Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows - Part 1

As The Great Soprendo used to say, ‘Piff, Puff, Poof – the first 40 minutes of this are amazing’. After that, he got bored, lost loads of weight and divorced Victoria Wood. Same thing happened to me. Apart from the crash diet and ‘hilarious’ ex-wife bit.

The early scenes are inventive, exciting and exhilarating. I was hugely impressed. But then our heroes go off on a road trip to look for magicky stuff and the fun just stops. Completely. They just mope about in tents and stare wistfully across foggy landscapes. Ocassionally other things happen like a baddie stops the Hogwarts Express and the passengers tell him he’s a bit of a meanie. Then Harry and Hermione have a little dance because they’re fed up and miserable (I knew how they felt).

This is the first Potter film that we’ve taken Luke to and he was really excited. He looked away a couple of times in the scary bits but he did really well. Even he got bored though – two or three times he said “Is it finished yet?”. We had a ton of popcorn and chocolates to keep us going though.

One of the best bits of the film was the specially commissioned animation to show the story of the Deathly Hallows. This had a really quirky style to it and was a real treat after watching some kids hiking for 3 hours. At times it felt like they were doing an amateur dramatic’s version of Lord Of The Rings.

I didn’t hate the film. I just found it really, really dull. All the great characters are barely in it and they were sorely missed. Stretching the book to two films was a definite mistake in my, er, book.

I still reckon the second part could be a bit tasty though.

Skyline

Quick summary, Independence Day in a posh block of flats.

Slightly longer summary, a very silly sci-fi movie with excellent special effects and some of the best, unintentional laughs I can remember in a cinema.

The first half is pretty good and does a decent job of building the tension until the big reveal of the baddie aliens doing their baddie alien thing. From then on, it’s a sprint to the finish full of screaming, Ferrari squashing, running and (from the filmmaker’s) “how the **** are we going to end this?”. The ending they went with is one of the funniest, worst endings of all time. I could sense where it was going but thought there was no way they’d do it. They’re not going to make her say that are they? Yep, they did. I actually laughed out loud at the sheer bravery of its awfulness. Bravo!

I also thoroughly enjoyed the bit where goatee man goes apeshit, mental on one of the aliens and punches it in the face about 300 times. Also the fact that the evil alien bastards all have loads of eyes and yet not one of them spotted the red brain and thought “that one looks a bit off to me”.

A pretty rubbish film then. But rescued from bile by the superb VFX and the downright silliness of it all.

A Nightmare On Elm Street

The 1984 one which 'introduced' Johnny Depp. Watched it with two horror loving chums as wifey was away doing something girly in London. Can remember seeing this as a young lad (got into horror films at a very early age – thanks Lol) and being both scared and fascinated by Freddy.

Didn’t have quite the same effect this time. In fact I found it all a bit silly – especially the bit where Nancy sets traps for old razor fingers which just came across as a weird version of Home Alone. The music was a bit mental too. The main theme is painfully overused and then either sped up or slow down for dramatic effect. Oh and the actress who played Nancy’s mum is absolutely terrible.

Having said that though, the movie’s iconic scenes are just as strong as I remembered. The body bag girl with the bug crawling out of her mouth, Freddy’s claw reaching out between Nancy’s legs in the bath and the freaky marshmallow stairs - definitely the stuff of nightmares.

Quite fancy watching Dream Warriors (part 3) again actually. That was always my favourite.

Sweet dreams…

Jonah Hex

Blimey it's late. Or early. Or something. Definitely struggling a bit now. If I can get through one more film we'll be getting very close to landing back in good old Blighty. Jonah Hex looks like it might fit the bill and the excellent comic book style intro has got me interested and more awake already.

Josh Brolin is a civil war soldier bloke who has a run in with Malkovich's nasty bastard bloke. Never have a run in with a movie Malkovich. He murders his family, scars up his grizzly face and leaves him for dead and stuff. The near dead-ness gives him supernatural powers and he returns with a vengeance, a scarred up grizzly face and an awesome horse-bound big clanky gun.

So far so good then and I found myself quite enjoying it. One of Brolin's new 'look at me , I'm not dead' tricks is that he can reanimate corpses for interrogation and these scenes are really good. Very creepy. In fact, the whole supernatural vibe of the film was well realised.

Suddenly though, being up for almost 24 hours caught up with me and I started mini dozing which meant I had no idea what Megan Fox's prossie was up to or what all the red dust scenes were about. It's a pretty short film too so before I knew it, it was all over. Still, I quite enjoyed it and best of all there's only 90 minutes left now till we land. Breakfast soon and then sunrise.

Cop Out

The trouble with watching lots of films is that you have fewer films to see. That random statement has more meaning when you're scouring an in-flight entertainment system looking for something to watch. Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, Predators - yeh, yeh, yeh seen those. I need something new and undemanding to while away another hour or two. I know, how about Cop Out? Sure it's had some bad reviews but Wincey Willis is always fun to watch with a weapon and a wisecrack. It can't be that bad.

It is.

Christ on a bike, this is (un)comfortably one of the worst films I've ever seen. A complete turd toupee of a movie. Breathtakingly stupid and insulting to the intelligence of anyone unintelligent enough to watch it. A career low for all concerned. I don't know who Tracy Morgan is but as well as having a name that sounds like a low-rent porn star, he is incredibly irritating. And self-referential nods to John McClane are not big or clever either.

The more I watched this, the more it became an endurance event. Despite it being the very early hours of the day on a night flight when everyone else was asleep and I felt dreadful, I was determined that I would see every excruciating minute. And I made it. Just. I deserve some kind of award.

Under 3 hours till we land. Surely whatever film I watch next has to be an improvement...

Prince Of Persia

On the plane back from Florida now. This is bad for two reasons - I hate flying and I hate holidays ending. I have a plan though. I'm going to chain-movie-watch and see as many as I can back to back. First up, the film from game thingy that is Prince Of Persia.

Another Jack Daniels and Coke first. Nom. Right film's off. Jake bloke appears to have dodgy accent but he is good at all the jumpy, swingy stuff. And he looks proper buff eh girls? Must ignore Gemma Arterton, must ignore. Focus on Alf Molina's amusing guy-liner. Or Benjy Kingsley doing malevolent stares and blatantly looking forward to picking up his pay cheque. This is all a bit meh so far. Still can't bear Gemma A.

Disney were obviously hoping for another Pirates Of Da Caribbean style franchise here. Heads up Mickey, you ain't going to get it mate. Too boring and unoriginal. And don't try to be all 'relevant' by throwing in a hunt for WMD story thread.

SNAKES! Hope Mrs F isn't watching this (leans round seat), nope she's watching Friends. Safe.

Film over. Above average only in its ability to be completely average. Just under 5 hrs to go. Time for another film...

Get Him To The Greek

In which the erudite, grandpa botherer plays a gobby, druggy, drinky rockstar who causes grief for a lardy record label bloke. Was supposed to be very funny. It, um, isn't. Though there is a bit with a dildo that made me chuckle out loud. Then again, just the word dildo makes me snigger.

