It’s been some time since I seen a comedy that really had constantly great zingers, and 21 Jump Street does not fail to disappoint. Further to that it’s been an even longer time I’ve waited to see Channing Tatum do something good, and at last huzzah he’s finally done it!

2 fresh faced cops straight out the academy and already destined to be f*ck ups are paired together to go undercover at a local high school posing as teenagers. Jonah Hill is the socially inept by the book cop who shies away from altercations, whilst Channing Tatum is the thick as mince pretty boy keen to play Lethal Weapon. However Hill finds himself ingratiated with the cool kids and gets side tracked from the mission, whilst Tatum becomes a total geek, leading to the gags coming thick and fast.

The premise is primed for plenty of gags, and Jonah Hill is a solid bet for giggles after Superbad made him king of High School comedies. However it’s surprisingly the dim witted and vain Tatum that steals the show, finally finding a role that allows him to shine by poking fun at the dumb jock stereotype.

It’s the finest comedy of the year to date.

Bourne to be wild…

Widower and singe father Matt Damon packs up his cute 7 year old daughter and reluctant teen son and take on the challenge of reviving and run down zoo. There’s sick animals, surly teen drama and pompous health inspector all in the mix in this super cheesy family feel good film.

Every so often I will go to the cinema undecided about what to see. On this occasion I was faced with two options, 1. A cuddly looking Matt Damon with a dodgy looking barnett learning some lessons from mucking out with animals, or 2. Super serious Polish Holocaust drama In Darkness, about a man hiding Jews in the sewage system in order to save them from the baying Nazis. In the end I opted for We Bought a Zoo( over We shot a Jew). Sometimes all you’re looking for is an easy watch.

We Bought a Zoo is far from a perfect film, and it’s reliance on formulaic archetypes doesn’t make it entirely endearing (by the end I still thought Matt Damon’s annoying teen brat son should have been fed to the lions) Some of the jokes and set ups didn’t work, and as great as Matt Damon is, he was essentially doing his best Tom Hanks impression. It lacked any real emotional depth, and found itself more often than not in moments of ‘niceness’ and ‘lovely’, which are all very well but hardly spectacular.

The ending is unashamedly cheesy, and in fact only builds on its cheesiness till the end is a virtual Cheddar Everest.

It’s a nice little film, with perhaps a bit too much contrite warmth, but I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it.

I enjoy a good dance film, the narratives are nonsense but
the moves are normally mind blowing. Unfortunately Street Dance 2 commits the
greatest crime of dance films; the dancing’s lacklustre.

The first Street Dance film had real home grown charm, a
selection of Britain’s Got Talent alumni gathered together to make an enjoyable
and earnest 3D film to be the cousin of the Step Up franchise. However this
film puts an American (and a bland one at that) in the lead and moves the
action to Europe (though it fails to showcase any of the Continents beauty or
magic).

It’s a limp disappointment. The most impressive manoeuvre in
the film theatre was me threading the straw through the tiny Capri Sun hole in
the dark. If there is to be a Street Dance 3, put George Sampson in the
forefront, ramp up the cheese and get some mind blowing talent involved.

Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum star as a sickeningly cute
couple who are involved in a tragic car accident that leaves McAdams with
amnesia. Unable to remember who her husband is, the pair struggle to return to
life as normal, especially when her disapproving Father looms over with plans
of rewriting history…

This film is littered with sweet little moments, but
ultimately it just feels lost and frustrating. Nothing in it really pierces the
heart. McAdam’s is the poster girl for tragic romance tales, but having
pedalled similar fare in chick flick classic The Notebook and again in The Time
Travellers Wife, she’s needs to do something new. She’s annoyingly in her
comfort zone here and coasting by on autopilot. And Tatum’s such a ridiculously
hunky bastard that he’s easy to watch, even if he isn’t always that emotive.

The problem is The Vow never really gets truly gripping or
heart wrenching, it sort of just stutters along, depending on the likeability
of its leads. And the ending is less than satisfying. All in it’s hard to say
anything more positive than it’s just ok, and somewhat ironic for an amnesia
story, it’s also forgettable.

