Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2011) ****

What can I say? I loved this latest instalment of the Impossible series!

I was literally on the edge of my seat for the majority of it and laughing my bum off for the rest!  

Tom Cruise still has it as Ethan Hunt and Ghost Protocol proves it.

Joining him on this most recent mission are Simon Pegg's Benji, Paula Patton's Jane Carter and slightly later on Jeremy Renner's Brandt.  They're up against the loony Michael Nyqvist's terrorist Hendricks.  He is a complete headcase whose warped sense of bringing about world peace involves bringing about a nuclear war.

Unfortunately for the IMF team, Hendricks is an extremely intelligent headcase who's always one step ahead of them.  

Hendricks frames the team for a destructive attack on the Kremlin, leaving the President to invoke Ghost Protocol.  So basically, they're on their own, with no back up as IMF "never" existed.  From here on, it just gets crazier as Hunt leads his team on a death-defying race to stop Hendricks from unleashing Armageddon.  Cue action packed sequences with Hunt doing most of the death defying bits.  One of the most breath-taking scenes occurs in Dubai.  I literally held my breath and almost fell off my seat.

Jeremy Renner is the twist.  Spoiler alert!

I spent half the movie shaking my head every time he showed up, asking myself, why on Earth would they cast Renner as just a geek when he clearly had the presence of so much more i.e. on par with Cruise’s Agent Hunt.  Although he could be highly amusing bouncing off the hysterical Pegg.  In short, they complemented each other rather well.  And when we found out Renner’s Brandt is not just a geek, it gets more exciting and increasingly funny as Benji and Brandt’s respective geek and action jock enter into their own action escapade.

Let’s not forget Paula Patton’s Agent Carter.  She has a personal mission of her own.  Once she has taken care of business, she’s off to deal with the side-splittingly creepy, Brij Nath (Bollywood’s very own Anil Kapoor).

All this leads to the ultimate fight scenes.  That’s right, there are two of them at the same time!

I’ll say this, I’d love Tom Cruise to continue with the Impossible missions.  And the way Ghost Protocol ended, it’s perfect for another sequel!  One that I insist must include Pegg and Renner (or at least Pegg, Renner’s rising star might mean he’s to busy to play side-kick)!

And my only gripe?  Yes, I know it’s petty and childish, but I would have loved more of Josh Holloway.  Remember him from Lost (he played the swoon-worthy Sawyer)? Well, in the short time we had him, he proved that he is capable of handling an action movie.  Maybe he should get his own… just a thought.

New Year's Eve (2011) **

I don't know where to begin with this... atrocity?  That's the first descriptive word that comes to mind.
Gary Marshall, who usually delivers excellent chick flicks, has for some reason decided to punish us with this... thing.  A very forced, not very funny (generally speaking) and occasionally excruciating thing.  There were times where I had to close my eyes really tight and pretend I was somewhere else (my preference was Immortals-verse) mostly when Lea Michele was on screen.  I especially cannot stand her face when she sings.

So, for those of you that loved (or just liked in my case) Valentine's Day, the returning actors and actresses play completely different roles.  This offering has nothing to do with Valentine's Day.

I'll start with the stories/characters I hated/disliked the most.

Ashton Kutcher's depressed, New Year's hater, gets stuck in an elevator with Lea Michele.  So any excuse for Lea Michele to sing.  Boring! Unless you are a Glee fan that is... in which case *thumbs up* awesome!

Hilary Swank almost screws up New Year's for the entire world by not dropping "the ball!"
I just think Swank is suited to the serious roles/movies and she excels at that during the more serious aspects of her story.  Otherwise, it just looks like she's constipated most of the time.  She cannot do airy, sweet roles.

Katherine Heigl is messing with Jon Bon Jovi's head.  He had apparently dumped her the previous New Year's Eve.  And that's all I have to say about that.

Elsewhere, Sarah Jessica Parker is trying to stop her rebellious teen (Abigail Breslin) from attending the New Year's event in New York City alone.  Ok, that last one was a good story, had they just left SJP there.

Josh Duhammel (who really should have been paired with his When in Rome co-star, Kristen Bell.  It's a travesty she wasn't in it.  Would have enjoyed it a lot more.) is contemplating whether to meet last year's mystery lady.

