You want explosions? They've got them.
You want violence? They've got that in abundance.
You want a cast full of huge stars? They've got that.
You want guns? They've got them.
You want unbelievable over the top and exciting action sequences? They've got that too.
Still not happy? You want lots of guns. Believe me they've got more than enough.

What can offer all of this? Only one film, The Expendables.

More testosterone than plot maybe, but hugely, immensely fun. Stallone has pulled a fantastic coup with a cast of nearly every eighties action star you can think of plus a few more modern action stars. And the action never stops; from an opening shoot out, to the final climatic battle which blows up everything in sight, the film is relentless in throwing things at the audience, and is pretty long, but it's never boring.

If you just want to go to the cinema to switch off then this is the film for you, mindless entertainment to the maximum. The only time it stops for breath is for a poignant moment for Mickey Rourke's character, elsewhere it's an 80's action film set to extreme. Ok, it's not moving cinema on at all, in fact it's entirely regressive, but as I have said, switch off and it's fun.

Most fun is Dolph Lungdren's 'acting' set to 'chew the scenery' levels of insanity. It did begin to grate after a while but, yet again, I'll use the word 'fun'.

The Expendables is brilliantly ridiculous or should that be ridiculously brilliant?

This week was going to be a review of Knight & Day the Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz comedy actioner which was a lot better and more fun than I expected, but firstly my computer conspired against me by losing the document that contained my review and secondly a far more deserving film is upon the horizon.

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World is Edgar Wright's third feature film and the first without Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, this time relying upon Michael Cera as his lead actor in the title role. It's based on the books by Bryan Lee O'Malley. Before the film comes out you should read them, there's only six, they're quick, easy and enormous fun to read, but don't worry if you don't read them you'll be buying them as soon as you've seen the film.

Stateside the film hasn't performed too well, so at the box office its time us intelligent Brits started to show the world we have good taste in films (although the Top 10 box office frequently disagrees) by going out to see Scott Pilgrim take on the world from August 25th.

It's a beautiful story about those troubling years in your twenties, encapsulating love, life, music, kung fu, hair dye, extra lives, bonus points, all the things that matter in life. You loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, right? Well, you have no excuses, and if your reason is that you're going to see The Expendables, which I will be too, you can still check out two films in a week. You'll only regret it if you don't see Scott Pilgrim VS the World, the coolest film of the year.

"You've got a friend in me..." sings Randy Newman on the Toy Story soundtrack. It's a song which has appeared in all three films, and it's an apt sentiment for anyone who has watched a Toy Story film - once seen they are forever in your heart, and many children have grown up with Toy Story, with both films having enormous re-watch quality. Many adults have also relived their childhood through the films, but now it's time for it all to come to an end. Get the tissues out, it's time to grow up.

I couldn't really find fault with Toy Story 3. One small problem could be that with its themes of growing up and leaving behind childhood, small kids might not relate to it as much as the first two films but this didn't seem to be the case. Toy Story 3 rounds off the trilogy in perfect fashion, and will probably end up being the film of the summer.

What truly impresses about the third instalment is Pixar's no fear approach to pushing the boat out. It would have been quite easy to rest on their laurels - the audience would have seen Toy Story 3 no matter what the plot - so the fact that they weave a truly dark tale that ends up in a location that could easily be seen as a metaphor for hell is commendable. The film has scares, including the aforementioned setting, while for the finale there is also a creepy baby and a frightening surveillance monkey, but there are also many laughs, cute moments, great camaraderie - pretty much everything you expect from a Toy Story film, but maybe with even more tears than the first two induced.

By the time the strains of You've got a friend in me come around for the final time, although this time in Spanish, you'll be tearful yet laughing, and I guarantee you'll leave the cinema with a smile on your face thinking "I'm going to miss those characters." But don't worry, there's always the DVDs, you've always got a friend in those.

Hype. It's annoying, isn't it? Inception has been everywhere. The new film from the genius mind of Christopher Nolan, whose last film, The Dark Knight, grossed over $1 billion at the box office. This time, he's been given free rein to make a mixture of a cerebral, ideas-laden mind-melter with an action-orientated blockbuster. I went into the film expecting a lot, that'd be the hype, and it delivered a lot as well, but - in criticism, there always seems to be a but - it felt like an uncomfortable fit in parts.

The tenuous reasons for the action scenes seemed shoehorned in; maybe a film so laden with amazing and expensive-looking dream scenes couldn't justify its budget without being accessible to the mainstream, catering for them with extended shoot outs. Usually these action scenes wouldn't rankle with me, but placed within the context of a challenging plot, they felt a little out of place and in some instances, an annoying inconvenience.

Why pander to the masses with these scenes when there is so much to keep you gripped elsewhere in the film? Di Caprio delivers the kind of performance he's become renowned for under Scorsese's tutelage, Tom Hardy provides an enigmatic performance, Marion Cotillard delivers another haunting performance to add to her great turns in Nine and Public Enemies. In fact, the whole cast is excellent, as are the myriad of ideas on show here, dark ideas that are explored very deeply indeed. Add to this the most stunning final shot imaginable, and this film provides a great puzzle for the mind and surprisingly also works on an emotional level. The action elements felt a little out of place for my liking, but didn't hamper my enjoyment of the film too much, and I'm sure on a rewatch they will work a lot better and seem more seamless.

What I really admired about Inception was that it didn't treat its audience like idiots, and challenged the audience to keep up every step of the way. Hopefully the success of this will show Hollywood that audiences want films that challenge their intellect and not mindless trash. Probably not though, Transformers 3 is lined up for release next year.

If you're sick of my weekly warbling in regards to movies, this week we have something a little bit different. Staff from the INOUT office have supplied their favourite films and recommended them for your enjoyment.

And as if you haven't had enough of my opinions I'll be putting in a few words from myself with each recommendation.

There were so many films recommended that I can only get through a select few in this blog. But don't worry there will be more recommendations from the INOUT office in the future.

So, here we go with the first recommendation, chosen completely at random.

Emily recommends When Harry met Sally. The film I thought I was going to hate. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal both irritate me, the famous scene, out of context, is annoying, and it looks like a sickly Hollywood rom com. But there's more to it than that, it's a rom com that works, which means it's both romantic and funny.

Sally (a different Sally, not the one that met Harry) recommends Amelie.

Jean Pierre Jeunet's gorgeous quirky and romantic vision of Paris, that is both modern and old fashioned, uplifting and heartbreaking, and like the film above has a famous orgasm scene in it. The film made a star of Audrey Tatou, and quite right too. If you like Amelie you may also like Jeunet's other films; Delicatessen, The City of Lost Children, A Very Long Engagement and the just released on DVD Micmacs.

It's time for another rant this time regarding Sherlock Holmes, just out on DVD, starring perma-smug Robert Downey Jnr, and his partner in smug Jude Law, both actors who I usually enjoy watching, but not here, not in this pile of rubbish.

SHerlock Holmes is directed by Guy Ritchie, and it uses the same directing devices he uses in every film; speed up the camera, slow down the camera, then speed up yet again... Mr Ritchie these are the reasons we laugh at Spartacus Blood and Sand on Bravo, because it's cheesy, it doesn't take it seriously; meanwhile you still do.

I think we gather I hated this new modern Sherlock Holmes, but I don't want to dwell on it too long, because I only managed about half an hour, and if I criticise it too much I'm going to feel like a Daily Mail journalist who gives a film one star without even watching it.

On a more merry note, I got Sky Movies this week and have already re watched The Incredible Hulk, the second one with Ed Norton in the lead role, inferior to the Ang Lee version in my opinion. I've also watched Drillbit Taylor, John Hughes' last script, it did feel like classic Hughes but with a ruder paintjob over it, some of it worked, some didn't but it was highly enjoyable, and at least Guy Ritchie had been nowhere near it. Did I mention he directed the awful Sherlock Holmes, a film so bad I had to distract myself from it and write about films I've recently enjoyed halfway through this blog?

Avoid Sherlock Holmes; if you want action orientated family entertainment, the current series of Doctor Who beats it hands down on every level.

Ageing, it's a terrible thing isn't it? I remember being really young and going to see He Man and the Masters of the Universe at the cinema, and loving every minute of it, and also being baffled as to why all the adults didn't seem to be as excited as me, in fact they seemed pretty bored. Had they not just witnessed the masterpiece that I had?

Then around my teens the Austin Powers movies came out, they were juvenile, puerile and also hilarious and endlessly quotable. In fact I think me and my friends did manage some days where the only words we spoke were Austin Powers quotes, much to the annoyance of surrounding adults.

Nowadays what seems to super charge the 'young uns' are the films that form part of The Twilight Saga. So far there have been two; the first one followed by New Moon.

My initial reaction to these films was, much like the adults I saw Masters of the Universe with, dismissive. Vampires that sparkle in sunlight? Something wrong there surely. And much like adults who got annoyed by me quoting Austin Powers to death, I got annoyed with hearing about Twilight and Team Edward Vs Team Jacob. Yes, I despised Twilight and have probably rubbished the films on more than one occasion. There was only one thing left, I had to see the film for myself to back up my opinion.

An odd thing happened though, I quite liked the film. In fact, I loved it. It looked beautiful, I bought into all the characters (apart from Robert Pattinson playing someone who's supposed to be gorgeous, isn't he a bit weird, even ugly looking? No?) and I thought the plot balanced the romance with some decent action sequences, and the underlying darkness of it was very appealing. I'm not sure if youngsters will pick up on that but surely that's what makes a film appeal to all ages, you can enjoy it on whatever level you want.

So now I have some catching up to do, I need to watch New Moon in order to go see Eclipse when it arrives at the beginning of next month, so I can call myself a true Twi-hard. And you, yes you sat there staring at the screen, you need to go back and revisit Masters of the Universe and the Austin Powers trilogy, it's bound to rain all summer so you've got time. And yes, I still believe Masters of the universe to be a masterpiece.

Do I still have a job?

As promised here's part 2 of the Summer Preview. Previously on the INOUT summer preview we brought you Toy Story 3 and Inception, amongst others, but what's in store for the second half of the summer?

Whatever Works - A comedy by Woody Allen, starring Curb Your Enthusiasm's Larry David. Could comedy get more Jewish? This sounds too good to miss, let's hope Woody's on form!

Shrek Forever After - Yawn. That may sound a bit mean but I fell out of love with the Shrek series a long time ago, if you're a fan of course you're going to see it, otherwise, Yawn.

Predators - Robert Rodriguez's update/remake of Predator, would be another yawn from me if Rodriguez wasn't involved. An exciting film maker at all times, as long as you sweep Spy Kids 3 and Shark Boy Lava Girl under the carpet. Hopefully this will join From Dusk till Dawn, Desperado and Planet Terror in the hit pile.

The A Team - "If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team." So went the quote in the title sequence of the eighties' TV smash, can that camaraderie be made fresh on the big screen. Surely it can't be the same without Mr T?

Twilight: Eclipse - A little known film about vampires. Who knows if this will do well at the box office, apparently has some unknown in the lead role, Robert Pattinson, anyone heard of him? Thought not.

The Last Airbender - things have been going from bad to worse for M Night Shyamalan, at one time called the new Hitchcock, or the new Spielberg. After Lady in the Water and The Happening, he's lucky to not be called the new Uwe Boll and with a title like this one I can't see him turning it around.

Piranha 3D - A big fan of the first two Piranha films, surely they will only be let down by a new instalment. but it's in 3D, the trailer looks trashy as hell and hopefully the weather will be nice and hot so we'll feel forgiving for the guilty pleasure of the summer.

