FILM: Daddy's Home (dir: Sean Anders, 2015)

"Oh no, you can't make a treehouse with a tampon, Brad."

Once again, the trailer for this film contains the best laughs, and there are only a couple more to be found in the whole film.  The re-teaming of Ferrell and Wahlberg is the strength of Daddy's Home, but this is a very meagre and thinly-written enterprise compared to The Other Guys.  After a promising opening that highlights the contrast between well-meaning stepfather Farrell and the total disdain in which he is held by the children, the film rapidly settles into a very insipid and sluggish grind towards the inevitable homely messages about families and fatherhood.  Everyone tries hard, but the overwhelming blandness of the film offers little that is truly engaging or memorable.

FILM: Star Wars - The Force Awakens IMAX 3D (dir: JJ Abrams, 2015)

"This thing really moves!"

Consider me thoroughly entertained - The Force Awakens is hugely enjoyable.  Thirty-two years is a long time to wait for a sequel, and here JJ Abrams deftly mixes the classic trilogy with modern blockbuster expectations in order to create a movie with energy, scale and - most importantly - narrative drive and real heart.  For those of us who have lived with this movie saga for nearly four decades, there are many small moments that pique the emotions, from the Lucasfilm logo shimmering onto the screen at the start to the simple turning on of a lightsabre, not least a massive shock moment that is pulled off terrifically at one point, and the blending of characters, craft and visual motifs old and new is masterfully done.  Strong performances abound, notably the Daisy Ridley/John Bodega pairing, Domnhall Gleeson and Adam Driver as effective villains, and Harrison Ford returns demonstrating considerable skill.  In IMAX 3D the film is ravishing to look at,and the dog-fights and action set-pieces work very well, fitting effortlessly within the filmic world Lucas created.  The film also delivers a very enjoyable thread of wry humour.  The Force Awakens is a very successful bridging of the old and new Star Wars tales, and clearly looking forward is a much better prospect than what was dished up with the retrospective prequels.

FILM: Sisters (dir: Jason Moore, 2015)

"Winter is coming, bitches!"

Sisters does what it says on the tin, as the approaching-middle-agers stage one last house party to recapture their lost youth, and it is is generally entertaining, sporadically very funny, and kept afloat by the long-established and reliable chemistry between Poehler and Fey, even if at times it looks as if the actors had more fun making the film than the audiences has watching it.  The script is also well-structured, with many successful pay-offs in the third act.  Look out for the smile-worthy out-takes and bloopers in the end credits.

FILM: Snoopy and Charlie Brown - The Peanuts Movie 3D 4DX (dir: Steve Martino, 2015)

"What are you doing?"
"Following in the footsteps of greatness."

The Charles M Schulz classic property was one that was long thought to be worringly ill-advised for a modern CGI/3D makeover, but Blue Sky's movie has clearly been made with a lot of love and respect.  Like the originals, this is a warm-hearted, simple and good-natured affair, albeit a bit pacier, and there are some nice nods to the much-loved animated specials along the way.  The story sweetly follows Charlie Brown falling in love with the new girl in town, intercut with Snoopy's Red Baron tales which have more in common with modern-day CGI-animated visual-storytelling, and regular characters are voiced faithfully by a new young cast - even Woodstock gets reasonable screen-time.  The 3D is handled well, with the characters sympathetically and carefully realised to create a fine balance between the old 2D hand-drawn cartoons and the three-dimensional settings, making this 2015 outing a pleasant and faithful experience.

FILM: Christmas With The Coopers aka Love The Coopers (dir: Jessie Nelson, 2015)

"I think you're funny 'cause you're sad."

