The Woman in Red - 1984 ***

Not a particularly funny film as Gene Wilder movies go, but still something to watch on a Sunday afternoon. Wilder plays Teddy, a happily married man who becomes besotted by a woman he sees at work. The whole film is basically about him trying to find ways to be close to her without his wife finding out. I thought it was a bit of a sad film, and portrays married men as idiots who can't control themselves.

Gangster Squad - 2013 ****

Gangster Squad is one of those films i know I'm going to like before i watch it. It was better than 'Lawless' but not as good as a typical 1940s noir. Sean Penn was almost unrecognisable as Mickey Cohen, the sadistic leader of the gang which has total control of the whole of Chicago. Emma Stone plays his beautiful abused mistress, and Ryan Gosling plays the cop who falls in love with her, whilst trying to put an end to the bloody violence.
It's typical Hollywood. Glitzy, glamorous and indulgent. I enjoyed it, although found that it ran on a bit.

Funny About Love - 1990 ***

Not a bad film. Gene Wilder plays his usual manic self, falling in love with an independent and beautiful woman before finding himself in a quandry after they cannot become pregnant. He doesn't really want a baby of course. So what does he do? Falls into the arms of a younger woman with none of the stress of burden. He then realises that he does want children, but is he too late? A bit of a darker film than others that Wilder has done, but worth a look.

(HORROR) Playback - 2012 **

What an awful film. An what is Christian Slater doing in it??! (It's always weird when that happens). It's loosely (and badly) based on the Ring movies, but fails miserably in every area. The acting is awful, almost funny, and the story doesn't make any actual sense. It's interspersed with horror scenes that are being shot in the movie so in the end you forget who you are actually supposed to be watching. Add in some shaky camera work (essential for any awful film) and some fake tomato ketchup blood, and you have this film. Avoid.

A Haunted House - 2013 ***

Quite a funny film, obviously trying a bit too hard to spoof too many horrors though in a way which is no longer original. Scary Movie has been there and done that, and considering there is now a 5th movie in their franchise that has just been released it leaves 'A Haunted House' in the shade.
Marlon Wayans is a funny guy, much funnier of course in films where he performs with his brother, but still quite good here. He plays Malcolm, who moves into a large house with his girlfriend of two years Kisha, and almost immediately, strange and unexplained activity begins to take place at night time. Not the type you would expect in a regular horror film mind, but still peculiar.
The whole film is trying to be the Paranormal Activity movies, and some of the scenes are very funny and effective. On the whole however, I think the film lacks being really hilarious, and just comes across as being quite flat.

(HORROR) Crowsnest - 2012 **

Starts off well, as do many 'found footage' films, and then gradually progresses to being completely ridiculous. Why do people in mortal danger have to quiver and snivel and breathe SO loudly in films like this? Of course they are going to be seen! Idiots. The also have a tendency to poke their cameras/camcorders out of their hiding places into the faces of the psychopaths and then wait until they have nearly been dismembered alive before they run away. Quite predictable, but quite amusing anyway.

Stoker - 2013 ***

I've seen the 'Vengeance' trilogy by this director, and they all have the same weird slightly creepy vibe. I was expecting something else from 'Stoker.' I'm not sure what though. The story is (apparently) loosely based on Alfred Hitchcock's 'Shadow of a Doubt.' I sort of wish that I hadn't known that before I saw the film.
After her beloved father is killed in a suspicious automobile accident, India retreats into herself, that is, until her hypnotic and mysterious uncle Charlie appears, supposedly with the idea of looking after India's mother in the large old house that they have been left with. Charlie's intentions however, are much darker and obsessive than either India or her mother could ever have imagined. Nicole Kidman's performance isn't very strong either.
Worth a watch, but altogether disappointing compared to his trilogy of Tartan Asia Extreme movies.

I Want You - 1998 *

This is a really awful film. If it wasn't for the lovely Rachel Weisz it would be a total write off. Helen is a young woman running a hairdresser's and dating a local radio star. Unbeknownst to her the psychotic boyfriend that she split up with a while ago is out of jail and looking for a reunion with her, which doesn't go down very well with her new boyfriend or the young, mute boy obsessed with her. It's awfully acted (I know it's supposed to be filmed in an amateur style but really?!) and all the characters are immensely unpleasant.

