Dirty Deeds (2005) 6/10

Starring : Milo Ventimiglia, Lacey Chabert, Tom Amandes, Matthew Carey, Wes Robinson, Zoe Saldana
Director : David Kendall
Running Time : 90 mins

High school senior Zach Harper (Ventimiglia) discovers that Kyle (Robinson), the little brother of his girlfriend Meg (Chabert) is going to try completing a list of ten dares – collectively known as the Dirty Deeds - before homecoming, so in order to protect him from getting into trouble, Zach decides to do them instead, much to the annoyance of high school bully Dan Lawton (Carey).

This could have actually been interesting if someone other than Milo Ventimiglia had been in the lead role – he really has no personality. Other than that, this is a reasonably made teen comedy with an above average plot that manages to more original than most. Fans of things like American Pie will enjoy this dirty movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : The New Guy

Red Dog (2011) 8/10

Starring : Josh Lucas, Rachael Taylor
Director : Kriv Stenders
Running Time : 93 mins

In the Australian outback there is a legend of a red dog, coloured by the sands, who wandered for years in search of his master John Grant (Lucas), who died in an accident. He had worked his way into the lives of the miners of the small town of Dampier, though never allowed anyone to keep him as a pet other than John and instead made his own way in life and his own decisions about who he will live with.

This is such a cute movie, with Red Dog stealing almost every scene he’s in and managing to make us actually feel for him as the movie progresses. The characters that surround Red Dog are funny and warm and feel real in a way that many Hollywood movies fail in so many movies of a similar ilk. I didn’t feel cheated by the deaths in this movie as I sometimes do in movies where they come out of left field, and people who love animal movies that don’t patronise by giving the animals a voice will enjoy this film.

You’ll like this if you liked : Marley And Me

Justice League : The New Frontier (2008) 7/10

Starring : David Boreanaz, Miguel Ferrer, Neil Patrick Harris, Keith David, Lucy Lawless, Kyle MacLachlan
Director : David Bullock
Running Time : 75 mins

In 1950s America, the new generation of superheroes are brought together to battle a creature known as The Centre (David) when they are alerted to his presence by a Martian named J’onn J’onzz (Ferrer).This creatures poses a terrible threat to the world and starts its attack in the guise of a flying island, complete with mutated dinosaurs that obey its every command.

Although this movie tells the tale of the creation of The Justice League of America, it is primarily the tale of how Hal Jordan (voiced by Boreanaz) gains the powers of the Green Lantern. As a result, many people who went into this with expectations based on the posters – which heavily feature Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman – will no doubt have been disappointed. However this is a very character driven movie which does a great job of introducing characters that many have loved for years and making them feel fresh and new.

You’ll like this if you liked : Superman / Doomsday

The Vow (2012) 6/10

Starring : Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Jessica Lange, Sam Neill
Director : Michael Sucsy
Running Time : 104 mins

Paige Collins (McAdams) and her husband Leo (Tatum) are involved in a car accident, and when Paige wakes up she can’t remember anything since they met. She ends up going back to her estranged family who never approved of their relationship, and begins to drift from her loving husband.

McAdams and Tatum aren’t great in what is basically a dramatic version of 50 First Dates. The performances could have been better and suffer from being flat and unimaginative. If you enjoy their other work, stand out performances being Fighter for Tatum and The Lucky Ones for McAdams, then you’ll most likely be faced with bitter disappointment, otherwise you might enjoy this drama about memory loss and true love.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Notebook

In The Loop (2009) 8/10

Starring : Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, Chris Addison
Director : Armando Iannucci
Running Time : 102 mins

When British MP Simon Foster (Hollander) makes a gap on national TV that makes him sound like he is in support of war, he suddenly finds himself with a lot of attention from Washington, DC and from the Prime Minister’s office. With his new assistant Toby (Addison) and under orders from Ministerial spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (Capaldi), foster finds himself caught up in a political quagmire surrounding a leaked document declaring war to be a terrible idea.

This is a hysterically funny political satire that hits all the right notes at all the right moments. The story blends perfectly together, and the only real criticism I have is that I didn’t like the open ending that left a few questions to be answered. Fans of TV show The Thick Of It will enjoy this big screen outing for Malcolm Tucker, and those who have never watched it will find this well observed and packed with wit.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Trip

The Muppets (2011) 7/10

Starring : Jason Segel, Amy Adams, Peter Linz, Chris Cooper
Director : James Bobin
Running Time : 103 mins

Brothers Gary (Segel) and Walter (Linz) are the world’s biggest Muppets fans, so when Gary plans on surprising his girlfriend Mary (Adams) with a trip to Los Angeles, he invites his brother along too so he can visit the Muppet Studios. When Walter discovers that the theatre is being sold to oil magnate Tex Richman (Cooper), he decides to try to reunite the Muppets to raise the money to stop the theatre from being pulled down.