Do not be put off by the initial worry that the structure seems to follow that of the recent spate of weak Hollywood actor-celeb cross-generational ensemble holiday-themed movies (Valentine's Day, New Year's Eve) - Christmas With The Coopers is a big step up from those films.  Yes, it has a cute dog as a ton of Christmas schmaltz (it is a Christmas movie after all!), but dig deeper and it is very thoughtfully-written in terms of dialogue, with some very strong on-screen pairings: Diane Keaton and John Goodman (at his most heartbreaking and funny) spar wonderfully, Seyfried raises her game to match Arkin, and a luminous Olivia Wilde works well with Jake Lacy.  There are some delightfully-handled cutaways and quick flashback moments, and even though the third act (when the Coopers all come together) feels brief and simplified, the resolutions are necessarily heartwarming and feel-good for this superior festive film.

FILM: Victor Frankenstein (dir: Paul McGuigan, 2015)

"Just an exuberant show of deranged lunacy!"

This is a very peculiar movie that certainly flies against early indications that it would be a fresh but serious take on the classic tale.  McGuigan's stint on TV's Sherlock has a clear influence on the style at times, as indeed does the latest film series' bromance of Downey Jnr and Law's Holmes and Watson, but it is undone by a sometimes oddly camp script and - rather like the creatures made up of a patchwork of parts - a range of scenes and performances that seem to wander in from different versions of the same film.  In a strong and surprisingly young British cast, Radcliffe tries hard and does a fair job, McAvoy is hugely entertaining (not always for the right reasons) as his performance becomes increasingly unfettered, and Jessica Brown Findlay has little to do as the single token female/love-interest role.  It does have a rousing if chaotically-presented finale in a beautifully-designed set with bizarre costumes, but it does not save the film from being an inconsistent and odd film to watch. 

FILM: Carol (dir: Todd Haynes, 2015)

"I love Christmas."

Carol is another carefully-wrought slice of superior melodrama from Todd Haynes, which is also one of the director's most successful and accomplished films.  Haynes knows exactly how to excavate the painful voids in the souls of his characters, and in Carol his use of visual placement, gesture and framing is exquisite.  Blanchett's brilliantly poised, experienced older woman contrasts beautifully with Mara's ingénue shopgirl as their lives collide and feelings deepen, and Sarah Paulson as Blanchette's best friend gets more out of a couple of scenes than most actresses manage in an entire movie.  Apart from the joy of watching exemplary performances, this is a stunningly-wrought movie that revels in its recreation of the early 50s in every respect, from Carter Burwell's score to Sandy Powell's costume design to Phyllis Nagy's gorgeously precise script from the Patricia Highsmith story.  Todd Haynes should enjoy major mainstream recognition for this fine piece of film-making.

FILM: The Good Dinosaur 3D (dir: Peter Sohn, 2015)

"Don't overthink it."

Whist not in the top flight of the studio's output, The Good Dinosaur is still another utterly charming winner from Pixar.  This one is a very simple tale indeed and is aimed firmly at the youngest end of the audience.   Typical themes of family and friendship are played out sincerely and effectively, with a lot of familiar and unsurprising story beats, and be warned: the typical end-of-first-act emotional gut-punch is here notably sharp and brutal in its impact.  In spite of the simplistic renderings of the lead characters to make them kid-friendly, there is a lot of technical ambition to be admired here, from successful 3D cross-fades to the stunningly-detailed settings and vistas. Overall, The Good Dinosaur is a cut above most other studios' animated output, but its simplicity means that it does not match UP! or Inside Out.  The accompanying near-dialogue-free short, Sanjay's Super Team, is a real cultural fusion that pays off beautifully. 

FILM: The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 3D (dir: Francis Lawrence, 2015)

"No more games."

This franchise finale is hardly the action-packed treat that we were promised following the book-splitting power-play-filled Part 1.  Instead, Part 2 is a curious product, as The Hunger Games does Full Metal Jacket in a very sombre, melancholy and often lethargic manner.  Occasionally, there are flashes of excitement, such as the Aliens-inspired sewer sequence, but the film is more concerned with being an earnest treatise on the effects of war and being a salutary lesson in truth being its first casualty, which it does quite strongly in the third act.  Once again, an unusually high-calibre cast delivers heavyweight performances from an adequate script, the effects work is very well realised, and 3D is unshowy and natural-looking.  Like The Return Of The King, it delivers a number of end-points, and whilst the emotional climaxes are a little muted, it can only be hoped that the franchise is allowed to rest at this satisfactory conclusion.

