Reasonable Doubt (2014) 7/10

Starring : Dominic Cooper, Samuel L Jackson, Gloria Reuben, Ryan Robbins, Erin Karpluk, Dylan Taylor
Director : Peter P Croudins
Running Time : 92 mins

When hot shot district attorney Mitch Brockden (Cooper) flees the scene of a hit and run, he is shocked to see the victim on the news the next morning, having been discovered in the back of a van. Brockden takes the case as prosecution against Clinton Davis (Jackson), the owner of the van, but Davis gets off. That’s when Brockden starts to have doubts about how innocent David really is...

This was actually not that bad. The direction of the movie almost tricks the viewer into believing that the plot is entirely going to be about Cooper trying to frame Jackson for the hit and run so that he can get off scot free, but the twist in the tale really makes this an intriguing plot, but the execution could have been better, and the risk in Cooper’s actions could have been explored further to make this a truly exciting thriller.

You’ll like this if you liked : Lakeview Terrace

Katy Perry : Part Of Me (2012) 7/10

Starring : Katy Perry
Director : Dan Kutforth & Jane Lipitz
Running Time : 94 mins

This part-concert, part-documentary follows Katy Perry and her entourage as they travel on tour across America. Along the way we get to see her growing up with her uber-religious parents and see how she was limited in her choices as a child but overcame these limitations and became the pop singer we all now know and love, as well as seeing her fairy tale marriage to comedian Russell Brand fall apart.

Generally I enjoy Katy Perry’s music – it’s fun, sometimes clever and always bubbly feel-good stuff, so it’s sad when people hate her. Granted, this behind the scenes movie does at times feel a little fake and put-on, and the show itself is pretty childish looking, but this movie is aimed at fans of Katy, and people going into this should know what to expect. Plus there’s some hilarious looks at her early career as a Christian singer.

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

The Smurfs 2 (2013) 6/10

Starring : Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, Brendan Gleeson, Jayma Mays, Jonathan Winters, Christina Ricci, JB Smoove, Katy Perry
Director : Raja Gosnell
Running Time : 101 mins

Evil wizard Gargamel (Azaria) creates two new Smurf-like creatures called Naughties in the hope of using their Smurf-essence to boost his magical powers, but when he realises that he can only get the essence from a real Smurf he kidnaps Smurfette (Perry) in order to gain the secret of turning Naughties into Smurfs.

With the first of the live-action Smurf movies giving us a new look at the world of the Smurfs being thrust into the modern era, this pretty much treads over old ground. Although this time the focus is primarily on Smurfette and her relationship with the other Smurfs – considering she isn’t a real Smurf – this does little to expand on any of the characters personalities. Gargamel remains a walking stereotype – handled expertly by voice actor Hank Azaria – and the supporting cast of humans do little to add to the plot, instead giving a sub-plot about a hated step-father who turns out to be a good guy. I guess, in a way, this is a link to the whole Smurfette isn’t really related to the Smurfs but is still a good person storyline, but it didn’t feel that necessary to the whole plot, which is pretty much about acceptance. A nice moral tale for kids, but adults may get tired of the at times boring antics.

You’ll like this if you liked : Garfield : A Tail Of Two Kitties

All-Star Superman (2011) 7/10

Starring : James Denton, Christina Hendricks, Anthony LaPaglia, Edward Asner, Obba Babatunde
Director : Sam Liu
Running Time : 77 mins

When Superman (Denton) rescues the crew of a spaceship heading into the sun, he receives a lethal dose of solar radiation that will eventually kill him. Realising that he doesn’t have long to live, he decides to make the most of the time he has left, starting with telling the truth to Lois Lane (Hendricks) about his secret identity and imbuing her with an element of his power for 24 hours using a super serum. But the serum is soon utilised for evil by Lex Luthor (LaPaglia), who plans to use it to take over the Earth

I loved the anime style animation of this movie, which also uses the artwork of Frank Quitely as a basis, giving this an appearance that really brings it in line with the comic book series on which it is based. Denton’s voice is a little flat and boring for my liking, and LaPaglia is a bit hammy, but overall this is a decent translation of a popular comic book story.