The Expendables - Talking about guilty pleasure, you can't get more guilty than this: Stallone, Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lungdren in an all-out action spectacular. Looks like the brain's going to be switched off a lot this summer.

Scott Pilgrim VS The world - If Inception was the one to see from the first half of the summer, make this the one from the second half. Edgar Wright's first feature without Frost & Pegg, this film based on the tremendous comic book series by Bryan Lee O'Malley stars Michael Cera as the title hero who has to take on his new girlfriend's evil ex boyfriends to win her love. If it's anything like the comic books it's going to be all shades of awesome.

Summer Movie Preview: Part One Two years ago I started this blog with a review of Iron Man which then signalled the start of the summer blockbuster season. Well Iron Man 2 is now in the cinemas so it's time to look at what's ahead of us in the multiplexes and art houses this summer. And let me tell you, the summer of 2010 is jam packed with interesting stuff, so much that it's going to have to be dealt with over two blogs. Come back next week for part 2.

Four Lions- This Friday sees the release of the Chris Morris' jihad suicide bomber comedy. Never one to shy from controversy Morris hits this topical subject head on- should annoy the Daily Mail and delight most other people.

American: The Bill Hicks Story- Another revolutionary comedian, finally getting the recognition he deserves, this documentary preceding the upcoming film rumoured to be starring Russell Crowe.

Bad Lieutenant- Werner Herzog's insane remake of the mentaltastic Keitel starring nineties hit. This time Nic Cage stars alongside some Iguanas in what promises to be the maddest thing since, well, there's not been anything madder.

Prince of Persia- The first blockbuster on the list, this game adaptation stars Jake Gyllenhaal and is by the producers of Pirates of the Caribbean, looking for the same audience share no doubt, but as with any franchise starter it's going to be tough. Sink or swim?

The Killer Inside Me- The early part of the summer seems to be full of controversial fare, this one attracting attention on the festival circuit for its scenes of domestic violence against women, but also with career defining turns from Casey Affleck, Jessica Alba and Kate Hudson.

Trash Humpers- Odd title, but it's what we've come to expect from Harmony Korine, who's last film was the beautiful Mr Lonely. Will there be more focus on this project after Gummo was name checked on the X Factor. Probably not, as the film follows a group of anti social, degenerates.

Knight & Day- Or Cruise & Diaz as I'm sure this is going to be advertised, big action, big stars, this should convert into big summer money.

Inception- THE BIG ONE this summer. Christopher Nolan's first film since the billion smashing The Dark Knight looks like Memento on a blockbuster budget. An action thriller set within the mind is how it's being billed, and with the trailers footage of folding cityscapes you can't fail but be excited.

First and foremost, I was appalled. How dare the Daily Mail only give this film 1 star, then I read the review and realised it must have been a joke. No such insanity here, the film gets a full on five star rating.

There were a few changes to the comic book which I felt were a little needless, but that's just me being a huge fan of the comic book. Any adaptation of something loved is always going to disappoint, Kick Ass is a triumph in how little it does, especially when so much could have been left out from the controversial graphic novel. Hit Girl for instance, a foul mouthed, violent eleven year old, is up there on screen fully intact.

There's some beautiful dialogue in a witty and clever script that uses lots from the comic book but also enhances this with some zingy one liners, to make a filthily poetic whole. One of these add ons occurs when the lead character faces almost certain death tied to a chair about to be tortured and killed, "If you think I'm going to get out of this just because I'm narrating it to you, stop being a smart arse, have you never seen Sin City, Sunset Boulevard, American Beauty?"

It's this under cutting of the genre which appeals immensely throughout, the film constantly playing with its comic context, with its light hearted tone juxtaposed with ferociously violent images to the music of The Banana Splits. No matter how much punches hurt and bruise, and knife wounds and car accidents render the victim in a coma, this is still in a world which reality is skewed a little off centre.

It's a must see film, if only for the controversy of a bad mouthed eleven year old, but there's much more to the film than that. The performances stand out, this was the first time I'd seen Aaron Johnson in anything and he impressed, as did Nicolas Cage who was in dire need of a good role- his Adam West impression is sublime.

Memorable, violent, cool, classy, quotable and a sweary pre teen, could you ask for more?

I may have begun my descent into becoming an old grumpy movie curmudgeon, if this year is anything to go by anyway. On my frequent trips to the cinema this year I have been majorly disappointed. In fact the only films I've seen this year which I have found rewarding, and that have a chance of making my end of year list are both animated. Firstly Hayao Miyazaki's sublime Ponyo, and now Dreamworks' How to Train your Dragon.

It packs its back story into an opening battle between the Vikings and the dragons. This is economical setting which suffers slightly from trying to do too much, but just about gets away with it and leaves the rest of the film to explore what's really important.

The backbone to the film is the relationship between Hiccup and the legendary dragon, Night Fury, that he at first captures and later befriends; running parallel to this is Hiccup's relationship to his father and his trial and tribulations in dragon slaying school.

The conflict arises from Hiccup's inability to harm or kill the dragons, which grows alongside his friendship with the dragon. The scenes between Hiccup and the dragon are the best the film has to offer, gorgeously subtle with stunning soundtrack work, these scenes linger long in the memory afterwards.

What disappoints is that the film doesn't follow its convictions to the bitter end. With its theme of understanding our enemies rather than inflicting violence upon them, a refreshing one for American film, this is undercut by having to create a bigger bad than the dragons to defeat for the climax, so it still all ends in violence. By then though, through the relationship between boy and dragon, it had done enough to become one of only two cinema visits this year to have ended well.

Two animated films, two surefire hits and not a Pixar in site. But wait, I see a cowboy and a spaceman just around the corner...

Everything is so right about Shutter Island, Scorsese and DiCaprio's fourth consecutive team up. Scorsese's Oscar win for The Departed together with the buzz around the film pointed to this being Scorsese's foray into the horror genre. Excited? Oh yes.

Firstly it is, and it isn't a horror film. Scorsese lends heavily from his favourite horror films, ramping up the tension through a schizophrenic and heightened soundtrack which verges on the melodramatic, and it plays out as a psychological slow burning horror in part. It's also a noir-like detective story, with a 50's period setting, pulled off with aplomb by DiCaprio in the lead role as Teddy Daniels. He truly is great in this film, making you stick with it through some rocky periods in the middle and one too many dream sequences.

So far so good, everything is right about the film, the atmosphere, the performances, the direction and the pacing all pulled off beautifully. Deviations away from the source material enhance the themes rather than detract. Unfortunately the source material is the film's stumbling block.

Without giving too much away, there is a huge twist in the book which the film has to follow, and it isn't good enough. So much so that you think, "this must twist back, because that twist was so obvious". Scorsese telegraphs the upcoming twist, probably because he has visual tools available to do so, but this just makes it even more disappointing when it conforms to aforementioned twist, lending a feeling to the proceedings that the film makers are gloating over what a fantastic rug pull they have performed whilst the audience are under-whelmed. The twist actually takes a lot of power away from Ben Kingsley's fantastic performance, but to say any more would be to ruin it, and I would still recommend you go and see Shutter Island, because in the end everything is so right about it, apart from one major element.

Last weekend, the UK's premier horror festival took place at the Empire in London's Leicester Square. The eerie event showcased the very best from the horror scene, a multitude of guest stars, film premieres and lots more from the gory genre. The only thing that wasn't there was the highly controversial A Serbian Film, which the BBFC enforced 42 cuts upon. A campaign needs to start somewhere to ensure this films' release.

But now, onwards with my list of this years' top Frightfest films.

Primal - A mad Aussie horror which never slackens off the pace - ending with the most perfect piece of gutter mouth dialogue.

Red Hill - It's not all straight forward horror at Frightfest - check out this eclectic choice, a revenge themed western with True Blood's Ryan Kwanten in the lead role.

After Life - Liam Neeson is creepy, Christina Ricci is nudey and the plot is twisty. Much fun on this film with plenty of star wattage which has slipped under the radar.

I Spit On Your Grave - If you get through the devastating first hour this film is a riot. A remake which improves on the original, and you don't hear that often.

We Are Who We Are - slow burning Mexican film about a family who, too poor to eat, turn to cannibalism.

Buried - The surprise replacement film for the aforementioned Serbian film, this ingenious film takes place in one location with one actor, the former is a buried coffin, the latter is Ryan Reynolds. This is a tense claustrophobic and quite brilliant film.

The Loved Ones - Demented Australian horror, and the weirdest and funniest Prom night ever committed to film. This was a giddy joy to watch.

Bedevilled - Korean horror which builds and builds to breaking point, after which the catharsis is astonishing.

Amer - Tribute to The Italian Giallo's this sensuous masterpiece makes you feel every moment, in one of the most personal and alluring horrors in years.

Monsters - My film of the fest would have to be this masterpiece. Reportedly shot for £15,000 it left me speechless. But it's not what you expect - this is a low key romantic road movie. When the Monsters turn up you will be surprised and you may well shed a tear.

There were a few disappointments, mainly a handful of poor British horror films and the let down of the closing film The Last Exorcism, which had no thought put into it and made no sense at all. But overall the event made me feel that the North West needs it's very own Frightfest.

Above is a typical example of a horrible, gushing, sentimental verse found inside a greeting card. If you find that endearing, beautiful and/or life affirming you will enjoy The Lovely Bones, the new film by Peter Jackson, the genius behind the adaptation of Lord of the Rings and, more importantly, earlier films like Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles and Brain Dead. This forms reason one as to why The Lovely Bones disappointed me.

The second reason reverts back to the opening verse and the film's likeness to this kind of sentiment writ large, especially near the film's climax, when a bland 'heavenly' song overlays the gushing sentiment.

Thirdly, the depiction of 'the inbetween' is too alike to computer game graphics, and used too frequently, and the film's running time is far too long. The adaptation is also an outright mess. Conflicting emotions and genres clashing together in an incoherent mess: certain characters, Susan Sarandon's grandmother especially, feel like they're from a different film.

As I was leaving the cinema I heard someone say jokingly "It wasn't as good as Brain Dead". This made me laugh, but I also agreed with it. So instead of seeing the woeful Lovely Bones I would advise you to go and watch Peter Jackson's masterpieces, like Brain Dead. I can only hope that Jackson will do what Sam Raimi did when returning to horror for last year's Drag Me To Hell and return to his roots, then hopefully I can use the phrase vomit inducing as a positive statement rather than the negative connotations it takes on in regards to The Lovely Bones.

I hope that if you had a half term, it was filled with movie goodness!

I was lucky enough to get to see the two films I previewed last week, Ponyo and The Wolf Man. Ponyo was a return to form after the disappointing Howl's moving Castle, and had more imagination in its opening scene than most films contain in their running time.

Shame this wasn't the case with The Wolf Man.

The film has admirable qualities, harking back to the gothic horrors made to perfection by Hammer studios from the late fifties through the sixties. The Hammer horror films started out by remaking thirties horrors made by Universal, such as Dracula and Frankenstien. Then in 1941, Universal made a film called The Wolf Man, which was ripe for a remake. With horror turning more and more to the shock tactics of torture films such as Saw and Hostel, what better than to refresh horror by bringing back an old favourite, the gothic horror.

Maybe it was the pre production nightmares of losing a director, reshoots and rumours that some of the film was shot without a director that have affected it, but The Wolf Man is a missed opportunity in bringing back the gothic horror. Originally to be directed by Mark Romanek, who was responsible excellent and stylish One Hour Photo, he left due to creative differences and was replaced by Joe Johnston, whose most famous films would be Jumanji and Jurassic Park three. But these things can't be used as excuses.