FILM: Steve Jobs (dir: Danny Boyle, 2015)

"That was cool."

Whereas 127 Hours was a true-life technical showcase, this biopic sees Danny Boyle in a much more restrained mode, here relying much more on interplay of characters and performances but still imbuing the film with his trademark energy and style.  Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay shows wonderful structure and economy, using the story of Apple as a mere backdrop to the people stories, and also provides dialogue that is whip-smart, precise and crackling with wit in noticeably extended on-screen scenes.  Fassbender yet again delivers an extraordinarily thorough, magnetic and convincing character portrayal, with terrific support throughout, notably from Kate Winslet and Jeff Daniels - indeed, one face-off between Fassbender and Daniels is probably the most thrillingly-played sequence of this year, and even Daniel Pemberton's Vangelis-styled score works very effectively.   Universal may have misjudged its American release by going too wide too soon - Steve Jobs is not general Friday-night-multiplex fodder - but this film is an absolute treat to be savoured by people who enjoy superbly-crafted film.

FILM: The Lady In The Van (dir: Nicholas Hytner, 2015)

"The Virgin Mary - I spoke to her yesterday.  She was outside the Post Office...."

Even allowing for the fact that this film is 'mostly' based on the true story, The Lady In The Van turns out to be one of the movies where the idea is better than the treatment here.  It is, nevertheless, quite enjoyable, largely owing to Maggie Smith's immensely sympathetic and sharp portrayal of the curmudgeonly elderly lady who inveigles her way into the lives of the inhabitants of a Camden street and of Alan Bennett the playwright in particular.  However, the dual-persona-on-screen device in order to explore the writer/life-liver duality of the playwright is quite irritating and in the first half in particular detracts from the focal relationship, and the revelations about the Van Lady's life are rolled out a little unevenly.  This will play well to its largely faux-liberal-valued middle-class older-middle-aged target audience, who indeed packed out this screening and had probably not ventured into a cinema since The Best Exotic Marigold... films, but the general moviegoing audience is unlikely to fall for its inherent parochial tweeness.

FILM: Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse (dir: Christopher Landon, 2015)

"Nailed it!"

Although this film comes late to the ".... vs. Zombies" oeuvre, sometimes it is possible to put low expectations aside and simply enjoy a film for what it is: a simple-minded, good-natured fun romp.  Where Scouts Guide.... scores over many of its undead competitors is that it has a well-written and well-structured script, a likeable and very enjoyable lead 'teen' trio (one stereotype short of an Inbetweeners cast), a strong and reasonably well-written female lead in Sarah Dumont (in spite of being written as a stripper, sorry, "cocktail waitress"), and most important of all, the comedy (mostly) works and the horror aspect is equally well-staged and very well-executed.  Indeed, there are many great gore gags, including at least three bizarre 'firsts' for the genre, as well as the amazing Cloris Leachman as a horrible cat-loving neighbour and a classic Britney Spears homage.  There is a good finale that shows polish, and a sweet mid-credits gag that sums up the movie: disengage brain, revel in the film's silliness and energy, and just enjoy.

VOD: The Tribe (dir: Miroslav Slaboshpitsky, 2014)

"..................."

