Brokeback Mountain (2005) 7/10

Starring : Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway
Director : Ang Lee
Running Time : 135 mins

It’s 1963, and Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) are working in the Wyoming mountains, working together as sheep herds, but as the weeks go by, they develop an unhealthy attachment to each other which eventual results in a romantic attachment that spans twenty years. As they try to get on with their lives, each of them getting married, they still return to the mountains each year to relive their summer together.

This movie was okay, but it was just so long. Granted, it’s meant to take place over a period of twenty years, but it didn’t have to feel like it. Ledger and Gyllenhaal are both brilliantly believable in their roles, and Ledger himself manages to pull off the notion that he has aged as time passed. Fans of high drama will enjoy this, but you really need a long attention span to keep with it from start to finish.

You’ll like this if you liked : My Own Private Idaho

The Santa Clause 2 (2002) 7/10

Starring : Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, David Krumholtz, Eric Lloyd, Judge Reinhold
Director : Michael Lembeck
Running Time : 104 mins

Scott Calvin (Allen) has been successfully working as Santa Claus for almost a decade but, when he receives the news that if he doesn’t get married he’ll stop being Santa, he has only 28 days to find a wife or Christmas will be without a Santa at Christmas. Leaving a toy duplicate of himself in charge, Scott travels back to his home town to not only find a wife, but to try and sort out his son Charlie (Lloyd), who this year has ended up on the naughty list.

Children will enjoy this festive treat, filled with silly notions and funny makeup effects that are genuinely impressive. Allen’s childlike persona will appeal to the young and old alike, and anyone who enjoys kid’s movies will enjoy the North Pole scenes, whilst those a bit more mature will like Allen’s search for a wife.

You’ll like this if you liked : Fred Claus

The Ultimate Gift (2006) 6/10

Starring : Drew Fuller, Abigail Breslin, Brian Dennehy, James Garner
Director : Michael O Sajbel
Running Time : 118 mins

When his wealthy grandfather Howard (Garner) dies, Jason Stevens (Fuller) expects to receive a hefty inheritance from him, but what he gets instead is a challenge to perform a number of tasks before he sees any of the money. His friends slowly begin to abandon him, and he finds himself having to begrudgingly perform the challenges on his own, but when he meets a young girl named Emily (Breslin) who is dying from Leukaemia named he soon changes his outlook on life.

This movie could have been so much better if Drew Fuller had have been replaced with another actor. He couldn’t act back when he was in Charmed and he can’t act in this. Breslin is her usual underrated self as the poorly girl who wins Fuller’s heart, but despite it’s Christmassy sounding title this has nothing to do with the winter season. If you like weepy movies you might enjoy this, otherwise it’s just not that good.

You’ll like this if you liked : Savage Grace

Bride Wars (2009) 8/10

Starring : Kate Hudson, Anne Hathaway, Bryan Greenburg, Chris Pratt
Director : Gary Winick
Running Time : 86 mins

Liv Lerner (Hudson) and Emma Allen (Hathaway) have been best friends since childhood, and both want to have their weddings at the Plaza Hotel, a place where they spent many an enjoyable time as children, but when an error occurs that means they both have their weddings scheduled for the same they become bitter rivals, doing everything they can to ruin the others special day.

This was a surprisingly enjoyable buddy movie stroke chick flick, with some very bad behaviour from both Hudson and Hathaway. I especially enjoyed the fact that Hathaway – usually something of a goody-goody in her past movies – was the one to start the feud. Well worth watching if you like chick flicks or just enjoy silly movies where everything that can go wrong will go wrong.

You’ll like this if you liked : 27 Dreesses

Classic Friday : It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) 9/10

Starring : James Stewart, Donna Reed, Henry Travers
Director : Frank Capra
Running Time : 131 mins

George Bailey (Stewart) has spent his whole life in Bedford Falls, despite his dream to travel around the world. He’s given up everything for his family and community, putting their wishes before his own, but when $8.000 goes missing from his business, George decides to take the blame and kill himself so that he can pay off the debt with his life insurance. Wishing he’d never been born, George meets Clarence (Travers), an angel who shows him what life would have been like if his dream had come true.

This is such a timeless movie, which would have got a score of ten out of ten if it wasn’t so long! It’s hard to believe that a movie that’s over sixty could run for almost two and a quarter hours. Still, the similarities to Dickens’ Christmas Carol aside, this is a great movie that shows how being selfless might sometimes feel like it’s wrecking your life, but in reality these actions are making you a much better person.

