FILM: The Adventures of Tintin - The Secret of The Unicorn 3D (dir: Steven Spielberg, 2011)

"I'd rather you kept your trousers on, if it's all the same to you."

Perhaps the best aspect of this 2011 take on Tintin is that it is pitched as a resolutely old-fashioned rollicking adventure, whose only real concession to modern audiences is the huge-scale frantic action sequences.  The film creates a visually rich and detailed world of its own, retaining the charm and simplicity of Herge's style and making it a very easy film to watch and to enjoy.  The problems of movement and weight for the mo-capped characters are largely overcome, and the delightful performances - Bell, Craig, Pegg and Frost, Serkis - actually shine through the pixels.  There is some truly staggering virtual cinematography on display supported by the excellent use of 3D, in particular the low-level shots in the early pickpocket chase and the inventive pirate ship attack, and a number of match transitions are handled creatively.  John Williams is clearly having fun with his eclectic score, and Spielberg demonstrates again that he is a master craftsman in yet another cinematic field.  As well as a few Spielbergian trademarks along the way, there is even a nice visual reference to Jaws (think Tintin's trademark haircut).  The Adventures of Tintin feels very different to the majority of recent CG-animations, as did Pixar's The Incredibles, and as a result provides enchanting and quite innocent entertainment.

FILM: Paranormal Activity 3 (dirs: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, 2011)

"When are you gonna stop taping us?"

The silliest of franchises - the cinematic equivalent of paying to watch your kitchen and someone popping up and shouting 'BOO!' every twenty minutes - reaches its third (annual) installment and scores the biggest horror opening ever in the USA.  Apart from a self-conscious near-contemporary prologue to bring in the two supernaturally-hounded sisters and set up the VHS-taped found-footage conceit, this film is set in 1988 and attempts to show what happened in their childhood that led up to numbers 1 and 2.  In its favour, Paranormal Activity 3 is more playful and slightly less clinical than its predecessors, and the scarce subsidiary characters are better served, but this film follows the franchise's own conventions and visual/aural language to the letter and therefore does little to either shock or surprise.  The last ten minutes, however - in a desperate attempt to explain the series - is an extraordinary grab-bag of Blair Witch, Poltergeist and Halloween 6, which not only undermines the sisters' stories in the previous two films but also shows how ridiculous the concept has become.

DVD: Tucker and Dale vs Evil (dir: Eli Craig, 2011)

"We have had a doozie of a day!"

This may have gone straight to DVD in the UK and shot quickly and cheaply, but Tucker and Dale vs Evil is made and performed with real attention and love of the genre.  It is a delightfully daft story of misrepresentations and misinterpretations that unwittingly pits two hillbillies (wonderfully played by Tyler Labine and the ever-brilliant Alan Tudyk) against vacationing college kids in an escalating and deadly battle which neither of the parties realise is completely unnecessary.  Tucker and Dale is one of the best-written and best-realised double-acts of recent times, the script is mostly cleverly-constructed and very wry (co-written by director Eli Craig), and amongst the general humour are a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments (the woodchipper scene is simply comedy genius).  The low budget clearly shows in the limited locations and the sometimes flat TV-style shooting, and the final act does not quite hit the heights of the rest of the film, but Tucker and Dale... is well-crafted, hugely enjoyable and very entertaining.

FILM: Real Steel (dir: Shawn Levy, 2011)

"People wanted more carnage, more show."

Real Steel is an awkward collision of the boxing, mecha, melodrama and road movie genres, and its increasingly ridiculous narrative plods relentlessly towards its inevitable ending, yet it somehow manages to be genuinely entertaining. The direction is lively and frequently interesting, both cinematography and design are quite wonderful throughout, and the film benefits greatly from its three core performers: Hugh Jackman gives one of his best performances as genial loser ex-boxer Charlie; his estranged 11-year-old son is portrayed through an immensely watchable performance by Dakota Goyo, who never becomes irritating or saccharine and whose relationship with Charlie is beautifully played; and Evangeline Lilly provides nicely-detailed support in the improbable role of gym-owning (although no-one else is ever seeen there) robot-fixer love-interest.  At the end of the day, it is a futuristic Rocky-with-robots, but the mo-capped robot action is excellent and provides some real spectacle  In spite of this futuristic twist, and the considerable amount of high-quality work on display, Real Steel ultimately cannot quite shake off the limitations of its over-familiar story beats.