This was another film I watched on the plane. Did I mention my holiday? Oh.

I like Russell Brand. Decided I don't like the other fella though. You know, the chunky one who talks from the back of his mouth. The scenes with him and his girlfriend are all very clunky. Which rhymes with chunky.

Piff, puff, poof daddy earnt a bonus point or two for his silly, shouty record label boss bloke.

Have we arrived in Florida yet?

Green Zone

Watched this on the plane to Florida. Not the best environment to fully absorb the film but me was a bit disappointed. It's just a bit...dull. Another excuse to show what a massive fuck up the hunt for WMDs was - or at least how politically motivated it was.

Angry Jason bloke with his YMCA moustache was entertaining as was the Jack Daniels and Coke the stewardess brought me. But in between straining to hear the dialogue over the cabin noise and taking my sons for toilet breaks, it was quite hard to get into the story. And to be honest there was little encouragement for me to persevere. Damon and Greengrass together on the Bourne films was cinematic gold but they were a long way from Fort Knox with this one.

Conan The Barbarian

Too long has this been an Arnie film I've not seen. Hmm, a Yoda style poem to start with - nice. Boom, boom blasts Basil Poledouris' score at the start and the swords and sorcery shenanigans is underway.

Ooh, look at little Arnie turning into grown up Arnie whilst pushing a big wheel round and round. His physique in this film is ridiculous! Muscle hustle. Aaaah - he's being attacked by a crazy fire witch bitch. Ok now. Right on to a long running montage with his new friend. Bless him. Oh now he's got himself a lady friend. Conan the cuddler.

Two animal scenes made me giggle. First Conan decks a camel (think he was giving him the hump) and then he bites into the neck of a fake vulture.

The spooky nymph thingies trying to drag him off to the netherworld were cool for 1982. Also cool was Conan's lady chum in her Kiss make up. I'm really enjoying this film.

Eeek! Darth Viper attacks!

Everything's ok now. The picture at the end of King Conan on his throne was awesome. A real throne, not a picture of him having a poo.

Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

You know, the film about the farm boy. First time I'd watched this so closely after Ep 3 and it does give you a different slant on some scenes - especially Obi-Wan and D Vader getting to know each other again.

I dozed off in a few places. I know I've always found the Tattooine scenes a bit dull but the snoozage was a surprise. Unfortunately I was awake for the special edition gash that is Han talking to crap CGI Jabba. Don't mean to sound like the Star Wars nerd that I am, but christ on a bike that's shit.

I still think the Death Star was real though. The corridors and hangar etc are so convincing that I like to think I'm watching some sort of space documentary.

I love Star Wars I do.

Cobra

Sylvia Stallone was in full lazy 80's mode here. Probably why he spends most of the film with stupidly reflective shades on (spot the film crew) so he can shut his eyes when the other characters are doing stuff. Or so you can't see his eyes roll when Miami Sound Machine come on the soundtrack again.

Mr Cobra is a tough cop who has to protect Brigitte Nielsen from an evil gang of evils, led by a baddie with the most baddie looking face I've ever seen. And an awesome chin. After an excruciating glamour photo scene where Brigitte poses with 80's robots, the plot gets a bit Tom and Jerry all the way till the industrial ending. Oh and there's a bit where about 50 people fall off motorbikes.

Mr Cobra's cop boss was the baddie in Dirty Harry. That can't be right.

All a bit rubbish but rescued by the line "This is where the law stops and i start, sucker".

The Ghost

Blessed with an incredibly distracting accent, Ewan McGregor is hired by a fat, bald Belushi to do writing stuff for ex PM. Ex PM is ex Bond who excels at gesticulating wildly when on the phone. Ex PM's ex Ghost writer is now extinct but why exactly? Excuse me but I didn't really care.

Dull film this. Lots of blah, blah. Rains a lot. A bit like Bladerunner then but a lot less interesting. Even figuring out one of the plot points pretty quickly was boring. Had hoped for a lot more from what looked like a pacy, intelligent thriller. It ain't. Deffo not intelligent like what I is.

Speaking of which, how the hell was a glaring typo allowed to get on the scene where a Sky News report comes on a telly and the onscreen text refers to the 'Bristish' Prime Minister? It's shown about four times too! Gah. Bad spelling AND bad accents.

Why make Ewan speakytalk like that? And why is Belushi in it for about 3 minutes? Random bit of stunt casting there. The BMW satnav system gets a lot of airtime though. Might have been the best thing in it. At least it had a sensible voice.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith

First Star Wars film I've watched all year - bad form that! They'll be kicking me out of the Tattooine super-geek club soon. Anyway, Luke was desperate to have a 'movie-night' and I figured he was just about ready to deal with the darkness of Anakin's fall to the dark side.

This prequel trilogy has had a fair old pasting to be sure and a lot of it is completely justified. There's a lot of scenes that would be better off in a trash compactor - particularly almost every single one between Anakin and Padme. God they make me cringe. But apart from the glaring badness I think a lot of people miss the best aspect of the series which is Palpatine's rise to power.

I genuinely believe the story arc that Lucas came up with of how the Emperor manipulates everyone and everything around him is borderline genius. Forget Darth Vader, the real star of these films is the wrinkly old dude in the black hood.

Away from the Machievellian plotting (that took some typing), there's so much else to enjoy as well. The opening sequence is a whizzing rush of space battles leading straight into lightsaber duels and finally on to thunderous crash landing. I could watch it on loop all day. John Williams' score is as awesome as ever - it never lets you have any doubts as to the motives or emotions of the characters. And you get to see a lot more worlds in this film too, all of which are brilliantly imaginative and vividly realised by the ILM boffins (now there's a word I've not used in about 15 years!).

Order 66 is still chilling. Luke didn't like the 'death sensations' (as he put it) of this sequence - good phrase that, would make a great band name. That was the only time he flinched a bit during the movie though so he's reached another stage in his movie watch career. Might have to give Lord Of The Rings a go soon.

Revenge Of The Sith is a great film and provides thrilling links for Star Wars geeks between the old and the new. It really stitches the two trilogies together and I enjoyed this viewing as much as ever - it flew by in way less than 12 parsecs.

Four Lions

In a previous career I had to write a feature on Chris Morris, during all the Brass Eye furore. At one point in the, close to excellent, write me up I labelled him as a 'comedy terrorist' and now here I am doing another, far from excellent, write me up on his film comedy about terrorists. It's almost like things have come full circle or circle of life or summink.

Considering how highly I rate Morris, I was expecting this to be the best film EVER so was surprised that it took me a long while to get into it. An attack of the snooze-a-tron didn't help either as it made me a bit foggy and this is a film that is brain funny not HaHa funny. A bit of rewind action later and I was back in the swing of things like a jungle VIP and pleased to see that Morris' eye for the absurd was as sharp as ever. The sight of suicide bombers running around in ostrich and ninja turtle costumes just challenges you not to laugh at it.

More challenging for me though was the balance of the silliness against the endearingly supportive family of one of the hapless bombers. The scenes between father and son were uncomfortably sad - aided by the film's naturalistic style.

