Bad Company (2002) 6/10

Starring : Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock, Gabriel Macht, Peter Stormare
Director : Joel Schumacher
Running Time : 111 mins

When CIA agent Kevin Pope (Rock) is murdered in the line of duty, his colleague Gaylord Oakes (Hopkins) is forced to try and turn the dead agents identical twin brother, a man who never even knew he had a brother, named Jake Hayes (Rock), into a believable replacement for him so that they can complete a vital mission.

The plot here is pretty standard, having Rock playing his own dead CIA brother who he has to replace to finish his work, but Rock really wasn’t right for the role. Don’t get me wrong, I like his comedy, but he really isn’t very good at playing it straight. Thankfully Hopkins rescues the movie by playing his role with spot on deadpan humour that manages to bring Rock’s performance up at least a little.

You’ll like this if you liked : Bad Boys

Tales From Earthsea (2006) 7/10

Starring : Timothy Dalton, Willem Dafoe, Matt Levin
Director : Goro Miyazaki
Running Time : 111 mins

A wandering wizard named Ged (Dalton) travels across the land of Earthsea, trying to discover the reason behind recent sightings of dragons in the land, something that shouldn’t be happening. On his journey he meets a young boy named Arren (Levin) and discovers that an evil wizard named Cobb (Dafoe) is trying to control the realm by tipping the balance of the world towards evil.

With the absence of Hayao Miyazaki as director, it’s to be expected that some of the magic would be missing from this offering from Studio Ghinli. However, on the whole his son Goro does a good job of mimicking his father’s style, particularly with the character of Cobb, whose liquid movements are reminiscent of the creature at the end of Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Black Cauldron

Valkyrie (2008) 9/10

Starring : Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson
Director : Bryan Singer
Running Time : 116 mins

Towards the end of World War II, Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise) and a group of German officers realise that Germany is doomed under the Nazi regime and plan on ending the war by rewriting Operation : Valkyrie so that they can seize Berlin after assassinating Adolf Hitler, thus saving Germany from destruction.

This was an incredibly engaging movie in which Cruise actually gives a heartfelt and worthy performance. The supporting cast of British stars are fantastic and keep the story fast paced and emotionally charged. The inevitable ending was sad by perfect, and any notion by Hollywood to try and change it would have been appalling. This is a great movie which everyone should see, and don’t be put off if you don’t usually enjoy war movies.

You’ll like this if you liked : Enemy At The Gates

Big Stan (2007) 6/10

Starring : Rob Schneider, David Carradine, Jennifer Morrison
Director : Rob Schneider
Running Time : 105 mins

When con-man Stan (Schneider) is sentenced to a minimum jail term of three years for selling dodgy time shares, he decides to hire a martial arts expert known as the Master (Carradine) to train him in prison-rules self-defence so that he won’t get raped in prison, but once he’s in prison he discovers that the Warden wants his help to close the prison down so he can turn the land it’s on into prime real estate.

This was pretty basic stuff, with most of the jokes coming straight from the toilet. Clearly Schneider is finding it hard to get work so is becoming forced to write and direct his own movies, but he does a reasonable job. The only real problem with this movie is the way Schneider tries to make himself looking guilt free and wonderful, something that he really shouldn’t be doing in a movie where he’s a con man in prison.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Longest Yard

Classic Friday : Kingpin (1996) 9/10

Starring : Woody Harrelson, Randy Quaid, Vanessa Angel, Bill Murray
Director : Bobby & Peter Farrelly
Running Time : 117 mins

Ace bowler Roy Munson (Harrelson) finds his life destroyed when fellow bowler Ernie McCracken (Murray) ruins his career by destroying his hand. After years of self pity, Roy runs into an Amish man named Ishmael (Quaid), who also happens to be one of the finest bowlers he has ever met, so taking the role of his trainer Roy plans to train Ishmael to become the best there is and beat McCracken at the ultimate bowling tournament.

This is a great movie which manages to keep a plot going whilst simultaneously providing cheap gags in every scene. Harrelson and Quaid make a fantastic pair in this comedy, and Murray is absolutely brilliant as Ernie McCracken, and should have won an Oscar just for his hair piece.

