PS, I Love You - 2008

Sometimes there's only one thing left to say.

Many people I know have raved about this film yet it has taken me a long time to get around to watching it. It really was an emotional rollercoaster. Gerard Butler is actually in the movie very little and we are left with Hilary Swank who occupies most of the movie. I must say the performance that came from her was one of the best I have seen and I totally felt her pain. I haven't cried this much at a film since 'Bridges of Madison County' and know that this means I have really connected with the characters - it really is heartbreaking. Critics always say that the reason you cry in a movie is because you can imagine the situation taking place in your own life and I do think that it applies here. The tragedy is almost instantaneous at the beginning and we are left pondering why through the rest of the film. This is a film to watch if you want to evaluate your own life and relationship. P.s I love the soundtrack.

Rating 4/5

The Tale of Despereaux - 2008

The world's smallest mouse fights back.

To be honest although this film has great animated and graphic design the story just seemed a bit too 'Ratatouille-like' for me and many scenes almost felt like I was in the wrong movie! The basic story follows a young mouse who instead of learning to be timid and scared of cats decides instead to be brave and strong. He goes against his family and friends in order to be different. Ratatouille centres around a mouse who decides to be different as well and although one is about honour and the other is about food I still couldn't watch the film without seeing 'Ratatouille.' The latter is my favourite and this movie has missed the mark in my opinion because I don't think it appeals to all audiences like 'Ratatouille.'

Rating 2.5/5

The Uninvited - 2009

Fear moves in

I had no idea that this horror movie was an Americanised version of Tartan Asia Extreme's 'A Tale of Two Sisters'. If I had known then I would never have bothered to watch it in the first place. As it stands I found it pretty dull, not very well acted and very predictable, for many times I sat there and guessed what would happen in the upcoming scene, I dislike that in movies. I am a big fan of genuinely scary horror films and am always on the lookout for a new release, although I should have learned by now that they are all churned out by the same people who have no imagination and have to copy other directors' ideas.

Rating 2/5

Black Snake Moan - 2006

Everything is hotter down south.

For some reason I got it into my head that this was a sequel for 'Snakes on a plane' maybe because there was the word snake in the title! However it wasn't a sequel and the only thing that kept me going all the way through was basking with delight that Christina Ricci really can act! Her portrayal of a trailer trash nymphomaniac who has a serious addiction was brilliant and Samuel Jackson was as always on top form as the deeply religious yet mildly sleazy man who saves her from her demons. Film went on a bit but you can't have everything.

Rating 2.5/5

Bedtime Stories - 2008

What if the stories you told came to life?

This film was supposed to be a big deal last year but for what reason I don't know! Adam Sandler doesn't seem to have progressed very much in his film career and is still choosing exactly the same type of parts to play - goofy and weirdly comical. Russell Brand was funny but not enough to save the film and Keri Russell wasn't much better. I found that the story lagged and never got funny enough to grasp my attention.

Rating 2/5

Party Girl - 1930

The shocking story of love for sale.

I was curious to see this movie, partly because of Douglas Fairbanks Jnr and partly because of it being banned in many countries at the time of it's release, these types of movies generally interest me as they hold some sort of naughty fascination that there will be shocking scenes. For many, I'm sure that this movie was a pretty big deal when it came out, I mean being a party girl was just another name for an escort now and 1930's America wouldn't have been ready for something as reputation-shattering as that. Although I tried to look at the movie with a view to being a post-20s flapper I still couldn't find enough to panic me, in fact the whole movie just seemed to consist of girls wandering around rooms with glasses of champagne and old men with party hats on. Not very scandalous and not very exciting as movies go, plus Douglas Fairbanks was at his most unappealing for the entire film showing no acting skills whatsoever. A waste of time and money, do not be fooled into thinking if you buy it you will be capturing a piece of priceless footage from the 30s - it's purely garbage.

Rating 2/5

Dream Wife - 1953

It's a riot how Cary carries on!

This is yet another Cary Grant movie that I have never heard of before. And I don't know why because the relationship between him and Deborah Kerr is, as always hilarious (see 'The Green Green Grass' for another example of their witty partnership.) Add a very funny fight scene and a mock wedding and you have grounds for an extremely enjoyable movie. But then again I am biased and find Cary Grant funny in anything!!

Rating 4/5

And When Did You Last See Your Father? - 2007

Between every father and his son, there is a story to be told.

This was a very heart-wrenching film. A film about a man whose father dies before he has time to truly tell him all the things he feels he should. Between these scenes we see flashbacks of the man as a young boy and understand in more depth how he really feels about his father. Each memory is haunting, precise and ever so painful to watch for anyone who has ever lost a member of their family and felt that they did not appreciate them enough in the time they were alive. Colin Firth is gut-wrenchingly good as the son, Blake and Jim Broadbent is brilliant as his father. A film that must be watched.

Rating 4/5

Gone - 2006

The Trip of a lifetime.

