I, cash in

I, Robot (2004)

Directed by Alex Proyas and based on the stories of Isaac Asimov this film stars Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan and James Cromwell. The co-founder and main roboticist of the leading robot company dies under suspicious circumstances.

This film is probably one of the biggest mixed bags you will come across, it contains both good and bad elements. The plot is not bad but it's links to the work of Asimov are tenuous and likely fairly cynical in nature as is the rather obvious product placement in the film. Probably the best thing in the film is the CGI robots who look really good but again this is counter balanced by the over use of action sequences to fill out the film.

3/5

Another 39 steps

The 39 Steps (1959)

Directed by Ralph Thomas this film based on the book and earlier film of the same name stars Kenneth More and Taina Elg. A British diplomat stumbles into a foreign spy ring during the cold war.

This film is somewhere between a re-adaptation of the novel and a remake of the earlier Hitchcock film which it is inevitable compared to. In an effort to stand out from the earlier film this film changes some details and attempts a more comedic approach which really only serve as detractors in comparison, taking away from the tension and sexual undertones of the original. While this version is watch-able it is certainly second rate due to the leisurely direction and performance of it's star.

3/5

Teflon slacker

The Art Of Getting By (2011)

Written and directed by Gavin Wiesen this film stars Freddie Highmore, Emma Roberts and Michael Angarano. An 18 year old boy faces an existential crisis and girl problems during his final year of high school.

So this sort of coming of age romance film is treading well travelled ground and does not have much originality but what it does do is manage to capture a sense of teenage awkwardness and angst without the usual melodrama and over sentimentality that plagues the genre. It really helps that there are good performances from the two main cast members, Emma Roberts being as excellent as always, but the script is a decent and slightly understated base to work from. For a first time effort in a crowded genre I really enjoyed this film which was a pleasant surprise.

4/5

Abandoned

Precious (2009)

Directed by Lee Daniels this adaptation of the novel “Push” stars Gabourey Sidibe and Mo'Nique. In 1987 a 16 year old girl struggles to over come poverty and an abusive family.

This film provides a shocking and unrelenting look at the life of a girl who is largely abandoned by everyone that should be helping her. The plot may stretch the realms of believability by heaping so many problems on one individual but the film is well made and does not stray into melodrama or preaching. There are many good performances from the cast but maybe the most surprising is that of Mariah Carey who is actually unrecognisable if you do not know she is in the film.

4/5

A fistful of names

Duck, You Sucker! (1971)

Directed by Sergio Leone this film stars Rod Steiger and James Coburn. In 1913 a Mexican bandit and a Irish Republican explosives expert get caught up in the revolution.

Also known as “A fistful of Dynamite” and “Once Upon a Time... the Revolution” this film has several names as people try to fit it in with Leone's other films. While this film takes a really good look at revolutions as well as the relationship between the intellectuals who instigate them and the poor who are left to fight them this film does lack some of Leone's trademark directorial style. The film may be slightly weaker in style due to Leone only taking over 10 days into filming but it is still well worth watching and Rod Steiger in particular gives an excellent performance.

4/5

ouchie, ouchie

Audition (1999)

Directed by Takashi Miike this film based on the novel of the same name stars Ryo Ishibashi and Eihi Shiina. Following the urging of his son a widower is helped to find a new potential wife by his friend who is a casting director.

For about 90 minutes this is a fairly unremarkable film that barely hints at what is to come before degenerating into a crazy dream sequence and one of the hardest to watch torture sequences in film. Shock value of the infamous sequence aside the film really lacks any sense of atmosphere in the build up and in that respect I think it fails to appeal to genre fans as much as it could. There are some good elements but it does seem like a lot of the potential of the film goes unfilfilled.

3/5

Harry Potter and the final conclusion

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)

Directed by David Yates the final adaptation in the series stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. War comes to Hogwarts and the sage reaches it's conclusion.

Visually the battles in this final film are really impressive although it should be noted that the 3D versions of the film were converted in post production. Speaking as someone that is not a hard core fan of the franchise at times it did become hard to keep up with all the details and as this is the eigth film in the franchise by this point there is a lot to keep up with. It does also seem like Warner Brothers could have covered the final film in one three hour film rather than splitting it in two. The plot does manage to wrap up all the major elements of the series although I think some of the revelations were a bit rushed for us non fans.

4/5

Cat burglers

Puss in Boots (2011)

Directed by Chris Miller this animated spin off stars the voice talent of Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek and Zach Galifianakis. On the hunt for magic beans Puss in Boots has to face up to his past.

