The Revenant (2015) 6/10

Starring : Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson, Will Poulter
Director : Alejandro G Inarritu
Running Time : 157 mins

After being mauled by a bear while on a fur trading expedition, frontiersman Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is left for dead by his colleague John Fitzgerald (Hardy) and is forced to make his way through the wilderness while mortally wounded in the hope of getting back to civilization and gain the urgent medical attention he so desperately needs.

This is an okay movie, and the bear attack scene was fantastic, but it just seemed to drag on for no apparent reason. Some scenes could easily have been cut down or gotten rid of altogether, and if this was even half an hour shorter it could have been a much tighter story with a much more approachable runtime. Fans of Hardy and DiCaprio might be disappointed by the limited screen time they share together (percentagewise it’s probably less than ten percent), and Pulter is pretty much wasted in this role.

You’ll like this if you liked : 127 Hours

Happythankyoumoreplease (2010) 7/10

Starring : Josh Radnor, Malin Akerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Pablo Schreiber, Tony Hale, Michael Algieri
Director : Josh Radnor
Running Time : 99 mins

Sam Wexler (Radnor) is a struggling writer who finds a boy named Rasheen (Algieri) who has been separated from his foster family on the subway and decides to take him in. His decision to try to adopt him couldn’t have come at a worse time as he meets and falls for a lounge singer named Mississippi (Mara).

This is one of those movies that feels slow paced when you’re watching it but once it’s over you suddenly realise that a lot actually happened. There are three key groups of people, and this movie gives us a small window into a period of time in their lives and shows us how their lives interconnect and how each person changes their friends. Malin Akerman is probably the stand out performer in this movie, managing to still look attractive even playing an alopecia sufferer, and her scenes with Tony Hale are probably the best.

You’ll like this if you liked : Liberal Arts

Far From The Madding Crowd (2015) 7/10

Starring : Carey Mulligan, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Sheen, Tom Sturridge, Juno Temple, Jessica Barden
Director : Thomas Vinterberg
Running Time : 119 mins

Bathsheba Everdene (Mulligan) is an independent woman who inherits a large portion of farm land, making her a very powerful member of Victorian society. As a result she manages to attract the attention of three very different men, each of them vying for her hand in marriage – all for very different reasons.

This drama, based on the Thomas Hardy novel, was actually quite enjoyable. Carey Mulligan seems to be something of an expert at choosing roles in movies that turn out to be surprisingly good, thanks in no small part to being repeatedly cast in movies written by David Nicholls. The action is slow paced yet at times witty and dry, and the acting is never overplayed by the cast as they make each character their own.

You’ll like this if you liked : Pride And Prejudice

The 5th Wave (2016) 7/10

Starring : Chloe Grace Moretz, Matthew Zuk, Gabriela Lopez, Bailey Borders, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston
Director : J Blakeson
Running Time : 107 mins

An unknown race of aliens known simply as the Others have launched four waves of attack on the planet Earth, leaving the planet relatively unharmed but slowly making it unliveable for mankind. As the world’s military starts enlisting children to help battle the alien forces, a young girl named Cassie (Moretz) starts to discover the truth behind the attacks and the potential problems that might arise from fighting back against this deadly enemy.

This was a fun enough alien invasion movie, with some very predictable moments and some less predictable (I won’t list them here). Fans of Moretz might be disappointed she hasn’t been embracing her comedy roots lately, but this is a nice enough dystopian drama that might not do anything new for the genre but definitely makes an entertaining spectacle for youngsters.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ender’s Game

Premium Rush (2012) 8/10

Starring : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, Wole Parks, Aasif Mandvi, Jamie Chung
Director : David Koepp
Running Time : 91 mins

Reckless bike messenger Wilee (Gordon-Levitt) is given an envelope to deliver, but when he attracts the attention of crooked cop Bobby Monday (Shannon) he finds himself in a race to deliver the envelope before the copper gets it. It doesn’t take long for Wilee to find out what the envelope actually represents, which makes his delivery of the envelope all the more urgent.

Even though this feels like it was written for children, this is still a fun thriller with plenty of action. The flashbacks to explain stuff was a little annoying, but it didn’t hinder the storytelling and as usual Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a fine lead. Fans of his work will enjoy this easy watch, and even those who aren’t fans will most likely enjoy the simple tale of good triumphing over evil.

You’ll like this if you liked : 16 Blocks

Alvin And The Chipmunks : The Road Chip (2015) 6/10

Starring : Jason Lee, Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Josh Green, Tony Hale, Bella Thorne
Director : Walt Becker
Running Time : 92 mins

When Alvin (Long) and his brothers mistakenly believe that Dave (Lee) is planning on proposing to his new girlfriend Samantha (Williams-Paisley), they worry that they’ll either be stuck with her bully of a son Miles (Green) as a step-brother, or that Dave will abandon them. So they decide to sabotage the proposal by travelling across the country to Miami and steal the ring.