If you like your comedy to be a bit edgy and you don't read the Daily Mail you'll find much to enjoy here. I'll leave it to cleverer people than me to analyse Four Lion's place in these troubled times though. Someone that would never use the word 'cleverer' would be ideal.

Cemetery Junction

Not much of a title is it really? I'm all for avoiding the judging of books by their covers but I can't help but think it was at least partially accountable for the sluggish business this did at the cinema.

That's pretty much the biggest negative that this oxymoron can come up for the film though. Really enjoyed it. Not least because it's gloriously English. Gervais and Merchant again create a bunch of characters that feel completely honest and believable. They really are clever sods. Subtle, poignant and affecting scenes seem to be their speciality.

They get the best out of their cast too. Fiennes and Goode make excellent gits and the main three fellas (all newcomers) are each very good. Definitely got the rock and roll star vibe from the grinny, chinny one.

It's another film that clocks off at the 90 minute mark too which is great. Does everything you want and expect it to do and sends you off with a warm glow in your red pumpy thing. And I don't mean the bodypart that would be affected by a big-titted vampire (see the film before you judge me).

Amusing to spot the round-headed buffoon Karl Pilkington in a blink or you'll miss him cameo too.

The Hunger

Continuing my current obsession with all things Bowie, I thought it was about time I saw this. You could say I was a bit peckish for The Hunger and my appetite was certainly stirred by the weirdy-o opening scenes. Really had no idea what the flibbetygib this film was all about although I knew it was an 80's vampiry thingy.

Turned out to be something far more creepy than that rather kneejerk summary. Proper creepy too. I really liked the slow burning story and the sombre mood for the first half and the fact I had no sense of what was going on. But just as I'd got myself comfortable it lurched off and became a chilling, disturbing melodrama accompanied by mental bursts of 80's keyboards and heavily reverbed screaming. There's some imagery here that will definitely leave a mark on this impressionable, little chap. Nasty stuff - especially the heaven and hell allegory where both destinations are equally unpleasant. Shudder.

Some great make-up on the Thin White Duke and several bits of unexpected sauciness from Suzie Sarandon too. Helped to break up the funereal atmosphere somewhat.

Don't get me wrong lovely reader, it's a really good film - very original and well shot by Tony Scott before he was 'Bruckheimered'. I just found it a bit too unsettling for a Monday night movie. It wasn't what the movie doctor ordered on this occasion.

One more thing - Willem Defoe completely steals the show as '2nd phone booth youth'.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

Fight! Jeez what a film! Seems a complete waste of time writing about something as ferociously visual as this but I'll have a pop. Or if you want a 'skip to the end' summary - I loved it but it was a hard fought love. CONTINUE?

Clearly I had a good idea what to expect. I am a film nerd and that's my pretend job. But for the first 20 minutes or so, I found my inner monologue disturbing my concentration with 'you're not really enjoying this are you' sneers. It was true. What was all this hipster talky-talk and self-conscious wackiness? Does Michael Cera have to be so whingey? He sounds like Luke Skywalker moaning about having to go and pick up some power converters.

I resolved to battle on. Fight! Slowly and steadily, the magic started to happen until - POWER UP - I was fully plugged in and ready to play. Which is all really just a ham fisted (mMMmmmm ham) way of saying that it clicked and from then on I was hooked. In some ways, I almost love the film more because it had to win me over.

My cinema-going chum asked me how on earth he'd describe it to his wife. I said he should say that it was a love story in the style of a musical where awesome computer game type fights replace the songs. To me, this makes complete sense. Instead of the characters stopping to burst into a song and dance routine they leap through the air and throw dragon-kicks and fireballs at each other.

Edgar Wright is fab. I've liked everything he's done that I've seen that he's done. The energy he creates on the screen is incredible - your eyes won't be popped anything like it this year. It's also a film that celebrates being young without condascending those lucky enough to still be young (aw bless 'em) but above all it champions pop-culture and the most successful form of entertainment on the planet - video games. Cinema (and mass media in general) usually doesn't 'get' video games but this is a love-letter to anyone that's ever waggled their joystick into the small hours. The coins dropping from the vanishing bodies are beep-beepingly brilliant. LEVEL UP.

Don't worry if the sight of the Universal logo with an 8-bit version of the theme does nothing for you though, there's still much to enjoy without knowing your Commodores from your MegaDrives. The fight scenes are fun and thrilling (like the Matrix when the Matrix was good), there's loads of humour and sight gags, the offbeat cast hit all the right beats (loved the grumpy ginger drummer girl), the soundtrack's cool and the whole thing is just refreshingly refreshing. How could you not enjoy a movie that includes Vegan Police and a battle of the bands that leads to a mental shockwave monster smackdown.

Go and see it. Not enough people have. GAME OVER.

500 Days Of Summer

Must be all the pink wine I've been drinking recently but I really rather enjoyed this. But then it's not exactly a 'rom-com' or a 'chick-flick' or some other ghastly pigeonholed moniker. So why the pink wine intro? And the rubbish pigeon moniker thing. Shut up idiot.

Yeh it's pretty good this. It's all about true love but told in a clever timey-wimey way and with a clever spin at the end that makes you go 'ooh that's a clever spin'. Everyone in it is very young and quirky and intelligent though, (is anyone that impossibly cool in real life?) flitting from architecture to karaoke to pancakes to The Graduate to punches in the face to Ikea comedy. Usually whilst wearing tank tops.

You get the feeling the two leads knew this would get them a lot of credits in the Hollywood bank. They're both really good in it though to be fair so good luck to them. Yeah, good luck you movie stars. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine.

Really liked the ending though and it happened at the very best time for a film to end. And I liked the screenplay with the talky-talks and the clever bits like the split screen sequence and the musical number.

Bang on 90 minutes too so it didn't interfere with my young and quirky and intelligent evening plans.

Toy Story 3

Finally got to see this, only a month or two after the rest of the world. Well worth the wait though, as I knew it would be. As usual, you get a brilliant short film to start with. This time it was Day & Night which is a gorgeous little thing about getting along with people who are different to you - but sprinkled with Pixar genius dust. Loved it. So clever. Genius.

Then Toy Story 3 kicks off with an unashamedly fun and exciting opening sequence that made this 35 year old misery guts grin like a 6 year old grinning fanatic who's just been given the grinner of the year award. From then on, it's just story, story, story all the way to the end. The animation, the voice cast, the funnees etc are all top notch but it's the story and the characters that get in your head and heart and stay there. This may be the perfect kid's film but it's really more about kids than it is FOR kids. Pixar understand what it is to be young and what, sadly, has to change within you as you grow up and leave things behind that you don't really want to.

This means that anyone could watch and enjoy this and is why it's zoomed past a billion dollars worldwide at the box office. It's also why my 7 year old got so wrapped up in the movie that he couldn't stop commenting on it all the way through as well as laughing as manically as I've ever heard him. And why Mrs Fletch was a sobbing wreck for the last ten minutes or so.

I loved the spin on prison movie cliches and especially the demented monkey with the insane red eyes. Special mention to the groovy Ken too and his wardrobe obsession. Flat out, flipping funny. Just brilliant. Oh and Mr Potato head's journey also made me laugh out loud - but not quite as loud as Luke.

