Underworld: Awakening [2012]
Starring; Kate Beckinsale, Stephen Rea
Directed by: Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein
4/5

When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. 
I've been a fan of the Underworld series since it began, so there's no surprise that the new entry in the franchise was something i got into fairly easily.
All the expected basics are there, gothic imagery, endless vampire action and Kate Beckinsale in the tightest outfit ever. My favourite thing about the Underworld films is the mythology. It's vast, and over the course of the series it's gotten bigger and bigger. 'Awakening' continues building on that mythology, even though it can feel a bit rushed in places.
Most of this films problems come with the issue of Scott Speedman missing in action for this film. I have no idea why he couldn't be involved in the production of the movie, but his face has been CGI'd
onto a stand in and his character is seen more as a background figure than a title character like he's meant to be. Because of this, it feels as if the writers had to "work around" his absense and make do with what they could without being able to use him properly.
It's not a major issue, but certain things are skimmed over fairly quickly, like what happened to the characters between 'Awakening' and 'Evolution'. That portion of the story has been relegated to a quick montage in the beginning of the film. I imagine with Scott IN the actual movie, they would have tagged on an extra 15 minutes to the short running time of 'Awakening' to flesh out the current storyline better.
The ending of the film also suffers from this messy approach, with the story feeling uncomfortably unfinished as the credits roll. Of course, it's meant to have a "to be contiuned" finish like all of the previous Underworld films, but in Awakening, it feels poorly executed.

I guess the makers of 'Awakening' had to make do with what they had, and all things considering, they still managed to pull together an entertaining and fun movie.
Kate Beckinsale as Selene is at her cold killing best, as she runs up walls and jumps out of buildings better than she ever has. A lot of the action is brutal and her fight choreography is fantastic. The introduction of the hybrid child character, Eve, mixes up the new cast nicely, as well as other new and likeable additions to the cast, like Selene's new vampire side-kick, David.
The camera work is slick, the Lycans attack by the bucket full and movie runs at a tense fast pace.

Had 'Awakening' been given the opportunity to make better use of it's developing story, this could have been the best in the franchise so far. As it stands though, 'Awakening' feels more like a bridge between 'Evolution' and the next film, which i hope is given more room to bring the series to a proper close.

DEV
The Night The Sun Came Up [2011]
3.5/5

I haven't been the worlds biggest Dev fan over the last year. Her collaboration with Fast East Movement on "Like A G6" was beyond annoying, and her stand alone singles 'Booty Bounce' and 'Bass Down Low' seemed to show that she was a one trick pony who sang to the same beat over and over. The only time she did anything that caught my interest was when she released 'Fireball' earlier this year, it was a great track which sadly didn't make the final cut for her album.

After hearing 'The Night The Sun Came Up', i was surprised at how much more varied her production choices were throughout the album. There's a trademark vibe to a lot of the songs which have become very particular to her music thanks to production from frequent collaborators, 'The Cataracts'. Songs like 'In My Trunk', and early single 'Bass Down Low' carry Dev's signature dirty electro beats which long time fans will no doubt love. Other songs like 'Breathe' and 'In The Dark' go down a more Euro-house route, which mixes up her dance tracks nicely.

The opening track, 'Getaway' is proof that Dev should go deeper into more trip hop type of music with the song starting as a piano ballad and then quickly changing into a slow pumping rap tune. Production wise, it's one of the most interesting tracks on the album, and works perfectly as the first song on the record because it shows the listener you'll be in for a few surprises.
'Take Her From You' uses a more rockier sound, complete with whistle hook, 'Lightspeed' is another euro dance heavy track that changes direction ever minute, keeping things fresh throughout the song, and 'Kiss My Lips' could have been handed to anyone from Rihanna or Britney and gone straight to #1 as the next big pop hit if it had a more high profile performer selling it.

Where the album starts to fall apart is with the ballads. None of them are particularly strong, but a couple of them are enjoyable enough. 'Me' is a charming little track and 'Perfect Match' has some nice production sprinkled through it. 'Dancing Shoes' was awful on first listen, it has grown on me more on repeat listens and i can play it, but i find it a bit too sickly sweet, especially for an album that can be very bass heavy at times. It should have been given to Taylor Swift. Another ballad that falls flat is the last track on the album, 'Shadows', it's not awful, but it doesn't really go anywhere and it's a bit dull.

As a debut album, there's enough to enjoy on 'Night'. I can appreciate that Dev has tried to actually offer an album full of different sounds rather than just singing 'G6' 12 times. She has an interesting sense of direction with some of her tracks and it shows she has real potential to take things further on future records. Outside of a couple tracks, there isn't anything overly amazing about the album, but it's a good introduction to Dev as an artist, it's an easy listen.

Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 [2011]
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ralph Fiennes, Emma Watson
Directed by: David Yates
4/5

Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their search to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes that will once and for all put an end to the Dark Lord and his quest for immortality.

Finally, the Harry Potter series comes to an end. Last years 'Hallows, Part 1' was a slow burner. Some people thought it was a bit too heavy on the drama and not heavy enough on the action, i disagreed. Characters needed to be established before the big finale, and the struggle of trying to survive the Dark Lord's obsession with Harry's death was a burden that needed to be explored properly. Part 1 may have been lacking in the action department, but they well and truly made up for it with 'Hallows, Part 2'.

Essentially, 'Hallows 2' isn't really a part 2, it's more of a 1.5. The story set up was pretty much completed in part 1, and the bulk of part 2 is the final battle at Hogwart's where Harry finally has his big showdown with Voldemort. Event though there are a couple of big secrets revealed within the story in part 2, most of what we see on screen is wizard fighting and Harry rushing around to find and destroy the final Horcruxes.
The movie runs at a very fast pace. That's both good and bad. After the slow burning Part 1, the lighting speed of Part 2 was needed. Part 2 is the "pay off" movie that Part 1 teased at. At the same time though, i did feel that certain sections of the film were rushed through a little too quickly. The battles could have lasted a bit longer, and a key scene involving Snape's big reveal should have been fleshed out more. The running time for the film isn't as long as the HP films usually are either, so i'm not sure why an extra 10 minutes of story development wasn't added to the film to bulk it up a bit. This isn't a major issue though, and other aspects of the film make up for any short comings.

Where Part 2 succeeds is both in scale and emotion. The movie certainly feels epic, the danger of the battle is felt very strongly as the teachers of Hogwart's set up their protection barriers for the dark wizards oncoming assault. You really feel like Harry and the gang are desperately trying to remove Voldemort's immortality so they can have a chance at killing him. The urgency is tense.
Emotionally, it has the same strengths as the final book did. Harry's struggle feels like a burden as you watch him frantically crawl and run for dear life, and when he is faced with possible death, you can't help but get teary. The meeting between Harry and his dead loved ones was a beautiful way to lead into the start of his confrontation with Voldemort, i thought it was very moving.
Snape's final moments were perfectly done as well, his last breath as he looks into Harry's eyes was heartbreaking. Th following scene about Snape's true intentions makes it that much more depressing.

Even though there are strong parts of 'Hallows 2', it still didn't give me the PERFECT shot of brilliance i wanted from a closing film. It should have been longer, it should have tired me out, it felt like they could have pushed it a tiny bit further. Maybe it will feel more complete watching it as one big movie right after part 1?

