Film Review: Iron Man 3

Directed by Shane Black, running time 130 minutes.

The Avengers may have raised the bar for expectations of the entire super hero adaptation crowd, where such films can be loud and bombastic yet also have likable well-rounded characters even if they are dressed for Halloween and battling space whales. The first Iron Man set this stage and the second, despite an apparent lasting lack of enthusiasm, was personally at least, serviceable fun. It may be easy to follow Iron Man 2, but the Avengers may be tricky.

The now ever reliable Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, still probably the best cast of the entire Marvel lineup so far. Following the events of the Avengers, Stark is going through a series of anxiety attacks, and let’s be honest, following a potential suicide mission of hurling a live nuke in a wormhole at an intergalactic armada may not be the trick to taking of the edge. Pushed to an emotional brink, he calls out international terrorist archetype, the oddly named non-Chinese ‘The Mandarin” played by Ben Kingsley with obvious explosive results. All the while, a shifty Aldrich Killian played by Guy Pearce is peddling strange regenerative experiments under shrouded connections.

Even with explosive results, the third installment is predominantly a character piece in bed with a fast paced crime thriller. Rather than the “how Tony Stark got his grove back” motif of Iron Man 2, here Stark is attempting to rebuild himself as a new man. From the beginning we see that he is struggling to settle down legitimately with Pepper Potts played by Gwyneth Paltrow, constantly working to avoid admitting he has a problem. Seeing Downey Jr.’s titular character in a withdrawn, even vulnerable state is an interesting shift in the dynamic of the character. However there are the stretches of egotistical snarkiness that we seem to be drawn towards, so while on paper it may read as unfunny brooding, the character is still the all the same, just that the circumstances have changed also now requiring a change of heart and Robert Downey Jr. is giving it his all.

There seems to be a current trend where super heroes are not allowed to appear as such for most of the film, with the Dark Knight Rises and Amazing Spider-Man probably having a collective half hour each of costumed antics. Iron Man 3 does gravitate towards this portrayal, even beating him down to the point of being thrown back to a position reminiscent of the first half of the earliest Iron Man, after all it’s about the man, not the suit. Although rather than have entire acts absent of “super-fun-time”, Stark ends up jumping in an out of suits at a swift pace, backed up by antagonist minions in constant hot pursuit (that will become a bad pun after seeing this film) making up most of the action. The action itself outside of the obligatory impossible stunts climax is for the most part weaved into the narrative, rather than contrived director “oh no, we need some action here” moments that plague most films with any hint of fast pace. The final act itself is also fine but given the emphasis on characters so far, the showdown set piece is not the highlight you came to see and take away by the end.

Don Cheadle returns, now as the now rebranded “Iron Patriot” but has a noticeably lower key role, being less of a starring supporting role of the second and more of casual support, at least until the finale. Despite Ben Kingsley appearing in every trailer with menacing monologue and doing an overall fine job, given that Guy Pierce is set up from the get go as a shady corporate suit, if you’ve seen the last two Iron Man films with their “business conspiracy” plots than it wouldn’t be a spoiler to say that he has a major antagonistic role to play. In fact I will go as far as to say most of the plot can be figured out before the revelations… again, most however. Without giving away any major developments, there is a twist of a certain kind two-thirds the way into the film. While it does work in terms of the script, it’s initially tonally jarring and I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me at first. However by the time the credits rolled it wasn’t a lasting issue and the film had gone ahead with payoff. Although there is one quick action Guy Pierce does for a couple of seconds that is incredibly cartoonish even for the standards of a franchise with Viking Gods and green monster men. You’ll know it when you see it.

Director Shane Black has clearly held is own in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, without the plot of The Avengers hanging over the story. The third installment is very much its own feature, with the occasional line acknowledging the wider playing field and as a result the film is much stronger for it. However that didn’t stop my inner nerd asking where S.H.I.E.L.D. is in all of this mess, although the average bystander and small character roles asking about the aliens is a nice subtle touch. You would if you knew there were aliens, right?

Also, yes, there is a post credit sequence.

Iron Man 3 has continued to prove the popularity of the character and Disney/Marvel’s cinematic conquest, being a more than worthy follow up. In all honestly though, at time of writing I’m not sure if Iron Man 3 matches up with the first or not. I would have to revisit both again soon but even asking the question is a good enough indicator that third time is still a charm.