Now for my likes / favourites.  Robert DeNiro was sweet, sad and just beautiful especially as his cancer riddled character deteriorated.  Keep the tissues handy for this one.

The excellent Michelle Pfeiffer is working to honour every last one of her previous resolutions with the aid of the increasingly talented Zac Effron (never thought I'd say that!), both of whom, hilariously stay in character throughout the outtakes.

The pregnancy story involves two expecting couples.  One couple is played by Jessica Biel and Seth Meyers. And the other is played by the hilarious Til Schweiger and Sarah Paulson.  Both continuously harass Carla Gugino to induce the births of their children to coincide with the New Year, so that they can win some cash.
Cue insanity... which Til Schweiger excels at.

Speaking of fun crazy... Sofia Vergara with a little help from a very Indian Russell Peters steals the entire movie whenever they deign to let her show up, completely upstaging both Heigl and Jon Bon Jovi.  She made me fall in love with her!

And finally, our Gary Marshall favourites.  Hector Elizondo and Larry Miller... both hysterical and both cruelly relegated to the background.  In fact, some of the best characters were relegated to just that.  Which is ridiculous as they were the ones that provided the most warmth and laughter.

So folks, if you want to waste your money, go ahead and watch.  Or, if you have patience and still want to waste your time, wait until it's shown on tv.

Arthur Christmas (2011) ***

Arthur Christmas, if you haven’t guessed (i.e. if you live under a very large rock) is definitely for children and the family.  Of course, if you happen to be like me, having an inner child that never grows up and loves Christmas, you’ll enjoy this.

It’s premise is simple enough.  Santa has forgotten a child from his list! And a nice child at that too!

Santa, being Malcolm Christmas (Jim Broadbent), descendant of St. Nicholas.

The current Santa is getting on a bit, so he relies on his eldest son, Steve (Hugh Laurie), whom one would assume was once trained by the military… and a grumpy puss.  Steve is also next in line to be Santa, once the current one retires… or so Steve hopes.  Santa, on the other hand may have other ideas.

Steve’s idea of a sleigh is what one can only describe as a giant red spaceship, the aptly named S-1 (does that stand for Santa or Steve, I wonder?).  The giant red spaceship, sorry, S-1 is in turn navigated by an insane number of elves.

Back to the story, Steve doesn’t care Santa has forgotten a child, after all, it is only one child out of billions.  So he convinces Santa to ignore it and go to sleep. 

So it’s up to Santa’s youngest son – Arthur (James McAvoy) to save Christmas for one special little girl – Gwen.  Arthur is the butt of everyone’s jokes.  He’s clumsy, gets in the way and just cares too much.  He also happens to be the one replying to all the children’s letters.  And he hero-worships his father.  Which basically means he’ll never succeed right?  Especially when he has his lunatic Grandfather – GrandSanta (a hysterical, scene stealing Bill Nighy), an elf specialising in wrapping – Briony (Ashley Jensen) and the descendents of the original Reindeers (dunb, but beautiful creatures) helping him. Oh, I forgot Evie, the real sleigh (in my opinion at least).

And they have to achieve this all in secret before little Gwen wakes!

Will Arthur save Christmas for one little girl?  

Will Santa retire?  

Will Steve inherit the family business? 

Or will GrandSanta rule the day once more, along with his beloved Evie?

You'll have to watch and see.

Immortals (2011) *****

Immortals is a true epic.  An epic of awesomeness... something few modern epics can achieve.  It was the perfect blend of vintage epic with a modern twist.  Tarsem Singh has managed to create just the right balance of both, appealing to multiple generations by not mocking what came before but embracing it unlike, for example, Clash of the Titans.

Immortals is a story based on the myth of Theseus (Henry Cavill) who is chosen by Zeus (Luke Evans) to lead the humans against the incredibly barabaric King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke). 

King Hyperion you see, has gotten it into his head that by releasing the Titans he can not only conquer (or destroy?) humanity but also annihilate the Gods (includes Isabel Lucas as Athena, Kellan Lutz as Poseidon and Daniel Sherman as Ares – I prefer the this verion of the name as opposed to Aries).  To achieve this feat he’ll need the Epirus Bow – forged by Ares (shouldn’t it have been Hephaestus?) it is the only thing that can release the Titans who are in turn the only things that can kill the Gods.