Overall, they did a good enough job at finishing up the saga in a big way. It served up enough magic and drama to satisfy any Potter fan i'm sure. The series has been a lot of fun, and the last few films have really been what's kept me on board all these years waiting for the end. I can't wait to own all of the movies in one big mouth watering blu-ray box set!.

Bridesmaids

Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne

Directed by: Paul Feig

4.5/5

Picked as her best friend's maid of honor, Annie looks to bluff her way through the expensive and bizarre rituals with an oddball group of bridesmaids.

I'll be honest, the first time i saw the trailer to this movie, i wasn't impressed, in fact, i thought it looked pretty awful and unfunny. Once the film got released though, in came the endless critical praise, and audience rave reviews. In fact, pretty much everyone i have bumped into since the films release has urged me to go see this movie. I was surprised by the reaction to the film, and decided to give it a chance.

I'm glad i did, because Bridemaids has become one of the most funniest movies i have ever seen. I was laughing non stop throughout the whole thing, that hasn't happened in a long time with a comedy, not to that extent.

What's great about Bridesmaids, is that it's written as an every day comedy. The characters are real and relatable, the situations could actually happen, and the general story actually has some genuine heart behind it.

The lead actress, Kristen Wiig, carries the movie perfectly. Not only is she hilarious with the comedy [her penis impersonation, lol!], but her character is layered and not 2 dimensional. At times you want to slap her, at other times you feel really bad for her, she puts in a fantastic performance. The other stand out in the cast is Rose Byrne. I'm used to seeing her do more serious roles, so it was a nice change to see her play something like this. The hateful chemistry relationship between Wiig and Byrne's characters is hilarious. The ''toast off''' they compete in at the brides engagement party is genius writing.

Thinking back on the film, i've lost count of how many great moments the movie had. From the pilled up plane sequence to the giant cookie attack, the funny moments were endless.

Another great thing about Bridesmaids, is that even the none comedic parts of the story are written well. Wiig's character finding new love is charming, and the crumbling of her sanity while at work or dealing with a bastard ex is depressing and realistic. The film has a lot more going for it under the surface than a lot of other "chic flicks", and for that, the movie opens itself up to a broader audience. This isn't a cliched movie just for women, it's not 'Bride Wars', it's much smarter than that and would appeal to pretty much everyone.

Forget any other comedies this year, the tired 'Hangover 2', the hit and miss 'Bad Teacher', they don't hold up well against something as fantastic as 'Bridesmaids'. It's become one of my favourite films ever, i can't wait to see it again.

X-Men: First Class
Starring: Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Rose Byrne
Directed by: Mathew Vaughn
4.5/5

In 1962, Charles Xavier starts up a school and later a team, for humans with super human abilities. Among them is Erik Lensher, his best friend.....and future archenemy.

There's a lot of story to get through in First Class, and although some people have said it felt a little rushed in parts, i personally thought it all flowed nicely and the pacing was surprisingly more fast paced than i expected.
The great thing about First Class is that as an origins film, it establishes the characters and relationships perfectly. There's a lot of links between all of the X movies that join it together to create a cohesive universe, and with so many characters involved in the X films, it could have been a messy delivery, but it all works well in First Class.
Director Mathew Vaughn has separated the more meaningful relationships away from the smaller ones to reconnect the dots to the previous films. The main storyline in FC is centred around Magneto and his revenge story on the man who killed his Mother during World War 2. That then opens up the doorway for the second storyline which serves more of a purpose to the previous X films, the relationship between Magneto and Xavier and how they helped each other to create the first class of X-Men mutants. There's also a smaller, yet still important 3rd storyline which revolves around the early friendship between Mystique and Xavier, and how Magneto later became her mentor and drew her away from Xavier's plans for the future. Although i would have liked to see more scenes establishing Xavier and Magneto's friendship further, there's still enough emotional pull within the story to make up for any minor short comings.

Casting wise, everyone delivered their roles on point. Jennifer Lawrence was great as a young Mystique, not only re-capturing Rebecca Romijn's natural sex appeal from the previous films, but also giving Mystique a layered story arc. Next to Magneto, she pushed the emotional aspect of the story the strongest. Her search for inner acceptance between Xavier, Beast and Magneto felt very genuine. For me, she's the most interesting character from the X films.
Nicholas Holt as Beast also did well with his role, especially with his mutation struggle being mirrored with Mystique's and January Jones was believably dangerous as Emma Frost.
Acting wise however, the film belonged to Michael Fassbender as Magneto. Not only was he threatening and powerful, but the amount of emotion he brought to the character opened up his performance 10 fold. It's not easy to make audiences feel a connection with a villain, but Michael's portrayal of struggle was one you couldn't help but stand by. He completely carried the film.

There's a return to quality with First Class that reminded me a lot of what made the first 2 X-Men films so fantastic. I personally still enjoyed X-Men 3, but it did have it's flaws and Bryan Singers absence as the director was felt. First Class brought back a bit more elegance to the franchise. The story was rich, the characters were well developed and you really connect with the universe on screen. There were also a few cameos in the film featuring actors from the previous movies that were really fun to see unexpectedly pop up during the movie, loved those.

Insidious 2/5

Starring: Rose Byrne, Patrick Wilson

Directed by: James Wan

A family looks to prevent evil spirits from trapping their son in a supernatural realm called The Further.

I held off torrenting this because it recieved a decent reception from critics. It's hard to come by horror movies that actually do well on a wider scale like that, so i thought it'd be worth my while to check this out on the big screen. Plus, the trailer was impressive. I wish it could have lived up to my expectations though based on the reviews i had read, sadly, it didn't.

Insidious stars off really well. Right from the opening credits, you feel like you're in for something creepy and interesting. The entire first half of the film is executed perfectly, with some nice slow pacing and a few genuinely creepy scares. I did jump a couple times, and i was loving the sense of dread growing throughout the story. Once the film starts heading into the second half of the story however, we lose all sense of tension and scares, and start watching a completely different movie all together.
The movie takes a dramatic turn, and goes from being a slow burning haunted house thriller, to an over the top demon fantasy adventure. At first i was surprised by the sudden switch in tone, but thought maybe the film would take more of a horror fantasy route, similar to Poltergeist [which is a great movie]. I certainly loved the introduction of the demon character, and seeing it appear behind people and in dreams was rather startling.
Sadly, an hints at Insidious being Poltergesit 2.0 were quickly washed away once we enter the realm of 'The Further'.

At that point in the movie, everything was an over the top mess. The story change wasn't the problem, i accepted the fact that we were heading in more of a fantasy direction, but the director seemed to lose any sense of what he was actually trying to do at this point and it all started feeling disjointed and uneven.
A whole group of new and unintentionally hilarious spirits were introduced into the story, and rather than being exciting or creepy, it was all just silly and almost like a horror parody. The spirits looked like extras from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video, it was hard to take any of it seriously. The demon they perfectly presented as a ghastly figure in the first half of the film, all of a sudden became some sort of ridiculous cheesy movie monster, at one point it even sat at a sewing machine making clothes for string puppets [don't ask]. It was all over the place.

It was frusturating watching Insidious because it showed a lot of potential. There are some great things in the movie, but it all gets so muddled by the end, that i was laughing rather than feeling scared at anything i was seeing. The casting is good, and some of the creature design was nicely done, especially with the demon. Some of the creature design howeverwas just way too cheesy, and the movie didn't know what the hell it wanted to be. At one point we are even introduced to 2 ghost hunters, who for whatever reason were meant to provide some un-needed comic relief, it just didn't fit the tone of the movie at all.