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

The Pink Panther 2 (2009) 7/10

Starring : Steve Martin, John Cleese, Jean Reno, Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Emily Mortimer, Aishwarya Rai
Director : Shawn Levy
Running Time : 83 mins

When a world renowned thief named The Tornado comes out of retirement and starts stealing major artefacts from around the world, Inspector Jacques Clouseau (Martin) is called upon to join a Dream Team of investigators to find out where the goods have gone and who The Tornado really is.

Although Steve Martin will never fill the shoes of Peter Sellers in this role, and he really shouldn't try, this is still a fun filled movie which, though predictable, gives some funny set pieces that are a little more subtle than in the previous instalments. The supporting cast do admirably in their respective roles, but it was sad to see Kevin Kline replaced with John Cleese.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ace Ventura : When Nature Calls

A Prairie Home Companion (2006) 7/10

Starring : Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin
Director : Robert Altman
Running Time : 100 mins

The presenter (Keillor) of popular public access radio programme A Prairie Home Companion hosts his final show before a ruthless businessman (Jones) closes the set down for good so it can be demolished.

Although this is an extraordinarily slow movie which basically has no real plot, there are some okay moments of mirth, especially from Harrelson and Reilly who perform some quite witty songs. The fact that there is very little in the way of plot or character development doesn’t effect it’s watchability, and it’s surprising that this is still watchable considering the lack of direction in the overall storyline.

You’ll like this if you liked : Good Night, And Good Luck.

The Reader (2008) 9/10

Starring : Kate Winslet, Ralph Fiennes, David Kross
Director : Stephen Daldry
Running Time : 119 mins

In post World War II Germany, Michael Berg (Kross) starts an elicit relationship with an older woman named Hanna Schmitz (Winslet), a relationship that ends abruptly and without any explanation. Years later Berg, now a law student, discovers that Shmitz is on trial for war crimes following her involvement in the internment camps during the war, but he has information that could potentially clear her name at least in part.

This was an incredibly moving and thought provoking movie which puts Winslet in an ambiguous light. The character of Michael Berg, played by both Fiennes and Kross is the kind of character that you can’t help but dislike, due to his poor decisions and his terrible timing. This movie really should have beaten Slumdog Millionaire to the Oscar this year, but I guess it’s never to be.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Chamber

Josie And The Pussycats (2001) 8/10

Starring : Rachael Leigh Cook, Tara Reid, Rosario Dawson, Alan Cumming, Parker Posey
Director : Harry Elfont & Deborah Kaplan
Running Time : 94 mins

Wannabe pop group Josie And The Pussycats find themselves being used by record company executive Wyatt Frame (Cumming) who, after the mysterious demise of his previous pop sensation Du Jour, wants to use their music to send subliminal messages to the masses to encourage the young public to buy their products.

This incredibly knowing parable on how the music industry markets it's bands based on appearance rather than talent hits the right notes pretty much for the entirety of the movie. Cumming and Posey are wonderfully over the top as the record execs trying to use The Pussycats for their own devices and the odd comment on the movie being based on a comic and cartoon are perfectly timed.

You’ll like this if you liked : Romy And Michelle’s High School Reunion

Here On Earth (2000) 6/10

Starring : Chris Klein, Leelee Sobieski, Josh Hartnett, Michael Rooker, Bruce Greenwood
Director : Mark Piznarski
Running Time : 92 mins

Rich kid Kelley (Klein) and farmboy Jasper (Hartnett) are sentanced to community service when a fight between them leads to a diner being burned down and the two youths are forced to work together, but soon their feud is refuelled when Kelley falls for Jasper's girlfriend Samantha (Sobieski).