You’ll like this if you liked : A Christmas Carol

Deck The Halls (2006) 7/10

Starring : Mathrew Broderick, Danny DeVito, Kristin Davis, Kristin Chenoweth
Director : John Whitesell
Running Time : 93 mins

Steve Finch (Broderick) and his wife Kelly (Davis) love their life in their little home town, where Steve is considered the King of Christmas, but when Buddy Hall (DeVito) and his wife Tia (Chenoweth) move in across the street and start decorating their house in such a way as to put Steve’s in the dark, Steve decides to try and do everything he can to get rid of Buddy.

This is just like a lot of other Christmas movies, with angry neighbours fighting amongst themselves. DeVito is just annoying enough, though he starts to get a little over the top and, as usual, Broderick plays the put upon neighbour who has to put on a brave face as DeVito ruins his life. And don’t expect a surprising ending – you can pretty much guess what’s going to happen from the outset.

You’ll like this if you liked : Christmas With The Kranks

Four Christmases (2008) 8/10

Starring : Vince Vaughn, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Sissy Spacek, Jon Voight, Jon Favreau, Mary Steenburgen
Director : Seth Gordon
Running Time : 87 mins

When their Christmas holiday to Fiji is called off due to bad weather, Brad (Vaughn) and Kate (Witherspoon) are stranded in the States, and when a camera crew films them they realise that the lie they told to their families won’t hold water and are forced to visit each of their divorced parents for the holiday season.

I wasn’t expecting much from this Christmas movie that didn’t seem to do that well in the UK, despite some heavy promotions. Despite my first impressions, the story was fun and the slapstick came thick and fast, and I love the way the main two characters hated the idea of marriage because of their parents divorces. Well worth watching if you want a bit of festive fun!

You’ll like this if you liked : The Family Stone

The Perfect Holiday (2007) 8/10

Starring : Morris Chestnut, Gabrielle Union, Faizon Love, Charlie Murphy, Terrence Howard, Queen Latifah
Director : Lance Rivera
Running Time : 96 mins

Between various attempts at creating himself a musical career, Benjamin Armstrong (Chestnut) enjoys doing his bit for the community, and at Christmas he and his pal Jamal (Love) perform their Santa duties for the kids. But when one little girl asks him to find a man for her mother, Nancy (Union), he instantly falls for her, not knowing that her ex-husband is J-Jizzy (Murphy), a wrapper that he is trying to write songs with.

If it wasn’t for Terrence Howard and Queen Latifah, this would have been a pretty good movie. All their presence really did for this movie was to make it slightly annoying and gave it too much of a forced kiddie friendly feel. Other than that I liked the basic tale of a man wheedling his way into a woman’s life by using inside information – how romantic is that?

You’ll like this if you liked : The Family Stone

The Family Man (2000) 7/10

Starring : Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven
Director : Brett Ratner
Running Time : 125 mins

Jack Campbell (Cage) is a workaholic stock broker who has sacrificed everything to get ahead in his career, so when he wakes up one morning and finds himself married to Kate Reynolds (Leoni), a women he broke up with thirteen years earlier, he starts to realise that an encounter with a homeless man known as Cash (Cheadle) may have has more important repercussions than he could have ever imagined.

This movie was a little overlong for my liking, although it has a surprisingly abrupt ending. Cage is okay, but he isn’t particularly likable in the role. I felt sorrier for Leoni than anyone else – she had to put up with Cage who, despite the conclusions this movie gives us, really doesn’t seem to want to be with her. Worth watching as a comparison to A Christmas Carol, but this isn’t brilliant.

You’ll like this if you liked : It’s A Wonderful Life

Grounded (2006) 8/10

Starring : Tyler James Williams, Dyllan Christopher, Brett Kelly, Gia Mantegna, Quinn Shephard
Director : Paul Feig
Running Time : 90 mins

Six children who are all travelling home on their own for Christmas find themselves stranded in an airport when all their flights are cancelled. They all get hauled into the Unaccompanied Minors holding area until their parents can be contacted, but they soon join forces and decide to try to escape from the airport so they can actually enjoy the holidays.

I actually thought this was pretty funny. The kids weren't your typical cast of misfits that you'd get in a pre-teen comedy, but their relationships with each other were played out well. There's a lot of slapstick going on here, and the Christmassy message at the end, though a little convoluted, works well in the confines of what you'd expect from this sort of flick.