Unfortunately, for evil King Hyperion, he doesn’t know where the bow is.  Fortunately, he has the oracle (the ludicrous Freida Pinto) that can lead him to it.  Unfortunately, he loses her to our hero Theseus and his fellow slave comrades (includes Stephen Dorff's very cool Stavros).  Through a series of events, he regains it and Theseus has his work cut out to get it back… can he get it back before  the Titans are unleashed and all hell rains down upon the Heavens and the Earth?

Mickey Rourke in my opinion was perfect as King Hyperion.  There’s nothing sensitive or even remotely good about him (you’ll have to see the movie to find out why).  I found his actions quite disturbing at times – the scene of the roasting giant silver bull and the screams coming from it will send shivers down your spine. 

Henry Cavill played Theseus as a vintage hero (think a cooler Harry Hamlin).  He smiles and laughs something few heroes these days do.  Which is why I like him.

I already said Freida Pinto was ludicrous… women should not be allowed to speak in these movies unless they are useful.  She quickly outgrew her usefulness.

It is however Luke Evans (I think we all know how much I like him – see The Three Musketeers) who once again stood out to me.  People have commented that he should have been bigger in his muscularity.  As a woman, I can say it was not necessary.  Muscularity is not everything.  Luke Evans commanded the screen as Zeus, whether he was talking or fighting.  And that is what a good Zeus needs.  Command.  He showed many sides of Zeus – the loving and tender side, along with the angry wrathful.  Something Henry Cavill’s Thesus, did not quite reach effectively.  That doesn’t mean he was not a good Theseus.
There were a few things I was disappointed in... The first being Stephen McHattie's Cassander.  I know he's getting on a bit in age, but I'd still wager given the right script and look, he could eat Mickey Rourke for breakfast.  Therefore, I'd say bad casting.

What disappointed me most were the Titans… dark creatures that yes, are fun to watch but do not deserve the title of Titans.  If you know your history the Titans included the likes of Cronos – Zeus’ father.  Had they introduced the Titans in this format, a sequel would have been a lot more interesting.

That being said, the final battle raging in the Heavens is a great way to lead to a sequel (should the powers that be grant it to us).   With the promise of more Gods and of course more Zeus (as long as it’s played by Luke Evans)… I’ll be sitting here impatiently waiting for it.  Waits.

The Help (2011) *****

I would suggest that before watching this movie, you stock up on a stack of tissues… It is a tearjerker, but one with a healthy dose of humour too.  You will laugh and you will cry.  You will want to scream at certain characters and pull your hair out.  Others, you’ll just want to reach out to, to offer comfort.  That’s how real and touching this story is.

Every part is so well acted that it feels like you are in that time period watching the ugly side of the 1950’s America whilst also rejoicing in that fact that there is hope through bravery, kindness and the open-mindedness of a few individuals. 

This is the time of segregated America.  Where black people are treated with no dignity and no humanity, a time where black women have to put their jobs of raising their white charges ahead of raising their own children.  Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a product of that relationship.  She was raised by the family maid, and is one of the very few who reciprocated the love shown to her by her beloved Constantine.  She comes home one day to find Constantine gone and no one can give her true explanation of why she has ‘left.’  This traumatic event, along with her growing disgust at how ‘The Help’ are treated prompts her to catalogue the stories of various maids to educate people on what it is like to be  the help.  Her biggest aid in this endeavour is through Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny.  Everyone’s stories will break your heart, but it is Aibileen’s (or Aibee as her charge likes to call her) that will really tug every corner of your being.  Minny’s will also hurt, but Octavia Spencer’s performance will also make you laugh until it hurts.

A word of warning… You will want to throttle uber-snooty-witch-Hilly’s (Brilliantly acted by Bryce Dallas Howard) neck each time you see her and won’t feel sorry for her hilarious humiliations as she deserves each one.

There are many stories each intertwining all the participants of the story with many different characters.  My favourite is that of Minny and Celia Foote (Jessica Chastain).  This maybe because Celia didn't give a hoot about 'social etiquette' and in her own blundering way managed to form a real relationship with Minny. 

