FILM: Captain America - The Winter Soldier 3D (dirs: Anthony and Joe Russo, 2014)

"I'm multi-tasking!"

The Winter Soldier is one heck of an entertaining thrill ride and possibly the best film so far in the Marvel movie canon.  It is a very focussed, sombre and mature affair, so a lot will depend on what style you prefer your Marvel films, but it clearly sandwiches neatly between the high fantasy of Thor The Dark World and the more comedic-space-opera of the upcoming Guardians Of The Galaxy.  The Russos direct with aplomb, creating superb full-on action sequences and generating excellent character work.  Acting all round is terrific, with Evans and Johansson especially making the most of every opportunity (and there are many) to spark off each other and develop their characters, and Anthony Mackie is a good addition as The Falcon.  The script hardly has any fat, and the first act has more action and narrative beats than most blockbusters contain in their final one.  The realisation and steady reveal of The Winter Soldier on-screen is handled brilliantly, and the level of brutal (but mostly bloodless) violence is exciting if quite surprising for a 12A.  Whilst the final showdown is somewhat silly - it is a Marvel movie after all - the sci-fi-eye-candy stylings compensate.  The credits teaser and indeed the film's ending make the prospect of the second Avengers movie even more intriguing, as The Winter Soldier proves to be a gamechanger for S.H.I.E.L.D. and the franchise as a whole.

FILM: Starred Up (dir: David Mackenzie, 2014)

"I beg your pardon?"

Starred Up is an early contender for the best British film of 2014.  Whilst it cannot avoid the completely-limited conventions of the prison movie genre for the most part (and thankfully avoids the melodramatics of Scum), this film's USP - the relationship between young Eric (Jack O'Connell) and the older Neville (Ben Mendelsohn) makes the film singularly compelling.  Leaving behind his lightweight turn in 300 - Rise Of An Empire, O'Connell gives an absolutely stunning performance, by turn terrifying, hilarious and heartbreaking (often within a single scene) that completely carries the film, but Mendelsohn's extraordinarily layered acting cannot be overlooked.  It is unflinchingly sweary, claustrophobic and violent, creating a constantly simmering tension in a brutal system where revenge is swift and tolerance is alien, all brilliantly managed by the director.  High-brow critics may play up the unsubtle metaphor of the prison microcosm for society in general, but Starred Up is essentially about a relationship and the human ability to hurt and to heal, making for harrowing, thought-provoking and emotionally-raw viewing..

FILM: Muppets Most Wanted (dir: James Bobin, 2014)

"Bad frog!  Bad frog!"

The 2011 reboot produced a wonderful mix of nostalgia and self-awareness, which this follow-up manages to a fair degree but does not quite hit the same heights of inspired lunacy.  Muppets Most Wanted is nevertheless an extremely well-crafted and surprisingly cinematic children's film, and is at its heart a fairly traditional Muppet movie caper.  The Europe-trotting tour-and-heists narrative set-up means that the film stays on the move and packs in a good number of visual gags, smile-inducing cameos and more decent songs by Bret McKenzie.  The pairing of Ty Burrell and Sam The Eagle as two culture-clash detectives is inspired, Tina Fay works hard as the Gulag head, and Ricky Gervais feels well cast here.  It is hard to resist a film that includes a brilliant collision of The Swedish Chef and iconic Bergman!

DVD: Cabin Fever 3 - Patient Zero (dir: Kaare Andrews, 2014)

"You don't look so good."

Thankfully, this third entry in the Cabin Fever franchise is better than the dreadful first sequel, but it is still a weak, low-rent effort.  There are two main narrative threads - a research facility and a bachelor party headed for the same island - which collide and liven up the last half-hour with a couple of inventive gore gags (one with a revolver is good fun), reasonable squelch and actual situations to which the characters have to respond, but the previous hour is unimaginative, very sketchily-written, performances are underwhelming (poor Sean Astin does his best with the material, however) and the budget clearly did not stretch to a much-needed camera tripod.  A fourth entry is set up surprisingly logically, but this really is a franchise with nowhere left to go.

FILM: Need For Speed 3D D-BOX (dir: Scott Waugh, 2014)

"No offence."
"Some taken."

....more like need for a decent script polish and edit.  Think of it like Jan de Bont's Twister - best watched on DVD so that you can fast forward through the tin-eared dialogue, by-the-numbers plotting and shabby performances to get to the perfectly-decent action scenes.  There is clearly a decent action movie in here, and how much you will like it will depend on how forgiving of its faults you can be.  The opening sequences show men playing with cars and women giggling in Daisy Dukes, which is about as good as the gender politics get for the rest of the film (with some Transformers-style racial stereotyping thrown in for added hilarity).  It is far too long (over two hours) for this kind of film, and with frequently painful dialogue and some weak acting on display - even Dominic Cooper fails to find much to do with his woefully underwritten antagonist, and Aaron Paul (whilst mostly solid here) manages to blow the scene of his friend's death in hilariously overwrought fashion.  However, the reason for the film - the race/chase set pieces - are fine, truly enhanced by 3D and it is a movie that at last finds a genuine and effective reason for D-BOX, combined with strong cinematography and exceptional use of some POV shots. 

FILM: 300 - Rise Of An Empire IMAX 3D (dir: Noam Murro, 2014)

"Brace yourselves!"

Rise Of An Empire proves to be an apt and more than serviceable follow-up to 300, which certainly improves as it goes along (particularly in terms of the dialogue).  The prequel/side-quel/sequel concept proves to be very effective, in particular the flashbacks giving some narrative credibility to the god-like Xerxes (carried over from the earlier film) and Artemisia, whilst the narrative referencing of the original battle is used well.  The former blood-and-sand palette is here replaced with more ominous blues, greens and greys, and the sea-bound battles certainly provide more blockbuster bang for your buck.  Indeed, there are some stunning mythical visual moments created, from the appearance of the Persian fleet over the crest of a monumental wave to an enormous full moon hanging over a tempestuous summit between  Artemisia and Themistokles.  As the latter, Sullivan Stapleton provides a more thoughtful and increasingly haunted central figure compared to Butler's bluster, and whilst the increase in scope and scale here makes the focus less intense than in the first film, this is made up for as the increasingly hopeless stakes keep rising in spectacular fashion.  Rise Of An Empire is a very visceral film, and it is interesting to note that in this testosterone-fuelled muscle-men-in-their-pants fest, it is the two female roles that are most noteworthy: Lena Headey provides welcome continuity and exposition, carrying her character's arc very well indeed, and Eva Green is magnificent in a deliciously demented characterisation with a performance of notable power and precision.  The stylised-CG style works a second time, and whilst TV's Spartacus series have done much to dilute the and cheapen the concept since 300, it will be interesting to see if the novelty that made Zack Snyder's film a success will meet with the wider audience's approval the second time around here.

FILM: Mr Peabody and Sherman (dir: Rob Minkoff, 2014)

"Do you smell that, Sherman?"
"It wasn't me, Mr Peabody!"

Mr Peabody and Sherman is another welcome addition to DreamWorks Animation's successful run.  It is a lively and charming tale, which remarkably manages to combine a seemingly serious intent to educate (with its gallop around key historical moments like the original Doctor Who remit) and entertainment.  There are some heavy themes tackled - adoption, family, identity, responsibility - which are occasionally given some genuine heft, whilst the set pieces are ambitiously detailed and frenetic and the (deliberately) wince-inducing puns give the film some knowing warmth.  The greatest achievement, however, is the winning relationship created between father (Mr Peabody - the dog) and his adopted (human) son Sherman, with excellent voice work by both Max Charles and Ty Burrell, making this an engaging and satisfying tale.