The Deal (2005) 6/10

Starring : Christian Slater, Selma Blair, Robert Loggia, Colm Feore, Angie Harmon, John Heard
Director : Harvey Kahn
Running Time : 108 mins

When Tom Hanson (Slater) agrees to act as the go-between for one of his investment firm’s clients and a Russian oil cartel, he soon discovers that the deal is not what it seems. With the help of new associate Abbey Gallagher (Blair) – a tree-hugging graduate who wants to put a stop to big business oil production – they discover that the corporations involved will stop at nothing to ensure that their deal goes through.

Although not the best thriller I’ve seen in recent years, this wasn’t too bad. Slater and Blair work reasonably well, though the notion that everyone fancied Blair seemed a little far fetched. The plot was simple but effective, and although some of the relationships between the characters weren’t that believable, this managed to sustain some interest in me and the potentially obvious twist worked pretty well.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Pelican Brief

Night At The Museum : Secret Of the Tomb (2014) 7/10

Starring : Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, Skyler Gisondo, Rami Malek, Patrick Gallagher, Mizuo Peck, Ben Kingsley
Director : Shawn Levy
Running Time : 98 mins

The magical tablet of Ahkmenrah (Malek) that allows the exhibits at the New York Museum of Natural History to come to life at night is strating to corrode, and its magic is slowly going out of control. With the exhibits acting strangely, Larry Daley (Stiller) heads to London to visit Ahkmenrah’s parents at the British Museum, but things go horribly wrong when the tablet is stolen by Lancelot (Stevens), who believes it is the Holy Grail.

I’ll admit it, I enjoyed this movie. It wasn’t that clever, and most of the action was stretched out so it could last for the full duration of the movie, but it was still a lot of fun. I think of this movies as being primarily aimed at children, and as such they are actually quite informative while still being slapstick and silly. Fans of the originals will no doubt enjoy this, which feels like the close of the trilogy.

You’ll like this if you liked : How To Train Your Dragon 2

Mandela : Long Walk To Freedom (2013) 7/10

Starring : Idris Elba, Naomie Harris
Director : Justin Chadwick
Running Time : 142 mins

Telling the life of Nelson Mandela (Elba), from his early years as a lawyer in 1940s South Africa when he was forced to resort to joining the armed resistance against the tyrannical system of Apartheid which posed no protection for blacks, to his life imprisonment for treason. His stoic manner in facing his punishment becomes a symbol to the world, and his cause soon opens the eyes of the world powers.

This movie wasn’t bad, but it did have a limited focus. I would have loved to have seen more of Mandela’s childhood, and not get so caught up in the events that led to his imprisonment, although those are the events he is most famous for. There is little about his time as president, and if anything this doesn’t give enough detail about why the resistance group he joined finally gave up on peaceful ways and turned to violence. The acting in this movie isn’t that impressive either, considering the two leads are usually so good, and it might be a case that another writer or director could have done a better job with this epic story..

You’ll like this if you liked : The Last King Of Scotland

Sin City : A Dame To Kill For (2014) 7/10

Starring : Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Stacy Keach, Jaime King, Christopher Lloyd, Jamie Chung, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Meloni
Director : Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller
Running Time : 103 mins

A femme fatale (Green) claims her husband is beating her to persuade a private eye (Brolin) to kill him for her, a gambler (Gordon-Levitt) tries to prove he’s better than a powerful senator (Boothe) at cards, with deadly consequences, and a stripper (Alba) employs the aid of a mobster (Rourke) to take out the man that killed her friend (Willis).

This movie has a couple of problems: one, it is far too similar to its 2005 original; two, some of the stories feel rushed in places; three, it’s in 3D! I hate 3D! Fans of the original movie will either love this for being a faithful continuation of the series or hate it for being too similar and for ruining their memories of the original. It’s not bad, in spite of some continuity issues with characters, especially Marv, and I liked the main story and the one with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but I’d have loved it to go into more depth.

