FILM: Splice (dir: Vincenzo Natali, 2010)

"Was this ever about science?"

This is a fairly standard but strongly-realised Dark Castle production: effective, entertaining, daft and straining with ambition beyond its budget. In spite of plot-holes the size of Belgium, the narrative is taut and keeps its momentum. Splice is essentially Species for the genetic-engineering generation - with some inevitable visual nods to Alien - until it bizarrely decides to turn into Jeepers Creepers in the final reel. Adrien Brody and Sara Polley (here unnervingly similar to Julianne Moore) provide serious strength to the lead couple, from their early effortless chemistry to the later extremes when their experiment (and relationship) unravel spectacularly. Dren, the creature born in the lab, is convincingly and sympathetically realised on-screen, the accelerated maturation taking us and its scientist 'parents' through recognisable human stages of development, but different enough hold a curious fascination; indeed, one scene drew a collective gasp from the audience in its shocking treatment of the creature. Natali directs with the expected visual flair and precision, and whilst the film's internal structure means that the story holds no real surprises, Splice is a surprisingly thoughtful and well-staged movie.

FILM: Toy Story 3 in 3D (dir: Lee Unkrich, 2010)

"Thanks, guys."

Pixar has raised the bar yet again. Toy Story 3 is so much more than just another CG-3D movie; it stands as a genuine Hollywood film in its own right. From the wild fantasy Wild West opening ("Evil Doctor Pork Chop!") to the inevitable heartbreaking bittersweet ending, director Lee Unkrich gives the narrative relentless drive, energy and invention that never lets up and shames the vast majority of Hollywood product, animated or otherwise. It is hard to believe that the groundbreaking original was released 15 years ago, and the 2010 threequel fits seamlessly into the trilogy. What is evident is the huge leaps forward taken by GC animation in that period, most notably when comparing the outdoor/street scenes which here show a huge amount of detailing, depth and naturalism (even the bricks on the house walls impress!). The mixture of sadness (hinted at early on with Woody's explanation of what happened to the 'missing' toys in the intervening years) and hilarity blends seamlessly in this densely-packed and lovingly-crafted movie. The ending doesn't so much tug at the heartstrings as wrench them mercilessly, so sit and watch the funny additional scenes that play as a postscript beside the end credits to give yourself a moment to recover! I hope Pixar stay true to their word and leave the movie franchise here; Toy Story 3 is the perfect and fitting end to this wonderful story.

FILM: Twilight - Eclipse (dir: David Slade, 2010)

"I'm tired of all this! From now on, I'm Switzerland, OK?"

Eclipse is a big leap forward for the Twilight franchise. David Slade gets much more watchable performances from all of the core cast this time round, Bryce Dallas Howard makes a suitably demented replacement Victoria, and Xavier Samuel has effective presence as the leader of the newborn vampire army. The uneasy alliance between the Cullens and the werewolves provides interest, and the final showdowns work well on screen. There is less silly dialogue than in the previous two films, but the love triangle scenes still strike as bland (and occasionally over-written) rather than genuinely heartfelt. The film still falls short of the epic quality that it seems to strive for (an undead army built up over a year of about... twenty?), and the romance scenes continue to look and feel like a TV-movie. The thriller elements of this episode work nicely, and overall Eclipse feels like a much more mature piece in almost every respect. One mystery remains, however: why on earth do Edward and Jacob both get so worked up over Bella, undoubtedly one of the dullest female characters ever created?

FILM: Inception (dir: Christopher Nolan, 2010)

"Choose to be here."

