Wanderlust (2012) 7/10

Starring : Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman, Kathryn Hahn, Alan Alda
Director : David Wain
Running Time : 98 mins

When George Gergenblatt (Rudd) is fired from his financial firm, and his wife Linda (Aniston) fails to sell her penguin documentary, they are forced to move out of their New York ‘micro-loft’ and find alternative accommodation. What they come across is an idyllic community called Elysium where everyone shares everything and the only rule is to tell the truth and be yourself.

This is a fun movie that might be thin on plot but is filled with silliness. What could potentially have just been a series of sketches is linked together into a single whole, and connected together by a storyline about the commune being taken away by the government. In spite of having a plot similar to the recent Yogi Bear movie, this is still a good movie that will make almost everyone smile.

You’ll like this if you liked : Cedar Rapids

The Constant Gardener (2005) 7/10

Starring : Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Bill Nighy, Pete Postlethwaite
Director : Fernando Meirelles
Running Time : 124 mins

Justin Quayle (Fiennes) investigates the death of his wife, Tessa (Weisz), a civil rights activist in Northern Kenya, when she is found dead. Rumours fly that her death was a crime of passion and that she was killed by her lover, but Justin is determined to prove the rumours wrong and discover what actually did happen to his wife, but as he digs deeper he finds that her death may well have been related to her whistle blowing in regards to the illegal practices being used in the village where she worked.

Fiennes and Weisz are both good in this political drama. Fiennes’ unwavering faith in the love of his dead wife really is the cornerstone of this story which, without that element, would have been just another movie about politics being chosen over the lives of starving millions.

You’ll like this if you liked : Hotel Rwanda

Friends With Benefits (2011) 8/10

Starring : Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, Patricia Clarkson, Jenna Elfman, Bryan Greenberg, Richard Jenkins, Woody Harrelson
Director : Will Gluck
Running Time : 105mins

When Los Angeles based Dylan Harper (Timberlake) is head-hunted by Jamie Rellis (Kunis) for a New York job at GQ, he decides to take the job based purely on Jamie’s spiel and they become firm friends. But when they decide to make the move to having sex together – but without all the messy relationship stuff thrown in – things become a lot more complicated than wither one of them could have expected.

I really enjoyed this romantic comedy which could have easily fallen into the trap of so many that have gone before. Thankfully this has a sharp and witty script that really give Timberlake and Kunis something to work with, and doesn’t just rely on the situations they get into but more importantly looks at their relationship as a whole and how it changes once sex and feelings become involved.

You’ll like this if you liked : No Strings Attached

Wall Street : Money Never Sleeps (2010) 7/10

Starring : Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Frank Langella
Director : Oliver Stone
Running Time : 128 mins

Wall Street stock broker Jake Moore (LaBeouf) sees an opportunity to reunite his fiancée Winnie (Mulligan) with her criminal father, Gordon Gekko (Douglas), while simultaneously gaining assistance from Gekko to take down Bretton James (Brolin), the man he blames for the death of his mentor Louis Zabel (Langella).

This is a slow moving but likeable drama with Gekko finally proving himself a better person after his years in prison. Fans of the original will probably go in two directions with this; either they’ll love seeing Douglas as Gordon Gekko again, or they’ll wish Oliver Stone had left well enough alone. Once this gets going it’s a nice story about avenging a friend’s death and turning a wrong into a right.

You’ll like this if you liked : Michael Clayton

We Bought A Zoo (2011) 8/10

Starring : Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church
Director : Cameron Crowe
Running Time : 131 mins

Following the death of his wife, widower Benjamin Mee (Damon) decides to uproot his kids and buys a large house for them to move into. At the back of the house is a closed down zoo, and in an attempt to take his mind off his loss, Mee decides to make a go of reopening the zoo to the public with the help of zoo keeper Kelly Foster (Johansson).

This is one of those feel-good movies that will make anyone with a soul smile. Damon might seem delusional at first, but as it faces the challenges that come with running a zoo, he soon manages to balance his family life and his work life so that neither is neglected. Fans of movies like Jerry Maguire or The Pursuit Of Happyness will enjoy this touching true story.

You’ll like this if you liked : Jerry Maguire

21 Jump Street (2012) 8/10

Starring : Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube
Director : Phil Lord & Chris Miller
Running Time : 110 mins

Due to their youthful appearance, terrible police officers Morton Schmidt (Hill) and Greg Jenko (Tatum) are sent undercover into a local high school in order to expose and possibly infiltrate a drug ring that is suspected of being run from the school grounds and is providing the teenage populace with a dangerous synthetic drug.

This is an interesting twist on the late-80s early 90s television series of the same name. Hill and Tatum are both excellent in their roles, and it’s interesting to see Tatum in a comedy for a change. There is a plot, which is unusual for comedies these days, and the jokes are fun and make this a great little movie to watch.