Also starring Rebecca Hall, John Favreau and Paul Bettany.

ROLE OUT THOR 2!

Game Review: Injustice: Gods Among Us

Before I start, a “little” context:

It would be fair to say that I have a particular inclination towards the fighting game genre. The idea of a cast of martial arts masters to outright cartoonish misfits going toe to toe, often for some of the most contrived reasons in any story telling medium, has a certain appeal I admit to enjoying for entire run of my gaming run (IE nearly all my life)… and now for the contradictory statement. I have never been the best at them either, at least against enough uman opponents.   However in another twist of logic, my enjoyment of the genre is also why I can’t throw a Hadoken to save my life… bar.

Variety is the spice of life, you can’t just limit yourself to a game where grandmasters fight for the title when you can also play one where demon ninjas slice up cyborgs or a Chinese girl tags in panda bears. Yet with it, one can never take the time to perfect the art of stringing combos and a well-timed blocks and counters of any one game and be a real competitor. I won’t shell out a brick of notes for an arcade stick and I more than likely won’t survive the first few rounds of a tournament, but what I can do is get to grips and learn beyond the basics. To tell when a fighting game has more than flash in its mechanics...

…and with that: Batman!

Well, actually it’s the DC Universe when it comes to Injustice: Gods Among Us but if you’re just the casual observer to the comic giant, it’s all about Batman for you. Injustice is developed by NetherRealm Studios, the most recent brand for the veteran developers of the Mortal Kombat series. While having struck oil with their most recent entry to the series, rather than follow the obvious path and simply churn out a samey sequel, NeatherRealm actually created something of a spiritual successor… with Batman!

Injustice features a current cast of 24 super heroes and villains from across the DC Comics (multi?)universe to “throw down” and the choices are defiantly unique. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman may be the obvious choices yet other characters who, let’s be honest are outside of the public spot light make appearances; like Ares, Killer Frost and Black Adam. Other choices are recognisable to those without the archive comic knowledge but have been given fresh spins, namely Aquaman who despite all the Super Friends and Family Guy jokes at his expense is one the most “badass” characters in the roster.

But why are the defenders of justice Green Lantern and the Flash destroying downtown Metropolis just take out eachother? The plot is simple yet told well enough, concerning an alternate reality where a traumatised Superman establishes a new world order, causing heroes and villains to switch sides on the fly. While is sounds simple (and it is), the extra layer of cross-mortality punch-ups occur when the prime, sane and good natured Superman universe crosses over with the other. Again, trust me it is simple.

This is because the story is presented in the same straight forward manner of the previous Mortal Kombat, where players switch between characters and fights as the plot unfolds like a film/series with in-game cut-scenes, where the gameplay begins just as conflict starts, a format more fighting games should adopt, even if the occasional mini-game thrown on the side doesn’t quite gell with the rest of the presentation and gameplay. Overall, I’d say it acts as something of a lavish 4 to 5 hour tutorial for new players.

It isn’t a particularly riveting tale or on par in terms of development with notable examples of its source material. Because of the constraints a fighting game immediately places, there are some very contrived events and character motivations at times to start conflict. A casual conversation turns to blood shed due to spontaneous suspicions while a hero who was punched into outer space has no hard feelings moments later. Then of course one begs the question how Harley Quinn can survive a brawl with Doomsday, a reason quickly mentioned then brushed off that is actually more dumb than “HEY! MAGIC!” Yet I would be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate any reason to play as the Joker on the level of Bane.

Still, overall the script is inoffensive with great voice talent, including those pulled from the classic DC animated series (Kevin Conroy Batman baby!), with dialogue that does a good job at outlining the DC universe without getting bogged down in exposition. Plus there are some unique character portrayals such as a hero turns by villains like Deathstroke and Lex Luthor (in a nifty robot suit to boot). Despite issues, it is still an improvement on the majority of its genre.