You’ll like this if you liked : Machete

Universal Soldier : Day Of Reckoning (2012) 5/10

Starring : Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, Andrei ‘The Pitbull’ Arlovski, Dolph Lundgren
Director : John Hyams
Running Time : 114 mins

A man named John (Adkins) witnesses the murder of his wife and daughter by a group of home invaders lead by government experimental soldier Luc Deveraux (Van Damme). When he wakes from a coma, he finds himself being hunted by another UniSol named Magnus (Arlovski), but the truth behind the death of his family and his own connection to the UniSol’s leads him to question his very existence.

This starts off well and feels like it’s going to be an interesting story, but it starts to fall apart about half way through when it begins to rely too heavily on fight sequences to move the story along. Fans of the original will feel this is a poor cousin that does nothing much to expand on the universe of the movies, though it attempts to give as an evolution in the UniSol’s by having them become self-governing. I get the impression that there won’t be any more movies in this series, but you never can tell what direct-to-video movie might show up in your local store.

You’ll like this if you liked : Terminator 3 : Rise Of The Machines

88 (2015) 6/10

Starring : Katherine Isabelle, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Doiron, Kyle Schmid, Michael Ironside
Director : April Mullen
Running Time : 89 mins

A girl known simply as Flamingo (Isabelle) finds herself in a diner with no memory of who she is or what has happened to bring her to that location. On discovering a gun in amongst her belongings, she accidentally shoots a waitress and goes on the run in an attempt to piece together what has happened to her, finally realising that she must have been out for revenge against the killer of her boyfriend.

Although this isn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen, and quite a departure for director April Mullen whose only other work I’ve heard about was comedy horror Dead Before Dawn, Katherine Isabelle manages to bring at least some of the performance that made her so good in American Mary and Ginger Snaps to this and rescues what could have been a worthless pile of drivel with a weak premise. Thankfully she makes this at least a little bit interesting, and the twist at the end might not be predictable but it is a little bit unlikely.

You’ll like this if you liked : Memento

Superman Unbound (2013) 7/10

Starring : Matt Bomer, Stana Katic, John Noble, Molly Quinn
Director : James Tucker
Running Time : 76 mins

Superman (Bomer) is alerted to the appearance of a meteor that is heading to Earth and, when he stops it, finds that a robot drone is inside and that it has alerted its controller to the location of Earth. Soon Superman is faced with an evil cyborg named Brainiac (Noble) who plans on miniaturising Metropolis and adding it to his collection, including the city of Kandor, the capital of Krypton.

I loved the cartoony animation in this DC comics movie, and actually found myself believing the characterisations of Lois and Clark, although Supergirl seemed a little weak (possibly because she is being faced with the being that seemingly destroyed her home world). Fans of Superman will definitely like his portrayal, though the story is for the most part focussed on only two topics – Brainiacs’ attack and the relationship between Lois and Clark – and probably could have expanded to give some of the supporting cast some more time in the spotlight.

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

Hercules (2014) 7/10

Starring : Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolso Berdal, Joseph Fiennes
Director : Brett Ratner
Running Time : 102 mins

Hercules (Johnson) wanders the world with a band of mercenaries, using the legendary tales of his past to convince people of his might and that he can help them in their time of need – for a price. With his latest task being to help train the army of Thrace so they can prevent an invasion from a bloodthirsty warlord, but Hercules soon learns that sometimes helping people can lead to more trouble in the long run.

This has an incredibly slow start, and I was almost tempted to switch off for fear this would another one of those movies that are nothing but voice over and bad animated sequences, but once it got going it was actually quite clever. All of the fabled labours of Hercules are explained away as mere fable in some parts, with appearances of some of the creatures proving to be tricks of the light, which made this quite a fun watch.