If you want an entertaining horror fantasy that knows how to mix atmosphere with over the top visuals, watch Poltergeist. Insidious however is a wasted opportunity filled with great ideas that sadly don't know what direction to go in.

Thor [2011]

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman

Directed by: Kenneth Branagh

3.5/5

The powerful but arrogant warrior Thor is cast out of the fantastic ream of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth, where he soon becomes one of their finest defenders.

I knew very little about Thor going into this. I was aware of the character of course [being a comic reader myself], but i've never read anything from the Thor comic series. Similar to Hulk and Iron Man, Thor has never been something that looked all that interesting to me.

After seeing the movie though, i'm surprised to say that the origins of the character are actually very original and creative. Thor could have turned out to be a huge fucking mess if it wasn't done right. While watching it, i couldn't help but be reminded by bad 80's "fantasy/real world" cross over movies like He-Man and Beastmaster. Mixing such vastly different styles of worlds without being hokey or cheesy is a tricky thing, but they really pulled it off in this.

The world Thor comes from, Asgard, is beautifully created on screen. The mix of magic and technology that is littered throughout the architecture in Asgard would have been a designers wet dream. It can be a bit jarring when you first visit Asgard, simply because it's such an odd mixture of styles and colours, but overtime, you get used to it much more. There are other realms to be explored in their Universe [9 to be exact], but the only other none Earth one we see in this movie is an icy barren planet [can't remember the name], inhabited by giant blue skinned and red eyed creatures, that are the villains of the story. Their world was even more exciting to see, with it's eerie deserted, crumbling mountains and massive rampaging monsters. The villains in the story were very cool.

Casting wise, everyone did a great job. Chris Hemsworth completely embodied Thor, not only physically [drools], but he was also very charismatic and like able when he spoke, especially in the later parts of the film where his character loses the arrogance and becomes a true hero. Natalie Portman [who i love] looked like she may have ended up with a really boring part in this, but her character was surprisingly like able, funny, and complimented Thor nicely once the romance aspect of the story kicked in. She looked beautiful too.

Thor's brother, Loki, was played well by Tom Hiddleston. Even though he ends up being one of the "bad guys" of the story, there was till a sympathetic side to him that made his plight somewhat understandable, even if what he was doing was wrong. Anthony Hopkins was, well......Anthony Hopkins, strong presence, elegant, and believably loving between both of his sons.

The movie does feel like it could have been a little meatier. By that i mean, i wanted to see more of the worlds that we saw in the story. It all felt a bit too short [even though it wasn't running time wise]. I wanted more backstory about Asgard, about the icy race of giants that they waged war with, more of Thor and Jane's romance, ect. I just feel like it could have pushed itself a tiny bit further to be even more larger scale than it already was, more fleshed out. Mexico was the perfect setting for Earth once Thor arrives on our planet, but it was also the most boring of the 3 realms we see. More of the unique and interesting locations they visit would have made my personal experience with the movie a little more fun.

There was also an unanswered question about Loki which i would have liked to see explained. I can't get into that without spoiling a big secret though.

Overall, Thor was an entertaining origins story that feels like it needs to open up even more with a few more sequels. There was a lot of light humor in the script which worked really well against the more dramatic parts of the story, and the entire cast bounced off each other nicely.

It's certainly one of the more interesting super hero movies to be coming out this year, i look forward to seeing more of it down the line.

Scream 4 [2011]

Starring Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette

Directed by: Wes Craven

3.5/5

Sidney Prescott, now the author of a self help book, returns home to Woodsboro on the last stop of her book tour. Unfortunately, her home town appearance brings about the return of Ghostface, which puts her and the entire town in danger.

A Scream movie in 2011 has a lot working against it. The last time this franchise wrapped up, we were left with a slightly underwhelming finale, Scream 3. It wasn't a bad film, and it certainly tied up the series into a comfortable trilogy, but compared to the first 2 Scream films, it all felt a bit tired and messy. A new Scream also has a whole new generation of young horror fans to adapt to. The writers won't be able to play on the films of the 80's and 90's anymore because horror has changed a lot over the last decade, so adapting to a new audience while still remaining true to the old fans is important.

Luckily, Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson managed to pull their ideas together well enough to make a decent 4th entry in the series.

Imagine Scream 3 with all it's problems ironed out. That's exactly what Scream 4 is. Firstly, Scream 4 takes viewers BACK to Woodsboro, where the original murders took place. Scream 3 always felt a bit disconnected to me because it didn't take place around the same locations the first 2 films were set in. It was set in Hollywood, and although the setting made sense within the context of the story, it still felt a bit too far from where i liked seeing my characters. I appreciated the creators trying to keep it fresh by giving us something new, but Scream 4 really needed to bring things back to the beginning, and thankfully it does. Middle class suburbia is where things fit best for this series, and seeing Woodsboro again gave me happy fan butterflies in my stomach.

Character development was also a must in Scream 4. In Scream 3, Sidney was written well, but the rest of the cast had little else to do, and most of the side characters that were killed off were very boring. In Scream 4, i wasn't exactly jumping for joy with the new teenage cast, but i didn't enjoy seeing the characters i liked die either. Plus, bringing back the old cast was always going to win me over even if the newer characters failed. Luckily though, all the characters were well placed within the story.

It's always heartwarming seeing Sidney again. A lot of us grew up with her story, so seeing her all these years later much older [she has wrinkles!], was fun to watch. I also liked how much stronger she has developed as a person since Scream 3. She finally seems at ease with her life at the beginning of 4, which makes the return of Ghostface that much more uncomfortable to watch. She seems forever unable to escape her past, and at one point in the film, i thought maybe she should just finally die to bring peace to her and everyone else around her. Sidney doesn't represent death though, she represents survival, as fucked up as her life has been, she's managed to fight her way through it all and still remain standing. After all these years, even if you know her death would mean the end of all the bloodshed, you still hope she will come out alive.

Another great thing about Sidney in 4 is that she's developed a similar relationship with Ghostface that Jamie Lee Curtis's character developed with Michael Myers in Halloween. We've watched Sidney and Ghostface fight against each other for so long, that there's an odd familiarity in Sidney's eye when she faces against him now. She runs for her life, but she also seems almost comfortable with having him around. It's almost like she isn't exactly running for her life anymore, but running because she knows what to do next.

Gale Weathers had the second most interesting storyline in the movie. Washed up and bored with her life, it was hilarious seeing her try and find something to do when the murders start happening. I only wish she was around more in the second half of the film.

The rest of the cast did well, Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere were good, even though Hayden had really ugly and distracting hair. Anna Paquin and Kristen Bell also have a great cameo in the beginning of the film. David Arquette was typical Dewey, though i'd say this was Dewey at his most boring, and Adam Brody seemed completely pointless. Maybe he took the role because he was a fan and was desperate for a cameo? who knows, but it was useless.

The kills this time around have also been improved on. Deaths seem to have lost their more old skool drawn out style, and things happen a lot quicker, with focus on tension rather than cheap jump scares. Everything also seems at it's most bloodiest, there was a decent amount of gore [guts on the bed!].

Screams opening death scenes have become a trademark for the series, and although the opening does put a clever spin on things in the way that it's presented to the audience, the actual scene death scene itself is fairly standard.