I’m honestly surprised that there’s still enough money left in this franchise to allow companies to make a fourth movie, but I guess they must be profitable. This was better than Chipwrecked, but I don’t know if it made sense to make another Chipmunks movie. It seems that Jason Lee can’t get any other work in Hollywood (even though I like him), so at least this means he’s still getting some sort of recognition, but even the guest actors didn’t make sense (any child watching this who recognises Crazy Eyes from Orange Is the New Black should probably be taken into care. Children might find a few laughs here, but there isn’t that much on offer for adult viewers.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Smurfs 2

Star Wars Episode VII – The Force Awakens (2015) 7/10

Starring : Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill
Director : JJ Abrams
Running Time : 139 mins

When a storm trooper (Boyega) decides that killing people isn’t the life for him, he finds himself teamed up with a scavenger named Rey (Ridley) and her recently adopted robot BB-8. Together they steal a spaceship – the Millennium Falcon – only to meet up with the famed original owner, Han Solo (Ford) and find themselves caught up in a mission with the resistance to destroy the newly built Starkiller Base, created by the newly formed First Order.

After hearing the rumours, I sat down to watch this and could definitely see why some people thought this was just a retelling of A New Hope. However, there is a lot more to the story than just being a rehash, and by having events repeat themselves throughout the movies we soon learn that, as with most things, people never learn from their past mistakes. On top of all the repetition we also have some new aspects to take in, such as the re-emergence of the force and the search for Luke Skywalker, and hopefully things will pickup plot wise in the next two movies which hopefully won’t just be unending spectacle.

You’ll like this if you liked : Star Wars Episode IV – A New Hope

Misty Island Rescue (2010) 7/10

Starring : Michael Angelis, Ben Small, Matt Wilkinson, Keith Wickham
Director : Greg Tiernan
Running Time : 60 mins

When Thomas (Small) gets lost at sea, he finds himself on the legendary Misty Island and meets three strange trains; Bash (Wilkinson), Dash (Wickham), and Ferdinand (Small). When he realises that the wood on the island is precious jobi wood, he enlists the three trains help to reopen a tunnel back to Sodor so they can deliver the wood to his home.

The second of the Thomas CGI movies introduces us to even more characters, and fans of the current show will love this. Small children will enjoy seeing Diesel causing trouble and Thomas making friends with Bash, Dash, and Ferdinand as they all team up to build the Search and Rescue Station together. Adults might find this a little bland, but under fives will love every minute of it.

You’ll like this if you liked : Hero Of The Rails

The DUFF (2015) 7/10

Starring : Mae Whitman, Robbie Amell, Bella Thorne, Nick Eversman, Skyler Samuels, Bianca Santos, Romany Malco, Ken Jeong, Allison Janney
Director : Ari Sandel
Running Time : 102mins

Bianca Piper (Whitman) is horrified to discover that she is considered a DUFF – Designated Ugly Fat Friend – because her tow best friends Jess (Samuels) and Casey (Santos) are better looking than her. With the help of her childhood friend and neighbour Wesley Rush (Amell), Bianca decides to reinvent herself and prove that she isn’t a DUFF, but is sabotaged at every turn by school bitch Madison Morgan (Thorne).

I actually enjoyed this movie, even though it was pretty predictable at times. Apparently it’s very different from the book, which I haven’t read yet, and that the book is much more original and clever, but that didn’t stop me liking this silly movie about how people are seen in comparison to their friends and those around them. My one gripe was that the character of Madison was made out to be the bad guy, when her friend Caitlyn (played by Rebecca Weil) was a hundred times worse, and the person who was actually making the movies of Bianca to be transmitted around school, yet she got off scot free in the end with no repercussions.

You’ll like this if you liked : She’s All That

Pride And Prejudice And Zombies (2016) 7/10

Starring : Lily James, Sam Riley, Jack Huston, Bella Heathcote, Douglas Booth, Matt Smith, Charles Dance, Lena Headey
Director : Burr Steers
Running Time : 103 mins

Colonel Darcy (Riley) travels to a village in 19th Century England after hearing rumours of a recently infected zombie. There he meets Elizabeth Bennett (James), one of five sisters that have been trained in the art of killing zombies, but she takes an instant disliking to him after overhearing his comments about her.

I never read the parody book that this movie is based on, but if this is loyal to the text then it’s a pretty decent parody. It isn’t just the original Austen novel with the word zombie thrown in, there is a new plot about a version of the zombie that lives on pig brains and hasn’t gone completely savage. Fans of the original Austen novel might find this a little much to swallow, but if you like period dramas and zombie movies, then this is the perfect combination of the two.

You’ll like this if you liked : Warm Bodies

The Equalizer (2014) 7/10

Starring : Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloe Grace Moretz, David Harbour, Haley Bennett
Director : Antoine Fuqua
Running Time : 133 mins

After having retired from working in black ops, Robert McCall (Washington) tries to live a quiet life, working at a hardware store and pretty much keeping to himself, but when he meets and befriends a prostitute named Alina (Moretz) he witnesses her poor treatment by the Russian mob that own her and decides to take matters into his own hands.