The problem does not lie with the cinematography or look of the piece, as the gothic setting is evoked perfectly, where the film fails is when it has to deliver the horror. The actual Wolf Man, when the transformation is complete, looks ridiculous. The tone is all over the place, one moment gore galore the next a cheesy ill-delivered line. One moment the tension is building, the next moment it is undermined by the film-makers sticking too faithfully to a forties' template. Did they want to modernise The Wolf Man or make an old style gothic horror? This is the main question the film makers never answer. Add to this a strange below par performance from Anthony Hopkins (never thought I'd type that sentence) and you have a depressing missed opportunity.

Someone needs to bring back the gothic horror, and offer audiences something different in the horror genre, unfortunately the film to do this isn't The wolf Man.

It's half term week, I'm guessing if you have kids you'll want a couple of hours of respite during this hectic week. Two hours of quiet in the cinema do for you?

Disney have thought of you already, The Princess and the Frog sees the mouse house revert to their classic hand drawn style, but my recommendation would be for a film maker who never moved away from the hand drawn aesthetic.

Hayao Miyazaki, director of My Neighbour Totoro, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away among others is back with another Studio Ghibli hit, Ponyo. If you missed any of the aforementioned films please don't do yourself and your kids a disservice in missing this one. His worlds are often surreal and always delightful, full of childlike wonder and imagination. Treat your kids to Ponyo, and then Miyazaki's back catalogue on DVD. Ponyo concerns a goldfish who turns into a girl, but by using magic to conduct this transformation causes a dangerous imbalance in the world. See what I mean about surreal? It'll only make sense upon seeing it. So do so. For more adult fare the remake of horror classic The Wolf Man is released, but a protracted and troubled shoot and mixed reviews may be enough to put some off. A bit of horror/gore and Benicio Del Toro and Anthony Hopkins hamming it up are enough for me to be interested though. Finally, of course, Avatar is still out there, and if you haven't seen that on the big screen yet shame on you.

Happy half term!

You may remember me wittering on about the resurgence of the documentary sometime last year. Two documentaries, Sleep Furiously and Anvil, also rated highly in my end of year list, and here's another one that would have had I seen it sooner.

That film is The Cove.

It concerns the inhumane slaughter of 2,300 dolphins in Taiji. Not the cheeriest of subjects and some would say not the most exciting, but they'd be wrong. The film is wrought with tension and emotion throughout.

It begins with the story of Ric O'Barry, who was the trainer for Flipper, but after a life changing moment became an activist for the treatment of dolphins. He heads the mission to reveal what is taking place in the secret cove in Taiji. This takes a lot of work as it is being tightly concealed by the local fishermen. The amount of effort and law flouting expeditions it takes is what makes the film so enthralling, as one reviewer put it "It's Flipper meets The Bourne Identity", the footage of them sneaking in microphones and cameras to the cove is worse than nail bitingly intense, you may bite your own hand off.

All that's left is to warn you about the horrific climax, which shows the footage that they managed to obtain concerning the goings on in the secret cove. It's upsetting, heartbreaking stuff. It's hard to watch, but it should be, it should cause anger in the viewer that this can be allowed to happen, and through the sadness there are still punch the air moments where you applaud Ric O'Barry's courage to keep this fight alive.

Is it over already? Has January really been and gone? A flurry of snow and it seems to be over. What actually happened in January? Well in the world of film there has been one main story, the success of James Cameron's Avatar.

From being hailed as the most important film ever made and the future of film, to critical pannings such as "Pocahontas with smurfs", it's certainly made a splash. By the time you read this it should be the worldwide highest grossing film of all time, beating Cameron's previous effort Titanic. But, what does this mean? Well first and foremost it means it will have made over 1.842 billion dollars. It has already surpassed Titanic's international box office (outside America) but still sits half a million behind Titanic's American box office. Some critics have said this could be because of the anti American themes present in Avatar, but if this was the reason it surely wouldn't be the second highest grossing film at the American box office of all time. The trouble with analysing Avatar's success and comparing with Titanic is the difference in ticketing prices that has occurred between the film's and also taking into account the higher prices charged for Avatar's 3-D screenings. If you adjust inflation you discover that avatar is only 26th, and Titanic is only 6th. Gone with the Wind tops the cinema attendance records. But with Avatar still showing in cinemas and indeed still atop the box office charts, does it have a chance to become the most attended cinema release at all time? Let's see what February brings as competition?

I found it impossible to do a top 10 this year so here's a Top 20 of 2009.

20. Awaydays - Great British film and adaptation of Kevin Simpsons' great debut novel, his second book Powder is being adapted for next year. Stunning soundtrack too.

19. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - The second best in the Potter franchise after Prisoner of Azkaban.

18. The Wrestler - Great performance from Mickey Rourke in an intense and heartbreaking film.

17. Coraline - 3-D used to great effect and a great expansion of Neil Gaimans small novel for children. Some people said it's too scary for kids; it isn't but maybe too scary for some adults.

16. Religulous - Invective from Bill Maher on religion. Extremely funny.

15. Drag Me to Hell - Sam Raimi doing horror comedy again. Great fun.

14. Revolutionary Road - Same Mendes' depressing look at marriage, period detail and performances are sublime.

13. Let the Right One in - Re-imagining of the whole of the vampire genre, quite a feat for a small Swedish film.

12. Monsters VS Aliens - Funniest kids film of the year with fantastic nods to 50's sci fi.

11. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus - Terry Gilliam's triumph over adversity, showcasing Heath Ledger's last performance in an imaginative, strange tale.

10. Avatar - Jaw dropping effects and an immersive experience in a new world from James Camerons game changer.

9. Mesrine Killer Instinct & Public Enemy Number One - A stunning performance from Vincent Cassel. I cheated a little here by putting these two films together but they work better that way, the glitz and pace of the first film complementing the comedown of the second.

8. Martyrs - Horror film I saw in 2008 but was released this year, giving torture a spiritual point, it's breathtaking and vomit inducing in the same breath.

7. Anvil - Spinal Tap, but for real. About metal band Anvil and their twenty year plus chase of making a living from what they love.

6. Up - The finest opening twenty minutes of any film this year, followed by surreal delights and plenty of Pixar heart. If you don't cry check your pulse, you may be dead.

5. Watchmen - Was so wary when going to see this as I am a huge fan of the graphic novel this is based upon, but this got it as spot on as it could. One of the best superhero films ever.

4. Sleep Furiously - Doesn't sound like it's going to be in the film of year list. A documentary of sleepy life in an agricultural welsh village, but it's a stunning melancholic and heart warming documentary.

3. Moon - Duncan Jones' assured debut looked great on a shoestring and had a tremendous central performance from Sam Rockwell.

2. Milk - Deserved Oscar win for Sean Penn in the title role of Harvey Milk, America's openly gay elected official. A straightforward biopic, but all the more affecting for being so.

1. Where the Wild Things Are - An absolutely beautiful adaptation of the children's classic, brought an independent sensibility by director Spike Jonze. Raising many questions regarding childhood, and really tapping into a child's perspective of emotion, what it feels like to feel anger for the first time and how to deal with that. Also, with amazing Wild Things to root for, want to cuddle and be scared of, a stunning world is created. All of this makes it my Film of 2009.

One film which has got everyone talking recently has been the low budget horror film Paranormal Activity, with some people claiming it to be the scariest film ever. It's not. In fact I found it rather disappointing.

It's another 'found footage' film in the likeness of Rec, Cloverfield and The Blair Witch Project, only the first of which worked for me. The genre depends on too much suspension of disbelief. In Paranormal Activity the main of these suspensions actually lies with why one of the characters, Micah, keeps filming.

His wife Katie becomes more and more distressed by the 'hauntings' and talk that a demon has latched onto her and has followed her throughout life. Micah's response to this is to treat it as a joke, film Katie at her most distressed and then to let his machismo lead him into all the wrong decisions. He is a truly repulsive character whose actions become increasingly unbelievable and unsympathetic throughout the film.

The main problem I found is that the film just wasn't scary. Many people I've spoken to about the film have said opposite, and that they couldn't sleep afterwards so it obviously works for some people, and there are good things about the film. The rhythm works, with long stretches of daytime building up the dread for the static night time scenes. These are the film's best points, with night vision, an unmoving camera and a blank room, with just two people sleeping in a double bed. With no moving stimulus your eyes rove the screen to see anything. Making every glimpse of a shadow exciting. The fact the bedroom door is left open is also a masterstroke as your eyes keep being drawn to the corridor, where you can see nothing, but always expect something. It's that tension which keep these scenes fresh, and which have caused some people's imaginations to run wild, and to scare the pants off them.

I only wish it hadn't have been hyped so much, then maybe this film may have scared me and I would have really enjoyed it. Then again, maybe it wouldn't.

This blog by its nature will normally focus upon the more mainstream films, films you can see down your local multiplex. Unfortunately finding smaller, usually more interesting independent cinema is a lot harder. If you want to see the newest release in foreign cinema, you may struggle unless you're lucky enough to have an independent cinema near you.

Luckily you can now watch indie movies online at the website www.indiemoviesonline.com, which is completely free and legal! In the words of the website itself "Indie Movies Online is a new, fully licensed and legal video-on-demand site. Our aim is to support filmmakers and make independent films available to as many people as possible. To watch free movies online, you will need broadband internet."

If that's not enough to lure you in (and surely a large choice of free films should be enough), here's a list of some of the goodies on offer there. Firstly you have Lars Von Trier's comedy (of sorts) 'The Boss of it All', a light-hearted film that preceded his controversial film 'Antichrist'. There's 'We Feed the World', a documentary which exposes industrial food production and wastage, focusing upon fishing, livestock and crop farming. George Romero's classic 'Night of the Living Dead', the original zombie movie, is also on there, as are 'George Washington' and 'Undertow', two films from director David Gordon Green (who did action comedy 'Pineapple Express'.

Do you need anymore? If you do head over to the website, have a look and support indie movies for free.

Before I begin my review of the new Pixar film Up I need to mention 3-D. This was the format  I saw Up in, and it looked great too, but £9.50 worth of greatness? No trip to the cinema should cost that much, and what are we paying for? The glasses? No, they cost nothing to produce. We are actually paying for the new projector technology. Do we pay extra for a new screen in a cinema? No, we pay for the seat to watch the film. The huge corporation who installed this new technology should pay for the screen technology.

I’m sure Up’s fantastic storytelling and great characters would work just as well in 2-D, so from now on no 3-D for me. The gimmick is dead, and it is a gimmick. Don’t let anyone exclaim about the immersive experience 3D provides -  film’s have always been great in 2-D and will continue to be.

Now to focus on the film itself, probably Pixar’s oddest release, an animated kid's film focuses on coping with bereavement? It shouldn’t work, but it does.

The film opens in a cinema with 30’s newsreel footage concerning a great adventurer. After leaving the cinema, a kid, Carl, meets a fellow adventurer, Ellie. What follows is a stunning dialogue free sequence chronicling their life together, their ups and downs, the little things and the lack of going on the great adventure they promised themselves. The sequence ends in Ellie’s death.  It’s the best sequence of any film this year, emotive, simple and utterly heartbreaking.

We then join Carl in the twilight years of his life, stranded in their home, surrounded by a building site. So he decides to fly his house, with balloons, to the place where he and his wife promised to go all their lives, Paradise Falls.

