Reviews

Lethal Weapon

***1/2 (out of 4)

117 mins/ 18

Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitch Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Jackie Swanson, Damon Hines

Director: Richard Donner

Plot: An experienced cop is forced to work with a young suicidal cop to take down a gang of drug smugglers.

JJ's Verdict: Lethal Weapon has a confused and a little twisted plot. In most films I would be criticising it for this. But in Lethal Weapon, story is rightfully placed behind the right to entertain the audience with Riggs and Murtaugh – the best cop partnership cinema has had to offer.

In Lethal Weapon, we are introduced to Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh who have just been paired together to investigate the suicide of a young woman after she jumped off her balcony. In Riggs we have a young, confident cop but extremely psychotic and suicidal and in Murtaugh, a reserved old-timer and family man who is just too old for this s***. The pair discover the girl died after being poisoned through drugs and have to try and investigate a gang of drug dealers while also trying to stand one and other.

Lethal Weapon is plot thin. It mainly revolves around Riggs and Murtaugh chasing drug dealers and with this premise most would expect a textbook formulaic action film. Luckily this isn't what they get, mainly down to writer Shane Black. His script is sharp and full of witty lines and contains two superb characters. Put together with director Richard Donner's brilliant flair for directing both actors and action scenes, it is action and cop-buddy heaven.

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover work so well together and (Gibson especially) both become completely immersed in their characters. Despite their characters being complete opposites, as a viewer you kind of want to be both. Gibson's Riggs is a total loner and has a tendency to go completely psycho and watching the Aussie contemplate suicide and then just go bonkers with a gun is an absolute joy to watch. Danny Glover's Murtaugh is less showy than Gibson and without much study you would probably just say he did fine. But Glover's attention to small details in his acting is brilliant and little moments where he worries about his age are, at times, heart breaking. The rest of the cast includes singer Darlene Love in a sweet performance as Mrs. Murtaugh and Gary Busey, who is very good as primary villain, Mr. Joshua.

The action is brilliantly choreographed, and each set piece is very intense. A few that standout in particular is the wild-west-like shootout towards the end, the bar shootout and of course the epic punch-off finale between Riggs and Joshua. Most of the actor did their own stunts in the film and each of them certainly put in their all to look well-trained in these scenes-and trust me, they do.

Its plot is a little too simple but that isn't the appeal here. The appeal is Gibson and Glover, having brilliant banter, learning to trust the other, killing bad guys and just having fun. This is entertainment at its very best.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters

*1/2 (out of 4)

106 mins/ PG

Cast: Logan Lerman, Alexandra Daddario, Douglas Smith, Leven Rambin, Brandon T. Jackson, Jake Abel, Anthony head, Stanley Tucci, Paloma Kwiatkowski, Nathan Fillion

Director: Thor Freudenthal

Plot: Percy Jackson and friends embark on a quest to the Sea of Monsters, more commonly known as the Bermuda Triangle, to retrieve a Golden Fleece which will restore safety to Camp Half-Blood.

JJ's Verdict: These days sequels usually go bigger and badder, which causes for a lot of criticism. The film probably took this into account and attempted a scale and story similar to the original Percy Jackson. What they have created however is a film that is a lower key to its predecessor, so much so that it just feels like a cheap direct-to-DVD sequel like many Disney films were given in the 90's. Of course when you criticise a film based on a book you are really criticising the book, but then you can make the argument that if the book is bad then why make it into a film. So I am going to review this film based on the film entirely. Now I've got through that, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is unambitious in its plot, uninteresting in its characters and full of forced and clichéd humour.

In this sequel to the popular Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Percy has to travel to the sea of monsters to seek a golden fleece that will bring safety to Camp Half-Blood after the camp was broken into by Luke, the son of Hermes. As he moves further on in his quest he discovers a plot to resurrect the evil Kronos who, if the plot is completed, could destroy all of Olympus.

In Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief as well its young leads, boasted a superb supporting cast of Sean Bean, Pierce Brosnan, Steve Coogan, Rosario Dawson, Catherine Keener, Kevin McKidd, Joe Pantoliano and Uma Thurman. In Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, none of these actors return and the well-known supporting cast consists of Stanley Tucci, Nathan Fillion and Anthony Head, with only Tucci being as well-known as the likes of Bean and Brosnan. This is the level of ambition in this sequel and frankly, it is very dull to watch. Where its predecessor faced Medussa, three-headed dogs, Hades and a minotaur, Sea of Monsters faces a mechanical bull, a blind Cyclops and Kronos and the Charybdis who are so easy to kill it is ridiculous.

In The Lightning Thief, it was all about Percy discovering the new world he had entered which was very interesting. Sea of Monsters however feels just like a textbook, everyday adventure for a simple-minded and boring teen boy and never really produces any thrills. It is well-paced and has just enough to keep you interested but fails to produce anything that will make you want to see it again. It looks good and although the CGI is obvious, it is still good and imaginative CGI. Since the original's release, Clash of the Titans, Immortals and Wrath of the Titans have all been released. Sea of Monsters tries to make Greek mythology its main point of interest but because of the Greek mythology overload we have received in the past two years it is frankly boring.

Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters goes against everything its predecessor did. This is little character development, boring settings and every twist is so clichéd and predictable. Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters is not the worst film of the summer. It is however the worst made film of the summer.

The Lone Ranger

***(out of 4)

149 mins/ 12

Cast: Johnny Depp, Armie Hammer, William Fichtner, Tom Wilkinson, Ruth Wilson, Helena Bonham Carter, James Badge Dale, Bryant Prince, Leon Rippy

Director: Gore Verbinski

Plot: Native American Tonto, tells the legend of John Reid – the lone ranger.

JJ's Verdict: From the producers, director, writer and star of Pirates of the Caribbean, it's impossible to avoid comparing it to the Lone Ranger. And, given that it is one of the most successful franchises ever, this film retains three things that audiences loved about Pirates. It looks good (like Pirates it is sometimes hard to see the CGI even if you know it is there), boasts Johnny Depp as its standout performer, and keeps that over-the-top fun that audiences love and welcome with open arms. It is just a shame then, that it's characters are undeveloped and underwritten and its plot is uneven and predictable.

The Lone Ranger is told in flashback by Native American Tonto while he is working at a Wild West funfair in 1933. His story dates back to 1869 where he teams up with John Reid, a mysterious lawman turned outlaw who 'has been to the other side' (i.e. escaped death.) The story follows the pair as Reid seeks justice for his brother's death and Tonto for the destruction of his home village. They then get mixed up in the corruptness of local businessman Cale and notorious fugitive Butch Cavendish as a railway track is being built through the whole of America – but not always fairly.

On its release in America, The Lone Ranger bombed at the box office and was mauled by most critics. Many have put this down to a poor marketing campaign and many critics giving negative reviews on the film's production disaster and big budget rather than the film itself. What I like about The Lone Ranger is that at no time does it feel a cheap cash-in on an old legend told many times before. The story although, I must confess, is very predictable seems like it has been well thought through and is full of twists and turns that almost, but not quite, work. There is no cheap CGI at work either, and the whole film looks rather stunning. The cinematography is beautiful and the CGI looks real and it is never obvious whether it is real or not which is something modern cinema sometimes lacks.

Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer make a brilliant partnership in this film and seem to have superb chemistry. Depp's slapstick comedy is some of the best that cinema boasts and his ability to take any character and make it his own is just outstanding. Although his bumbling and never too confident take on the character is an entirely new one, Armie Hammer still does a good job of trying to compete with Depp but really he doesn't have a chance. Helena Bonham Carter turns up for a few fun scenes, James Badge Dale gives a bold performance as John's brother and Tom Wilkinson and William Fichtner make one-dimensional but still excellent villains.

The film is full of brilliantly over-the-top and fun action pieces with the best taking place on two trains running side by side. In Pirates of the Caribbean, they did have these big set-pieces but always finished on the best and biggest which is something The Lone Ranger lacks. Its finale has a lot of build-up but is resolved all too quickly and has to receive my award for anti-climax of the summer. It's a shame because a big finale really could have made this something special.

