Inkheart (PG)

An interesting fantasy film about a man and his daughter, who when they read aloud the story comes to life. It stars Brendan Frasier as the father in search of his lost wife, who incidentally is stuck in a book, for the rule is "when a character comes out of the book someone goes in!" The beginning is a little confusing and I think that the film would have been better if it had been in chronological order. The ending was very good but it was fairly obvious what was going to happen. An entertaining family film.

The film gets (***)

The Day The Earth Stood Still (12A)

It was a dull remake! The film had so much potential but failed on most fronts. There were some visually stunning scenes and the cyclops robot was very well done, but even this couldn't save the film! Keanu Reeves gave a very dead-pan performance which could be seen as OK as he was playing an alien, Jennifer Connely on the other hand had no excuse for her miserable acting. The film has a political message about saving the environment, which in this day and age we really aught to think about doing!

The film gets (**)

Body Of Lies (15)

A film by Ridley Scott, starring an unshaven Leonardo Di Caprio and Russell Crowe. Firstly I was pleased that the trailer for the film did not spoil the plot, which is often the case. I found the film too long for me and the story not engaging enough. Last year saw the release of the film "Rendition", I found Rendition a much better film. It had moments where I felt the film was improving but then it soon died down!

The film gets (**)

Sorry for not blogging recently

The past few weeks I've been busy with University work and I have been concentrating hard on my studies. Over the christmas period I hope to blog a bit more!

The Salamander Sausage 3

Please watch my film The Salamander Sausage 3. It's the 3rd in a trilogy of monster films. This one sees a bunch of people lost in a deserted train station, but what will become of them as there's a Salamander Sausage on the loose! Please leave a comment for prosperity! You will find the film in two parts in the top right hand corner of this blog, each part is only about ten minutes long.

The Baader-Meinhof Complex (18)

This film is based on a true story about the Red Army Faction in West Germany. They were a terrorist organisation protesting against the war in Vietnam amongst other things. The film is told from their perspective but it does not paint them out to be heroic, quite the opposite. It depicts them as the cruel murdering people they were. The RAF (Red Army Faction) as they called themselves set bombs off and killed many Innocent people in American Army Barracks and Newspaper Offices. It's a very well made film from the people who brought us 'Downfall' about the last few hours of Hitler's life in the bunker. It's a German film with with English subtitles.

The film gets (***)

Scar 3D (18)

This was a badly acted, poorly shot and rubbish effects film! The only reason I went to see this film was because of the 3D special effects, but it proved to be a waste of time! I wouldn't recommend this film, if I were you I'd stick to the Saw films (at least the Saw films have some story). If you have a pair of 3D specs then this picture should be in 3D.

The film gets (*)

Ghost Town (12A)

I enjoyed this film from start to finish, I even laughed out loud many times in the cinema! Ricky Gervais plays a dentist in New York who enjoys his privacy; he is a Scrooge. After a routine operation it turns out he'd died for 7 minutes and because of this he can see the dead. For a man who likes his privacy, his life has just got a whole lot noisier as the dead keep asking for his help. One ghost played by Greg Kinnear is very persistant and persuades the dentist to help him stop his living wife from marrying another man. This leads to some very amusing situations. Ricky Gervias gives a good performance in his usual style (the Office and Extras). It's a feel good family entertainment film.

The film gets (****)

The Quantum of Solace (12A)

A continuation of the previous Bond film Casino Royale. It was very much an action film with very little story, but at least it did have a story. James Bond is angry at the death of Vesper, so he sets about finding the people who caused her to take her life! The film gets it title from the organisation behind Vesper's death 'The Quantum'. Like Casino Royale this was an original Bond film so there were no futuristic gadgets. There were moments during the film which I thought they had copied from the Bourne films, but on the whole I enjoyed it. The biggest let down of the film was the theme tune 'Another Way To Die' sung by Alicia Keys and Jack White. It was modern claptrap which will not go down as a classic Bond theme tune! Pictured are the two Bond girls, the one on the right of Daniel Craig recently starred in the BBC adaption of Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
The film gets (****)

Burn After Reading (15)

I found this film highly entertaining and very funny.The Coen Brothers have delivered another fantastic film. My one fault with the film is the excessive use of strong language which I felt they didn't need to use! The story is about Brad Pitt finds a disc with "Secret CIA" files on it. He hopes that by handing it in he will get a reward but when realises that there's no reward he has alternative ideas! John Malkovich gives us a good performance as usual but it is Brad Pitt who steals the spotlight in this film. Fans of the Coen Brothers previous work will not be disappointed.

The film gets (****)

Eagle Eye (12A)

I had a low expectation when I saw this film so I think because of that I was pleasantly surprised by this film. The film is about two people not connected to each other in any way, who get forced to work together for someone who keeps calling them on their mobile phones! If they do not complie with the phones instructions then each will have to pay a price. As in all good action films there are plenty of chase scenes and explosions. The film copied many ideas from other films, whilst watching I saw elements of Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and a major part of the plot was copied from "I Robot". It was a very predictable story.

The Film gets (***)

City of Ember (PG)

I enjoyed watching this film as it was different to watch a film with an original story! The film is about how mankind is in danger so scientists build an underground city and house people there. It is hoped that 200 years later this colony will repopulate earth! But the people don't know how to leave so it's up to two heroic children to save the day! Some interesting 'post-apocalyptic' imagery is used in the underground city and the comic relief in the film is Bill Murray. I thought that they should of used Tim Robbins more as his role only gave him a few minutes of screen time. It was an enjoyable movie suitable for all ages that kept my attention from start to finish!

The Film gets (****)

Tropic Thunder (15)

I enjoyed this film from start to finish! It began with fake trailers and ended with a very silly dance! Directed and starring Ben Stiller this is a comedy about a bunch of actors thrown into a real war situation whilst they think they are still just making a movie! It satires actors and Vietnam war films and to a certain extent the actors themselves! My favourite scene is when Tom Cruise does a very silly dance, I wonder how much they paid him to do it! Robert Downy Jr provides some very entertaining moments as he plays an actor trying to be a streotypical Black man!

The Film gets (****)

How To Lose Friends and Alienate People (15)

This film I found very amusing and I laughed consistantly throughout the film. Simon Pegg was very good in his role as an English eccentric in a conservative America! There were scenes in the film which I thought went a bit too far. If you go and see this film you may be a little shocked at the lap dancing scene! I'll say no more! See this film if you enjoyed the TV series Spaced and Shaun of the Dead.

The Film gets (***)

Brideshead Revisited (12A)

Before I went to see this film, all the reviews that I had read, had said that the film was very poor! This proved to be the case. The film drained all the life from the story and what was left was an "accurate retelling of the book - only the story has been changed!" At times during the film I wondered which book they had been reading when they made the film! I was very dissapointed with the acting, as the only time the film came alive was when Michael Gambon was on screen and his role only required a few minutes!

This film gets (**)