The Hunger Games : Mockingjay Part 1 (2014) 7/10

Starring : Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore
Director : Francis Lawrence
Running Time : 118 mins

Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) has ended the Hunger Games forever, and now she is hiding out in District 13 – an area thought to have been destroyed in years gone by. With the help of both old friends and new, Katniss is set up to become the symbol of rebellion against the government of Panem, donning the symbol of the Mockingjay. But for President Snow (Sutherland) the games are far from over as he uses an unwilling Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson) to further his political agenda.

Unlike many trilogies, this third instalment doesn’t tread over old ground but instead takes things in a definite direction to lead viewers to a satisfying conclusion. I’ve already read the books, so I know what will (or should) happen, so there are going to be few surprises here, but even knowing the story going in I still found this entertaining enough, though like The Deathly Hallows and Breaking Dawn, this probably could have been completed in a single film rather than breaking it into two parts.

You’ll like this if you liked : Insurgent

Hammer Of The Gods (2013) 5/10

Starring : Charlie Bewley, Clive Standen, Michael Jibson, James Cosmo
Director : Farren Blackburn
Running Time : 99 mins

King Bagsecg (Cosmo) is dying, and his only hope to prevent an invading Saxon army is for him to find his eldest son to lead their army, so he sends younger son Steinar (Bewley) on a quest to find him.

In a word, this movie was boring. Clearly the director concentrated more on acquiring a certain aesthetic feel for the movie, dating back to the movie 300, rather than concentrating on producing a decent script. The journey on which the main protagonist finds himself is nowhere in the region of such epics as Conan or the like, and true fans of high adventure in a historical setting will most likely be disappointed by this weak effort, but those who like random blood and gore might enjoy this to some extent.

You’ll like this if you liked : 300

Scooby-Doo! Wrestlemania Mystery (2014) 6/10

Starring : Frank Welker, Mindy Cohn, Grey DeLisle, Matthew Lillard
Director : Brandon Vietti
Running Time : 81 mins

In the twenty-first of the direct to video Scooby-Doo series, Scooby (Welker) and Shaggy (Lillard) win a competition to visit WWE City and meet their Wrestlemania heroes. It isn’t long before they discover that the city has been terrorized by a Ghost Bear, and when the WWE championship belt is stolen the gang find they have another mystery on their hands...

This was a decent combination of Wrestlemania and Scooby-Doo, with the highlight being the number of wrestlers voicing themselves, but the solution to the mystery was a little too obvious for my liking. There weren’t nearly enough clues as to the true identity of the criminals involved, and the idea of the computer game hypnotising its players was a little too far-fetched in terms of pulling off such a minor crime.

You’ll like this if you liked : Scooby-Doo And The Goblin King

Wake Up, Ron Burgundy! The Lost Movie (2004) 7/10

Starring : Will Ferrell, Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, Steve Carell, David Koechner
Director : Adam McKay
Running Time : 93 mins

Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) and his team at KVWN Channel 4 News investigate when a terrorist group of bank robbers known as The Alarm Clock start terrorising San Diego, while dealing with the arrival of their first female anchor.

Basically this is simply a collection of deleted scenes that have been collected together through a voice-over narrative, and as such it isn’t anywhere as good as the original film. Yet it is still one hundred times better than Anchorman 2! The plot follows the same main lines as the first Anchorman movie, with the additional subplots woven in to the story, and though at times it feels a little disjointed and in need of an edit (mainly because the entire film is nothing but unedited scenes), it is still an interesting movie to watch.

You’ll like this if you liked : Still Waiting...

Let’s Be Cops (2014) 8/10

Starring : Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans Jr, Rob Riggle, Nina Dobrev, James D’Arcy, Keegan-Michael Key, Andy Garcia
Director : Luke Greenfield
Running Time : 105 mins

Ryan (Johnson) and Justin (Wayans Jr) decide to go to a fancy dress party as police officers, and instantly get addicted to the respect they receive while wearing them. Ryan decides to buy a second-hand cop car and learns police procedure so he can carry on the facade, but the two friends soon draw more attention than they want when they are suspected of being real cops by a mob cartel.