It is uneven and poorly written but the brilliance of Johnny Depp and director Gore Verbinski manage to make The Lone Ranger a fun, if slightly halted, thrill-ride.

Kick-Ass 2

**(out of 4)

103 mins/ 15

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Leguizamo, Donald Faison, Robert Emms, Morris Chestnut, Clark Duke, Jim Carrey

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Plot: Kick-Ass joins a group of crime-fighting citizens in war against Red-Mist who is seeking revenge for his father's death.

JJ's Verdict: With Kick-Ass only making $100 million at the box office in 2010, many people would probably struggle to see why a sequel was made. Yes, it has done well in DVD and Blu-ray sales and was well received by critics but it is really clear to see in the film that a sequel was not needed. Where Kick-Ass felt detailed and original, Kick-Ass 2 feels cheap and repetitive and if you thought the first film glorified ultra-violence to the extreme, Kick-Ass 2 glorifies ultra- violence to the extreme in a comedic and totally unrealistic way with most of it performed on the good guys; not the bad guys, like Kick-Ass did (which makes that form of violence more accepted.)

In Kick-Ass 2, Dave Lizewski/Kick Ass joins a team of crime-fighting superheroes called Justice Forever. The group, led by former Mafia enforcer but born-again Christian Superhero Colonel Stars and Stripes, become targeted by Red-Mist, who is now known as the Mother******, as he seeks out revenge for his father's death. Hit-Girl has now given up crime fighting and is trying to become a normal teen girl and fit in at school. However, she starts to grave her old life and in doing so receives the wrath of her guardian, Marcus.

It is good that Kick-Ass is only an hour and forty minutes because even in its short length, runs out of material and ends up heavily repeating themes used in the original like taking off the mask and leaving it all behind (Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl both decide to do this about five times during the film and each time the film tries to make a big deal about it.) I'm okay with it happening once or twice but really, in this type of film, you know they are just going to end up with the mask back on and fighting baddies as usual. Saying this, the scenes where Mindy/Hit- Girl tries to fit back into civilisation are both emotional and heart-breaking but I think, due to the rest of the film being entirely unsympathetic, this is only because of Chloe Grace Moretz as an actress, not writer/director Jeff Wadlow.

It certainly looks good and all the different superhero costumes have been made with a lot of thought and detail. The scenes with the Justice Forever group are very funny, mainly down to Jim Carrey, who isn't playing anyone he's played before but an entirely new character who is rather hilarious. It is just a real shame that his character, Colonel Stars and Stripes, is completely wasted and has his screen time limited to about five minutes. The film is funny in parts but its humour is certainly not for everyone, with most of it being sexually orientated.

Jim Carrey was right. The film's main problem is its violence, not the content or the severity, but how it is used. It uses the most unrealistic violent scenes (complete with CGI blood) in a comic way and just expects you to laugh as the good guys and characters you sympathise with are slashed to bits and killed in the most shameless ways. If this was done realistically and in a serious way then I would be praising it and probably giving it a top review, but violence depicted in this way is just unacceptable in the world today. I am still wondering how the filmmakers could use an attempted violent rape scene as comedy entertainment.

Though never boring, Kick-Ass 2 does not kick-ass. With its recycled plot themes, horrible use of talented actors such as Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jim Carrey and Christopher Mintz-Plasse and horrifying depiction of 'fun' violence, Kick-Ass 2 is one summer film to avoid – unless you're a teen boy who relishes this kind of shameless violence which means you'll probably love it!

The World's End

*** (out of 4)

109 mins/ 15

Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Paddy Considine, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike, Steve Oram, Darren Boyd, Rafe Spall, David Bradley, Mark Heap, Michael Smiley, Julia Deakin, Mark Donavon, Pierce Brosnan, (voice) Billy Nighy

Director: Edgar Wright

Plot: Five old friends unite to complete the ultimate pub-crawl, only to have to escape an alien invasion.

JJ's Verdict: Wright, Pegg and Frost have done it again. After the very funny Shaun of the Dead and the sublime Hot Fuzz, this epic conclusion to 'The Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy' is… epic. It is probably the weakest in terms of storytelling and characters but god; it is funny.

Desperate to relive the days from his youth, Gary King (Simon Pegg) reunites four of his old schoolmates so that they can complete the ultimate pub-crawl that they failed twenty years earlier. Although they have changed and moved on, the four (Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Eddie Marsan, Paddy Considine) realise that Gary hasn't changed one bit and is still stuck in the glory days of the past. After the first few pints, the group find out that their old town of Newton Havenhas been taken over by blue-blooded robots. Despite their huge differences, the group are forced to carry on the pub-crawl so it looks like the robots don't know that they know.

In the first two films it was Pegg who played the reserved and more mature character and Frost who played the outgoing and shameless character but in The World's End the pair switch roles. In a plot which is a mix of Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, this is a welcome freshness to the story, which gives both actors great space to improvise. And the best thing about it is that it works. Pegg is brilliant as the outrageous and selfish Gary trying to relive his youth and Frost shows of his acting depth as the reluctant and very angry Andrew, but still gives us the old Frost we loved as he gets drunker and drunker.

The interplay and banter between the five leads is absolutely hilarious with everything from arguing about how many musketeers there were and random birth marks, to what to call the 'robots' (they end up as 'blanks') and having to deal with calling your old teacher by their first name. Although we know that Pegg and Frost can do comedy, Eddie Marsan and Paddy Considine have perfect comedic timing and create well-defined characters. Martin Freeman is probably the weakest of the five but this is probably because of his lack of screen time or focus on the character.

Like its predecessors the action is brilliant – I mean, who ever thought Nick Frost doing Matrix style jumps and smashing robot's heads open with barstools could be so funny. The CGI is also pretty good for a comedy, if used very weirdly. Also like Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, The World's End has some superb cameos and small roles from a host of stars. Rosamund Pike, David Bradley, Rafe Spall, Pierce Brosnan and Billy Nighy all appear in some shape or form. Because of the role swap for Pegg and Frost, the characters they create aren't anywhere near as likable as those in Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz. You still want them to survive but the fact of the matter is that for the majority of the film they're just not nice people.

It does sometimes border on depressing and it's ending is surprisingly downbeat, but The World's End embraces it silliness and stupidity to the point that the ending doesn't matter because you're still laughing so hard from something that happened five minutes ago. Its themes of growing up and change are well brought up and mixed together incredibly well with Pegg and Wright's witty script. This is pure comedy from the heart and Pegg, Frost and Wright have created the best comedy trilogy of all time (although there aren't actually that many to rival it!) Also watch out for a divine Cornetto wrapper towards the film's end.

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves

***(out of 4)

143 mins/ PG

Cast: Kevin Costner, Morgan Freeman, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Christian Slater, Alan Rickman, Geraldine McEwan, Michael McShane, Brian Blessed, Michael Wincott, Nick Brimble, Sean Connery

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Plot: After Robin returns from the Crusades, he trains up a band of merry men to fight against the tyranny of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

JJ's Verdict: In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, we may have awfully cheesy dialogue but with ridiculous amounts of fun and epic swashbuckling that Robin Hood should always be.