Along for the journey are Russell a boy scout, Dug a loveable talking dog, and Kevin a colourful, female bird. This section of the film is more like the Pixar we’ve seen before, but pushed that little bit further into the surreal.

Still, the kids will love it, some of it may go over their head, but like all good Pixar it works on all levels. Maybe this time though it offers a little more for the adults. It looks like Pixar have hit a winning formula with first Wall E, and now Up, two films which focus on big issues like love and death and appeal to everyone, even the curmudgeons at the back.

With a recent South Bank Show special and their tenth feature film just released in cinemas, not to mention the re release of their first feature, now is the time to assess the power of Pixar.

When Toy Story was released in 1995, no one could believe how spectacular the computer animation looked. It had been seen before in Pixar short films like Luxo Jr, but this was a full feature length film. What really stood out was the excellent and heartfelt storytelling, something which made Toy Story, and its sequel, instant animated classics.

Whilst not appealing to me as much, films such as a Bug’s Life and Monsters Inc took the Pixar aesthetic that little bit further, incorporating tricky aspects for animation such as wide vistas of nature and intricate fur. This was followed by animating an underwater film, Finding Nemo, in my opinion another modern classic.

Pixar has ticked off genre after genre, starting with the buddy movie, but their most targeted genre film has to be their stab at the superhero genre with The Incredibles, which was followed by Cars and Ratatouille, thus leading to their next instant classic with last year’s Wall E. With this film Pixar have really begun to experiment a little, especially with the opening twenty minutes being dialogue free. This experimentation has continued with their new release Up, the story of a recently bereaved pensioner. Most studios would worry that these are characters and themes which a young audience won’t understand, but not Pixar, and that’s why their films will be remembered fondly and can be enjoyed by everyone.

Hopefully I’ll enjoy Up as I’m going to see it soon. You’ll find out in my review next week!

Can you believe it’s October already? This year has flown by again. I was going to try and write a blog focussing on the must-see films released in the remainder of 2009, but there are so many it proved impossible, so I’m afraid you’ll have to settle for my picks for October. That was a hard enough task in itself such is the quality of films being released this month. So for the tenth month of the year, here are my ten to see. Told you there was a lot of choice!

1. Up – It’s a new film from Pixar… isn’t that enough detail? This looks stunning, with reports of it reducing grown men to tears in preview screenings. If you’re still not sure which film this is, it’s the one with balloons. Out on the 9th.

2. Le Donk & Scor Zay Zee – The new Shane Meadows film, his first to star Paddy Considine (surely the best British actor out there right now) since Dead Man’s Shoes. This mockumentary rockumentary was shot in 5 days, and from the trailer looks like a laugh filled blast.

3. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – It’s always an event when a new Terry Gilliam film is released, in my head anyway. Especially when it looked as if another of Gilliam’s visionary projects was going to be halted halfway through filming after the death of Heath Ledger. Luckily the project was saved by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law. It’d be rude not to see this.

4, 5 & 6. A horror threesome here. Chris Smith, director of Severance returns with his time bending escapade Triangle. Park Chan Wook, director of Oldboy, returns with his Vampire film Thirst. Finally there’s the British zombie horror, made for £45, Colin.

7. There’s some mild horror for kids released half term week in the adaptation of the Darren Shan book Cirque Du Freak, starring John C Reilly.

8. The above might be eclipsed by the adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Fantastic Mr Fox, especially when you realise it’s been directed by Wes Anderson who will hopefully transfer his quirky indie style seen in The Life Aquatic, The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Ltd to this children’s classic.

9. At 9 is 9. The film called 9, the first of the year. Yes there is another film called Nine released before the end of the year. The difference being this one is the number 9, the other is the word nine. You confused yet? Anyway, this one is the animated fantasy set in a dystopian future, with knitted characters with big cute eyes. That’s enough to sell it for me.

10. Finally we have An Education. The sixties set, Nick Hornby scripted, coming of age story. Which newcomer Carey Mulligan is already being Oscar tipped for.

Have a busy cinema going October!

I know this review is late, as the film has been on release for a few weeks now, but I've only just had the chance to see District 9, and the news is not good. After all the positive reviews and buzz around the film I thought it would be a treat akin to another slice of superior sci fi, Moon, earlier this year. Unfortunately this is not the case.

The film is a mess. Fusing documentary, CCTV footage and the usual run of the mill, action film direction to sloppy and needless effect. The film sets up a good political premise to make some relevant points, only to waste this opportunity on 'seen it all before' action scenes. Except for one stand out moment where a character fires a pig at someone. Yes, you read that last sentence right.

The main fault I found with the film was that I couldn't identify or sympathy with the lead character, Wikus Van De Merwe, who is seen early on to be joyful as they abort the unborn babies of the aliens, hysterically laughing that they sound like popcorn as they die. Also bullying them ferociously, it doesn't make the viewer warm to him at all. This could be to set up that his sacrifice at the end of the film is even greater but even that is handled badly. It seems to occur just to forward the plot and resolve the film rather than to make narrative sense.

A huge disappointment then, but at least I got to see a pig being used as a weapon, which for me was the only high point.

Poor Michael Douglas, he gets a lot of stick. The old, wrinkly, leather skinned partner of Catherine Zeta Jones, is how he is usually referred to now. I’m sure he doesn’t care really, his riches and his younger wife will make his life just about bearable, but he still doesn’t get the credit he deserves as an actor.

So, for hidden gems 3 and 4 we have two of my favourite Michael Douglas films. The first is apt, considering the new school year has started and all the stress is back. It’s probably the greatest breakdown film of all time, Falling Down. Douglas as D Fens puts in a stunning performance of a man on the edge, and descending by the second. No matter how out of control his character becomes you still find some way to identify with him, especially during the McDonalds scene, where he berates the McJob employee for their ridiculous stringent rules and their false advertising of the big, juicy succulent burger, compared to what you actually get, a soggy disappointing mess of bread, meat and sauces.

My other hidden gem tip is David Fincher’s The Game, probably the director's and Douglas’ most underrated film. It came out between Seven and Fight Club for Fincher and was overshadowed by those two films, but it is a creepy, intensely clever thriller that deserves to be seen. It concerns a bored businessman who thinks he has everything, played to perfection by Douglas who seems to enjoy and revel in playing corrupt soulless businessmen. After being given a present of The Game by his slacker brother, his life takes a turn for the worse and the bizarre as he descends into a paranoia fuelled nightmare.

All I’m saying is give Michael Douglas a chance.

In preparation for the new Terminator film, Terminator Salvation, I re-watched the first three Terminator films. After being blown away yet again by the first two, I was again disappointed by the third. Mixed reviews made me unsure as to the quality of the new film, but it had to be better than the third, right?

Firstly, it's a very different film from all the other Terminator films. The first three followed roughly the same format. Two terminators coming back in time, one to hunt down John Connor and one to protect him, apart from the first one where Kyle Reese was sent back to create John Connor. They were basically chase thrillers, Terminator Salvation is an apocalyptic war movie. The vistas are all war scorched and ravaged, the film's outlook is constantly bleak. This is matched by Christian Bale's turn as John Connor which is very one note in constant intensity, almost a Bale by numbers performance.

Even though the film relentlessly tries to take itself seriously with portentous apocalyptic nonsense, it is still immense fun, at occasion the two objectives clash but mostly the film works in despite of itself. It really shouldn’t work, there's a scene of startlingly strange CGI, which was just about pulled off for me but I can see how some people will die laughing after it. There is the worst and most cheesy use of the "I'll be back" catchphrase, and the lead character is the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, but played to perfection by Sam Worthington.
But it did work, it was an entertaining film and certainly better than the last instalment of Terminator. It actually made me appreciate the third one more in that it was a fitting ending to that trilogy, and this is a fitting beginning to another.
 

It's been a year since this blog started, kicking off with a generous review of Iron Man. Highlights for myself have included my harsh but fair review of Wanted, a glowing review of Watchmen, a review of the Frightfest horror film festival which highlights some great scares from the horror scene all over the world and the blogs which highlight hidden gems - We have already unearthed Dan in Real Life and Severance and there's much more to come. If you're stuck over which film to watch you couldn't go wrong with checking out one of those or looking at my top ten films from 2008.

So where next for this blog? Well there's plenty to discuss, we have a whole summer of exciting films ahead and blockbuster season is already underway with Star Trek (see previous blog). Also, Cannes has just been and gone, previewing Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and Pixar's Up along the way. The Palme D'or was claimed by Michael Haneke's new film The White Ribbon, building anticipation for the Uk release of his follow up the extraordinary Hidden.

I've also managed to catch two tremendous films during the last couple of weeks. Firstly, Henry Selick's adaptation of the Neil Gaiman novel Coraline. The film looked fantastic in 3D and was sufficiently scary for adults and children alike. Some people may worry it's too scary for kids, but they're wrong - if anything it's too scary for adults and the kids will love it.

Secondly, another British production and an adaptation again, but this time by the original author, of the book Awaydays. The story concerns The Pack, a bunch of football hooligans in 1979 on the Wirral. The film has a great soundtrack and subverts expectations and people expecting a Football Factory imitation will be surprised by the tender love story woven into the violence.

Star Trek is not just for the Trekkies anymore. At least that's what I was told during the hype of JJ Abrams' reboot of the Star trek franchise, and began to believe after its tremendous $75 million opening weekend.
I've never really watched Star Trek so knowing that it's a film that everyone could enjoy did entice me, so I went along, and they were right - it is a film with a wider scope of audience than your usual Trek film. But other things I've heard said about it such as 'Film of the Year' and 'There won't be a better blockbuster all summer,’ are unfortunately off the mark.
Whilst being a good film, and entertaining throughout its duration, it was just that: a good, entertaining film, with quite a few flaws.
It all starts well with a stunning pre-credits sequence, in which James T Kirk is born, we are introduced to the main villain of the film, played by Eric Bana, and there are many explosions. I found this scene not only exciting but also moving; something I never expected from Star Trek, which as an outsider always felt cold and mannered.
The cast are all brilliant, especially Zachary Quinto as Spock and Anton Yelchin as Chekov. The film looks stunning and epic apart from the annoying cinematography which keeps flaring blue lights across the screen. I also felt the score was lacking in providing sufficient back up to these glorious images and action.
By the last third of the film it all fell apart for me; firstly, we see the red version of the Cloverfield monster (maybe a JJ Abrams nod, the film is littered with in-jokes) followed by a cute creature that looks like something George Lucas would create. This creature is working with Scotty, played by Simon Pegg who unfortunately feels a little out of place, as does most of the humour and bad language - always unbalancing the tone of the film.
But the film's worst problem is a damp squib of a climax in which you can see the narrative cogs passing by on screen. It’s all wrapped up so quickly in a linear tick-box fashion which is hugely disappointing.
I suppose by that point it had done enough to win me over to want to see a sequel, but nowhere near enough to be claimed 'Film of the Year' and I pray it's not the best blockbuster released this year.

Films on TV on Bank Holidays aren't what they used to be. For one, where was the obligatory Bond film? I was so disappointed with the films on TV this weekend (apart from Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder, but that might not be for everyone, and it took up 8% of my sky plus) that I decided to invite a few friends over for some horror films.

I could go through every film we watched and all the funny things that were said, but you're in luck because I'm not going to. Instead I'm going to have to rant about when horror goes bad. The film that has brought out this horror bile was the British horror Eden Lake.