Fans of the 1980s television series might wonder where McCall’s detective agency is in this updated version. Here, instead of being employed by people to investigate cases the police aren’t interested in, he just does things off his own back and goes vigilante on folks who bother his friends, from crooked cops and shoplifters, to the Russian mob. The movie is fun, and the cast do a sterling job with the material, but if you like your movies a bit more down to earth then the over the top violence and the very idea that a man in his sixties can take down an entire gang on his own might seem a little far-fetched.

You’ll like this if you liked : John Wick

Accidental Love (2015) 5/10

Starring : Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Catherine Keener, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, James Brolin
Director : David O Russell
Running Time : 101 mins

Reserved small town waitress Alice Eckle (Biel) is accidentally shot in the head with a nail gun, which results in her behaviour becoming highly erratic and her becoming highly sexually charged. When she sees an unprincipled congressman, Howard Birdwell (Gyllenhaal) on television, she decides to head to Washington DC to seek his help in campaigning for the treatment of people with weird conditions they can’t afford to fix.

This comes across as if it should be a slapstick comedy, with the wacky concept and over the top acting, but its actual delivery is pretty dry and flat. What really stuck in my mind after watching this was the end credits, which play out like every other big budget comedy, with crazy outtakes, silly dancing, and upbeat music, butt he movie itself had none of the key elements you might associate with that kind of movie. Instead this is a political parody, mocking how congressman use popular bills to sneak through parliament the bills they actually care about, in this case one to get medical aid for the woman he’s screwing. This isn’t the worst movie I’ve ever seen, and the actors do their best with what little material they have, but overall this is something of a disappointment.

You’ll like this if you liked : Legally Blonde 2 : Red White & Blonde

The Hunger Games : Mockingjay Part 2 (2015) 7/10

Starring : Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore
Director : Francis Lawrence
Running Time : 137 mins

With Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) having joined the rebellion against the Capitol, she has just one thing on her mind 0 assassinating President Snow (Sutherland) and bringing an end to the Hunger Games once and for all. But along the way she also has to help Peeta (Hutcherson) get over his brainwashing which has turn him so thoroughly against her.

This was something of a damp squib in terms of ending the series, and in spite of the fact that Hollywood enjoy changing how books end when they adapt them to the screen, they kept the cringeworthy and, in my opinion, nonsensical ending from the books. Fans of the series will either find it refreshingly different from the previous movies, or will hate the direction change this series took.

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

Pooh’s Heffalump Movie (2005) 7/10

Starring : Jim Cummings, John Fiedler, Nikita Hopkins, Kath Soucie, Ken Sansom, Peter Cullen, Brenda Blethyn, Kyle Stanger
Director : Frank Nissen
Running Time : 65 mins

When Pooh (Cummings) and his friends suspect that there’s a Heffalump living in the woods, they set out on an expedition to find and catch the creature. Roo (Hopkins) is told he can’t go because it’s too dangerous, but he sneaks off and finds the Heffalump named Lumpy (Stanger), only to discover that it’s just a baby and has lost its mother.

Fans of traditional Winnie The Pooh might be disappointed that Heffalumps turn out to be real in this movie, as historically they were always a fiction that only existed in the minds of those living in the Hundred Acre Wood. That being said, Lumpy is cute and little children will love him, plus the story has a nice moral message for young people that you should never judge someone on what they look like or on what you have heard said about them.

You’ll like this if you liked : Piglet’s Big Movie

Run All Night (2015) 6/10

Starring : Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman, Boyd Holbrook, Bruce McGill, Genesis Rodriguez, Vincent D’Onofrio
Director : Jaume Collet-Serra
Running Time : 115 mins

When Michael Conlon (Kinnaman) witnesses a shooting, he calls on his dad Jimmy (Neeson) to help him get away from the killer, a man named Danny (Holbrook) who is also the son of Jimmy’s boss, Sean Maguire (Harris). But when Jimmy is forced to shoot Michael, Sean comes after him and his son, seeking retribution.

It seems that Liam Neeson has fallen into something of a niche market – playing men who have to protect their kids in over the top and drastic fashion. Here he’s a former mob hit man forced to turn on his former boss because said boss has a nut job for a son. The action is pretty slow for this type of movie, and fans of action flicks would probably be better off looking elsewhere, but it did have its moments.

You’ll like this if you liked : Taken 2

Sisters (2015) 7/10

Starring : Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Ike Barinholtz, James Brolin, Dianne Wiest
Director : Jason Moore
Running Time : 123 mins

Maura (Poehler) and Kate (Fey) are contacted by their parents to clean out their childhood bedroom, only to discover upon arrival that their parents have sold their home! In a vain attempt to relive and remember their teenage years, the two sisters throw a party and invite all their old school friends, while simultaneously trying to put off prospective buyers of the house.

This is an old fashioned (80s and 90s) comedy romp with lots of slapstick and silly drug and sex humour peppered around the place. It’s nice to see Poehler and Fey back together again (the first time I think since baby Mama) and the comedy is just as funny, even though they are playing dissimilar characters from their well-known television characters. The plot might be slim, but the humour is largely fun, though there are moments that go on for a little longer than they need to.

