliest jokes and most off the wall food fights imaginable. Animal House has resulted in decades of comedies that probably never would have seen the light of day if not for its inventive comedy and forward thinking humour. John Belushi is at the height of his career in this, and it's sad he died only a matter of years after this brought him to the fore.

You’ll like this if you liked : Revenge Of The Nerds

Dreamgirls (2006) 8/10

Starring : Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, Danny Glover, Sharon Leal
Director : Bill Condon
Running Time : 125 mins

Curtis Taylor Jr (Foxx) is a lowly car salesman who seizes on the opportunity to make it big when he signs up singing group the Dreamettes and offers to represent them, but when he decides to promote backing singer Deena Jones (Knowles) over lead singer Effie White (Hudson), the group suffer their first split and go their separate ways, with Deena continuing representation with Curtis and Effie finding herself a single mother, unable to pursue her singing career.

This is a nice movie, filled with beautiful musical tributes to the periods and styles the movie covers through its fast progression through the early sixties to the late seventies. Hudson is wonderful in her first acting job, and sparkles on screen, while Murphy provides some much needed comic relief in this hard tale of betrayal and eventual reconciliation.

You’ll like this if you liked : Chicago

Married Life (2007) 6/10

Starring : Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel McAdams, David Wenham
Director : Ira Sachs
Running Time : 91 mins

Harry Allen (Cooper) confesses to his good friend Richard Langley (Brosnan) that he has been having an affair with a young widower, Kay (McAdams) behind his wife Pat's (Clarkson) back, but when Richard meets Kay he falls for her and starts to try to come up ith a plan to take Kay from Harry. Meanwhile Harry plans to kill his wife so that he can be with Kay.

This is an interesting film to watch, but stylistically there's something rather bland about it. The acting is pretty mediocre from all involved and the storyline seems unrealistic, especially the inevitable conclusion of the movie. Worth watching if you're a fan of the old Noir movies of the 1940s, otherwise this might seem a little too bland to watch.

You’ll like this if you liked : How To Murder Your Wife

Made Of Honour (2008) 7/10

Starring : Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan, Kevin McKidd, Busy Philipps, Kadeem Hardison
Director : Paul Weiland
Running Time : 98 mins

Womanising Tom (Dempsey) realises that his long time platonic friend Hannah (Monaghan) is the only woman he wants to be with when she's away for six weeks in Scotalnd. When she comes back he decides to declare his love for her, only to discover that she is now engaged to aristocratic Scotsman Colin McMurray (McKidd).

The concept of the movie - a male maid of honour - seems to be the major point upon which this movie plays, though the spelling of the title doesn't really make sense. Dempsey is quite funny in his exploits to try and be the best maid of honour he can be to prove to Monaghan that he had matured, but some of the humour seems false and a little outdated. Worth watching if you like chick flicks, but there's not really any substance to this.

You’ll like this if you liked : My Best Friend's Wedding

Havoc (2005) 6/10

Starring : Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Freddie Rodriguez, Shiri Appleby, Michael Biehn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matt O'Leary
Director : Barbara Kopple
Running Time : 93 mins

Alison (Hathaway) and Emily (Phillips) are two rich white girls who enjoy nothing better than hanging out in rough neighbourhoods and talking gangster. It's in one of these neighbourhoods that they meet Hector (Rodriguez), a drug dealer who they decide to make friends with by trying to join his street gang.

This is quite a strong movie, filled with scenes of sexual violence that might offend some people. Hathaway gives both a strong and embarassing performance in this, proving that she can mock the sort of roles she's used to by desperately attempting to use street lingo. The twist in the storyline is all too believable, and the slightly ambiguous ending leaves a lot to the imagination.

You’ll like this if you liked : Crazy / Beautiful

Bedazzled (2000) 8/10

Starring : Brendan Fraser, Elizabeth Hurley, Frances O'Connor, Orlando Jones
Director : Harold Ramis
Running Time : 89 mins

Elliott Richards (Fraser) is a complete loser whose only wish in life is to get together with the girl of his dreams, Alison Gardner (O'Connor), so when the Devil (Hurley) appears to him and offers him the chance to finally win Alison over he jumps at the chance. Unfortunately every attempt Elliott makes to wish for something that would make Alison love him leads the Devil to subvert his wish and twist it for her own amusement.