This bitter sweet romantic drama really didn't do anything for me. The performances felt stale, in most places they were overshadowed by the over use of incidental music. The childish behaviour of the two boys, Hartnett and Klein, really didn't make for pleasing viewing,

You’ll like this if you liked : A Walk To Remember

Melinda And Melinda (2004) 6/10

Starring : Radha Mitchell, Will Ferrell, Jonny Lee Miller, Amanda Peet, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chloe Sevigny, Wallace Shawn
Director : Woody Allen
Running Time : 95 mins

A pair of writers, one who focuses on comedy, the other focusing more on tragedy, attempt to contrive two seperate stories based on the same events surrounding a woman named Melinda (Mitchell). One story has her fall for a pianist (Ejiofor) who cheats on her, the other has her actor neighbour (Ferrell) falling in love with her.

This movie was an interesting idea, but it was one that's been done before, and to better effect. Basically this is a version of Sliding Doors that has little of the humour, even in the apparently comic version of Melinda's tale. Allen thankfully doesn't put in an appearance, which is a plus, but even that does little to improve this simple tale that goes nowhere and jumps to the point far too quickly and unsatisfyingly.

You’ll like this if you liked : He Said / She Said

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) 8/10

Starring : Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell
Director : Andrew Dominik
Running Time : 160 mins

Jesse James (Pitt) is the biggest hero of 19 year old Robert Ford (Affleck), and Ford soon manages to get himself membership to Jesse’s criminal gang, but when he realises the size of the reward for killing James, Ford decides to make a name for himself by killing James and collecting the reward.

Despite being extremely slow paced and unnecessarily long, this is still an interesting movie which gives a very different account of the life of Jesse James from what we usually see in old Westerns. It’s sad that Robert Ford was thought of as a coward when he stopped a criminal from continuing his work, but this account gives a balanced account of what happened and leaves the audience to make their own judgement.

You’ll like this if you liked : 3:10 To Yuma

I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK (2006) 7/10

Starring : Su-jeong Lim, Rain, Hie-jin Choi
Director : Park Chan-wook
Running Time : 108 mins

When her grandmother is committed to an insane asylum, Young-goon (Lim) in turn starts to believe that she might be a cyborg and checks herself into a home where she stops eating and begins to die because of her belief that she only needs batteries to survive. In the home she meets a young man named Il-sun (Jung), an apparent kleptomaniac who tries to help her by getting her to eat again.

This is a very stylish movie which is filled with some great visual ideas and some wonderful performances from all the characters involved. Lim and Jung make a wonderful couple, though it's never really established if Jung's character is really mentally ill, as I felt he was just playing off the emotions of the other mental patients. Sadly the ending felt a little rushed, and I'd have liked to see some better reolution to the piece.

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

Lakeview Terrace (2008) 9/10

Starring : Samuel L Jackson, Patrick Wilson, Kerry Washington, Ron Glass, Justin Chambers, Jay Hernandez
Director : Neil Labute
Running Time : 111 mins

When newly weds Chris and Lisa Mattson(Wilson & Washington) move into their new home, they think they're in a safe neighbourhood because their new neighbour (Jackson) is a cop but, when he sees they're a mixed race couple, memories of his wife leaving him for a white guy resurface and he starts to take out his anger on the unfortunate couple.

This was something of a hidden jem, there having been very little advertising for this movie in the UK. It's reminiscent of movies like Pacific Heights or Unlawful Entry, and makes for some very disconcertaining viewing. Jackson is wonderfully misguided as Abel Turner, the man who thinks he's been wronged by all white people because his wife left him for a white guy.

You’ll like this if you liked : Pacific Heights

Classic Friday : Way Out West (1937) 9/10

Starring : Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, James Finlayson
Director : James W Horne
Running Time : 63 mins

Stan (Laurel) and Ollie (Hardy) travel out west to deliver the deeds to a valuable mine as part of an inheritance, but are tricked out of the deed by dodgy bar keeper Mickey Finn (Finlayson) who plans on keeping the mine for himself.

