Diana (2013) 6/10

Starring : Naomi Watts, Naveen Andrews, Cas Anvar
Director : Oliver Hirschbiegel
Running Time : 113 mins

Two years before her tragic death, Diana The Princess Of Wales (Watts) starts a secret affair with celebrated Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan (Andrews), but when their relationship is leaked to the press, Hasnat has to decide between his love for the princess and his fondness for a private life, as her celebrity is causing him to have problems at work.

Unless you are a really big fan of the former princess, I would give this a miss. Though there are some interesting though potentially unsubstantiated insights into Princess Diana and how she lived her life, the performances are so dull, flat and uninspired that I would my eyelids dropping after about fifteen minutes. And the whole thing about Diana seemingly working with photographers to get her picture in the paper? I don’t remember hearing about that?

You’ll like this if you liked : Grace Of Monaco

Trainwreck (2015) 9/10

Starring : Amy Schumer, Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Colin Quinn, John Cena, Vanessa Bayer, Mike Birbiglia, Ezra Miller, Dave Attell, Tilda Swinton, LeBron James
Director : Judd Apatow
Running Time : 125 mins

Ever since her father explained why he was divorcing her mother, Amy Townsend (Schumer) has firmly held the belief that there was no such thing as monogamy between a man and a woman. When she is asked to write an article about sports doctor Aaron Conners (Hader), she finds herself falling for him and wanting to change her ways, but finding it incredibly difficult to do so.

This isn’t your typical romantic comedy – it’s better! The two romantic leads actually enjoy each other’s company and don’t hate each other from the get go like in so many of Hollywood’s offerings. Instead the conflict comes from Schumer’s character being terrified of commitment, and finding herself in a situation where she wants to commit but doesn’t know how. Hader proves once again that he can do drama in a comedic way, and I’m surprised he doesn’t get more high profile roles, and Schumer finally gets the leading role she so richly deserves. Plus keep an eye out for a barely recognisable Tilda Swinton as Amy's boss!

You’ll like this if you liked : The Five-Year Engagement

Safe Haven (2013) 6/10

Starring : Josh Duhamel, Julianne Hough, Cobie Smulders, David Lyons
Director : Lasse Hallstrom
Running Time : 116 mins

A secretive woman calling herself Katie (Hough) turns up in a small town and attracts the attention of Alex (Duhamel), a widower who runs the local convenience store. It isn’t long before Katie starts a friendship with Alex and his two children, but the secret to why she is in town could spell disaster for their budding relationship when it seems that she is wanted for murder.

Just to warn you, this review contains spoilers. This starts out as an interesting romantic thriller with it looking like Hough is wanted for murder and is being chased down by the police but, when it turns out that the policeman is her husband that she hasn’t committed any crime, things get very interesting. This should have been twist enough but, when the movie ends with Hough finding out that her new neighbour, Smulders, is in fact the ghost of her new boyfriends dead wife, things go a little downhill for me. This could have been a seven or an eight if not for that, but I had to take points off for ridiculous random ghosties.

You’ll like this if you liked : Dear John

Kingsman : The Secret Service (2014) 8/10

Starring : Colin Firth, Samuel L Jackson, Mark Strong, Taron Egerton, Sophie Cookson, Jack Davenport, Mark Hamill, Michael Caine
Director : Matthew Vaughn
Running Time : 129 mins

Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin (Egerton) is approached by a man named Harry Hart (Firth) who used to work with his dead father. Eggsy soon finds himself whisked into a world of espionage as he fights for a place in the secret intelligence agency known as Kingsman, and it isn’t long before megalomaniacal philanthropist Richmond Valentine (Jackson) presents them with a problem that could wipe out all life on Earth.

I didn’t know what to expect, having gone into this movie blind, and I didn’t enjoy the early scenes with Eggsy and his cockney villain chums, but as I realised that this was a Matthew Vaughn / Jane Goldman film and that everything they have ever made was awesome, I started to realise that this was a pretty fun and enjoyable film. It may be over the top, but compared to other secret service movies it is actually far more realistic, with a villain that comes across as the kind of villain we see in everyday life. A definite must watch!