I actually really enjoyed this comedy. Hurley isn't that good in her role, but Fraser and particularly O'Connor are wonderful as they portray the different versions of themselves in the played out wishes. Once again Ramis manages to produce a wonderful story from a basic premise and makes it visually stunning.

You’ll like this if you liked : Monkeybone

Boat Trip (2002) 8/10

Starring : Cuba Gooding Jr, Horatio Sanz, Roselyn Sanchez, Vivica A Fox, Roger Moore, Lin Shaye, Victoria Silvstedt
Director : Mort Nathan
Running Time : mins

When Jerry (Gooding) breaks up with his girlfriend Felicia (Fox), his best friend Nick (Sanz) decides that they should both go on the prowl and meet some new women, specifically by going on a boat trip which, according to Nick, is guaranteed to get them laid but, due to a vindictive mix-up by their travel agents, they end up on a gay cruise where the only woman on board is Gabriella (Sanchez), the events co-ordinator, who Jerry instantly falls for : only there's one problem... she thinks he's gay!

Despite some of the reviews this movie has received, I thought it was so unbelievably crass and stereotypical that it became hilarious. Gooding is scarely believable in his camp persona, whilst Sanz womanising character gives many a moment of mirth. Also look out for Roger Moore cmaping it up to the nth degree.

You’ll like this if you liked : Tomcats

Gone Baby Gone (2007) 8/10

Starring : Casey Affleck, Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Freeman, Ed Harris, John Ashton, Amy Ryan
Director : Ben Affleck
Running Time : 114 mins

When a four-year-old girl goes missing in a small South Boston town, private investigator Patrick Kenzie (Affleck) is called upon by the family to try and find out what happened to the girl and try and find her before it's too late. Just when he thinks that the case is closed, Kenzie discovers some important facts that make him rethink his handling of the case and to start looking back over old ground.

This is a very intense movie with a sensitive subject at the centre of it. Ben Affleck manages to handle the story with an expert hand, and proves that he may actually be better behind the camera than in front of it. Casey Affleck brings an intersting character to the screen, a man who simply can't make the right decision no matter what he does throughout the movie. This is well worth checking out, but the subject matter of child abduction may be something you want to avoid.

You’ll like this if you liked : Along Came A Spider

Hotel Rwanda (2004) 8/10

Starring : Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Joaquin Phoenix, Fana Mokoena
Director : Terry George
Running Time : 118 mins

Paul Rusesabagina (Cheadle) is a hotel manager who fins himself having to home over a thousand refugees in Rwanda when the Hutu's start targeting Tutsi's for death. All attempts to get help from the Western powers have gone unanswered, so Rusesabagina has to rely on his own ingenuity to keep his people alive whilst preventing the Hutu insurgences from killing any of the people under his protection.

This is a nicely shot movie which takes us to the heart of the violence in Rwanda without relying on simple warfare, By portraying a more human side to the struggle, Terry George has managed to achieve a belieavable view of the horrors that took place in the early nineties while clearly portraying just how indifferent most of the West was to the events as they happened.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Last King Of Scotland

Baby Mama (2008) 8/10

Starring : Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Dax Shepard, Sigourney Weaver, Steve Martin
Director : Michael McCullers
Running Time : 98 mins

Business woman Kate Holbrook (Fey) desperately wants to have a baby, the problem being she's single, 37, and has a T-shaped womb. Her only option seems to be to either adopt or to hire a surrogate. Unfortunately she ends up with Angie (Poehler), who gives white trash a bad name, and finds herself living with thenightmare woman while trying to keep her impending parenthood a secret from her new potential beau Rob (Kinnear).

