FILM: Avengers Assemble IMAX 3D (dir: Joss Whedon, 2012)

"At this point, I don't think anything else could surprise me."
"Ten bucks says you're wrong."

Whedon pulls off this seemingly-impossible task with great aplomb, his whip-smart script capturing the feel of the individual characters effectively, stringing together multiple threads into a strong through story, pulling off the multiple-character balancing act surprisingly well and - perhaps most importantly - capturing the comic-book superhero style with genuine humour, drama and panache.  The incredibly strong cast is uniformly terrific, one of the film's many pleasures being the way that characters bounce off each other in a variety of combinations and situations, both in dialogue and in action scenes (the Iron Man vs Thor smackdown is especially thrilling).  The huge ambition and scale of the special effects is quite stunning, emphasised by the very effective use of 3D, particularly evident in the final borderline-insane battle which makes the final act of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon seem positively restrained.  Minor quibbles include the fact that a couple of set-pieces don't quite hang strongly with the overall narrative, and occasionally dialogue-heavy/exposition scenes feel a little too long, but these are minor gripes.  Whedon takes the Marvel universe seriously, but also manages to squeeze out some genuine laughs along the way: one moment in the finale was so ridiculously and hilariously unexpected that it got applause from the first-night audience.  Of particular note are Mark Ruffalo as the big screen's best incarnation of Bruce Banner/The Hulk so far, and Tom Hiddleston makes for a terrific villain as Thor's returning Loki.   Avengers Assemble could have gone so very wrong, but Whedon has created a superb piece of Summer blockbuster entertainment.

FILM: Lockout (dirs: James Mather and Stephen St Leger, 2012)

"You mean I'm being beaten up by a guy called Rupert?"

The opening salvo promises much - a stream of zingy one-liners, a dizzying chase (which includes a good nod to the Bourne jump-through-the-window gag and shows us what the opening motor-bike chase in the promised live-action Akira might look like) - and sets up a fun 70s/80s action/sci-fi flick along the lines of Escape From New York and Fortress.  It is therefore a shame that it does not take long for the energy and ideas to get thinner, more generic and sadly predictable, but the film remains entertaining thanks to a lively and committed performance by Guy Pearce, who is clearly having fun in the Bruce Willis/Kurt Russell role of 'bad' CIA operative, who is charged with rescuing the President's daughter from a space station filled with newly-awakened-from-cryogenic-stasis criminals.  Maggie Grace is reasonable in the token female role, although the writing often undermines any attempt to give her independence and toughness, and Brits Vincent Regan and Joseph Gilgun lead the criminals with solid but expected notes of cruelty and madness.  It all leads to an oddly anorexic ending, which with a little more thought and just a few more character shots could have had more impact, but as daft mid/low-end sci-fi/action movies go, Lockout has enough going on to keep entertaining, and it is good to see the genre on the big screen rather than DVD dumping ground.

FILM: Salmon Fishing In The Yemen (dir: Lasse Hallstrom, 2012)

"Don't you 'work party' me, you short-arse little pen-pusher!"

Even by director Lasse Hallstrom's standards, Salmon Fishing pushes gentle whimsy to the very middle-class and preposterous limit.  Director and leads Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Amr Waked all turn in professional and effective work from Simon Beaufouy's clinically-structured screenplay, and there is much to admire and enjoy with so little to actually believe.  The cinematography is terrific, ranging from the Scottish Highlands to the vast desert terrain, and the players deliver charm and warmth.  The film is utterly stolen by Kristin Scott Thomas as the Prime Minister's go-getter, whose acidic rapid-fire delivery provides a sharp contrast to the rest of the film and is fired off with such joyous comedic relish that you wish she appeared in more scenes (and indeed that the actress had more roles like this).  Salmon Fishing is pleasant, occasionally amusing, professionally presented but not particularly memorable.

FILM: The Cabin In The Woods (dir: Drew Goddard, 2012)

"You like playing?  How's THAT work for you?"

Finally getting a release, if you like the horror genre, The Cabin In The Woods is a hugely entertaining film.  This is a 21st Century take on The Evil Dead via H.P. Lovecraft, and Whedon and Goddard's archly dark script is great fun.  Spotting the genre references is enjoyable, the cast is very game and direction is lively, genre-aware and attention-grabbing.  It is not difficult to piece together what is happening quite early on, but there are plenty of enjoyable twists and surprises along the way.  The 'meta' elements are hardly earth-shattering or even original (audience identifies with the 'watchers', characters and audience are both 'manipulated') but are well-handled and add a bit of interesting depth.  The final act throws out all reason and goes completely bonkers (including a very unexpected appearance!),  giving the film a successfully frantic conclusion.  This film is not a game-changer, but it is very well-handled and extremely enjoyable.