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

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (2013) 7/10

Starring : Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Will Forte, Andy Samberg, Benjamin Bratt, Neil Patrick Harris, Terry Crews, Kristen Schaal
Director : Cody Cameron & Kris Pearn
Running Time : 91 mins

Following the disaster that almost destroyed his home town, Flint Lockwood (Hader) and his friends are asked to evacuate so that the Live Corp Company can clean up. Flint is offered a job with Live Corp, and the opportunity to work with his childhood hero Chester V (Forte), but when he discovers that his machine is still running and is creating mutant food creatures, he journeys home to turn the machine off once and for all. He soon discovers that Chester V’s apparent humanitarian clean up may have a more selfish reason behind it.

Fans of the original will enjoy this, though the animation is a little cheap looking in comparison to other recent animated movies. The characters aren’t as fleshed out as I’d have hoped, but the mutant food creatures are pretty well thought through, with some very clever mutations based on the names of the foods and the animals they resemble. Kids will love this colourful sequel, and adults on the whole should find this entertaining enough.

You’ll like this if you liked : Space Chimps

Thanks For Sharing (2012) 8/10

Starring : Mark Ruffalo, Tim Robbins, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad, Joely Richardson, Patrick Fugit, Alecia Moore
Director : Stuart Blumberg
Running Time : 113 mins

Three recovering sex addicts try to cope with the curveballs that life throws at them. Adam (Ruffalo) starts a relationship with Phoebe (Paltrow) after five years of celibacy, but she finds it difficult to deal with his way of life; Mike (Robbins) has to deal with the return of his son Danny (Fugit), finding it hard to believe that he has managed to overcome drug addiction without help; and Neil (Gad), who is new to recovery, finds things difficult as he tries to give up on porn, masturbation and other antisocial sexual proclivities with the help of fellow addict Dede (Moore).

Considering I hadn’t heard of this movie before, it was actually pretty good. The scenarios are actually pretty believable – apart from Josh Gad’s over-the-top obsession with porn which at times goes too far (namely the camera-on-the-shoe routine that loses him his job – but on the whole the characters are likeable, even in spite of their addictions, and make for some entertaining viewing.

You’ll like this if you liked : Don Jon

The Hunger Games : Catching Fire (2013) 7/10

Starring : Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland
Director : Francis Lawrence
Running Time : 147 mins

Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson) are forced to go on tour to promote the Hunger Games, but President Snow (Sutherland) is worries that her apparent defiance a year earlier may be rubbing off on the general public. In order to stop this, he enacts a right known as the Quarter Quell, by which the rules of the Games can be changed every twenty-five years, and he forces previous winners to take part in the games again.

This doesn’t have as much of the action of the first movie, with the beginning section primarily focussing on how the dictatorship under which the characters live is manipulating events to their own ends, but strangely this actually worked better for me. This proved that Suzanne Collins was willing to explore the characters and the world she’s writing about, and didn’t just rehash the first book. Granted, the ending is similar to the first instalment, with the Games under full flow, but the ending shows that those involved in the plot are far deeper characters than you might first imagine.

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

Women In Trouble (2009) 8/10

Starring : Carla Gugino, Connie Britton, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Marley Shelton, Adrianne Palicki, Simon Baker, Sarah Clarke
Director : Sebastian Gutierrez
Running Time : 96 mins

Adult movie star Elektra Luxx (Gugino) discovers she is pregnant, and whilst pondering what to do with the baby, she gets trapped in a lift with Doris (Britton), a woman who gave her child up to her sister when she was young. Meanwhile, Elektra’s latest co-star Holly (Palicki) is moping over her friend Bambi (Chriqui) forgetting her birthday - and the fact that she is in love with her - and therapist Maxine (Clarke) finds herself out on the tiles with Holly and Bambi when she discovers that her husband Travis (Baker) has been cheating on her.

This is a pretty funny movie with some obvious but still funny characters, with Palicki having some outstanding moments and some great ditzy lines. The interwoven story lines work extremely well and the fact that - regardless of their sexual preferences - all the character’s have trouble with their love lives makes this an easily accessible romp. Plus, don’t miss the scenes after the credits with Joseph Gordon-Levitt interviewing Elektra and Holly, it’s very good.