Thre are some great performances here from two of Saturday Night Live's most popular comediennes. Poehler is brilliantly over the top as the classless Angie without going so far as to make her unlikeable, while Fey plays her usual uptight business woman perfectly. There's some great cameos from Steve Martin and a wonderfully annoying Sigourney Weaver, and look out for some terrible dance scenes from Fey.

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

Classic Friday : Scream 2 (1997) 8/10

Starring : Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Jamie Kennedy, Jerry O'Connell, Liev Schreiber, Laurie Metcalf, Jada Pinkett
Director : Wes Craven
Running Time : 116 mins

It's been two years since the infamous Woodsboro Murders were caught and, now that she's in college, Sidney Prescott (Campbell) thought that all the terrible events were behind her, that is until the release of the movie Stab, based on the true life book by Gail Weathers (Cox). Now there's a copycat killer on the loose, and once again Sidney and everyone around her is in danger of being the next victim.

This is almost as good as the first movie, with some subtle nods to horror classics such as Friday The 13th. Campbell is just as effective in this sequel, and still portrays a strong female lead without being over the top and unrealistic. Cox and Arquette bring some much needed comic relief in their reprised roles, with Kennedy expanding on his role in the first movie and this time playing a more integral part to the story.

You’ll like this if you liked : I Know What You Did Last Summer

I Know Who Killed Me (2007) 8/10

Starring : Lindsay Lohan, Julia Ormond, Neal McDonough, Brian Geraghty
Director : Chris Siverston
Running Time : 107 mins

A new serial killer is on the loose, one who kidnaps young girls and then amputates their body parts for fun, leaving them dead. When Aubrey Fleming (Lohan), a young and gifted student, goes missing, her family and friends fear the worst, but then she turns up, alive but missing an arm and a leg, claiming to be a pole dancer called Dakota Moss who has some suspicions things in common with the missing student.

It's nice to see Lohan move away from her usual Disney shmaltz into a different kind of lead role, and this is an interesting place for her to get started. She portrays her two starkly different characters brilliantly, though the majority of her role is as Dakota, and the twists that explain the convenient mix-up may sound cliched but are quite effective, as is the humour surrounding Lohan's duel identities.

You’ll like this if you liked : Raising Cain

Space Chimps (2008) 7/10

Starring : Andy Samburg, Cheryl Hines, Jeff Daniels, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Stanley Tucci
Director : Kirk DeMicco
Running Time : 78 mins

A group of NASA chimps are sent into space to find a missing space probe which has been sucked through a wormhole. When they find it they discover that an alien overlord has taken control of the probe and is using it to enslave his entire planet and force them into doing his bidding on pain of death.

This is quite an enjoyable kid’s romp, despite its cheap looking animation. The characters aren't particularly memorable, but there is a certain something about this movie which makes it appealing. Perhaps it's the NASA scientists who basically cover all of the major nerd groups, or lead chimp Ham's (Samburg) incessant lusting after fellow astrochimp Luna (Hines), but there is definitely something here that will appeal to the child in all of us.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Ugly Duckling And Me

Lord Of War (2005) 6/10

Starring : Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ian Holm, Ethan Hawke, Eamonn Walker
Director : Andrew Niccol
Running Time : 122 mins

Ukranian born Yuri Orlov (Cage) decides that his best chance in getting out of Brooklyn and into the wide world would be to become an illegal arms dealer. Surprisingly even to himself, he becomes a huge presence in the arms dealing world, choosing to work in as shady a manner as possible, and soon finds himself running one of the most powerful global companies in the world. But with success also comes notoriety, and Orlov becomes the target of some sinister groups.

In many ways this can be seen as a cynical view on the American Dream and how with all success must come failure. Cage is okay in the role at first, but as soon as things go wrong for his character he becomes less believable in the role, and the story starts to feel too put together to make any viewer care what happens to the characters.