You’ll like this if you liked : Pineapple Express

Wild Child (2008) 7/10

Starring : Emma Roberts, Alex Pettyfer, Aidan Quinn, Natasha Richardson
Director : Nick Moore
Running Time : 95 mins

Rebellious American teenager Poppy Moore (Roberts) goes a step too far and her father Gerry (Quinn) decides to ship her off to an English boarding school as punishment. She finds herself in a world where there’s no mobile phones and no fashion sense, as well as gangs of hateful girls that don’t like the attention Poppy is getting from Freddie (Pettyfer), the son of headmistress Mrs Kingsley (Richardson), but the one thing she does find is a good circle of true friends.

For what it is, this isn’t a bad movie. Basically taking the plot from every single fish out of water movie you can think of, this manages to come up with a nice story that uses elements of the recent St Trinian’s movies and combines them with some real character building that makes for some fun and interesting viewing. It was also nice that the adult characters are only there for background and don’t carry the story which is well performed by the teenaged cast.

You’ll like this if you liked : St Trinian’s

Jack And Jill (2011) 5/10

Starring : Adam Sandler, Katie Holmes, Al Pacino
Director : Dennis Dugan
Running Time : 91 mins

Advertising executive Jack Sadelstein (Sandler) dreads the yearly visit at Thanksgiving by his identical twin sister, Jill (Sandler), but when she decides to stay longer than expected, all his nightmares come true – that is until he realises she could be instrumental in landing Al Pacino in one of his commercials.

Adam Sandler has managed to avoid making a really bad movie for a few years now, but this puts him back on track. I remember seeing this movie joked about in an episode of South Park and didn’t actually think it was real, but I should have known better. It is filled with fart jokes and people falling over and going to the toilet, and I was shocked and appalled that Al Pacino agreed to make this. I’ve seen worse, but my advice would be to avoid this.

You’ll like this if you liked : Happy Gilmore

John Carter (2012) 6/10

Starring : Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Samantha Morton, Willem Dafoe
Director : Andrew Stanton
Running Time : 133 mins

Presumed dead following a gunfight when he refused to re-join the army, Civil war veteran John Carter (Kitsch) has actually accidentally been transported to Mars where he discovers there are living beings, some appearing as 12-foot tall insect-like creatures, while others appear almost human. On Mars he has the ability to leap long distances due to his unique physiology and soon find himself called upon for aid by Dejah Thoris (Collins), a princess who is being forced into a marriage to secure peace on Mars.

In spite of having heard some awful reviews of this movie, I thought I’d give it a go. The effects are really good – as you’d expect for a quarter of a million dollars – and the story is intriguing, but much of the acting seems a little too hammy, specifically from Taylor Kitsch who sounds like he’s doing a bad Alec Baldwin impression through much of the film. Fans of the stories will enjoy seeing this big screen adaptation and won’t be disappointed, but some might find the historical setting a little distracting.

You’ll like this if you liked : Prince Of Persia : The Sands Of Time

I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (2003) 6/10

Starring : Clive Owen, Charlotte Rampling, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Malcolm McDowell
Director : Mike Hodges
Running Time : 99 mins

Petty drug dealer Davey Graham (Rhys Meyers) is sexually assaulted and decides to take his own life. When his brother Will (Owen) hears about his brothers suicide, he suspects foul play and sets out to find out why his brother would kill himself and what really happened to him on the night of his death.

This is a slow paced and confusing drama that doesn’t really go into enough detail over the events that occur. Malcolm McDowell’s character, Boad, doesn’t seem to have any reason for assaulting Davey apart from the fact that he wanted to and he could. It might have made a bit more sense if he was also a drug dealer and Davey was on his patch, but Boad is just a car salesman? Aside from these minor confusions, this was an okay movie, but not the best gangster movie around.

You’ll like this if you liked : London Boulevard

The Darkest Hour (2011) 7/10

Starring : Emile Hirsch, Olivia Thirlby, Max Minghella, Rachael Taylor, Joel Kinnaman
Director : Chris Gorak
Running Time : 89 mins

Software designer Sean (Hirsch) and Ben (Minghella) travel to Moscow to sell their software designs to a group of investors, but our screwed over by their Swedish partner Skyler (Kinnaman). They go to a nightclub to drown their sorrows, but when the lights go out they find themselves slap bang in the middle of alien invasion.

What this lacks in substance it more than makes up for in special effects. If only a little more imagination had been put into the one-dimensional characters this might have been great. The ideas for the aliens are inventive, and the scenarios work well, but unfortunately I just didn’t feel for any of those involved in the attack. Sci-fi fans will enjoy this, but don’t expect Shakespeare.

You’ll like this if you liked : Skyline

Love The Beast (2009) 7/10

Starring : Eric Bana, Jay Leno, Jeremy Clarkson, Dr Phil
Director : Eric Bana
Running Time : 89 mins

Eric Bana talks about his love of cars, and how as a fifteen year old he bought his first car, a 1974 Ford XB Falcon Hardtop, and how central to his life fixing and racing his car has been for him and his close circle of friends.

