Maternal Obsession - 2008 ***

 Gripping movie about a young woman named Lily who tries to live a normal life whilst being slowly smothered by her mother at home. The mother cannot stand the idea of her daughter having any sort of life, especially if it involves a man.
When Lily starts a relationship with a man from work her mother will do anything to stop it happening, whatever the costs.
Worth a watch.

The Fab Five - The Texas Cheerleading Scandal - 2008 ***

Have become rather obsessed with the real life case of these girls, despite it happening at least four years ago. It's half strange and ridiculous, and half infuriating that teachers allow students to run amok in their school simply because one of the culprits is their daughter.
A group of cheerleaders - known as the 'Fab Five' dominate their school in Texas by abusing, bullying and dominating their fellow students and teachers. They also post provocative film online and send indecent texts to their cheerleading coach's colleague.
Once they are 'outed' they barely get a smack on the wrist, and so the strong willed coach decides to go to the school board, and then to the press with the exploits.
Fascinating stuff. Look up the real case for more information.

Last Chance Harvey - 2008 ****

I was surprised by this movie. Warm and easy going, it was just the sort of thing you want to watch on a cold and cosy evening. Dustin Hoffman plays a wannabe jazz musician named Harvey and a bit of a useless father, to the extent that his daughter (who is about to get married) makes sure he stays at a separate hotel to all the other gusts and is put on the end of the dinner table. The icing on the cake however, is when she chooses her stepfather over him to give her away at the wedding.
Whilst in London for the celebrations, Harvey meets gentle and good-natured Kate, who refuses to find love, and spends her life on the phone to her neurotic mother who is convinced her Polish neighbour is going to murder her.
The pair, somewhat stubbornly, hit it off, and begin to spend a lot of time together despite their obvious differences.
Emma Thompson is wonderful as always and Dustin Hoffman is not bad at all.

(HORROR) Solstice - 2008 **

If you are aware that this was by the directors of the 'Blair Witch Project' you can't help but be slightly put off initially. But don't let that sway your mind. Use instead the fact that this film is ridiculously bad all on its own. The characters are so transparent that it makes you wince, and the whole 'lets all celebrate the solstice together by getting hammered and groping each other' wears thin. This is not a good film.

Body of Lies - 2008 ****

Didn't know what to expect with this film, but I actually enjoyed it. It had an interesting story, and Leo Di Caprio was better than I hoped. I felt he might be a bit past it after his celebrity status of the 1990s, but actually he still gives a fine performance. Russell Crowe takes a backseat to Di Caprio as his boss who couldn't care less about trying to forge relationships with the Middle East and makes the rules up as he goes along. I was in the mood for an action film and this was just the ticket. I do find films based around current affairs to be quite gripping, and as most of this was filmed in Jordan, Iran, Syria and Dubai it was riveting to watch. I can imagine it must of been quite nerve-wracking to film in those places as well given the strict moral codes they all enforce. Ridley Scott is a pretty good director so really it was a given that this would be exciting. Watch please.

Stevie - 2008 **

'Stevie' is an awfully bad film. It's badly made, badly shot and badly acted. The young girl playing the victim looks like she's been asked to act in the most wooden way possible and doesn't seem to react to anything, good or bad.
I know you can't always expect much from 'made for tv' films but this was scraping the barrel to the extreme. 'Children's evil imaginary friends' films can be terrifying if done correctly, but this was neither scary, nor entertaining in the slightest.  

(HORROR) End Call - 2008 *

Okay, this was a really badly done horror. I know it's practically ripped off every phone related film from Japan and America but I was still sort of hoping that it might deliver on some parts. It really doesn't, and you would do much better to watch one of the earlier movies of the same type of genre (such as 'Missed Call' or 'Phone'). I guess there are only so many times that you can watch a film about a haunted phone.
I'm becoming more and more disheartened by Asian horror.

I've Loved You So Long - 2008 ** 1/2

I adore French films, because usually the characters are so complex and interesting that you are desperate to watch their progression throughout the film until the last scene.
Kristen Scott Thomas is a good actress, and I've enjoyed many of her films, but I was left utterly cold by 'I've Loved You So Long'. She plays a woman who has to come to terms with integrating herself back into society after being in prison for 15 years for a crime that is only made clear towards the end of the film. I don't complain lightly when I say that the entire movie is simply scene after scene of endless depressing talks, looks and thoughts between her and her sister. She seems completely unwilling to change her personality, and cannot understand why the few people who appear to be standing by her start feeling like they are being pushed away. When you find out the nature of her crime, you are even more angry at her character which is consistently vacuous and vacant throughout with no supposed regret or remorse. I really didn't enjoy this film, and it makes you feel so very depressed afterwards. There is no resolution, no moral, nothing except bleak despair. If you want to watch that may I suggest something brain-numbing like the Kardashians?!

(HORROR) Home Movie - 2008 **

This is an appallingly acted film. I always hone in on horror films that feature evil children because they are usually a lot scarier than adults. However these 2 children were awful. I can't tell if they are just very bad at acting or whether they are meant to come across as the vacuous, dull characters that they do.
It's basically a movie documenting the descent of this family into a terrifying madness caused by the 2 children who seem to be unhinged and dangerous. The father insists on documenting absolutely everything so a lot of the film is taken up with menial junk such as having breakfast, watching TV and going for walks around the garden.When the climax comes, it's predictable, stupid and not in the least bit frightening. Better to watch something like 'Children of the Corn' to see really frightening children.