The Tribe is a challenging and perhaps unique film to experience, an unsubtitled Ukranian film played by deaf/mute actors entirely in sign language, with a succession of extra-long shots held on screen for a very long time which forces the viewer to concentrate on the non-verbal cues and language.  This is a relentlessly bleak and cold film, set in a brutal boarding school and which traces the experiences of a new student and how he deals with this harsh existence.  The inescapable repetitiveness and lack of relief from the dehumanising situation is starkly handled by writer/director Slaboshpitsky, with some harrowingly emotional scenes, ranging from the brutalisation of the new arrival to a grim back-street abortion and the truly distressing final scene.  This could never be described as an enjoyable film to watch, but it is a remarkable and very different viewing experience.

FILM: Spectre IMAX (dir: Sam Mendes, 2015)

"A licence to kill is also a licence not to kill."

Everything about Spectre oozes class on the surface - direction, acting, music score, cinematography - and it is a hugely enjoyable piece of entertainment - and yet there is a nagging feeling that it is slightly less than the sum of its parts.  There may be a sense of settled familiarity that takes off the edge, and the comfortable ease of the film's construction may make the thrills seem less compelling or urgent than in Skyfall, but it does mean that the viewer can wallow in the sumptuous design and cinematography and also admire Daniel Craig's invested and convincing realisation of Bond, the actor's sardonic wit and physicality both playing very well here.  The supporting ensemble is absolutely terrific, from Christoph Waltz's wonderful villainous stillness that invests every phrase with cold menace to immensely watchable character work from Fiennes, Harris, Whishaw, Scott, Bellucci and Seydoux.  The pre-title sequence is excellent, with other set-pieces working fine if somewhat smaller-scale and controlled by comparison.  There is an interesting narrative through-thread from the aftermath of Skyfall that leads to a fair tying together of the preceding three Craig outings and what could be a reasonable resolution to this cycle of Bond films, but with a very obvious set-up for Bond 25 should the producers choose to follow the narrative through logically and unadventurously.  Nevertheless, Spectre sees the 007 franchise still riding high, and Mendes, the producers and Craig should be credited for making another modern incarnation of Bond that is smart, relevant, high-quality and undoubtedly entertaining.

FILM: The Last Witch Hunter (dir: Breck Eisner, 2015)

"Do you know what I'm afraid of?"
"Enlighten me."
"Nothing."

Playing like a more grown-up version of The Mortal Instruments, this film never really rises above adequate, from its mid-range and very variable CGI to its regular and mannered exposition through to its smug hero and unsurprising character-twist towards the end.  A small cast and limited scale of place and action within the film makes it feel curiously narrow, the set pieces are spirited but dialogue scenes are lethargic, and whilst there is lots of thunder and bluster and ominous music, very little engages emotionally.  The ending suggests further adventures, which would perhaps be better suited to TV rather than the big screen on this evidence.

FILM: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension 3D (dir: Gregory Plotkin, 2015)

"F**k me, Ryan!  Next time I'm just gonna stay at Mom's!"

It is all relative in such as weak and silly franchise generally, but if the first Paranormal Activity was the most 'scary', this fifth and apparently final entry is easily the most fun and enjoyable of the lot.  Following the interesting diversion of The Marked Ones, number five takes us back to the core story, and as the producers promised, it makes a reasonably good stab at giving 'answers' and tying together many - but not all - of the story threads in a surprisingly satisfactory manner.  Bizarrely, this is Paranormal Christmas, which allows the Christianity/demon angle to be played out nicely, the Katie/Kristi story is made very clear, and this particular storyline has an actual end-point (but open-ended enough for a future revival).  What is clear from the outset is that there is a half-decent script with a real structure, engaging actors (unlike the third and fourth films), and a sardonic sense of humour that riffs off the events within the film rather than making the audience laugh at them.  There is a definite sense of growing menace that leads to a fairly rousing finale, and once you get past the gimmick of the 'spirit camcorder' (hence the 3D elements, which actually work in context), The Ghost Dimension provides a much-better-than-expected conclusion to a franchise that has scraped by since the phenomenon of the original film.

VOD: Paranormal Activity 4 (dirs: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, 2012)

 "So?  Did anything happen?"