Everyone should see this. It's one of the best films of the year and a brilliant way to end one of the great movie trilogies.

The Sea Wolves

Entertaining WW2 yarn with Greg Peck and Rog Moore. Took a while to get into it but I got there eventually and enjoyed it in the end. Based on a true story, it's about a sneaky German transmitter on a boat in neutral Portugese waters that's passing on co-ordinates for shipping vessels and navy frigates to a U-boat that's blowing them to smithereens.

Being in neutral waters though means the Brits have to find an undercover way of taking the naughty transmitter out. Or they'll get really told off or something. Solution? Get a squad of deniable middle-aged old boys to sort it.

So the first two thirds of the film is Greg and Rog doing some spying secret squirrel stuff  to get the plan in motion and then you get the old boys on a mission routine as they sail into the harbour in a knackered old boat. Will they all make it out though?

For most of the film it feels very James Bond. Glamourous locations, Rog Moore doing eyebrows and ladies with gay abandon. That sort of thing. Peck is good value as the leader of the gang too, being frightfully proper and proper hard - "I'd be delighted to kill you" - whilst judo chopping and machine gunning like an especially angry headmaster.

Despite the rubbish models used for the special effects, it's the ending that makes the film. I definitely felt an urge to get nearer the edge of my seat. 'Come on old guys' I cheered in a quiet sort of way. You can't beat a good men on a mission film though. More please. Especially WW2 set films. There's got to be some more of these to be made.

So a rather random film to watch but a pleasant experience all the same. Look at the movie poster up there too. That's awesome. Don't think I've seen 'Wild Geese' but if this team is behind it then I probably should.

Taking Care Of Business

Horrible 1990 'comedy' about an uptight, worky bloke who loses his Filofax and a baseball loving, car thefty bloke who breaks out of prison and finds it and assumes worky's identity. Everything that happens from then on is just bloody annoying. I can't be bothered to explain why and you'll never watch it anyway so that's fine.

Has there ever been a James Belushi film where he doesn't just play James Belushi though? The Filofax itself ends up as the star of the show here. Organisational obsessives will love the close-ups of the lists and indexes and the way everyone whips their organiser out with a flourish in meetings and restaurants. It also gets a 'hero' moment when worky and thefty hang on to it to make a zip wire escape. God damn those things are well made. Which is more than can be said for the film itself.

Piranha

Teeth-me-do this must be be the most gratuitous film I've ever seen. Bad science results in nipple nibbles and flappy fleshy. Once the bad science has done its thing there's barely five minutes let up from lovely ladies jiggling and a-wiggling their bits or limbs, eyeballs and faces getting eviscerated or lovely ladies jiggling and a-wiggling their bits. Again. But it's not all sexist misogyny. Oh no - there's a bit of male genitalia floating around too. Snigger.

Great to see a proper 18 certificate film too. I can't remember seeing a more gory film for the last twenty years or so. Some of it is brutally realistic. The credits give a big thanks to the 'Association of Amputee Surfers' and it's obvious that those guys were very busy.

Surprisingly for a film this trashy, it's really well made and more clever than you'd think. There's also some nice nods to Jaws with the reverse-zoom and a cameo from Richard Dreyfuss. This is a movie that knows exactly what it's doing and its main selling point, the 3D, is particularly good - even if it is mostly used as an excuse to get a succession of performing breasts front and centre. There's oily breasts, skiing breasts, tequila breasts, dancing breasts, surfing breasts and much more. In fact they should have called it Piranha 3D DD. Which brings me to Kelly Brook.

I'll be honest, she's very, very well put together. But what Mother Nature gave with one hand, she took with the other. Here is a woman who should never be allowed to speak on screen or stage. That voice. The strange softy, shouty delivery. Arrgh! Quick - get her doing some bizarre nudey underwater ballet scene or something. Oh you have.....oh yes, that's much better thank you.

Away from the breast-fest though, my favourite moment of the film was the return to the big screen for Christopher Lloyd. He gets to play the usual manic professor type of course but his brief exposition heavy appearance was the icing on a very bloody, funny and enjoyable (fish)cake. Great Scott!

I'm Not There

I'm not the biggest Bob Dylan fan you'll find but I do have five or six of his albums and enjoy catching up with them every now and then. I definitely have to be in the right mood. So I approached this Freewheelin' look at his life with a mixture of interest and caution.

Seems I was in the right mood as for the most part I really enjoyed it. It's clearly going to find a happier home with Dylan obsessives but I knew enough about the man and his history to get drawn into this offbeat portrait of his varied psyches.

There's hero Dylan, inspiration Dylan, celebrity Dylan, wilderness Dylan, protest Dylan and, best of all, Cate Blanchett as villain Dylan. I think I've got all of those right. If not I'm at least due something for 'villain Dylan' because it sounds cool and rhymes.

Blanchett is bloody brilliant and electrifies the movie (that pun alone should win me some points eh Dylan geeks?). The rest of the cast are great too - really quirky and interesting in the best possible way. There were some scenes that caused my mind to wander elsewhere but it's not really the sort of film that you need to focus all your attention on - in fact the freeform style of it almost encourages you to drift off into something like a dreamy, bohemian haze. I don't know, I'm just pretending to be a cool beatnik.

One thing I do know though is that this film made me realise just how much I want to run alongside a goods train in the USA and jump into one of the cargo wagons. Yeah man.

Highlander

Saw this was on TV and intended to just watch 10 minutes or so before having an early night. Fat chance. If you're a movie geek of a certain age I defy you not to watch all of this once you've heard Connery's echoey voiceover at the start.

I've seen this loads of times and even though it somehow manages to get slightly more rubbish with each viewing, I still adore it. I realise that doesn't really make sense but who cares? Highlander is pretty much the perfect example of a 'guilty pleasure'. Here's some of the good/bad specialness that makes me love it so:

• The incredibly lame first fight between Kurgan and MacLeod. Like a couple of kids re-enacting a battle at a school play.
• MacLeod's cutesy-wutesy way with the ladies - "Aye blossom, the way you like it", "Aye, blossom I will".
• Director Mulcahy's overuse of the clever fades from one scene to the next. My favourite? Christopher Lambert's funny face merging into a massive wall mural of the Mona Lisa.
• Christopher Lambert's funny face in general.
• And his terrible, terrible acting.
• Garfield, the brilliantly antagonistic cop - "You cruisin for a piece of ass?"
• The moment MacLeod realises he's immortal. At the bottom of what is clearly a swimming pool pretending to be a loch with rubbish fake reeds.
• "You look like a woman you stupid haggis".
• The awful, collapsing foam walled castle with the crappy drawn background of the night sky.
• Tooled up vigilante guy - "Ok marine, this is for real".
• Rubbish autograph matching software on a computer that looks like a BBC micro.
• Bizarre animated monsters attacking MacLeod as he dangles on obvious wires whilst going through the orgasmic rush of the quickening.

I could go on and on and on. Like an immortal film reviewer or summink. It's just ones of those films where even the bad things about it are so endearing that they make you wub it even more.