Mixing the usual fairy tale elements you would expect from a part of the Shrek franchise this film feels part of the same world but is still clearly distinct from the other films in the series. The plot for the film is nothing special but gets the job done having a number of funny moments although it does not hit the heights of some of the other entries in the series. Overall this is a solid if not spectacular spin off.

3/5

Wrestling with issues

That's What I Am (2011)

Written and directed by Michael Pavone this film stars Ed Harris, Molly Parker and Chase Ellison. A young boy comes of age during his time in 8^th grade thanks to the influence of a teacher.

As a coming of age film this is fairly standard fair, the plot is nothing unusual and while it does aim to look at some interesting issues it never goes deep enough into them or the character motivations. Occasionally the script veers towards over sentimentality but largely manages to stay out away from going over the top. What is unusual about this film is that it was produced by WWE studios, it is a pretty large departure from their usual fair and is really not as bad as you would expect for a film that basically went straight to DVD.

3/5

Staying afloat?

The Pool Boys (2011)

Directed by James B. Rogers this comedy stars Matthew Lillard, Brett Davern and Rachelle Lefevre. A boy that has just graduated high school and his underachieving pool boy cousin run a brothel from an empty house.

The plot for this film travels much the same ground as Risky Business (1983) without doing it nearly as well. Nearly all the problems with this film stem from a lightweight script that has more unearned character moments than you can shake a stick at and some of the characters actions do not even make sense if you stop to think about them. Being neither funny nor treating it's subject matter with any depth this film is pretty much a waste of time compared to the various similar and better films out there.

2/5

Not a royal yacht

The African Queen (1951)

Directed by John Huston this film based on the novel of the same name stars Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. A British spinster and a Canadian mechanic are caught up in the start of the First World war in German East Africa.

This is a pretty faithful adaptation with the only real departure being that Bogart's character is changed from a Cockney to a Canadian. As an adventure film this is not a bad film even if some of the action sequences are a little tame by modern standards. What the film really lacks is any greater depth, the main romance is not really enough to hang the whole picture on and unfortunately the film passes up the chance make comment on either the war or colonialism.

3/5

Whipping it up

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Directed by Steven Spielberg, based on an idea from George Lucas this film stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen and Paul Freeman. An archaeology professor is hired by the American government to stop the Nazis finding the Ark of the Covenant.

Inspired by the cliff hanger serials of their youth Spielberg and Lucas managed to create a film that is right from the start filled with great action sequences and plenty of comedic moments. Using the Ark of the Covenant and Nazis in the plot provides a sense of gravitas that grounds the film well when it could have easily disappeared into the realms of silliness. Bringing a level of physical vulnerability to the protagonist makes him a lot more human than the central characters of most action films but this film does lack a little of the character development of the third film in the series.

5/5

A better way!

The Candidate (1972)

Directed by Michael Ritchie this political film stars Robert Redford and Peter Boyle. A young idealistic lawyer agrees to stand in an election for senator because he has no chance of being the incumbent.

What this film does is show how someone with a few real issues becomes watered down and seduced into giving up his principles for the chance to win an election. The content of the film is still relevant today and maybe shows too many similarities to modern political campaigns to be comfortable. The one thing the film does not look at though is if doing what is required to get elected is worth it for a chance to stand up for your principles once you do have some power.

4/5

Anything but elite

Killer Elite (2011)

Directed by Gary McKendry this film claiming to be based on a true story features Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. A mercenary is forced to come out of retirement to hunt down former British special forces soldiers to save his friend.

There are huge problems with the content of this film, it departs massively from it's source material which is in itself some what questionable to begin with. Attempting to make the hit men more sympathetic does not work given their actions and if the events of the film was based on changing them from terrorists is borderline offensive. The execution of the film is not bad but the moral quagmire of the content is just too much to get past with this film.

2/5

First steps

The 39 Steps (1935)

Based on the novel of the same name this film from director Alfred Hitchcock stars Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll. A man is accused of murder and gets caught up with a group of spies after trying to help a woman.

This adaptation has a fair number of differences from it's source material but these changes are largely improvements and include the genesis of a lot of elements that Hitchcock would go on to reuse in films. As a thriller the plot keeps the audience guessing and just about sticks to the realms of believability. Some elements of the film do show a little age but nothing that gets in the way of enjoying this film.