From a simple premise comes this surprisingly enjoyable buddy ‘cop’ movie, with the two leads, Johnson and Wayans Jr (who scarily act together in TVs New Girl), dressing up as cops to get respect and ending up in a whole heap of trouble. The movie starts off basically as nothing but a slapstick slacker movie, with both guys bored with their current lives, but then gets progressively darker in a very natural way which makes the comedy moments all the more enjoyable.

You’ll like this if you liked : Date Night

Side Effects (2013) 7/10

Starring : Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum
Director : Steven Soderbergh
Running Time : 107 mins

On the release of her husband Martin (Tatum) from prison, Emily Taylor (Mara) starts to suffer from depression and, on the advice of her psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Law) decides to start taking an experimental drug called Ablixa, but when one of the side effects – sleep walking – leads her to stab her husband to death while asleep, she and the doctor find themselves mired in a complicated battle of wills.

This is an interesting thriller that speculates on a number of scenarios, including the effect of certain drugs on members of the public and how someone might use this to try and get away with murder. The slow pacing makes this more interesting than it could have been in some ways, but in others there is not enough ambiguity which would have made the story even more effective. Not knowing if Emily killed him on purpose or because of the drugs could have made this a brilliant thriller.

You’ll like this if you liked : Double Jeopardy

Planes : Fire & Rescue (2014) 7/10

Starring : Dane Cook, Ed Harris, Julie Bowen, Curtis Armstrong, John Michael Higgins, Hal Holbrook
Director : Roberts Gannaway
Running Time : 84 mins

Dusty Crophopper (Cook) is damaged and discovers that spare parts for his engine are hard to come by and he may have to give up racing forever. Trying to prove his worth, he ends up damaging his gearbox and starting a fire at a remote airport, where Dusty decides to become a fire fighter as an act of penance for his actions.

I only really watched the first Planes movie because I thought it was made by Pixar, and now I learn that neither of them were. In spite of this explanation for why this isn’t quite as charming as the Pixar movies from which this is a spin-off, this is still a reasonably entertaining – though often slightly preachy – children’s film that is filled with enough action to more than make up for the largely one-dimensional characters.

You’ll like this if you liked : Cars 2

Robot & Frank (2012) 8/10

Starring : Frank Langella, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Peter Sarsgaard, Susan Sarandon
Director : Jake Schreier
Running Time : 89 mins

Retired thief Frank (Langella) lives alone and has started having problems with his memory, so his son Hunter (Marsden) decides to buy him a helper robot (Sarsgaard) that will try to improve Frank’s life. Frank is reluctant to accept the robot into his life, until he realises that the robot is capable of pulling off clever robberies and Frank turns back to his previous life of crime.

This movie starts off slowly, but as the relationship between Frank and the robot builds, this becomes a very likeable drama that shows how someone can give a personality to a machine simply because they become so reliant on not just its help but on its company. Langella’s portrayal of Frank is perfect for the piece by being simple and elegant, but Liv Tyler does let the side down a little with what I can only describe as a weak performance.

You’ll like this if you liked : Her

What We Did On Our Holiday (2014) 9/10

Starring : Rosamund Pike, David Tennant, Billy Connolly
Director : Andy Hamilton & Guy Jenkin
Running Time : 96 mins

Separated parents of three Doug (Tennant) and Abi (Pike) travel from London to Scotland to celebrate the birthday of Doug’s father Gordie (Connolly). The kids are sworn to secrecy about their parents pending divorce, and it doesn’t take them long to figure out that they aren’t the only side of the family keeping secrets.

I didn’t know what to expect when I sat down to watch this, other than is came from a colleagues recommendation. I admit I was not disappointed. It was clear that this came from the creative minds of TVs Outnumbered, and I thoroughly enjoyed the wit that came from the children and adults alike. This is one of the better British comedies I’ve seen in recent times, and its dark side worked a treat.