FILM: Battleship (dir: Peter Berg, 2012)

"Brace yourself!"

BOOM! Armageddon.  BANG! Independence Day.  CRASH! Predator.  WHOOSH! Transformers.  After a bizarre and funny early gag involving a burrito ("I got tazed!  Those things work!"), Peter Berg injects little of his trademark humour and anarchy into this effective but by-the-numbers blockbuster, in which EVERYTHING blows up and everything - dialogue, character arcs, plotting - holds no surprises whatsoever...and yet it manages to be mesmerisingly entertaining.  Every year, the bar is raised on the scale and quality of visual effects, and in this respect Battleship provides some quite awesome moments.  After a fairly standard opening 45 minutes of set-up all hell breaks loose, but where this film scores over some other blockbusters is that all the pieces are placed effectively and characters and relationships are allowed just about enough time to have an impact later on.  Taylor Kitsch again proves to be a likable big-screen presence, Skarsgard and Neeson fulfil their sketchily-drawn stereotypical roles well, and Brooklyn Decker and Rihanna work well to provide some female presence.  The nods to veterans - both the disabled and the elderly - are welcome and more than token, being integrated positively into the narrative.  The fundamental flaw is that there is no way mankind would stand a chance against these aliens and their machines, so thank goodness the US Navy was there to face the challenge.  Battleship is full-on blockbuster mayhem, best enjoyed with brain left in the car park and the biggest bucket of popcorn you can handle.

FILM: The Cold Light Of Day (dir: Mabrouk El Mechri, 2012)

"Don't treat me like an idiot!"

Spain and its capital city provide an unusual and attractive backdrop to this enthusiastically daft action-thriller.  The story is very light on credibility, but there is some good camerawork on display and the action is generally well-choreographed.  Sigourney Weaver plays the ice-cool agent well, but Henry Cavill shows that he can carry a film effectively, and it is good to see him in a contemporary role that bodes well for his forthcoming Superman role.  His character does an awful lot of running in this film, and he is definitely a leading contender for this year's Convenient Speedy Recovery From A Gunshot Wound award.  Whilst some of the narrative leaps are very hard to take, The Cold Light Of Day proves to be a straightforward, well-made and mildly diverting thriller.

FILM: Titanic 3D (dir: James Cameron, 1997/2012)

"You shine up like a new penny!"

There is a fundamental reason why Titanic remains the second-biggest box-office grosser of all time: it works.  Two (long) acts of romantic tosh followed by a final third of superior disaster movie, all tied up with the hiostorical actuality of the event, means that Titanic goes beyond being a proficient four-quadrant product.  This anniversary release (15 years for the movie, 100 years for the actual event) has no Lucas-style revisionism, but it boasts an absolutely exemplary 3D conversion and digital spruce-up, from the incredible scale of the engine room to the extraordinary intimacy of Rose and Jack's final scenes, all making the film look fantastic back on the big screen.  The only downside is that occasionally it does no favours to the ageing CGI, such as the (for their time) ambitious fly-bys of the vessel with the barely-drawn characters on deck.  DiCaprio is excellent throughout, and Winslet is good but clearly yet to mature into the superb actress that she is today.  James Cameron does deserve genuine credit for handling the sheer scale of his ambition and for the coverage he gets, especially in the interior water-bound scenes.  It is of course not perfect - some of the dialogue remains quite extraordinary, fact and fiction sometimes sit together uneasily ("There's truth, but no logic,") and those wretched synthesised choirs on the soundtrack still grate - but at its heart lies a naively simplistic but touching love story, which together with one of the most awesome scenes in cinema (the splitting and sinking of the ship) back on the big screen, is truly impressive.

FILM: Streetdance 2 3D (dirs: Max Giwa and Dania Pasquini, 2012)

"Shall I start playing the violin?"