In the Hollywood version of Robin Hood, we have the traditional story we have always loved with one or two aspects tweaked for good effect - no silly sub-plots like Ridley Scott's 2010 version. Robin returns from the crusades with a Muslim warrior Azeem and finds his father dead, and that the Sheriff of Nottingham is plotting to take the crown from the absent Richard the Lionheart. From here, Robin and Azeem come across a band of men, driven from their homes by Nottingham. Whilst also entertaining Lady Marian, the King's cousin, Robin and Azeem train the local villagers to into an army to fight and rise up against the dictatorship of the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Yes, Kevin Costner and Christian Slater's accents stink, but Prince of Thieves is so much fun. From its heroic theme tune and Bryan Adams epic power ballad, to its dazzling, swashbuckling sword waving and total charm, this is probably the finest and most accomplished action/adventure film since Indiana Jones. The ambushes are all brilliantly set-up and choreographed and all the characters are great fun. Kevin Costner brings charm and strong patriotism to his role, and has great chemistry with Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio's Lady Marian. Morgan Freeman is his usual knowledgeable self and Alan Rickman is just brilliantly over-the-top as the evil Sheriff of Nottingham. Christian Slater's character does at first seem like an arrogant idiot but even he grows on you. Geraldine McEwan's fortune-telling witch is the only character who actually doesn't work.

There isn't much to its actual plot but Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is an absolute (if incredibly cheesy) blast. It has a thrilling action finale and to top it all off, Sean Connery appears at the end as King Richard. Harmless fun!

Robin Hood

**(out of 4)

140 mins/ 12

Cast: Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Max von Sydow, William Hurt, Mark Strong, Oscar Isaac, Danny Huston, Eileen Atkins, Mark Addy, Matthew Macfadyen, Kevin Durand, Scott Grimes, Alan Doyle, Douglas Hodge, Lea Seydoux, Mark Lewis Jones, Simon McBurney

Director: Ridley Scott

Plot: Robin Longstride, disguised as Sir Robert Loxley, leads a rebellion against bad King John.

JJ's Verdict: As a massive fan of the story itself, the recent BBC TV series and all the film versions, I really wanted to like Ridley Scott's Robin Hood. With its superb cast and seriousness, I really thought we were finally going to get the definitive version of Robin Hood. However, the film tries to put the famous myth into actual British history, which is where this film ultimately fails (along with plenty of other stuff too).

This adaptation of the 'Hood' is an origin story, telling us how he became the arrow-firing outlaw he is known as today. After returning from the Crusades with the crown of the dead King Richard, Robin Longstride travels to Nottingham under the name of Sir Robert of Loxley, a knight who died by Robin's side. Under heavy pursuit by the evil Sir Godfrey, who is in league with the French, Robin takes refuge at the house of Lady Marion Loxley and Sir Walter Loxley, an old friend of his father. Posing as Marion's late husband, he leads the local men of Nottingham and its surrounding towns in an uprising against King John and Sir Godfrey.

What will aggravate so many viewers is the film's decision to present the old myth of Robin Hood (the truth of which has been heavily debated) as fact and pt it behind the making of the Magna Carta and other historic events during the 12th century. If this was a fun or tongue-in-cheek version like those before, you could forgive it, but this film is so deadly serious that you feel it must be trying to say this is the truth – which is just stupid!

It does, however, look real. The sets are wonderfully designed, as are the costumes, and the few battle scenes there are feel very realistic and are well choreographed. All of the accents are British (compared to other adaptations), even if they're not the correct regions. The acting itself is mainly very good. Russell Crowe brings a silent charm and charisma to Robin, if still keeping his Gladiator grittiness. The supporting cast is tremendous and the likes of Max von Sydow, William Hurt and Danny Huston all give brilliant turns in small but significant roles. The modern Hollywood go-to guy for villains, Mark Strong, is pure evil and British television actor Mark Addy is very funny as Friar Tuck. Cate Blanchett is the film's definite miscast. She does her best in an underwritten role, but she comes across too bossy and masculine to come across as your typical Marion. Some may think it is a good twist, but I'm fed up with characters like hers being depicted as being more skilled in sword fighting than men, when in reality the chances are very slim. Not only does it have the no-nonsense heroine cliché, but every tired and overused action and war film cliché ever written with stuff like every single character getting involved in the finale, despite in reality, would never be able to hold a sword the right way round let alone kill people with it, and two people kissing in the middle of a battlefield while everyone beside you is still fighting for their lives.

As if the cliché's weren't tiring enough, this film wins my awards for both 'slowest film of the year' and 'film that only gets going in the final ten minutes of the year.' And that sums up why this film, ultimately fails. Despite being historically bad, if Ridely Scott had made this a fun and entertaining swashbuckler I wouldn't be complaining. But every scene is so long and fails to hold your attention. The pacing is all over the place and when you think it is finally going to start to pick up the pace, it slows even further down

It does come in for a wonderful final battle scene, but Robin Hood is a clichéd and inaccurate bore. Robin Hood? More like Robin' you off two and a half hours of your life.

The Wolverine

**1/2 (out of 4)

126 mins/ 12

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetiana Khodchenkova, Brian Tee, Hal Yamanouchi, Will Yun Lee, Ken Yamamura, Famke Janssen, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart

Director: James Mangold

Plot: Wolverine is forced to examine life as an immortal when he is offered the chance to become a normal and mortal human being.

JJ's Verdict: The first two thirds of The Wolverine are terrific. It has great entertaining and well- paced action sequences with some actual meaning, but isn't afraid to slow down to develop the characters and storyline. Hugh Jackman gives a strong and more mature portrayal of Logan/Wolverine and the supporting cast shows off some of the best upcoming Asian actors and actresses. It takes a bold leap and tries not to be your typical summer blockbuster. It is a real shame then, that the final half-an hour or so, has meaningless action, silly twists and turns and really just dissolves into generic blockbuster madness.

Taking place after the events of the original X-Men trilogy, The Wolverine follows Logan living life alone, still haunted by the death of his lover Jean Grey. But when he is summoned to Japan to say goodbye to a dying old friend, he gets much more than he bargained for. The friend offers to end Logan's immortality by swapping it with his mortality. From here, although Logan rejects the offer, he begins to struggle with the thought of living forever and watching everyone he knows age and die while he continues to live as a youthful immortal. While with his old friend, he gets mixed up in his family threats and arguments as wills and legacies are discussed. And after they remove Logan's healing powers without his consent, he goes on a quest to win it back and save the woman he has fallen in love with.

The Wolverine is definitely the most mature of the X-Men films. Although they have all had a dark and sometimes bleak tone, they were never depressing. But here, Logan's obsession with Jean Grey and his struggle with no healing and immortality are a massive part of this film. I, for one, praise the film for embracing these elements of Logan's troubled life. Despite marketing the film for children, adults will probably enjoy it more.

Hugh Jackman puts in his most emotional portrayal of Logan yet and ups his character's anger and roughness but still keep the mutant we loved in the X-Men trilogy. Not only does his character develop extremely well throughout the film, but even in the action sequences Jackman is acting instead of just fighting aimlessly. While on the subject of action sequences, the earlier ones are brilliant set-pieces all on a large scale and director James Mangold takes full advantage of the Japan setting to create some truly memorable fight scenes. One scene, which is probably my contender for action sequence of the year, is one on top of a train travelling at 300mph. The camera-work is brilliant as is the choreography and effects to create a very intense scene. The rest of the cast, which is mainly full of native Japanese actors and actresses, is very good. The two female leads, Tao Okamoto and Rila Fukishima, are excellent in what are actually film debuts for both of them. While X-Men: The Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine had too many random mutants, in this film there are only two others in the main storyline of the film. One, Rila Fukishima's fortuneteller Yukio, is brilliantly focused on and developed as she copes with her mutation. The other mutant is Svetlana Khodchenkova's Viper, who is unfortunately the film's weakest character. She comes across as freaky and weird and frankly, you do not wish to see her on screen. Her role in the film is predictable and compared to the other characters, there is nothing to her except being able to spit acid in people's faces.

After a mature and dark character study, you would hope they wouldn't ruin it with a lagging and meaningless massive action scene in which each hero is about to die but is then miraculously saved by a friend at the last moment and each villain looks certain to die but somehow they can get straight back up again. It seems the writers ran out of ideas fro the last half an hour so just decided to try and complicate things by having silly and unneeded twists and continuous unrealistic action for about ten minutes straight.

