IronMan 2

Being a comic book fan, I was always bound to enjoy Ironman 2. So this review is unashamed in it's positivity.

Jon Favreau delivers a fan boys wet dream and an admirable follow up to 2008's Ironman.

The movie picks up several years after the original. Tony Stark is Ironman and everyone loves him for it (almost), but the suit is slowly poisoning him.

The government is after his ironman suits as his closest rival Justin Hammer, played to frighteningly nerdy perfection by Sam Rockwell. Hammer enlists Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke), to build a drone army to stop Starks dominance in the weaponised exo-skeleton arena.

Starks best friend Lt. Col. James 'Rhodey' Rhodes is also after the suit and eventually get his hands on a prototype, to become War Machine...a supped up version of Ironman.

Other charaters from the marvel also pop up, Scarlett Johansson turns up as S.H.I.E.L.D agent Black Widow and Samuel L. Jackson returns as Nick Fury. All leading towards 2012's Avengers movie.

I was always bound to love it...

8/10

P.S Stay in your seat for the end credits for an extra scene

Clash of The Titans

I have a soft spot for the original Clash of the Titans, with its Ray Harryhausen stop frame animation and hammy acting.

As Hollywood has run out of ideas and is now dredging through it's back catalogue or raiding your local comic book store for new stories.

Thanks to that we have a new big budget (though the FX don't represent this) version of Clash of the Titans from directorLouis Leterrier.

Leterrier is famous for the Transporter movies and the better of the two recent Incredible Hulk movies. So perfect for a movie that selo-tapes Greek mythology

together.

Man of the moment Sam Worthington (Avatar, Terminator: Salvation) is Perseus...all muscles and no brains and as wooden as the sets (if they where built and not generated).

This version has none of the charm of the original and the least said about Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes the better. This really is a turkey!

2/10

Shutter Island

Shutter Island is Martin Scorsese's latest. A thriller set on the eponymous 'Shutter Island' asylum. A murder mystery that sees

Leonardo DiCaprio US marshal sent to investigate.

Obviously something is fishy as the the asylum is run by (Sir) Ben Kingsley...

The movie has a few scares and is fairly tense and looks beautiful as you would expect with a Scorsese movie.

The closest movie to Shutter Island is Scorsese's own remake of Cape Fear. The sound track beats you into submission and constantly reminds you that you are watching a THRILLER!

I'm a huge Scorsese fan and have loved his past collaborations with Leo. However the biggest issue i have with this movie is Leo. He just isn't believable as an military man with a shadowy past, he simply isn't old enough and doesn't have enough age in his eyes.

It's no spoiler to tell you that the movie has a twist (the US marketing was based around telling you that the movie has a twist) So don't be shocked when you see the twist crashing towards you as loudly as the movies booming score.

7/10

Green Zone

It would be easy to call Green Zone, "Jason Bourne does Iraq!" But that would make a pithy and dismissive review.

It's true Green Zone is directed by Paul Greengrass and it stars Matt Damon. It's filmed in Greengrass' handheld and improvised style...but that's where the comparisons ends.

Damons' Staff Sergent Miller is a much more believable character, with a very real agenda...to find those WMD's.
Miller isn't the unstoppable force like Jason Bourne and most importantly Miller is based in the real world, during a real event. At one point Damon/Miller even gets a swift beating from Jason Isaacs (Hello Jasons Isaacs) Special Forces operative.

This is a much easier film to watch that any of the Bourne movies, it rattles along nicely with an amazing 30 minute set piece finale, which would make any fan of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare put down there controller.

This is easily the best of the recent crop of Iraq war movies, including The Hurt Locker.

8/10

The Wolfman

I think we are about to be overwhelmed by period horror/thriller/action movies, with the success of Sherlock Holmes (and its still to come sequels) and now The Wolfman ...

The Wolfman harks back to Hammer horror and the classic Hollywood horrors from the 40's.
Set at the end of 18th century, it's the story of an estranged Son returning to his birth place after the brutal murder of his brother. The 'horror' begins when Benicio Del Toro is attacked by the title creature

The movie looks amazing at times, with more than a generous nod to the original movie.
Joe Johnston's is in the end a confused flick, not going far enough to be a true horror and not a good enough scripted to be thriller.

While watching The Wolfman, one other movie constantly pops into your head...An American Werewolf in London, which The Wolfman even parodies at one point.

AAWL sets an ironic tone from the start and keeps that up through the script...The Wolfman lacks the conviction.

6/10

Paranormal Activity

A bump in the night takes on a slightly more disturbing connotation after watching 'Paranormal Activity'

The word of mouth marketing for this movie has created its success and the initial comparisons to 'The Blair witch Project'.
Its true this movie wouldn't exist if it wasn't for 'Blair Witch'...but because of 'Blair Witch' this is a much more accomplished movie.

The story revolves around a couple Kate and Micah (not the camp pop star). Completely filmed in a handheld style and documenting the couples midnight paranormal activities! Though the movie is genuinely scary at times all credit goes to the lead actors that are convincing in their portrayal of a couple dealing with issues in their relationship. Issues that might or might not be the cause of the paranormal activity.

This is Oren Peli first feature and its a good effort. The movie has several endings so I'd like to see the rejected versions as the UK cinema release is the weakest aspect of the movie.

A sequel is already in pre-production so lets hope it doesn't go the same way as Blair Witch 2!

6/10

UP

Even a below standard Pixar movie breezes over its competition.

Most reviews of UP will reveal that the first 20minutes are classic Pixar, full of emotion and deals with some very adult themes and that the middle act loses it way only to finally claw it back towards the end...and I'm afraid i can't disagree.

The beginning is the bravest I've seen in any Pixar movie, bringing the audience to tears in the first 10 minutes is an incredible feet...but you don't want a whole movie full of it.

Its important to note that i saw the UP in 2D...I'm not a fan of the 3D fad and hopefully Avatar will kill it for good!

8/10