You’ll like this if you liked : Super

The Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants 2 (2008) 7/10

Starring : Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera, Blake Lively, Alexis Bledel
Director : Sanaa Hamri
Running Time : 120 mins

The four very different friends who happen to take the same size in jeans have moved on to bigger and brighter things. Carmen (Ferrera) is given the lead in a stage play at Yale, Bridget (Lively) reconnects with her grandmother over her mother’s death, Lena (Bledel) starts taking an art class and falls for one of the models, and Tibby (Tamblyn) suspects she might be pregnant. In spite of their differences, the four friends reunite when the jeans go missing in Greece.

In many ways this is almost exactly the same as the first movie, obviously with slightly different things happening but basically the bulk of the movie is the characters loving, losing, and getting sad about life in general. Definitely a chick-flick in every sense of the word, most girls will love this story of friendship across the miles, but most boys will just think it’s a big old waste of time, especially if they’ve already sat through the first one.

You’ll like this if you liked : Divine Secrets Of The Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Jupiter Ascending (2015) 7/10

Starring : Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne, Douglas Booth, Tuppence Middleton, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Christina Cole
Director : The Wachowskis
Running Time : 128 mins

Jupiter Jones (Kunis) leads a pretty boring life, cleaning houses for a living, but when she decides to harvest her eggs to make a bit of extra money, she is tracked down by aliens who have discovered that she is the rightful heir to inherit governance of the galaxy. With the help of Caine Wise (Tatum), an intergalactic bounty hunter, she finds her very life in peril from the various factions who want her, alive or dead.

Although a little confusing at times, this was a reasonable enough fantasy adventure that suffers mainly from the fact that it will forever live in the shadow of The Matrix simply because it was directed by The Wachowskis. The movie is a little silly at times, and very over the top at other times, but in terms of basic adventure and excitement it pretty much delivers on what it promises.

You’ll like this if you liked : Cloud Atlas

Kill Your Darlings (2013) 6/10

Starring : Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C Hall, Jack Huston, Ben Foster
Director : John Krokidas
Running Time : 103 mins

Allen Ginsberg (Radcliffe) finds himself dissatisfied with the books he is being taught about when he attends Columbia University, and it isn’t long before he finds himself drawn to a group of young men who share his attitude towards literature. But his friendship with Lucien Carr (DeHaan) takes a strange turn when he discovers that Lucien is being stalked by a former teacher named David Kammerer (Hall) who has become infatuated with Lucien.

This was a reasonable enough biopic, but it would have been so much more interesting if there was a heavier focus on Carr rather than Ginsberg. The relationship between Carr and Kammerer could have made for some very uncomfortable watching as Carr tries to avoid his stalker, but instead the focus is heavily on the unrequited love of Ginsberg for Carr which wasn’t anywhere near as interesting.

You’ll like this if you liked : December Boys

The Imitation Game (2014) 7/10

Starring : Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Charles Dance, Mark Strong
Director : Morten Tyldum
Running Time : 115 mins

Mathematician Alan Turing (Cumberbatch) is hired as part of a team to help crack the German enigma device during World War II, but his brusque manner and demands for ridiculous amounts of funding make him unpopular amongst his peers.

I wasn’t that impressed with this movie, especially considering the fact that the character of Alan Turing has been turned into a caricature in order to make him seem more interesting and less likeable. The story itself is interesting enough – showing how the British managed to crack enigma but used their information wisely so the Germans wouldn’t know they had cracked it – but the added melodrama with a borderline Aspergers suffering Cumberbatch made it seem a little odd at times.

You’ll like this if you liked : A Beautiful Mind

Aquamarine (2006) 7/10

Starring : Emma Roberts, Joanna ‘JoJo’ Levesque, Sara Paxton, Jake McDorman, Arielle Kebbel
Director : Elizabeth Allen
Running Time : 104 mins

Claire (Roberts) and Hailey (Levesque) are horrified to discover that their firm friendship might be in jeopardy when Hailey’s mother is offered a job in Australia, but when they discover a mermaid named Aquamarine (Paxton) living in the swimming pool of a local beach club, they try to help her find love in return for a single wish that could keep them together forever.