You’ll like this if you liked : Layer Cake

Big Fish (2003) 7/10

Starring : Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi
Director : Tim Burton
Running Time : 126 mins

Will Bloom (Crudup) and his father Edward (McGregor / Finney) have barely spoken in years, so when Will is called to his father's deathbed they attempt to settle their differences. Unfortunately Edward insists on continuing to tell tall tales to his son about his youth, claiming that the stories are truthful, and Will finds himself becoming increasingly annoyed with his father's inability to tell the truth, even though they might be the last things he says.

This is a bitter sweet movie, filled with fantastically over the top stories revolving around the life of Edward Bloom. Finney plays the dieing father with sincerity, and Crudup is believable as the son who is torn between the love for his father and his need to connect with him on a truthful level. There's the typical visual spectacles you'd expect from Tim Burton, and the ending will most likely bring a tear to your eye.

You’ll like this if you liked : Pleasantville

The 6th Day (2000) 7/10

Starring : Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Rapaport, Tony Goldwyn, Michael Rooker, Sarah Wynter
Director : Roger Spottiswoode
Running Time : 118 mins

In the near future a secret organisation is working on creating clones to replace people in a convoluted plot to take over the world. When Adam Gibson (Schwarzenegger) is reported dead, his illegal clone is activated and, when it's then discovered that a mistake has been made, the organisation behind the experimental cloning set out to kill the real Adam Gibson to prevent him from exposing them for their mistake before they can perfect the cloning and replace those in power that can lead them to world domination.

This is probably one of Arnie's better jaunts into the realm of sci-fi, obviously not including The Terminator franchise. The plot is worthy of Philip K Dick with some great action sequences for the ageing star. Granted, anyone could have played the lead, and I'm sure many could have done it better, but I still enjoyed this, and I recommend it to those who love a good old fashioned action flick.

You’ll like this if you liked : Total Recall

Fearless (2006) 7/10

Starring : Jet Li, Shidou Nakamura, Yong Dong, Li Sun
Director : Rony Yu
Running Time : 104 mins

As a young boy Huo Yuanjiya (Li), the son of a martial arts master who doesn't want him to follow in his footsteps due to his weakness due to asthma, trained himself to become a martial arts expert after being severely bullied by the other children, and soon becomes one of the best masters in China, but when he grows up his family are killed as revenge for him accidentally killing another martial arts master, following which he flees his village and puts himself into self imposed exile.

Jet Li gives an underplayed yet powerful performance in this apparent biopic of the life of the founder of the Jin Wu Sports Federation. The basic story of the supposed downfall of a martial arts master, and his eventual rise back to his ultimate defeat is both engrossing and interesting. Well worth watching, and not just because Li claims it will be his last martial arts epic - although I thought The Forbidden Kingdom was pretty martial arts orientated.

You’ll like this if you liked : House Of Flying Daggers

Secretary (2002) 6/10

Starring : James Spader, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jeremy Davies, Patrick Bauchau, Stephen McHattie
Director : Steven Shainberg
Running Time : 112 mins

Lee Holloway (Gyllenhaal) is a self-harmer who's just recently been released from a mental home. He takes a job as a secretary working for E Edward Grey (Spader), an ever so slightly sadomasochistic lawyer who enjoys punishing his staff for every little mistake they make. Soon, Lee finds herself drawn to Grey, both because of his powerful presence and his violent behaviour towards her which fuels her need for harming herself.

This is a very strange movie, not so much in the sense that it's hard to watch but more so because the romance between the two leads is so difficult to understand. The submissive Gyllenhaal and the domineering Spader put in some very believable performances, but the problem is it's difficult to identify with them, which in my opinion weakens the film somewhat.

You’ll like this if you liked : Punch-Drunk Love

How To Lose Friends And Alienate People (2008) 9/10

Starring : Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, Jeff Bridges, Megan Fox, Gillian Anderson, Danny Huston
Director : Robert B Weide
Running Time : 107 mins

Sidney Young (Pegg) is a young reporter who is thrilled to be offered a job in New York by his hero, Clayton Harding (Bridge), but when he arrives to take the job he soon discovers that his hero has changed from how he remembers him and that Sidney may have to compromise his beliefs in order to cope in the cut throat world of celebrity reporting.