The Wolverine is a fantastic character study of scarred man dealing with so many problems in his life. It is just a shame it runs out of steam at the end and presents us with a very poor and film- ruining final act. Make sure to stay behind for a credits scene involving two original trilogy enemies who are credited above.

It's a Wonderful Life

***1/2 (out of 4)

130 mins/ U

Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, Beulah Bondi, Frank Faylen, Ward Bond, Gloria Grahame, H.B Warner, Frank Albertson, Todd Karns, Samuel S. Hinds

Director: Frank Capra

Plot: An angel shows a charming, likable but frustrated man what life would have been like if he had not lived.

JJ's Verdict: What makes It's a Wonderful Life so special is that, although we see what the world could be like if George Bailey never lived, it is so personal. Bailey could be anyone. He isn't very successful or particularly rich, he's just your average everyday gentleman who, like everyone, has touched and influenced so many lives. It shows that everyone has worth in life and that we should never throw that away.

In It's a Wonderful Life, we have James Stewart's George Bailey who, like I mentioned before, is your average small-town American gentlemen. Kind, friendly and helpful and always looking out for others around him. This is also his weakness, because he sacrifices so many of his life ambitions like travelling the world to save the local people of Bedford Hills from the tycoon that is Lionel Barrymore's Henry Potter. Because he never reached these goals and spends most of his time fighting off the advances of Mr. Potter to seize the town, he becomes tired of life and extremely cynical. For a man so loved by the local people, George felt very unappreciated for all the sacrifices he had made throughout his life. So when his Uncle Billy misplaces an important $8,000 cheque and the bank examiner discovers this, George begins a rampage across town and finally ends up at a bridge, ready to end his life.

However, just as he is about to jump in, an angel appears, ready to show him his life's true meaning and prevent him from going through with his plan. The angel does this by showing George what life would have been like had he not existed. Of course, his family and friends all turn out worse off and the town had been fully taken over and commercialised by Mr. Potter. James Stewart, although very good as the charming but reluctant and living George Bailey, is perfect as the never lived George Bailey, and his scenes where he discovers life without him are emotionally devastating and Stewart makes you feel for his character throughout. Donna Reed is superb as George's loving and caring wife Mary as are the rest of a huge supporting cast that includes Lionel Barrymore, Henry Travers and Thomas Mitchell.

Although it's ending fails to create as big an emotional impact as it promises to, (still a pretty good impact but you just expect more) It's a Wonderful Life is an uplifting masterpiece which just gets better on every viewing. Most people say this is the perfect Christmas movie or the perfect movie to watch if you're depressed, but I say the perfect movie to watch anytime and whatever mood you're in.

Pacific Rim

** (out of 4)

131 mins/ 12

Cast: Charlie Hunnam, Diego Klattenhoff, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr., Ron Perlman

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Plot: A 'has-been' pilot and vulnerable first-timer are teamed up to man a robot in the war between humans and sea monsters rages on.

JJ's Verdict: After seeing posters and trailers for pacific Rim one would think bad acting, good action. However, it is almost the complete opposite here.

In Pacific Rim, we have another silly post-apocalypse story, and although the idea of them coming from the sea is good, this storyline has been overused so many times. Most of the action takes place around ten years after the first alien event with the world almost at its end. To fight the sea aliens, Kaijus, humans create giant robots called Jaegers, which are controlled by two humans whose minds are melted together. The film follows pilots Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi) as they try to put an end to Kaiju existence. The plot although seems very complicated is actually so simple that the main character explains it to us in about one minute. Although you would think the film just wants to get this out of the way so that they can show us robots fighting monsters, it doesn't and we are treated to about forty-five minutes of plot-thin arguing and confrontation.

The acting is top-notch, especially from Brits Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba who are in the two lead roles however Travis Beacham and Guillermo del Toro's dialogue is incredibly cheesy and includes every clichéd and over-used line in film that you can think of. Ron Perlman, who plays black market dealer Hannibal Chau, is the film's best feature. Although only on screen for little more than a few minutes, he creates a character you can instantly recognise and gives a superb comic touch to his role.

The main attraction is, disappointingly, the film's weakest part. Although it looks like Guillermo del Toro had a blast designing the robots and monsters, the novelty and coolness of them wears off after a few minutes when we still have a whole film full of them. The action scenes themselves, although well set-up, suffer from the same things that Man of Steel's action scenes did. They show little emotion and are so long and dialogue-less that they become meaningless to the viewer. No matter no epic they are, this is a summer blockbuster and you know the good guys are going to win. The action all takes place at night and, although I have nothing against night action scenes, the lighting is poor so you struggle to see what's going on. The noise level these scenes make can be unbearable and you just wish that, at times, you just wish the camera would zoom out so you can get a better look at what's going on.

Although it looks good and has a superb performance from Idris Elba, Pacific Rim desperately needs to work on its narrative.

Unstoppable

*** (out of 4)

98 mins/ 12

Cast: Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Ethan Suplee, Kevin Dunn, Kevin Corrigan, Kevin Chapman, Lew Temple, T.J Miller, Jessy Schram, David Warshofsky, Elizabeth Umberger, Meagan Tready

Director: Tony Scott

Plot: An ageing engineer and a rookie conductor go chasing an unmanned train full of dangerous chemicals, that is hurling towards a heavy populated city at high speeds.

JJ's Verdict: If you can get past the completely dull, motionless and totally boring first half an hour, you are rewarded with some great performances from Chris Pine and Denzel Washington, intense train chases and a thrill ride like no other.

Unstoppable is about a veteran train engineer and his first day on the job conductor who decide to chase after an unmanned freight train full of toxic and explosive materials which was accidentally left alone on full power . Unless the train can be stopped and slowed down, it will crash into a city of 100,000 population and cause mass destruction of lives and civilisation.

In Unstoppable, Denzel Washington and Tony Scott team up for the fifth time overall, after Crimson Tide, The Talking of the Pelham 1 2 3, Déjà vu and Man on Fire but their second train film together after 2007's The Talking of the Pelham 1 2 3. The film starts off very poor unfortunately. When watching a film about an unmanned train travelling at 80 mph and destroying everything in its path, we want to see that. However, we are only given about a minute in total at the start and in its place is some very slow dialogue scenes between Pine and Washington featuring boring train jargon and each playing stereo-typed versions of themselves. Some could say that director Tony Scott just does this to keep you waiting and interested in seeing the train. I personally believe that the early scenes are just bad. Pure and Simple. Despite this, when the chase does begin, it's like nothing you've ever seen before.

It takes an awful lot to upstage Denzel Washington and, while the Oscar winning 'Training Day' actor does well here, that freight train is the star of the show. With stunning camera-work and sharp editing used to his advantage, Tony Scott has created one of the most terrifying pieces of transport you're ever likely to see on film. The train itself defines fast and furious. All scenes that show attempts to slow it down are superbly choreographed and provide adrenaline- pumping thrills and entertainment.

Washington and Pine still show their worth towards the film's climax as they both face an emotional struggle to prevent the train from crashing and both make you care about their characters, which also down to clichéd but well-presented sub-plots. Rosario Dawson puts in a strong authoritative performance in the control room and there are brief but strong turns from Lew Temple and David Warshofsky.

Unstoppable is an intelligent thriller and superb, irresistible entertainment. It starts off poorly but you'll end up having a blast.

Monsters University

*** (out of 4)

104 mins/ U

Cast: (voices) Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina

Director: Dan Scanlon

Plot: Before they were incorporated, Mike and Sulley had to start somewhere.

JJ's Verdict: Although a direct prequel to Monsters, Inc., Monsters University is better viewed as an independent film, which has some links to its original material. This is because Monsters University glorifies the scarers and their scaring when it was of course proved at the end of Monsters, Inc. that more energy can be produced by laughter. Because of this it can feel rather awkward that all the film's characters, especially Mike, are pushing themselves to become the top scarers. Another reason why it links poorly to Inc. is the character continuity. Although we see Mike, Sulley and Randall (plus Roz and The Abominable Snowman in brilliant cameos) it would have been nice to find out how the likes of Fungus, Celia and Mr Waternoose got into Monsters, Inc. Vice-versa, almost all of the characters from University are new creations so of course do not turn up in Inc. It would have nice to see an explanation for their absences or for them to have just expanded on minor characters from Inc. Despite this, Monsters University is still another gem from Pixar which is helped by colourful animation and brilliant voice work from all the cast.