Cultural references in Scream 4 are thrown in by the bucket load, with swipes at horror remakes and new survival rules being used all the time. The younger characters in this story are even more self aware than the teens from the last series were. The killer reveal at the end of the movie also gets a chance to make a nice social commentary on today's media obsessed youth culture and how fucked up we all are. Like the old films though, it never feels forced, in fact all of it rings very true and is relevant to the times.

Is Scream 4 as good as part 1 and 2???..........no, it's not, but it IS a worthy inclusion in the franchise, and a MAJOR step up from Scream 3. You need to look at 4 from a certain perspective, this is the 4th film in a slasher franchise, the fact that it turned out as good as it did, is in itself a major achievement. They clearly tried to create something decent with Scream 4, and even though it's not as fresh or brilliant as it was back in the day, it does resurrect an old story successfully while trying to put an entertaining spin on what is common in horror movies today.

I see little room for growth from this point forward though. I really cant see how much further they could take some of these characters in a 5th chapter. I did have my doubts about 4 turning out as good as it did though, so maybe Wes and Kevin will surprise me again and pull off another trilogy over the next decade. I guess time will tell. Until then though, this was a lot of fun.

Burlesque [2010]

Starring: Christina Aguilera, Cher

Directed by: Steve Antin

2.5/5

A small town girl runs away to L.A and finds a job as a dancer in a run down burlesque club.

We've seen this story 100 times before, and Burlesque doesn't really offer a new spin on this over used "small town girl in the big bad city" type of movie. It does however attempt to give audiences something a little more meaty as far as acting goes, and even though it doesn't really cross any overly impressive lines in that respect, it's nice to see that they at least tried.

The first 30 minutes of this film was almost unbearable, with every cliche under the sun being thrown at us at a very fast pace. There are some unintentional laugh out loud moments where Christina's character prances through the streets practicing her new dance moves, or whipping her hair stupidly while serving customers as a bar waitress. It makes you wonder how the director wasn't laughing at it while cutting the film together, it's cringe central.

The film does pick up a little after the half way mark though, and even though the story stays as obvious as it was from the beginning, it at least started to hold my attention a little more. Sadly, it never managed to really take me anywhere i hadn't been before.

Even the dance numbers offer a mixed bag, with some of the performances being really dull, to others being well choreographed and fun. There are a couple of good songs performed also.

For her first movie role, Christina actually does pretty decent with the type of role that was given to her. She shows real potential as an actress, and even though she does fall into the trap of giving some crappy lines, that isn't really her fault, it's the script writers. Cher was good, and even though her face is stiff as a board, she does look great for her age [she's in her 60's]. Stanly Tucci has great chemistry with Cher, but his need to play gay in nearly every movie he does is really starting to get annoying. Does this guy not get sick and tired of playing the same role over and over?. Outside of those 3 actors, the rest were fairly average. Kristen Bell was boring as the bitchy rival dancer, Eric Dane looked good, but had little to do, and although Cam Gigandet is good looking, his endless pouting and shirtless posing became cringe worthy and tiresome.

I knew exactly what i was in for going into this, so i can't say i was all that disappointed by it. I do feel however, that the movie wasn't written well enough to be truly good [like Chicago], or retarded enough to be entertainingly shit [like Coyote Ugly], so what you get is a fairly "in the middle" average movie that just doesn't really do anything except boringly run it's obvious course while offering a couple nice moments here and there.

It's watchable enough, but you'll forget it soon after.

Black Swan [2010]

Starring: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis

Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

4/5

A ballet dancer wins the lead in 'Swan Lake'. She is perfect as the delicate White Swan, but slowly starts to lose her mind when she tries to embody the dark Black Swan.

It's hard to describe Black Swan to people. It's part thriller, part fantasy horror, part ballet drama, it offers a mixed bag of genres and styles that aren't easy to explain in just one word. Black Swan is all about the experience, it's a movie that tugs on your senses and forces you to feel what is happening on screen in front of you. That's where the movie is at it's strongest, when it feels more like a personal diary rather than an actual movie.

Darren Aronofsky completely lets us absorb ourselves into Nina's [Natalie Portman] world. I don't think there were that many shots in the film that didn't focus on Natalie, whether it was her face, or body or her visions. The camera comes in real close, every eye brow twitch and focused stare from Natalie is inescapable. In a way, it's almost claustrophobic, but it's needed to really get us right into Nina's mind, too experience the story from her eyes.

That sort of approach to telling the story allows Darren to pull off some really great direction. The ballet segments are beautifully shot, the opening scene being the main highlight of those shots for me. Nina's slow descent into madness offered a much darker 'blink and you'll miss it' type of editing that really toys with your mind and puts you on the exact same roller coaster ride Nina is on. Did she just see what she saw? or was it just a trick of her eye?........you actually do have to focus in on a few scenes to pick up on the subtle images that scattered throughout some of the scenes. The scene involving Nina venturing into a night club is probably the best way Darren showcased this, with the dance floor soaked in red lighting, and flashes of Nina dancing frantically hidden amongst shots of the Black Swan's face making an appearance within the crowd. You'll see certain things for half a second before you realize what is actually going on in front of you, it's very effective.

Obviously the films next big strong point is Natalie Portman's portrayal as Nina. She was fantastic in the role, not only is she beautiful, but as an actress, she's always had a very strong access to her emotions, and that ability was put into good use in Black Swan. From her uptight innocent beginnings in the film to her out of control, emotionally broken ending final act, Natalie eats it up from start to finish. It's not only her emotional side as Nina that was impressive to see, but the role also asks a lot of her sexually. From her graphic, but awkwardly hilarious masturbation scene, to her aggressive, but very sexy lesbian scene with Mila Kunis, you haven't really seen Natalie be as open as this before.

If the acting itself wasn't impressive enough, her dedication to the role is most obvious when you watch her dance. An entire year was set aside for Natalie to train in ballet for the role, and she pulls it off perfectly. As an entire package, the role was incredibly demanding, and it's amazing to see her pull it off so effortlessly.

The remaining cast in Black Swan do a great job also, Mila Kunis was perfect in her role as Nina's hot rival, she also did well in giving the movie a more relaxed vibe since so much of the film is focused around Nina's incredibly stiff and serious personality. Vincent Cassell was also cast well in this, his character gives the movie a few needed moments of light comedy, and even though his character can be seen an somewhat inappropriate, he's also very like able.

Black Swan is much more than what the movie trailer for the film makes it out to be. It's a fascinating look into the mind of not only peoples obsession with perfection, but also how much mental instability can affect us if we can't grab a hold of ourselves. Essentially, Black Swan is a 2 hour hallucinatory journey into the mind of a very unwell young woman, while she tries to not only grow up, but also follow her dreams. The movie will really pull you in and shake you up, it stays with you.

The Social Network 4.5/5

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake.

Directed by: David Fincher.

A story about the founders of the social networking website, Facebook.

Who would have guessed a movie about Facebook would have turned out to be so controversial?

I was unaware of the back story behind how Facebook was created. I knew a few lawsuits had come up over the last few years against it's creator, but i didn't really pay all that much attention to them. After seeing The Social Network, it's almost unbelievable to me how over the top and ridiculous the entire history behind something like Facebook is. All this time i assumed Facebook was the result of one geeky Harvard student [Mark Zuckerberg] who just got lucky by creating a website that happened to go viral across the world. That is partly true, but there's a lot more mud slinging and backstabbing that went along behind closed doors during the process of Facebook hitting the internet big time.