This is one of those movies where everything that can go wrong will go wrong, so if you hate cringing as the hero of the piece moves from disaster to disaster then this probably isn't the movie for you. If, however, you relish in the simple underplayed slapstick of these sorts of movies then you'll simply adore this adaptation of Toby Young's novel.

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

Postal (2007) 6/10

Starring : Zack Ward, Dave Foley, Chris Coppola, Larry Thomas
Director : Uwe Boll
Running Time : 101 mins

A natural born loser known only as Postal Dude (Ward) decides to try and make one last ditch attempt to get out of his home town of Paradise. With the help of his Uncle Dave (Foley), he comes upon a plan to corner the market on a children's toy that's in high demand, called the Krotchy doll. Unfortunately a group of Taliban terrorists have a similar idea, except they want to use the dolls to destroy the United States.

This is a pretty weak movie that uses every gross out joke and sexual reference under the sun to try to progress its plotline. In spite of this, there are a few funny moments which will genuinely have you laughing, but unfortunately these are too few and far between. I'd steer clear of this unless you really love gross out comedy, otherwise you'll just spend the whole movie feeling offended.

You’ll like this if you liked : Delta Farce

Classic Friday : The Disorderly Orderly (1964) 8/10

Starring : Jerry Lewis, Glenda Farrell, Everett Sloane, Karen Sharpe, Kathleen Freeman, Susan Oliver
Director : Frank Tashlin
Running Time : 86 mins

Jerome Littlefield (Lewis) is too squeamish to become a doctor, so he's settled on working as an orderly at the Whitestone Sanitorium. Yet even working in such a seemingly basic job role, Jerome still manages to cause chaos wherever he goes, even more so when his favourite actress Susan Andrews (Oliver) comes to stay at the sanitorium and he finds himself instantly smitten with her.

This is one of Lewis's more formulaic movies, revolving around him fancying someone while someone fancies him, and along the way he falls over a lot and knocks things down, but Lewis's comic genius makes this another marvel to watch, filled with fun antics and silly visual humour.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Bellboy

King Arthur (2004) 5/10

Starring : Clive Owen, Keira Knightley, Stellan Skarsgard, Stephen Dillane, Ray Winstone, Hugh Dancy
Director : Antoine Fuqua
Running Time : 142 mins

A Roman Captain named Arthur (Owen) attempts to solve all of the problems in Britain by uniting all of it's warring factions and by overthrowing his own Roman Army.

It's hard to say what the plot of this movie was, but it cetainly had little to do with Arthurian legend. The setting has changed, the characters have different personalities - Arthur himself has no personality - and there's only one brief mention of Merlin, who to my mind we never see. The acting is flat, and only the action sequences do anything to rekindle any interest the viewer might have in this epic. Steer clear of this desperate cash-in on the popularity of The Lord Of Rings, it's just too boring to bother with.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Lord Of The Rings : The Return Of The King

The Last Samurai (2003) 7/10

Starring : Tom Cruise, Timothy Spall, Billy Connolly, Tony Goldwyn, Ken Watanabe
Director : Edward Zwick
Running Time : 147 mins

US captain Nathan Algren (Cruise) is hired by the young and naive Japanese emperor to help to train his army, but after their first battle campaign ends in disaster, Algren is captured by the enemy Samurai warriors who are not the savages he had been lead to believe they were. He forms something of a bond with them, a bond which makes him reconsider his opinion on the military, so when he is finally returned to his own people he starts to question the orders of those in charge.

This movie may be overly long, but it passes quite swiftly, with the story slowly leading Cruise's character to re-evaluate his lot in life, though the transformation is a little far fetched and overly idealistic. There's some beautifully shot cinematography and some great battle scenes which surprisingly leave a lot of the bloodshed to the imagination.