Inception is the intelligent blockbuster that everyone hoped it would be, a smart, tightly-structured, beautifully-crafted movie that delivers in every aspect. Christopher Nolan directs his long-gestating project with total clarity and precision of vision from the outset, the globe-trotting narrative providing a varied visual feast and the careful construction giving the film a strong emotional pay-off. Reasonably close timing of release may show character similarities between this film and Shutter Island for Leonardo DiCaprio, and here he gives another superb performance, ably backed up by a uniformly strong cast including the excellent Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and Cillian Murphy. At times, this movie reminds us of the ongoing influence on the genre of Blade Runner and The Matrix, but Inception pulls off some stunningly original and occasionally breathtaking sequences. The narrative will completely puzzle the Friday-night popcorn crowd, but the film's internal logic does work and provides a consistently engaging story. The only slight disappointment was how completely predictable the ending turned out to be, even the final shot of the movie! Overall, Inception is an absolute triumph and a very rewarding film.

FILM: Predators (dir: Nimrod Antal, 2010)

"If you could do it over again, would you still make the same choice?"

Fox and Robert Rodriguez are pushing Predators as the real sequel to the 1987 original (although I never had much of a problem with Predator 2, to be honest), and this fan-letter to John McTiernan's film shows many echoes, in characterisation, (slightly dated) style and basic narrative set-ups. Predators is a solid sci-fi actioner, attractively if unadventurously directed, with a well-structured narrative, fairly dull (and mostly humourless) dialogue and some effectively-paced action - as hoped for, the Predator attacks are mostly swift and brutal, even if these Predators seem quite easy to kill, whether the original version or the new sub-species. The cast is diverse and mostly committed, even if their default expression seems to be mild puzzlement throughout. Adrien Brody and Alice Braga serve the film well as the nominal leads, and in the stereotypically underwritten supporting cast Topher Grace does some good work, apart from an appalling narrative mis-step with his character towards the end that almost derails the film and gives rise to a few lines of astonishingly bad dialogue. Kudos to Laurence Fishburne for his brief but nicely-judged turn. The decision to keep mainly to physical action and effects works in the film's favour, with sparingly-used CGI looking good. Predators is entertaining, interesting rather than thrilling, and serves its purpose in putting the Predators back in cinemas in their own right. Now it's over to Ridley Scott to do the same with the Alien prequels.....

FILM: Get Him To The Greek (dir: Nicholas Stoller, 2010)

"Keep stroking the wall!"

The trailer sold the film as a typical gross-out comedy, but Get Him To The Greek is a surprisingly sweet-natured and almost gentle buddy movie which is consistently enjoyable. Jonah Hill and Russell Brand are fine, carrying the film as the mis-matched protagonists both in comedic and more serious moments, aided by a number of well-delivered and precisely-drawn supporting characters. The cutaways (notably the brief 'Sarah Marshall' nod), celebrity cameos (even Lars Ulrich from Metallica!), lively soundtrack and numerous one-liners all hit the mark in an energetic narrative, the overall story arc providing no surprises but the journey is very engaging and entertaining.

FILM: Shrek Forever After 3D (dir: Mike Mitchell, 2010)

"How's that for a metaphysical paradox?"

The fourth and allegedly 'final' chapter in the Shrek movie franchise addresses a lot of the faults with the bloated and lacklustre third entry, creating a surprisingly low-key and effective return to form. This is not, however, a relentless children's animated comedy. Shrek Forever After has a fairly simple and limited plot, which lends itself to a tightly-constructed and focused narrative with real emphasis on drama and character. The breezy, irreverent inventiveness of the first two films is replaced here with a more thoughtful and mature consideration of the nature of responsibility and appreciating what one has in life - like Shrek himself, this movie franchise has had to move on and grow up. The laughs are definitely there, as usual largely from Eddie Murphy's ever-energetic Donkey and the film-stealing Gingerbread Man, and the visual gags are often spot on. The 3D rendering of the characters is impressive, and the action set-pieces (mostly involving flying - the witches, Dragon) provide good eye candy. The 'alternative universe' reinvention of the first movie never feels lazy or forced, and by re-setting the characters and their relationships, the leads are given plenty to do both in terms of narrative and emotion, making Shrek Forever After a satisfying conclusion to the series.