Other modes include a traditional arcade ladder of battles with a chosen character towards a showdown with an evil Superman, but also a list of variations such as sped up time or slowly draining life bars that add some variety to a fairly typical format. A side mode called S.T.A.R. Labs provides 240 challenges that covers the entire roster. However despite the scale appearing as a potential abundance of playable content, the challenges themselves are mere distractions disguised as optional “stories”, if by story you mean brief text without context or audio. Some are useful in that they can further teach the player mechanics and character move sets, others are simple mini-games that may be mildly fun the first or second time only, while others are just frustrating and out of place in a fighting game. Along with the functional obligatory multiplayer options, all game modes keep a record of your play time, with certain conditions granting experience points towards levelling up your player profile. While holding no real merit beyond a false sense of “showiness”, each level allows unlockables ranging from new somewhat, near costumes to concept art, the usual pointless affair.

But what of the gameplay itself? Also like the story mode, if you played the 2011 Mortal Kombat, there is also a sense of familiarity. I’m not saying you’ll witness a scene where Catwoman decapitates Green Arrow, far from it, but the mechanics and control are strikingly similar. Jumps, upper cuts and projectiles are fielded with the same timing and strategy, while certain attacks like Batman’s grapple cable to a degree call back to Scorpion’s classic “GET OVER HERE” move. That isn’t to say this is an issue however. Firstly, Mortal Kombat’s fighting engine is solid and secondly Injustice does have a few features to call its own. For one, characters vary in how they play depending on size and fighting style with some having quick strikes, jumps or projectiles while others are slow and brutish but powerful. Characters also all have a special ability mapped to the same button input but is unique to each one, from shields to powerups.

Another feature that is very unique to Injustice is the interactive environments. While you can transition to other levels during a single fight like some other fighting games, Injustice utilizes an interactive background. Despite the game playing on a two dimensional plain, players can reach into the near background and use them in battle. These interactions work functionally well the different character styles, for example in one level a larger fighter can throw a motorcycle while a smaller fighter will leap on and drive it into their opponent. The extra layer of interactivity combined with the noticeable character differences provides an interesting and fresh approaches to the fighting gameplay, knowing how to tackle different sized opponents or when to use the environment to your advantage. Having been developed with gameplay, instead of simply tacked on, these features of not intrusive or hard to understand. However if you desire straight fighting, these interactive elements can be optionally disabled.

While this is all happening, players will progressively fill a meter separate from their life bar that can be utilized in ways such as enhancing the damage of their regular moves or countering others. It can also be “wagered” to regain health, however this mini-game system is actually intrusive without any strategy that game seems to pretend is has. Even if the resulting clash that ensues is delightfully flashy with great character lines, it doesn’t quite gell with the system. But really, you’re only going to use your meter for one thing: super moves!

With a full meter and well timed usage, players can pull off devastating cinematic style combo attacks that defy the laws of practicality and plausibility. I’m talking Superman launching opponents into space and back, the Flash charging up a punch by running around the planet and Doomsday pummelling others right through the Earth’s core. Even the more grounded characters can to enjoy the spectacle with Deathspoke’s unusual large arsenal of firepower and the over the top brutality combo of Solomon Grundy. Sadly there are few tame stinkers, namely Harley Quinn and Wonder Woman’s when compared to others. Another issue is these animations are the same each time, which may prove tedious if you end up witnessing them on a regular basis. In my humble opinion however, they did not grate on me and are in fact on the highlights of the entire game, with Lex catching and throwing an orbital satellite laser blast being a personal favourite.

…and Aquaman? Like a boss!

Injustice: Gods Among Us is a uniquely strange fighting game. On one hand it is reminiscent of Mortal Kombat at times, while on the other it utilizes some features currently unheard of in the genre, all the while showcasing iconic DC characters. Bizarre though as it may be at times, combing simple controls with solid gameplay together with the elaborate presentation, NeatherRealm have developed an entertaining original IP within a genre dominated by long standing franchises.

While it could be tempting for the studio to develop another Mortal Kombat or Injustice, it would be interesting to see where they can take the framework next…

…just don’t make another Mortal Kombat Vs. DC Universe.

Long time, no writing

It has been more than a year since I've done any proper writing despite not only having seen plenty of films but also having more to say about them. The last year has been a jumble of tasks, jobs, traveling and other random events.

However things have settled for now and now it's time to jump back in... even if there isn't anyone to read it, it's what I want to do.