The fourth annual entry in this thinly-stretched franchise is also one of the weakest.  Saddled with the placing at its centre of two of the dullest 'teenagers' imaginable, a lot of unremarkable dialogue and limply routine jump-scares, the first hour is extremely uninteresting and very little actually happens in order to move the film or the series forward.  A couple of decent ideas liven up the third act, but as this film offers nothing new in terms of terror that the series has not used before, and there is no growing sense of threat or menace - the violent acts towards the end come out of nowhere rather than develop as part of the flow of the narrative - this is an extremely pedestrian and unsatisfying entry in the Paranormal Activity series.

VOD: Clown (dir: Jon Watts, 2014)

"One...more....child....."

This odd little film packs a reasonable punch.  It has many affectionate nods to genre favourites from the 70s/80s with some neat twists on stock characters and scenarios (young children are the graphic target of the horror here) and a deliciously dark streak of humour.  Once you buy into the somewhat bizarre set-up, the movie is played admirably straight, enabling some sound character work from Andy Powers as the demon-possessed father and Laura Allen as his wife, and Peter Stormare plays the what is effectively the Dr Loomis role with a big side-order of ham.  Whilst not earth-shattering, Clown is well-shot, effectively-directed and overall comes across much more strongly than might be expected.

FILM: The Program (dir: Stephen Frears, 2015)

"We are all the authors of our own life story."

This briskly-mounted dramatisation of cyclist Lance Armstrong's rise and fall is captivating in its dazzling mix of visual styles and material, Brit journalist David Walsh's tireless pursuit of the truth behind Armstrong's extraordinary seven-year Tour de France-winning streak, and of course, the central character's remarkable personality and public persona, here so committedly performed by Ben Foster.  Indeed, Foster generates a driven, manipulative and doggedly unpleasant character with such conviction that the extent of Armstrong's power and control becomes truly uncomfortable to watch at times.  Chris O'Dowd adds another very well-judged performance as Walsh to his increasing roster of notable strong supporting roles, and Jesse Plemons is excellent as Floyd Landis, Armstrong's 'abandoned team-mate who proved instrumental in the unravelling of this legend.  Director Frears yet again proves to be in masterful control of his material in this impressive and absorbing film.

FILM: Hotel Transylvania 2 (dir: Genndy Tartakovsky, 2015)

"Nauseated to meet you!"

After some breakneck-speed ellipsis at the start in order to move the action forward from the first movie, this sequel quickly settles into a much gentler rhythm than its predecessor.  With a more scattered storyline and more characters, the movie still delivers for its (very young) target audience, which clearly holds the first film in surprisingly strong affection, even if there are fewer jokes (and fewer that hit the mark), less invention and overall less energy - even the final whole-group number is a shadow the first film's exuberant and well-executed finale.  Thankfully, for a more character-driven story, the stellar voice cast more than delivers, and the casting of Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman as the human grandparents is genius.  It will be interesting to see where the series goes from here.

VOD: Hotel Transylvania (dir: Genndy Tartakovsky, 2012)

"If I stuck my hand in the Invisible Man's mouth, would it disappear?"

Hotel Transylvania is aimed straight at the youngest end of the film audience, and as such it has a surprisingly manic amount of energy which is maintained for long stretches, plenty of visual and verbal gags and a candy-coloured design that pops off the screen.  There are some sequences that are pure (3D) padding - a 'moving tables' scene long outstays its welcome - but the core story about daughter-growing-up and a general theme of acceptance are reasonably developed.  There is a very strong and lengthy roll-call of big names voicing the characters and clearly having fun, with even Adam Sandler making the central figure of Dracula - here an over-protective single parent - an engaging and well-realised presence.  Whilst definitely a mid-range CG animation, Hotel Transylvania is a mildly enjoyable monster movie for the little ones.

FILM: Sicario (dir: Denis Villeneuve, 2015)

REVIEW No. 600!

