Certificate:

Director: James Cameron

Release Date: 17 October 2009

Tagline: Enter the world.

Main Cast:

Sam Worthington … Jake Sully

Zoe Saldana … Neytiri

Sigourney Weaver … Dr. Grace Augustine

Stephen Lang … Colonel Miles Quaritch

3D cinema – fancy gimmick or pleasurable enhancement? Both, actually. In the fantasy sections of the film it works very well, but in the run-of-the-mill scenes it’s pointless and somewhat distracting. So, all in all, 3D is something that, with the right film, could be fantastic.

So, on to the film itself. Cheesy, clichéd and over long, Avatar would not have been the massive success that it was if it was merely a 2D film. The plot and the dialogue are dreadful, and it’s obvious that Cameron was not in the least bit concerned about making a good film, which is a shame as it is certainly visually stunning. I believe that special effects should help tell the story and not be the only attraction and, sadly, Avatar is a film without a soul. Take Titanic – love it or hate it, Cameron had the sets built to perfection. To see that wonderful ship come to life was an absolute joy, and you were completely immersed (no pun intended) in the experience. With Avatar, I found myself constantly aware of the 3D visuals and just couldn’t engage fully with the film.

Having said all that, I appreciate that Avatar is the first genuine 3D film (as opposed to the ones that have 3D versions with a few things that poke out of the screen at you) and, as such, I applaud it. Was it worth paying good money to see? Yes, it was. Do I think 3D is the future? No, I don’t.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars (film only)

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (overall experience)

Certificate:

Director: J.J. Abrams

Release Date: 8 May 2009

Tagline: The future begins.

Main Cast:

Chris Pine … James T. Kirk

Zachary Quinto … Spock

Karl Urban … Leonard “Bones” McCoy

Leonard Nimoy … Spock Prime

Eric Bana … Nero

I’m not a Trekker. I think that people who have learned to speak Klingon need to get out more. I don’t like the numerous spin-offs and the feature films (bar one or two) have been rather tedious. I do, however, like the original series, and was excited at the prospect of Star Trek re-imagined with all of the original characters.

It has a wonderful feel to it. The actors have really researched their parts well and the casting (especially Pine, Quinto and Bones) is excellent. I remain undecided about Simon Pegg (Scotty) though. His Scottish accent was, at times, somewhat dodgy to say the least.

So, they get a 10/10 for the look and feel of the film, but it has its faults.

This is very much a prequel to the original series. It deals with character introduction not only to us, but to each other as well. It therefore has to spend considerable time in scene setting (as did Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace). I really enjoyed this section of the film as I think that introduction to the characters is an extremely important part. If you don’t care for the characters (be it in film, book or TV series) then it won’t work.

With regards to the plot, I liked that they didn’t leap to the obvious enemy and went with the slightly lesser known Romulans (the Klingons will require more screen time and it was a wise decision to leave them until, at least, the next instalment). I did find myself a bit confused in one or two places, and I found that I lost concentration at one point in trying to work out what the Hell was going on, which was a bit of a shame. I would have preferred something other than the inevitably messy time travelling story. There are always so many loopholes when time travel is involved, and I’m really not a big fan of it. When you throw in a parallel universe too, it gets even messier.

So, despite its faults, now that the crew of the Enterprise has been established I expect the next one to have a much better story with more heart and depth to it.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Mark Herman

Release Date: 12 September 2008

Tagline: A timeless story of innocence lost and humanity found.

Main Cast:

Asa Butterfield … Bruno

Jack Scanlon … Shmuel

David Thewlis … Father

Vera Farmiger … Mother

Set in wartime Germany, the story is seen through the eyes of a young boy whose father is a high ranking Nazi who has been promoted to a commander of a concentration camp. Forced to leave his grand home in Berlin and his friends, Bruno finds himself in a modest house in the middle of nowhere with no peers. From his bedroom window he can see what he thinks is a farm. It is, of course, the camp but he has no idea of the nature of his father’s work and his assumption is not corrected.

Forbidden to leave the front yard of the house, he becomes fascinated with what lies beyond, and curiosity soon gets the better of him. He stumbles upon the outskirts of the camp and meets Shmuel, a boy his own age sitting behind the fence.

I shall end the review here as this is a film that should be allowed to unravel at its own pace.

Simple yet so incredibly powerful, TBITSP will leave you silent as the credits roll.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: David Koepp

Release Date: 24 October 2008

Tagline: He sees dead people… And they annoy him.

Main Cast:

Ricky Gervais … Bertram Pincus

Greg Kinnear … Frank Herlihy

Téa Leoni … Gwen Herlihy

Ghost Town is an amiable if somewhat predictable comedy (bordering on, dare I say it, a romcom). I’m not a huge fan of Ricky Gervais, but thankfully he manages to reign in his usual style somewhat and gives his character the endearing charm needed.

The plot centres around Bertram Pincus (Gervais), a man who dislikes people (I’m with him on that one!) Following an operation (did they have to go for a cheap peurile laugh here?) in which he learns that he was clinically dead for seven minutes he becomes able to see the dead, and they all seem to want something from him.

There are some very funny moments, but nothing to really lift it much beyond average.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Mike Leigh

Release Date: 7 January 2005

Tagline: Wife. Mother. Criminal.

Main Cast:

Imelda Staunton … Vera

Richard Graham … George

Eddie Marsan … Reg

Deserving of all its awards, Vera Drake is another superb film by Mike Leigh. It is set in 1950s England and is about a woman who is totally selfless and devoted to her family and to humanity in general. Vera is a hard working woman who ‘helps girls out’ i.e. she performs abortions. She takes no payment and is unaware that Nellie, a lifelong friend and the woman that puts the girls in touch with her, charges them. Nellie also runs a black market on scarce goods. Although her method is the safest possible, unfortunately, one  goes wrong and the girl nearly dies. Vera is then arrested and sent to prison.