This is a fun kids film which, in spite of a pretty weak premise, manages to remain entertaining for the duration. Young girls will love the buddy story of Claire and Hailey, and the adventure of them befriending a mermaid, while the antics of villain of the piece Cecilia (Kebbel) make for some fun yet awkward viewing. I did actually feel sorry for her when everyone thinks she is crazy talking about mermaids. The only thing that felt a little farfetched was the fact that the two main girls were willing to give up on the guy of their dreams when their new mermaid friend falls for him, but hey, it’s a movie about a mermaid, so far fetched is acceptable.

You’ll like this if you liked : Fish Tales

Insurgent (2015) 7/10

Starring : Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Octavia Spencer, Jai Courtney, Ray Stevenson, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Janet McTeer, Daniel Dae Kim, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet
Director : Robert Schwentke
Running Time : 119 mins

Tris (Woodley) is on the run with Four (James), and together they have taken refuge with one of societies many factions after discovering that Jeanine (Winslet) has been using mind-controlled Dauntless soldiers to attack the other factions. Together they try to stay one step ahead of the people trying to kill any divergent members of society, but a secret box may contain their salvation if they can just get it open...

This was quite different to the first movie, focussing more on the danger that Tris and Four might face from the rest of their society rather than having the focus of the first movie, which was Tris trying to fit in. I did enjoy parts, though some characters changed sides far too conveniently. Now that the battle plans have been lain down, the third instalment (or, judging by similar movies, I should probably say the third and fourth) should be an action packed conclusion, with some new characters from outside of the world of Chicago.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Maze Runner

The Pretty One (2013) 8/10

Starring : Zoe Kazan, Jake M Johnson, Ron Livingston, John Carroll Lynch, Shae D’lyn, Frankie Shaw
Director : Jenee LaMarque
Running Time : 96 mins

Following a car crash that kills her identical twin sister, Laurel (Kazan) is mistaken for her more assertive, more attractive twin and decides not to correct her family when she starts to regain her memory. She heads away from the small town she’s lived in all her life and enters her sister’s world in the city, where for the first time she finds out what it’s like to have a real job and to be desired by men.

For some reason Zoe Kazan tends to be pretty awesome in most films she does. Like Ruby Sparks, this was a drama that somehow manages to be fun at the same time. Her portrayal of the twin pretending to be her sister is funny and charming, with some great screen chemistry between Kazan and Johnson. Together they work very well to bring the odd couple to life, with Johnson’s couldn’t care less attitude perfectly complimenting Kazan’s shyness, which comes across perfectly in this odd little tale about finding yourself.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ruby Sparks

The Boxtrolls (2014) 8/10

Starring : Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Elle Fanning, Ben Kingsley, Toni Collette, Jared Harris, Nick Frost, Richard Ayoade
Director : Graham Annable & Anthony Stacchi
Running Time : 97 mins

An orphan known simply as Eggs (Hempstead-Wright) has been raised by a mysterious band of secretive creatures called Boxtrolls who hide from humanity by disguising themselves as boxes. When Eggs hears of a plot by an evil exterminator called Archibald Snatcher (Kingsley) to destroy all the Boxtrolls, Eggs must journey into the human world to explain the Boxtrolls position and save them from destruction with the help of a tough young girl called Winnie (Fanning).

This is such a fun movie, and though based on a book it still has that feeling of originality that so many animations these days seem to lack. It has that wonderful stop-motion feel of films such as Coraline and Frankenweenie that you can’t do justice to with one hundred per cent computer animation and the characters are so likeable that it’s hard to resist such a charming children’s tale.

You’ll like this if you liked : Coraline

How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days (2003) 8/10

Starring : Kate Hudson, Matthew McConaughey, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Parisse, Adam Goldberg, Thomas Lennon, Michael Michele, Shalom Harlow, Robert Klein, Bebe Neuwirth
Director : Donald Petrie
Running Time : 116 mins

Magazine columnist Andie Anderson (Hudson) is asked by her boss to write an article about the bad things women do that drive men away and to date a guinea pig to see how he reacts. Unfortunately she chooses Ben Barry (McConaughey) who, in order to gain a promotion at work, has been challenged to make a woman fall in love with him.