I saw this two years ago and don't remember what I thought of it so unlike my usual routine of not watching films again unless they are outstanding I decided to go ahead and buy it to see again. After watching it for a second time I now realise that it's one of the worst horror movies I've ever seen and I assume the reason I didn't remember that before was because I was trying to blot out the awfulness of it!! I loved 'Wolf Creek' and this is like a cheaper and even worse version of that involving a girl, her boyfriend and a bloke that they pick up while on a trekking holiday. The stranger appears to develop feelings for the girl and the boyfriend sets out to make sure nothing happens.

Riveting stuff - that was sarcasm by the way.

Rating 2/5

The Asphalt Jungle - 1950

The City under the City.

This film is renowned for being a film noir buff's dream. It's got everything - gangsters, jewels, dames, Marilyn Monroe and beautifully shot scenes. Sterling Hayden is very memorable as Dix, one of the leaders of a Bank Robbery that goes wrong and Jean Hagen ( Lena from Singin' in the Rain before her voice went high!!) is great as the naiive gangster's moll caught up with him. Marilyn is in this movie very briefly but is great as well and you can see the makings of the world's most famous star.

Rating 3.5/5

Coffee and Cigarettes - 2003

Java and smokes, and bizarre little jokes.

This was a peculiar movie, for almost half of it was complete dilge and the rest was brilliant!! Highlights for me included the sketch involving Steve Coogen and one with Bill Murray as a caffeine obsessive. I think many of the others were truly awful - the last sketch was simply 2 old men coughing and talking about their coffee break, hardly an interesting ten minutes and so I think this film is of the 'love it or hate it' variety, and I'm not sure where I am although I'm leaning heavily towards hate!

Rating 2/5 (the 2 stars was for the 2 good sketches!!)

The Pit and the Pendulum - 1961

The Greatest Terror tale ever told!

I realise that this isn't taken exactly from Edgar Allen Poe's work of the same name but still it proves a very enjoyable and pretty scary film!! Vincent Price is as usual on top form with his characterisation of Nicholas, the owner of the eerie castle in the mountains whose brother in law comes to visit after hearing of his sister's untimely death. On the outset Nicholas appears devestated by the events and can hardly communicate the matters of her death to the brother, but everything is not what it seems...
A scary film that is being given an extra star because of Vincent!

Rating 3/5

Sleuth - 2007

Obey the Rules.

I can hardly review this film without getting excited. Pinter is a total genius and Caine and Law act perfectly together! The story centres around Caine and Law meeting as respectable men at Caine's large estate to discuss Caine's wife, whom both are sleeping with. The next hour or so is absurd, funny, clever, brilliant and thoroughly confusing. Law has proved to me that he can act very well indeed and Michael Caine just grows and grows in my good books as one of 'The Best of British.' A salute goes to Harold Pinter for his amazing screenplay and Kenneth Branagh can now add a 5/5 rated movie to his list of talents!!

Rating 5/5

Scoop - 2006

The perfect man. The perfect story. The perfect murder.

For all Woody Allen's faults at sometimes playing jittering incomprehensible idiots he was brilliant in this movie. He and Scarlett Johansson bounced off each other comically like two peas in a pod. The story is very funny too! Johansson plays a budding amateur journalist who meets Allen when she attends one of his magicican shows one night. Finding herself caught up in the 'Tarot Killer Murders' she confides in Allen who sets out begrudgingly to help her solve the case. When she meets a dashing, intelligent young aristocrat Allen smells a rat - he's not got an alibi for any murders and appears to own a set of Tarot Cards! but Johansson has begun a relationship with him, so he couldn't possibly be the killer...
A fast, upbeat movie full of plenty of laughs and a talented cast, this will be a movie you want to see again and again!

Rating 4.5/5

Once Upon a Honeymoon - 1942

It's great to be together on one another's honeymoon!

I am the biggest Cary Grant fan ever and I've never heard of this movie until now!! Even with the presence of Ginger Rogers this film had entirely passed me by, but I'm so glad I finally saw it! Grant is hilarious as usual, especially in the scene at the beginning where he is 'measuring' Ginger for clothes, I had to watch the scene three times! Although the background of the story centres around the Second World War which in itself is pretty depressing this film continues to be funny and level-headed, well as level-headed as a Cary Grant film can be!!I feel like I've found a hidden gem, and I'm very happy.

Rating 4/5

Aquamarine - 2006

Sometimes what you wish for isn't really want you want.

I can't really work out this film. On one hand it's very sweet and girlie, but on the other hand it's complete nonsense. Maybe speaking as a slightly older person than the intended age group for this movie makes me biased, because although I watched it to the end, I didn't really think much of it and there was no substance. It was easy to watch but I like my movies generally to be a bit tougher round the edges, and this one lacked it.

Rating 1/5

5 X 2

Love lasts five stages.

This was a shortish film, and a film where I recognised no one, however I loved the concept, and was totally gripped all the way through. I don't think this idea has ever been attempted in film before, although in reality it seems very simple, this is one of the things I love about foreign films, there is always a unique concept. The idea is very simple - the story of a couple, but told backwards, from the first scene where they are signing the divorce papers to the end where they first meet. The thing that strikes me as clever about this film is that we never see the true reasons why the couple divorce, or how they actually get together, and a lot of things that appear to go wrong in their relationship are never explained clearly to us, so instead we have to draw our own conclusions, something which I love to do in movies. A very intelligently provocative movie.

