The Sessions (2012) 8/10

Starring : John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H Macy, Moon Bloodgood
Director : Ben Lewin
Running Time : 96 mins

As a child Mark O’Brien (Hawkes) developed polio, which meant that he has spent most of his life in an iron lung. As a result he has been unable to form any kind of a romantic relationship so, with the advice of his priest Father Brendan (Macy) and one of his care workers, Vera (Bloodgood), Mark decides to employ the assistance of a sex surrogate.

This is a touching account of one man’s seemingly impossible mission to find love and lose his virginity. The characters whose lives he touches all love him in a way that is more than sexual, and Hawkes manages to portray Mark in such a way that you can’t help but like him, if only for his wide eyed optimism. There are sad moments, but largely this is a light-hearted drama that shows that just because someone can’t move from the neck down without assistance doesn’t mean that they’re not a human being with feeling and emotions.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Diving Bell And The Butterfly

Syriana (2005) 6/10

Starring : George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright, Chris Cooper, William Hurt, Mazhar Munir, Tim Blake Nelson, Amanda Peet, Christopher Plummer, Alexander Siddig
Director : Stephen Gaghan
Running Time : 128 mins

When middle Eastern heir Prince Nasir Al-Subaai (Siddig) does a deal with China for drilling rights, US oil company Connex does a shady deal with a small oil company that has landed a contract in Kazakhstan. Meanwhile the CIA plot to kill Prince Nasir in order to get his brother into power in the hope of getting the drilling agreement reversed in favour of the US.

This is a clever movie that manages to show the lengths corporations will go to in order to stay in business, but it still runs too long for my liking. Coupled with the fact that it doesn’t really have that satisfying an ending and you’ve got a movie which has a lot of potential but doesn’t quite go far enough to meet that potential.

You’ll like this if you liked : Hotel Rwanda

Wrong Turn 3 : Left For Dead (2009) 6/10

Starring : Tom Frederic, Janet Montgomery, Gil Kolirin, Christian Contreras, Jake Curran, Tom McKay, Chucky Venn, Tamer Hassan
Director : Declan O’Brien
Running Time : 92 mins

A group of prisoners and guards are run off the road and find themselves trapped in the woods with no means of contacting the outside world. They are attacked by a tribe of inbred hill folk and, with the help of the lone survivor of an earlier attack, Alex (Montgomery), they soon discover that the hill folk are cannibals that plan on eating those that they take down.

The Wrong Turn movies have always been okay, and as far as hill folk attack movies go they were better than some, but this one has started to lose the plot. The idea of a group of prisoners having to fight off the hill folk isn’t a bad one, but sadly the characters are too one-dimensional to make this as appealing as it could have been. Given some nice character build ups and some background to all the criminals would have given this a much higher rating but, sadly, that just isn’t the case here. Coupled with one of the most ridiculous ending attacks ever, and most will find this more funny than scary.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Hills Have Eyes II

Assassination Games (2011) 7/10

Starring : Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Kevin Chapman, Ivan Kaye
Director : Ernie Barbarash
Running Time : 100 mins

Assassin for hire Vincent Brazil (Van Damme) is tasked with taking down drug dealer Polo Yakur (Kaye), but another contract killer, Roland Flint (Adkins), wants the same contract as Yakur was responsible for an attack on his wife which left her in a coma. The two eventually form an unlikely alliance, but little do they know that the contract was merely a ploy by Interpol to draw Flint out of hiding and now both their lives are in danger.

For a Van Damme movie, this was pretty good. The plot is simple, yet complex enough to keep an audience interested, and as far as Van Damme movies go this is one of the better scripts I’ve seen. Fans of action movies might find it a little slow going, but if you like action movies that have a little brain to them then this, surprisingly enough, might be right up your street.

You’ll like this if you liked : Hitman

This Is 40 (2012) 7/10

Starring : Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow
Director : Judd Apatow
Running Time : 132 mins

Pete (Rudd) and Debbie (Mann) have two kids, two failing businesses, and are both about to hit forty. Their lives become even more complicated when Pete decides not to tell Debbie that he has mortgaged the house and started to miss payments, while Debbie has to deal with the possibility that a member of her staff may have stolen $12,000 from her business.

This movie is far too long, but it is still pretty funny. Basically this is a series of vignettes linked together by the lead characters money problems, much in the vein of many of Apatow’s movies. Fans of his work will enjoy this, though it isn’t as slapstick funny as The Forty Year-Old Virgin and is more in the league of Funny People. There are some great moments, especially the scenes with Melissa McCarthy, but some editing would have been nice.

You’ll like this if you liked : Funny People

Scooby-Doo And The Samurai Sword (2009) 7/10

Starring : Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Mindy Cohn, Grey DeLisle
Director : Christopher Berkeley
Running Time : 72 mins

In the thirteenth of the direct to video Scooby-Doo series, Scooby-Doo (Welker) and the gang travel to Tokyo where Daphne Blake (DeLisle) is due to take part in a martial arts competition. But when the fight venue is attacked by the ghost of the Black Samurai, who steals the Destiny Scroll which holds the secret to the location of the legendary Sword of Doom, the gang realise they have another case to solve.