This is a fun romantic comedy that sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. The two leads work well together (this wasn’t their last joint effort, either) and the supporting cast are great fun, especially Kathryn Hahn who is tremendous. It does get a little bitter-sweet towards the end, but there’s plenty of fun watching Hudson try to drive McConaughey away while he tries desperately to put up with her fake mood swings.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Ugly Truth

Mad Max : Fury Road (2015) 8/10

Starring : Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Josh Helman, Nathan Jones, Zoe Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley
Director : George Miller
Running Time : 121 mins

In a future apocalyptic wasteland, a man named Max (Hardy) finds himself joining forces with Imperator Furiosa (Theron), a woman who is trying to help the sister wives of Immorten Joe (Keays-Byrne) escape to a place she calls the Green Place, all the while being pursued by the War Boys, who want Max for his blood and the wives to return to Joe.

I was actually surprised to find myself enjoying this movie. It started off a little shaky, and I admit I got a little confused with the stunted introduction of Max, but once the action started it didn’t really stop. Fans of fast paced action sequences will love this, and the sub plot of the kidnapped sister-wives being rescued by Imperator Furiosa made for a fun addition, especially as the girls actually seemed to have character instead of being flat dull victims.

You’ll like this if you liked : San Andreas

Fire With Fire (2012) 7/10

Starring : Josh Duhamel, Bruce Willis, Rosario Dawson, Vincent D’Onofrio
Director : David Barrett
Running Time : 98 mins

Firefighter Jeremy Coleman (Duhamel) witnesses a brutal murder during a convenience store hold up and is placed in witness protection when it is discovered that a powerful crime lord, David Hagan (D’Onofrio), was behind the murders. As he awaits his time to testify, his new identity becomes compromised, and Coleman is faced with a choice – keep running, or fight back.

This actually wasn’t that bad of a movie – just don’t expect lots of Bruce Willis. This is a Duhamel focussed flick which takes him from a hapless bystander to a vicious vengeance seeker in the space of an hour and a half. Fans of revenge movies will enjoy this, though the fact that the movie takes place over a long period seems to have bee n lost on many viewers who didn’t understand how he managed to become so good with a gun yet were happy to accept that Duhamel fell in love with Dawson in five minutes.

You’ll like this if you liked : Killshot

Paddington (2014) 8/10

Starring : Hugh Bonnevile, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters, Jim Broadbent, Peter Capaldi, Nicole Kidman, Ben Whishaw
Director : Paul King
Running Time : 96 mins

Following the destruction of his Peruvian home, a bear travels to London to find a new home with the explorer that was so friendly to his family many years before. He is temporarily taken in by the Brown family and named Paddington (Whishaw) after the station he was found in, and soon begins the search for the man who promised him a home.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this live action version of the popular bear story, what with having always remembered him as being a strange mix of stop-motion against standard animation, but this manages to be both touching and funny throughout. It is a little schmaltzy in places, specifically in the characterisation of Mrs Brown (Hawkins) who seems to think everything is wonderful, but overall it is a fun and exciting kids movie that children of all ages should enjoy.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Boxtrolls

The Ides Of March (2011) 7/10

Starring : Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei
Director : George Clooney
Running Time : 102 mins

Stephen Meyers (Gosling) works as a junior campaign manager for Governor Mike Morris (Clooney) and believes in the ideals of the American way, but when he meets a campaign intern, Molly Stearns (Clooney), who is secretly pregnant by Morris, he starts to question his ideals and beliefs, and begins to change his tactics when it comes to making his mark in the political circus.

This is a well paced and effective movie that cleverly shows how Meyers goes from idealistic political wannabe to a disillusioned man who ends up getting what he has always wanted through lying and deceit. Clooney is good as the dodgy politician, and Hoffman manages a sterling turn as the by the books campaign manager that ends up losing out by playing the game too well. Fans of political movies will enjoy this subtle thriller, and Clooney does a great job in his return to the directors chair.

You’ll like this if you liked : Michael Clayton