Fans of the Muppets will enjoy this light-hearted return to the original characters, the first cinema release since Muppets In Space in 1999 (The Muppets’ Wizard Of Oz went straight to video in 2005). The plot is simple, as is the humour, and although the originals do take something of a back burner to new Muppet Walter and his brother, there are still enough jokes and silliness to keep original fans happy while welcoming new fans into the fold.

You’ll like this if you liked : Muppets In Space

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001) 7/10

Starring : Nicolas Cage, Penelope Cruz, John Hurt, Christian Bale
Director : John Madden
Running Time : 124 mins

When Italy allies itself with the Germans in 1941, a small Greek island finds itself invaded and occupied by Italian soldiers. Led by Captain Antonio Corelli (Cage), the soldiers try to make the transition as comfortable for the people as possible, keeping things light by holding parties and fraternizing with the locals, and Corelli himself starts seeing a local woman named Pelagia (Cruz), the daughter of the islands medic, Doctor Iannis (Hurt).

This is an unusual war related movie in that it makes the Italian soldiers seem innocent of any crime, and makes them look like they are just doing their jobs. In contrast the majority of the German soldiers are shown to be blood hungry maniacs. It seems a little unfair to let the Italian soldiers off the hook when they were just as bad as the German soldiers, but if you can look past this you will find that this is a good humoured romantic story that works very well.

You’ll like this if you liked : Pearl Harbour

War Of Resistance (2011) 5/10

Starring : John Rhys-Davies, Craig Robert Young, David Thomas Jenkins, Rachel Spencer Hewitt, Stass Klassen
Director : Peter C Spencer
Running Time : 124 mins

When the Nazis start targeting Jews in Holland, Hans Poley (Jenkins) finds himself a member of a small splinter group of youthful freedom fighters who have set up a resistance group in order to stop the Nazis from killing their people, and together they vainly try to overthrow the Nazi regime.

This movie wasn’t my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t say it was terrible. No-one even tries to put on an accent – the Dutch all sound English, and John Rhys-Davies just sounds like himself. The only problem I had was that I didn’t always sympathise with the Jewish characters as they perpetuated religious intolerance themselves, especially one character who continually went on about how useless the New Testament was when the Old Testament is so great. Probably a bad move in a movie where the Nazis are meant to appear to be the only intolerant ones.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Grey Zone

Journey 2 : The Mysterious Island (2012) 7/10

Starring : Josh Hutcherson, Dwayne Johnson, Luis Guzman, Vanessa Hudgens, Michael Caine
Director : Brad Peyton
Running Time : 95 mins

Sean Anderson (Hutcherson) receives a coded message from his grandfather Alexander (Caine) telling him that he is trapped on the legendary mysterious island of Jules Verne fame. Along with his stepfather Hank (Johnson), Sean travels in search of the island to rescue his grandfather from certain death at the hands of the giant creatures that inhabit the island.

I actually didn’t mind this unnecessary sequel to Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, although I couldn’t figure out what happened to Brendan Fraser’s character who appears to have vanished without a trace. Caine was a bit annoying as the know-it-all grandfather, but I liked that Johnson eventually earns his respect. Kids will love the special effects filled fun of this movie, and Guzman is brilliant for comic relief.

You’ll like this if you liked : Journey To The Centre Of The Earth

Valentine’s Day (2010) 7/10

Starring : Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Carter Jenkins, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift
Director : Garry Marshall
Running Time : 125 mins

Florist Reed Bennett (Kutcher) has proposed to his girlfriend Morley Clarkson (Alba) but she turns him down, then he discovers that his friend Julia Fitzpatrick (Garner) is being cheated on by her boyfriend Harrison Copeland (Dempsey). Jason (Grace) has started dating Liz (Hathaway) but doesn’t realise that she is a sex line worker, and then she turns up at his workplace. Holden Wilson (Cooper) meets Captain Kate Hazeltine (Roberts) on a long haul flight. And teenagers Alex (Jenkins) and Grace (Roberts) decide to lose their virginity together on Valentine’s Day.

This ensemble comedy is exactly what you’d expect from an ensemble comedy, and delivers exactly what viewers will want. Some of the stories are better than others, and Ashton Kutcher and his flower shop seems to be the link between most of the storylines so if you don’t like him then steer clear. Otherwise, enjoy the romantic mindless fun.

You’ll like this if you liked : He’s Just Not That Into You

Step Up 2 : The Streets (2008) 6/10

Starring : Briana Evigan, Robert Hoffman, Adam G Sevani, Cassie Ventura, Danielle Polanco
Director : Jon M Chu
Running Time : 94 mins

When street performer Andie West (Evigan) is threatened with being shipped off to live with her aunt in Texas, she is convinced to audition for the Maryland School of the Arts. But her old street dancing crew, the four-one-oh, get angry when Andie forms a new crew with her new classmates, including love interest Chase Collins (Hoffman).