"I am not a soldier.  This is not what I do."

This understated, tense and absorbing thriller drew scattered applause at the end from the cinema audience, not something that happens often with today's multiplex crowd.  Director Denis Villeneuve yet again builds on his previous winners with this hard tale of an FBI agent (Emily Blunt) drawn into the U.S. Government's murky attempts to deal with Mexican drug-running.  As the audience discovers the characters' true 'objectives' through Blunt's eyes, she gives an extremely sympathetic and invested performance, matched by recent-best performances from Josh Brolin and Benicio del Toro, the latter in particular keeping secrets close and darting across the moral scale with intense aplomb.  Also immensely impressive is Roger Deakins's wonderful cinematography, with bleached desertscapes, impressive use of scale and a wonderful eye for detail, and a heart-pounding soundscape.  It is rare that an unsensationalised action-thriller can be such a physically and emotionally direct film as well as being morally and intellectually thought-provoking, and the slow-burn approach makes for an immensely satisfying viewing experience.

FILM: Pan 3D (dir: Joe Wright, 2015)

"'Real' should be a rather fluid concept for you right now."

This latest re-invention of the Peter Pan story - a prequel - finally staggers into cinemas and is a severe test of patience.  After a reasonably engaging Oliver-style opening, the trip to Neverland shows a clear resort to visual conceits and on arrival it loses its audience - to the sound of Kurt Cobain spinning - and never really gets it back.  Joe Wright's transparent theatrical stylings almost suit the material this time, but as ever he struggles to create any kind of emotional engagement for the audience.  A re-positioning of the story to World War II is under-explored, there are (un)conscious nods to other Summer juggernauts in familiar visuals and set-ups, and the film is oddly reminiscent of Disney's recent under-performer The Lone Ranger, from blockbuster bloat that swamps the thin material to a runaway pair of (here) ships that lifts the unexpectedly lively finale.  Levi Miller is strong as the boy Peter, Rooney Mara makes a spirited Tiger Lily, Garrett Hedlund appears to be auditioning (reasonably well) for Indiana Jones, and Hugh Jackman's post-Wolverine career in seasonal pantomime is assured.  The 3D conversion is also very variable but does at times enable some beautiful creation of a sense of scale.  Taken as a whole, Pan is wild mix of inconsistent and unfulfilled ideas that does not come off too successfully.

FILM: The Martian 3D (dir: Ridley Scott, 2015)

"So, yeah...I blew myself up!"

The Martian takes a very pragmatic approach to the classic stranded/isolated story, offering a considered and thoughtful rather than sensationalised tone and style.  Ridley Scott is a consummate storyteller and visual poet, equally at home with the sweeping vistas and the intimate personal moments, and also managing to make this film distinct from his other space-set movies to a large extent.  The strong cast is uniformly solid throughout, but this undoubtedly Damon's movie, and as he is such a personable and precise actor, it is very easy to be swept along with his character's experience.  The rather serious and straightforward approach and tone are leavened by some dry and self-deprecating humorous touches and some 1970s pop/disco classics.  It is a lengthy film that mostly holds the interest, leading to a very effective finale and leaving the viewer pleasantly satisfied overall.  Following the actor credits, the first few notes of the song that strikes up over the main end credits raises a smile...

FILM: The Walk IMAX 3D (dir: Robert Zemeckis, 2015)

"I told you I was afraid of heights...."