You’ll like this if you liked : Snow Day

Classic Friday : The Santa Clause (1994) 6/10

Starring : Tim Allen, Judge Reinhold, Wendy Crewson, Eric Lloyd, David Krumholtz
Director : John Pasquin
Running Time : 93 mins

When Scott Calvin (Allen) accidentally knocks Santa Claus off his roof just before Christmas, he finds himself forced via a loophole to take on the jolly fat man's role and starts to transform into Santa. As he carries out Santa's duties, he soon finds himself facing many problems, such as being accused of breaking and entering and having to face the fact that his ex-wife Laura (Crewson) believes he might be insane...

It's clear that this was designed as nothing but a Disney vehicle to transfer Tim Allen from his television show Home Improvement to the silver screen, but there are some nice moments which kids will enjoy. The story is a little disjointed, and the plot itself doesn't really get explained other than in the title of the film, but children will be entertained by the special effects and Allen’s transformation into Santa.

You’ll like this if you liked : Fred Claus

Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) 5/10

Starring : Sally Hawkins, Eddie Marsan, Alexis Zegerman
Director : Mike Leigh
Running Time : 115 mins

Poppy (Hawkins) is a schoolteacher who possesses an infectious disposition of permanent happiness – a disposition that more often than not annoys most people. When her bike is stolen from her, she decides to take driving lessons with a man named Scott (Marsan), her exact opposite who leads a miserable life that even Poppy might not be able to turn around.

I really didn't like this movie. I found Sally Hawkins to be incredibly annoying, and the only actor who actually seemed any good to me in the whole film was Eddie Marsan. The basic story - that Hawkins thinks she can make anybody happy - is an interesting one, but the fact that she seems to just give up on Marsan kind of makes her aim in life meaningless in my opinion. Skip it unless you're a huge fan of Mike Leigh.

You’ll like this if you liked : Life Is Sweet

Planet 51 (2009) 8/10

Starring : Dwayne Johnson, Jessica Biel, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, Seann William Scott, John Cleese
Director : Jorge Blanco
Running Time : 87 mins

Lem (Long) lives a happy life on his homes planet, oblivious to the expansive universe that surrounds his home, spending his time watching cheap horror movies about alien invaders and mooning over Neera (Biel), the girl next door. But when he meets a real alien, in the shape of Earth astronaut Captain Charles T Baker (Johnson), he starts to question everything he’s believed in up to that point in his life.

I actually enjoyed this animated feature that takes the story of an alien invasion and turns it on its head. You can tell this was written by the same guy that wrote the screenplay for Shrek, and it has the same kind of energy that doesn’t patronise but simply amuses. The characters might not be as warm and likable as those in Shrek, but not many cartons could really compare.

You’ll like this if you liked : Shrek The Third

Scooby-Doo And The Cyber Chase (2001) 7/10

Starring : Scott Innes, Grey DeLisle, Frank Welker, B J Ward
Director : Jim Stenstrum
Running Time : 75 mins

In the fourth of the direct to video Scooby-Doo series, Scooby (Innes), Shaggy (Innes) and the gang are faced with a real life spook when a computer game based on their mystery solving skills develops what appears to be a virus which transports the gang to cyber space where they must battle their way through level after level of dangerous missions.

This movie almost jumped the shark when it made the only villain a ghost. Ordinarily you want someone to be behind the spooks spooky goings on, but this is just a straight forward adventure with no real mystery other than the clues to solving each level of the games. Hard core Scooby fans might dislike this due to that fact, but it is still a good movie for kids and grown-ups alike.

You’ll like this if you liked : Scooby-Doo and the Alien Invaders

Journey To The Centre Of The Earth (2008) 7/10

Starring : Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem
Director : Eric Brevig
Running Time : 93 mins

Following clues left in an old copy of a Jules Vern novel, Professor Trevor Anderson (Fraser) and his nephew Sean (Hutcherson) travel in search of their missing brother and father (respectively) and find themselves on an amazing journey into the depths of the Earth itself, where they discover all sorts of strange and wonderful things.

This wasn’t bad, but it was desperately playing up its 3D aspect. If it wasn’t for this little fact this could have been a far more intriguing children's movie and might even have had a little more depth. In any case, kids will enjoy this, and might not even notice all the other movies that it's lovingly ripped off, specifically Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Mummy Returns

A Perfect Getaway (2009) 9/10

Starring : Steve Zahn, Timothy Olyphant, Milla Jovovich, Kiele Sanchez
Director : David Twohy
Running Time : 94 mins

Cliff (Zahn) and Cydney (Jovovich) go on their honeymoon to the Hawaiian Islands, where they meet another couple called Nick (Olyphant) and Gina (Sanchez). When each of the couples hears that holiday couples are being murdered on the surrounding islands, they start to question how much they actually know about their new friends.