4/5

Play time nightmares

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Directed by Lee Unkrich this Pixar animated film uses the voice talents of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack. Andy, the owner of the toys the series has featured is now 17 and soon off to college, the future looks bleak for our heroes.

Pixar knows how to do this kind of stuff and takes us down the dark and rocky road of what happens to toys when their owns grow up with their usual excellent sensibilities. While the main portion of the story has some exciting moments the real strength of the film is in the end portion when Andy has finally grown up and is willing to move on. The usual voice talent and animation reach the same high standards you would expect from the series.

4/5

Siege of stupidity

Siege of the Saxons (1963)

Directed be Nathan Juran this film stars Janette Scott, Ronald Lewis and Ronald Howard. King Arthur dies and the Saxons plot to steal the kingdom from his daughter who is aided by a woodsman.

There are more anachronisms in this film than you can shake a stick at, it also does not help that the cast is full of second rate actors and suspect props. To try to get by on a lower budget the film cheats and uses footage from other films and does at least manage to blend these in seamlessly. What plot there is has little going for it and puts in elements of Robin Hood using the King Arthur back ground to tempt in the audience.

1/5

Your mission, should you choose to accept...

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Based on the TV series of the same name this film from director Brian De Palma stars Tom Cruise, Jon Voight and Emmanuelle Beart. When an espionage mission in Prague goes wrong a survivor is accused of being a traitor and has to prove his innocence.

The plot of this film was designed to keep the audience guessing at all times and although it does hit you over the head with clues at times it does a fairly good job of keeping the suspense. There are some great action sequences that De Palma handles really well and helps that Tom Cruise did a lot of his own stunts. As a pure action/suspense film this is a good effort but does lack a bit more depth or character.

4/5

Fear the bad hair cut

Samson and Delilah (1949)

Directed by Cecil B. DeMille this biblical epic stars Hedy Lamarr, Victor Mature and George Sanders. A leader of his people with special strength falls foul of a scheming seducer.

There are a few problems with this film, as you might expect some of the special effects have no aged especially well and the story seems to stray a fair amount from the biblical source which may be a problem for those concerned with such things. Hedy Lamarr's performance as Delilah is the stand out element of the film and she is perfect as the woman scorned who uses all her wits and charms to get what she wants. A massive box office success in it's day this film is not really a must see but certainly not the worst use of your time.

3/5

An Australian education

33 Postcards (2011)

Directed by Pauline Chan this Australian/Chinese co-production stars Zhu Lin, Guy Pearce and Claudia Karvan. A young orphan from China looks up the man who has sponsored her education while her orphanage choir is on a trip to Australia.

This film could easily have tipped into over sentimentality but manages to straddle the line fairly well. Guy Pearce has the best character in the piece as the lonely and haunted prisoner that really holds the film together. The plot does range away from the core relationship a little too much but this is still a film that is well worth a watch.

3/5

Colombian warrior princess

Colombiana (2011)

Directed by Olivier Megaton this film stars Zoe Saldana and has Luc Besson serving as co-writer/producer. A young girl escapes Colombia after her parents are murdered by a drug lord and vows to become a killer and get revenge.

The plot of this film is pretty average but manages not to stray into over the top silliness and handles the characters back story without getting melodramatic. Zoe Saldana gives a really good performance as the grown up super killer with some amazing moves. Any film like this relies on it's action sequences and while the early ones in the film are good the later fight scenes tend towards disappointing flash cutting.

3/5

Peachy

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

Directed by Henry Selick this adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel of the same name stars Paul Terry, Pete Postlethwaite and a number of others in voice only. A young orphan lives with his horrid aunts but goes on an adventure to escape them.

What the film does is blend live action book ends with the majority of the film being being stop motion animation and this works fairly well. There are some differences between the novel and the film but nothing that changes the overall tone of the story. Adding some musical sections to the film did little to either add or detract from the story and in the end this is a passable adaptation.

3/5

There is too often comparison

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Directed by Robert Wise this big budget adaptation of the television series stars William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelly. An unknown alien is heading towards Earth seemingly bent on destroying everything in it's path, the USS Enterprise is despatched to investigate.

Visually this film is stunning and the plot has some really interesting thematic depth to it when considering the creator/creation relationship and what it means to be human. Where the film has problems is that it lacks pace and action in comparison to more successful films in the franchise such as it's direct sequel. I do think however that this film does get treated overly harshly and if you can look past the slower pace this really is one of the more interesting sci-fi film's of it's period in terms of what it has to say.