Whereas the first Streetdance movie married the curiously-British culture/class clash of street and ballet and also rode the wave of Britain's Got Talent's first TV dance troup successes, this sequel chases its American cousins by being a more crass, mechanical and unconvincing fusion of street and Latin.  A breathless opening montage has our American lead (who wears a T-shirt well and looks alarmingly like the love-child of Will Young and Kiefer Sutherland) being dragged through recognisable 3D European landmarks by George Sampson (who instantly becomes his 'manager') to assemble a multi-national dance crew to avenge an earlier humiliating defeat in a contest that takes place in - of all places - Paris.  The barely-written dialogue scenes are mercifully brief, as there is little watchable acting talent on display - Tom Conti with a comedy accent is no substitute for the first film's Charlotte Rampling - although Sofia Boutella creates some good moments as the sassy female lead.  For a film that has its protagonist's arc to discover that dancing with others is all about 'sharing the moment', there are disappointingly few whole-group routines on display, but there are some good individual dance performances, even though they tend to be shot repetitively.  There is surprisingly little actual content to the movie as a whole, and in targeting the very young tweenager it is about as edgy as a bowl of porridge (see the 'underground' dance-off in particular) and overall well-intentioned but insubstantial.

FILM: Mirror Mirror (dir: Tarsem Singh, 2012)

"We're both single adults, roughly the same age..."
"I don't think we're even -"
"- I SAID roughly!"

At last, Tarsem Singh has found a genre and a vehicle that suits his unique visual stylings, and in this respect director and film work together well - unfortunately, his stately pacing and earnestness do not make for such a good fit for the material.  The concept and trailer promised much, but the script quickly runs out of steam after a promising start, and the exuberant energy which the film clearly needs (like Tangled and Enchanted) is not sustained.  There are lots of elements that work well : Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen shows impeccable timing and delivery; Armie Hammer's Prince is terrific fun; and the reinvented dwarves are interesting.  Overall, however, the film comes across as amiable but somewhat flat.  There is also a nagging sense that April  was not the best release slot in the rush for the film to beat the rival Snow White And The Huntsman to cinemas - the film looks and plays as if a release at the end of the year would have been better.

FILM: We Bought A Zoo (dir: Cameron Crowe, 2012)

"Their happy's too loud."

...and they all lived so happily ever after, that this based-on-a-true-story movie makes The Blind Side look like a gritty documentary.  To criticise We Bought A Zoo would be like kicking a puppy, as everything about it is so determined to play for the feel-good factor, but in this respect it succeeds admirably.  The stock ingredients are lined up - widowed father, his concerned brother, cute younger daughter, angst-ridden teenage son, ailing aged tiger, funny monkey (!) - yet everyone plays it with such sunny sincerity that even the occasional glimpse of credible drama or something darker does not hold up the story too much.  Matt Damon makes a great everyman, Scarlett Johansson brings warmth to the limited role of dedicated zookeeper, the children are surprisingly effective, and in spite of an overwhelming sense of secure blandness, Cameron Crowe does bring a couple of inventively-staged sequences involving the deceased mother.  As is typical with Crowe's films, the soundtrack is well chosen, and Jonsi provides an interesting score.  Life metaphors are ladled on thickly, and when the father says, "I know exactly how this plays out," you know how he feels.  Nevertheless, We Bought A Zoo is pleasant, predictable and good-natured, and be warned, it saves a killer tear-jerker for the final frames.

FILM: The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists! 3D (dirs: Peter Lord and Jeff Newitt, 2012)

"He's not a scientist!  He's a Girl Guide!"

This is classic Aardman doing what they do best and doing it extremely well.  The relentless verbal and visual gags hit the mark almost without exception, and the film is so well shot that it puts a lot of Hollywood product to shame.  Aardman again mine their idiosyncratic (British) sense of preposterous fun, with some of the most hilariously ridiculous dialogue of recent times delivered perfectly by a great voice cast, with notable contributions from Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton and (almost inevitably) Brian Blessed.  The occasional touch of Blackadder does no harm, but as ever Aardman creates another of its own peculiar little worlds that works beautifully on its own terms.  The chases and slapstick fights that feature in much of the team's output are all present and correct, and so is the attention to small details that add to the overall enjoyment.  The Pirates! may flag a little towards the end, but - like so much of Aardman's work - it is good-hearted, supremely well-made and very pleasantly enjoyable.

FILM: Wrath Of The Titans 3D (dir: Jonathan Liebesman, 2012)

"I'm not touching that again!"