There are lessons still to be learned… the most important being, stand up for what you believe in.  Stand up for your fellow human beings.

The Help teaches us this and many other important lessons in a way that isn’t preachy, but a healthy balance of fun and sobriety.

The Three Musketeers (2011) *****

Dashing heroes, damsels in distress, campy villains, and equally campy femme fatales and Jar Jar Binks... okay, fine - maybe not Jar Jar Binks but definitely his equal (that's me being nice).  This is a great swashbuckler, paying homage to the likes of the silver screened swashbucklers of old...!  And the animated series (it was a most awesome show)!
Our three musketeers, aided by baby musketeer - D'Artagnan must come to the rescue of intelligent and noble, but very young Queen Anne, whilst also ensuring France does not descend in to the hands of the dastardly Richelieu, whilst also in turn trying to best arch rival Buckhingham (boo hiss) and outwit cunning, yet beautiful Milady (a double agent for both France and England).  And on top of it all, they have to pander to the lovable but childlike King Louis XIII!
All-in-all, a very big job for our heroes... can they manage it?
Well, they don't get off to a good start.  After being betrayed by Milady (a very camp Milla Jovovich), Athos, Porthos and Aramis (Matthew MacFadyen, Ray Stevenson and Luke Evans) are leading a sedate life of drunkeness - Athos is a self confessed drunk, vanity and ticket dispensing).  Aramis would later put it as being "warriors without a cause."  Basically, they're miserable.  Until the young D'Artagnan comes along... and decides he must kill all three to teach them a lesson.  That is until he spies Rochefort (Mads Mikkelsen), the man who insulted his horse.
D'Artagnan sparks that fire back in to the three musketeers lives, leading them on a mission to save Queen Anne (Juno Temple) from the power hungry Richelieu (Christophe Waltz).  Richelieu has decided he wants to get rid of "these royal children," as they constantly go against his advice.  Basically, he's upset King Louis XIII didn't scold the musketeers after making his guards look bad in a skirmish (4 musketeers against 40 inept gurads).  So, he's asked Milady to frame the Queen as a love cheat by stealing her diamonds (a gift from King Louis) and stash them away secretly in fashion-obsessed Buckingham's (a very very hammy Orlando Bloom) secret vault, thereby also framing him. So, the Queen will be executed, France will go to war and the inept King will be overthrown.  Well, Richelieu did not factor in our heroes.
Cue double crossings, triple crossings and crossings I've never even heard of! An adventure across the skies!
Each character of the story will have you hooked and most will have you rolling around in stitches.  Each character accept D'Artagnan's love interest.   Gabriella Wilde's Constance is very pretty to look at, but her deliverance of some of her cringe worthy lines were just awful.  It would have been better to have given her minimal lines and just make her part of the scenery... not that she had a major role to begin with.  And let's not forget the Musketeers very own Jar Jar Binks a.k.a James Corden and his character Planchet.  Yes you get a few laughs the first time you watch it, but the second time is just too irritating to comprehend.  He might not have been so bad if they had cut some of his lines and his scenes... or maybe all his scenes.
But don't let them discourage you.  What made this fun to watch was that every actor and actress seemed to enjoy every second of playing their character.  Orlando Bloom and Milla Jovovich stood out the most in their hysterical hammy portrayals.
This is a fantastic movie for a family outing or just something to watch with a few friends.  Because that is what it's target audience is, the family.  Or for young girls who like their pretty boys.  They could have made The Three Musketeers even better had they factored in another target audience... the older female (though I am only 26).  Luke Evan's Aramis is the one that caught my attention.  He reminded me of a modern day Tyrone Power combined with Orlando Bloom's pirate Will Turner.
Though my friend preferred Ray Stevenson's hilarious Porthos.  And I'm sure someone out there fell in love with Athos.  I almost did.
Nevertheless, if you want an adventure to share... this is something  you should put at the top of your list.