You’ll like this if you liked : Death At A Funeral

Only God Forgives (2013) 6/10

Starring : Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm
Director : Nicolas Winding Refn
Running Time : 90 mins

Julian (Gosling) has been living in hiding in Bangkok since he went on the run following the death of another man, but when his brother kills an underage prostitute and is in turn killed, Julian is persuaded by his mother Crystal (Scott Thomas) to go after the man responsible, a retired Thai police officer known as the Angel of Vengeance (Pansringarm).

This was a pretty slow paced movie which through the first half has little or no action to speak of to make this stand out from the crowd. The second half was a little better when we actually have some sort of motivation for Gosling character, but it’s all too little too late in my opinion. Some people might be able to look deeper and enjoy the subtleties of the storyline, but for me the subtle nature of this flick went straight over my head.

You’ll like this if you liked : Oldboy

Into The Woods (2014) 7/10

Starring : Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Johnny Depp
Director : Rob Marshall
Running Time : 124 mins

A baker (Corden) and his wife (Blunt) discover that their family is under a curse to never bear children, so agree to collect some magical items for the witch (Streep) who placed the curse on the baker’s father, but the repercussions of their thievery has a disastrous effect on the local community when a giant comes down from her beanstalk home to avenge her partners death.

For what it was, this was okay, but even though many of the songs were lyrically clever, I did find myself starting to get irritated by the events that were unfurling. It was nice that characters dies that you didn’t expect to, but this had the potential to be a hell of a lot better than it was.

You’ll like this if you liked : Jack The Giant Slayer

The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) 8/10

Starring : Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Marc Blucas, Emily Blunt, Amy Brenneman, Hugh Dancy, Maggie Grace, Jimmy Smits, Kevin Zegers, Lynn Redgrave
Director : Robin Swicord
Running Time : 106 mins

A group of six Americans decide to form a book club, each of the members tackling one of Jane Austen’s six classic novels over the course of six months, but as they get to know each other and enjoy the books, they find their lives filling with more romantic drama than the books could ever offer as relationship form and die around them.

This is an incredibly likeable romantic comedy drama with an excellent ensemble cast, written by Karen Joy Fowler who is far more familiar to me as a science-fiction author. On the whole the characters are likeable, though at times their choices are very unrealistic, and their very differences to each other is what makes this such an intriguing and welcoming movie that can be enjoyed by couples and singletons alike.

You’ll like this if you liked : Dan In Real Life

The Skeleton Twins (2014) 8/10

Starring : Bill Hader, Kristen Wiig, Luke Wilson, Ty Burrell
Director : Craig Johnson
Running Time : 94 mins

As Maggie (Wiig) considers suicide, she receives a phone call saying her estranged twin brother Milo (Hader) is in the hospital after trying to kill himself. She invited him back to stay with her in their home town, and they start realising all the things that are wrong with their lives as they see that they aren’t so different from one another.

This is a very dark comedy that deals with some very real situations in a very clever and approachable manner. Included are such topics as child abuse, adultery, homosexuality, and of course suicide. The two leads do a remarkable job of taking such controversial topics and making them feel so natural, and the writers should really be recognised for dealing with the overall subject of suicide in such a blameless way.

You’ll like this if you liked : This Is Where I Leave You

jOBS (2013) 6/10

Starring : Ashton Kutcher, Dermot Mulroney, Josh Gad, Lukas Haas, JK Simmons, Lesley Ann Warren, Ron Eldard, Ahna O’Reilly, Victor Rasuk, John Getz, Kevin Dunn, James Woods, Matthew Modine
Director : Joshua Michael Stern
Running Time : 123 mins

College dropout Steve Jobs (Kutcher) decides to go into business with his talented friend Steve Wozniak (Gad) and open up a new computer company called Apple Computers. It isn’t long before they start making progress, even going as far as having their direct competition Microsoft copying their ideas, but Jobs finds himself being pushed out by his investors.