First of all, the 3D in this sequel is a huge improvement on the shoddy rushed post-conversion that caused so much (excessive) disdain for the first film.  Wrath is also less child-friendly and much grittier in tone, yet it also still manages to be over-serious and occasionally dull.  The scale is epic - the Labyrinth and the escape of Kronos are particularly well-realised - and the action/battle scenes are very energetic if at times messily shot.  Sam Worthington convinces more this time round, and predictably reliable support comes from Neeson and Fiennes as the the battling god-brothers, whilst Toby Kebbell provides flashes of nicely-played lighter relief.  Women barely get a look-in - this story is all about fathers, sons and brothers - but Rosamund Pike registers briefly as the recast Andromeda, although she is ultimately simply a closing trophy for Perseus.  Overall, Wrath is a good follow-up to a moderate film, which offers big-scale big-screen entertainment but which still lacks a true sense of emotion with which to engage.

FILM: The Hunger Games (dir: Gary Ross, 2012)

"Thank you for your consideration."

This film version of the first in the best-selling trilogy of young-adult novels is surprising and remarkable - this is the growing-up of the tweenage movie.  Set in a remorselessly bleak dystopia, the final third is basically Battle Royale for the Big Brother generation, but what precedes it succesfully creates a grim divide between the rich and poor and also puts across the fiercely beating heart in human nature. Gary Ross's direction is excellent, from the quasi-documentary style of the opening Reaping to the impressionistic carnage of the Games's opening moments.  Sound design is superb, in particular using silence that is almost palpable in places to strong effect.  At the centre of the film is a rock-solid performance by Jennifer Lawrence, who completely captures the bewilderment of a girl put into situations far beyond her experience, partnered by a sincere performance from Josh Hutcherson, showing he is capable of much more than the Journey films.  The adult cast is also terrific, with powerful turns by Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz and a brilliantly-nuanced Woody Harrelson.  In spite of all the news fuss, the actual violence is mostly suggested and (just) off-screen, although younger viewers may find the all-pervading sense of despair difficult, which makes The Hunger Games a brave, compelling and unusually absorbing Hollywood product.

FILM: 21 Jump Street (dirs: Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 2012)

"Run!"
"I can't!  I'm wearing tights!"

This update of the 80s teen/cop show treads a very fine line between affectionate parody and gross-out ridicule which works very well indeed.  21 Jump Street is deliciously dopey and gleefully funny for the most part, enabled by two wonderfully straight-faced and self-aware performances by Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, an unexpectedly terrific pairing.  Apart from the occasional misfire and jarring violence (especially in the later scenes), 21 Jump Street is a dumb, well-written and extremely enjoyable slice of fun.

FILM: The Devil Inside (dir: William Brent Bell, 2012)

"They'll be angry."

So Paranormal Activity meets The Exorcist, and whilst there are some good points - the exorcism scenes are well staged, and the mother and daughter are occasionally interesting to watch - overall The Devil Inside is tedious, muddled and weakly performed.  The two rogue-exorcist priests give particularly hammy performances, not helped by uninspired (improvised?) dialogue ("Listen to me!  I'm a priest!").  The negative outrage from the US at the film's ending is perhaps justified - the narrative simply runs out of anywhere else to go - but as such it is increasingly typical of the overplayed and indulgent found-footage genre which really has run its course.

DVD: Adam Chaplin (dir: Emanuele Di Santi, 2012)

"Rules must be obeyed...always...even the most stupid and apparently useless ones....And it seems that no-one ever taught you about this...."

This Italian film sets out to be a live-action anime-styled revenge-horror, but its ambition far overreaches its achievement.  Starting as it means to go on, this is an extremely violent and relentlessly bloody film that does recall extreme J-horror in which the extreme and stylised effects tend to look either cheap or silly - think Story of Ricky.  The titular hero is an intensely inexpressive lank-haired hunk, with a literal devil on his shoulder, who wanders around a futuristic wasteland moodily dispensing uber-violence in order to avenge his wife's murder.  Whilst the intention is clear, the execution is often dull and poorly shot, demonstrating precisely why manga works when turned into anime rather than live-action.

FILM: Contraband (dir: Baltasar Kormakur, 2012)

"This is EXACTLY what I didn't want to happen!"

Contraband is a low-key but stylish and absorbing heist thriller.  Wahlberg gives one of his stronger performances here - credible, convincing and nuanced - and the interesting supporting cast do some very effective character work throughout, from Lukas Haas and Ben Foster to Kate Beckinsale and Giovanni Ribisi, the latter two yet again showing their ability to portray their characters with far more depth than the writing allows.  There is a lot of beautiful cinematography, especially the night shooting, and the numerous set pieces are all handled well.  The very real sense of unpredictability of outcomes and human fallibility gives the film an interesting melancholic feel, which marks it out as a thoughtful, interesting and unexpectedly well-produced entry in the genre.