I remember the film got mostly good reviews upon its release last year. I can't see why, I despised every second. Have the Daily Mail started funding films? That's what it seemed like with Eden Lake's presentation of the 'youth of today' - idiotic, narcissistic, violent and ugly. I also found the representation of the working class as vile, violent, inbred imbeciles slightly revolting as well.

What really rankled though, and is my pet hate with horror films, was the bad plotting that leaves you finding obvious ways for characters to get out of certain predicaments only for them to do the most foolish thing ever.

Why?

Surely if you're writing or directing a horror film, and your characters have just had their car stolen by 'the youth of today', you’d stop for a seconds to say 'they would call the police in this situation'? Maybe they don'thave a mobile phone, but wait, a few scenes later when it's too late they're trying to use their mobile phone. Doh.

The film had me screaming for all the wrong reasons. So please if you're writing or directing a horror film, have a think about it first, and explore the simple ways of escape otherwise the audience will give up on your nonsensical film. Good horror has to make you believe in it, that it could happen to you, and if you can find an easy way out ofthe situation portrayed in the film, it's not going to scare you anymore.

So please TV executives, put some good films on the box next Bank Holiday, just to save me from ranting.
 

The line up has been announced for Cannes film festival! I'll try to briefly inform you of the highlights that we'll be hearing about in the news over the coming week.
The opening film is Pixar's soon to be smash hit Up. The plot sounds bizarre - it follows a 78 year old man, Carl Friedrickson, who carries out his lifelong dream to visit South Africa by tying balloons to his house to fly there. On arrival he realises he's not alone in his travels as 8 year old Russell has inadvertently joined him on his trip. I wonder what zany promotion will help launch this film...does anyone remember the men in panda suits promoting Kung Fu Panda last year?
Also out of the competition but showing at Cannes is the new Terry Gilliam film The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, which was the last film Heath Ledger filmed, and anything with a title that bizarre can only be worth waiting for - let's face it, anything from Gilliam is worth waiting for!
Then with a creepy midnight viewing comes the premiere of Sam Raimi's new horror Drag Me To Hell. You can't get a much bigger name than the director of the Spiderman franchise, and it's really exciting to see him go back to his Evil Dead horror roots.
There's plenty of big names in the competition as well, the biggest probably being Quentin Tarantino, who brings his long-awaited World War Two epic remake Inglorious Basterds, if only he'd learn how to spell.
European directors of the highest regard all have new films in competition, including Lars Von Trier, Michael Haneke and Gaspar Noe. Maybe the most bizarre film of the festival is from Britain. It's called Looking for Eric, it's about a postman who turns to the philosophy of Eric Cantona. Good fodder for a comedy you may think, but it's given an extra twist in that it's being directed by Ken Loach, a director known for his social realism.
A late addition was the new film from Ang Lee, Taking Woodstock, a film based around the generation-defining concert of 1969. Ang Lee has proved very successful in blending his Eastern style into Western culture - see his version of Hulk and his Western attempt Brokeback Mountain for evidence of this.
This is just a very small sample of the films playing at Cannes, I haven’t even had time to mention the new Almodovar, Park Chan Wook or Bong Joon Ho films - there’s such a vast and exciting line up that I wish I was going.
 

Let me bring your attention to a film showing on terrestrial TV this week. Friday night at quarter to twelve (11:45 for those in the digital age) sees BBC One screen the British horror film Severance.
I say horror, but this film has a well blended mix of comedy and horror, the film turning on a knife edge about halfway through. Warning: not for the squeamish. Directed by Chris Smith, who also helmed the British horror film Creep, this film descends into something akin to the horror seen in his previous feature, but the opening half has a lighter touch.
The plot follows an office 'team building' trip, from the offices of a military defence supplier. Led by ineffectual boss Tim McInnerny, with all your other office staples (get it, office staples) tagging along. Pleasingly for a horror film these characters avoid cliche.
Obviously the team building event goes wrong, otherwise there wouldn't be any horror here. To tell you how it goes wrong would be to ruin it. Let's just say it contains very gruesome deaths, a huge gun and two naked ladies: that should be enough of a hint as to whether you're going to like it or not.
This film was released at the start of what people, in hindsight are calling a British horror boom. 28 Days Later was a huge global success, as was The Descent, and there was Shaun of the Dead as well, hoisting the British flag. Since then British horror has flourished, maybe because of audiences becoming bored with American remakes of either 70's horror fare or J horror films such as The Ring or The Grudge, or to give credit where it is due, maybe it's because of the originality of the ideas and the writing of these British horror films.
This was writer James Moran's first feature film script, and it's a belter. The comedic lines zing off the screen, and one scene with a diving board and Andy Nyman made me laugh until my belly hurt. But when things go wrong, the threat is treated seriously and is all the more frightening for it. Too many comedy horrors don't know where the line is, this one swaggers down the divide perfectly. It's no wonder Moran went on to write for the hugely successful Dr Who and Torchwood and is preparing another film script as we speak. After watching this on Friday, you'll be salivating for his next script to be filmed.
Also, I am looking forward to watching it in the comfort of my own home, as when I saw it at the cinema I unfortunately had to share the experience with a group of idiots who talked almost throughout until the blood started spurting, when they shut up, apart from one girl who just kept whimpering "That's gross".
Behaving like that in a cinema is gross misconduct. Do that on an office outing and you'd be getting your severance.

It's Easter time and that means school holidays. In the world of film, that means cash-in with some children's films. It's usually this time of year that I sigh and moan and avoid the cinema like the old curmudgeon that I am, but this year I was intrigued enough to go to see Monsters VS Aliens.
The new film from Dreamworks, who other than the first Shrek film have not produced anything to rival Pixar, is based on the old pulp Science Fiction films. The title sums it all up really, if that sounds like your cup of tea you're going to love it. Kids will just laugh at the cute blob, sorry B.O.B., but let's ignore them, this is a film for us nerds.
The opening scene has references to The Thing and the original House of Wax, and it doesn't stop from there. There must have been a hundred plus references but not so in your face that they get in the way of the story, or that you need to pick up on them to appreciate the film.
The plot begins with Susan, who gets hit by a meteorite on her wedding day. This results in her becoming approximately 50 foot tall and she awakes in an army base for monsters, with a cockroach/man hybrid (who sports a great Vincent Price moustache - he was trying to fuse the survival traits of cockroaches with humans but the experiment went wrong), a merman (think The Creature from the black lagoon and you're there), the aforementioned blob and a huge grub (that after being exposed to radiation is now 350 feet tall Insectosauras).
Then comes the alien attack. A huge army of one, Gallaxhar, and his hordes of clones. All voiced by Rainn Wilso, who you may know as Dwight from the American Office. Other voices include Reese Witherspoon, Seth Rogen and Keifer Sutherland, but doesn’t every animated film come with an A list voice cast now.
What every kids' film doesn't come with is a stunning immersive 3D element. They say that 3D will be the future of cinema, which would combat piracy but I don’t think it will work on all films. Schindlers List 3D? Really??? It's a great gimmick for films like this though and chimes well with the sort of film this is referencing, and it looks superb throughout, really adding to the depth of the visuals. So, take the kids, you may end up enjoying it just as much, if not more, and make sure you take them to see the 3D version and then you can revel in your nerdiness with some oversized 3D glasses.

Every now and again I have decided to bring to your attention films that may have slipped below your radar during their cinema release.  Luckily we can catch up with these films on DVD.
The first hidden gem is the Steve Carrell film Dan in Real Life.  Less slapstick and in your face than other Carrel films, this comedy drama really does take you by surprise.  Maybe the surprise came from the fact that I knew nothing about the film before seeing it, which is a rarity in cinema nowadays.
It is directed by Peter Hedges, whose last film, Pieces of April, I absolutely loved.  So really there's two hidden gems within this blog.  Seek them both out, you won't be disappointed.
If you're not yet sold, I'll continue with Dan in Real Life.  Although I'm not too sure how much information to give away about the film, as the thing I enjoyed about it was not knowing that much and letting the film work its magic and take me along on its journey.
The film begins depicting Dan's struggles as a single parent to three girls, all in different stages of growing up, whilst writing a popular newspaper article helping people with their problems.  After establishing the family set up, the film takes us to on a trip to see the extended family for holiday season.  It's here where the film really hits its stride.  There's plenty of family conflict for awkward but light hearted and subtle comedic moments, this awkwardness is heightened throughout the film.  There are many laugh out loud moments and a few punch the air moments as our hero, or at least the guy we side with, comes through with the goods.
There aren't enough films that provide this sweet but hilariously funny mix.  Most either favour on the side of gross out comedy or overly sentimentalised romance.  This film strikes the perfect balance.  I hope I haven't given too much away!  Enjoy.

I'm writing this late Monday evening after just coming back from the cinema where I've been to see The Damned United, the film chronicling Brian Clough's disastrous forty four days as manager of Leeds United, based on David Peace's controversial novel.
The strange thing for me about seeing this film is that I went to see it with my Dad, who I last went to the cinema with when I was six years old to see Masters of the Universe, the He Man film. My Dad's viewpoint can offer an alternative angle on the film from mine, as he was a football fan, especially around 1974, and it helps that he was alive then. I have a passing interest in football but nothing more and I didn't see a day of the seventies I'm afraid.
So, this review has the insight of two minds, my Dad's and my own. Someone with a knowledge of the subject and era and someone with a lack of that knowledge. My Dad said that the film brought back lots of memories, which I could imagine as it was highly evocative of the time. The cinematography was great in its use of colours synonymous with the era. He said he really enjoyed the film, but had a reservation, which I'll come back to.
I also enjoyed the film, the performances were top notch. Michael Sheen's portrayal of Brian Clough is astounding, matching his equally impressive roles as Tony Blair in the Queen and David Frost in Frost/Nixon. The direction is unfussy and excellent; especially a stunning stand out scene where Clough can't even watch the game but hears the crowd reactions to events on the pitch. On the other hand I found the narrative structure, which flitted between Clough's time at Derby and his short spell at Leeds, to be unnecessary.
Going back to my Dad's reservation about the film, one which I shared, we both felt that Brian Clough was such a great character in the sport that he deserved a film dedicated more to his achievements, the full biopic works that would include his success at Nottingham Forest. The film works best when focusing on Clough's confident, some would say arrogant persona. A favourite quote being "I wouldn't say I'm the best manager in the country, but I'm in the top one". We both agreed that the sport no longer has a personality as entertaining, and the world is far worse off without larger than life characters like Brian Clough.

This upcoming week we're going to have an hour criminally snatched away from us.  It's never an hour that happens whilst you're at work is it?  This hour always gets taken when you sleep, leaving you with an hour less in bed.  This can knock me for six and leave me reeling, and that's just an hour out of kilter.
This started me thinking of what people have had to deal with in the film world when it comes to time.  The film which springs to mind instantly, is Back to the Future - all three of them for that matter.  In these films poor Marty McFly is sent back to the 1950s twice and then back to the 1880s.  And I'm complaining about a measly hour.
Some films play with time in different ways, the most extreme example being the Christopher Nolan's film Memento, which is told backwards.  A few films have a plot that is shot in real time.  This means that the time within the story is the same running time of the film.  The most famous recent example of this comes from TV in the shape of 24.  It is becoming more frequent to use this technique in films recently Phone Booth, Russian Ark, United 93, 16 blocks, Timecode and Crank all took place in real time.
Upcoming in cinemas there is a British comedy film called FAQ About Time Travel, in this film the three main characters find a portal through time in their pub urinal...or are they just drunk?  Also this summer we go back in time to see the origin story of X Men's Wolverine.  Talking about superheroes, didn't Superman fly around the world so fast that he made it spin backwards and reverse events?  Well if you're out there Superman and you're listening, all I want is that stolen hour from this upcoming weekend back please.