You’ll like this if you liked : Last Of The Mohicans

Speed Racer (2008) 7/10

Starring : Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Paulie Litt
Director : Andy And Larry Wachowski
Running Time : 134 mins

Speed Racer (Hirsch) has one dream, and that's to follow in the family footsteps and become a race car driver and compete for the company owned by his dad (Goodman). When he is offered the opportunity to race for a major corporation Speed discovers a scam that involves the company head, Arnold Royalton (Allam), whereby companies have been using the races to boost shares in their companies. Speed turns down the offer, and then finds his father's company in danger of going bankrupt when Royalton threatens that Speed will never race again!

Compared to the last two Matrix movies, this was quite the improvement for the Wachowski's. Granted, this is clearly aimed at under 10s, and the sets look like something from Lazy Town, but the overall childlike effect of the plotline and the visuals is pretty effective. It's not going to win any Oscars, but it's good for the kids.

You’ll like this if you liked : Spy Kids

Queen Of The Damned (2002) 6/10

Starring : Stuart Townsend, Marguerite Moreau, Aaliyah, Vincent Perez, Paul McGann, Lena Olin
Director : Michael Rymer
Running Time : 102 mins

The Vampire Lestat (Townsend) awakens from years of slumber and decides to set up a band in order to sate his thirst for blood by drinking from groupies. He is soon discovered for what he is by trainee vampire hunter Jesse Reeves (Moreau), and the two begin a strange relationship with each other until Akasha (Aaliyah), the Queen of the Damned, decides to take Lestat as her King.

Compared to Interview With The Vampire, which in itself was a little kitschy and camp, this feels like The Rocky Horror Show. Townsend looks like Keira Knightley with an Adams apple, and casting him as a rock star vampire is pretty perfect. The effects are pretty basic, and Aaliyah's acting is atrocious with an accent like a Jamaican Boris Karloff, but this movie still has something going for it with its tongue in cheek approach.

You’ll like this if you liked : The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Are We Done Yet? (2007) 6/10

Starring : Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C McGinley, Aleisha Allen, Philip Daniel Bolden
Director : Steve Carr
Running Time : 89 mins

Nick Persons (Cube) and his newly pregnant wife Suzanne (Long) decide that, now that they're married, they need a bigger home for their collection of four children, but no sooner have they bought their so-called dream house than things start to go wrong and they find themselves feeling conned by local jack-of-all-trades Chuck Mitchell Jr (McGinley).

This wasn't an improvement on the first movie, Are We There Yet?, and in fact seems like something of a regression as the kids take a back burner to an amiable performance by Scrubs star John C McGinley. Ice Cube tries his best to recapture the charm of the original, but fails by almost parodying himself in thsi weak sequel.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Money Pit

She's The Man (2006) 8/10

Starring : Amanda Bynes, Channing Tatum, Laura Ramsey, Vinnie Jones, Julie Hagerty, David Cross
Director : Andy Fickman
Running Time : 105 mins

Viola Hastings (Bynes) is appalled when her girls football league is cut, so taking advantage of her twin brother's absence she disguises herself as him at the new school he's been transfered to so that she can try out for their football team and prove her point that girls are as good as boys. Unfortunately things go from bad to worse as she falls for her new roommate Duke (Tatum), who in turn is in love with a girl named Olivia (Ramsey) who in turn loves Viola in her guise as Sebastian.

Bynes is actually quite convincing in her duel roles as Viola and Sebastian, and keeps the story light and entertaining with her performance. Sometimes she goes a little over the top, but overall she manages to keep in character. The remaining cast are pretty good, working with a reasonable script based loosely on Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, and although the humour isn't particularly intelligent it is still quite an enjoyable movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : It's A Boy Girl Thing

Blood : The Last Vampire (2000) 7/10

Starring : Youki Kudoh, Saemi Nakamura, Joe Romersa
Director : Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Running Time : 46 mins

Saya (Kudoh) is a young girl who works for a secret governmemt organisation, and is sent undercover as a schoolgirl to investigate a military college that has been rumoured to be overrun with vampiric creatures and, once she's found them, she is tasked to destroy them before they can infect America's young soldiers.

This is a beautifully animated movie which takes a very simple horror premise and turns it into more of a mystery piece. The plot isn't dragged out for too long, though I'd have preferred if there was a little more exposition along the way, but I guess they had to save something for the TV show.