At its heart though is a bloody good story. A group of individuals who (for reasons unexplained) are immortal and can only be killed by having their heads lopped off, are drawn to seek each other out in battle over many centuries - beheading away like whirling dervishes until one is left to collect 'the prize'. This rather brilliant concept provides the film with a canvas that includes vicious clans in 'Braveheart' style battles, a World War 2 flashback, a drunken 18th century duel and, um, a fight in a car park.

All of this is bloated out with some extravagantly hammy acting, an omnipresent soundtrack by Queen (seriously - everytime anyone puts the radio on its one of their songs) and a training montage. Every guilty pleasure has to have a training montage. Here you get Connery and Lambert having a right chuckle running after deers and insulting each other whilst their stunt doubles do swordy stuff on top of various cliff tops.

I should add, to make myself sound intelligent, that Highlander also raises some chinstroke-inducing questions on life and death in a couple of poignant scenes. Set to a Queen ballad naturally.

Highlander is a great film. Better than that, it's a great, rubbish film. A self-invented genre I have huge affection for and one that grew wonderfully out of control in the excess of the 1980's.

Oh and bonus points to anyone who can name two actors from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace that also pop up in this.

Law Abiding Citizen

Had a bit of a crappy week this week so seeing Gerard Butler raging against injustice felt like quite an appropriate way to see off a Friday night. What a very silly film this is. Don't get me wrong, I still really enjoyed it but you need to be able to disable your 'critic mode' to enjoy it to its best. It's an absolutely stupid film.

Basically in a nutty shell, nasty things happen to nice bloke's family and nice bloke become bastard and wreaks excessively violent revenge on everyone he thinks is responsible for nasty things. Even though he's banged up in prison and stuff. And strips naked when the coppers come to get him. I don't really know why he did that.

Watching the film was a bit of a stop and start affair as it was interrupted by phone calls, the DVD freezing and my need to keep getting more beers and finish a bottle of wine. I'm actually as drunk as I've been in a long time. Hahahaha.

I liked the "**** you and your pommes-frites" quote and the bit that made wifey cack herself when someone's head got surprisingly messed up.

Sorry, if you want a better review you should probably do a Google-me-do.

Love you

Salt

Mrs Fletch and I took our Dads to go and see this. She said we were doing our bit for 'care in the community'. Amusing age related insults aside, this is just the sort of film that should find quite a wide audience and deserves to do good business because it's great fun.

Angie Jolly is pretty. Oh. I meant to type she's pretty damn good as an action star but my mind wandered and the sentence ended where it did. She is pretty though. And Jesus H Pitt can she kick bottom. She barely stops running and climbing and punching and leaping and shooting the whole way through. She could do with eating some pies though.

This filmy film was originally written for Tom Tom Cruise but he couldn't be bothered so they rewrote it for Angie. I think they did a good job. It's more fun seeing a girly girl kick people all over the screen sometimes and it adds a bit more of a dramatical edge to it somehow. It's as daft as a brush but it's really good fun. It's perfect for a guess-me-do competition with your mates. See if you can predict what's going to happen. I smugly admit that I scored very highly on this and figured out a lot of the plot very early on.

I must be honest, I've had a bit to drink tonight and feel a bit wibbly, wobbly so that'll do you for this write up. I liked Salt. It's a good condiment for an entertaining evening.

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

A swifter than expected return to Hogwarts as Luke was desperate to see it and Mrs Fletch and I both fancied seeing it again too. He couldn't believe his luck.

This is the one where the teenage angst and moods really kick off. And Harry has his first snog. The performances are definitely improved all round this time too. Think getting his wand out on stage in that horsey play definitely helped Radcliffe improve his acting chops ( I have no idea what chops are in that context and freely admit to reusing that phrase from some film mag or other). Imelda Staunton is excellent too as the tea sipping, chintzy, witch bag who tries to turn Hogwarts into Colditz. A truly hateful character excellently brought to life.

New-comer to the franchise David Yates, directs with a nice mix of flair and common sense. There's some good shots that feel 'handheld' and bring a bit of urgency to things. He must have done a lot right anyway as the directing gig was his from this film onwards.

There's not so much villainy on screen in this one (till the big smackdown at the end) and instead the story revels in the hubble, bubble, toil and trouble as unseen dark forces gather strength. You really get the feeling that badness and bad things are on their way. With that and all the teenage grumpiness going on, you could sum up this film with the word 'brooding'.

I asked Luke to give me his review of the film over breakfast this morning. "I really like Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix" was his considered verdict. He's a master of brevity, my son.

Day Watch

Crap in a bun! What is it with this series of films? The Snooze Demon got me again. Was having a lovely time, swigging beer and cooking a curry (ok, heating up a ready meal) whilst watching this when suddenly - slump - the eyelids turn into shutters and I find myself nodding on and off for the whole last act of the film.

This was doubly annoying because most of the film was a bit, well, odd. And odd for odd's sake it seemed. I really wasn't getting into it at all. But the last 20 minutes were mental! Every time I emerged from my sleepy haze, my tired little eyes were subjected to increasingly frantic and impressive scenes of carnage and destruction as buildings were obliterated, trucks jumped through each other and a penthouse of guests jumped around oblivious to what was going on. I knew just how they felt as I didn't have a scooby doo what was happening.

A few chapter selects and rewinds later and I'd managed to piece it all together. Just about. It was a really strong finish to a movie that didn't seem to know what to do with itself for the most part. Definitely not a patch on Night Watch but still a very strong visual showcase for the director. He's got some crazy sounding projects in the pipeline too. Abraham Lincoln - Vampire Hunter and Moby Dick sound awesome. Bring it on Mr flashy, whizzy Russian dude.

Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire

What better way to follow a near three hour car journey than by watching a near three hour film? Was a bit hesitant about letting Luke see this one yet as it gets a bit dark to say the least. Thankfully our many hours playing Lego Harry Potter on the Xbox meant he had a good idea of the story already and the worst thing about it in the end was Ron's potty mouth, everything's 'bloody this' and 'bloody that'!

Parental concern aside, I was really surprised by how good this was on second viewing. This might be the first Potter film that's better than the book. It certainly benefits from trimming off some of the fat, like the hundred odd pages on the Quidditch World Cup at the beginning. Here that bit's just used to give the film a punchy start and set up several of the plot points for later on.

Whilst I still think that JK Rowling lost it a bit with the later books in terms of excess, you can't deny that she's a brilliant storyteller. Watching this film with the knowledge of what's going to happen is a lesson in how you introduce characters and devices and motivation to lead the audience to an exciting ending. Kudos to the filmmakers too for bringing it all so vividly to life especially as this is one of the more magical instalments - with dragons, mermaid things, a sunken galleon and Eric Sykes. And Jarvis Cocker.

The kids are still a bit awkward with some of their lines. It's the. Pauses. They put in for. Dramatic. Effect. Bless them though, they ARE the characters though and you can't imagine anyone else in their wizarding shoes.