The Top NINE Films of 2011

As with every year, I present my own personal favorites of 2011 IN NO ORDER. As also with every years the films are those that came out in just the UK that year, while I also admit myself there are no doubt a number of films that year I have missed with a good chance of breaking this list.

And why just nine films? Everytime you do a Top 10, you're always stuck on one of them.

Warrior
(Directed by Gavin O’Connor, running time 140 minutes)


Tom “soon to be Bane” Hardy and Joel “I think he was in that poor remake of the The Thing disguised as an even poorer sequel, seriously, what was the point of that film again? But I digress”... Edgerton star as a pair of estranged brothers who both enter a mixed martial arts fighting tournament for their own personal reasons, with Hardy under the training of the even more estranged father played by Nick Nolte. What reads like a predictable set up of every other sports drama definitely holds true, with more people comparing it to last... same year’s The Fighter. Yet with the MMA as the focus for once a long with a strong script and some fantastic character performances, with Nick Nolte easily topping the best of them of 2011. Couple that with some genuinely thrilling ‘Ultimate Fighting’ sequences, Warrior is a drama that doesn’t bore.

13 Assassins(Directed by Takashi Miike, running time 141 minutes)

Modern day Japanese popular culture is a confusing, baffling and even at times wholly perverted enigma, so any throw back to a time where the nation had a sense of dignity is always welcome. However with Ichi the Killer, Audition director Takashi Miike's 13 Assassins, the reign of the samurai once again feels fresh on the big screen. Set during the slide of Shogun rule, an honorable samurai plots the assassination of the heir of the shogun, a young but cruel tyrant who murders, rapes and pillages for pleasure. With it comes a build up of well constructed exchanges of dialogue that leads to a literal 45 minutes pay off of none stop professionally choreographed and shot violent action of 13 assassins against a small army of body guard. While far from the cinematic heights of Akria Kurosawa, to capture that traditionalist style to a point is in itself an achievement.

Rango
(Directed by Gore Verbinski, running time 107 minutes)


Johny Depp voices a pet chameleon lost in the Mojave Desert who stumbles upon a makeshift Old West-style community of other small dusty critters, where he inadvertently becomes something of a folk hero. With a cast packed of less than Hollywood attractive animals includes geckos, rattle snakes, naked mole rats and desert mice, the colourful ensemble makes for some more interesting characters and highly detailed animation. Even with the bland set up of a fish out of water becoming a hero scenario, the narrative is well paced supported with a good level humor, both crude and slap-stick. We’ve had a break from Pixar this year (you made a sequel to your weakest film?) so it’s good to have an animated feature that’s not necessarily ambitious but well constructed.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
(Directed by David Fincher, running time 158 minutes)


It would be fair to say that I’m usually one of the first to set themselves on fire in protest at the prospect of film remakes, particularly foreign films. However since the Swedish original was a film based on (in all honestly) a rather weak story, and with David “The Game, Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, Social Network” Fincher, this project was innocent until proven guilt. Better what audiences received was not only a worthy adaptation of the book but also in my humble (HA!) opinion the superior of the two. While Daniel Craig is serviceable as the journalist Mikael Blomkvist hired to uncover a murder within a rich family, the latter team up with Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander easily steels the show with delightfully unhinged performance as the investigative hacker. The story is further supported by memorable supporting roles from Christopher “Greybeard” Plummer and Stellan Skarsgard, Trent Reznor’s unconventional score and Fincher’s classic flair for gritty atmosphere and subtle humor.

The Troll Hunter
(Directed by André Øvredal, running time 103 minutes)


This humble piece from Norway probably surprised me the most and is probably contender for most underrated film of the year. This fictional “found footage” style documentary follows a small student film crew as the document the exploits of a reclusive hunter of “real life” wild trolls, whose secret profession is supported yet hidden by the Norwegian government. Unlike other films of its genre, the majority of the film is presented in a structured format and escapes, for the most part, being nothing but a string of shaky cam footage and screams. After all, this is supposed to be a professional hunter. What not only saves yet propels this creature feature is an obvious yet down played tongue in cheek sense of humor and the attention to detail when attempting to present the trolls as potentially real life natural beasts, including faux biology and medical science. Otto Jespersen as the titular troll hunter is a clear break out performance as a man who is clam and collected in the face of savage beasts and is what makes his dangerous practice such a thrill ride to be apart of.