How much of this movie is true is something we may never be 100% sure about. The movie is based upon a book which contains the stories of the people who sued Zuckerberg over the ideas he apparently stole from them. The cases themselves were real, and the people did get massive amounts of money from the lawsuits, so in that sense they were payed their dues FOR A REASON. What does get mentioned a lot in other reviews about this film however, is how accurate the portrayal of Zuckerberg actually is. He is no doubt a genius, but is he the conniving lying snake they show to the audience in The Social Network?..............Zuckerberg doesn't seem to think so from what he's said in interviews regarding the movie. How accurate he may be in the film doesn't really matter though, because the films storyline is based around an actual case anyway, so the stories authenticity is as up in the air as it would have been in court in real life during the trials anyway.

The only part of the story that really made me question just how much the filmakers knew about Zuckerberg, was the inclusion of a girlfriend who breaks up with him during the first scene of the film. She pretty much becomes the reason why the website was created in the first place, and pops up a couple times during the story as an obvious strong link between Zuckerberg and some of the decisions his character makes. There's also an interesting scene at the end of the film, which is one of only a few hints at Zuckerberg having any sort of heart at all throughout the story. In an interview only a few days ago, Zuckerberg denies having anything to do with a girl who influenced his decisions in making the website. Whether or not that's true, it was still an interesting part of the story, and it broke things up nicely.

The film features a fairly low key cast, but they all do incredibly well with the material they are given. Jesse Eisenberg plays Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg perfectly. It's his endless smart ass banter that keeps a lot of very heavy dialog filled scenes flowing easily. He was definitely the standout. Justin Timberlake played Napster creator, Sean Parker surprisingly well. I wasn't sure if he'd fit the part, but i think he did. He had some great moments. In fact, if that is how Sean Parker really is? i'd be fucking scared of ever doing business with the guy. What a hideous person. There were twins in the film who did great with their roles as members of the trio who gave Zuckerberg the idea to create Facebook that did a fantastic job as well, but i can't seem to find any trace of them online. I did learn however that they weren't actually twins at all, but one guy who's face was digitally pasted onto a second person, haha. Nice subtle effect.

I've heard a few complaints about the lack of strong female characters in the movie. I'm not really sure if it needed any to be honest, and i don't see why it's even an issue. Maybe there isn't a prominent female character in the story because there wasn't one involved in the real life case to begin with?.....................at least that's how i saw it.

Aside from a really engaging story and perfect casting, the movies strong point is most definitely the script. I wouldn't be surprised if it's awarded an Oscar next year at the Academy Awards. Aaron Sorkin did an AMAZING job with the dialog. There are times when you are so immersed in the scenes because of how they're written. I loved it.

David Fincher as usual shot the film beautifully, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross created a very cool soundtrack.

It's amazing that someone so socially incapable like Zuckerberg managed to create the biggest online social network in the whole world. Then again, maybe it being online is what made him so perfect at being the person to bring something like that to life. If he's as awkward, blog obsessed and techno geeky as the film depicts him, then he well and truly deserves to sit in his CEO chair at Facebook head office.

It's hard to like Zuckerberg, and it's even more hard to like Sean Parker. Their intelligence unfortunately has a dark side, and with a great idea between friends, comes a lot of arrogance and self importance that leads to a lot of shockingly bad actions within personal relationships.

I can't help but laugh at the irony of it all though, a group of people coming together to create a social website that connects everyone together, yet they themselves seem barely capable of doing that in real life. It's just bizarre, and it pushes the point of maybe having a good helping of REAL social interaction OUTSIDE, instead of just in front of your computer day in and day out.

As much as i enjoyed Inception, it failed to live up to the hype for me. The Social Network however does. I was nearly turned off by how much i was hearing about it, but i forced myself to check it out and i'm glad i did. It was one of the best films of the year.

Paranormal Activity 2 [2010]

Starring: Nobodies

Directed by: Tod Williams

4/5

I loved Paranormal Activity 1, i still do, but i was really not very interested in seeing a second installment created. Once the second movie went into production, i was mildly interested, but pretty much sure it would be a mess. Now with PA2 released, i was surprised to see yet ANOTHER slew of strong reviews [just like movie 1] commenting on what a good job the producers have done a second time around. Although the buzz was great, i still went into PA2 with an open mind, but low exceptions.

I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of the film, in fact, it worked better as a film than movie 1 did at times.

The first PA relied solely on atmosphere and scares. There was a bit of background about the characters who were experiencing the demonic haunting, but overall, it was a fairly low key plot based movie that was all about what happened to a couple on a daily basis, rather than a big story. That wasn't a bad thing, in fact, it worked perfectly in the first film. In PA2 however, we get the usual things that made the first movie so effective, as well as a more fleshed out storyline.

Visually and atmospherically, PA2 is pretty much the same as PA1, and in a way that detracts from how effective the movie can be at times. In PA1, you weren't sure what to expect, you didn't know how anything would look or feel, it was a NEW experience. In PA2, you know what the playing field is like this time around. You know about the night cam, the slow build ups, the endless daytime goings on between characters, and the types of "bumps" and "bangs" that occur over the course of the haunting. Still, as less fresh as some moments can be, the feeling of danger and dread is still effective, just not as strong.

What really separates part 2 from part 1 is the connections between story lines between both films. It keeps things interesting. This time, you actually KNOW something about these people because of what happened in the first film. That familiarity brings on a new kind of creep factor, which puts a different spin on how you feel about what you see on screen. It's not fear of the unknown anymore, it's the KNOWING that actually makes you ask more questions because you are aware of what to expect.

Scare tactic familiarity aside, there are some genuinely creepy moments in this movie. Although the budget for the film has been duplicated by 10, they still keep everything fairly realistic and minimal when it comes to what we see on screen. The sudden creaks in the dead of night, and the intimidating thuds that rattle the house grab a strong hold of the viewer all over again. But it's the more over the top events that make the audience REALLY have a lot of fun. In fact, one scene in particular in the kitchen scared the living day lights out of me, and the ending of the film really keeps you on the edge of your seat.

As i mentioned before, the story does open up a lot more which for me is what really pushes this movie from a 3/5 to a 4. Without spoiling anything, there are a couple very cool twists that occur throughout the film that i didn't expect. The story also gets a bit more of a fleshed out background, while still not revealing too much. In PA1 we were dealing only with a young girl, this time, the haunting spreads out and reveals a lot more about the family Katie from PA1 came from. I actually REALLY look forward to seeing how deep they take this story, because there's some seriously interesting and creepy history behind why all this demonic evil is happening. I won;t say anything else though, best to go in with as little knowledge as possible.

One major complaint i heard from fans of the first PA was the cast. A lot of people found Katie and Meka rather annoying. Personally, they didn't bother me. This time around though, i think the characters are a little more likable, especially the young teenage girl in the family who actually TRIES to find out wtf is going on. The addition of the dog and baby make the stakes a bit higher as well.

PA2 really could have gone down the wrong path, but i'm surprised to say that they have taken the story into a pretty cool direction. There are still unanswered questions, and enough mystery to keep things fresh for a 3rd film, but the scares come second to story development this time around, which works in the sequels favor because it doesn't make it pointless.

If you didn't like part 1, there's nothing new for you here. If you liked PA1 and are curious for more, definitely give this a go. I hope this becomes a trilogy, i'm having a really great time with this series for now. Blair Witch 2, THIS AIN'T, the critics are rights, see it.