Discussing films in the office this week, we began discussing how after Oscar season and before the summer blockbusters arrive there is a dip in the quality of films. So, let's have a look and see if this is indeed true.
At the moment in cinemas you have Bronson and Surveillance, two dark 'horror' films. Also, Watchmen is still on general release. Lesbian Vampire Killers is out Friday if you fancy your horror a bit more silly.
Other horrors released in the upcoming months include two of my favourites from last year's Frightfest. Let The Right One In, the Swedish vampire film which has been gaining five star reviews from most if not all critics, and Martyrs, probably the most extreme and intelligent horror film that will be released this year.
Don’t worry, there's also a good batch of films for non horror fans too. Starting off with The Damned United, in which chameleon actor Michael Sheen plays Brian Clough. I'm looking forward to seeing Sheen completely disappear into the role, as he previously has when portraying Tony Blair in the queen and David Frost in Frost/Nixon. The Damned United is released on the 27th March, as is Michael Winterbottoms' new film, Genova, a bereavement drama with supernatural edges that stars Colin Firth and has been getting good word of mouth on the festival circuit, but looks like a tough, intense film to get through. If that sounds like your thing make sure you don't miss it, as Winterbottom is one of the most talented directors this country has.
Speaking of British directors, Richard Curtis has his new feel good comedy The Boat That Rocked which is released on the 1st April. This sixties set romp stars Bill Night, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rhys Ifans, the list could go on, it's a comedy ensemble with a never-ending list of comic actors.
Then we're treated to some family films for the Easter holidays with the 3D treats of Monsters VS Aliens and Coraline, Which both look like fun films, Coraline having a darker edge being an adaptation of a Neil Gaiman novel and directed by Henry Selick, who brought us The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Hopefully there's something there for everyone, so before the explosions and dumb plots of the summer come, we have something to keep us occupied.

The long awaited, twenty years plus, adaptation of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen is finally here. Anyone with a literary inclination should be a fan of this comic book. It's the only comic book to make the Time 100 best novels list, it completely changed comic books when released in the 80s, and has often been referred to as being unfilmable. I was fearful entering the cinema, being such a huge fan of the graphic novel, surely it could only disappoint.
It begins as the novel does, with a comedian dying in New York. The scene is brutal and sets up that this isn't your usual superhero, comic book movie. Hopefully establishing the tone to people new to Watchmen and not familiar with the book, and to let them know this is going to be a brutal, complex and thought provoking movie.
The next scene establishes a huge chunk of back story in a terrific montage set to Bob Dylan's The Times are a Changing. So far, so brilliant, but still my fears of another poor Alan Moore adaptation, like The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and V for Vendetta, lingered.
The next half hour of the film was so reverential to the source material that it was like a band doing a cover version which sounds exactly the same as the original, but then slowly I was won around. The film nailed all the complex characters and made some great choices as to what to leave out from the source material. This ensured the focus didn't falter from the main characters.
All the performances, from a cast with no big names, are all outstanding: Rorschach, The Comedian and Doctor Manhattan standing out. The choice of music was brilliant, and the level of violence is shocking but suits the world the film is set in.
By the time the film ended I was won over and had put my trust in the film makers so much that the films daring change to the ending of the graphic novel worked perfectly, and I was exhilarated and entertained.
This film comes highly recommended, but don't expect your usual comic book fare, this is a deep, complex, violent and thought provoking film, that makes something as dark as The Dark Knight seem like Ben 10. If that sounds to your taste and you're willing to meet the film half way, you will be richly rewarded.

It seems only a few weeks ago that I was discussing the last Clint Eastwood directorial effort The Changeling. It is a little more than that, but only a matter of months.  It was only December when I reviewed Changeling. Scroll down read the review of you don’t believe me.
Much like the double bill of Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima, Clint has yet again released two films in quick succession. Usually a director is lucky to produce a film a year, that would be regarded as prolific. So the question is 'How does Clint do it?' When some  directors will spend years between films, sixteen in Terrence Malick's case, and if Avatar makes it to release this year it'll be a  twelve year gap for James Cameron since his last film,  Titanic, came out. You could argue that Clint's films are on a smaller scale, but if you notice the seamless period detail in Changeling it is obvious these films are labours of love.
I believe the key is the quality of the material Clint is working with in recent years. Great scripts have fuelled all his recent output, the high point, for me, being the Paul Haggis scripted Million Dollar Baby.
Gran Torino is another great film, that holds up well against modern Clint classics, and if, as has been reported, this is Clint's last  acting role, he sure has chosen to go out on a high, in an ending that could even work as an apology for any of his acting roles in the past which may have promoted violence, in particular Dirty Harry.
I'm really looking forward to Clint will turn his hand to next behind the camera, on his current form I'm sure I won't have to wait long.

Another year, another Oscars done and dusted. And what a predictable year it was. Congratulations for Slumdog Millionaire, a small independent British film, which was the big winner this year claiming eight Oscars. Kate Winslet also won Best Actress, it was a good year to be British.
So were there any shocks at this year's ceremony? I suppose some people will see the best actor category as the biggest shock of the year, with the award going to Sean Penn for his portrayal of doomed politician Harvey Milk in the film Milk, instead of going to Mickey Rourke for his role in The Wrestler, as expected. It is true that Rourke claimed all the prizes in the lead up, taking Golden Globes and Baftas which are usually good indicators for the Oscars, and that in this blog only a couple of weeks previous I predicted him to win, but I feel he lost it through the negative press he attained during the awards season, sweary acceptance speeches, constant partying etc. Oscar didn't want a loose cannon on their hands to spoil their evening. Milk was my favourite film of all involved in the ceremony so I'm glad that Penn took the award, and his performance was a complete transformation into the character, and well deserved.
I was a little surprised by Slumdog taking Best Picture as in the past if Best Director has been won by a Non-American, the Best Film award has favoured an American production. One of the most recent examples of this would be Ang Lee claiming the Best Director for Brokeback Mountain but Crash taking the Best Film at the 2006 awards. But I'm glad the academy saw sense on this occasion and Slumdog Millionaire became the little film that can.
It's another year to wait until the tears and fantastic frocks of the Oscars come around again, between then and now though we have another year of great films ahead of us.

With the snow recently wreaking havoc across the UK, perhaps now is a good time to pay homage to a film set in the ice, blizzards and treachery of a winter in Minnesota. Fargo, written and directed by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, follows the plight of a used car salesman (played by Willam H Macy) in the midst of unspecified financial difficulties, who hires 2 men (Peter Stormare and Steve Buscemi) to kidnap his wife to extort ransom money from his father-in-law. As the careful plans are laid to waste, the heavily pregnant police officer Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand, who won Best Actress Oscar for her role) starts counting the bodies and piecing together the tangled mess.

Made on a low budget, it is a film of great contrasts: black comedy on a white, snow-covered landscape. The landscape and the weather, so often providing a backseat backdrop in films, becomes a main character, the protagonist if you will, with all other characters playing out their roles with a horribly fateful inevitability. But at the same time there is a warmth and tenderness in Marge’s marriage and a quiet beauty in the land. There is silence and violence, gentleness and sobering brutality, gut-wrenching gore and dark, noir humour.

The Coen brothers have a wonderful repertoire, from the feel-good comedy Oh Brother Where Art Thou to the hard-boiled The Man Who Wasn’t There, but Fargo stands out as one of their best, a film that warms, chills and blurs the line of genre.
 

Have you ever had a bad day at work? If so, has your bad day resulted in an emotional outburst that has then been broadcast to millions over the internet, and been discussed on news broadcasts globally. I'm guessing the answer will be no. Unless you're Christian Bale.
If you've managed to miss this story here's a quick recap. Whilst working on the set of the new Terminator film, the fourth in the series, Terminator: Salvation, Bale was filming a scene when the Director of Photography (DOP) walked behind the shot and tinkered with the light set up. What ensued was a four letter filled angry barrage from Bale at the DOP. Most of it can't be repeated as the language is pretty ribald. It had to be recorded for legal reasons as Bale had said he would leave the film, unfortunately this was then leaked onto the internet and blown out of proportion by the worlds media.
If you've heard the outburst you might think that Christian Bale is an egotistical idiot, but it's all about context.
Here are three reasons to think about the situation a little more.

1. There are rumours which state that he is going through a hard time at the moment, which are heightened by the news story from last year of a fracas between himself and his mother and sister.

2. Bale is already known as an intense actor to immerse himself within the moment, which can be seen by his role in the Machinist.

3.Also the DOP, it's reported, is known as a 'light tweaker' which shouldn’t really occur on any set unless arranged prior to filming with director, cast and crew. Apparently he had been warned on numerous occasions but still began tweaking during one of the most important scenes in the film, which is when Bale's outburst occurred.

Even though it's a negative news story I don't think it will have an adverse reaction when Terminator Salvation is released. As they say in films, all publicity is good, even better if it’s free.

January is referred to as Oscar season in the UK as we get all the films that have been released in America over the holiday season. Films that are Oscar hopefuls are positioned for release at this time of year to be fresh in the Academy voters mind.
We've been spoilt for choice regarding films during the first month of 2009. I've managed to get along to see Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, Milk, Frost/Nixon and Revolutionary Road.  So it's time to risk some egg upon my face with a couple of predictions.
Starting with Best Film, my favourite film of those nominated is Milk, but I imagine Slumdog Millionaire will win, and would be more than happy with that to as it's a fantastic British production that leaves a warm glow, but just to warn you has a lot of dark stuff to endure first.
I expect another Kate Winslet blub-a-thon for Best Actress, and I believe the Best Actor award is between Sean Penn for his expert, beautiful portrayal of Harvey Milk, and Mickey Rourke's close to the knuckle portrayal of Randy 'The Ram' Robinson in The Wrestler. I'd predict Rourke to walk away with that.
That's twice that I've predicted my favourite of the nominated films to lose. The reason for that is I believe Slumdog or Benjamin Button will gain more academy voters for their originality. My opinion is that Milk hits harder and is more affecting, but I urge you to go see all those films, but if you only have time or money for one, make it Milk.
The film with most nominations, 13 in total The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is released February the 6th. I'll leave it until then to pass judgment and maybe change some of my predictions.

10.Teeth- Feels like an 80's comedy body horror about a girl with teeth in a place which would give teenage boys nightmares for years. Good horror moments and dark laughs with a retro look and feel to it. Rent out for that perfect Saturday night film, just don't watch it with your date.
9. Mamma Mia- I thought I was going to hate this, but it ended up being one thing which I don't think any other film achieved this year. FUN.
8. Juno- The indie hit which deservedly won an Oscar for its script. Still a favourite come the end of the year
7. Wall E- Don't like Wall-E equals heart of stone. The first almost silent half hour of Wall-E and Eve on a ravaged earth are movie perfection.
6. Speed Racer- Reviewed badly but a very original and colourful movie. Themes that maybe went over kids heads but a sure-fire movie experience
5. Gone Baby Gone- Great performance by Casey Affleck and assured direction from his brother Ben. The main conundrum posed by the film is a great, and will keep you thinking long after you’ve seen the film.
4. The Chaser- The most intense film of the year. Hunt this down out on DVD from the 2nd February before the American remake comes out.
3. The Orphanage- The best horror film of the year. Scary, thoughtful, emotional. Defies all expectations.
2. The Dark Knight- Redefined what a superhero summer blockbuster could be. Taking it further into a complex crime genre and really using the superhero character and all its facets to the extreme whilst providing lots to chew on regarding modern themes of terrorism.
1. There will be Blood- Three words to sell this movie. Daniel Day Lewis.  Themes of greed, religion, power, families and oil, with sumptuous cinematography, beautifully directed with the greatest performance of the year. By far the film of 2008. Must see. NOW.