Defenders of this tripe will no doubt spout how it was written over a Century ago and every sci-fi film ever has borrowed parts or been influenced by it. Fair enough. It’s easy to see Star Wars through He-Man in this film, and perhaps least subtly Avatar. However it’s clear every sci-fi film has hashed and re-hashed these elements ten times over and in earnest done a lot better too, making John Carter achingly unoriginal and unforgivably average.

So here’s the premise put simply as; John Carter is a cowboy explorer in Frontier times who discovers a magical teleporter than zooms him off to Mars. His fish out of water status soon upsets some local aliens who discover his human qualities afford him super strength and agility on the Red Planet. It’s not long before he’s embroiled in all kinds of silly politics going on between warring Martian communities. Yawn. The material is handled clumsily, in better hands more fun could have been made, and the script is so humourless and choc to the brim with alien jargon and silly sci-fi speak that it’s easy to dismiss, or worse yet just plain stop caring about what’s going on. I know I did.

I managed to see this film in 4D (them being Dire, Disappointing, and Devastatingly Dull) and the extra dimension (a theme park style simulator chair) was the most exciting thing about the experience, which obviously doesn’t say much about the film.

Most definitely a film to be approached in the right frame of mind, because the misery at play in this film could have you dialling the Samaritans if tackled without some kind of background info.

Peter Mullan plays Joseph, an unemployed widower with some serious rage problems (in the opening scene a bad day at the bookies sees him cave his beloved dogs rib cage in through a fit of anger). He’s a simmering pot of anger that’s ready to explode. After one violent altercation he takes refuge in a charity shop owned by the pleasant Olivia Coleman, a Christain who tries to pray for his troubled soul. However as the story a progress it becomes apparent Coleman’s own life is ravaged by a violent spouse who has her living in constant fear.

Olivia Coleman, perhaps best known in the UK for comedy Peep Show, is one of the best hidden gems this country has. She delivers an acting tour de force in this film, a character so beaten down and relatable that I spent most of the viewing cradling myself at the sheer awfulness of her dilemma. Her seemingly perfect husband Eddie Marsan is a mild mannered monster who in his first appearance on screen enters the house drunk and urinates on his sleeping wife. Yes, it’s that level of harrowing…

 Mullan and Coleman form an odd alliance and gain strength through each other. He slowly mellows, and she fights back against her abuser. However the conclusion is just as terrible and heart breaking that I had to sit for ten minutes after just to collect my thoughts. The themes of this hard hitting drama hit me like a steam train.

Far from feel good, this film delivers some heavy blows, but the acting from Mullan and Coleman is the best I’ve seen in some time.

probabilty goes out the window. literally….

Sam Worthington is the Man on a Ledge, an escaped convict and former policeman seemingly framed for stealing an expensive diamond from unsettling villainous business tycoon Ed Harris. He takes to the ledge to protest his innocence and gain an audience. However it soon becomes apparent that this but a smokescreen for the real Ocean’s Eleven style heist his brother is carrying out over the street to recover the missing diamond and grant his brother redemption.

This films been getting some really avergey reviews, but if you treat it for what it is, it’s hugely entertaining. I was recently disappointed by the Steven Soderbergh action flick Haywire, which promised to be a vengeful flick in which a wronged spy takes down her double crossers. But asides from the great fight scenes, the story felt flat and the ending a damp squib. In short, it was just too damn serious.

Man on a Ledge is overblown and improbable, and to be perfectly frank, all the better for it. I was gripped by the ledge action and ensuing heist. It was some proper silly but fun popcorn fodder, which really hits the mark. Ed Harris is on top pantomime form as the baddy, he really couldn’t have hammed up his wickedness more, by the end your crying out for him to get busted.

It’s daft but brilliant. It’s got twists and turns, some gadgets, a jail break and a safe cracking. Friday night cinema fun that should go down a storm on DVD.