You’ll like this if you liked : Trainwreck

Last Vegas (2013) 7/10

Starring : Michael Douglas, Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Kline, Mary Steenburgen
Director : Jon Turteltaub
Running Time : 105 mins

Four childhood friends reunite for a bachelor party in Las Vegas when their last single friend, Billy (Douglas), finally decides to settle down. Whilst there, they discover secrets about each other and, ironically, about themselves.

This is a likeable buddy comedy drama that allows four of Hollywood’s big names to clown around and act silly for the duration of the film. There is a semblance of a plot, and each character has their own sub-plot to contend with, but the script isn’t Shakespeare. If you like comedies that you don’t really have to think too much about, then this will definitely appeal to you, but if you like high brow intelligent comedy then this might just miss the mark.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Bucket List

Sicario (2015) 7/10

Starring : Emily Blunt, Benicio Del Toro, Josh Brolin, Victor Garber, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya
Director : Denis Villeneuve
Running Time : 122 mins

FBI Agent Kate Macer (Blunt) is called upon to help with a task force that is trying to stop the drug wars that have become prevalent at the Mexican border. Unfortunately one3 of the people helping the US to stop these drug runners is Alejandro Gillick (Del Toro), a drug dealer himself, and Macer starts to doubt how good the intentions are to stop the competition.

This is an interesting movie that manages to paint America as both the bad guy and the hero of the piece, with the CIA proving to be criminal conspirators in the drug problems of South America and the FBI trying its best to stop them. Blunt is pretty good, but Del Toro and Brolin steal the show, as villains often do. The plot is complex, but not so much so that it will completely go over your head. Worth watching if you like movies about corrupt agencies, but the violence is quite muted so won’t appeal to action fans.

You’ll like this if you liked : Training Day

The Final Girls (2015) 9/10

Starring : Taissa Farmiga, Malin Akerman, Alexander Ludwig, Nina Dobrev, Alia Shawkat, Thomas Middleditch, Adam DeVine, Angela Trimbur, Chloe Bridges, Tory N Thompson
Director : Todd Strauss-Schulson
Running Time : 92 mins

Max (Farmiga) is the daughter of famed 80s slasher actress Amanda Cartwright (Akerman), and a few years after her mother’s death she is invited to a commemorative screening of the series that made her mum famous, Camp Bloodbath. But something strange happens when a fire breaks out at the movie showing, and Max and her friends find themselves trapped inside the horror movie, the only escape being to live through the film and kill the killer at the end.

Many people didn’t like this homage to the slasher movie simply because it wasn’t a hard 18 / R certificate movie. In the UK it was a 15, and in the USA it was a PG13. Just because this had a low rating doesn’t mean it couldn’t handle all the subject matter you’d expect to see in a slasher flick, it just wasn’t as gratuitous as it might otherwise have been. Personally I enjoyed it a whole lot, and didn’t even realise it wasn’t an 18 until after I’d already watched it. Any true slasher / horror movie fan will enjoy this take on the genre, and if you can handle the fact that there is no nudity or outright gore then you will no doubt enjoy this movie too.

You’ll like this if you liked : Tucker And Dale Vs Evil

Adaptation. (2002) 6/10

Starring : Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper
Director : Spike Jonze
Running Time : 115 mins

Charlie Kaufman (Cage) is asked to work on a screenplay for the adaptation of a non-fiction novel, ‘The Orchid Thief’. The trouble is he can’t find enough interesting material surrounding the subject of orchids to fill an entire movie and, coupled with his own personal problems, he starts to descend into an insecure spiral of depression.

This, like most of Kaufman’s movies, is odd and almost without a plot, with crazy things happening straight out of left field one second, and absolutely nothing the next. It’s no surprise that the subject matter of this movie caused such difficulty for Kaufman, and it’s just luck that he managed to come up with something even slightly entertaining, though more often than not this is completely off the wall. Do not watch this unless you are a fan of his work, his influence definitely shows.

You’ll like this if you liked : Being John Malkovich

Paul Blart : Mall Cop 2 (2015) 6/10

Starring : Kevin James, Raini Rodriguez, Neal McDonough, Daniella Alonso, Eduardo Verastegui, David Henrie
Director : Andy Fickman
Running Time : 94 mins

Paul Blart (James) heads with his daughter Maya (Rodriguez) to a security officers’ convention in Las Vegas, hoping to get over the recent terrible events in his life. There he discovers a plot to steal all of the artwork from the hotel when his daughter is kidnapped so, with the help of his fellow security officers, he sets out to rescue her and stop the thieves.

The fact that this sequel even exists says a lot. The first movie was okay, but not brilliant, and this feels at times like it was intended to go straight to video or worse – straight to television. The acting isn’t great, but the story does come together reasonably well, and the slapstick isn’t too over the top so it isn’t as cringeworthy as it could have been. Fans of James may think this is beneath him, but to be fair he hasn’t done a decent live-action movie since ‘The Dilemma’ back in 2011, although ‘Here Come The Boom’ wasn’t bad either.

