Thor (2011)

Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins
Certificate: 12
Genre: Superhero
Awards: None

Thor is another origin film made in anticipation for The Avengers. The Norse Gods come from the land of Asgard where Thor (Hemsworth) is the hot headed son of king Odin (Hopkins). When he attacks some frost giants without permission, he sentenced to earth without his powers in order to learn what is right and what is wrong. Unfortunately his brother Loki (Hiddleston) has different ideas.

Thor is a fun flick with a sense of humour that one needs when taking on quite a ridiculous premise. The story ties in with The Avengers a lot more than Captain America or Iron Man as the villain remains the same. All the actors do well and Thor looks to be quite a promising little franchise.

****Good

Thor Trailer

The Adjustment Bureau (2011)

Director: George Nolfi
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, Michael Kelly, John Slattery, Terence Stamp
Certificate: 12
Genre: Sci Fi, Thriller, Romance
Awards: None

David Norris is a politician who has big things ahead of him. Elise Sellas is a ballerina who has big things ahead of her. The two meet twice. The first time was supposed to happen, the second was a mistake. The two are being kept apart by a mysterious group of people who say that they run the world.

The Adjustment Bureau  has some good ideas and a well made cast (Although Slattery's repeated shouting of "son of a bitch" does get irritating). The concept, however, comes off as silly. The film may be aiming for that effect but it still seems to take itself too  seriously while the characters are being chased by scary people wearing hats.

***Okay

The Adjustment Bureau Trailer

Jean De Florette (1986)

Director: Claude Berri
Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil
Certificate: PG
Genre: Drama
Awards: None

Cesar Soubreyran dit Le Papet (Montand) is a greedy landowner who sees an opportunity to take the land next to his when he accidentally kills the owner. But first he will have to drive off the dead man's nephew, A hunchback (Depardieu) who does not know much about farming, and his family. He and his nephew Ugolin (Auteuil) block the only supply of water to the land and watch as the lack of rain tortures the man and tears at his sanity.

The film is an incredibly depressing show that reveals how mean spirited people can be and how others will look on and not help without a reason. The ending is a complete downer if you don't see the sequel while Gerard Depardieu gives a gripping performance as Jean De Florette the hunchback.

****Good

Jean de Florette Trailer

Clerks (1994)

Director: Kevin James
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Marilyn Ghigliotti, Lisa Spoonhauer, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith
Certificate: 18
Genre: Comedy
Awards: None

Clerks shows the daily lives of two clerks surprisingly. Dante (O'Halloran) works in a newsagent who is called to look after the shop as his boss is away. Randall (Anderson) is the owner of a video store who doesn't care about his customers and seems to spend more time with Dante than at the actual shop. Together they talk about films, play hockey and basically mess things up.

Clerks is a funny film that you'll enjoy if you like dialogue. Like Tarantino and Martin McDonagh, Kevin smith's best work resides in his characters and how they react with each other. You grow to love them and are sorry when their story is over.

****Good

Clerks Trailer

The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

Director: Grant Heslov
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges!, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang, Robert Patrick
Certificate: 15
Genre:  Comedy, war
Awards: None

Journalist Bob Wilton (McGregor) is going through a tough time and decides to go to Iraq to get a story. There he meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney) who is an ex member of a group that used paranormal forces in their missions.

TMWSAG is more of a surreal comedy rather than a laugh out loud fest. It feels like it could be a weak Coen Brothers film that was only half thought through. The history of the group is interesting with good actors, but there is not much paranormal action or comedy in this comedy about the paranormal.

***Okay

The Men Who Stare At Goats Trailer

Chicken Run (2000)

Directors: Peter Lord, Nick Park
Starring:  Julia Sawalha, Mel Gibson, Imelda Staunton, Jane Horrocks, Benjamin Whiterow, Lynn Ferguson, Miranda Richardson, Tony Haygarth, Timothy Spall, Phil Daniels
Certificate: U
Genre: Animation, Comedy
Awards: None

A group of chickens have been trying to escape their farm for as long as they can remember, but to no avail. Then Rocky the Rooster (Gibson)  flies into their lives and they begin to believe that they can really do it.

Chicken run is a sort-of-parody to The Great Escape. The comedy works well while the stop motion by the creators of Wallace and Gromit make it seem wonderfully British. Chicken Run is a fun film that will get multiple viewings.

****Good

Chicken Run Trailer

Django Unchained (2012)

Director: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson
Certificate: 18
Genre: Western
Awards: Best original screenplay, Best supporting actor (Waltz)

Tarantino has once again struck gold with his western built on the backdrop of slavery. Django (Foxx) is a slave who is freed by the German bounty hunter, Dr King Schultz (Waltz). The two track down Django's wife who has been sold to the sadistic Calvin Candie (DiCaprio).

Django Unchained is an incredibly entertaining film with Tarantino's usual wit and humour mixed with his violence and soundtrack choices. The concept may be a bit awkward for some people and it is one of the most famous controversies of the year but you need to see it whatever your views are.

Every actor gives their all here. Waltz delivers the absolute opposite of Hans Landa as the bounty hunter you immediately warm to; Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson give what could be their best performances so far while Jamie Foxx is brilliant as the title character who grows the most throughout the film.

Their are cameos aplenty from big stars such as Jonah Hill to homages to the spaghetti westerns with Franco Nero. Even Tarantino turns up (albeit with a terrible accent).

Django Unchained is Tarantino doing what he does best. It's probably his best film since Pulp Fiction and gives people something to think about as they watch people explode as they get shot.

*****Brilliant

Django Unchained Trailer

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Director: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermy, Vincent D'Onofrio, Arliss Howard, Dorian Harewood
Certificate: 18
Genre: war
Awards: None

Full Metal Jacket is a war film in two parts. The first is an absolutely superb basic training experience with R. Lee Ermy's terrifying drill sergeant.  The dialogue is darkly humorous while problems lurk in the background. It's difficult to take your eyes off of the film for even a second as characters start to change into killers right in front of you.

The second part is weaker in comparison. It's set in vietnam where we follow private Joker (Modine) as a journalist for a military newspaper. A new batch of characters are introduced where the horrors of war are shown with a soundtrack of almost ignorance of the goings on.


Kubrick delivers a very dark portrayal of war and human nature. It's not as poetical as Apocalypse Now.  Neither is it as realistic as Saving Private Ryan. The best word to describe FMJ is creepy.

****Good

Full Metal Jacket Trailer