Imelda Staunton is simply stunning.

One final note – giving this film a rating of 12A is ludicrous. Not only are scenes of abortion not suitable for young children, but I can’t think of many more films that any child could be more bored by.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: John Favreau

Release Date: 2 May 2008

Tagline: Fully charged.

Main Cast:

Robert Downey Jr … Tony Stark

Terrence Howard … Rhodey

Jeff Bridges … Obadiah Stane

Gwyneth Paltrow … Pepper Potts

Comic book conversions… Some are good, some are bad and some are just average. Iron Man falls into the latter.

It’s shallow and very, very predictable. Now, I know that suspending belief is important when watching comic book films, but Iron Man is at times so ludicrous that this becomes impossible. Possibly the most implausible is the scene where the US Military locate Stark in the middle of the desert and don’t gun him down with friendly fire before he is identified (sorry… Can’t help myself from taking a shot at the trigger happy Americans).

I also think that it does nothing to calm the relations between the USA and Afghanistan. The ‘Jericho’ missile and the ability to wipe out the enemy through such means in the hands of the Americans is, apparently, a great thing.  However, when the tables are turned, the man responsible for these weapons has a sudden stab of conscience when he realises that his own weaponry has been used against his country.

The criteria for a comic book that makes a good film are a) a strong protagonist  b) great supporting characters, and c) a variety of great villains to pit the heroes against. Sadly, Iron Man has none of these.

The two best adaptations of comic books are Batman and Spider-Man. Both of these have all of the above criteron. Both Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker are characters we can identify with and warm to. Stark is just not likeable. He is a shallow character that you just can’t warm to. And Pepper is just a poor imitation of Spider-Man’s Mary Jane Watson.

The CGI is, however, very good and I really enjoyed the clever use of it.

I really can’t see how they can make a sequel out of this, but I’m sure they will.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: James Mangold

Release Date: 3 February 2006

Tagline: Love is a burning thing.

Main Cast:

Joaquin Phoenix … John R. Cash

Reese Witherspoon … June Carter

Ginnifer Goodwin … Vivian Cash

I’m going to start by saying that I’m not a Johnny Cash fan. Sure, I can listen to his music and appreciate his very unique style and even hum along sometimes. However, I’d heard a lot of rave reviews about Walk the Line and as I am a fan of both Phoenix and Witherspoon I thought that was three very good reasons to watch it. And I’m sure glad I did!

The acting and vocals (both sang and did not lip-sync) are astounding, as is the chemistry between the two. Even if you are unfamiliar with the life of Johnny Cash, it’s still a great love story (best of all though, it’s not remotely schmaltzy – I don’t think Cash was capable of it!)

It really felt like you were watching Cash himself – Phoenix is that good. At the time of writing, he has declared that he is retiring from acting. I sincerely hope he reconsiders as it will be our loss.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Garth Jennings

Release Date: 4 April 2008

Tagline: Make believe. Not war.

Main Cast:

Bill Milner … Will Proudfoot

Will Poulter … Lee Carter

What a breath of fresh air Son of Rambow is! A truly original and engaging film that everyone should enjoy – especially those of us who grew up in the 80s! The two boys carry the film with ease and are a delight to watch. There are plenty of real laugh out loud moments – not just in the script, but also in the dreadful fashions. Check out the ’sixth form common room’ for an 80s overdose.

The story is fantastic and very believable. I never had access to a camcorder back then, but if I had, then this is exactly the type of thing I’d have got up to

I’ve heard this film described as a parody, but that is not the case at all. If you think that, then you’re missing the point entirely. In my youth (I was born in 1971) the Rambo films were essential viewing and it is entirely plausible that they would have been emulated by any budding director! It’s an affectionate look back at what we kids did during the long summer months (when we actually had summers!), and what we entertained ourselves with. It’s a coming of age film (it reminded me of Stand By Me, only with more humour) that is so well done it takes you back to the heady days of when videos were new and exciting and when Sylvester Stallone was cool. But most of all it takes you back to the days when your imagination was uninhibited and you just enjoyed being a kid.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Billy Ray

Release Date: 14 May 2004

Tagline: Read between the lies.

Main Cast:

Hayden Christensen … Stephen Glass

Peter Saarsgaard … Charles ‘Chuck’ Lane

Chloë Sevigny … Caitlin Avey

Shattered Glass is the true story of Stephen Glass – a journalist who fell from grace when it was found he had fabricated over half of his articles. Hayden Christensen is brilliant as Glass. All those of you out there who think he can’t act should watch this and maybe have a little rethink.

Despite the fact that it doesn’t sound all that interesting (I’d never even heard of Stephen Glass before) it’s one of those films that draws you in and keeps your attention from start to finish.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Certificate:

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Release Date: 20 August 2008

Tagline: Saving the world is a hell of a job.

Main Cast:

Rom Perlman … Hellboy

Selma Blair … Liz Sherman

Doug Jones … Abe Sapien / The Chamberlain / The Angel of Death

Luke Goss … Prince Nuada

Not much more to add here that hasn’t already been said in my Hellboy review. The sequel is bigger and glossier than the first, but not better. I found the humour to be a bit more obvious, and I wasn’t a fan of all the aliens that have now been added. As mentioned before though, I am not familiar with the comic, so this element may be true to the book.

Having said all that though, it’s still very enjoyable and del Toro makes another solid and entertaining comic book adaptation.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars