FILM: Iron Man 2 (dir: Jon Favreau, 2010)

" I know exactly what I'm doing."

With most of the 'new' back-story dispensed with in the opening montage, Iron Man 2 gets straight down to business and rattles along at a fairly breathless pace for the most part. The rapid-fire dialogue is delivered effortlessly by a truly staggering cast - Downey Jnr is a joy to watch, his relationship with Paltrow's Pepper Potts is spot-on and more entertaining this time round, and Mickey Rourke gives real gravitas and surprising nuance to Stark's main nemesis Ivan Vanko. When the secondary leads are actors of the calibre of Scarlett Johannon, the excellent Sam Rockwell and even director Favreau himself, quality is never in question, with these three performances all proving highly effective. Some early critics have pointed to a mid-section lull, but that is to misunderstand the nature of the film; it is not an all-out superhero movie as such, more of a drama punctuated by some terrific action scenes. The set-pieces are relatively short, sharp and stunning in execution, with the Monaco Grand Prix sequence a breathtaking standout. The only casualty of the pace of the movie is that characters and issues can feel little short-changed, but this is necessary to create this finely-directed and tightly-presented entertainment.

FILM: Repo Men (dir: Miguel Sapochnik, 2010)

"How can anything be alive and dead at the same time?"

It is this endlessly duelling nature within Repo Men that lies at its heart and is probably the reason which critics have not liked it. It is a pure pulp sci-fi action movie straining to be something much deeper. Jude Law and Forest Whitaker provide one of the oddest cinematic pairings in recent memory, yet they play off each other effectively and as actors give performances way above those of the usual talent that this type of fare attracts. The film displays some excellent if inevitable Blade Runner-influenced dystopian visuals and design, yet it also displays the same ham-fisted voice-over which plagued the initial studio cut of that influential film. There is barely enough gore and action to satisfy genre fans, yet the leads play the more talky, philosophical sections like it is Shakespeare. Repo Men is a curious film, one which should not be overlooked entirely but which ultimately does not wholly satisfy.

FILM: The Ghost (dir: Roman Polanski, 2010)

"Remember: HEART!"

The Ghost is basically a thriller that isn't very thrilling, and a drama that isn't very dramatic, dated rather than old-fashioned in style. The bleak, colourless rainswept landscape is reflected in the emotionally chilly characters which show all that remains of former glories, shattered relationships and cold political machinations. Brosnan and Williams are terrific as the ex-PM and his wife, whilst McGregor and Cattrall's accents are a burden to their flat performances. With a 'shock' revelation at the end that is so signposted that it virtually directs the audience to the 'Exit' signs much earlier in this long film, what little promise the narrative shows in the early stages is replaced by a fairly remorseless trudge towards the film's inevitable and precisely-staged resolution.

FILM: Cemetery Junction (dir: Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, 2010)

"That was the reason why Noddy has a bell on his hat."

Cemetery Junction is warm-hearted, lovingly-crafted and very entertaining, like a gentler version of Boston Kickout. There are many laugh-out-loud moments in the first half, with the laughs less forthcoming as the movie progresses into more serious dramatic territory as all of the characters make big decisions about their lives. It has a dream cast of British comedy/character actors in the adult roles (notably Emily Watson and Anne Reid in fine form), and the three young leads do capable work in their rather obvious roles. The Gervais/Merchant brand of excruciating embarrassment plays for humour well here, but it also has great resonance in the more understated, reflective moments (an insurance worker's too-easily dismissed retirement, for example). The 1970s setting is mainstream and crowd-pleasing (an abandoned Spacehopper, likable pop hits) without being challenging; Freddie's family are straight out of Billy Liar, and even their highlighting of endemic working-class 1970s racism/sexism/homophobia is deliberately soft and almost quaint. Curiously, Cemetery Junction looks and feels like an American indie movie set in a small town about self-discovery and growing up, and by the end the main characters - and the audience - are left in a much happier and positive place.

FILM: Dear John (dir: Lasse Hallstrom, 2010)

"How do you want me to look at you?"

Director Lasse Hallstrom has certainly found his Hollywood niche, and Dear John does nothing to deviate from it, and the movie is mostly inoffensive and harmless. As expected from Hallstrom, it is polished, emotionally restrained and touches on issues (autism, war, terminal disease) without ever addressing them enough to have any real impact - even the 9/11 card is unforced but rather casually played. As leads, Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum are more convincing in the first half of the movie - Seyfried's smile can light up the whole world, and Tatum just about copes with this dramatically limited role. The film is doggedly unsurprising to the end in every respect, and it is thankfully nowhere near as ghastly the same author's The Notebook. Even when a succession of life-bombs explode the couple's romantic trajectory, and a faint glimmer of hope for the male population having some emotional self-awareness is shown in the penultimate scene, you just know how it will all end, i.e. without a shred of realism.