It’s hard to say why Jobs seems to get all the credit for creating Apple when Wozniak seems to have done all the work in terms of design and creation. He comes across as a man who is good at business but bad at design, and who uses intelligent and talented people to beat the competition. I don’t know how accurately this portrays the life of Steve Jobs and Apple, but it comes across as very bland and boring and barely entertaining.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Social Network

The Voices (2014) 7/10

Starring : Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick, Jacki Weaver
Director : Marjane Satrapi
Running Time : 104 mins

Jerry Hickfang (Reynolds) hears voices that try to tell him what to do. When he starts a new job at a toilet factory he instantly falls for an English girl, Fiona (Arterton), that he works with. He organises a date with her, but she doesn’t show up, and when he runs into her that night she accepts a lift home. But things go drastically wrong when Jerry hits a deer and crashes the car, leading to listening to some of the darker voices in his head.

Wow, this was dark. I had read nothing about this movie, and all I knew was that the lead was Ryan Reynolds and that his character heard voices. What followed started off quite light and fluffy, with him talking to his dog and cat, and trying to fit in at work, but about thirty minutes in he crashes his car and things take a drastic left turn. The comedy is still there, but it is soaked in a dark lack of surety that leaves you guessing at what might happen next, and even then it isn’t always obvious what will happen. Aside from the terribly misjudged end credits, this was a pretty good effort.

You’ll like this if you liked : Very Bad Things

Little Manhattan (2005) 8/10

Starring : Josh Hutcherson, Charlie Day, Bradley Whitford, Cynthia Nixon
Director : Mark Levin
Running Time : 91 mins

Pre-teen Gabe (Hutcherson) finds himself falling in love with his one-time kindergarten classmate Rosemary (Day) when they start attending karate class together, but he soon learns that love isn’t as simple an emotion as he thought it was when he finds himself faced with competition for her affections. Also having to deal with the impending divorce of his parents Adam (Whitford) and Leslie (Nixon) leads Gabe to question if love is even worth while...

This is a cute movie that, because it is taken from a child’s point of view, manages to remain innocent and childlike from beginning to end, even when Gabe is faced with the separation of his parents. The climax of the movie isn’t as strong as I’d like it to have been, but thankfully that didn’t detract too much from what had come before – a purely virtuous love story for the ages.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Spectacular Now

Big Hero 6 (2014) 9/10

Starring : Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Daniel Henney, TJ Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr, Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk, Maya Rudolph
Director : Don Hall & Chris Williams
Running Time : 102 mins

In Disney's 54th Animated Classic, following the death of his brother, robotics genius Hiro Hamada (Potter) hides away from the world, but when he accidentally activates Baymax (Adsit) – a robotic medical aid created by his brother – Hiro decides to modify the robot in order to find out what really happened to his brother, and in so doing creates a team of superheroes that turn to investigate the mystery.

This action-packed fun-filled movie from the Disney studio is so much fun, in spite of being very different from the comic book on which it is based. There’s plenty of character development amongst the fight scenes, and even the villain is multi-faceted. Fans of the more recent offering from Disney will love this superior cartoon that once again movies based on comic books make for a winning combination.

You’ll like this if you liked : Wreck-It Ralph

The Harry Hill Movie (2013) 5/10

Starring : Harry Hill, Julie Walters, Johnny Vegas, Simon Bird, Guillaume Delaunay, Matt Lucas, Sheridan Smith, Marc Wootton, Julian Barratt
Director :
Running Time : 85 mins

When he discovers that his pet hamster Abu (Vegas) is dying, Harry (Hill) decides to grant what he thinks is his dying wish by taking him to Blackpool with his nan (Walters), but it isn’t long before they discover that this is all part of a nefarious scheme orchestrated by Harry’s long-lost twin brother Otto (Lucas) who plans on kidnapping Abu.

I suspected long before watching this that this was going to be something of a turkey, and I wasn’t disappointed. The key demographic for this movie is undoubtedly kids under the age of ten who find green vomit, talking hamsters, and terrible villains and entertaining and enjoyable way to waste ninety minutes. You’d have to be a huge fan of Harry Hill to find this movie consistently entertaining and, though the songs are pretty well though through, on the whole this is a directionless mess. Still, it’s better than the Keith Lemon movie which was aimed at adults!

You’ll like this if you liked : Keith Lemon : The Film