This is most definitely Laurel and Hardy's most famous and well loved movie, filled with some great musical numbers and some clever set pieces that give the duo the opportunity for some very clever and well thought through moments of mirth. Featuring some of the most famous moments, such as Stan's changing pitch in voice whilst singing The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine, and Stan and Ollie's dancing scene outside the bar, this is a movie that can be enjoyed again and again.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Music Box

Paul Blart : Mall Cop (2009) 7/10

Starring : Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Bobby Cannavale
Director : Steve Carr
Running Time : 91 mins

Shopping mall security guard Paul Blart (James) has never been given any respect in his position, so when a gang of thieves take over the mall he works in and plan on robbing every store, Blart takes a stand and uses the opportunity to prove his worth to himself and to the woman he loves (Mays).

Although this movie starts off incredibly slow, and with little or no humour to speak of, after about half an hour a plot emerges and the movie becomes actually quite engrossing. James does well as the overweight action hero of the piece, but falls a little flat at the start of the movie where the set up feels like a last minute tack on to brong up the run time.

You’ll like this if you liked : National Security

The Diving-Bell And The Butterfly (2007) 8/10

Starring : Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Max von Sydow
Director : Julian Schnabel
Running Time : 108 mins

The editor of Elle magazine, Jean-Dominique Bauby (Amalric) suffers a massive stroke and wakes up from a coma to find he is almost completely paralysed and unable to speak. As he continues to suffer, he strives to complete his memoirs through the use of a specially devised alphabet that allows him to use blinks to indicate letters he wants written down.

Based on the true story of the tragic events that happened to Jean-Dominique Bauby and his sensational ability to troop on regardless, this is a very brave movie, focussing almost entirely on a man who can't speak or move. The supporting cast keep the action flowing, and Amalric manages to convey a definite feeling of helplessness in the lead role.

You’ll like this if you liked : My Left Foot

Madagascar Escape 2 Africa (2008) 7/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Alec Baldwin
Director : Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath
Running Time : 89 mins

When Alex the lion (Stiller), Marty the zebra (Rock), Melman the giraffe (Schwimmer) and Gloria the hippo (Pinkett Smith) decide to try to get back to New York, they end up in Africa where Alex discovers that his father is a powerful lion leader, and that he is expected to follow in his footsteps. But the envious lion Makunga (Baldwin) has other plans for the leadership of the plains and vows to get Alex banished forever into the wilderness

This was a fun though unnecessary sequel to the 2005 classic, and no doubt there will be a third. The cast didn't feel as fresh as they did in the first movie, but I did like the revelation that Melman is in love with Gloria. The plot was a little similar to the Lion King, but it's possible that this was intentionally a mocking homage of the Disney Classic.

You’ll like this if you liked : Shrek The Third

The In-Laws (2003) 6/10

Starring : Michael Douglas, Albert Brooks, Robin Tunney, Ryan Reynolds, David Suchet, Candice Bergen
Director : Andrew Fleming
Running Time : 93 mins

Jerry Pyser (Brooks) finds himself in a lot of trouble when he discovers that the father of his future son-in-law is a rogue CIA agent. Pyser soon ends up having to pretend to help Steve Tobias (Douglas) as the real CIA try to track down the criminals Tobias is involved with, namely Jean-Pierr Thibodoux (Suchet).

This was a pretty weak comedy which has Brooks and Douglas really hamming it up as they attempt to foil a group of thieves. Suchet really takes the biscuit as he dons the hat of the criminal mastermind who longs for Brooks, but there are some okay moments of humour that vaguely rescue this otherwise uninspired remake of the classic 70's movie of the same name.

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

The Safety Of Objects (2001) 6/10

Starring : Glenn Close, Dermot Mulroney, Patricia Clarkson, Joshua Jackson
Director : Rose Troche
Running Time : 115 mins

A number of neighbouring families, each trying to cope with the problems in their lives in their own unique ways, find themselves borught together in the lead up to a catastrophe that will affect them all.