It's typical of Baz Luhrmann to choose such a sweeping grandstanding title like Australia. Does the title infer that his film sums up everything about the country? For such a bold title, at least it does have a lot within it to back it up. The movie begins with a fast paced introduction to the main characters, and within an economical amount of time the exposition has been dealt with. The early stages of the film have a comedic edge, whilst also feeling like a film from a bygone era. As the film progresses and changes through an old fashioned romance to a cattle procedural western and a second world war film you realise that they don’t make films like this anymore - unashamedly romantic and epic with something for everyone, and a bit more.
The fact that the film is overloaded has been the main criticism. I admired the fact that Baz Luhrmann took no half measures on the film, everything is in your face with big broad strokes, for someone to be so individual in the sterile movie world of mainstream films is to be commended. It also results in one the most fantastic action adventure sequences of the year, a stampede on a cliff edge will leave your heart in your mouth - you'll be literally falling off the edge of your seat!

Being a film studies teacher I am constantly asked by students what my favourite film is. It's a question that I have no answer to, as I have too many favourite films to name and they change constantly. Around this time of the year the question changes to 'What's your favourite Christmas film?' This is a question I can answer, and a question a lot of people seem to enjoy answering, considering the results of a recent poll held by Cornerhouse cinema in Manchester. In true seasonal spirit, they asked people for their favourite Christmas movies and showed the results over the festive period. The results ranged from Bad Santa to The Sound of Music and covered every kind of yuletide film possible.
A few of the films screened were perhaps, not obvious Xmas picks, like Die Hard - an odd choice, but it is set around Christmas. Other treats included the aforementioned Bad Santa and Sound of Music, along with Scrooged, starring Bill Murray and one of my and my student's favourites Xmas movie is A Muppet's Christmas Carol.
So, to return to the question I posed at the start of this blog, what is my favourite Christmas film? It comes down to the last film screened at the Cornerhouse in December - It's a Wonderful Life, the Frank Capra masterpiece which should be watched by everyone during the festive period.

Clint Eastwood never fails. Every time I hear a new film is coming out directed by Clint Eastwood I get excited. Especially after his recent run of memorable films, my favourite being Oscar winner Million Dollar Baby. In that film there was a stunning turn from Hilary Swank, one of the finest and most versatile actresses in Hollywood. When I found out Clint was directing Angelina Jolie, I hoped that he could get an equally arresting performance out of another of Hollywood's most versatile actresses.
The film is remarkable, as is the true story that the film is based on. Angelina Jolie is also remarkable in the main role, but most of all what stands out is Eastwood's assured direction. It really shouldn't, and it's a sad indictment of the current movie climate that it does. His unfussy direction aides the narrative every step of the way, with a pitch perfect period setting. In this blockbuster age of flashy direction (stand up Michael Bay) it's really wonderful to see a film with perfect direction which doesn't jump in your face with unnecessary bravado techniques every minute. Eastwood's direction also gives Jolie lots of great moments to emote, although, until sparse moments at the end of the film, all she has to do is grieve, a lot. It's not an easy film to watch, it's designed to be uncomfortable in parts and sets adepressing tone throughout.
It's testament to Eastwood's talent that the tone is even, as the film goes through many stages including horror, courtroom drama, mental institution nightmare. In the hands of a lesser director this would have been a mess. But it's the only way to tell this story, which if it wasn't true would be written off as being unbelievable, handled in this way in comes across as fascinating and absorbing.

As winter descends and we approach the end of 2008, it's a good time for a consideration of some of this year's best films. Here's just a few I would heartily recommend;

In Bruges - a darkly comic, tragic, yet hilarious gangster film starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Two Irish hitmen are sent by their unhinged boss (Fiennes) to lie low in the Belgian town of Bruges following a botched job. What follows is a surreal caper set against a backdrop of gothic, medieval splendor.

The Dark Knight - Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits. Heath Ledger's psychotic yet compelling portrayal of the anti-hero, the Joker, is one of the many high points of this epic movie, and looks set to earn him a posthumous Oscar.

Quantum of Solace - possibly the biggest, most anticipated film of the year - the most recent Bond film has a lot to live up to. And it didn’t disappoint. Daniel Craig's craggy agent is surely in the running for the coveted title of 'best Bond since Connery', and he certainly picks up the pace in this action-packed and exhilarating film.

Changeling - Clint Eastwood's run of meticulously directed instant classics looks set to continue with this Angelina Jolie starring drama. Looks like it carries the same understated style Eastwood used in Mystic River and perfected in Million Dollar Baby.

Madagascar 2 - I'm afraid looks like more of the same. Or should that be I'm pleased it looks like more of the same. I enjoyed the first film but had a few misgivings. It wasn't as polished as a Pixar film and the humour was a little bit hit and miss.

The Day the Earth Stood Still - A seemingly unnecessary remake of a sci-fi classic with a terrifyingly wooden Keanu Reeves. You may have guessed by my tone that I'll be avoiding this one.

Australia - Baz Luhrmann is back. It's been a long wait, but it's usually worth it, as his films are usually very original and visually stunning. The latter is evident in the luxurious trailer for this film, which looks like a throwback to Gone with the Wind.

Bicycle Thieves - A classic from the Italian Neo realism movement. A subtle and heartbreaking film which deserves the restored print and restored soundtrack this release is affording to it. Seeing this on the big screen should make the profound human emotions within the film stand out bolder than ever.

Let's start with that title, Quantum of Solace, it was a controversial one, people saying it sounded pretentious and didn't sound like a Bond film title, well, they were wrong. The title fits this film perfectly and sums up Bond's mission.
One problem, and my only criticism of the film is that, Bond's mission isn't very clear from the opening. Most people will not notice as they will be glued to their seat with the in your face action sequences. Three of them in quick succession, first a car chase, followed by a fight sequence through the palio, and then a boat chase. I have to admit that by the boat chase I was 'actioned' out and needed some juicy character stuff for Daniel Craig to get his teeth into. He does get these moment but they are brief, subtle and just about perfect, cementing his position as best bond since Connery, maybe even Best bond ever? Time will tell.
Stand out scene for myself was a stunning action sequence set to the opera Tosca preceded by a great bit of Spy work from Bond, which was a pleasure after all of the Bourne like hand to hand combat of the opening action sequences.
Bond has changed though, and the title reveals that, there is an unexpected heart beating underneath the action extravaganza and an ending that is as heartbreaking as On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Refer back to the title after you've seen the film, and ask yourself does Bond get his Quantum of Solace?

Maybe people weren't baying out for a sequel to Hellboy after the original comic book adaptation from 2004, but there was a definite anticipation for Guillermo Del Toro's next offering after the beauty of Pan's Labyrinth. So, it was a surprise to hear that he was going back to Hellboy to do a sequel for Mike Mignola's eponymous character.
Building on the first films cult following the sequel has had more of a marketing push and a release as a summer blockbuster. This resulted in it performing well at the US box office. It deserves to do well; it's an imaginative, fun film. The antithesis of The Dark Knight in tone, which here is light and comedic with playful visuals and situations a constant. Highlights including the tooth fairies, the troll market and the drunken rendition of Barry Manilow's Can’t Smile Without You.
The downside to this rampant invention is that the plot suffers. Whilst the themes come across strongly and seem very personal to Del Toro the story itself limps along and moves in fits and starts sidelined by interesting visuals. This ensures the Harryhausen like ending doesn't hit with as much impact as it should, although there is a neat set up for a third Hellboy film at the end which I would still love to see even if Hellboy 2: The Golden Army didn't fire on all cylinders for me. Who knows when another Hellboy film could be possible, with Del Toro in New Zealand working on the Hobbit we could be waiting an awful long time.

We're in such an age that anticipation is the only entertainment we get. Trailers are the new films. The internet spoils plots of films before you’ve seen them, and most trailers will give key points of plots away. The only excitement and surprise we now get as an audience is fro m the trailer itself.
You get different variations of trailers building up to the release of the film, starting with the teaser trailer and building up to the full trailer. The most recent trailer to come with bucket loads of anticipation preceding it is for the new James Bond Film Quantum of Solace which is out on general release on October 31.
First off that title, seems a bit pretentious for a Bond film, but over time I've come to like it, and title aside it looks like it's going to be as good as, if not even better than the fine start Daniel Craig made in Casino Royale.
So what does the trailer tell us? It has a flashback of Vesper's death, the Bong girl from Casino Royale, and it has the character that Bond shot at the end of that film revealing details of a secret SPECTRE like organisation. The line we're everywhere strikes fear into Bond. This is followed by Bond emerging over a rocky terrain and a key part of dialogue summing up the key themes of the film between Bond and M. Then there is some kinetic action scenes and what looks like a Licence to Kill style plot line. A boat chase, a helicopter scrap, Bond girl, villain and finally it finishes with the music and the title and anticipation builds even more. Bring on October 31.

Mamma Mia, Iron Man, Sex and the City, The Dark Knight: you ask anyone what film they have seen recently and it will most probably be a big budget mainstream film. Even if it is a small independent film it will most probably feature a recognisable but low budget plot, maybe with dysfunctional characters. I'm not saying that any of the above are bad films, just wondering where a certain unexpected, bizarre style of film making has gone. Where are the film makers that are taking risks?
The only director I can think of at the moment who would fit into this category is David Lynch. His last film INLAND EMPIRE, was a three hour excursion into unknown territories.  There are plenty of good directors making quirky films with slight differences to the norm, Wes Anderson to name but one. But where are the people really shaking it up. Where are the films which offer something that has never been seen before?
I recently watched Salvador Dali's and Luis Bunuel's Un Chien Andalou again, and was astounded all over again by how out there and in your face it is. Every scene, every image burns itself onto your retinas, especially the retina slicing scene. It's so daring, especially for the time in which it was made (1929).
This is precisely what we need nowadays, a huge dose of cinematic surrealism, and not the jocular Mighty Boosh blend of comedic surrealism, what is needed is some never seen before eye slicing, dead donkey dragging, armpit mouth out there surrealism. Who knows if we'll get to see any films like this anymore, maybe the film market has become precisely that, too market led, leaving no room for anything different to come through, or, maybe we as viewers have become accustomed to our Hollywood diet and don’t want to understand film outside of that.

During awful weather there is nothing better than a good comedy to cheer you up, and there's a few about in the cinemas now. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to get along to the cinema to see Tropic Thunder yet but have been lucky enough to see Pineapple Express.
It's yet another film from producer Judd Apatow, there seems to be one every month now, and it's another featuring the writing and acting talents of Seth Rogen. Added to the mix in this film is James Franco, whom you might recognise from the Spiderman films, playing against type as an inebriated drug dealer.
The film delivers on the laughs and as with all films from this team comes with a side helping of sweetness. It treads the line between Cheech and Chong stoner laughs and Beverly Hill cop eighties action sequences, and works, mainly because it doesn't overdo the latter, not drawing attention to the fact that it’s a parody of this genre, which films like Hot Fuzz could be blamed for doing. The other commendable aspect of the film is the fact  we as an audience are asked to root for two 'pothead losers' who are seen stealing a police car and selling drugs to school children, and yet through the their charm it works, and we do root for them
The only aspect which didn’t work for me was the fact that again Seth Rogen in the lead role as this loser is given an overly attractive girlfriend, who adores him. It makes you think "Who the hell is writing this?", once you realise the script is by Seth Rogen himself it all makes a little more sense.