Johnny English Reborn ****

What we have here is a fun packed, thrilling, action adventure.  Johnny English is of course figuratively reborn.  I must clarify that since we are dealing with the hilarious Rowan Atkinson!
So, down to the nitty gritty. Our disgraced hero, English, has taken himself off to some remote Asian monk-house to hone himself in the art of defence after a mishap on a mission to Mozambique.  The result of which still causes our hero to have incredibly funny facial twitches.  Then MI7 lead by Gillian Anderson's Pegasus, declares that he must return to help them. That doesn't mean he isn't still inept.  And his ineptness does not mean it doesn't work out for him.  In fact that is the whole familiar theme of the movie, demonstrated particularly well during a hilarious chase scene in which English is chasing after an incredibly fast and agile henchman.  He uses the "technique" his Master has taught him to effortlessly catching the bad guy and retrieve one of three keys that the baddies are after.  Unfortunately for English, he loses said key.  And even more unfortunate, an aged "cleaning" lady is out there trying to kill him every chance she gets.
So, back to the three keys.  English and his fellow agent  (hero-worshipping Agent Tucker- wonderfully played by Daniel Kaluuya) discover what the three keys do.  And so it is a race to retrieve all three keys to save the Chinese Premier.  Along the way, he manages to get the second key... and loose that too!  And to his best friend also- the amazingly gifted (and handsome) Dominic West's Agent One.
Is there nothing this Dominic West can't do?  His performance here, tells me they should have picked him for Bond... or at least a Bond villain.  What I love about Dominic West is that he never actually portrays Agent One as a "hammy" villain.  Agent One, apart from the ludicrous title, could be any villain on any serious action production.  The exception being the toilet scene and the final battle.  Though actually, even through these scenes, he still appeared to be a normal villain.
English also manages to find romance along the way with beautiful (former Bond-girl) Rosamund Pike's Kate.  I must say, her character was quite enjoyable to watch.  She definitely did not outstay her welcome and provided our hero with unobtrusive and much needed emotional support.
I very much enjoyed all the crazy chase scenes, especially the wheelchair scene.  In short, Johnny English is the buffoon version of James Bond.  He even has his own Q, who unfortunately has had many accidents in the course of testing his gadgets.  And just a bonus, a Bond styled song.  Don't let the Buffoonery put you off though.  The buffoonery is part of what makes this a great movie.
A fun-filled movie to watch with the whole family! What I'd advise you all to do though, is to stay at the end of the credits, where Johnny English fulfils his promise to Kate with regards to a certain take-away.

Abduction (2011) ****

Well, who would've thought that Taylor Lautner could have been such a good candidate for an action-man role? OK, so he's actually one of the few least annoying teens in the Twilight saga (we all knew that, right?).  But Abduction, definitely indicates good things for young Lautner.  Yes, he can't act, but then the majority of good action heroes can't either.  Which is why I love them.  No brains, but lots of brawn and great action sequences.  And Abduction had it all! Including a fantastic supporting cast, with the likes of the legendary Sigourney Weaver, Alfred Molina, Maria Bello and the wonderfully swoon-worthy Jason Isaacs (can you tell I love him?) In fact the only annoying detail in the entire movie was our hero's love interest (Lilly Collins' Karen).
So, down to the plot.  I actually liked the plot, because it was straight forward with no twists or turns.  Well, there was a small one, but we see it coming and Lautner's Nathan implying said twist confirms it for us.
Abduction is basically baby Bourne (with a fun reference thrown in... Matt Damon anyone?). Don't let that discourage you from watching it though.  It's still a lot of fun.
So, our slightly troubled hero, Nathan lives with his perfect parents (Jason Isaacs and Maria Bello) and gets along swimmingly with them (you'll have to watch the movie to get that pun!), except for Dad occasionally.... Jason Isaacs' Kevin is quite physically aggressive with his son.  Though we, along with Nathan, find out why later.  So, Nathan and his project buddy Karen, discover a website, in which they subsequently discover that Nathan is on the missing person's list.  Unfortunately, in doing so they not only learn that Nathan's parents are not his biological parents, but their search also happens to unwittingly alert the bad guys that Nathan is no longer missing.  Cue lots of running, fighting and out-maneuvering!
You see, Nathan was placed with his foster spy parents because his real Daddy is a super black-ops guy, who just happens to have stolen some important encrypted names or something like that.  Which means it's open-season on Nathan.  Both the C.I.A. and the bad guys (lead by Michael Nyqvist's, Kozlow) are after him and Karen.  Whoever, gets him, gets to blackmail Daddy black-ops.
We never actually see Nathan's real father (voiced by Dermot Mulroney), not completely anyway, but his presence is definitely felt.  And I like the fact that the movie realises Nathan is still too young to deal with the whole affair himself.
Now for the weak points.  Real action fans know that there are three types of heroines in an action movie.  Firstly there's the type we all love, the useful ones who who don't speak that much and don't get in the way.  Secondly, there are the ones who are hardly heard and don't get in the way - still quite bearable.  Then you have the ones that just talk way too much, get in the way and generally are the ones you want to smack or die.  They also generally tend to be played by the weakest actresses.  Karen falls into the latter category.  I cannot even describe how annoying this character is.  So I'll just ignore her and end on a positive note.
Watch the movie if you love an action packed thrill ride!  And avert your eyes if you just so happen to be in love with Jason Isaacs!