Monsters University follows Mike and Sulley as they become Scary Majors and attempt to graduate into Monsters, Inc. However, Mike is a hard working know-it-all but isn't scary and Sulley is scary and a total slacker. Because of their striking differences, they don't get along as much as they would like to. And after a massive argument before their final exam, they are both expelled from the university unless they can win the annual scare competition. Distanced and branded outcasts, the only people who will participate in their team are the very unscary Oozma Kappa monsters. From here Mike and Sulley have to train their misfit team to get through a series of Hunger Games style challenges so they can get back into the university.

Momsters University is definitely Pixar's best animated and best looking film but although it is full of charm and well-defined characters, lacks the same mix of humour aimed at both children and adults which made Monsters, Inc. so popular with all ages. Because of this, it won't be able to hold everyone's attention, especially due to the film being overlong. It is also a shame that there aren't as many characters from Inc. but don't fear because Pixar have created a fabulous new bunch of characters. The Ooozma Kappa group are the height of nerds but their actual potential is very funny. One member's controlling mother is one of the film's highlights. John Goodman and Billy Crystal provide superb voice-work once again, as does Steve Buscemi as a nerdy version of Randall Boggs. Helen Mirren, although looks good on paper to voice a strict and overpowering head teacher, sounds like she puts no effort whatsoever in giving her character any redeeming.

Mike and Sulley are once again the stars here. The friendship is beautiful as is Mike's unlimited ambition to be the world's greatest scarer. Monsters University is a poor prequel but a very good stand-alone film and the animated film of the year.

Apollo 13

**** (out of 4)

136 mins / PG

Cast: Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan, Mary Kate Schellhardt, Emily Ann Lloyd, Miko Hughes, Max Elliot Slade, Jean Speegle Howard, Chris Ellis, David Andrews, Joe Spano

Director: Ron Howard

Plot: Three astronauts on Apollo 13 must survive and return to Earth after the spacecraft begins to malfunction.

JJ's Verdict: What makes Apollo 13 greater than the majority of the 'based on a true story' is that the film is a true story. It takes very few liberties (only a few lines of dialogue) and in doing so, creates a genuine and realistic tone, which is certain to entertain anyone because each event depicted on screen actually happened.

Apollo 13 is the telling of the true story of three astronauts flying to the moon who are forced to abandon their mission and return to Earth after their spacecraft starts to play up and get rid of the majority of their oxygen supply. The three are forced to go to the most extreme survival techniques as Mission Control desperately attempt to find a way to get the trio back home before it is too late.

When watching Apollo 13, the film manages to wipe your mind of any previous opinions you had on whether you believe the story of the moon landings or not. When you are there in that moment watching it, you believe everything the film presents to you. You believe the 1969 moon landings and you believe that the failed Apollo 12 and 13 missions happened by accident; not intentionally sabotaged by the U.S government. It makes you want to find out about the mission itself and the people involved. It is only strong filmmaking that can do both of these to the viewer.

From the moment Tom Hanks utters those now immortal lines "Houston, we have a problem", Apollo 13 is no longer about a space mission. It is about the strength of humans and their will to survive when all seems lost and the worst might still be to come. It is about reflection on what could have been. If they had actually reached the moon.

The special effects are so subtle and real that you rarely notice them and you become engrossed in the crew's epic survival; not a special effects frenzy. If modern blockbusters did this then I am sure we would realise how shockingly horrendous they actually are as the wooden acting and poor dialogue and story would have nothing to hide behind. Today special effects are just there to disguise the film's weak points but in Apollo 13, Ron Howard doesn't even want or expects us to look at the special effects. Just the engrossing drama on centre-screen. This isn't to say special effects are bad. The Star Wars and Terminator are films are among my favourite. I just wish we could have more character dramas like Apollo 13 appealing to a mainstream audience and smashing box-offices records, not just effect driven sequels and spin-offs.

Not only does it have brilliant filmmakers but also, Apollo 13 is blessed with five of the best actors of their generation taking lead roles. Tom Hanks is Jim Lovell, all-American hero who ultimate goal is to reach the moon, Kevin Bacon is Jack Swigert, womanising charmer who is pulled in to Apollo 13 late, Bill Paxton is Fred Haise, arrogant on the outside but weak in the inside, Gary Sinise is ken Mattingly, lonely and insecure who is forced to abandon space program after getting the 'measles' and Ed Harris is Flight Director Gene Kranz, demanding of his co- workers and calmingly confident. Hanks, Bacon and Paxton all bring their own acting style to the equation and are all equally charming at the start but scared and worried at the end. Gary Sinise is perfectly cast a Mattingly who ended up having to give up his place on the mission. Sinise captures his characters loneliness and reluctance to accept his fate. Ed Harris' Gene Kranz is strong-minded and full-on and in doing so gives us an endlessly quotable character with lines like 'We've never lost an American in space, we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is not an option' and I don't care about what anything was designed to do, I care about what it can do.' Harris was in fact nominated for an Oscar for his role and would have won had it not been for Kevin Spacey's haunting performance in Bryan Singer's The Usual Suspects.

Apollo 13 is masterpiece of acting, design and storytelling. Almost all the dialogue is unaltered from actual events as are each and every scene. Ron Howard's masterpiece will leave you sweating in hope, despair and expectation. You'll question how they actually survived, but Apollo 13 happened and what better way to remember it than make a truly magnificent film about it. In fact, Apollo 13 isn't about the events but is the events. A magnificent achievement from everyone involved.

In the Loop

**1/2 (out of 4)

106 mins/ 15

Cast: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Chris Addison, Gina Mckee, Mimi Kennedy, Anna Chlumsky, James Gandolfini, Paul Higgins, David Rasche, James Smith, Olivia Poulet, Steve Coogan, Zach Woods, Alex MacQueen

Director: Armando Iannucci

Plot: The British Secretary of State for International Development, Simon Foster, has to travel to America to make amends after he accidentally encourages military action in the Middle East on live radio.

JJ's Verdict: The sad thing about In the Loop is that it is half hilarious political satire and half deep drama trying to make you feel sorry for unsympathetic characters. If it was just a political satire then it could be the film of 2009. Unfortunately it wobbles between two tones extremely awkwardly.

In the Loop is a political satire about the joint British and American discussions to proceed with war in the Middle East. Stuck in the middle of these discussions are Cabinet Minister Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), his young and inexperienced assistant Toby Wright (Chris Addison) and the shameless, sweary Director of Communications, Malcom Tucker (Peter Capaldi). After messing up an anti-war speech on the radio, Foster has to travel to Washington to convince the Americans the British don't want a war. However, as Foster and his bumbling assistant continue to mess-up and say and do the wrong thing, the pair suddenly become popular because of their supposed pro-war views (of course wrongly interpreted).

Although the three main actors work very well together with a very good script, the satire itself depicts all members of both governments as complete idiots and fails to give us characters we can warm to. It can also be hard to comprehend what war they are actually debating and technical terms and an overload of characters both sides of the Atlantic can be very confusing. There are some funny supporting roles like James Gandolfini's pervert general and Steve Coogan's angry man who almost gets Foster sacked over a collapsing wall, which the Secretary of State won't fix. But the funniest role is for Peter Capaldi who reprises his role of Malcolm Tucker from BBC television series 'The Thick of It'. It is the hilarious antics of Capaldi's insulting and sweary Director of Communications who holds this film together but even his character's constant shouting and screaming can become a little dull towards the film's climax. Tom Hollander and Chris Addison have good chemistry but like Capaldi they drag on and you end up not caring about them.