This is really a movie where nothing important happens. There's no real direction for the movie, other than the eventual connection between the disparate families through the death of a family member, and this makes the eventual disaster and funeral feel incredibly tacked on. Avoid this if you like movies with plots and directions that don't read like a substandard soap opera as, although there are some interesting moments, this feels more like an episode of a TV show than an actual movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Igby Goes Down

Lady Vengeance (2005) 8/10

Starring : Young-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi, Shi-hoo Kim, Il-woo Nam
Director : Chan-wook Park
Running Time : 116 mins

When Lee Guem-ja (Lee) is sentenced to thirteen years in prison for kidnapping and murdering a young boy, she vows to take revenge on the man really responsible for the killing, Mr Baek (Kim), a man who is also responsible for kidnapping her own daughter and threatening to kill her unless Lee tells the police she was behind the original kidnapping.

Like Sympathy For Mr Vengeance and Oldboy, this is just a great exercise in black comedy with extra violence. The actors are all brilliant and perform perfectly in regards to their roles, but the characters aren't quite as strong as those in its predecessors. Definitely worth watching, but try not to be disappointed that it isn't another Oldboy.

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

Underworld : Rise Of The Lycans (2009) 5/10

Starring : Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh
Director : Patrick Tatolpoulos
Running Time : 93 mins

Following a short lived affair with a vampire named Sonja (Mitra), a werewolf named Lucian (Sheen) rises up against his oppressors the Vampires and rallies the rest of his kind in a battle against them for their freedom.

This movie felt really pointless. The first two weren't that good to start with, and then this prequel was the icing on the flavourless cake. Even Kate Beckinsale only turned up for the last two minutes of the movie, and to be fair that could have easily been stock footage. Why Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy stooped to make this is beyond me, but I suppose the money was right. There are some okay moments, but they're really just too few and far between.

You’ll like this if you liked : Van Helsing

Slumdog Millionaire (2008) 8/10

Starring : Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal
Director : Danny Boyle & Loveleen Tandan
Running Time : 121 mins

When Jamal Malik (Patel) wins Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, he is accused by the producers of somehow cheating to know the answers. As he explains how he happens to know the answers, events from his life unfold to show just how he came across this particular knowledge, and also how he came to be on the game show in the first place.

This is a solid fell-good movie that cleverly moves back and forth through time to prove that Jamal is telling the truth. The cast are very good on the whole, but I do get the feeling that this shouldn’t have won the Best Picture Oscar as there was nothing outstanding about it and it didn’t effect me emotionally. Granted I’ve so far only seen one of the other nominees, The Reader, but I thought this was much better than Slumdog. I’ll be watching the rest of the nominees in the coming weeks, so let’s see if they're better too.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Usual Suspects

December Boys (2007) 6/10

Starring : Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James Fraser
Director : Rod Hardy
Running Time : 105 mins

Four young Australian orphans are sent away from their convent to a seaside village to spend their summer holidays. When they get to the village, they soon find themselves in competition as they each try to win over a young childless couple in the hope of getting them to adopt one of them

This movie didn't really go anywhere. The main children had little no personality to differentiate them from each other, and if it wasn't for Harry Potter being in it then most people would probably have never heard of it. The voice over was patronising, and made the film feel more like an episode of Jackanory than anything else. Still, if you like slow paced melodrama, then this might be just the ticket.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Ice Storm

Classic Friday : Friday The 13th : A New Beginning (1985) 8/10

Starring : Melanie Kinnaman, John Shepherd, Shavar Ross, Marco St John
Director : Danny Steinmann
Running Time : 93 mins

Jason Voorhees is dead, but Tommy Jarvis (Shepherd) is still haunted by the killings he witnessed at the hands of the hockey mask wearing killer. Years have passed, and Tommy is recovering from the ordeal in a rehab centre when the murders begin again, and Tommy becomes convinced that Jason has returned from the dead to exact his revenge on him.

This is one of the more imaginative instalments of the popular horror series, with the characters being more realistic and the plot itself being actually possible. Sadly from this point onwards things went a little too supernatural and Jason begins to feel too powerful in the instalments to come. Savour this one, it's the last of the great human killer series and sadly leads onto some surreal silliness.