The Other Guys (2010) ***

After an insane and completely stupid chase scene (yet quite hilarious) by uber “cool” police detectives Samuel L. Jackson and Dwayne (real name The Rock) Johnson, followed by the action cliché turned into reality in which they jump off a 20-storey building only to turn into pavement blotches, we realise that it is actually the Other Guys who happen to be the so-called heroes.

The Other Guys just happen to be “paper bitch,” Gamble (Will Ferrell) and the ludicrously angry, self-confessed “peacock” Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg).  For obvious reasons, Prius driving Gamble is desk bound.  Hoitz just happened to shoot Derek Jeter.

After arresting Steve Coogan’s,  David Ershon for “scaffolding violations,” then losing him to Ershon’s own shady security team, the Other Guys decide to investigate this kidnapping, with Hoitz convinced it is related to drugs trafficking.  

Along the way, they get to know each other.  Hoitz realises Gamble just happens to be a babe magnet and a former pimp.  And we discover Hoitz can dance (in the style of ballet).

Any way, back to the action.  It seems that Ershon has not been kidnapped, or has he?  Unfortunately, Ershon’s team keeps getting in their way, consistently taking our heroes shoes and guns.  And on top of all this humiliation, their TLC song loving Captain (Michael Keaton) refuses to believe them.

After pregnancies, Prius orgies and insane drunken binges, our dejected heroes decide to investigate off the grid and find out what’s really going on.  Turns out, Ershon is targeting the Police Pensions Fund to pay-off a host of baddies who just happen to be after him.  Unfortunately for everyone concerned, he’s no longer in control.

To conclude, this is a great buddy cop movie with a great supporting cast.  I particularly liked it, because the jokes are not unbearably crude. 

Crazy, Stupid, Love.(2011) ****

I really liked this movie.  I'm not going to say I loved it, because part of the plot left me confused in terms of what is right and what is wrong.  Is it ok to cheat on your husband, ask him for a divorce, treat him lack crap, then act like a victim when he goes out with other women whilst separated?  Someone said Steve Carrell's character was treated like a doormat by wife Emily (Julianne Moore) and I agree.  I felt quite sorry for him.  Then again, not many people would be bothered as much as I was by this particular part of the plot... and you don't feel quite so sorry for him after he meets Marisa Tomei (definitely one not to miss!)  So lets ignore that bit.  

The only other thing that bothered me a little was the length of some scenes.  That's not such a big deal either, so we'll ignore that too.

There's nothing else for me to criticise, so lets move on to the fun part.  And this movie was quite funny.  You're probably thinking that it's all down to Steve Carrell and, why on Earth would they cast someone like Ryan Gosling in this type of movie?  I'll tell you why.  It's because there's a secret comedian hiding underneath that serious exterior.  Ryan Gosling's Jacob stole the show!  He was hysterical, as a smooth operating lothario, taking Cal the doormat under his playboy wing.  What I liked about Ryan Gosling, is that his character never went over the top.  He and Emma Stone were quite adorable.  She, whose character rebuffs his playboy courtship (if you can call it that) and how she somehow gets "under his skin."  All very funny to watch, especially the re-enactment of a certain scene from Dirty Dancing.