FILM: The Three Musketeers 3D (dir: Paul W.S. Anderson, 2011)

"Satisfied?"
"Immensely."

This latest take on The Three Musketeers is huge, daft fun.  This mash-up of scriptwriters Andrew Davies (the historical drama) and Alex Litvak (the action elements) defies the odds by providing a cracking romp that is big on fun, spectacle and crowd-pleasing entertainment of the kind that has mostly eluded the Pirates Of The Caribbean movies.  The much-vaunted steam-punk additions only really come into play in the final act, providing an exciting airship-on-airship battle reminiscent of the nebula confrontation in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and subsequent rooftop swordfight.  Shot in genuine 3D, the stunning historical locations come to life beautifully and the action scenes use the effect thoughtfully and vividly.  The cast are clearly enjoying themselves and this comes off the screen well, from the easy-going camaraderie of the main trio to Orlando Bloom's unusual villainous turn - in particular, Matthew Macfadyen (Athos) and Milla Jovovich (the duplicitous Milady) are a delight to watch - and even the rather dull Logan Lerman comes to life in the fight scenes.  The film skitters along at a fairly breathless pace, and it is all completely insubstantial and utterly silly, but The Three Musketeers 3D is very well made and performed and could turn out to be 2011's guilty pleasure.

FILM: Footloose (dir: Craig Brewer, 2011)

"That was smooth!"

Footloose 2011 is surprisingly close to the 1984 original and therefore survives the re-make process well, with original scribe Dean Pitchford back as co-writer this time.  There are inevitable updates, and narrative tweaks are made to improve the flow, but this is a very faithful adaptation that will not upset fans of the first take - even the hit songs and key sequences are mostly intact and used cleverly.  The classic teenagers vs. elders story is indestructible (and irresistible), but for a film that is pitched at a slightly younger audience this time round, there are still moments that are quite jarring: Ariel's break-up with Chuck is still physical and harsh yet slightly softened here, but there is an horrific tonal jolt in the prologue and a fight sequence at the end is quite violent.  Performances are good all-round, from the reliable Dennis Quaid as the town preacher to Kenny Wormald as Ren - no Kevin Bacon, but he makes the character less intense and more grounded.  The weak link in the 1984 version - Lori Singer's bland reading of Ariel - is fixed by a finely-pitched performance from Julianne Hough.  The narrative drive remains utterly predictable, but this is a well-made and effective updating that raises nostalgic smiles all the way and provides solid if unremarkable entertainment.

FILM: Johnny English Reborn (dir: Oliver Parker, 2011)

"I'm a trained agent.  I don't leak."

The Johnny English sequel is straightforward, innocuous and pleasantly entertaining, and it is better-made and slicker than the original.  Like Atkinson's Bean movies, the material is lightweight and the comedy is patchy, but when it hits the mark it is very funny.  Rowan Atkinson inhabits the character well and demonstrates his Tati-like timing and physical wit, Dominic West clearly enjoys his panto-villain role, and there is some quite delightful work from the 'straight' characters, notably Gillian Anderson as English's ice-cool boss, Rosamund Pike as an unconvincingly shoehorned-in love-interest and Daniel Kaluuya as Agent Tucker, English's naive young partner.  The set-ups mostly lead to exactly where you expect, but there is one totally unexpected and hilarious use of  a big 1970s ballad that works very well.  There is nothing new on offer here, but Johnny English Reborn is well-made, enjoyably daft and benefits from a solid story on which the silliness hangs.

FILM: The Lion King 3D (dirs: Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994/2011)

"Everything the light touches is our kingdom."