You’ll like this if you liked : Wrath Of The Titans

The Tortured (2010) 5/10

Starring : Erika Christensen, Jesse Metcalfe, Bill Moseley
Director : Robert Lieberman
Running Time : 82 mins

When the son of a young couple is kidnapped, tortured and murdered, they are devastated, and the only thought that keeps them going is that the killer, John Kozlowski (Moseley), will get put away for life. But when he is sentenced to 25 years in prison, the mourning parents decide to take matters into their own hands and treat him to his own medicine.

Terrible acting and lazy script writing makes what could have been a decent revenge movie little more than mediocre. Both Christensen and Metcalfe perform weakly throughout the movie, and their plans for revenge – which should have been incredibly complicated as anyone who has seen and enjoyed The next Three Days will agree to – seemed too easy by far. Perhaps some elongation to the freeing of the murdered by the angry parents could have made their quest feel more meaningful, but their lazy attacks make this feel incredibly dull at points.

You’ll like this if you liked : 100 Feet

Taken 3 (2014) 7/10

Starring : Liam Neeson, Forest Whitaker, Famke Janssen, Maggie Grace, Dougray Scott
Director : Oliver Megaton
Running Time : 105 mins

When his ex-wife Lenore (Janssen) is found dead in his home, one time government operative Bryan Mills (Neeson) finds himself framed for her murder and goes on the run in an attempt to clear his name, all the while being pursued by not only the police, but also the FBI and the CIA as he tries to figure out the real reason behind his ex-wife's murder.

Although nowhere near as much fun as the original, this is by far and away superior to the second movie. In spite of coming across like a poor mans The Fugitive, with Neeson playing the Richard Kimble role and trying to find the people responsible for killing his ‘wife’, this is an action packed, plot driven, and most importantly fun action movie that brings a nice ending to what is hopefully going to remain a trilogy of movies.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Fugitive

The To Do List (2013) 8/10

Starring : Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele, Scott Porter, Rachel Bilson
Director : Maggie Carey
Running Time : 104 mins

Brandy Klark (Plaza) graduates high school as one of the most successful students in their history, but she never did manage to be a success when it comes to sexual exploits. So when her slutty sister Amber (Bilson) tells her how important sexual experience is, Brandy writes up a list of all the sexual acts she wishes to accomplish before she starts college.

This gross-out comedy takes the usual plots that are reserved for teenage boys and turns them on its head. Plaza plays the sexually inadequate Brandy perfectly and keeps the deadpan laughs coming from start to finish, with a superior supporting cast managing to make the unlikely scenarios all the more believable. Fans of American Pie will love this inverted sex comedy that feels so original in spite of taking a lot of story lines from other teen comedies and flipping them around.

You’ll like this if you liked : American Pie

The Maze Runner (2014) 7/10

Starring : Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Will Poulter
Director : Wes Ball
Running Time : 114 mins

Teenager Thomas (O’Brien) wakes up in a lift with no memory of how he got there, and is launched into an environment filled with other young boys who are trying to survive and find a means of escaping their seeming captivity. Their only clue to a way out is an ever-changing maze that surrounds the glade in which they are trapped, but no-one has ever come back from the maze once they have entered.

I watched this with no expectations as I hadn’t read the books, and found it to be quite entertaining. It doesn’t patronise its teen viewers too much, not like Twilight or some other recent franchises, and it manages to keep an air of mystery about the maze itself without leaving all of our questions unanswered. Fans of series such as The Hunger Games will enjoy the life or death situations produced here, and may also like that the CGI seems to have been largely limited to those scenes that are actually inside the maze.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Hunger Games

Hero Of The Rails (2009) 7/10

Starring : Michael Angelis, Ben Small, Keith Wickham, Teresa Gallagher, Togo Igawa, Matt Wilkinson
Director : Greg Tiernan
Running Time : mins

While Thomas (Small) is racing Spencer (Wilkinson) to prove he is just as useful an engine as he is, he discovers a long forgotten old train named Hiro (Igawa) who is in terrible need of repair. Worried that the Fat Controller (Wickham) will send Hiro off for scrap, Thomas sets about trying to repair the old train, but Spencer becomes suspicious of what Thomas is up to and makes it his duty to find out.