5/5

Monsters are from Venus

20 Million Miles to Earth (1957)

Directed by Nathan H. Juran this film stars William Hopper, Joan Taylor and Frank Puglia. An American space ship returning from Venus crashes in the sea off Sicily and a creature escapes from the rocket.

Science was clearly thrown completely out of the window for this film and the plot is pretty much silly bordering on ridiculous. The special effects are provided by legendary stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen and actually do not age as badly as you would have thought even though they are fairly obvious. As a B-movie science fiction piece this film is not too bad for something of it's era but to modern viewers it is pretty terrible.

2/5

The remake conspiracy

Edge of Darkness (2010)

Director Martin Campbell remakes a 1980s British TV mini series he directed which this time stars Mel Gibson, Ray Winston and Danny Huston. A young woman returns to Boston to visit her policeman father only to be shot on his door step.

Set thirty years after the end of the Cold war which was pivotal to the setting of the original story this adaptation works really well shifting the setting to the present day. Conspiracy thrillers can be hard to pull off without completely leaving the realms of believability but this film manages to stay with in reasonable limits. There are some really good characters and all in all this is an excellent thriller.

4/5

Down the tubes?

Soul Surfer (2011)

Based on a true story this film from director Sean McNamara stars AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. A young surfer loses her arm to a shark attack and struggles to deal with the after affects.

It is pretty clear from the get go that this is a pro faith, issues film and while it clearly has an agenda it manages to keep from shoving it down the viewers throat. While the film is pretty well made if decidedly predictable it only ever touches on the major issues in passing. There was some real potential for a hard hitting story here but unfortunately this is decidedly the lite version of the story.

3/5

P-p-p-p-pick up a penguin

Mr. Popper's Penguins (2011)

Based on the children's book of the same name this film from director Mark Waters stars Jim Carrey, Angela Lansbury and Carla Gugino. A divorced business man inherits some penguins from his father that disappeared from his life.

The plot of this film does not have a lot in common with the book it is based on and is throughly predictable. What the plot needs is the film to be carried by Jim Carry but there is rarely enough humour for Carry to flex his muscles. About the best thing you can say about this film is that it is pretty inoffensive, as long as you aren't the ex-wife's new boy friend who gets passed over for no reason so the protagonist can get his family back together.

3/5

Seeking a better script

Seeking Justice (2011)

Directed by Roger Donaldson this thriller stars Nicolas Cage, January Jones and Guy Pearce. A husband is offered swift justice for the man who attacked his wife but it comes with a catch.

The concept behind this film has a good amount of potential but I do not think it ever fulfils this as the film becomes more of a standard thriller rather than exploring the ideas of justice and vigilantism. As is often the case Nicolas Cage is present but you would not know it from his performance. I also have to wonder if there is an undercurrent of sexism to this film as women are only ever shown as victims in the script and there appears to be no female members to the vigilantly group.

2/5

Big Fat Poop

Big Fat Gypsy Gangster (2010)

Written, directed by and staring Ricky Grover this film also features Omid Djalili. An American director makes a documentary on a notorious “real life” British gangster after he is released from prison.

This mockumentary is supposed to be a parody of the work of Guy Ritchie but comes about 10 years too late and has few references to such films. With both comedy and plot barely featuring in this film it is not hard to see why it went straight to DVD. In the end this film is neither entertaining nor has anything interesting to say about the genre it is parodying.

2/5

Robbed

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Based on real events this film from director Sidney Lumet stars Al Pacino and John Cazale. Two men attempt to rob a bank, their heist turns into a media and police circus.

As with all films based on real events there does appear to be some deviation from the fact in this film but enough to be disingenuous or change the tone of the piece. The plot shows how the crime resonated with the Zeitgeist of counter culture and sheds light on the motivations of the central characters really well. There is plenty of tension towards the end and this is generally a really well made film.

4/5

Legendary?

Legend (1985)

Directed by Ridley Scott this fantasy film stars Tom Cruise, Mia Sara and Tim Curry. A young boy that grew up in the woods and a princess must protect unicorns from the powers of darkness.

As with any Ridley Scott film this is a visually stunning piece, especially the opening sections of innocence before the world is dropped into winter. While the plot is original it does echo the general tone and dark feel of older fairy tales but does seem to lack any depth. There are some good performances from the cast except for Tom Cruise who does seem to make the occasional jarring choice in his performance.

4/5