You’ll like this if you liked : Zookeeper

The Lady In The Van (2015) 7/10

Starring : Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent
Director : Nicholas Hytner
Running Time : 105 mins

Playwright Alan Bennett (Jennings) meets a homeless woman, Ms Shepherd (Smith), near his home in Camden Town and, after getting to know her, allows her to park her van-home in his driveway for a short time. The two get to know each other over the fifteen years she stays there, and Bennett uses her as an inspiration for one of his works in progress.

Although slow paced and with very little actually happening for the most part, this was an interesting and fun bit of easy viewing. Smith and Jennings worked well together, though Jennings comedy Leeds accent for Bennett was a little distracting at times. Fans of Smith might not think this is her best work, but it is entertaining and well performed to say the least, although as with many stories based on true events it is a little open ended in some parts, though some are explained a little too conveniently.

You’ll like this if you liked : Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day

Annie (2014) 6/10

Starring : Jamie Foxx, Quvenzhane Wallis, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Zayas, Cameron Diaz
Director : Will Gluck
Running Time : 118 mins

A foster kid named Annie (Wallis) is given the opportunity to live the high-life when mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Foxx) takes her in as part of a campaign move to make him appear more likeable to the public, but his political advisor Guy Danlily (Cannavale) plans on using Annie to further Will’s political aspirations in a much less permanent fashion.

Fans of the original will most likely dislike this remake, and not because Annie is now black. The musical numbers feel completely tacked on, and this has none of the theatrical feel that all good musicals should have. For a musical to be successful in the cinema, it really needs to look and feel like it is filmed on a ‘set’, so that the feeling of being in a theatre is still present. Instead, this feels like the songs are tacked on, and has at times no sense of being a musical whatsoever.

You’ll like this if you liked : Rock Of Ages

Survivor (2015) 6/10

Starring : Milla Jovovich, Pierce Brosnan, Dylan McDermott, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster
Director : James McTeigue
Running Time : 97 mins

Kate Abbott (Jovovich) is an American State Department employee working in London vetting visa applications. When her entire team are killed in a restaurant bombing, she discovers that her boss Bill Talbot () has been blackmailed by terrorists who plan to set off a bomb on New Year’s Eve in Times Square, so she is forced to go on the run when she is framed for the crime by those responsible.

This low budget effort is interesting in its limited capacity, but Brosnan as a villain comes across a little comical to my mind. Jovovich is good enough in the lead role, though the theory behind bothering to kill her team seemed a little stupid as it basically sent up a red flag that something was going on and almost forced the investigation that led to the realisation of the terrorist attack.

You’ll like this if you liked : Shooter

Shaun The Sheep Movie (2015) 8/10

Starring : Justin Fletcher, John Sparkes, Omid Djalili
Director : Mark Burton & Richard Starzak
Running Time : 85 mins

When Shaun (Fletcher) and his sheep friends decide to have a day off from their humdrum routine, they accidentally cause an accident which gives the farmer (Sparkes) memory loss, and results in him thinking he’s a hairdresser. The sheep set out into town to find the farmer and bring him home, and chaos ensues.

Fans of Aardman who may not necessarily know Shaun The Sheep that well will still get a kick out of this borderline silent movie. The action comes thick and fast, with plotlines that will entertain children and adults alike. The basic premise of a man with memory loss is wittily handled, and the scenes with the sheep trying to get him back are very funnily played.

You’ll like this if you liked : Wallace And Gromit In The Curse Of The Wererabbit

Never Let Me Go (2010) 8/10

Starring : Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield, Keira Knightley
Director : Mark Romanek
Running Time : 105 mins

Kathy (Mulligan) is brought up in a boarding home for what appear to be orphan children with her friends Tommy (Garfield) and Ruth (Knightley). Together the three grow into adulthood, discovering along the way that they have been bred for spare parts, and will eventually have their organs donated to other, more worthy, people before they eventually die.

This is such a little gem of a movie. I’d never heard of it before switching on the TV one evening and seeing it there. I was instantly engrossed in the story, and surprised that a science fiction movie could be so down to earth and engaging without employing spectacle as a selling point. More people should see ths movie, or even read the book, as it is a wise and likeable story featuring characters who are forced to accept their place in society in spite of their own feelings and emotions which may end up either killing their spirit or setting it free.

You’ll like this if you liked : One Day

The D Train (2015) 7/10

Starring : Jack Black, James Marsden, Kathryn Hahn, Jeffrey Tambor
Director : Andrew Mogel & Jarrad Paul
Running Time : 102 mins

Dan Landsman (Black) wants nothing more than for his high school reunion to be a success, so when he sees one-time school mate Oliver Lawless (Marsden) in a commercial on TV, he assumes that his success and previous popularity will be a big draw for people to attend. Dan uses his boss’s lack of technical skills to trick him into sending him on an all expenses trip to LA to track down Oliver, but the success of the reunion slowly starts to take precedent over Dan’s own life.