True Grit
(Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, running time 111 minutes)


Yet another remake but one that follows a cliche ridden John Wayne western. The Coen Brothers inject new life into the Western with this superior and grittier version that follows a young girl played by Hailee Steinfeld as she hires local legend gunslinger (and drunk) played by Jeff Bridges to hunt down a low life who killed her father, played by Josh Brolin. As with any Coen Brothers piece, the setting is still harsh to a degree, with most characters being straight up terrible people yet is full of wit and black humor that makes the long stretches of dialogue both interesting and fun. With supporting roles from Matt Damon and Barry Pepper, great cinematography and atmosphere, True Grit is far succeeds as a modern western classic. What still confuses me though is the last year nomination for Steinfeld for Best Supporting Actress... she’s the main character let alone actress.

Black Swan
(Directed by Darren Aronofsky, running time 108 minutes)


Aronofsky returns with his trademark theme of hopeless adversity. Natalie Portman plays a meek ballerina who is given the chance to the duel role in a theater production of Swan Lake. Attempting to achieve this given role comes at the cost of what quickly becomes a descent into madness, worsened by the presence of the more free spirited fellow dancer played by Mila Kunis. The script is dark to say the least, with additional scenes of blunt sexuality, body horror and surreal mindsets. Yet it is all in support of the film and it’s multiple twists and turns, along with some particularly striking performances from Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder. It’s easy to see why Portman swept the awards last year as Black Swan is by far her most demanding and bleak performance yet.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
(Directed by Rupert Wyatt, running time 105 minutes)


A personal favorite as it delivers on a somewhat ridiculous premise, at least one on paper. James Franco is a scientist attempting to cure Alzheimer’s disease by improving the brain functions by testing on chimpanzees. One of his test chimps named Caesar played by Andy Serkis in motion capture quickly shows signs of human level of intelligence. However as misunderstanding leaves him in wild chimp house where he becomes bitter while also rallying the other primates around him. What makes this film fascinating is it being on of the few where big budget CGI actually supports the characters. There are long stretches with next to no dialogue, instead showing the facial expressions and body language of the apes that not only makes them believable but the more sympathetic characters of the film. In short Serkis deserves a new form of acting award his work. However even the human characters hold their own with a strong performance from John “Dick Solomon” Lithgow as the Alzheimer’s inflected father of Franco.

Midnight in Paris
(Directed by Woody Allen, running time 94 minutes)


*SIGH* Fine... you got me. Out of all of the film industry, Woody Allen: you win. I actually really like a straight up romantic comedy for once. A better yet, you actually gave Owen Wilson something credible to be in for once!

Owen Wilson plays a developing writing who takes his fiancee to Paris, which he believes was host to some of the greatest artistic and literary minds during the 1920s. Despite being shrugged off by many around him in the present, he somehow finds a way to go back to the 20s every midnight. While the prospect of time travel and interacting with famous figures of history sounds like something a six year old would conceive, Woody Allen places his protagonist amongst the famous intellectuals and creative minds of the time causing much of the dialogue and humor to be full of charm and wit. Ever present is also the theme of nostalgia and what it can mean to people personal and their work method. I’ll say it again, this is very much a romantic comedy, yet it’s also a great film that I genuinely liked. Thus, it’s probably up as one of, if not the best of its genre.

Honorable mention:
127 Hours
Drive
Captain America: The First Avenger
Thor
The King's Speech
...and any other a end up watching further done the line in 2012

Reviews still coming

Without home internet, many films I would have liked to have reviewed have now passed me by... it's going to be a big review round-up.

Film Review: Senna

(Directed by Asif Kapadia, running time 102 minutes)

For those of you lacking in the general knowledge of Formula One racing, one thing that always needs to be emphasized is just how dangerous it can be. The amount of real science and physical and mental effort, not to mention the skill it takes to not only win but avoid a serious injury or worse is part of the back bone of the race. Throughout the late 80s and early 90, a Brazilian driver named Ayrton Senna took the worldwide competition by storm. During this time he quickly raced his way through not only each Grand Pix as they came but also all the behind the scenes turmoil and politics that comes with most multi-million pound events, and become three time Formula One world champion and national hero is his native homeland. Despite being at the top of his game he was tragically killed in crash during San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.