There are some genuinely laugh-out-loud moments but they are too infrequent to cover-up a smart but very tired and confusing satire with an overload of names and characters. Capaldi and Hollander shine but the fact that I would actually prefer a film where they just sit in a room and bark insults at each other shows off how thin this film really is.

Liar Liar

**1/2 (out of 4)

86 mins/ 12

Cast: Jim Carrey, Maura Tierney, Justin Cooper, Cary Elwes, Anne Haney, Jennifer Tilly, Amanda Donohoe, Jason Bernard, Swoosie Kurtz, Mitch Ryan, Christopher Mayer, Eric Pierpoint

Director: Tom Shadyac

Plot: A boy of 5 wishes his father would stop lying and his wish comes true, with varying consequences.

JJ's Verdict: Jim Carrey, at his rubber-faced best (or worst if you hate it, like me), manages to create a sweet and loving film that would actually be better off without him. The majority of his films are just vehicles for him with little plot, but this role wasn't written for him and actually has a good plot which Carrey unfortunately distracts you from.

Liar Liar focuses on Carrey's Fletcher Redde, a fast-talking and outgoing lawyer who is ready to lie to win his case as quick as a flash. So when he lets down his 5- year-old son (Justin Cooper) yet again, making many lies in the process, the boy makes a birthday wish to prevent his dad from lying for a whole day. This wish comes true without any explanation and becomes problematic for Fletcher as he cannot lie during a case where the woman he is defending is certainly in the wrong. It is kind of ironic for Fletcher that although some aspects of his life go horribly wrong, his relationship with his son and wife improves drastically.

Carrey, although he puts a huge amount of effort into the film, is just not funny when he goes into his ridiculous and over-the-top physical humour mode. Although it works when he is playing around with his son, it is just not a normal thing someone would do. He flaps his arms like crazy and pulls off almost impossible facial expressions but I'm afraid he just isn't funny. In fact the only time he is funny, is a scene where he isn't jumping around everywhere but just talking. I wish he would do more of it because he is actually a very funny guy which shows off in the worryingly hilarious credits (worrying because it is probably the best part of the film).

Liar Liar is a loving and actually quite cute film, which also gives us some decently entertaining court scenes. It is just a shame its lead actor doesn't suit the role he is given.

Monsters, Inc.

***1/2 (out of 4)

92 mins/ U

Cast: (voice) John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs, Steve Buscemi, James Coburn, Jennifer Tilly, Rob Peterson, John Ratzenberger, Frank Oz

Directors: Pete Docter, David Silverman, Lee Unkrich

Plot: In Monstropolis, Monsters generate energy by scaring human children in their beds at night, but when one escapes her bed and enters the city, two scarers called Mike and Sulley have to hide her to prevent the rest of the monsters from knowing. Why? Monsters believe children are contaminated.

JJ's Verdict: Monsters, Inc. is one of the first films both children and adults can relate to. I can almost be certain that everyone in the world was once sure that there were monsters hiding in their rooms. It is funny, imaginative and full of lovable characters. The city of Monstropolis, unknown to the human world, creates all their energy from the screams of small children as designated scarers creep into their bedroom's every night. What humans don't know is that the monsters are as scared of the children as the children are of them. So when top scarer Sulley (John Goodman) and his assistant Mike (Billy Crystal) accidentally let a young girl loose and into the city, the pair have to try and return her to her 'door' while not letting anyone know how or who let her out.

Monsters, Inc. is a magnificent creation from Pixar. The depth of imagination and creativity is a delight and director Pete Docter should be congratulated for one of the most original children's film of all time. Each tiny detail in the animation is so precise and the world of Monstropolis is just breathtaking, as are the small insignificant characters that pop up along the way. It could only be Pixar that can actually create a film that has both hilarious verbal and physical/slapstick humour and it seems everyone involved can such a brilliant time working on the film. It seems like Billy Crystal and John Goodman were actually there in the animation and their characters have such great chemistry. Steve Buscemi is perfectly cast as Sulley's scare rival Randall, a slimy and slithering chameleon, who is always up to no good. Also in the voice cast are Pixar regular John Ratzenberger who plays the actually very nice Abominable Snowman, 'The Great Escape' star James Coburn who plays Mike and Sulley's boss Mr. Waternoose and voice of Yoda and Miss Piggy, Frank Oz who plays Randall's weak assistant Fungus. When people think of Monsters, Inc. they think of Mike and Sulley as the best team-up but the loving relationship between Mike and Boo, the little girl who enters Monstropolis , is the films finest part in terms of emotion, care and utter cuteness. John Goodman really put his all into this film.

Monsters, Inc., although very slow is enough to hold your attention and finishes on an excellent final chase scene which is genuinely threatening. Kids will adore it and adults will also love it with amusing pop culture references to Metropolis, Psycho, Tootsie, The Right Stuff, Toy Story, Fargo, Starship Troopers and Armageddon among others. And stay tune for an excellent credits scene.

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

*** (out of 4)

91 mins/ U

Cast: (voice) Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Queen Latifah, Will Arnett, Jay Leno, Chris Wedge

Director: Carlos Saldanha

Plot: Manny, Sid and Diego discover the world is melting and travel to find safety.

JJ's Verdict: Ice Age 2: The Meltdown is everything the sequel to Ice Age should be. It improved its weaknesses (better animation, characters looking more alive and emotional), kept its best parts (scrat running after all his acorns, great jokes between 3 mains) and added its own 'extras' (new characters, threatening situations, interesting sub-plots).

Ice Age 2 returns us to Manny the mammoth, Sid the sloth and Diego the sabre-tooth tiger who have now become firm friends. Their relationship's start to become strained when they discover that the ice is melting and begin a evacuation process, helping other animals get away. Although in the previous film Sid was portrayed as the weak character, the other two animals face their demons in a much more mature sequel. Diego is frightened of water and, more importantly, Manny believes he is the last of his species and is trying to come to terms with this. However, when Manny does discover a female mammoth (Queen Latifah) she thinks she is not a mammoth but a possum like her two younger 'brothers'. Although her ignorance can be incredibly annoying, it is used to good effect and becomes resolved fairly quickly.

Of course the brilliant Scrat the squirrel returns to find more acorns and once again fails to come out with any. He encounters piranhas and actually causes the original meltdown early on in the film.

Apart from the female mammal and her two possums, there are some fun new characters. We have Jay Leno's Fast Tony who tries to capitalise on the meltdown by selling survival equipment that obviously will never work and a 'lone ranger' vulture voiced by Arrested Development's Will Arnett who constantly reminds the group he will eat them if they don't escape the meltdown. There are also two ancient crocodile type characters that are constantly chasing the group and put them in fun and exciting action sequences and threatening situations.

Ice Age 2: The Meltdown is a near-complete sequel. It may be predictable throughout but not for its target audience. It ends on a heroic and bold note and what everyone wanted; Scrat having one more acorn adventure.

A Serious Man

***1/2 (out of 4)

106 mins/ 15

Cast: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Fred Melamed, Sari Lennick, Aaron Wolff, Jessica McManus, Peter Breitmayer, Simon Helberg

Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Plot: A Jewish Midwestern physics professor's life slowly falls apart through little but significant events.

JJ's Verdict: Like the majority of the Coen brother's films, A Serious Man doesn't really follow a plot or storyline. It is more just a series of interconnecting events that then lead to a sharp, to- the-point ending, which can be taken in many different ways.

A Serious Man is set in 1960's Midwestern America and focuses on Larry Gopnik, a Jewish physics professor. The film follows his life as small and mainly insignificant events all add up to big and significant and his life sinks into darkness and misery. The film is full of larger than life and annoying (in the circumstances) characters brilliantly invented by the Coen brothers. Larry Gopnik is serious man. He just wants a peaceful life but his dysfunctional family halts this. The Coen brothers manage to create an amazing world in which Larry seems the only normal person. His wife is manipulative, demanding and secretive. She decides to divorce Larry and forces him to agree. Her lover, Sy Ableman, is arrogant and totally in your face. The fact that everyone around town is shocked that his wife would pick Sy Ableman over him is timeless. His son, nearing Barmitzvah age, is sweary, drug-taking and expects his father to do everything for him and his daughter is moody, shouty and constantly steals money from her father's wallet. To make matters worse he has to cope with his brother 'Uncle 'Albert who is completely anti-social and gay (illegal in the 60's).