You’ll like this if you liked : Raising Cain

Friday The 13th (2009) 7/10

Starring : Jared Padalecki, Danielle Panabaker, Amanda Righetti, Travis Van Winkle, Aaron Yoo, Derek Mears
Director : Marcus Nispel
Running Time : 95 mins

When Whitney Miller (Righetti) goes missing for six weeks near an old abandoned holiday camp, her brother Clay (Padalecki) sets out in search of her, hoping that she is still alive, but what he discovers is that the camp is now home to a maniac who gets off on murdering anyone who comes near his home.

I was surprised to see the entire main cast killed off in the first twenty minutes in a sort of Mission : Impossible style, but the concept of people knowing about Jason Voorhees and simply trying to leave him to his own devices was refreshing. Unfortunately a lot of the characters were walking stereotypes, and I really wanted to slap the black guy at some points - I hate when people play the race card for no reason.

You’ll like this if you liked : Halloween : Resurrection

Yes Man (2008) 8/10

Starring : Jim Carrey, Zooey Deschanel, Bradley Cooper, John Michael Higgins, Terence Stamp
Director : Peyton Reed
Running Time : 100 mins

Loans officer Carl Allen (Carrey) has spent his entire life believing that saying no is the easy way out of any situation, but when he goes to see a motivational speaker (Stamp) he decides to try saying yes to every situation, an idea that has both positive and negative repercussions for his social life.

This is something of a return to form for Jim Carrey, with some of the comedy herein being reminiscent of such movies as Liar Liar. He manages to remain likeable, mainly because he is trying hard to please everyone, but it is his relationship in the movie with co-star Zooey Deschanel that lends this some much needed charm. Be warned, there are some very gross moments as Carrey finds himself unable to say no to anything people ask of him.

You’ll like this if you liked : Good Luck Chuck

PS I Love You (2007) 6/10

Starring : Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Harry Connick Jr, Gina Gershon, Kathy Bates, James Marsters
Director : Richard LaGravenese
Running Time : 126 mins

Following the death of her husband Gerry (Butler), Holly Kennedy (Swank) discovers that he has left instructions for letters to be delivered to her, filled with advice on how to continue her life without him. With the help of her close circle of friends, Holly tries to cope with the loss of her husband and tries to get on with her life, but struggles to keep focus on her future alone.

When a scene seems to be failing, someone is sure to fall over in this poorly conceived apparent comedy that does little to make its audience chuckle. The concept of the dead husband controlling his wife from beyond the grave is beyond misogynistic and leaves an unwelcome bad feeling in the stomach when too much thought is applied to this, although the supporting characters are actually more appealing than the leads

You’ll like this if you liked : Catch And Release

Ghost In The Shell 2 : Innocence (2004) 7/10

Starring : Richard Epcar, Crispin Freeman, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, Joey D’Auria
Director : Mamoru Oshii
Running Time : 96 mins

With Major Motoko Kusanagi (McGlynn) missing an presumed dead, her cyborg ex-partner Batou (Epcar) is assigned a new partner, Togusa (Freeman), and they are put on a case involving sex robots, or Gynoids, that have acted out and murdered some of their owners. As the investigation continues, Batou and Togusa find that the reason behind the robot attacks is far more sinister than even they could have imagined.

Despite not being as interesting or engrossing as the 1995 original, this is still a spectacular anime which takes all the best parts of animation and combines them to make an effective and clearly very detailed movie that can be enjoyed by fans of sci-fi, anime, and film noir alike. There are some great set pieces, particularly the deja vu moments two thirds of the way through, but sadly this falls short of its impressive predecessor.

You’ll like this if you liked : The 6th Day

Memento (2000) 9/10

Starring : Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior, Stephen Tobolowsky
Director : Christopher Nolan
Running Time : 109 mins

Leonard Shelby (Pearce), a man who suffers from short term memory loss and can remember nothing since his wife's murder without the help of notes he writes to himself, sets out in search of Teddy (Pantoliano), the man he believes is responsible for his wife's death and, with the help of a woman named Natalie (Moss), he decides to exact revenge on the man, even though he knows he won't remember it in the morning.