I think the only real negative about the film is the lack of John Williams doing the score. Instead you get some random bloke who serves up an anonymous, sludgy bit of orchestral meh. I think that's how Classic FM would describe it anyway.

Looking forward to watching the next in the series with Luke now. He's completely obsessed with all things Potter and ran off at the end of this one to read the back of the DVD sleeve for Order Of The Phoenix. Can't remember much of that but as long as Ron doesn't start effing and jeffing all over the place then I'm sure we'll both enjoy it.

I Love You Phillip Morris

Sweet little film. Jim Carrey loves Ewan McGregor in and out of prisons and mansions and speedboats and fake careers. J and E are both superb in it but I couldn't help but wonder why you needed to get straight actors to play the characters. I suppose their star power ensured the film got the cash to be made. Maybe it's an easier sell to a wider audience too? I don't know - I just felt a bit annoyed that my cynicism got in the way a bit.

Anyway as I said, both actors do a great job. McGregor gives the film its sweetness (and a very convincing gay run that isn't camp or 'look at me, I'm being gay') whilst Carrey is all wild eyed and obsessive and endearing. Amazing that it's based on a true story as well. Some of the cons he pulls off are enormous. And that's not a reference to any of the inmates in the jail scenes.

At only 90 minutes long, you can enjoy this in an evening and still have time to wash up, pick a fantasy football team, get your camera ready for a trip and watch a meteor shower. Well that's what I did, you can do whatever you like. But you should definitely watch this film. If it was a letter, it would be the letter V. It starts brilliantly, sags a bit in the middle and then ends brilliantly. I'm not sure my new alphabet based reviewing system will last so make the most of that. I would love to see a film that got a Q though.

The A-Team

In 2010, a crack paternal unit was sent to the kitchen for a crime they didn't commit. They promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade (or at least their beloved wives and kids) to the Cineworld underground and tonight, these four Dads who make up The D-Team actually made it to the cinema as a foursome for the first time ever. As the planner of this ambitious escape attempt I naturally see myself as Hannibal (I would have gone for Murdock but, in a perfect 'Howling Mad' combo of craziness and flying, Nick took that role when he fell down some steps on the way out).

Being of a 'certain age', there was always a pretty good chance that the four of us would enjoy this film. We're old-skool. We were there for the original series at 5pm every Saturday during the 80s - to see pretty much the same story each time and always the same army jeep getting flipped over as stuntmen leapt out in slo-mo waggling their arms for all they were worth. I can still remember the toys I had too. Face's Corvette and a random HQ set with loads of stupid oil drums and hay bales that got lost.

So was this new movie version any good? Yes. It was bloody great fun. All four of us were grinning and laughing the whole way through. This is not a film that takes itself seriously. They've taken most of the basic elements from the old show and bolted them onto the usual prove-your-innocence storyline with a modern day setting. Oh and loads and loads of ridiculously over the top action scenes (with some impressively 'weighty' special effects) which are completely stupid but gloriously entertaining. It's a bit like a blokey version of 'Charlie's Angels' sometimes. Bradley Cooper as Face definitely gets the Cameron Diaz role - his tanning obsession being the perfect excuse for him to get his shirt off in several scenes. He doesn't wiggle about in a small pair of Spider-Man pants though. Which is probably just as well.

The cast do a great job of filling some very iconic shoes and there seems to be a genuine camaraderie between them which comes across really well. I didn't find myself pining for the original team at all (apparently Dirk Benedict and Dwight Schultz have cameos in this but I didn't see them). And despite his dodgy dyed white hair do, my man-crush on Liam Neeson is still intact. Don't tell the rest of The D-Team though or I'll get kicked out and be forced to watch Sandra Bullock rom-coms with The M-Team.

Night Watch

Been meaning to watch this for weeks and with family Fletch camping out in the garden that night, I decided to make use of my free TV time. Brilliant opening scene, really sets the stall out (to use the parlance of an ITV football pundit) as you're thrown into an incredibly stylised battle between good and evil types followed immediately by a superb story-setter featuring a cackling Witch-hag in a very vivid red outfit, a tiger and a creepy spider thingy. Hello I thought, am in for a bit of a treat here.

Think this was the first big budget Russian film. It looks amazing too - director Timur Bekmambetov (who went on to do more show-offy work with 'Wanted') has a great eye for colours and perspectives. And mental action sequences. It's great because you can feel all smug and clever for watching a foreign language film whilst you're enjoying the freaky vampire deaths or the insane truck flips. Awesome!

Annoyingly though, in between thinking that the main good guy looked like David Mitchell and that a vortex of crows looks even better on screen than it sounds - I was suddenly attacked by the Snooze Demon. This meant I had to rewind a few bits to catch up and even had to watch the last 20 minutes of the film twice. In fact, I went on to watch the very last scene again the next day just to make sure I'd absorbed everything (I'm a big fan of absorbancy). What this does prove though is that Night Watch is a really good movie. Why? Because if it wasn't, there's no way I would have bothered going to that much effort.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel which is already at home waiting to be watched. Hopefully this time it won't take me so long to get round to it and I can keep the evil Snooze Demon at bay.

The Prestige

Interestings. Second view of a film I very much enjoyed the first time around. Plenty of magic, illusion and the feeling of a hat being pulled over your eyes. Quite significant hats too. Sorry I'm rambling. It's really bloody hard to write much about this without giving anything away and spoilering and I love you too much for that dear reader. Hopefully one day we can meet up for some warm milk and discuss this film properly.

I will say though that you might not quite understand it even if you think you understand it. If you understand me? What I've just seen for the second time is still swimming around in my brain and simple things have changed into contradictory frown bringers. Which would be a great name for a band.

Mrs Fletch enjoyed it which was pleasing. Although I felt a slight twinge of hurt when she made a derisory comment about the appearance of David Bowie. The man is a legend. I just find him an incredibly compelling personality no matter what he does. Even when he wears decidedly non-child-friendly pantaloons in Labyrinth that leave very little of little David to the imagination. There were some other small parts (oh behave) that caught my attention in this too. I swear the magician at the beginning is Morrie the wig guy from Goodfellas. Actually hang on a minute.....

--------------------- *SHORT BREAK FOR GOOGLE SEARCH* ---------------------

.....hmmm, appears I was wrong. Although I have just learnt that the guy who played Morrie was once Robert De Niro's estate agent and has been in several other films with him. Nice trivia gain there. Where was I? Yes, other small parts in the film include the Piper Perabo lady who still has an odd face and a silly name and still hasn't been forgiven for Coyote Ugly.

You should definitely see The Prestige. It's slow but fascinating, clever but simple and magical but mechanical. And it's directed by the man hero that is Chris Nolan who, not once in this tapestry of type (tripe?) did I praise for his 'cinematic sleights of hand' like some poncey reviewers would have done for this film. So I saved you from spoilers and pretentious/lazy analysis - you can thank me later over a glass of warm milk.

Miller's Crossing

"What's the rumpus?". I love the dialogue in this film. The way the characters interact with each other and the language they use is incredibly satisfying. Sitting down to watch it with a large glass or three of caramel vodka (strange but true - and delicious) I found myself drinking in the movie too. Hadn't seen it in ages so it was like being reunited with an old friend as this has always been one of my favourite films. Can't believe it's 20 year's old though. What a great year 1990 was, with this and Goodfellas both being released then.