Let Me In [2010]

Starring: Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Directed by: Matt reeves

4/5

A bullied young boy befriends a young female vampire who lives in secrecy with her guardian.

I've seen the original Swedish version of this film that came out a couple years ago, and even though i didn't think it was the untouchable masterpiece everyone else thought it was, i still enjoyed it. It's a film i learned to appreciate more on repeat viewings and i can see why it has had such a strong following, but it didn't blow my mind.

When i heard it was being re-made, i was actually curious to see what else they could do with the story, maybe this time they'd make a version that captivated me a little more than the original.

Is the American version better than the Swedish one?......as an overall product, i'd say yes, but both films are pretty much similar for the most part, with the American version upping the anti a little in certain parts.

Both films share a similar cold atmospheric feel to them. I was glad they kept that moody tone for the remake. It's the main part of the original that i remember the most. The American version takes place in snow covered New Mexico, and it works surprisingly well. The feelings of isolation and dread in the locations the characters occupy reflect the two main leads and their personalities perfectly.

The casting is pretty much spot on, with the most obvious change being the vampire girl in the story [named Abby in the U.S version]. In the Swedish version, the character had a more interesting quality to her because she looked more androgynous, which added something different to her presence on screen. In the U.S. remake however, she very much looks like just a girl. That's not a bad thing though, because Chloe Moretz still brings her own unique quality to the character without looking like she's simply copying the actress from the original film. Chloe was actually really great in this. She played depressed well, she said a lot with her face without having to go over board with obvious emotion, similar to what the original actress did.

What i liked more this time around was how Abby was depicted in vampire form. In the original, her vampire appearance was a lot more subtle, in the remake, it's much more obvious. She has creepy wide icey blue eyes with veiny skin. Her vampire attacks are a lot more vicious than the original character as well. The feeling of danger was a lot more obvious in the remake, Abby was scary when she lost control.

The bullies in the U.S. version who victimize the young boy in the story came across a lot more dangerous as well. The violence and gore was increased, but not in an over the top sort of way. It was just enough to give the very sombre and quiet tone of the movie the punch it needed. That was lacking a little with the original in my opinion.

Hints at Abby's gender are only slightly referred to in the script, it definitely wasn't as much of an obvious hint as it was in the original [no scarred vagina scene this time around], but Abby's strange relationship between her male carer seemed to point to a more obvious hidden meaning than it did in the original, from what i can remember of it anyway.

Some scenes were executed better than others when you compare both films, for instance, the scene where Abby walks into her young friends house without an invitation was executed a bit more interestingly in the original, but, the scene where Abby's female victim is strapped to a hospital bed feeling the vampire change within her take over had A LOT more impact in the remake. In fact, it was probably my favourite scene.

What you'll get with 'Let Me In' is a VERY faithful remake of an already interesting and original foreign film. One isn't too much better than the other, but personally i preferred the more dangerous feeling remake to the more low key Swedish version. Don't get too excited, the remake isn't some pumped up super vampire movie, not at all, but it does feel like they pushed the vampire aspect of the story a little further by making Abby seem much more out of control and demonic on screen.

If i knew someone who had only seen ONE version of the film, that wouldn't bother me, because they're both good in their own ways. If i HAD to recommend one over the other though, i'd actually go for the U.S. version.

I know die hard fans of the original want this remake to be shit, but i'm sorry to say, it really isn't. Not only is it on par with the Swedish version, but in some ways, it's better.

Salt [2010]

Starring: Angelina Jolie, Liev Shreiber.

Directed by: Pillip Noyce.

3.5/5

A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian Spy.

I enjoyed Salt, it was a decent little spy thriller that had some pretty cool moments. The storyline was fairly basic, but it was the "twists and turns" that kept it fresh along the way. The main problem with Salt was that it was TOO SMALL. The movie ends with an obvious lead in to a sequel, but the first film suffers a little for that, because the movie feels more like a teaser than an actual complete movie. It really felt split in half, so the abrupt ending was a bit random and i felt like i had just watched an 80 minute lead into an epic 2 and a half hour movie or something. I think it will benefit from a sequel [or part of a series] to give it a more complete feel, which was really lacking in my opinion.
There was also a lack of scale and excitement that really made the movie pack some punch. It all moves along nicely, and it's entertaining, but it all seems to just be bubbling over a little, rather than exploding with energy. I guess that may also come down to the short running time and "introduction" feel of the storyline [like i mentioned earlier], which could be bettered in a second movie.

Angelina Jolie as usual was fantastic. She's a great action star, tough, believable and incredibly beautiful. You can't take your eyes off her, and she really helped the whole thing hold together a bit more. She looks like she could kick your ass really hard, she was great.
The rest of the cast were good too, Liev did well and i liked his interaction with Jolie, they had good chemistry, but sadly that wasn't explored as much as i would have liked because Salt goes on the run so early into the film. I also think Salt and the other CIA agent who was tracking her had some good chemistry too, i hope we see a stronger relationship established between the two of them future films.

Reviews for this have been mostly steady, but some have criticized the story for being a little over the top, especailly when it came to Salt' abilities as a spy. I dunno, it didn't really bother me to be honest with you, she claimed she was the only one like her in the world, so maybe she was just a complete badass who had amazing skills. I did think her lift leap was a tad far fetched though, is she Spider Man? lol. Anyway, no biggie, it is a movie after all, and there were some other really great action moments. Salt's chase from the interrogation room, through to her scaling her apartment building and then jumping between trucks on the freeway was pretty badass.

It's nothing you need to run to cinemas to see, and it doesn't reach any major heights, but it is entertaining enough and i'd recommend it in between waiting for films you're dying for. What it needs now [if it happens], is a really big sequel, really branch it out, give it wings and go nuts with it. Send Salt around the world, give her mission more scale, then maybe we will have something a little more memorable on our hands.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World [2010]

Starring: Michael Cera, Chris Evans, Anna Kendrick

Directed by: Edgar Wright

4/5

Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriends 7 evil exes in order to win her heart.

I haven't read the comics this film is based on, so i won't be doing any comparisons to it in my review. I am familiar with the artwork and general vibe of the comics though, so i can see how it does look like a loyal adaptation based on what little i know. From what fans have said, its a good translation from book to screen, so if you're worried about that, don't be.

As a stand alone movie, Scott Pilgrim is REALLY entertaining, in fact, it turned out a lot better than i expected. I thought i'd go in experiencing cool action and quirky scenery with not much else, but i was wrong. The characters themselves were really great, and the dialogue is odd, but funny. The movie is borderline pretentious with it's quirk factor, but not in an "i'm an asshole, punch me" way. It's nothing like 500 Days of Summer, which was so tedious to sit through with it's moronic characters and fuckified take on love. Scott is much more light hearted, and really doesn't take itself all that seriously. It does however take it's pop culture references and video game throwback visuals seriously, so that may rub some people up the wrong way, i didn't mind though, i liked how it was all put together.

Michael Cera who plays 'Scott' is an actor i'm starting to get a bit bored with, but in this, i thought he did an AMAZING job. I'm sure it's due more to the writing of the character, but still, he was matched perfectly with Scott and he was adorable and funny in the role. Everyone else was good too, with other standouts being Keiren Culkin as Scott's gay room-mate, and the female drummer from Scott's band, Sex Bom Omb [forgot her name].