A Good Day To Die Hard - 2013 **

Such a confusing film, with one of the longest most amazing vehicle chase scenes I've ever seen. Bruce Willis is getting on a bit now, and it does show. In this film he meets his son for the first time in decades in the middle of a particularly nasty action scene and they get together to shoot various nasty characters. There's a lot of double-crossing in this film and even more explosions but apart from that it didn't have a very clear storyline.

Jack the Giant Slayer - 2013 **

After how much I enjoyed 'Oz the Great and Powerful' I thought 'Jack the Giant Slayer' would be pretty good as well. I wasn't sure how they would 'modernise' the story of Jack but on the whole it couldn't of been closer if it had tried.
That annoying boy from 'About a Boy' is now all grown up and taking the main part of Jack, who feels a bit perturbed when he notices that a large beanstalk has sprouted in his house (he was entertaining the princess at the time and now she is at the op of the stalk) and decides to help the soldiers in their quest to find the princess at the top and also slaughter the massive troll who has probably taken her prisoner.
It's just a bit wishy-washy and nothing is really black and white. I didn't enjoy it.

(HORROR) The Purge - 2013 ****1/2

'The Purge' is a terrifying film. More so because you can imagine this sort of thing happening in America somewhere down the line. To me this was far more disturbing than a slasher or ghost film. It focuses on the problems with our society, and how the wealthy regard the poor.
The Purge happens once a year. On this night, for 12 hours, all criminal activity is legal and emergency services are unavailable. Unemployment and criminal rates are at an all time low because America is in effect 'cleansing' itself of people it does not feel are worthy to be alive and no one is going to bother committing a crime throughout the rest of the year if they know that they can do anything they want on this night and not have to face the consequences of their actions. Already a terrifying thought, but what would happen if you found that a group of people wanted to break into your home and kill you, and there was no one to help? This is exactly what happens to Ethan Hawke and his family on the night of the annual purge, after his son unwittingly opens the door to a homeless man who is seeking refuge. The house is then surrounded by a group of menacing individuals all wearing masks (presumably all from the same high class neighbourhood that he lives in) who tell him that unless he gives them back their 'target', they will enter his house with force and murder him and his family. Hawke is an unpopular character, for, despite working in security and designing top notch security systems he doesn't seem to comprehend that his family or he would need to use one. He has CCTV cameras set up to cover the whole street, automatic metal locks on his doors and windows, and still believes somehow that he is invincible and that no one will try to harm him.
The Purge supposedly is a way for America to release all the tension and angst that has built up until that point in the year. Once they have committed murder on this night, they feel 'refreshed' for the remainder of the year and can go about their business with minimum stress. It is also something of a 'survival of the fittest' situation, as the targets are most likely to be underprivileged, poor people who need to be 'got rid of' to make way for a world of millionaires and high flyers. Anyone think this seems a bit too 'Holocaust-like' for comfort?? If they don't have the right precautions in place to keep themselves safe at home then they don't have a leg to stand on. The only thing to be done is pray that you survive the night.
This is one of those films that stays with you for days afterwards. I cannot stop thinking about it.
See this.

The Firm - 2009 ** 1/2

I've seen a few football hooligan films, and it never ceases to amaze me how anyone can justify this type of behaviour. I don't really understand the point of it or the film, except that it's been made to highlight the fact that there are men out there who's lives revolve around when they can next batter someone in with a baseball bat. The Firms are different teams (typically) and they all come together regularly to fight each other. You can tell one firm from the other by their clothes (the lead character of the film has a ridiculous haircut and an even worse dress sense) and the main firm favour FILA, whilst other firms favour adidas or Kappa.
It's just violence for the sake of violence, and I thought it was pointless.

Freddy Got Fingered - 2011 **

For such a cult film with a massive following I thought this was going to be hilarious, but in all honesty I can't understand what all the fuss was about, and only raised a smile a couple of times throughout the whole film. Tom Green overacts, but not in a clever, 'I'm taking the mickey out of this kind of film' way, more in a total lack of understanding what funny means. The famous quotes you hear bandied about come swift and fast, without really standing out (give me Bogart's last line in 'Casablanca' any day) and I was left straight-faced by the whole film.