Told in reverse, starting with the climactic murder of the killer of Shelby's wife, this is an effective though sometimes confusing movie that really needs to be concentrated on to get the full impact of the closing scenes. Pearce is perfect as the forgetful lead who tries to figure outwho killed his wife, and the twist at the end is perfectly played to conclude the movie with an open ending.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Jacket

Dumb And Dumberer : When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) 7/10

Starring : Eric Christian Olsen, Derek Richardson, Rachel Nichols, Cheri Oteri, Luis Guzman, Elden Henson, Mimi Rogers, Eugene Levy
Director : Troy Miller
Running Time : 79 mins

It's the first day at school for Harry Dunne (Richardson), and he soon makes firm friends with janitor's son Lloyd Christmas (Olsen). Together they start to get students to join their special needs class, a class that has been set up by Principal Collins (Levy) who is using the class as a scam to embezzle funds, and fellow student Jessica (Nichols) usies the hapless pair to fnd out the whole story for the school paper.

This prequel to the classic 1994 comedy has one major failing - neither of the original stars. However, Olsen and Richardson do a pretty good job of impersonating their predecessors, and even though this is filled with obvious toilet humour and campy plot lines, there is still something here that keeps it entertaining for its thankfully short runtime.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ernest Goes To School

Catacombs (2007) 6/10

Starring : Shannyn Sossamon, Alecia Moore, Emil Hostina
Director : Tomm Coker & David Elliot
Running Time : 89 mins

Victoria (Sossamon) travels to Paris to stay with her sister Carolyn (Moore) but, when they venture into the catacombs beneath the city to attend a secret rave, Carolyn is killed and Victoria finds herself under attack from some half-crazed killer with a goat's skull on his head, apparently created by Devil worshippers and raised on raw flesh.

This movie is actually quite annoying. Without wanting to spoil the plot, the end of this movie really makes you wonder how stupid people can be, and Sossamon's reaction to the situation is perfectly understandable. There are some okay moments, but the middle of this movie felt too much like it was trying to immitate The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Creep with it's constant chase theme. This is only really worth watching if you really like horror movies, and it's funny to see Pink in this kind of movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Shrooms

Role Models (2008) 8/10

Starring : Seann William Scott, Paul Rudd, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb’e J Thompson
Director : David Wain
Running Time : 102 mins

Danny Donahue (Rudd) and his colleague Wheeler (Scott) are sentenced to community service when their car crashes into a school. As punishment they are forced to work 150 hours as part of a mentorship programme and are paired up with Augie (Mintz-Plasse) and Ronnie (Thompson), but can the two immature salesman manage to make any kind of a positive impression on these two less than impressionable youths?

This was a great little comedy that manages to mix crude humour with important messages in a witty and dramatic fashion. Both Rudd and Scott work well in this movie, and although many of the jokes come straight from the toilet this is still likeable in other ways and will no doubt become something of a cult classic in years to come

You’ll like this if you liked : Drillbit Taylor

Fido (2006) 8/10

Starring : Billy Connolly, Carrie-Anne Moss, Dylan Baker, K’Sun Ray
Director : Andrew Currie
Running Time : 92 mins

Following the arrival of strange radiation from space the dead are brought back to life, but following the ensuing Zombie War it is discovered that zombies can be controlled with special collars and used to help society by providing cheap labour. However, the new pet zombie of the Robinson family, oddly named Fido (Connolly), accidentally kills one of their neighbours when his collar malfunctions and he starts a chain reaction that could mean the uncontrolled zombies could be on the rise again.

Taking the concepts from such movies as Night Of The Living Dead and Plan 9 From Outer Space, this comedy takes the next step and shows us a world where humans co-exist with zombie slaves. The humour is jet black, and there are a number of grisly deaths, but if you do like your humour dark then you'll definitely find this to your liking.

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

Classic Friday : The Mask (1994) 8/10

Starring : Jim Carrey, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yesbeck, Richard Jeni, Cameron Diaz
Director : Charles Russell
Running Time : 97 mins

Stanley Ipkiss (Carrey) is a perfectly boring run of the mill bank teller who dreams of being more like the characters in his favourite Tex Avery cartoons, but when he finds an ancient Norse mask and puts it on, he transforms into a cartoonish crime fighting superhero. Unfortunately for Stanley, not everyone wants him to be a hero, and some criminal elements soon try to find a way to steal the mask and use it for their own evil ends.