And let's not forget the children.  Cal's son, Ronnie, who just happens to be in love with his babysitter (Jessica), who just happens to be in love with Cal.  All quite fun to watch, especially Ronnie's incessant public declarations of love for Jessica.

The best part of the movie though has to be a particular fight scene involving Cal, Jacob, Cal's nemesis - David Lindhagen (whose name Cal will more than familiarise you with) and the babysitter's Dad (John Carroll Lynch).   A hysterical scene, that you'll not want to miss.

So, in conclusion, go watch this movie!  A fun night out with friends, or someone you'd like to snuggle up to, this movie is definitely one to watch!

Jurassic Park (1993) *****

This film needs no introduction.  And it's one that made up a big part of my childhood.  I was very lucky to have seen it again recently, though this time on the big screen.  Dinosaurs, gallant yet gruff heroes, cute kids... what else could you possibly need?  Did I mention the Dinosaurs?  What I loved about this movie was that the dinosaurs looked real.  It didn't have any of the silly overdone CGI rubbish that they overuse these days.  There were no good-looking people and it was all about the acting...  and the dinosaurs.  One particular scene had a young Arianna Richards conveying her character's (Lexi) speechlessness at a level that most grown-ups cannot even achieve.  Yes she can be a little annoying, but then how many girls her age can you say aren't annoying?
Jurassic Park, if you haven't already heard of or seen it, is about an amusement Park... filled with dinosaurs.  Got your attention?  It had mine throughout.  So what happens if greedy villains, hankering over the technology to make their own dinobabies, get in the way?  You get some very hungry dinosaurs loose from their cages.  And the clever T-Rex does not like being treated like a pet as you can imagine!
Jurassic Park is one of those adventurous movies you long to be a part of.  And Speilberg is an authority of this genre.  How many of you wouldn't want to be stuck up that tree, petting a brachiosaurus?
The characters were all marvellous, each with a purpose.  From the villainous Dennis, to the cigarette munching Ray (Samuel L. Jackson), to the gallant and gruff hero - Dr Grant.  Let's not forget Richard Attenborough's John Hammond, who's enthusiasm you first get lost in, then whose stubbornness you want to shake out of him.
And who can forget the dinosaurs... the real stars of the show!  From their munching to their pooping, they'll have you in awe and jumping out of your seats!  They'll also have you laughing as you get to know their personalities.  Yes! Dinosaurs have personalities too!
I almost forgot the score, a score to define a generation!  Every time I hear that score, it takes me right back to my youth and my love for big lizards...
In conclusion, there's something for everyone.  This is an example of great family movie, something every generation will enjoy!
There's something for everyone.

Jane Eyre (2011) **

As soon as Jane Eyre had begun, I knew that this movie would be a different format from the previous Jane Eyre movies and Mini-series.  However, I decided to remain unbiased until the very end.  I did not get very far.  Different format, it maybe, but lack of chemistry is no excuse.  

Mia Wasikowska seemed extremely dull throughout the movie.  Sad does not equate to showing no emotion.  Michael Fassbender was less than mesmerising, which I found particularly perplexing as I know he is capable of delivering a flawless performance as a darkly tortured yet vulnerable soul.  (Azazeal in Hex).  Had he starred along side his Hex co-star Christina Cole (Blanche Ingram in Jane Eyre – 2006) whom he had an explosive amount of chemistry with, I’m sure the movie would have been a little more watchable. 

In fact, Mia Wasikowska’s Jane seemed to have been more enthralled by the man she is supposedly not in love with (Jamie Bell’s St John Rivers.)

I also found the script a little rambling at times, and the direction not as clear as it could have been.  Eager, I suppose to be differentiated from the previous Jane Eyre productions.  Which would be its ultimate undoing.  One does not mess with a tried and successful formula. 

Jane Eyre (2011) was not all bad though.  Dame Judi Dench was at her usual best as Mrs. Fairfax, and I have never seen a better Adele (played by Romy Settbon Moore). 

In hindsight, it is quite possible Holliday Grainger (Jane’s cousin, Diana Rivers) would have made for a better Jane.

In conclusion, it appears that it would have been best not to have made this version of Jane Eyre and left it at the 2006 production, which in my opinion is the best in terms of acting, chemistry, script and direction of all the Jane Eyre productions.