Kids will love the new look Thomas, though older fans might be sad to see the disappearance of the classic miniature train sets that we remember from the 80s and 90s. My son loves this movie, and it usually keeps him quiet for the majority of it’s almost an hour duration. There is a plot, which is unexpected in shows intended for the very young, so adults won’t go mental trying to figure out what the characters are doing.

You’ll like this if you liked : Misty Island Rescue

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015) 7/10

Starring : Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase
Director : Stev Pink
Running Time : 100 mins

When Lou (Corddry) is assassinated, his best friends Nick (Robinson) and Jacob (Duke) hop into the hot tub time machine with is dying body to try to save him by travelling back to find out who shot him, but they find themselves transported into the future, leading them to the conclusion that the assassin was another time traveller.

This was not as good as the original movie, but is still quite entertaining. The humour is even more low brow, and there are some moments that could have been cut completely like the virtual rape game show, but all in all this is a fun movie that, if you don’t take it too seriously, will keep you entertained from start to finish.

You’ll like this if you liked : Horrible Bosses 2

Blue Jasmine (2013) 7/10

Starring : Cate Blanchett, Sally Hawkins, Alec Baldwin, Louis CK, Bobby Canavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg
Director : Woody Allen
Running Time : 99 mins

Wealthy New York socialite Jasmine French (Blanchett) is forced to stay with her adopted sister Ginger (Hawkins) in San Francisco when her husband Hal (Baldwin) is arrested for tax fraud. She finds herself thrust into a working class life which she feels is beneath her, and it isn’t long before she also starts to realise that her husband was cheating on her with anyone he could.

This is better than some of Woody Allen’s movies, which seem to be turning up more and more frequently, but I still don’t think it was great. Allen’s apparently witty scripts seem to fall flat, and some of the lines here just don’t fit in with the situations (specifically when Blanchett is assaulted by her boos). Both Blanchett and Hawkins perform admirably considering what they have to work with, but considering Allen is supposed to be one of the best I expected more.

You’ll like this if you liked : A Streetcar Named Desire

Not Safe For Work (2014) 6/10

Starring : Max Minghella, Eloise Mumford, JJ Feild, Christian Clemson
Director : Joe Johnston
Running Time : 75 mins

Thomas Miller (Minghella) is fired from his law firm after taking issue with a case against a pharmaceutical company, but when he returns to the office and witnesses a murder he find himself caught up in a problem that even his legal skills won’t be able to get him out of, and things get even worse when his girlfriend Anna (Mumford), who doesn’t know he’s been fired, comes to the building to meet him!

In spite of being incredibly low budget, and clearly made on a shoe string, this wasn’t actually that bad of a movie. The action could have been handled better in places and the script and in some cases the acting are a little weak, but the concept – although perhaps not the most original – is still a fun one to watch unfold and does have the odd surprise pop out at you and genuinely catch you unawares.

You’ll like this if you liked : Steel Trap

Jane Eyre (2011) 6/10

Starring : Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Jamie Bell, Judi Dench
Director : Cary Joji Fukunaga
Running Time : 121 mins

Jane Eyre (Wasikowska) takes a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall, working for the dark and brooding Mr Rochester (Fassbender). She soon finds herself forming a close friendship with her boss, and starts falling in love with him, but a secret in his past may lead to the end of their friendship forever.

The Bronte’s are famed for their depressing tales of woe, and this is no different. I always hated Emily Bronte, who in my opinion was a terrible writer whose only novel Wuthering Heights repeatedly treads over the same ground with different characters and similar outcomes, but this offering from Charlotte at least has a slightly more upbeat ending. Fans of period dramas who don’t mind there being no humour should enjoy this, but personally I like a little more comedy in my classics and this contained none.