This was a landmark movie in regards to its visual effects, and also marked the movie debut of Cameron Diaz. The film is a lot less dark than the comic books, in which Stanley goes around murdering people that annoy him, but thankfully this drastic change only proved to make the movie more appealing for all ages and made for an enjoyable adventure for the whole family.

You’ll like this if you liked : Monkeybone

Death Note (2006) 8/10

Starring : Tatsuya Fujiwara, Ken’ichi Matsuyama, Asaka Seto, Shigeki Hosokawa
Director : Shusuke Kaneko
Running Time : 111 mins

A young man named Light (Fujiwara) discovers a note book that has the power to kill anyone whose name is written in it. Along with the book comes a strange demon only he can see, the true owner of the book who wills Light on to kill, but only those who truly deserve it. As the amount of criminals dying from mysterious heart attacks increases, Light takes on the guise of Kira, a character that the public start to adore due to his public services, and the police begin to hate due to his difficulty in being captured.

Based on the Manga of the same name, Death Note is a great little movie that takes the sort of ideas you find in most Japanese horrors and stretches them into an original movie that combines mystery with the supernatural. The characters are perfectly created, with Light being something of an overzealous teen who thinks he is untouchable and his police officer father wanting desperately for him to follow in his footsteps.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ring

Nick And Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008) 8/10

Starring : Michael Cera, Kat Dennings, Aaron Yoo, Rafi Gavron, Ari Graynor, Alexis Dziena
Director : Peter Sollett
Running Time : 90 mins

Nick (Cera) has just broken up with his girlfriend Tris (Dziena), and has been desperately trying to win her back with mix tapes of his own making. When his ex-girlfriend throws them away, they are retrieved by Norah (Dennings) who finds herself falling for the musical tastes of Nick, despite having never met him. When the two do finally meet, Nick finds himself having to choose between Tris and Norah.

This is a fun filled movie which takes a different approach by having the girl be the one that the main focus is on without turning the whole show into a chick flick. Dennings and Cera make a nice pair and, by not having actors that are of a classical look or build, their effect on us as an audience is doubley effective. Fans of High Fidelity will no doubt find this movie intriguing, but anyone who likes romantic comedies should check this out.

You’ll like this if you liked : High Fidelity

The Savages (2007) 8/10

Starring : Laura Linney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Bosco, Peter Friedman
Director : Tamara Jenkins
Running Time : 114 mins

Struggling playwright Wendy (Linney) and college professor Jon (Hoffman) are brother and sister who are forced together when their estranged father Lenny Savage (Bosco) is forced into a new care home following the death of his elderly girlfriend, and their lives get disrupted by his continual need for care and attention.

There are some great underplayed performances in this comedy drama that gives Linney and Hoffman the chance to play neurotic characters that it's hard to either like or dislike. They pretty much just act in a flat and ordinary manner, doing nothing above and beyond what would be expected of them, yet manage to make the depressing story of a father slowly losing his faculties into a light and frothy comedy drama. This is worth watching just to see how difficult it can be to bring humour from tragedy.

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

The Devil's Rejects (2005) 7/10

Starring : Sid Haig, Bill Moseley, Sheri Moon Zombie, Matthew McGrory, William Forsythe
Director : Rob Zombie
Running Time : 105 mins

When the Firefly farmhouse is raided by the police, they discover evidence of almost 100 murders having taken place there so the Firefly family, consisting of Otis (Moseley), Baby (Moon) and Captain Spaulding (Haig), are forced to go on the run to avoid being executed for their crimes by the cop chasing them, who's almost as crazy as they are.

This really did have a seventies feel to it, which worked perfectly in the surroundings, and it even featured actors from classic seventies horrors such as The Hills Have Eyes and Dawn Of The Dead. It was unusual to have the movie largely from the point of view of the killers, but this just made it even more effective than it could have been.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Texas Chainsaw Massacre