What a bizarre watch this hard hitting British hitman thriller is. It’s not at all what I was expecting. From the outset it appeared like it was going to be a gritty, slick affair, but what transpires is far more intriguing and baffling.

Jay is an unhinged former soldier and gun for hire, convinced by his cash strapped wife and best friend Gal to go on one last hit. Together they take on a contract from a mysterious source and are given a ‘kill list’ of intended hits. However as the plot thickens Jay temperament spirals out of control as the pair become embroiled in something far deeper.  By the final act they find themselves in all out Wickerman territory.

This film starts out as a gritty drama. It opens with an extremely uncomfortable dinner party between Jay and his wife, Gal and his new girlfriend. It’s not long before the casual bickering between Jay and his wife escalates into full on domestic tiff, with smashed plates and bloodied knuckles abound. It then transgresses into extremely violent hit man thriller, violence so strong it makes Drive look like Disney (I winced and turned away as Jay brutally caves open a man’s skull with a claw hammer). But throughout little moments of ‘oddness’ are thrown in; an unexplained skinned rabbit, a bizarre visit to a doctor and Gals girlfriend carving weird signatures into the back of the bathroom mirror. By the last third the whole thing becomes a terrifyingly bleak occult thriller. Jay and Gal are witnesses to some Wickerman style sacrifices before being pursued through tunnels by semi naked masked cult types and being made partake in an odd ritual.

By the end it becomes very difficult to surmise what the film was actually about, but after much googling I began to piece the mystery together. It’s extremely satisfying when a film throws up enough hooks to pursue you to dig deeper.

It’s a really hard watch, but I must admit I did enjoy it and have thought about it a lot since. Be warned though, the violence is harrowing.

Harry Potter and the spooky spinster….

A young solicitor, both recently widowed and a Father of a small boy, is sent to settle the affairs of a creepy old house in a small English Village. However he soon realises not all is as it seems, and when things start to go bump in the night, he comes face to face with the hacked off Woman in Black, local legend and an apparition with an axe to grind…

This is a classic horror film that does justice to its terrifying source material. Its strength lies in its mixture of easy frights (taps suddenly splurting to life) and sustained creepy tone (some very menacing porcelain windup toys gave me real chills). Daniel Radcliffe sheds his Harry Potter baggage and becomes our guide through the unfolding tale, as we learn of The Woman in Black’s terrifying legacy and the consequences his rummaging has brought about. The haunted expression on the villagers faces adds to the atmosphere, whilst the wet weather and dense fog add for unsettled viewing.

The Woman in Black guarantees a great night at the cinema, full of chills and scares, accompanied by a classic ghost story with some great visuals and performances.

Gary (Jason Segal) and his fuzzy felt brother Walter are The Muppets biggest fans. However on a trip to LA they discover the old run down Muppet Theatre is in danger of being sold off to evil Oil Baron Chris Cooper who intends to destroy it and trash The Muppet’s legacy. Walter and Gary seek out Kermit who informs them he hasn’t seen the old gang in years, together they attempt to reunite The Muppet’s and put on a spectacular benefit to save the theatre.

There’s a tremendous amount of fun to be had in this film, and it’s partly down to Jason Segal’s uncontainable love for all things muppet, an enthusiasm that bursts out all over the screen. In addition the wonderful Amy Adam’s comes along for the ride, and although she’s largely marginalised her times on screen do add a nice sunny presence. The Muppets themselves are as colourful and daft as ever, mixing silliness with naffness that makes them enjoyable. The songs though are the greatest part of the film, provided by Flight of the Conchords cohort Brett McKenzie. I thoroughly enjoyed the big Disney-esque opening number ‘Life’s a happy song’ that’s unashamedly gleeful and endearingly cheesy. And disco infused ditty ‘Me Party’ by Amy Adams and Miss Piggy had me in stitches.

I’m a huge fan of all things puppets, so this was right up my alley. It’s good natured fun that pleases adult fans as well as the little ones.