You’ll like this if you liked : Great Expectations

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

Godzilla (2014) 7/10

Starring : Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Bryan Cranston
Director : Gareth Edwards
Running Time : 123 mins

Joe Brody (Cranston) travels to Japan and illegally enters a quarantine zone to investigate the death of his wife Sandra (Binoche) fifteen years earlier. His son, Ford (Taylor-Johnson), is persuaded by his father to help investigate, and they soon discover that the quarantine zone is home to a number of Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms (MUTOs) which were accidentally unleashed and are heading for Hawaii.

Although this movie does enjoy surprising its audience with unexpected deaths and odd twists in the tale, the lead actor, Taylor-Johnson, isn’t really good enough to carry off an action lead. Granted, Kick-Ass was awesome, but that was thanks to its ensemble cast and, with much of the action resting on his shoulders here, he just didn’t garner any real sympathy from me. Fans of Godzilla movies will enjoy this, though the creature is so cloaked in darkness it’s a rare event when you actually get to see him.

You’ll like this if you liked : Cloverfield

Duplicity (2009) 8/10

Starring : Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti
Director : Tony Gilroy
Running Time : 125 mins

Former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Owen) finds himself running into former CIA agent Claire Stenwick (Roberts) continually over the years, but is it coincidence or are the two playing each other. When they take jobs in security for competing companies, the two hatch a plan together to play one company off the other in an attempt to steal the secret formula one of them is planning on announcing which could make them billions, but everything may not be as it seems.

This is a very convoluted look at how companies try to screw over the competition in any way they can possibly imagine, but it is very well managed. By focussing on the characters of Koval and Stenwick, and prioritising their relationship above all else, we are blindsided to the true duplicity of the movie. In a sense, we the audience are duped ourselves, and with great panache.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ocean’s Twelve

White Bird In A Blizzard (2014) 8/10

Starring : Shailene Woodley, Eva Green, Christopher Meloni, Shiloh Fernandez
Director : Gregg Araki
Running Time : 92 mins

Kat Connors (Woodley) is a teenager who is faced with having to deal with the disappearance of her mother, the seemingly clinically depressed Eve (Green). Her father Brock (Meloni) seems unconcerned that his wife may have run off with another man, and Kat quickly gets over the disappearance, assuming her mother has simply abandoned her. But as the years go by, new details come to light that her mother may have been murdered and that cast suspicion on her father.

This movie is truly a slow burner, but it pays off at the end. All the melodrama and double bluffs come together in this well paced and intriguing drama that really gives Shailene Woodley a chance to shine. She was fantastic in The Spectacular Now, which seemed to have launched her career, and it’s good to see that starring in the Divergent series hasn’t watered down her opportunites. Fernandez is a little weak in this – almost a non-entity - but there are some interesting performances from both Green and Meloni.

You’ll like this if you liked : American Beauty

The Magnificent Eleven (2013) 5/10

Starring : Keith Allen, Sean Pertwee, Gary Mavers, Phillip Rhys, Jenna Harrison, Paul Barber, Robert Vaughn
Director : Jeremy Wooding
Running Time : 92 mins

A struggling local football team called the Cowboys are forced to acquire a sponsor to fund their matches, and end up working at an Indian restaurant in return for funding. When a sinister man demanding money from the restaurant turns up, the team decide to help them out by fighting the evil American Bob (Vaughn).