Larry also has tensions at work as his Asian student attempts to bribe him so that his marks can rise. His job is constantly under threat and is visited daily by a member of the tenure committee who asks him about life and then jumps some comment about him being sacked or not on him. One of his neighbours is sexy and seductive and Larry has to cope with fending her off despite his feelings for him and the other neighbour is genuinely scary and the two are always arguing about the boundary line between their homes.

Michel Stuhlbarg puts in a career best performance as Larry and the rest of the cast, although mainly unknown debutants are incredibly good. The Coen brothers recreation of 1960's suburban Jewish America is just superb as is cinematographer Roger Deakins efforts.

It seems that only Joel and Ethan Coen can create comedy in even the darkest moments and make their main characters go through complete hell right from start to finish. This is what the first two third's of the film is. Perfectly timed black comedy. It's just a shame that towards the end, the Coen brothers get too bogged down in giving this film a meaning when really; the audience doesn't need it (before this they had a near perfect film). Being about a Jewish man, they try to add Jewish (and also Christian) meanings and morals, which can just confuse the hell out of people with a lack of theological knowledge. Even for someone of the faith, I struggled to grasp a good concept of it. You can just watch it as it is on the surface though; another brilliant black comedy film from the Coen brothers.

The Proposal

**1/2 (out of 4)

108 mins/ 12

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Mary Steenburgen, Craig T. Nelson, Betty White, Denis O'Hare, Malin Akerman, Oscar Nunez, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Nouri

Director: Anne Fletcher

Plot: A ruthless boss forces her young male assistant to marry her, so she can avoid deportation to Canada.

JJ's Verdict: Like many romantic comedies, The Proposal has a good original concept but ends up just like any other film in its genre. It is clichéd, formularic but benefits greatly from the superb chemistry between Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

The Proposal is about Margaret Tate, a pushy and ruthless boss who forces her young male assistant, Andrew Paxton, to marry her so that she can escape deportation to Canada. They both negotiate deals in their relationship and after their marriage they decide they will divorce straight after if Margaret comes with Andrew to meet his parents in Alaska. From here their relationship unintentionally blossoms and they discover their true feelings for each other. The match-up of Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds is brilliant and their awkwardness is just superb, as is Reynolds' character's complete weakness to stand-up to her and easy to manipulate personality. They attempt to outdo each other throughout the film and it is, in a way, nice to see how their relationship develops.

Reynolds' family is suitably embarrassing, especially Betty White's grandma Annie along with Mary Steenburgen and Craig T. Nelson's mum and dad.

The main stumbling block in this film is not the characters but the lack of plot movement or variation out of the ordinary, which makes way for a slow paced second half of the film. The premise is there but the majority of the film is just 'coincidental' events bringing them closer together. Sandra Bullock although very good as her bossy character, seems strange as a complete character contrast later in the film when her character changing to a loving sympathetic fiancé. A scene in which she raps with Betty White is completely ridiculous and silly.

The film as a whole is enjoyable, light entertainment but once again an excellent romantic- comedy concept has been ruined by the filmmakers strong desire to stick to the same old boring formula.

Madagascar

*** (out of 4)

86 mins/ PG

Cast: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric the Entertainer, Andy Richter, Tom McGrath, Elisa Gabrielli

Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath

Plot: A group of animals break out of their zoo to reach the wild but accidentally end up on the tropical island of Madagascar.

JJ's Verdict: Madagascar is a funny and child-friendly animation bursting with vibrant colours and characters. Its ensemble of recognisable voices add brilliant realism to their characters and makes this film a joy from start to finish.

Madagascar centres on animals living in New York Central Zoo, most of which are striving to something greater than being attractions in a zoo. The animals are Ben Stiller's Alex the lion, who likes his status as king of the zoo, Chris Rock's Marty the zebra, who strives to visit the wild, David Schwimmer's Melman the giraffe, who doesn't really care who he is, Jada Pinkett Smith's Gloria the hippopotamus, who is the mummy of the group, a group of secret agent-like penguins who have been trying to escape the zoo for years and two posh monkeys who enjoy reading newspapers and drinking cups of tea. All these characters have clearly defined characteristics, which, for a kid's animation, is exactly what you want. The penguins are particularly funny. They speak in mafia-like voices, make slick movements and a cool piece of music is played whenever they come on screen.

After escaping from the zoo, the animals are caught by an angry and violent granny in a wonderfully animated Grand Central Station and then put on a boat to be deported. Not wanting to give up hopes, the secret agent penguins begin a brilliant operation to hijack the boat but after a lot of confusion and animals overboard, everyone ends up on the island of Madagascar. Here they encounter over the top and eccentric King Julien of the Lemurs who is suitably voiced by Sacha Baron Cohen. After gaining the lemurs friendship, the animals have to come to terms with their ordeal and try to escape Madagascar.

The film is bursting with unusual and original characters and the animation is both fun and colourful. It is incredibly silly and actually too short (usually today films are too long) as there were definitely more sub-plots the film could have gone into. But Madagascar endless sense of fun will capture children's minds in what is probably the animated film of 2005.

Ice Age

*** (out of 4)

81 mins/ U

Cast: (voice) Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Goran Visnjic, Jack Black, Cedric the Entertainer, Stephen Root, Diedrich Bader, Alan Tudyk, Chris Wedge

Directors: Carlos Saldanha, Chris Wedge

Plot: A sabre-tooth tiger, a sloth and a mammoth come together to return a human child to its tribe in the Ice Age.

JJ's Verdict: Ice Age is a talky, fun but poor looking animation set in the times of the deep freeze. Although it includes many other animals, the film centres mainly on a charming but vicious sabre-tooth tiger, a lively but irritating sloth and a miserable and cynical mammoth who are forced to join each other in a quest to return a lost human infant back to its tribe.

Ice Age is full of brilliant voice work from Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary who all clearly define their animal's characteristics and have excellent chemistry with one and other. This was a must in a film with poor and unrealistic CGI animation that not only gives little effect to the backdrops and landscapes but also gives the characters few facial expressions and emotions.

Apart from the main trio, there is also an excellent independent character in Scrat, an acorn- chasing squirrel. Scrat is entirely there to be laughed at and as lightning, an avalanche, and glacier and ice cracking prevent Scrat from his acorns, you can only sit there in hysterics. Although the verbal humour is funny, the physical, slapstick humour can get tiring to watch and most of the 'action' sequences turn out to be somewhat anti-climaxes.

Ice Age is an emotionally advanced kids film with very strong themes of friendship and divided loyalty but it's just a shame that it has to come through the voice-actors – not the animation.

Beethoven

**1/2 (out of 4)

87 mins / U

Cast: Charles Grodin, Bonnie Hunt, Dean Jones, Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile, Sarah Rose Karr, Oliver Platt, Stanley Tucci, David Duchovny, Patricia Heaton, Joseph Gordon- Levitt

Director: Brian Levant

Plot: A family adopt a big St Bernard dog only for it to cause complete havoc for the dad but endless fun for the kids.

JJ's Verdict: Beethoven is a warm, big-hearted film for all the family but as a comedy fails to actually hit some funny moments – unless you find a massive dog running round a house and weeing everywhere funny.