Visually the movie is incredible, and when the action starts you won't ever get bored. The fight scenes are all creatively put together and each one is very different to the last. You may feel like you're on a sugar high watching the film, because it runs on A.D.D. from the very first scene,but that just adds to the fun of it all. The 8-bit soundtrack and other songs featured in the movie were great too.

The only couple of faults i can give the film are, the running time, which i felt was a tiny bit over long [thankfully the fantastic finale made up for any lagging], and one scene involving the theme music from Seinfeld with a laughing track thrown in, it just didn't make any sense and i wasn't getting the joke. Maybe there was nothing TO get, i'm not sure, but it felt so out of place.

There have also been a few comparisons between Kick Ass and Scott Pilgrim. As much as i liked Scott, i think it's Kick Ass that will hold up longer down the line. What Scott lacked that Kick Ass had was an emotional impact, Scott also didn't have 'Hit Girl'. Kick Ass also offered more with it's story, whereas Scott was entertaining, but lacked any sort of real point at the end of the day.

If you like video games and comics, you'll most likely love this. I thought it was one of the coolest things i've seen all year, and i can't wait to check out the 'making of' for the film once it hits blu-ray, i may even check out the comic at some point.

Splice [2009]

Starring: Sarah Polley, Adrian Brodey

Directed by: Vincenzo Natali

3.5/5

Two young, rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism.

This movie really divided audiences when it came out earlier this year, and i can sort of understand why. It certainly presents a very strange set up as a storyline, which can border on a little over the top and sometimes kinda gross. For me though, those were the qualities that added to the films charm i think, and since it IS a sci fi movie, suspension of belief should pretty much automatically happen when watching Splice.

With all it's melodrama, there's still no denying how entertaining the whole story is. This isn't just "fun" either, the movie is actually really interesting at times.
In the earlier parts of the story we get to see Dren [the creature] grow and learn how to adjust to her surroundings. Not only is Dren cute, but it's interesting to see how she adapts to her life and how her "parents" bond with her. As she grows into more of an adult, we see the story go from an entertaining "creature feature" to more of a layered film about relationships and morals. Dren isn't a kid anymore, and with that comes hormones and a whole mix of other problems. This is where Splice seemed to make viewers a bit grossed out, because a bit of hybrid/creature and human....erm....RELATIONS start to make things a little freaky. I admit, the movie is very strange at times, if i wasn't raising my eyebrows over the sexual themes of the story, then i was staring at Dren and trying to come to terms with how her face looked, she was so weird looking, while still being kinda...pretty, it was odd.
None of this turned me off the movie though, i still found it to be a really interesting direction to take the story in. I thought the film would have been a little more straight forward than it was, so i was surprised to see that the film makers really tried to give us something with actual ideas behind it.

Another great thing about Splice was the cast. Brody and Polley carry the film well, and they come across as genuinely caring "parents". There's a realistic feel to their relationship with Dren. As for Dren [Played by Delphine Chaneace], the design behind her is pretty cool, and i found myself liking her a lot. There are moments where you feel bad for her, and other times where she comes across as creepy. I liked seeing her evolve as the film went on.

My only major gripe with the movie would be that it could have pushed it's themes a little further. The sex part of the story was taken far enough, but Dren herself should have been explored more. It felt like there was so much more to her than they showed us. She is kept as a prisoner throughout the story, and her freedom is something she brings up a few times. Just ONCE i would have loved to see her break loose like crazy and go nuts. It NEARLY happens at one point during a roof top scene [my favourite scene in the movie], but they quickly reel her back in, and it doesn't go any further than that.
Don't get me wrong, i'm sure the restrained feel of her character was intentional. Dren is kept as a prisoner [for her own safety] , so it makes sense the viewer feels just as tied down as she was. Still, it would have been cool to see her abilities REALLY showcased.

Some people could find Splice a bit too weird, especially if they are squeamish, but i personally liked the fact that the film made me a little uncomfortable. I thought it was a fascinating movie, both this and Inception are two of the most unique things i've seen this year. I think a lot of people on here would get a real kick out of this.

Inception [2010]

Starring: Leonardo Dicaprio, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

4/5

In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception.

If you're expecting an easy watch with this film, you'll end up with a big punch in the head, because this isn't your basic summer blockbuster style of movie, and if you go in wanting to "switch off your brain", you may end up leaving with a sever headache.

The basic storyline of the film is fairly easy to follow, some people are saying they had NO idea what the hell happened even though they liked it, but if you pay attention it's not that hard to understand. The movie does throw everything at you in one big maze like mish mosh though, and you can lose track of what's going on a few times if you aren't focusing on where the story is going, but that's what's so fun about watching this, it makes you pay attention and try and keep up. Plus, it has huge replay value, because there's so much to pick up on. The movie will definitely need a few watches from me.

Christopher Nolan is an incredible director, his style of film making is very hard and fast. There's real MEAT in the way he captures action and suspense. I remember seeing The Dark Knight for the first time and being completely immersed in how he shot everything. The same goes for Inception, it looks really cool. The action scenes are fun and the editing and cinematography are perfect.
Another thing Nolan is good at is making MUSIC a big part of his films. The score by Hans Zimmer is really powerful at times, and similar to The Dark Knight, it kind of becomes a character in itself because it's so prominent during the movie.

The cast were all good. Leonardo Dicaprio seems to be invincible when it comes to picking movie roles, has this guy ever made a truly shit movie????. Ellen Page was an odd choice for this, but she ended up fitting in nicely with the rest of the cast and i liked her relationship with Leo's character. Joseph Gordon Levitt is always a favourite of mine, he's a great actor, and Marion Cotillard was well cast as Leo's tragic, but kinda creepy wife.

There has been some comparisons to The Matrix with this, and there are some similarities with the themes of alternate realities, going into peoples minds, and being hunted by "Agent" like enemies, but that's about as far as it goes with how much alike they are. Inception is a lot more layered, mostly because the way it's told is like a puzzle that you need to piece together, whereas The Matrix presented an intelligent storyline, in a more accessible way.

As far as originality goes, the movie definitely wins over any other film this year. It's probably the most interesting thing you'll see in a long time. Is it my personal favourite film of the year though?...............no, it's not. It didn't BLOW MY MIND like it has for everyone else, but i thought it was well made and entertaining. It's the type of movie i'll need to sit with for a while actually, similar to something like Blade Runner, i'll need to revisit it a few more times over the next few years to really appreciate it on a more "deeper" level i think. I don't mean that in a negative way though, like i said, it has major replay value. The Dark Knight left me breathless at times, it was SO engaging, Inception didn't have exactly the same sort of heavy impact on me.
The only small gripe i had with the film was that i felt it was a little overlong, mostly around the snow scenes near the end.

It's a cool movie, if you liked The Matrix or Dark City, you'll enjoy this. It has bits and pieces of those scattered through it, but offered in a more complex package. I think Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors we've got at the moment, i look forward to seeing this again at some point.

M.I.A.

MAYA [Deluxe Edition] [2010]
4/5

I wasn't sure what to expect from this album, not because i was worried about it being weak, but the few songs that leaked prior to the albums release didn't give me a strong indication of what this album would sound like. I figured we'd be offered the same sort of heavy electronica we always get from her, and we do for the most part, but when 'Born Free' hit the internet with it's epic 9 minute music video, it was obvious MIA was dabbling in a few new sounds.