Cheap gags such as the guys playing in pink shirts and having to strip naked really don’t do anything to improve this pretty weak comedy drama. The jokes pretty much rely on the Cowboys and Indians name, being an apparent remake of The Magnificent Seven with a slight Bollywood feel, the Cowboys being a football team and the Indians being... well, proper Indians. The plot is so basic and the characters so lacking in character that this quickly becomes a very boring comedy, the outcome of which I cared little about.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Full Monty

Dumb And Dumber To (2014) 7/10

Starring : Jim Carrey, Jeff Daniels, Rob Riggle, Laurie Holden, Rachel Melvin, Steve Tom, Kathleen Turner
Director : Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly
Running Time : 108 mins

Harry (Daniels) discovers that he had a child twenty-two years ago with local tramp Frieda Felcher (Turner), so he and his best friend Lloyd (Carrey) head on a road trip to find Harry’s long lost daughter Penny (Melvin) in order to obtain a needed kidney, but soon the brainless duo find themselves unwittingly in danger for their lives when Penny’s adopted step-mother Adele (Holden) tries to kill her adoptive father (Tom).

I was a little disappointed that this got made, as the first film is so rich with actual plot as well as comedy. This long awaited sequel starts off with a ridiculous joke about Lloyd pretending to be catatonic for twenty years and then picks up pretty much where the last movie left off. The humour is silly and people who weren’t fans of the original will despise this, but give it a chance if you like the Farrelly’s – it isn’t that bad.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Three Stooges

Once Fallen (2010) 6/10

Starring : Brian Presley, Taraji P Henson, Amy Madigan, Ed Harris, Ash Adams
Director : Ash Adams
Running Time : 89 mins

After a stint in prison a criminal named Chance (Presley) returns home with the aim to change his life for the better. He discovers that in his absence his girlfriend has had a son and leaves him to look after him. But as he tries to turn his life around, he is faced with major hurdles when his son is held ransom against a friend’s debt to a crime syndicate.

There’s nothing original in this movie about a criminal trying to go straight, but the scenes with Harris and Presley are pretty strong. Overall this could have been miles better, and the script kind of meanders about the place with very little direction, but the overall result works reasonably well and fans of crime dramas should enjoy this, even if just a little bit.

You’ll like this if you liked : Contraband

22 Jump Street (2014) 9/10

Starring : Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Peter Stormare, Wyatt Russell, Amber Stevens, Jillian Bell, Ice Cube
Director : Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Running Time : 112 mins

Police officers Schmidt (Hill) and Jenko (Tatum) are sent undercover again, this time at college, to discover the identity of a drug dealer who is peddling a product that has lead to the suicide of a student. As they investigate, Jenko finds himself bonding with the football squad while Schmidt falls in love with one of the students, Maya (Stevens), but the effect of mixing in different circles while undercover seems to be causing them to drift apart as cop partners.

This was so much more slapstick than the first movie, and was filled with pokes at its very own existence, even in the title itself. The jokes come thick and fast, but in no way hinder the storyline which is a solid mystery. Look out for the end credits sequence which is absolutely brilliant, though the plans for another sequel will spoil them if the next movie doesn’t have Schmidt and Jenko undercover at a medical school.

You’ll like this if you liked : Let’s Be Cops

Batman : The Dark Knight Returns Part 2 (2013) 8/10

Starring : Peter Weller, Ariel Winter, Michael Emerson, David Selby, Mark Valley
Director : Jay Oliva
Running Time : 76 mins

With Batman (Weller) having defeated the mutants terrorising Gotham City, a new group of villains modelling themselves after Batman emerge, and the government decide that batman is to blame and send in Superman (Valley) to stop him from his vigilant actions. Meanwhile the Joker (Emerson) comes out of his stupor at Arkham and convinces his doctor to allow him to go on public television to explain his side of the story but instead goes on a killing spree...

In terms of character and action, this movie is marginally better than the first part. I loved the Joker (though couldn’t understand why anyone would allow him to live the asylum), and the fight between Batman and Superman was enjoyable, especially with their banter which is so often overlooked, though the outcome was dubious to say the least. Fans of the comics on which this was based should find it an action-packed thrill-ride that stays pretty loyal to its source material and the final scenes of the movie make for interesting possibilities for the future.

You’ll like this if you liked : Batman : Under The Red Hood