Rating 4/5

The Haunting of Molly Hartley - 2008

Her past is yet to come.

I'm always interested to see films that are based around hauntings, and after seeing 'An American Haunting' and being totally scared I thought this looked great. Let's get one thing straight, there is no haunting going on through the movie. It centres around a girl who finds out a secret about her parents that she wishes she hadn't and it progresses from there...although sort of backwards...or is that forwards? From about ten minutes in I lost the will to care anyway. The whole plot is addled with confusing moments and the acting is pretty dire. I soldiered in bravely expecting at the very least a scary ending, but no, just more confusion.

Rating 1/5

Bus 174 - 2002

The longest day...

I must have mis-read the blurb on the back of the DVD because I expected it to be a moderately entertaining piece of drama. What I got instead was a nail-biting and agonising 2 hours of live footage and interviews centering on the tragedy of Bus 174, the vehicle that was hijacked in Rio de Janeiro 2000. In hindsight the real tragedy was the lack of properly trained police who were unable to deal correctly with the situation and who ended up costing a life in the process. More interviews and documents about the terrorist in question were enough to keep me glued to the screen until the very end. I must admit I have never watched proper live footage of a hijacking before and it really effected me emotionally. Seeing close-ups of the hostages' faces on the bus was devestating. I really recommend this documentary.

Rating 4.5/5

Dumplings - 2004

Compliments to the chef.

Only a foreign film company could come up with such a weird and disgusting idea for a film, and I loved it! The secret for a woman to keep looking young and beautiful is for her to eat dumplings, made by a special recipe and given to her by the mysterious aunt Li. Sinister and at times disgusting, this eerie Tartan Asia is a must for any collection where the fear of getting old outways anything else.

Rating 4/5

Death at a funeral - 2008

Putting the 'fun' in funeral.

I am shocked by all the negative reviews that this film has received as I found it one of th better British movies of 2008. The cast was brilliant, each bringing a new hilarious twist to the plot and the story was extremely funny! Highlights for me included the drugged up dwarf, the toilet scene and the illegal drug-taking resulting in nudity on the roof! Don't understand? Well you will!

Rating 3/5

The Boston Strangler - 2008

The last face they ever saw.

Let's get one thing straight, I loved the 1960s movie of the same name with Tony Curtis in the lead role and was hoping that this maybe as good or even better. However remakes rarely are as good as I found out yet agan by watching this version of the movie. The plot was vague and signified hardly anything of importance regarding the actual case. The story even appeared changed from the original case and what is the point of that? If a film is going to be made based on true events then why make the story different?It simply defeats the point of the film!

Rating 1/5

Definately, maybe - 2008

A second chance at the past will be a second chance at the future.

Well I'd hoped to see this film above many others last year but have only just got around to watching it. It was mediocre. Nothing special. Ryan Reynolds can only act in one way, and seems to project an almost moronic attitude onto the stage which is impossible to shift. The idea of the film didn't take much thought and there was nothing different to any other romantic comedy that would excite you. Only watch if your used to exactly the same type of comedy.

Rating 2.5/5

The Accidental Husband - 2008

Falling in love...even the expert is confused.

Well as much as Uma Thurman is an annoying excuse for an actress she wasn't too bad in this gentle rom-com. Colin Firth was hilarious as her devoted yet professional fiance and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the ...accidental husband. It really does make you think, what would you do if one day you found out that you had been married to someone else, and your 'husband' wasn't going to do a damn thing to change that fact! Not worth the hype, but worth a watch.

Rating 3/5

La Reine Margot - 1993

This was a painfully briliant movie about the tragedy of the St Batholemew Massacre in Paris and serves as a reminder for all who are interested in French history of the dangers of religious monarchy. Very well acted if not slightly long.

Sublime - 2007

When what you fear becomes real.

I really have not seen such a hideous excuse for a horror film in a very long time! In fact I fell asleep in the middle and when I woke up it was like coming back to a never-ending nightmare,add the horribly tacky almost porn-esque music to the 'scary scenes' and you have a tragic production. If this is the standard of horror films today then I would much rather stick with old black&white classics.

Rating 1/5

The Butterfly Effect 2 - 2006

Can you change your past without destroying your future?

Contrary to many reviews I actually preferred this movie to the first one. The storyline was very cleverly entwined and the characters bounced off each other effortlessly. For once I actually understood what was going on. The first movie confused me far too much for me to grasp any enjoyment out of it but this one kept me glued for much more of the time. I loved the concept of being able to change your past by living in the future, in a way it reminds me a teeny bit of 'Minority Report' but was a whole lot better. I wouldn't say the cast was brilliant but the complex story made up for it.

Rating 3.5/5

My Best Friend's Girl - 2008

It's funny what love can make you do.

I assume this movie is supposed to be funny? Although it was a purely ghastly film. The acting was dreadful, Dane Cook especially, has he actually been in a movie and acted well??? Kate Hudson was really annoying throughout and the humour that was apparently present during the film must have been taken out at the last minute. As for Jason Biggs, he will never be in a worthwhile movie.

Rating 1/5