In spite of some pretty bad stereotypes, this is still a great step up from the last movie, The Goblin King. There’s an actual story, a clear mystery, and some international travel which is always good in a Scooby-Doo movie. Fans of the franchise will enjoy the double bluff towards the end, which harkens back to The Witch’s Ghost, and the fact that the whole story comes together perfectly at the end makes this one of the better movies to date.

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

28 Days (2000) 7/10

Starring : Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Diane Ladd, Elizabeth Perkins, Steve Buscemi
Director : Betty Thomas
Running Time : 100 mins

After she ruins the wedding of her sister Lily (Perkins) and steals the wedding limo, newspaper journalist Gwen Cummings (Bullock) is given a choice between prison or rehab. Not wanting to go to prison, Gwen is ordered to spend twenty-eight days in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre, even though she doesn’t seem to see that she has a drinking problem.

It’s only that fact that this came out so soon after Girl, Interrupted that weakens its appeal. Bullock is pretty good in the lead role, and the supporting cast – specifically Alan Tudyk who is awesome – are all instrumental in the progression of Bullock’s character. My one gripe is the ending, which seems to come out of nowhere and almost implies that Bullock and Tudyk get together – personally a better ending would have had Bullock checking herself back in to the clinic and accepting she needed help.

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

Arena (2011) 6/10

Starring : Kellan Lutz, Samuel L Jackson, Johnny Messner, Katia Winter, Daniel Dae Kim, James Remar
Director : Jonah Loop
Running Time : 95 mins

Following the death of his wife and unborn child, David Lord (Lutz) heads to Acapulco to drown his sorrows. He meets a woman named Milla (Winter) and they head back to his place where he is tasered and kidnapped. He awakens to discover that he is being forced to take part in an online sensation called Death Games, a gladiatorial style contest run by a man named Logan (Jackson) in which competitors fight to the death to provide online entertainment.

Considering this went straight to video, this action movie wasn’t that bad. Stylistically speaking it doesn’t look that great, but a clever reference to blue screen early on in the movie puts paid to any complaints about the fighting sets. Fans of Jackson might find him a bit lazy in this, but I did like the scenes with the avid internet viewers and even though Lutz is pretty one-dimensional, he did a reasonable job in the role.

You’ll like this if you liked : Tekken

Zero Dark Thirty (2012) 8/10

Starring : Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Ehle, Mark Strong, Kyle Chandler, Edgar Ramirez, James Gandolfini
Director : Kathryn Bigelow
Running Time : 157 mins

CIA operative Maya (Chastain) is reassigned to the US embassy in Pakistan where she assists in the interrogation of potential terrorists and spends almost a decade trying to gain information that might lead to the location and capture of Osama bin Laden, the man thought by the USA as being the key player in the attacks on the World Trade Centre.

I’m surprised to say that this wasn’t too bad. Unlike most Hollywood movies that involve Americans fighting against terrorism, this isn’t exactly shown in a positive light. There are many scenes of unnecessary torture and mistreatment of those being questioned, and the team that goes in after bin Laden aren’t exactly careful about who they kill, considering their orders were to determine if bin Laden was there before doing anything. This leant a sense of realism to the movie, and even Chastain - who I’m not a big fan of - puts in a great performance.

You’ll like this if you liked : Fair Game

Step Up 3D (2010) 5/10

Starring : Rick Malambri, Adam G Sevani, Sharni Vinson, Alyson Stoner, Keith Stallworth, Kendra Andrews
Director : Jon M Chu
Running Time : 108 mins

Camille Gage (Stoner) and her brother Moose (Sevani) head off to New York University, where Moose has promised not to get involved in dancing, but when he meets a dancer named Luke Katcher (Malambri) who is a member of a dance troupe called the House of Pirates he soon finds himself competing with them against the House of Samurai in the World Jam dance contest.

Everyone knows that dancers can’t act. So, just when you thought Step Up couldn’t get stupider… here comes 3D! Why not do three-dimensional dance routines that are every bit as rubbish as in the other movies and spend a hell of a lot more money on getting them to look good. Maybe someone should have paid a writer and not just a choreographer to make this sub-par effort that makes gang culture in the States look like an organised and disciplined subculture. And the guy doing the robot? WTF? Was he supposed to look cool?

You’ll like this if you liked : Honey

Hachi : A Dog’s Tale (2009) 7/10

Starring : Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Sarah Roemer, Jason Alexander, Erick Avari, Davenia McFadden
Director : Lasse Hallstrom
Running Time : 93 mins

On his way home from work college professor Parker Wilson (Gere) finds a stray dog that he can’t help but fall in love with. Eventually convincing his wife Cate (Allen) to allow him to keep the dog, he names him Hachi after the symbol on his collar and starts walking him back and forth to the train station every day and becomes his constant companion.