This documentary doesn’t lie; it is about cars and aimed at hard core car freaks. As such it is faultless and filled with lots of racing footage and interviews with car fans – including celebrities such as Jeremy Clarkson and Jay Leno - and experts on fanaticism – namely Dr Phil. This doesn’t just look at car obsession – it also delves into the wide and varied obsessions that many men seem have fixated themselves on to in their lifetimes. An interesting documentary that isn’t just for car fans.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Fast And The Furious

One For The Money (2012) 7/10

Starring : Katherine Heigl, Jason O’Mara, Daniel Sunjata, John Leguizamo, Sherri Shepherd, Debbie Reynolds
Director : Julie Anne Robinson
Running Time : 88 mins

Desperate to find employment, out-of-work lingerie saleswoman Stephanie Plum (Heigl) takes a job as a bail bondsman in order to make ends meet. Her first assignment; locate and bring in ex-cop Joe Morelli (O’Mara), a man she once had a relationship with, but when she finally catches up with Morelli, she discovers there is more to his story than first meets the eye…

In spite of being written and directed by women, this movie really feels like it tries everything in the book to get Heigl out of her clothes. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; it actually kept the movie interesting and wasn’t gratuitous, and this predictable movie really did need something to make it stand out from the crowd. Still, it's a reasonable yarn and does have its fun moments.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Bounty Hunter

Vanishing On 7th Street (2010) 6/10

Starring : Hayden Christensen, Thandie Newton, John Leguizamo
Director : Brad Anderson
Running Time : 88 mins

Following a major blackout in Detroit, the entire population mysteriously vanishes, leaving behind nothing but the clothes on their backs. The only people unaffected are those carrying sources of light, which seem to protect them from the shadows, and four survivors lead by television reporter Luke Ryder (Christensen) try their best to find out what happened to their friends and loved ones.

This movie feels like yet another lost opportunity, with a creepy concept almost ruined by bad acting. Christensen does no favours to the limited script, with supporting cast members Newton and Lequizamo trying their best to breathe life into this movie which is eventually completely ruined by the two annoying kids. Throw in that there is no real explanation for why the shadows are taking people (other than an allusion to some old folk tale by Leguizamo), and this was really disappointing.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Happening

Moneyball (2011) 8/10

Starring : Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Director : Bennett Miller
Running Time : 134 mins

Billy Beane (Pitt), ex-professional baseball player and manager of the Oakland A’s, employs the assistance of economics graduate Peter Brand (Hill) to use a computerised statistics analysis programme to discover which under-valued players would hold the best chances of garnering them a win.

Both Pitt and Hill are brilliant in this movie about the underdog doing good and winning for once. If you enjoy sports movies, then this is definitely for you, but even if you don’t watch baseball – or any sport for that matter - this is still a great movie that dumbs down the idea of using statistics to calculate wins and makes it accessible to the layman. This is probably Pitt’s best performance since Twelve Monkeys.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Blind Side

Scooby-Doo! Pirates Ahoy! (2006) 7/10

Starring : Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Mindy Cohn, Grey DeLisle
Director : Chuck Sheetz
Running Time : 75 mins

In the tenth of the direct to video Scooby-Doo series, Fred Jones (Welker) is given the present of a mystery cruise for his birthday, on which they are given the opportunity to solve fictional mysteries invented by the crew, and he brings his friends along for the trip. When their cruise ship is attacked by a ghostly pirate galleon, the gang realise that they are now faced with a real mystery and soon get on the case.

I really liked the in jokes about the mystery cruise trying to design mysteries that were too easily solved by Mystery Incorporated, and the ghostly pirate ship is such an old fashioned idea that this feels like a harkening back to the original series. Long-time fans will enjoy this movie because of its retro feel, especially the reasons behind the villains attacks, and younger fans will love the pirates!

You’ll like this if you liked : Scooby-Doo! In Where’s My Mummy?

Man On A Ledge (2012) 7/10

Starring : Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Genesis Rodriguez, Ed Harris, William Sadler
Director : Asger Leth
Running Time : 103 mins

Ex-cop Nick Cassidy (Worthington) has been serving a twenty-five year sentence for allegedly stealing a $40 million diamond from dodgy businessman David Englander (Harris) but has managed to escape custody while being allowed out to attend his father’s funeral. He climbs out of a 21st story window and threatens to jump, attracting the attention of local police, the SWAT team, and professional negotiator Lydia Mercer (Banks). But his actions may not be the cry for help everyone things they are…

This is quite a clever concept, using an attempted suicide to take attention away from a robbery, and I also like the fact that the real reason for the robbery is largely hidden from us until close to the end of the movie. Fans of heist movies as well as psychological thrillers will enjoy this action movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Cellular