This starts off slow, but soon builds up into quite a clever and tense thriller. There are some great twists which, though obvious in hind sight, are pretty smartly played from the get-go. It was interesting that most of the cast are predominantly comedy actors, but I actually thought this made the thriller aspect more impressive, and some of the main cast members are actually extremely creepy in their roles. Well worth checking out.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Departed

Classic Friday : Gremlins 2 The New Batch (1990) 7/10

Starring : Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, John Glover
Director : Joe Dante
Running Time : 102 mins

Following the death of his owner, Gizmo the mogwai has been captured by a genetics lab that decides to experiment on him, but when they do they accidentally create a new batch of Gremlins, this time genetically enhanced in various ways, who go on the rampage in a high-rise skyscraper in new York City.

Although not as good as the original, this comes up with a lot of great new concepts to the evil little creatures, including cross breeding them and exploring their suspicions asexual nature. Fans of the original will enjoy this, and look out for some great guest appearances by terrible celebrities of the day.

You’ll like this if you liked : Gremlins

Doghouse (2009) 7/10

Starring : Danny Dyer, Stephen Graham, Noel Clarke, Terry Stone
Director : Jake West
Running Time : 85 mins

A group of young men go on a camping trip to cheer up their mate Vince (Graham) who has recently broken up with his wife, but they find themselves trapped in a town where a deadly experimental toxin has been released into the public that turns otherwise normal women into mindless flesh-eating monsters.

If you take this at face value, as a silly horror comedy that has a plot that, to be fair, doesn’t really matter, then this is an okay movie. The acting isn’t brilliant, and the premise is similar to a lot of other horrors, but the tongue in cheek approach does help make this a little better than it could have been.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Cottage

Futurama : Bender’s Big Score (2007) 8/10

Starring : Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio
Director : Dwayne Carey-Hill
Running Time : 89 mins

Bender (DiMaggio) is employed by a group of scammers to travel back in time using s secret code located in a tattoo on Fry’s (West) bum that enables people to travel back but not forward in time, but when the scammers decide to destroy the code by killing Fry, Fry is forced to use the code to travel back to New Year’s Day in the year 2000, the day he was originally frozen for one thousand years.

This is definitely the best of the straight to video series that hopefully will spell the return of the series to television screens, since it got cancelled in 2003. The animation is exactly the same (thankfully no one decided to change that at least), and the story is fun and witty and filled with action. Fans of the original series will relish this chance to see their favourite characters again, and new viewers will no doubt fall in love with the characters once they’ve finished this movie.

You’ll like this if you liked : Futurama : Bender’s Game

The Box (2009) 7/10

Starring : Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
Director : Richard Kelly
Running Time : 111 mins

Norma Lewis (Diaz) and her husband Arthur (Marsden) receive a visit from a strange man named Arlington Steward (Langhella), who gives them a strange box and offers them a deal : if they press the button contained in the box, they will receive a briefcase containing $1,000,000, but someone they don’t know will die.

I was really disappointed by this movie. From the trailer it looked like an intriguing combination of thriller and morality tale, but about halfway through it turned into a weird science fiction movie. Granted, it’s non-Hollywood ending made a pleasant change of pace, but overall this just wasn’t what I was hoping for.

You’ll like this if you liked : The Nines

Kung Pow Enter The Fist (2002) 8/10

Starring : Steve Oedekerk, Fei Lung, Ling Ling Tse
Director : Steve Oedekerk
Running Time : 80 mins

The Chosen One (Oedekerk), after a terrible childhood and a lonely upbringing, seeks revenge against the evil Betty (Lung), who was responsible for the death of his parents. Along the way he meets cows trained in martial arts, indestructible villains and the girl of his dreams.

I was expecting an incredibly stupid movie and that’s precisely what I got – but it was hysterical! The whole idea of taking an existing kung fu movie and splicing it together with new footage and dubbing the voice is a stroke of genius. Anyone who loves slapstick comedy will enjoy this movie, although the CGI cow was a little bit stupid, as well as disgusting!

You’ll like this if you liked : Austin Powers International Man Of Mystery

Jennifer's Body (2009) 8/10

Starring : Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, Adam Brody
Director : Karyn Kusama
Running Time : 99 mins

Needy (Seyfried) and Jennifer (Fox) have been best friends since they met in a sandbox, and over the years – even though Jennifer has become head cheerleader and Needy is a nerd – they have remained best friends. But when Jennifer is sacrificed to the devil by a rock band seeking fame, their friendship is tested as she returns as a blood sucking Succubus intent on killing to keep herself alive.