This isn’t the most laugh out loud comedy I’ve ever seen, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be. Rather it’s a situation or relationship comedy, showing that sometimes hero worship can take people into areas they wouldn’t normally explore. Fans of Black’s outrageous performances might find him a little subdued her, but it works well for the part, and Marsden always works best in comedic roles, though again his role isn’t side-splittingly funny. Many people focused on the gay sex scene and said this was jarring and out of place, but when you consider some of the other silly decisions Black makes in the movie, such as jeopardising his career and, in fact, his bosses entire business in the pursuit of a successful high school reunion, then it really isn’t the most unusual scene in the film.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Skeleton Twins

Cinderella (2015) 7/10

Starring : Cate Blanchett, Lily James, Richard Madden, Stellan Skarsgard, Holliday Grainger, Sophie McShera, Derek Jacobi, Helena Bonham Carter
Director : Kenneth Branagh
Running Time : 105 mins

When her mother dies, Ella (James) is left to live a relatively happy life with her father (Ben Chaplin). He remarries, and her stepmother (Blanchett) moves in with her two daughters, but when Ella’s father is killed whilst away on business, Ella discovers that her stepmother is wicked and evil and forces her to become a house slave for her and her children. So when her fairy godmother (Bonham Carter) shows up, Ella is delighted to get the opportunity to be whisked off to a royal ball.

This is a fun version of the fairytale, though the characters of Ella and the Prince are a little one-dimensional. As always, it is the villains that make these movies so much fun, and Blanchett and her daughters do a reasonable job as the child-friendly villains of the piece, hamming it up without going too far over the top in their performances.

You’ll like this if you liked : Maleficent

Dracula Untold (2014) 6/10

Starring : Luke Evans, Sarah Gadon, Dominic Cooper, Art Parkinson, Charles Dance
Director : Gary Shore
Running Time : 92 mins

Prince Vlad (Evans) rules his kingdom with a calming influence, in spite of having a reputation for slaughtering his enemies, but when a Turkish invader named Mehmed (Cooper) insists on taking a thousand of his countries boys to create an army, including his own son Ingeras (Parkinson), Vlad is forced to turn to an unnatural solution by becoming a monster to prevent the Turks from invading his lands out of retribution.

Fans of the sort of vampire movies where there is nothing but action and no attempt to give the characters any sort of personality beyond the surface will not like this. There is very little vampirism for the first hour beyond the scenes with Charles Dance, and there is more attention spent on creating a history for Vlad The Impaler. However, people who enjoy the original book will find this reimagining of Vlad’s history intriguing and engrossing, with a final half hour of action as the payoff.

You’ll like this if you liked : I, Frankenstein

Southpaw (2015) 7/10

Starring : Jake Gyllenhaal, Forest Whitaker, Naomie Harris, Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson, Oona Laurence, Rachel McAdams
Director : Antoine Fuqua
Running Time : 124 mins

Bill Hope (Gyllenhaal) is a famed boxer, undefeated in his weight class. After suffering an injury to his eye, his wife Maureen (McAdams) tries to convince him to retire, but he is provoked into fighting another match by a rival for a charity event, where his wife is shot to death. As he becomes depressed following her death, he starts losing fights and attacks a referee, which leads to him being suspended from fighting and losing his daughter Leila (Laurence) to social services. So Billy finds himself on a journey to prove he is good enough to take care of his daughter, and also to make back the money and prestige he has lost.

The first half hour or so of this was actually pretty boring an obvious, until Hope’s wife is killed. Then we have a much more interesting story of him trying to turn his life around after spiralling out of control. There are some genuine poignant moments, sometimes spoiled by below par performances from the likes of Jackson and, even at some points, Gyllenhaal, though his ability to channel the spirit of Rocky Balboa was hilarious.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Fighter

Goosebumps (2015) 8/10

Starring : Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee, Jack Black
Director : Rob Letterman
Running Time : 104 mins

Zach Cooper (Minnette) moves with his family to a small town, where he meets his attractive neighbour Hannah (Rush). The two of them become friends and Zach soon discovers that Hannah’s father is secretly the famed children’s author RL Stine (Black), but when it turns out that the monsters from his books have become real, and the only thing stopping them from going on the rampage is the fact that they are trapped inside their books, the obvious happens and the gang have to stop the monsters from their terrible rampage.

I don’t know if it’s the big kid in me, but I really enjoyed this old-fashioned family movie. I never read the Goosebumps books as a kid, but I found this fun and refreshing, seeing as there are so few non-animated family movies made these days. Like Night At The Museum or Jumanji, this uses fantasy in a clever way that makes this movie both entertaining and enjoyable.