Horror is always looked down upon as being too genre specific to be important, that doesn't stop it being one if the most popular genres in existence as proved by the recent Frightfest  held at the Odeon West End London. Five solid days of pure horror mayhem, here are my top 5 highlights:

• Dance of the Dead - a zombie comedy horror that mixes a John Hughes (Breakfast Club, Weird Science) feel with Romero's Dead films. Hugely enjoyable.
• Tokyo Gore Police - played as a late night film and kept everyone awake with insane visuals and ideas. It just got madder with every reel.
• Let the Right One In - not your average vampire film, this Swedish sensation is a beautiful, captivating and very emotional film about childhood. Unique.
• The Chaser - my favourite of the festival. This Korean film is tense throughout, never letting up for a second, with constant twists that keep you guessing. Throughout I was fully invested within the film which took me on a thrilling atmospheric journey. DO NOT MISS.
• Martyrs - this is the film everyone was talking about. It divided the audience down the middle, you either loved it or hated it. It is a film without compromises that is brutal and unrelenting in its execution. It is one of the most extreme films I have ever seen and I saw at least three people run past me to be sick in the toilets during the shocking but also strangely beautiful and profound climax.

These films and the festival itself goes to prove the quality and diversity of the horror genre, each of my top five films is very different from the others and they all come from different countries. Horror should be looked down on no more.

When in America this summer I was lucky enough to catch two great and totally different comedies. One, an all-out Will Ferrell crazy com, the other a romantic comedy set against a dramatic evocation of 90’s New York. They both came out last week in the UK.

The first is the new Will Ferrell vehicle Step Brothers. It reteams him with his comedy partner from Talladega Nights John C Reilly. The partnership reaps dividends again, this time backed up by the film around it. Where Talladega Nights felt compelled to be led by its sports film structure, Step Brothers lets fly with gutter humour comedy, juvenile situations and swearing, with a disregard for storyline for much of its running time. It would have been better if it took this skit right up until the end instead of forcing a contrived plot in the last twenty minutes to supposedly bring heart and round it up.

The other film is The Wackness, starring Ben Kingsley, Josh Peck and Olivia Thirlby. Sir Ben steals the show playing a therapist addled with his own problems, and seeing him locking lips with an Olsen Twin is a sight I never imagined seeing in modern cinema. Olivia Thirlby expands on her charming turn in Juno with a more fully rounded character; it takes a lot longer to warm to Peck’s angsty turn. The hazy nostalgic glow from the film should win you over even if you have no warm feelings for mid nineties hip hop of which the soundtrack is packed full of.

Both films are flawed but fun and both offer a pleasurable ninety minutes to spend your time with.

Maybe people weren't baying out for a sequel to Hellboy after the original comic book adaptation from 2004, but there was a definite anticipation for Guillermo Del Toro's next offering after the beauty of Pan's Labyrinth. So, it was a surprise to hear that he was going back to Hellboy to do a sequel for Mike Mignola's eponymous character.
Building on the first films cult following the sequel has had more of a marketing push and a release as a summer blockbuster. This resulted in it performing well at the US box office. It deserves to do well; it's an imaginative, fun film. The antithesis of The Dark Knight in tone, which here is light and comedic with playful visuals and situations a constant. Highlights including the tooth fairies, the troll market and the drunken rendition of Barry Manilow's Can’t Smile Without You.
The downside to this rampant invention is that the plot suffers. Whilst the themes come across strongly and seem very personal to Del Toro the story itself limps along and moves in fits and starts sidelined by interesting visuals. This ensures the Harryhausen like ending doesn't hit with as much impact as it should, although there is a neat set up for a third Hellboy film at the end which I would still love to see even if Hellboy 2: The Golden Army didn't fire on all cylinders for me. Who knows when another Hellboy film could be possible, with Del Toro in New Zealand working on the Hobbit we could be waiting an awful long time.

I'm one of those people who don't react well to change; I still bought cassettes well into the late 90's, then begrudgingly accepted CD's and now even an iPod. It took me ages to convert from VHS to DVD, so when I first heard of the IMAX I thought'oh here’s another cinema gimmick' and hoped it would wither and die so change didn't occur and I could still watch films as they are shown now.
Then I saw The Dark Knight on an IMAX screen. Although I've seen it since on an average cinema screen and it is still mindblowing in its scale, intensity and depth, this is heightened on an IMAX. Especially memorable is the scene with Batman flying through Hong Kong.
So what's so good about IMAX? (Because I don't have to explain now what's so good about The Dark Knight because everyone will have seen it - and if you haven’t you should have). It's a screen that fills a whole wall at the front of the cinema, from floor to ceiling, wall to wall, making it able to display larger images with a greater resolution, indeed some shots for The Dark Knight were filmed with a special IMAX camera taking full advantage of the resolution capabilities.
A standard IMAX screen is 72 ft wide and 53 ft high, it might just seem like numbers, so I urge you to go along and see The Dark Knight in IMAX to experience it for yourselves. 
With piracy currently the main threat to cinema box office IMAX could be the format to get the numbers back to the cinema because it certainly fulfills its remit of increasing the visual impact of motion pictures.

The films of P.T  Anderson are always unique, even if he's pilfering styles, motifs and even ideas from other directors, the finished film still exceeds all it's parts. Probably the most talented director working in Hollywood right now - and I'm tempted to say he's made his masterpiece, but let's hope there's more to come from him. There is no doubting that There will be Blood is a masterpiece though.

If boogie Nights was P.T Anderson doing Scorsese, Magnolia was him taking from Altman, and Punch Drunk Love still remains undefinable - what is There will Be Blood? You could see it as P.T Anderson's version of a Kubrick film, with his wide angle lenses, long takes, grandiose themes and especially the opening dialogue free twenty minutes. Or maybe you'll see it more as a John ford Western. The setting and scenery would suggest so. It even could, and maybe should, be viewed as a horror film. Daniel Day Lewis makes the perfect villain in his towering terrifying portrayal of Daniel Plainview, and how power and oil possesses him. His stare when the oil strikes and burns is terrifying as is the operatic finale, which is such a shift in tone as to what has gone before but works perfectly.

However you view it, by the end you will be astounded and agree it is a modern masterpiece of cinema.
 

We're in such an age that anticipation is the only entertainment we get. Trailers are the new films. The internet spoils the plots of films before you’ve seen them, and most trailers will give key plot points away. The only excitement and surprise we now get as an audience is fro m the trailer itself.
You get different variations of trailers building up to the release of the film, starting with the teaser trailer and building up to the full trailer. The most recent trailer to come with bucket loads of anticipation preceding it is for the new James Bond Film Quantum of Solace which is out on general release on November 7th.
First off that title. It seems a bit pretentious for a Bond film, but over time I've come to like it, and title aside it looks like it's going to be as good as, if not even better than the fine start Daniel Craig made in Casino Royale.
So what does the trailer tell us? It has a flashback of Vesper's death, the Bond girl from Casino Royale, and it has the character that Bond shot at the end of that film revealing details of a secret SPECTRE like organisation. The line 'we're everywhere' strikes fear into Bond. This is followed by Bond emerging over a rocky terrain and a key part of dialogue summing up the key themes of the film between Bond and M. Then there is some kinetic action scenes and what looks like a Licence to Kill style plot line. A boat chase, a helicopter scrap, Bond girl, villain and finally it finishes with the music and the title and anticipation builds even more. Bring on November 7th.
 

With the underwhelming critical reception awarded to cinema releases The Incredible Hulk and The Happening, you may want to settle down at home with a DVD this week.

There have been plenty of fantastic new DVD releases recently including Best Film Oscar winner No Country for Old Men, but my recommendation would be the much smaller American indie film, Juno.

A lot of focus has been given to the stylised teen speak of Diablo Cody's first screenplay and star of the film Ellen Page, who was Oscar nominated for her role as the titular character. Whilst this praise is well deserved it should also be mentioned that every member of the cast contributes due to Cody's excellent script. The focus may have been on the stylised language, but the strength of the script lies in how it manages to juggle every character to make them believable, multi-faceted, flawed but ultimately loveable human beings.

And that's a great word to sum up the film, loveable. It's a warm, happy film which is a minor miracle considering its hot potato subject, however some people may feel that Juno's cavalier attitude towards the situation is mishandling a sensitive subject matter.

Yes, the film is unrealistic, but it is meant to play out like a 1930's screwball comedy, hence the heightened dialogue, and why not have a positive representation of a teenager dealing with pregnancy and a family who support her through it? We hear enough nightmare stories about the subject every day. This is why Juno works, it makes us feel better about the world around us, and there's nothing wrong with that. Honest to blog.

Imagine a rainbow. Now, make every colour of that rainbow at least 100% brighter in your mind. Don't worry this isn't a hypnosis trick, I'm just preparing you for the insanely day-glo Speed Racer from the Wachowski Brothers (who brought us the Matrix Trilogy). Every single colour has made it into this film, and probably some new ones that have been invented specially. Think you've seen orange before, think again, as the orange in this film is more orange than orange has ever been, and the same goes for every other colour, all so bright you come out of the cinema with them scorched onto your retinas. It's not just the colour scheme which is inventive in this film either, every element has been toyed with in some respect to make a truly innovative film without becoming art-house; it remains an enjoyable summer blockbuster for all the family, and your monkey! The opening twenty minutes combine a high octane race with the story's exposition in an engaging and fresh manner. Smaller children might find it confusing, as it includes flash forwards/flashbacks, characters becoming part of the cartoon world, ghost cars and more. They also may find the plot, which focuses on capitalism and corporations, a tad over their head. However don't let this put you off taking the kids to see this film, or just seeing it yourself, as it has something for everyone. You can't fail to be exhilarated by the race sequences, of which you get plenty, but it is mainly the sheer 'out there' design of the film, which achieves its goal of becoming the first live action cartoon, which will astound you.

The first of many summer blockbusters has hit our screens in the formidable metallic form of Jon Favreau's Iron Man. Whilst beating Indiana Jones and Batman to the screen has ensured successful box office, time will tell how the film stands up to these opponents cinematically. It already has a lot to live up to regarding recent impressive instalments in the superhero genre, topped by Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. Iron Man lacks the previous audience knowledge of Batman, so has a lot to introduce over its two hours. Firstly there's Robert Downey Jnr's Tony Stark: smooth talking, weapons dealing yuppie. Only Downey Jnr, with his endless charm, could make this character likeable. We're also introduced to his PA, Pepper Potts, played by Gwyneth 'vacant stare' Paltrow, and their obligatory unspoken love for each other. Finally we have Tony Stark's right-hand man Obadiah Stane: Jeff Bridges sporting a bald head/bushy beard combo. Added to the burden of the introductions are allusions to the war in Afghanistan and the weapons industry, and here we have Iron Man 's main fault: it's trying to say and do too much. Stark's character development is unconvincingly abrupt, and the climax is a let-down as it feels shoehorned in, with a 'revelation' that was obvious from the start. Overall, Iron Man still succeeds in being enjoyable. But will anyone remember it later on in the summer after we've been treated to the Dark Knight and Mr Jones?