I jokingly commented that the last movie I’d watched that was being shown on TV happened to have Richard Gere in it as well (Nights In Rodanthe) and commented that he’d probably die in this movie too. Spoiler alert! He does! This is an incredibly sad movie – based on a true story from Japan – but most of the sadness comes from the dog, with the rest of the cast putting in middling performances at best. Gere’s heart attack scene was almost comical, and the treatment of the dog after he dies was boarding on cruel.

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

From Prada To Nada (2011) 6/10

Starring : Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, Wilmer Valderrama, Nicholas D'Agosto, April Bowlby, Kuno Becker, Adriana Barraza
Director : Angel Gracia
Running Time : 107 mins

Spoiled rich kid Nora Dominguez (Belle) and her even more spoiled sister Mary (Vega) are left penniless and homeless when their father dies suddenly. Forced to move in with their aunt Aurelia (Barraza) in a poor part of town, the two realise just how little they know about their roots as Nora tries to make a new life for herself and Mary tries to reclaim her old life.

There wasn’t really much to this movie, which is apparently based on Jane Austen’s Sense And Sensibility. The characters are stereotypical and a little flat, and the scenario is a little on the convoluted side, but as far as movies about rich kids having to cope without money go this wasn’t too bad, although the ending sort of defeated the point.

You’ll like this if you liked : Uptown Girls

Gambit (2012) 6/10

Starring : Colin Firth, Cameron Diaz, Alan Rickman, Stanley Tucci, Tom Courtenay
Director : Michael Hoffman
Running Time : 86 mins

Art curator Harry Deane (Firth) is sick and tired of his abusive boss Lionel Shahbandar (Rickman), so in an elaborate plan to get the better of him, Deane concocts a scheme through which he will trick his boss into buying a fake Monet. In order to pull off the plan, Deane is forced to employ the assistance of Texan cowgirl PJ Puznowski (Diaz), the direct descendant of the man in charge of a raid that was the last time the valuable Monet painting was seen.

Although this was a little slow, and Deane’s method of revenge was a little hackneyed, this did have the odd funny moment. Sadly the majority of these funny moments felt forced, with character traits such as Rickman enjoying being nude, and Diaz playing up to every cowgirl stereotype imaginable. Still, some people might enjoy this if they liked the recent Steve Martin Pink Panther movies, although this is missing the vital ingredient of slapstick.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Pink Panther

Planet Hulk (2010) 6/10

Starring : Rick D Wasserman, Lisa Ann Beley, Mark Hildreth, Liam O’Brien, Kevin Michael Richardson, Sam Vincent
Director : Sam Liu
Running Time : 82 mins

The Hulk (Wasserman) is sent into space to protect the Earth from his destructive ways, but his ship goes off course and crash lands on a gladiatorial planet where Hulk is captured and forced to fight in battles against his fellow prisoners.

The Planet Hulk storyline in the Incredible Hulk Marvel comic was incredibly popular, so it’s no surprise that someone has decided to cash in and translate the story to the screen. The problem is it doesn’t translate that well, and although all the elements of the comic book are there to be found, it just doesn’t come together in quite the same way. Maybe it’s to do with the animation itself, which isn’t that great for a movie and feels more like four episodes of a TV show, but there is definitely something lacking in what could have been a pretty impressive movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ultimate Avengers

Lincoln (2012) 7/10

Starring : Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tommy Lee Jones
Director : Steven Spielberg
Running Time : 150mins

The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln (Day Lewis), is desperately trying to pass a constitutional amendment that will ban slavery within the United States, but his amendment relies on the idea that by banning slavery the South will fall. So, with peace expected at any time, Lincoln must have the law passed as soon as possible, or be faced with civil war treaty that could spell the end of his plans.

Considering that this movie is basically about Lincoln trying to pass a law for two and a half hours, Spielberg manages to keep it mostly entertaining. The performances are good and the story is clear cut, but we’re shown a side of so-called honest Abe that raises questions about his honesty. Fans of Spielberg’s biopics such as Schindler’s List will love this, but if you’re more of a Jaws fan, steer clear.

You’ll like this if you liked : J Edgar

The Beaver (2011) 7/10

Starring : Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence
Director : Jodie Foster
Running Time : 91 mins

Clinically depressed and suicidal Walter Beck (Gibson) finds a toy beaver in a dumpster and decides to adopt it as a tool through which he can communicate with his family and staff, telling everyone that it is part of his therapist’s treatment. Thanks to the beaver, Walter soon starts to find his life going back to the way it used to be, but at the risk of allowing the beaver to take over his personality.

I liked that it showed quite clearly how the father and son were so similar in their personality traits, but it felt a bit weird that Jodie Foster was so accepting for the most part of the puppet. Gibson’s accent as the beaver is odd – sometimes Michael Caine, sometimes Ray Winstone, but often Australian, which I suppose is Gibson’s real accent. Despite the terrible premise and ridiculous accents, this wasn’t that bad, and it does come together quite well at the end when he dispenses of the beaver once and for all.

You’ll like this if you liked : Lars And The Real Girl