The opportunity to see The Lion King in the cinema again gives a real chance to re-discover why it has become one of Disney's most successful and popular films.  Like the other films from the late-80s/early80s when Disney Animation got back its mojo  (The Little Mermaid, Beauty And The Beast, Aladdin), The Lion King features bold and ambitiously beautiful animation, a classically powerful score (Hans Zimmer) and great songs (Elton John and Tim Rice), a wonderfully-crafted script and story, and recognisable characters, life situations and relationships which offer something to everyone in the audience - and The Lion King may well be the best of them all, drawing on the best of Disney's Gold and Silver Ages' animated movies to create its timeless appeal but adding unpatronising contemporary elements.  The 3D rendering is mostly simple, sympathetic and effective, adding impressive depth rather than creating redundant effects which adds to the whole experience.  This 3D version does not improve an already-terrific film, but it simply creates a wonderful cinematic viewing experience.

FILM: Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (dir: Troy Nixey, 2011)

"I know.  I made silly."

With Guillermo del Toro as co-producer and co-writer featured heavily in the promotion, this version of Don't Be Afraid... feels surprisingly and oddly bland and underwritten overall.  All the ingredients are fine - good direction, rich visuals, effective CG creatures, strong design, a well-executed Marco Beltrami soundtrack, eerily spacious sound design - yet it never really rises above its old-fashioned TV-movie melodrama roots.  Katie Holmes and Guy Pearce are excellent actors and both give good, credible performances here but have little to actually do and little with which to work. This is a good-looking film that does well with its budget, but it leaves little impression.

FILM: Red State (dir: Kevin Smith, 2011)

"I don't want to die!"
"You did already."

After waiting a long time for Red State to finally see the light of day, it turns out to be a rather odd, challenging and interesting film.  Kevin Smith can still completely draw in the audience (he can cleverly loosen up with a couple of sparks of humour before whiplashing the viewer back to harsh ground on more than one occasion), and the casting is superlative with many strong performances (especially Michael Parks as the shockingly convincing fundamentalist, and the magnificent John Goodman) but all this is slightly undermined by the relatively thin narrative material and lack of anything really new to say.  As always with Smith, there are pay-offs that make the build-ups worth the wait, especially towards the end and notably the wicked humour on display in Goodman's superlative de-brief session.  This is not Kevin Smith's 'horror' film, more a progressively bizarre mix of Porky's at the outset, then Hostel and finally the siege genre, which demonstrates Smith's engaging inventiveness, addressing of confrontational themes and wit with varying degrees of success.

FILM: Shark Night 3D (dir: David R. Ellis, 2011)

"Someone's got to raise the bar!"

As director, David R. Ellis is a good fit to the material, and to his credit he gives the film a reasonably fresh and youthful feel.  Shark Night 3D makes no pretence about what it is, dispensing with the inevitable Jaws comparison in its opening sequence by re-enacting that film's opening sequence in a cut-down version in broad daylight.  Plot, dialogue, performances (by the alumni of various US TV shows) and CGI are all pure B-movie cheese (think The Asylum with a budget and a modicum of talent), but it is all done with a degree of conviction that makes it quite enjoyable.  3D is particularly good in the underwater sequences, and the attacks by a variety of sharks are lively.  It is surprisingly light on actual threat and gore, but is does have many instances of not so much Idiot Plot as Stark Raving Bonkers Plot.  There are some serious themes afoot and briefly addressed (out-of-towners vs locals, snuff media), but for the most part this is an upmarket cabin-in-the-woods slasher with sharks instead of a masked maniac.

FILM: Abduction (dir: John Singleton, 2011)

"You don't trust me?"
"You murdered my parents!"

Is Abduction the birth of a new sub-genre - the action thriller written for tweenage girls?  This clear targeting of the Lautner-friendly audience has to be kept in mind throughout watching this film, else the silly plotting and weak (slowly-delivered) dialogue verges on parody far too closely and sometimes crosses that line.  John Singleton is a curious choice for director, but he demonstrates his usual cinematic eye in ordinary locations.  After a disturbingly flat opening quarter-of-an-hour, things pick up considerably with the attack on the family home, but nothing after that really hits the mark.  Lautner is shaping up to be the new Paul Walker on this evidence - well-meaning, easy on the eye, weak on delivery but an amiable screen presence.  Abduction is action-lite, but that does not excuse the lame pacing and shoddy dialogue.  One fact is also true: no-one gets 'abducted'!