FILM: Kick-Ass (dir: Matthew Vaughn, 2010)

"I'm getting the bazooka!"

It took me more than half the film to truly win me over - largely owing to the uneveness of tone - but by the time Kick-Ass reached its Tarantino-esque final showdown, I was completely hooked. This is a smart movie that shows just how much Vaughn has grown in confidence as a director, and he marshals a surprisingly effective cast very well indeed. Kick-Ass is undoubtedly a love-letter not only to superhero fans but also about them, and this clever conceit translates very well between comic and film forms. The wonderful nods to the genre range from the obvious (Spiderman's first building-jumping scene) to the almost surreal (Nicolas Cage channeling Adam West's old-style Batman verbal delivery), but by making the film's world almost realistic, Kick-Ass reflects and entertains in equal measures. Hit Girl is undoubtedly one of the most memorable creations of recent times, but this should not be allowed to overshadow the immensely appealing work done by Aaron Johnson in the title role which holds the film together. The set-up for the sequel is clear - here's hoping.

FILM: How To Train Your Dragon 3D (dir: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders, 2010)

"Trolls exist! They steal your socks! But only the left ones - what's with that?"

This is the dragon movie that Eragon should have been. The script hits a winning balance between charming and sassy, with a fine voice cast and hugely engaging characters. The 3D is glorious, and in particular the rendering of lighting is superb. The film is visually adventurous compared with most of the recent crop of 3D-CG animations, and the set pieces - including a very powerful finale - are quite stunning. Once you get past the fact that bizarrely the adult characters have Scottish accents and the youths American ones, How To Train Your Dragon proves to be a hugely entertaining adventure.

FILM: The Blind Side (dir: John Lee Hancock, 2010)

"Tell me what you're thinking, so that I know what I'm supposed to be bothered about."

The Blind Side is well-written and handsomely directed. The screenplay and director take great pains to position the viewer to have maximum sympathy for Big Mike, the boy literally from the wrong side of town who is taken in by Sandra Bullock and her family and comes good as a football star. The film pushes emotional buttons effectively. What the film fails to avoid is typical Hollywood racial stereotyping, which comes across as incredibly patronising throughout. Did Sandra Bullock deserve her Oscar? She does give a finely-controlled, detailed performance in a characterisation that - like the film as a whole - is almost too polished and thus barely credible, even though it is based on a 'true story'. The movie's final shot - mother's pride or smug self-satisfaction? - sums up this uneasy feeling. The Blind Side is a TV-movie-of-the-week-life-affirming-true-story, elevated by its strong cast and strength of presentation on the screen.

FILM: Clash Of the Titans 3D (dir: Louis Leterrier, 2010)

"Trust your senses, and don't look this bitch in the eye!"

The main reaction to this re-make of Clash Of the Titans has been about the 3D conversion, which spread across the internet like wildfire after the first screenings, and yes, the 3D effect is glaringly inconsistent (sometimes great, sometimes awful or non-existent) and 2D faces on the re-rendered actors are peculiar and distracting. What is clear is that this is a solid action-adventure, with very effective set pieces and some stunningly-created visuals, which would probably have worked just as well if it had left as a standard movie. Sam Worthington is well-cast as reluctant hero Perseus in a dementedly eclectic cast (Pete Postlethwaite! Tony and Effy from Skins!) which is serviceable throughout. The movie takes its 'epic' cues from The Lord Of the Rings films to generally good effect. It is a shame that the makers felt the need to shoehorn in a reference to the 1981 version's hopeless robotic owl, which makes no sense and takes the viewer momentarily out this otherwise sturdy and grittier re-reading.

DVD: Universal Soldier - Regeneration (dir: John Hyams, 2010)

"Send in the freaks - that's an order!"

Although we are in Direct-to-DVD territory here, with 'mixed martial arts' fighters cast rather than actors, Universal Soldier - Regeneration (or '3' or 'A New Beginning', depending on where you look) tries very hard to rise above its limitations, and this efficient if low-key film meets with reasonable success. The abandoned Bulgarian steel plant doubling as Chernobyl provides a stunning backdrop for an unashamed action movie that tries to elicit some suspense from a screenplay that is pure videogame in style and structure. John Hyams directs with energy and a good eye for camera set-ups, although the couple of cribs from Blade Runner and Halloween are somewhat obvious, with dad Peter as Director of Cinematography doing expectedly sterling work with the action and locale. It is good to see Jean-Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren back in their signature roles in the series, and their inevitable (lengthy) smackdown does not disappoint, although both roles seem rather underwritten, especially the 'motivation' of Lundgren's character. Funnily enough, Universal Soldier is one franchise that could benefit from a younger, modern re-boot, but with the old guard still in play, that idea - like the UniSols themselves - might be best put on ice for a while.