However unlike many documentaries that may feel the need to dwell on one’s passing, director Asif Kapadia has adopting a style of film making that instead not only takes the audience back to Senna’s heyday of racing but makes us feel as if we were there, experiencing everything as it unfolded. The entirety of film is made of real footage including official races, interviews, behind the scenes of each events, public appearances and even home movies all the while narrated by a substantial variety of figures ranging from managers, fellow drivers and newscasters who were not only experienced these events first hands but even knew the man himself well. No cutaways, no stationary studios interviews, not even shots of what anything looks like today, just footage of the time and place.

At first this approach may appear to be a series of dull stock footage, yet Kapadia has carefully filtered through what must be hours upon hours of footage in order to get down to the core and for it results in a gripping viewing experience that I wouldn’t say is on par with the most tense and dramatic fictional films as it’s a wholly different kind of experience and no doubt will be for many, even better. With this footage the audience can get a close enough picture of the inner workings of Formula One. Senna might have been a top F1 driver, but to make it there it appeared to take plenty of effort beyond just winning races. Even though he raced with McLaren, we quickly became at odds with his fellow McLaren driver the French Alain Prost, also a multiple F1 world champion, which at one point turned into a bitter rivalry. On top of this Senna was very vocal about some of the rules and on and off track issues, in many instances crashing and in another even being disqualified temporally suspended.

Yet even though is may seem this is a documentary made for the Formula One fan, beyond just the structure of the inner workings of the motor-sport we are given an insight to the man himself and those around him, often at times making footage seem almost character driven that while at odds with many, there is still underlying respect. However those who may wonder about his personal life, either due to a directorial decision, lack of footage or out of respect, little is actually known about the man off the track, with the documentary kick starting just as he enters Formula One. On hand this may seem limiting to those less enthusiastic about the motor-sport while on the other hand it doesn’t get bogged down with such details that may make the film appear a little too overly done at times, not being as if its trying to hard make the audience care. Off the track though, the film doesn’t skim on the crisis in Brazil, something that was very important about his public image, that in times of need is what helped make him seem like a beacon of hope in Brazil, in order to show others just why those in the F1 and elsewhere considered him an important figure outside of just being good at his passion. The documentary doesn’t paint him as some messiah, instead just how and why this man had become so popular. The narration itself is accompanied with a brief small subtitle as each give their story. The variety of the narration is what gives the tone legs, in that the contrasting view points allow a little more balance in what is at the end of the day a tribute as well.

Senna was deeply religious but also very much aware of the dangers. In fact, even though there hasn’t been a race related death since 1994, Kapadia also felt the need to portray this by not holding back with footage of other incidents such as Rubens Barrichello literally flying into the sidelines. Despite these occasional harrowing instances, they make the film more real than it already is. In regards to his aforementioned death behind the wheel, it actually (and in all honesty thankfully) doesn’t dwell on it as up to this point the film has been about his life as a racer and anything else might have seemed almost unnecessarily tarnishing. While we do get visuals on the brutal crash and finally his (elaborate) funeral, it is cut up with shots of each of those who attended and them with the man himself. Its pretty emotional stuff.

Without going overly sentimental and getting distracted by the personal details, this may seem less inviting to those other than F1 fans. However I feel Kapadia has not made this case by selecting and structuring the footage and narration that makes Senna inviting yet ultimately compelling. Some may not know much about the man himself, but this documentary does its best to do just that. As for F1 fans, its a no brainer as what we have here is a slice of motor sport history, one that I feel is a great viewing experience for all.

With narration from Ron Denis, Frank Williams, Alain Prost and many others.

Film Review Roundup: May-June

CASUAL NOTE: Busy work hindered any attempts to write up reviews for March and April. However is was somewhat barren anyway. Long story short of those that I saw:

True Grit = Instant western classic, Jeff Bridges always shines.
Source Code = Pretty dam good sci-fi with an unusual approach to science.
Adjustment Bureau = Great concept and well done but nothing special.
Rango = Brilliantly animated and with great characters even with a formulaic story.