You’ll like this if you liked : Kai Doh Maru

Domino (2005) 7/10

Starring : Keira Knightley, Mickey Rourke, Edgar Ramirez, Lucy Liu, Mena Suvari, Christopher Walken
Director : Tony Scott
Running Time : 128 mins

Domino Harvey (Knightley) is a bounty hunter who is hired, along with others, to appear in a new reality television show, titled Bounty Squad. They use the show as a cover for performing a major robbery, but upon discovering that two of the kids they've chosen as patsys have connections to the mob they realise that they may be in well over their heads.

Visually stylistic, this movie suffers from one minor drawback, and that's that Knightley isn't particularly believable in the role. There are some nice comedy moments mixed in with the violence, and despite a slightly disjointed story which felt like it needed more exploration, this is a sound movie which makes for fine viewing.

You’ll like this if you liked : Smokin' Aces

Meet The Spartans (2008) 3/10

Starring : Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra, Ken Davitian, Kevin Sorbo
Director : Jason Friedberg
Running Time : 87 mins

King Leonidas (Maguire) leads an army of only 13 Spartan soldiers against the invading Persian army, lead by Xerxes (Davitian), and along the way a number of homophobic knob jokes ensue.

This movie was beyond terrible. Basically taking the plot from Frank Miller's 300 and wrapping it around a bunch of willy jokes, vomit scenes and poor celebrity immitators, as well as taking the same joke and replaying it over and over, this movie actually made me like Epic Movie better after watching it. If The Class ever gets cancelled (if it hasn't been cancelled already), Sean Maguire may as well pack his bags and head back to the UK because I seriously doubt that anyone in Hollywood will employ him again.

You’ll like this if you liked : Epic Movie

Classic Friday : The Man With Two Brains (1983) 9/10

Starring : Steve Martin, Kathleen Turner, David Warner, Sissy Spacek
Director : Carl Reiner
Running Time : 86 mins

Dr Michael Hfuhruhurr (Martin) is a widowed brain surgeon who falls in love with one of his patients, the beautiful Dolores Benedict (Turner) and subsequently marries her, but soon he realises she only married him for his money. As he considers having to divorce the scheming femme fatale, Dr Hfuhruhurr meets another brain specialist, Alfred Necessiter (Warner), who may have the solution to all of his problems.

This is another prime example of how funny Steve Martin used to be. Whenever he worked with Carl Reiner, the results were often original and always hilarious. The story of a man who falls for a disembodied brain sounds silly, but Martin and Spacek make it work for them and give performances that are Oscar worthy. This is a great comedy which everyone should go and see.

You’ll like this if you liked : Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid

Tropic Thunder (2008) 8/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr, Nick Nolte, Steve Coogan, Jay Baruchel, Brandon T Jackson, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Cruise
Director : Ben Stiller
Running Time : 107 mins

During the filming of the latest Vietnam War movie, director Damien Cockburn (Coogan) is instructed by studio boss Les Grossman (Cruise) to get the actors to pull their fingers out and perform to the best of their abilities, so he flies them into an Asian jungle where, believing their still making a movie, the cast fall prowl of a militant group who happen to be huge fans of actor Tugg Speedman (Stiller).

This movie was so stupid it's difficult to find someone who wouldn't laugh at even one joke or set piece contained within. From the fake movie trailers at the start of the film to Tom Cruise's bald wig, this movie has something for anyone who loves a good comedy, with some great performances from all involved.

You’ll like this if you liked : Zoolander

Silent Hill (2006) 5/10

Starring : Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Tanya Allen, Alice Krige, Jodelle Ferland
Director : Christophe Gans
Running Time : 126 mins

Rose Da Silva (Mitchell) runs away with her daughter Sharon (Ferland) to the small town of Silent Hill to prevent the young girl from being committed to an insane asylum due to her suffering from somnambulism which puts her in constant danger, but Rose discovers that the town has been all but abandoned, and that strange zombie like creatures have been kidnapping the town's children and may have now taken hers.