You’ll like this if you liked : Elektra Luxx

The Lego Movie (2014) 8/10

Starring : Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman
Director : Phil Lord & Christopher Miller
Running Time : 101 mins

Emmett (Pratt) is a perfectly ordinary Lego man who accidentally discovers the Piece of Resistance, a mysterious item that prophesy says will be the only thing capable of stopping the Kragle, a super weapon that the evil Lord Business (Ferrell) plans on using to destroy the freedom of the Lego universe by suspending it in a state of permanent immobility.

Obviously the hype surrounding this movie has a lot to live up to, and in many ways it doesn’t, but if you look past the hype and just try to enjoy this as a children’s movie with an interesting moral message at the end then this is pretty good. It’s fun to watch the Lego characters interact, even if many people just see this as a 100 minute advertising campaign, and there’s plenty of visual gags along the way.

You’ll like this if you liked : Toy Story

Run For Your Wife (2012) 6/10

Starring : Danny Dyer, Denise Van Outen, Sarah Harding, Neil Morrissey
Director : Ray Cooney & John Luton
Running Time : 90 mins

When John Smith (Dyer) ends up in hospital after stopping a mugging and doesn’t come home, his wife Michelle (Van Outen) reports him missing. Unfortunately, so does hi wife Stephanie (Harding), and it isn’t long before John is forced to rope his neighbour Gary (Morrissey) into helping him cover up the fact that he’s been married to both of them for five years.

I loved the Carry On films, and if you replaced the cast with Sid James, Joan Sims, Barbara Windsor and Bernard Bresslaw respectively, this could easily have been one. Sadly this feels incredibly dated and, in spite of being filled with cameos from some of the biggest British comedy stars of the 60s, 70s and 80s, this is so cringe worthy that only a fan of old school British farce could possible find anything redeemable in this. With jokes like characters being called Dick and Fanny, and the police being worried about someone giving a wrong address rather than trying to catch crooks, this old fashioned farce has its moments but is largely car-crash TV.

You’ll like this if you liked : Carry On Loving

Jack The Giant Killer (2013) 5/10

Starring : Jane March, Jamie Atkins, Harry Dyer, Vicki Glover, Ben Cross
Director : Mark Atkins
Running Time : 88 mins

Jack (Atkins) discovers that his father Newald (Dyer) – who disappeared before he was born – has been trapped in a flying castle that appears once a year. For him, only 19 days have passed, when in reality it has been 19 years. But trouble looms when the two discover that, having killed the giant that lives in the castle, a host of prehistoric beasts are attempting to invade Earth.

The special effects and most of the acting in this movie are pretty bad, but I’ll be honest and say that I’ve seen worse. The plot is more original than I thought it would be and comes across like an episode of Doctor Who more than the fairy tale on which it is based. If you can get passed the hammy acting and terrible effects, then you might actually find something to enjoy in this family flick.

You’ll like this if you liked : Sharknado

Faces In The Crowd (2011) 7/10

Starring : Milla Jovovich, Julian McMahon, David Artakchi, Michael Shanks
Director : Julien Magnat
Running Time : 103 mins

When school teacher Anna Merchant (Jovovich) witnesses one of the murders committed by notorious serial killer Tear Jerk Jack, she is injured and suffers a blow to the head. This results in her developing a rare malady known as face blindness, and she finds she is unable to recognise even the face of her boyfriend Bryce (Shanks). To make matters worse, Tear Jerk Jack knows who she is, and she has no way of recognising him.

I wasn’t expecting much from this thriller – I was in fact expecting a horror movie, seeing as Jovovich is the star – but instead I was given a reasonably decent thriller that rests on the simple premise of a woman who is unable to recognise faces, including the face of a murderer. The performances aren’t the best, but the tension escalates at a decent pace, and the conclusion made sense which is always a plus.

You’ll like this if you liked : Gone

Saving Mr Banks (2013) 8/10

Starring : Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Paul Giamatti, Jason Schwartzman, Colin Farrell
Director : John Lee Hancock
Running Time : 126 mins

When Walt Disney (Hanks) is begged by his daughters to make a movie of their favourite storybook character, Mary Poppins, Disney calls on author Pamela Travers (Thompson) to come to America and sign off on the script he has developed, but her love of her character leads her to dislike any changes that have been made and soon Disney finds Travers getting in the way of the film getting made.