------------------------------

Insidious
(Directed by James Wan, running time 100 minutes)

The “usually” reliable Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne play a couple of parents who are terrorized from house to house by an unknown apparition. Despite an incredibly stereotypical vintage haunted house meets possessed child premise that has been in bed with film more times than an even more incredibly stereotypical sexual metaphor, a number of well placed heart pounding jump scares and an overall eerily constructed sense of atmosphere gives Insidious a far more legitimate claim to being a “horror” film than most of the poorly scripted torture porn that seems to have fancied itself as such... even if it turns out that the manifestation of evil looks like a cross between Freddy Krueger and Darth Maul.

Also staring Ty Simpkins, Lin Shaye and Angus Sampson.


Hanna

(Directed by Joe Wright, running time 111 minutes)

Action adventure fresh from the United States... and United Kingdom... also Germany, this multicultural ride stars Saoirse Ronan as a teenage super agent “Hanna” trained since birth in secret by a CIA veteran played by Eric Bana, both of which quickly become independently on the run from agency forces led by Cate Blanchett. The national production mixture does lend itself to an entirely unique approach to the action genre to more than just the fact the deadly assassin is a young girl. It’s rather inconsistent style is both its saving grace and downfall at times where on one hand the film can be dark but seedy, action packed but erratic and well scripted but fast to leave plot points and characters. While far from perfect, overall Hanna is definitely one of the most intriguing films of its type, although at times you might even question just what that type of film is.

Also staring Tom Hollander, Jason Flemyng and Olivia Williams.


Kung Fu Panda 2

(Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson, running time 91 minutes)

Jack Black returns as the voice actor for one of his more likable characters Po the panda in one of Dreamworks’ more enjoyable series. Even though Po has already become a kung fu master, another lesson must be learned, this time finally tackling the issue of his origins that seem to tangle with a current hostile take over of China by a malevolent Peacock voiced by the delightfully over the top Gary Oldman. It’s all harmless fun with simple yet effective gags and some downright beautiful art design and set pieces. This time however Dustin Hoffman’s (in all honesty in-depth) Master Shifu takes a backseat to the less interesting Tigress voiced by Angelina Jolie as the supporting role and the effectively integrated Chinese philosophy of the original has been significantly lessened to make way for more action. Regardless, this is one of those few animated sequels that doesn’t drop the ball.

Plus Jean-Claude Van Dam voices a crocodile.

Also staring David Cross, Seth Rogen and Jackie Chan.


X-Men: First Class

(Directed by Matthew Vaughn, running time 132 minutes)

Following the abysmal X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the X-Men film franchise appeared close to the brink. Director Matthew Vaughn of Kick-Ass fame saves it from going under with what feels more like a reboot than a prequel. With a fresh young cast, First Class goes to the young adult years of Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto) played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender respectfully, both being interesting, complex and wholly likable portrayals of the classic Marvel characters. While the side characters may not share the same level of character development, they all do their parts justice with a more three-dimensional Mystique played by Jennifer Lawrence and an effective villian of Sebastian Shaw played by the reliable Kevin Bacon as he attempts to kick start World War Three. With a fresh story-arc and more real drama, First Class is a truly well crafted superhero adventure.

Also staring Rose Bryne, Nicolas Hoult and Oliver Platt.


Bridesmaids

(Directed by Paul Feig, running time 125 minutes)

Yes that's right, I took a gamble.

Co-writer and lead star Kristen Wiig plays a down on her luck single women who is given the role of maid of honor when her best friend played by Maya Rudolph becomes engaged. What follows is a series of hectic and often at times futile attempts at preparation and pre-parties with the other bridemaids who are either desperate or socially suffocated, along with a "best friend" competition with another good friend to the bride to be played by Rose Bryne. There's plenty of unconventional antics on display including some toilet humor more akin to the male-orientated side of group comedy like The Hangover. While this is definitely not a generalization, due to the heavy female cast, there's also plenty of drama and romance thrown in for good measure including a series of "romantic" encounters between the lead actress and Chris O'Dowd IE Roy from The IT Crowd. Even though I will admit the script does occasionally drift beyond one's own personal tastes at times with the heavy handed dramatic moments, many instances seem to be immediately be remedied with some well timed comedy. Most likely better suited for the ladies.

Also staring Melissa McCarthy, Ellie Kemper and Wendi McLendon-Covey.

BY THE WAY has anyone noticed that Rose Byrne has appeared in THREE of these films?