You’ll like this if you liked : Bedtime Stories

The I Inside (2004) 6/10

Starring : Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Polley, Piper Perabo, Stephen Rea, Robert Sean Leonard, Stephen Lang, Peter Egan, Stephen Graham, Rakie Ayola
Director : Roland Suso Richter
Running Time : 92 mins

Simon Cable (Phillippe) wakes up in hospital with no memory of the past two years of his life. As he searches fro clues as to what might have happened to him, he finds himself transported back and forth through time, reliving the missing moments, and piecing together the mystery behind what happened to him.

This movie had a lot of potential, but thanks to lacklustre performances from all involved (though Perabo did a pretty good job) it falls short of being memorable, especially thanks to a disappointing ending to the film. If you like weird thrillers that slowly unravel as they reach their conclusion, this might entertain you, but there are better movies out there, like Identity.

You’ll like this if you liked : Stay

Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness (2015) 7/10

Starring : Frank Welker, Mindy Cohn, Grey DeLisle, Matthew Lillard
Director : Mark Banker
Running Time : 76 mins

In the twenty-third of the direct to video Scooby-Doo series, Scooby (Welker) and the gang win the last five tickets in a lottery awarding a once in a lifetime trip into space, but when aliens start sabotaging the ship, the gang find they might just have another mystery on their hands.

This was a fun pastiche of the Alien movies – something which might go over younger viewers heads but wasn’t wasted on me. I love that the rest of the gang have developed their own personalities over the years and aren’t just one dimensional like they were in the 60s. This instalment of the straight to video series just goes to show that the franchise is just as fresh as its always been, if not fresher.

You’ll like this if you liked : Scooby-Doo! Frankencreepy

Deadpool (2016) 9/10

Starring : Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Ed Skrein, TJ Miller, Gina Carano, Brianna Hildebrand, Stefan Kapicic, Leslie Uggums, Jed Rees, Karan Soni
Director : Tim Miller
Running Time : 108 mins

When he discovers that he has late stage cancer, former Special Forces Operative Wade Wilson (Reynolds) decides to sign up for an experimental treatment to cure himself. When the treatment turns out to be a sadistic method of artificially activating his mutant genes, Wade finds himself turned into an indestructible killing machine and sets out to get revenge on the people behind the treatment that has left him hideously disfigured.

This was exactly what I expected from a Deadpool movie, perhaps with a little more nudity than I expected. The action was over the top and violent, the humour was silly, and the story was disjointed on a way that was perfect for a Deadpool movie. Reynolds has always been first choice for the lead role, and the supporting cast managed to keep things light even when they were getting dark. Fans of the comic book character (who turns twenty-five this year) will love this movie with a passion, and hopefully it will spawn a whole generation of new fans.

You’ll like this if you liked : Super

Tammy (20014) 5/10

Starring : Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Kathy Bates, Allison Janney, Dan Aykroyd, Mark Duplass, Gary Cole
Director : Ben Falcone
Running Time : 101 mins

After being fired from her job and discovering that her husband is having an affair, Tammy (McCarthy) decides it high time she got away from the small town she lives in. So that she can fund the trip she brings along her grandma Pearl (Sarandon), and together the two of them get up to all sorts of childish hi-jinx.

This movie had potential if only it wasn’t so dry. With McCarthy at the helm, I expected crazy slapstick nonsense, and there was plenty of it, but it didn’t really go with the rest of the script. It started off with Tammy coming across as mentally challenged in some way, then her portrayal swiftly changed to angry and bitter. There are some potential dark moments which could have worked well, but the powers that be clearly copped out of using them at the last minute, and in spite of a stellar cast of supporting celebs, this was less than great.

You’ll like this if you liked : Identity Thief

Aloha (2015) 7/10

Starring : Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, Rachel McAdams, Bill Murray, John Krasinski, Danny McBride, Alec Baldwin
Director : Cameron Crowe
Running Time : 105 mins

Brian Gilcrest (Cooper) is asked to negotiate a deal with native Hawaiians in order to gain a traditional blessing for some land proposed to be the sight of a new space centre, but his trip is complicated not only when he runs into his ex-girlfriend Tracy Woodside (McAdams) and her new family but also when he becomes close with his Air Force liaison Allison Ng (Stone).

There’s a lot of controversy surrounding this film, mainly due to the casting of Stone as quarter Asian, quarter Hawaiian character, but when her character is explained her appearance makes perfect sense. The storyline is shaky to begin with, and it’s hard to tell if this is a romantic drama or a cultural journey, but as with most of Crowe’s movies this is bitter-sweet and on the whole enjoyable.

You’ll like this if you liked : Jerry Maguire

Paper Towns (2015) 7/10

Starring : Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith, Halston Sage, Jaz Sinclair
Director : Jake Schreier
Running Time : 109 mins

After years of pining for his neighbour Margo (Delevingne), Quentin (Wolff) is invited by her on an adventurous night of revenge, but when he discovers the next morning that she has vanished he convinces himself and his friends that she has left clues behind for them to track her down.