This is a light-hearted look at not only the struggle to get Mary Poppins made into a film but also a look at the childhood of author PL Travers. Thompson (who coincidentally enough wrote the Poppins-esque Nanny McPhee) is perfect for the role of Travers, and trumps Hanks in every scene they are in together, and her blunt personality is both charming and disturbing as, like many children’s writers, she doesn’t really seem to like children very much. This is an enjoyable movie that manages to show how a simple children’s movie can soften anyone’s heart.

You’ll like this if you liked : Miss Potter

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Why Stop Now (2012) 7/10

Starring : Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo, Tracy Morgan, Emma Rayne Lyle
Director : Phil Dorling & Ron Nyswaner
Running Time : 88 mins

Piano prodigy Eli Bloom (Eisenberg) wants nothing more than to get on with his life, but the drug habits of his mother Penny (Leo) have gotten in his way for too long so he decides to help her get into rehab so he can go off to music school. Unfortunately rehab won’t take her without a “dirty” urine sample, so Eli is forced to contact his mum’s drug dealer, Sprinkles (Morgan), and get her high before she can get clean.

Although not the most original comedy-dramas to have come out of the states in recent years, this does do a good job of showing how having to deal with a dysfunctional family can cause someone to become just as dysfunctional without even realising. The acting isn’t as bad as I expected, what with Tracy Morgan being present, and the flow of the film runs well and comes to a natural conclusion.

You’ll like this if you liked : It’s Kind Of A Funny Story

Turbo (2013) 7/10

Starring : Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamatti, Michael Pena, Luis Guzman, Samuel L Jackson
Director : David Soren
Running Time : 97 mins

Turbo (Reynolds) is a snail that dreams of competing as an Indy 500 racer – a dream that seems farfetched until a freak accident imbues Turbo with the abilities of a race car, including super speed! He is captured by snail-racing enthusiast Tito (Pena) who soon discovers just how fast Turbo is, and decides to enter him in the Indy 500 to race against actual cars.

I wasn’t expecting much from this, theorising it was just another overhyped piece of rubbish from Dreamworks who have been pretty hit and miss in recent years, but I actually thought it was pretty entertaining. Granted, none of the voice talents were anything special, and the idea doesn’t feel that original (basically taking the characteristic of something and reversing it has been done before, even as recently as Planes), but the story worked pretty well, and the overall message is a fun and informative one for kids, showing them that they should never give up on their dreams, no matter how farfecthed.

You’ll like this if you liked : Racing Stripes

Universal Soldier : Regeneration (2009) 6/10

Starring : Andrei “The Pit Bull” Arlovski, Dolph Lundgren, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Mike Pyle, Garry Cooper, Corey Johnson, Emily Joyce, Kerry Shale
Director : John Hyams
Running Time : 97 mins

When a group of terrorists steal the information needed to create their own UniSols, former experimental soldier Luc Devereaux (Van Damme) is brought out of rehabilitation to go and fight the unyielding killing machine (Arlovski) and rescue his hostages, but when he discovers that there are in fact two UniSol’s, and the other is his old enemy Andrew Scott (Lundgren). Devereaux realises that things just got personal.

Why people don’t aim for the head is beyond me. The guy’s wearing what is clearly a bulletproof vest and the soldiers still shoot him in the torso! Still, fans of the Universal Soldier franchise should enjoy this action sequel, though it does ignore some of the story line that has gone before and instead makes up its own timeline of events to suit the needs of the script, and Arlovski fits in well with his lack of personality and his unusual tactic of repeatedly pounding people in the face – hardly efficient use of a soldier...

You’ll like this if you liked : Terminator Salvation

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) 7/10

Starring : Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Colm Feore, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field
Director : Marc Webb
Running Time : 142 mins

As Peter Parker (Garfield) continues to investigate what happened to his parents, he finds himself – in his guise as The Amazing Spider-Man – pitted against a new villain, an electrician named Max Dillon (Foxx) who gains super powers and calls himself Electro. Peter soon discovers that Electro is yet another result of the sinister workings of Oscorp, and that there may be more villains heading his way as he tries to deal with more personal tragedy...

In many ways this wasn’t as good as the 2012 movie, what with this having too many potential super villains going on (if you just include characters I counted six, if you include costumes, many more) , but it is still a fun comic book romp that doesn’t pull any punches. Fans of the comics will inevitably feel torn by the poor portrayal of some of the characters and the expertly rendered moments pulled almost directly from the comics.

You’ll like this if you liked : Batman Returns