Horror movies should not be this long, especially when the horror blatantly starts so early on with little or no build up. Mitchell is a weak lead, one of the weakest actors in Pitch Black, and spends most of the movie just wandering around the large sets. Stylistically this is an impressive movie, but plot wise there isn't enough substance to stretch its plot as far as it went.

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

Me Without You (2001) 8/10

Starring : Anna Friel, Michelle Williams, Kyle MacLachlan, Oliver Milburn
Director : Sandra Goldbacher
Running Time : 103 mins

Childhood friends Marina (Friel) and Holly (Wiliams) are inseperable, yet as different as two people could be, yet their friendship has survived through years of turmoil, until they both fall for their college English professor Daniel (MacLachlan) and their friendship finally finds itself on rocky ground.

This was an extremely entertaining movie, with Friel and WIlliams bouncing off each other from start to finish. Although the plot wasn't that solid, and the ending felt tacked on, it was nice to see the characters reacting to a basic, yet life changing, situation and come through it in one piece.

You’ll like this if you liked : Heavenly Creatures

Doomsday (2008) 7/10

Starring : Rhona Mitra, Bob Hoskins, Adrian Lester, Alexander Siddig, Malcolm McDowell, Sean Pertwee
Director : Neil Marshall
Running Time : 113 mins

The deadly Reaper virus starts to spread throughout the UK, and the authorities react by quarantining the whole of Scotland in the hope of stopping the spread to the rest of the world. Thirty years later the virus shows up in London, so one of the few survivors of the virus that managed to escape from Scotland, Eden Sinclair (Mitra), along with a group of specialists, are sent back in past the cordon to try to secure a suspected cure for the virus when survivors are spotted via satellite wandering the streets of Glasgow. Unfortunately the survivors are flesh eating anarchists and soon the group find themselves fighting for their lives.

This movie has the distinct feel of 28 Days Later, but with more of a Hollywood twist. Whereas Neil Marshall's Dog Soldiers and The Descent were distinctly British, this has the marks of an American action movie written all over it, despite it's setting. There's some homage paid to both the Mad Max series as well as Escape From New York, but this still has a bit of originality left in it.

You’ll like this if you liked : Resident Evil

Oldboy (2003) 9/10

Starring : Choi Min-sik, Yu Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong
Director : Chan-Wook Park
Running Time : 115 mins

After being incarcerated for 15 years for no known reason, and being told that his wife has been murdered, Oh Dae-su (Choi) wakes up one day to find he has been set free. Angered by these events, he sets about trying to find who did this to him so that he can exact vengeance upon them, but soon finds himself faced with familiar faces from his past and the knowledge that something he may have done in the past may have led to the death of an innocent young girl.

This film is simply wonderful, infusing gritty violence with slapstick humour and keeping a perfect balance between the two from start to finish. Although the opening scenes are confusing, they don't really need explanation as the later events of the movie clear most questions up. Be warned, there are some very hard core scenes of violence, and the subject matter isn't for the sqeamish, especially when you consider the final scene for what it really is.

You’ll like this if you liked : Sympathy For Mr Vengeance

Meet The Parents (2000) 9/10

Starring : Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner
Director : Jay Roach
Running Time : 103 mins

When Pam Byrnes (Polo) brings her new fiancee Greg Focker (Stiller) home to meet her parents, her father Jack (De Niro) takes an instant disliking to him for seemingly no reason, but soon reasons come flying his way thick and fast as Greg, though trying to fit in, finds himself becoming increasingly ostrocised by the family due to a series of mistakes and misunderstandings.

Simply put this is one of the best slapstick comedies of recent years, with wonderful performances by all involved. De Niro is genuinely scary as the parent you'd never want to meet, and Stiller's bumbling inneptitude is frighteningly realistic without going so over the top as to become a caricature of itself. This is definitely a movie that everyone should have seen, as well as the almost as good though more over the top sequel.

You’ll like this if you liked : A Guy Thing