The 305 - 2008 ***

A very silly film. But then, what can you expect from a spoof of 300 which features scene after scene of men fighting each other in bloody battles. Not bad as spoofs go, mainly because I actually laughed out loud a few times and I very rarely do that with films like this. You have to have a vague idea about '300' before you see it or you will be even more confused.

(HORROR) Boot Camp - 2008 ****

I thought this was a very interesting and thought provoking film. Mila Kunis stars as Sophie, a troubled being who is shipped off along with 2 other boys to a grueling and dodgy boot camp on Fiji island because her parents can no longer control her attitude or drug problem.
What seems at first to be a disturbing but in no way harmless programme soon becomes a literal fight for survival as Sophie is forced to extremes beyond her control as psychological breakdowns and brutal regimes becomes the terrifying norm.
Extremely well acted, and I always like films with Mila Kunis in. As much as I try to deny it, she is a beautiful and talented actress and she was perfect in this part.

(HORROR) Stag Night - 2008 **

'Stag Night' is as brilliant as you would expect it to be. i.e. it's not. The premise is that a group of guys go out on a stag night (bet you didn't see that one coming) and bump into 2 women that they take a shine to. They then proceed to follow the women (as you do) to the subway. By accident, they all get off at a station that has been closed for over 40 years and are then subjected to terrifying men/creatures who are out to kill them. It's quite disturbing, but the British film 'Creep' is much better with more of a gradual build up of tension.

Nights in Rodanthe - 2008 ***

If I hear that one more of Nicholas Spark's books has been made into a film I may check into an asylum. Sparks has a knack of producing almost identically themed stories, usually to do with relationships and loss and drawing them out until the reader just gives up.

He's done the same here, and this time Gere and Lane have teamed up once again to portray two characters that can either make you sob into your cushion or glare at angrily throughout the whole movie.

Lane goes to her friend's beach house to get away from a difficult marriage, and Gere goes with the initial idea of reconnecting with his estranged son. They are the only two people there, and therefore start talking and realising that they have things in common. One thing leads to another etc etc. Then a tragic accident changes everything. There is one very emotional moment towards the end, but I really think if you want a weepie it would be best to go for 'Bridges of Madison County' (which this film reminds me a lot of).

I like Gere as an actor, and Diane Lane isn't bad, but I think I preferred them both in 'Unfaithful.'

(HORROR) The Betrayed - 2008 *** 1/2

I was gripped by this movie. What an interesting premise. A woman awakens in a room with no idea how she got there, and is confronted by a masked man who claims that he knows her husband very well and that he has stolen millions of pounds from their organisation. If she doesn't get into the account and get the money back, her son will be killed. She has no idea whether the man is genuine or not.

The whole film is a complete head trip. It's completely terrifying to watch and extremely tense. The actress playing the woman is superb.

The last part of the movie is also knuckle-biting.

Spirited Away - 2008 **** 1/2

I have never had the slightest interest in Japanese animation which is strange really because I love Disney and Pixar stuff.

However this was in my 1001 movies to see book, so I thought I would give it a go.

I have never seen anything so weird and wonderful in my life.

However I totally loved it and was gripped the whole way through except when my DVD skipped!

You can always count on Japanese movies to be totally bizarre. It was like watching a dream unfold before me and seeing all the strange make believe characters that you might imagine existed when you were younger.

The story is of a young girl who is in the process of moving to a new place with her parents, however after their car breaks down things start to go very weird and her parents, after gorging themselves on some food they find in an empty restaurant turn into pigs, leaving the girl to enter a strange world of spirits and monsters in an effort to save them. I cannot help but reiterate how amazingly weird it is, and I urge people to see it. It's a fable I guess, about living in the real world and escaping into a fantasy? Maybe Japanese people interpret it differently, but I certainly saw it that way, and it only added to my enjoyment. It's convinced me that I have to watch all the other Japanese anime movies I have noticed but never really taken much notice of.

(HORROR) The Morgue - 2008 ** 1/2

Straight to DVD sort of tells you how rubbish this film is going to be even before you start. But for some people like me, effectively being told a film is dire isn't enough to actually stop me watching it. As one IMDB reviewer said, the plot is awful, the acting is totally unnatural and the ending is so obvious that you probably know it even before you press play.

We follow a weird college girl in her night job working as a cleaner at a morgue with only the security man to talk to (who seems to prefer the company of a bottle of scotch to her anyway).

A couple and their daughter break down near the morgue so of course are welcomed in by the girl, followed by an almost comotose man and his friend who appear to have been in some sort of accident. They all want help and so after what seems an eternity of trying to find a connected phone they appear to be on the right track. The girl then goes off to the bathroom to show the woman an impressive looking bloodstain that never seems to fade, and then later on bumps into a hooded figure with a scalpel who looks like he wants to chop her up into bits.

More than the stupid plot, the acting was ridiculous and completely wooden as though the actors had been told to improvise without knowing anything about the actual story.

Ridiculous film.

The Other Man - 2008 ****

I really enjoyed this film, as am a big fan of both Neeson and Banderas and I loved the premise for the story.

After his wife dies tragically, Peter ( Neeson) discovers secret emails and photos on her computer, with proof that she has been having an affair with a handsome and seemingly accomplished man named Rafe. Devastated, he begins to search for Rafe's whereabouts, finding him living in Milan, and decides to meet and confront the man over his wife's infidelity.

Neeson is a superb actor and I always have the highest respect for him. He is one of those people that if you saw he was going to be in a film you would know the film was going to be pretty darn good. Banderas is also good at portraying the dark and mysterious figure he so often does in films, and so together they make a great pair.