This movie wasn’t that bad, sadly not getting interesting until Delevingne disappears. The search for Margo, being the bulk of the film, is the most fun and the characters that help Quentin in his search make the movie watchable. The references felt a little off. Clearly this was set in 2015, as the characters scratch their initials and the year at the end, yet it felt like it was set in the 80s, possibly because of the soundtrack and the overall feel of the film. Also the main three guys talk about sneaking in to see Snow Dogs when they were young, but they’d have been no more than five when that movie came out in 2002! In spite of these problems with time frames, it’s a film that teenagers will enjoy.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

One Day (2011) 7/10

Starring : Anne Hathaway, Jim Sturgess, Romola Garai, Rafe Spall, Ken Stott, Patricia Clarkson
Director : Lone Scherfig
Running Time : 108 mins

Dexter (Sturgess) and Emma (Hathaway) meet in 1988, and sleep together on the night they meet. Every year on the same day we see how their lives have progressed, and what stage they are at in their relationships with both each other and other people.

This was an interesting movie, with an original concept, but it fell a little short of being brilliant. It was somewhat distracting having Hathaway doing a Northern accent, and Sturgess going from posh to cockney for his television persona was unlikely, as generally is was people who didn’t speak ‘proper English’ that were getting presenting jobs in the 90s. Fans of David Nicholls might be disappointed as this is nowhere close to being as good as Starter For Ten, and the random sad ending was a bit of a downer, but it does have its moments that work quite well.

You’ll like this if you liked : Love And Other Drugs

Maze Runner : The Scorch Trials (2015) 7/10

Starring : Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Dexter Darden, Nathalie Emmanuel, Giancarlo Esposito, Alexander Flores, Aidan Gillen, Ki Hong Lee, Jacob Lofland, Barry Pepper, Rosa Salazar, Lili Taylor, Alan Tudyk, Patricia Clarkson
Director : Wes Ball
Running Time : 132 mins

Having managed to escape from the Maze, Thomas (O’Brien) and his new friends travel to a desolate landscape known as Scorch where they team up with a band of resistance fighter eager to take down the organisation known as WCKD.

This was very different from the first movie, and as such I didn’t know what to expect. It seems weird that the primary villains of the movie are an organization that is trying to save the human race from extinction – granted, they might be a bit dodgy in their methodology, but the ends do justify the means when there’s no other solution in sight. Maybe the next movie will reveal that they created the virus or something along those lines, but that would be predictable. I might read the books so I don’t have to wait at least another year to find out...

You’ll like this if you liked : The Hunger Games : Mockingjay Part 1

Charlie Brown And Snoopy The Peanuts Movie (2015) 8/10

Starring : Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Alex Garfin, Francesca Angelucci Capaldi, Venus Omega Schultheis, Rebecca Bloom, Marleik “Mar Mar” Walker, Noah Johnston, Kristin Chenoweth, Bill Melendez
Director : Steve Martino
Running Time : 89 mins

When a little red-haired girl (Capaldi) starts at his school, Charlie Brown (Schnapp) is instantly smitten, but panic sets in as he tries to impress her. What makes things worse is he comes top of the class in a test, so when he is paired with her for a book report he has to pull out all the stops to make sure that it matches up with his recent success.

Just like the Peanuts cartoons and comic strips of old, this has an understated charm that works perfectly with the material. The characters are just how you remember, the plot isn’t over the top and could easily have existed in a live-action movie (though that would have been horrible). Fans of Snoopy and Charlie Brown will love this, as it takes all the best elements we remember as kids as recreates them in 3-D form.

You’ll like this if you liked : Race For Your Life, Charlie Brown

Obvious Child (2014) 7/10

Starring : Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffman, Richard Kind
Director : Gillian Robespierre
Running Time : 85 mins

Stand-up comedienne Donna Stern (Slate) has a one-night stand with Max (Lacy) after her boyfriend dumps her, only to discover the next morning that she’s pregnant. She decides to have an abortion, which has a negative impact on her comedy routine and also causes potential problems with her relationship with Max, who she starts seeing more seriously.

This movie is in no way a laugh out loud comedy. The humour is dry and at times unfunny, but that’s what makes it feel real. I’d have liked it if the stand-up was actually humorous when it was supposed to be, but then the focus isn’t on the comedy – that’s just there. The plot of a woman getting an abortion and the complications such a decision can lead to is what makes this movie interesting, and the natural performances of the cast make this an interesting drama with a plausible ending.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Skeleton Twins

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) 7/10

Starring : Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Dev Patel, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Ronald Pickup, David Strathairn, Richard Gere
Director : John Madden
Running Time : 122 mins

Sonny Kapoor (Patel) is about to get married, but with the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel almost fully booked, he starts to concentrate on his dream of opening a second hotel to take on the overflow of guests, but is faced with problems from the get go.

This wasn’t quite as good as the first film, but fans of the first will still find this very enjoyable,. There is a lot more Sonny in this, which is good and bad: good because we get to know his character better as he was something of a caricature in the first film, and bad because sometimes it is the caricature that adds mystery to a likeable character. The rest of the cast do a great job with the material, including the addition of Richard Gere and Tamsin Grieg, but don’t expect quite as many laughs or as much drama as the first film.

You’ll like this if you liked : Quartet