I adore the Coen brothers and I still think this is my favourite of theirs - though Fargo runs it close (memo to self, must watch Fargo again soon). Gangsters, dames, Tommy guns, bizarre character names - what's not to love? Oh and the bit where Albert Finney pops his slippers on before seeing off some bad dudes to the strains of 'Danny Boy' is a thing of beauty. The score by Carter Burwell provides a perfect antidote to all the violence and double crossing too, it's lush and warm and lovely. Shame they used if for a Caffreys advert.

A small list of things I thought whilst watching this:

1 - I can't think of any other good films that Gabriel Byrne has been in.
2 - It feels like a book as a film as a book. That makes sense in my head. Stupid head.
3 - I wish I was man enough to drink Whisky like they do in this. Can't bear it neat.
4 - People worry too much about the significance of the hat. Don't worry about the hat.

I like ending things with a small list. I might start trying to introduce that into everyday life, like awkward phone conversations or visits to the supermarket cheese counter.

Catch Me If You Can

Or 'Stay Awake Till The End If You Can'. I must have dozed off about half a dozen times during this which is very bad form. To be fair, it was the late night film on the telly and I'd spent much of the afternoon chasing my sons round a huge soft play climbing frame. Anyway I still managed to really enjoy the first hour as Leo begins his career or conning and tricksy-tricksing his way around banks and airlines. It's still amazing that this is a true story. The bare faced cheek of that Abagnale fella is huuuuge. One of the biggest tricks in the film though is how they make Leo not Da Vinci look 13 near the beginning just by giving him a floppy haircut. Flopp-eee.

Found the second hour quite hard work though. And not just because of my battle with the snooze dragon. I don't really know what it is about this film that I can't connect with. The first time I saw it I remember thinking that is was an admirable little film but not one I'd rush to see again and now I've seen it again I wouldn't rush to see it again. Again. It's got a fascinating story and good performances and it looks great with its 60's setting and stylings - but I just find it a bit uninspiring and, oddly for a true story, unconvincing too. I'm sorry Stevie SpBerg. You're still my favourite cap wearing, beardy film maestro though.

The Incredibles

Watched this with all the family. We're trying to see if Jack's ready to sit through an entire film at the cinema yet. The little guy did really well. He liked the big robots (or 'spiders' as he called them) and was also curiously obsessed with the luvvie darling lady that designs the Incredibles' costumes. Was not so keen during the action sequences though - he didn't like to see the heroes in danger. Bless.

Those action sequences are great though and the whole film is really good fun to watch, although the first quarter or so felt a little bit slower than I remember. But this was probably increased by sensing the restlessness of my youngest son as, understandably for a not quite three year old, Pixar's ever reliable emphasis on story and character went over his little head a bit. He just wanted to watch the cool stuff.

Had forgotten how brilliant the whole James Bond design vibe is too. It's a complete Ken Adams lovefest, especially with the baddie dude having his base in a volcano. The score follows this inspiration too and combines to create a superb, retro feel to the whole thing. Throw in the obligatory awesome animation, lots of excitement and a pitch perfect voice cast and you have a film fit for all the family. Which is exactly what we had in mind when we put it on. Like I said at the start.

I absolutely adore Pixar's stuff and can't wait to see Toy Story 3. Think we might have to try Jack on the original next and then maybe his first big screen outing can be to see Woody and Buzz...

The Dark Knight

How could I watch anything else after Inception? Honestly, if I could only watch movies by Chris Nolan from now on I'd still be happy. The Dark Knight is a massive achievement. Such a smart, exciting, character based movie. Such a grown up movie. And it's about a bloke who dresses as a bat. Yet not once do you even think to question the authenticity of what you are seeing, such is the sense of reality that the film is grounded in. It's cinematographer, Wally Pfister, is as much of a hero as the writer/director. Gotham looks and feels like a real city and at times, if you could look past the Batmobile and the maniacal villain, it's almost like an urban thriller from the 70s.

On the subject of villains, I have to join the familiar bandwagon and praise Heath Ledger's performance. It really is exceptional. I love the little things he does, like the way he flicks his tongue out when he speaks just like a snake - to get the measure of his prey or a threat. I can't think of any other character quite like this version of The Joker. It's a completely convincing portrayal of someone motivated only by the need for chaos and anarchy. It's so well written too. When he describes himself as being like a dog who chases buses but wouldn't know what to do with one if he caught it - I really get that.

What else is good? Just about everything really. The film's score is exciting and moody. The supporting cast are brilliant (love Gary Oldman's integrity stuffed Police Chief Gordon). But it's the story though that will keep you gripped to the screen and make you want to watch it again and again. It twists and turns like, well, like that snake I was going on about earlier. There is no way you could second guess where it takes the characters and the journey to the (hugely satisfying) ending is full of awesome action sequences and and memorable images. The Joker's exit from one building in particular is just about my favourite scene of the last 10 years.

I couldn't be any more excited about the third Batman film. Not even if they told me that I was going to be cast in the main role and would be paid a gazillion pounds to chase after a scantily PVC clad Cat-Woman for 2 hours. I couldn't do that gruff voice anyway. Bruce Wayne must have shares in Fisherman's Friends I reckon.

Inception

Bloody hell. I'd invested so much in looking forward to this film and telling everyone how good it would be and now I've seen it and I can't stop thinking about it and I feel exhausted and exhilerated. Over the top? Yes. But the reason I'm such a movie junkie is because just occasionally you get to see one as good as this and it makes everything around you feel better.

You probably know the concept is about going into people's dreams and you're better off knowing nothing more than that. Part of the genius of the incredibly clever and original story is how it drip feeds you just enough information whilst seductively adding layer upon layer upon layer. It's utterly absorbing. And demanding too. You'd better be prepared to give it your full attention right from the very beginning and you should, because your poor old brain will be richly rewarded. There are astonishing visual treats, emotionally satisfying pay-offs, brilliant performances, a wonderful soundtrack and the exciting sense of watching a filmmaker at the very peak of his craft. I can't begin to explain how talented Christopher Nolan must be to have written and directed this.

I've always loved films where there is a team on a mission and each member has their own critical job to perform - particularly that delicious moment that all those films have when all the team's work clicks into place after an adrenaline raising close call and one of the gang makes a gesture or expression that says to the viewers 'Yeah, we know that bit was really cool'. Well Inception takes this to whole new heights. The characters that make up the team are superb and are well played by a really interesting cast. Di Caprio is the standout though. His 'prettyboy' tag has been left far behind and he's developed into an excellent actor, carrying the heart of the movie and delivering the clever and complex script with ease.

Look underneath all its intelligence and originality though and you'll see that Inception is really a dizzying cocktail of some of the most popular themes of modern cinema. It's a sci-fi story, a heist movie, a romance, a James Bond film and an edge of your seat thriller all in one. Rarely has a film given so much to an audience. It deserves all the praise, box-office success and awards that will surely follow. I absolutely adored it and would place it straight into my top 5 films. A quintet that has remained comfortably intact for many years I might add.