It centres on a young family led by a grumpy Charles Grodin, which also includes caring mother Bonnie Hunt, and dog-loving children Nicholle Tom, Christopher Castile and Sarah Rose Karr. When a small puppy appears in their house unattended, the family decides to adopt it (after some arguing) and name it Beethoven (again, after some arguing.) What they don't realise is that the dog will grow into a huge slobbering St Bernard who will steal everyone's food, wee all over the house and cause depression for Charles Grodin's George Newton. However lovable the dog is, you can't help but despair as the dog runs round causing havoc to people's lives and destroying their home. The dog is completely unrealistic, as it seems more intelligent than any human being. There is however, a nice montage of the dog causing mess to the backdrop of 'Roll Over Beethoven', which uses good camera-work from the dog's perspective.

Charles Grodin puts in a fine portrayal of a strained father trying to please his family and the child actors are surprisingly good. Dean Jones, who plays Herman Varnick, an evil vet who wants to kill Beethoven, is a good cast but plays his villainous character very over the top.

The constant slapstick humour and violence can be annoying, and the dog just leaves dreadful destruction in its path, but Beethoven is a warm family film with strong themes on looking at the bigger picture and doing the right thing.

Now You See Me

***1/2 (out of 4)

115 mins/ 12

Cast: Jessie Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Michael Kelly, Lonnie 'Common' Lynn, David Warshofsky

Director: Louis Leterrier

Plot: The FBI chase a group of magicians who steal money as part of their tricks and then give it to the audience.

JJ's Verdict: Now You See Me is not only about magic; but uses magical distractions and false clues to lead you to believe something is going to happen when almost the opposite does. It creates brilliant illusions through both the camera-work and the acting. Now You See Me is the coolest, smartest, slickest and probably best acted film you'll see all summer.

Now You See Me focuses on a group of arrogant, over-confident magicians, called 'The Four Horsemen', who perform amazing tricks involving robbing banks and giving all the money to their audience. But when the FBI finds out about their magnificent heist, the two groups begin a cat-and-mouse chase across the U.S as the FBI agents try to find out how the illusionists are pulling the tricks off – with the help of Morgan Freeman's trick-spoiler, Thaddeus Bradley. The group of magicians, (played by Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher and Dave Franco) although pretty cool, are completely arrogant and laid-back and the FBI agents (played by Mark Ruffalo, Melanie Laurent, Michael Kelly, Lonnie Lynn and David Warshofsky), although more down-to-Earth, are completely stupid and slow-minded. From here we get two groups of characters who both have strong points and both have bad points, so its full marks to the makers of the film that they are given an equal share of the screen time, and the film lets you decide who to root for.

'The Four Horsemen' all have brilliant chemistry and all work extremely well as a unit– you believe they are actually in a group together. Mark Ruffalo, who plays reluctant agent, Dylan Rhodes, puts in the standout performance and his interplay with Interpol agent, Alma Dray (played by Melanie Laurent) is superb.

Anyone would forgive Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, both in supporting roles, for almost sleepwalking through this film given their ages and past appearances in films like this. Freeman plays an ex-magician who gives away trade secrets to the highest bidder, and Caine portrays Arthur Tressler, the group's financier. But both give truly strong and emotional performances in roles that would have seemed under-written with a lot of other actors. Each cast member has put their full effort into this and produced an amazing achievement in the process.

The film is highly suspenseful and keeps you interested and guessing the final outcome. Each trick is made with visual excellency and are surprisingly given a simple explanation. Although the multitude of tricks and illusions can be hard to get past, once you do get past them you are rewarded with a brilliant, initiative, exciting and original thriller. Those expecting a typical summer blockbuster need to push up their expectations. Now You See Me is full of mysterious turns and includes the finest twist ending I've seen in a long time. It uses brilliant visual and camera trickery not too dissimilar to how the tricks themselves are played out on-screen.

Look closely, because the closer you think you are, the less you will actually see….

Oblivion

** (out of 4)

124 mins/ 12

Cast: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Melissa Leo, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Plot: Jack Harper is a drone repairman working on a post-apocalypse Earth. With only a few days until he leaves the planet, Jack discovers a crashed spacecraft, which leads him to the truth about how Earth was brought to its knees.

JJ's Verdict: Tom Cruise has hit a career low in this bore-fest. The first hour of the film just sees him flying around his designated area, repairing drones and talking about boring Super Bowl matches to his wife (Andrea Riseborough, the film's only bright spark). This would be okay if we were treated to an hour of explosive non-stop action after this but we're not. There is more talking and even when the few action sequences come along they are mainly dull and somehow uninteresting. The filmmakers' have taken a good concept and, although made its scenery and effects very nice to look at, put in absolutely no character development.

I was going to accept this film when Morgan Freeman came in and delighted us with his presence but his role is little more than a few minutes long. And don't even ask me what was happening in the last half an hour. The film rushed key plot elements meaning the film was extremely hard to follow. A missed opportunity here, and even Cruise plays it extremely one-dimensional.

World War Z

*** (out of 4)

116 mins/ 15

Cast: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, Matthew Fox, Fana Mokoena, David Morse, Ludi Boeken, Elyes Gabel, Peter Capaldi, Ruth Negga, Pierfrancesco Favino,

Director: Marc Forster

Plot: An outbreak of an unknown virus causes the world to fall into a zombie apocalypse JJ's Verdict: After all the budget problems, rewrites and re-shoots of the last act, you would think World War Z would be a major flop, both critically and commercially. However, Marc Forster has created a scary edge-of-your-seat thriller, which, of all the entries in Hollywood's new craze, gives us a surprisingly realistic depiction of how the world probably would cope in a zombie apocalypse.

The film centres on Brad Pitt's character, a former United Nations employee Gerry Lane, who, after escaping to a government base from an outbreak of an unknown zombie virus, is forced to travel the world to find the source of the outbreak and eventually find out how to prevent it. Lane first travels to Korea where the Zombie pandemic was thought to have first broken out and is caught up in a they can see you but you can't see them type scenario. From here he moves to Jerusalem, the only city to have created a defence against the zombies, where he observes the city's giant wall blocking the zombies, only for the zombies to get over the wall and destroy the city. After a massive sequence on a zombie- infested aeroplane, Gerry lands in Cardiff where he faces off a group of zombies almost single- handedly, to reach the vaccination that will make people invisible to zombies. However ridiculous the idea of zombies taking over the world may seem, the film presents the story in a somewhat realistic way. In George Romero's zombie flicks of the 70's, the undead were slow and hard to take seriously as threats to people. In World War Z, the zombies can run, jump and attack like swarms of bees – a real and genuine threat to the human race. The zombie effects and creation are very good, and considering around 6 billion people become infected each zombie is given a completely new look that helps for the realism feel. The zombies themselves are incredibly freaky and genuinely scary for a PG-13 film in America (however in Britain it is a 15.)

The epic destruction of the cities, although they have a 2012 feel to them, don't look too CGI and focus more on the emotional distress of people and their livelihood than 2012's special effects.

Due to there being just one big-name star in this film, Brad Pitt has to hold up this film on his own. Do not fear however, as the Mr and Mrs Smith star excels in his biggest film yet (not best, but biggest box-office wise.) His presence on screen is both commanding and calming – even when in the middle of a zombie attack! There are bit parts for well-known actors David Morse and Peter Capaldi and a blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo from Lost's Matthew Fox but the real star of the show is Daniella Kertesz who plays an Israeli soldier who escapes from Jerusalem with Lane and goes on to help him in Cardiff. She manages to look beautiful despite having most of her hair shaved off for the film, and gives fine support to Brad Pitt. A star of the future perhaps! The only real moan I have with this film is that it is terribly slow when not involving zombies and is full of your everyday Hollywood clichés like how one man discovers how to stop the zombies despite none of the world governments having a clue. The film was originally meant to end with a massive battle in Moscow but by the sounds of it, it would have made Pitt's character almost Superhuman and would have been out of tone with the rest of the film. So I am pleased that they went for a smaller-scaled Dawn of the Dead like chase in a Cardiff laboratory. World War Z is a refreshing entry in the zombie-filled world of pop culture and is well worth watching in 3-D for the zombie running effects.