Salmon Fishing In The Yemen - A Review

2.5 Stars - Competent but dull

Just a quick review to say that this film had decent characters, a few good jokes and was competently put together, but it was so dull and had a really shoehorned in happy ending that it would have been better without.

Entirely mediocre, that's all.

Avengers Assemble - A Review

5 Stars - Nerdgasm Assemble!

A team of badass superheroes fighting an equally badass army of aliens led by a vengeful trickster god... what more do you want?

First of, I didn't see it in 3D, but I'm told it's actually pretty good. But even in 2D it's a very nice looking film, with smooth visuals, great effects and no shaky cam, which is always a plus.

All the heroes get their chance to be awesome, though Hawkeye and Black Widow are somewhat less interesting when held up against The Invincible Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, The Mighty Thor and The adjectiveless Captain America, though they are decent characters, especially considering this film is essentialy an introduction to Hawkeye... even though he was in Thor briefly.

All the continuity from the previous films is in play here and it all feels naturally used to make a great and entertaining story.

My two minor quibbles with the film are this, why does Black Widow have an American accent... she's Russian... and Captain America never says Avengers Assemble... both of these are minor complaints and don't affect the overall enjoyment of the film at all.

As ever there is an end of credits hype up for the future in the middle of the credits. This will cause many a nerdgasm amongst those familiar with the comics, but I'll not spoil what it is.

I can even make this hat look badass

To conclude, go see it as soon as possible because it is awesome.

Green Lantern Emerald Knights - A Review

3.5 Stars - Pretty Good

It has Mogo in it, so if you're a Green Lantern fan you already like it...

Emerald Knights is an anthology film of various stories about the Green Lantern Corps including an adaptation of Alan Moore's legendary story Mogo Doesn't Socialise . The stories are well written and the voice acting as top-notch as you would expect from a DC animation product.

Some of the animation feels a little iffy in places, but for the most part it is competently done and the action scenes are entertaining and tense enough to keep the interest.

An annoyance is Atrocitus' design in his segment, but this is just a fan's griping and doesn't reduce from the character.

Socialising is overrated

To sum up, fans of Green Lantern will really like it, others might not be as keen.

The Cabin In The Woods - A Review

4.5 Stars - Brilliantly Clever

So a group of attractive young people go into a cabin in the woods to party, find a book and read a latin incantation then zombies attack, raised by there chant, to kill them all one by one... but with an ingenious twist!

The Cabin In The Woods is a horror film, orchestrated by a corporation who attempt to prevent the rise of an ancient evil by using the horror film set up as a ritual sacrifice.

The extra angle makes this a wonderful and intelligent film, whereas otherwise it would have been boring and predictable.

The cast are all very good at playing the usual horror stereotypes, and the comedy office worker types are extra fun.

Also Sigourney Weaver shows up as exposition lady...

Man, this movie would suck without us...

To sum up, go see it, it's great.

A Midsummer Night's Dream 1999

This is a fairly decent take on what is my favourite Shakespeare play. However it does have a few issues.

The cast is very strong, especially Kevin Kline as Bottom, Calista Flockheart as Helena and Stanley Tucci as Puck, all of the cast delivering the lines wonderfully and understandably, managing to capture both the comedy and mystical elements of the script.

Kevin Kline's Bottom is a very interesting take on the character, as it has the usual comedy associated with the role but also has quite a few more quiet and understated moments that make him something of a sad and sympathetic character, I feel that he was truly the highlight of the film.

My main problem with the film is how much they cut to make the 2 hour length, with many of Puck's lines gone, which is a strong shame as they are some of the very best lines in the play and Stanley Tucci would have been quite wonderful with them.

To sum up I'd say this version is worth watching, but there are probably other versions out there that might be better adaptations.

The Cold Light Of Day - A Review

3 Stars - Fun Enough

Sigourney Weaver is a badass and there is not enough Bruce Willis...

The Cold Light of Day is a fairly competently put together action film with a simple story and decent characters. 

Sigourney Weaver is a good villain and has many badass moments throughout the film. Henry Cavill does a decent enough job, even though his character is incompetent as all hell. Bruce Willis is... in it... briefly.

A major problem was the night time scenes, they were too dark to be able to see anything properly, which is annoying because Bruce Willis' only action scene was at night.

but all I did was be a badass

In short, it's okay