Go and see it and then come home and download the soundtrack and let your mind wallow in the brilliance of it all. Sweet dreams...

Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen

Big old bots do punch me-shoot me in front of beautiful sunsets. Part 2. Quite fancied a second look at this so did just that tonight and it was exactly as I remembered. I also remember the ferocious slagging this got on its cinema release and I think whether you side with that angry mob depends a lot on your worldview. They've certainly got no end of ammunition. The story is nonsensical, the increased focus on 'comedy' is nail-grindingly bad (the buck-toothed Autobot twins. Seriously. Was no one brave enough to say how shit they were?) and the ill conceived logic of some of the plot points (human transformers? The all powerful rail gun that hasn't been used before or since) is painful. And those are just three of the stand out examples of bad.

However, I still quite enjoyed the thing and am quite happy to admit it. I grew up playing with Transformers toys and would have traded an entire summer's holiday, my Fighting Fantasy books and my goalie gloves for the chance of seeing my clanking heroes on the big screen. I could never have imagined back then just how well the robots and transformations would be realised and brought to life. There are some staggeringly, insane action scenes in this and I feel I would be betraying the 9 year old version of me if I started analysing and attacking it now I'm a grumpy, critical adult. Besides, everytime the badness appears like Sam's mum being wacky or John Turturro revealing his unpleasant backside, all you need to do is breathe deep and wait a bit and then you'll get a perfectly framed shot of a helicopter exploding above a pyramid whilst Megan (hubba bubba) Fox screams in slo-mo and Optimus Prime leaps onto the back of an evil transforming fighter plane as the sun sets beautifully in the background. And it will look awesome.

I'm really looking forward to Transformers 3D next year. I see that there'll be no more shameless, gratuitous shots of Ms Fox now that she's left the series. Just the sort that a grumpy, critical adult wouldn't like at all.

Shrek Forever After

Why does poor old number 4 so often get booted from the title of the fourth film in a franchise? You know, like 'Terminator: Salvation' or 'Alien: Resurrection' and, um, others for example. Is it just psychological? A gentle way to try and help the audience forget that the studio is milking every last drop it can from a series? That's probably the case with Shrek Forever After, especially after the rubbish Shrek 3. Thankfully this is a return to form for Dreamworks' green cash cow.


For one thing, it gets rid of the stunt casting (not a phrase to get mixed up!) that weighed down part 3. No Justin Trousersnake or similar pop muppet doing voice duties here. In fact the big new character, Rumpelstiltskin, is voiced by the fella that came up with the story and he delivers an excellent, sneering performance. He did a good job with the story too as it reinvents everything we've seen before and makes things original and fun again. Wife and eldest son were giggling throughout (Mrs F was the loudest in the entire audience!) and I will admit to a few guffaws because of the chunky Puss In Boots.

I think I was a bit distracted though because Inception was playing on several other screens in the cinema and I am desperate to see that. I could hear it calling like a big screen siren, "Come and look at me with my metaphysics and clever-clever story and visual loveliness" - and then one of Shrek's kids would fart and bring me back to the land of Far, Far Away.

Not much left to say really. It's probably the third best Shrek movie but then parts 1 and 2 were pretty damn good. Definitely a good way to end this series - even if they are doing a spin-off about Puss In Boots next. What was I saying about milking it?

Predators

I'm all for sequels being made by people who love and appreciate the originals but it doesn't always guarantee you'll get a great film. Sadly that's the case with Predators. It's stuffed to the mandibles with references, nods and in jokes to the mighty 1987 Schwarzenegger classic - even the music has been lovingly recreated. The problem is that no one seems to have put as much effort into updating Robert Rodriquez's screenplay which was sitting in a cabinet for 16 years apparently. Maybe he should have directed it a bit sooner rather than leaving it to some other guy.

The movie's concept of having a bunch of badass strangers dumped on an alien planet to be hunted by the Preds is all well and good but it just ends up as being a bit 'something old, something new'. Jungle setting, gun toting team picked off one by one, traps, mud, fire, waterfalls = old. Alien dogs and bigger predators with revamped designs and dodgy masks = new. There's not much to it beyond that and you can't help but feel a bit shortchanged in the end - though not as badly as I felt when Cineworld charged me £2.05 for a small bottle of water. I tried making the Predator guttural, clicky sound at the cashier but she wouldn't budge on the price.

I think my problem with the film is that the thrill of revisting all the bits you loved about Predator is worn away after about twenty minutes and you realise you'd be better off watching the original on DVD. Instead you're left with a gang of mainly stereotypical types getting bashed about by some evil monster-bads who look like they're auditioning for a WWE wrestle-fest. Adrien Brody's ok in it but you never believe in his character - or want to spend any time with him. Not like Arnie's squad from Team 87. Those guys were cool. And they were well characterised and charismatic and cool. And I loved them. No one will be saying that about this lot in 23 year's time.

It's a bit of a shame really as Predators starts very well - no preamble (or any other kind of amble), just bang and you're straight into it as the audience and the characters are literally parachuted into a strange new world. Ack - can't stop humming the theme from Aladdin now ('Don't you dare close your eyes'). Where was I...oh yeah, so...there's a good start followed by more goodness from spotting all the Predator fan bits followed by some ok bits followed by some silly bits. Um, that's it really.

This review has rather tailed off towards the end hasn't it? Just like the film really. Now where's my signed Stan Winston book...

Daybreakers

Nobbly Bobbly. Not a summary of my review of Daybreakers but the ice lolly I chose to eat whilst watching it. I may stick with this frozen treat for all future vampirey films - all 200 billion of them. Happily enough I really like Nobbly Bobblys and vampire films and happily again, both were pretty good tonight.

Nice story concept. It's 2019 and some vampirical plague has spread across the globe and now there are hardly any human beans left, so the vampys are getting thirsty and mutating into bad-bat-things as they begin to desperately feed on themselves. This shift in the population means the streets are empty throughout the day as the teeth-mongers hide from the sun - leading to some cool shots of deserted streetscapes and funky, future solutions to UV exposure like Ethan Hawke's blacked out Chrysler with video views instead of windows. Mr Hawke (who looks like he could be Tom Cruise's brother - or is that just me?) is a nice vamp-chap who works for a bad vamp-chap and a kerfuffle ensues when he starts looking for a cure.

There's some funny gory bits and many jumpy-jump bits - leading to frequent sniggers from me as Mrs Fletch often shot a couple of feet up in the air. I of course remained poised and stoic because I am man. Hear me roar. The funny gory bits reach their peak during a feasting frenzy when the camera is slowed down and limbs and entrails glide gracefully through the air - including, if I am not mistaken, the world's first slo-mo spleen shot.

An entertaining and novel spin on pointy-fangs which, even though it runs out of steam a bit near the end, is easily worth 90 something minutes of your time. It's also another film directed by two people which means that I've now seen three films in a row made by directing duos. A dull fact yes, but I feel oddly nourished by this new badge of geekiness.