I really expected this to be rubbish, but it was strangely entertaining. Like a cross between Heathers and The Lost Boys, this has some great one-liners and some ridiculously over the top violence. Fans of modern horror films might not like this, but if you like old eighties classics then this should be right up your street.

You’ll like this if you liked : Heathers

Classic Friday : Beverly Hills Cop II (1987) 7/10

Starring : Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Jurgen Prochnow, Ronny Cox, Brigitte Nielsen
Director : Tony Scott
Running Time : 99 mins

Axel Foley (Murphy) is sent deep undercover, and again finds himself in Beverly Hills where he helps old friends Detective Rosewood (Reinhold) and Sergeant Taggart (Ashton) investigate the near fatal shooting of Captain Bogomil (Cox). As they get closer to the truth they discover a connection between the attempt on Bogomil’s life and a series of thefts that have been happening in the area.

In spite of not being as good as the original, this is still a worthy sequel. Murphy is still on top form as Axel Foley, with Reinhold and Ashton being even better than in the original now that they’re on Foley’s side. And with Tony Scott directing, you know that this is nothing if not action packed.

You’ll like this if you liked : Die Hard With A Vengeance

Away We Go (2009) 8/10

Starring : John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Carmen Ejogo, Catherine O’Hara, Jeff Daniels
Director : Sam Mendes
Running Time : 98 mins

Burt Farlander (Krasinski) and Verona De Tessant (Rudolph) are expecting their first child together, and have move to live near Burt’s parents so that they can share in the experience with them, but when Burt’s folks decide to move to Belgium the couple make the decision to find somewhere else to live, with people that they care about who will be there for them. So they begin and road trip to find somewhere new to live.

I thought this was a really good, well observed comedy that had just the right level of additional pathos to make it both witty and touching. Krasinski and Rudolph are a likeable couple, and I liked that it felt believable that they were together but weren’t a perfect couple. With a string of guest stars that all put in sterling performances, this is a must see.

You’ll like this if you liked : Broken Flowers

The Babysitters (2007) 5/10

Starring : Katherine Waterston, John Leguizamo, Cynthia Nixon
Director : David Ross
Running Time : 89 mins

Shirley Lyner (Waterston) is a high school girl who makes extra money by babysitting for parents in the area, but when she falls for single father Michael Beltran (Leguizamo) she decides to make even more extra money by starting up an escort service, using some of her school friends as additional “babysitters”.

This isn’t a particularly pleasant movie to watch, and it really needed a nice injection of humour to make this bearable, so sadly this just made me cringe pretty much from start to finish. The acting was also pretty sub-standard and the plot was obvious, so I don’t think this would appeal to anyone other than those easily pleased with movies that have little or no charm.

You’ll like this if you liked : Walk All Over Me

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009) 8/10

Starring : Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Andy Samberg, Bruce Campbell
Director : Phil Lord & Chris Miller
Running Time : 91 mins

Failed scientist and inventor Flint Lockwood (Hader) finally invents something that works – a machine that can turn water into food, thus solving the food shortage situation on the island on which he lives. Unfortunately the machine starts mutating the food, making larger and larger portions which begin to inundate the world with too much food.

I really enjoyed this movie, which has apparently been about as faithful to the book it’s based on as a movie can get. The voice actors are all wonderful, with Hader and Faris making the perfect cartoon couple, and the supporting cast really flesh this out into a thoroughly enjoyable kids cartoon that parents will enjoy as well.

You’ll like this if you liked : Monsters Vs Aliens

Day Of The Dead (2008) 5/10

Starring : Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon, Michael Welch, AnnaLynne McCord, Ving Rhames
Director : Steve Miner
Running Time : 82 mins

The small town of Leadville, Colorado, is sealed off by the government and military when it is discovered that an epidemic similar to the flu is spreading through the town. However, when Corporal Sarah Bowman (Suvari) takes her mother to the hospital she discovers that the illness isn’t flu but is in fact turning people into flesh eating zombies.

Although this has all the elements of a good zombie movie, the casting truly ruined this for more. Nick Cannon turns everything her touches to crap, and the lines he was given really didn’t help his cause. As for Mena Suvari as a Corporal in the military, I just found this about as believable as the fast moving, ceiling crawling zombies that this movie portrayed.

You’ll like this if you liked : Diary Of The Dead