The electric guitar that bashes it's way through 'Born Free' was a nice indicator of how loud and angry this album was going to be. We hear more of the rockier sound in songs like 'Steppin Up' and 'Meds and Feds', the latter also having the heaviest bass she's ever used in a song. It makes your ear drums explode.

Once the first official single hit, 'XXXO', there were even more signs of experimentation. The track is heavy on the electronica, but it was also very commercial sounding, which isn't very usual for MIA's music. With a bit more tweaking, the track could be given to a number of pop stars to sing. Some fans started complaining about MIA "selling out", frankly, i couldn't give a shit. The song was fantastic, and the more mainstream sound was a welcome change in my opinion. She isn't completely foreign to more commerical songs anyway, 'Paper Planes' is her biggest hit to date, and that follows a more accessible sound.

The album isn't too much of a departure though. There's still plenty of tradmark MIA in the songs, with some nice newer sounds and instruments introduced to freshen things up. The hypnotic 'Lovealot', and anthem sounding 'Tell Me Why' could have come off one of her previous albums, and you can't get anymore token MIA than the epic, 'Teqkilla', which runs for 6 minutes, and sounds like MIA amped up to 100, with every sound effect and beat thrown into a trippy none stop dance masterpiece. It really fucks with your head.

The only weak point in the album for me is the Carrabien sounding, 'It Takes A Muscle'. It's just boring. Reviewers seem to be name dropping it as a highlight though, so i'm in the minority on that one.
The deluxe edition comes with 4 extra songs, the stand outs for me being 'Illygirl' and 'Believer'.

Overtime, this may end up becoming my favourite MIA album. It's certainly her easiest one to listen to, and i like that she's given us a few new sounds to enjoy. I really like it.

Predators [2010]
Starring: Adrian Brody, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace.
Directed by: Nimrod Antal
4/5

A group of elite warriors are hunted by a relentless alien race known as Predators.

I thought it was as enjoyable as the first Predator film, except this time they are given a bit more to play around with thanks to expanding on the Universe of the Predator, so everyone has a bit more to do.
The story itself was exciting. The earlier section of the film is very reminiscent of the original Predator with all the tension build up they give us as the characters try to find out where they are while hearing strange noises and seeing weird figures through the trees. Once it all kicks into gear though, it's none stop action with each member of the group being picked off one by one.

I actually preferred this cast to the first film. Adrien Brody is no Arnie of course, but he was an interesting choice for the lead role, and he did surprisingly well with the character. He was believable and likeable. The rest of the cast were your typical "bad boy" bunch, with one chic thrown in. She wasn't anything exciting, but her chemistry with Adrian was a nice addition to a mainly male dominated cast. Topher Grace was given a few nice comedic moments and Laurence Fishburn had a cool cameo. Danny Trejo however, was sadly wasted in this. Why did they get rid of him so fast???

The Predators themselves were badder than before, mainly due to the fact that we are introduced to a more "dangerous" species of Predator, as well as the same sort we saw in the first movie. The rivalry introduced between both species was a nice addition also, but wasn't explored all that much outside of a quick fight scene. The rabid alien "dogs" were a cool addition to the film as well.

I agree with Digi that the twist at the end probably wasn't needed, but kudos to them for trying to keep things happening within the story and not just fading into a long winded end battle with no "oooh" moment. The planet itself wasn't all that exciting either, outside of a few "weird" plant moments, it didn't look too much like another world. Maybe that was the look they went for though, something close to Earth?............either way, it wasn't a major issue or anything.

If another film is made, i'd like to see a bit more about the Predators history. I know that was touched upon with the Alien vs Predator films, but lets GET SERIOUS, we all ignore those fun, yet disposable movies when it comes to referencing the original franchises both monsters came from. We all enjoy a bit of Alien/Predator dumbery, but really, who actually bothers with those when we get the chance for NEW additions to the already existing series? especially when they're done as fun as this.

Offered everything i expected, with a few nice surprises thrown in.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Directed by: David Slade

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner

4/5

Bella, whose high school graduation is fast approaching, is forced to choose between her love for vampire Edward, or her friendship with werewolf Jacob, all while trying to stay alive from the clutches of hell bent vampire Victoria, who wants her revenge on Bella and The Cullen family.

The Twilight series has finally come full circle with Eclipse. As i've mentioned before, i found the first 'Twilight' film to be enjoyable, but it's very uneven most of the time and i still find it to be the weakest of the series. 'New Moon' improved on the first film A LOT and i was very happy with the final product [minus ONE hideously cheesy forest frolic scene].

Eclipse is hard to fault though, not because it's a perfect film, but because it's ironed out a lot of the issues that have plagued this series so far.

Director David Slade does a great job bringing the book to life. In fact, i would have liked to have seen him direct all the 3 of the first films, he has a more darker take on the story which i think would make the movies more appealing to a wider audience. Not a big deal though, i still like the fact that each film has had a different style.

The cast FINALLY settle into their characters properly. I'm not sure if playing a punk rocker lesbian in 'The Runaways' had anything to do with it, but Kristen Stewart loosens up a lot in this, and she isn't stuttering and moaning her way through the whole thing. Granted Bella is less annoying anyway, but still, Kristen seemed to look like she was comfortable being the character. The same can be said for Robert Pattinson as Edward. Less constipation face, more smiling and relaxing face. Jasper and Rosalie get nicely beefed up roles in this film, and both actors did great with their scenes.

The new cast members were all decent. Riley, Victoria's newly born right hand man was a strong addition to the cast, and even Bree Tanner had a small role in the film. As we all know, Rachel Lafavere was replaced by Bryce Dallas Howard in the role of Victoria for Eclipse, and that would be my only minor gripe about this movie. I didn't NOT like Bryce in the role, in fact, i thought she did well, i just preferred Rachel as that character. There was a maturity and strength about her that Bryce lacked. Bryce was way too girly looking. That blank stare and deep voice Rachel had was perfect for Victoria, it was a shame she couldn't finish up the character properly.

The make up on the cast is still over the top, why hasn't anyone from the town the vampires live in asked why on Earth they all have the most fucked up eye colour ever, lol!?..........to David's credit though, he did pull back a lot on making Edward look like a butter face, and Jasper lost his Spaghetti hairdo. Bella was given a wig throughout the film [Kristen had cut her hair for another role], most of the time i actually liked it, but every so often it would change shades of brown and sit a whole bunch of different ways. Random. Overall though, everyone looked a lot better.

The pacing of the film was a lot faster than the previous movies. There's no need for introductions anymore, so we get right into the action from the first shot of the film. The character arcs have become more interesting, Bella actually has more to think about other than Edward, she's facing a decision that would change her life forever, and that brings in a whole bunch of issues about where she wants her life end up in the future. The flashback scenes a few of the Cullen's get in this film flesh out the Cullen history well, especially with Rosalie, which sets up her character nicely for the next couple of films. Hopefully we get to see the remaining Cullen's history in the next two movies.

I think most fans would agree that the series is going from strength to strength, and it's been interesting seeing a different director have their own take on each film.

If you've hated these movies from day one, you may get some more enjoyment out of this movie, i wouldn't hold my breathe though. For Twilight fans, it's perfect and for the casual viewer who doesn't have any bias opinion of the series, it's enjoyable.

I loved it, and i can't wait to see it again. Now all i have to do is wait for 'Breaking Dawn part 1', it's only a year and a half away [sad face].