This movie is bordering on West Side Story with its ridiculous street dancing fights. The fact that these guys are fighting over who is the better dancing crew kind of makes you realise how desperate things must be becoming in the states if any of this nonsense were true. Fans of the original might like this, but it isn’t that great.

You’ll like this if you liked : Save The Last Dance

Young Adult (2011) 8/10

Starring : Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson, Patton Oswalt
Director : Jason Reitman
Running Time : 94 mins

Following her divorce, teen fiction writer Mavis Gray (Theron) returns to her home town in Mercury, Minnesota in a vain attempt to get back together with her high school boyfriend Buddy Slade (Wilson), even though he is married with a new born baby, but soon starts to realise that she has never actually matured past her school years.

This is an interesting movie with a great performance from Theron in the lead role. Her character is extremely unlikeable, yet manages to become empathetic towards the end of the movie, while the characters she is horrible to actually become unlikeable in spite of the fact that they are the ones who are behaving sensibly. Fans of Reitman’s other movies such as Up In The Air and Juno will enjoy this introspective journey into the mind of a childish grownup.

You’ll like this if you liked : Juno

Ned Kelly (2003) 6/10

Starring : Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Naomi Watts, Geoffrey Rush
Director : Gregor Jordan
Running Time : 106 mins

Irish immigrant Ned Kelly (Ledger) is sentenced to two years in an Australian prison for stealing horses – a crime he didn’t commit. Upon his release he gets on the bad side of a local constable who accuses Ned of shooting him, making Ned a wanted man and forcing him and his gang to go on the run, eventually taking over the small town of Glenrowan.

This is a pretty slow paced biopic of the famed Australian outlaw, and suffered badly from taking so long for anything to happen. It also felt quite one-sided, basically making Ned Kelly seem like a hero even though he apparently killed at least three policemen, and in most respects it makes it sound like Kelly was set up for most of his crimes and forced into his murderous actions by the corrupt police.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford

Chronicle (2012) 8/10

Starring : Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B Jordan
Director : Josh Trank
Running Time : 84 mins

While attending a high school party, three school kids, Andrew Detmer (DeHaan), Matt Garetty (Russell) and Steve Montgomery (Jordan), find a weird hole in the ground. When they climb into it to investigate, they find themselves imbued with superpowers allowing them the ability to move objects with their minds.

This is a funny little movie, which used camcorders to record all the information which means everything in the film is pretty much from only two perspectives. The gradual descent into madness of the character of Andrew is fun to watch as he is spurned into anger by his abusive father and his status in high school society changes as he becomes popular following a talent show, but it is probably the scenes wherethe characters are flying around fighting that makes this stand out.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ginger Snaps

Elektra Luxx (2010) 7/10

Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Carla Gugino, Timothy Olyphant, Adrianne Palicki, Emmanuelle Chriqui
Director : Sebastian Gutierrez
Running Time : 96 mins

Pornstar Elektra Luxx (Gugino) is pregnant and trying to get out of the sex industry by running a sex class for bored housewives. As she triesto figure out what to do with her life, she finds herself inundated by other people wanting her to help them sort out their meaningless existences.

Carla Gugino is wonderful in this ensemble piece that only suffers from being a little disjointed. I’ve never seen the original movie, Women In Trouble, in which the majority of the characters originally appeared, which may be why it starts off with a lot of assumptions placed on the audience, but even without knowing immediately who the people involved are, we quickly learn the place in the piece and how others react to them. A nice little movie with a good story that isn’t just about porn.

You’ll like this if you liked : Orgazmo

The Tree Of Life (2011) 6/10

Starring : Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain
Director : Terence Malick
Running Time : 139 mins

Architect Jack O’Brien (Penn) reflects on his unusual childhood, when he was brought up by his nurturing mother (Chastain) and his strict father (Pitt). His outlook on life was forever changed one summer when two of his friends die; one in a drowning accident and one in a house fire, and he starts to question his current views and beliefs.

The key word to describe this movie is experimental, and the mix of fantasy-style creation scenes and the more standard dramatic scenes is a little too obscure to meld well together. Fans of non-standard modern dramas will like this, but if you like normal movies with normal narratives then you won’t like this.

You’ll like this if you liked : Brazil

The Good German (2006) 7/10

Starring : George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire
Director : Steven Soderbergh
Running Time : 108 mins

American journalist Jake Geismer (Clooney) travels to Berlin in July 1945 to cover the Potsdam conference, but finds himself drawn into the mysterious murder of his driver Tully (Maguire), and his suspicions arise when his one-time lover and Tully’s current lady friend Lena Brandt (Blanchett) shows up on the scene.

This is an impressive looking movie which makes good use of black and white to really make this feel like a 1940s film noir. Even though Clooney is a little stale in places, Blanchett makes a wonderful femme fatale while Maguire makes a lasting impression as the car pool kid who loves the war that has turned him into a man. Fans of war movies and classic Bogart flicks will definitely enjoy this, though I’d imagine many would be put off by it not being in colour.

You’ll like this if you liked : Enigma