First, a personal note: I am a grown man, I know how special effects work, and I know what I was watching was fake, but as someone who is not good with heights,  the twenty-minutes night prep/wirewalk sequence in IMAX 3D was actually distressing, and it was interesting to see a sizeable part of the audience shrinking back into their seats and covering their eyes at times.  The remainder of the film is a rather odd mix, however, as one of the most insane true enterprises ever is told in a somewhat whimsical style and in a technical and technique showcase that seems at odds with the very real life-threatening subject.  In these respects, for the most part, The Walk is akin to Scorsese's Hugo but less fitting to its content.  Interestingly, some of the incidental uses of 3D are as impressive as the finale, such as interiors of the circus big-top.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt as wirewalker Petit delivers yet another wonderful character performance, with strong support from Charlotte Le Bon, Clement Sibony and Cesar Domboy as his immediate allies.  The use of The Twin Towers inevitably adds poignancy which delivers most effectively at the end of the film, but in spite of the show-stopping wirewalk sequence itself, as Philippe Petit himself clearly feels, having achieved the feat, the feeling left is something of a curious anti-climax.

FILM: Miss You Already (dir: Catherine Hardwicke, 2015)

"I think I'll put the kettle on."

This superior soapy chick-flick gets by on the strength of the writing and strong casting.  A failsafe dramatic triple-strike of best friends, pregnancy and cancer actually offers little new, but there is a zippy script and  a moderate use of cliché (tolerable use of London landmarks, and forgivable conceits like the juxtaposition of an autumn-sun-dappled happy couple with wintry blue-hued shots of a marriage in trouble, for example).  Toni Collette is majesterial in the breadth and sincerity of her performance, with Drew Barrymore just about keeping up.  The male characters are inevitably female-fantasy-figures (roadie-turned-family-man, solid-supportive-provider, floppy-haired toyboy) but Dominic Cooper and Paddy Considine are reliable presences, and  Jacqueline Bisset is a pleasing surprise as the ascerbic free-spirited matriarch.  No surprises then, but Miss You Already is a well-made, strongly-written and nicely-performed example of a well-worn genre.

FILM: Solace (dir: Afonso Poyart, 2015)

"They let me carry a gun."
"Wow.  So sexy."

When this movie decides that it needs to open with a dictionary definition of the word solace, it is either patronising its audience or showing how dumbed-down culture has become.  This psycho-thriller-shot-like-a-car-ad infuriates with its uneven and inconsistent mix of style and ideas, abrupt narrative lurches and a very unclear message.  Anthony Hopkins elevates the material when the script actually gives him an opportunity, Abbie Cornish creates a solid character in a largely thankless role, Jeffrey Dean Morgan does what he can with an underdeveloped central character, and amazingly Colin Farrell arrives late in the day to steal the movie with coherent and effective (if all too brief) character work.  Like the two key psychic characters, the audience can see what is coming all too easily thanks to the entire plot being openly signalled very early on, leaving a rather dull plod for the viewer to get to the end.

FILM: Legend (dir: Brian Helgeland, 2015)

"You're like Ford...or Shell...or Woolworths...."

Legend is one of those movies you can settle back and relish throughout with confidence after the successful first couple of scenes: wonderful cinematography and design, a confident script, tight direction and Tom Hardy giving two of the most complete and enjoyable performances that you will see all year.  By concentrating on the initially rather sweet relationship between Reggie Kray and the love-of-his-life Frances - in a carefully-paced performance by Emily Browning - it is Reggie who perhaps feels the most rounded character here, but Hardy magnetically imbues both brothers with their individual traits and likewise the film trades on a fine balance of charm, bravado and menace.  It is a surprisingly funny film, partially to defuse the gangland penchant for uber-violence but also owing to the nostalgia-filter that now makes the 1960s almost quaint.  Nevertheless, the technology that allows Hardy to play both brothers is never even remotely an issue here, as Legend enables him to showcase two terrific performances (and especially when he is interacting with 'himself') for the price of one admission.

FILM: Everest IMAX 3D (dir: Baltasar Kormakur, 2015)

HAPPY 6th BIRTHDAY TO MY BLOG!

"Because it's there!"

Largely out of respect to the fact that this film is based on the true events of a commercial trek to the summit of Everest that went horribly wrong, this film eschews disaster-movie histrionics and opts for a sombre, more muted tone of helpless despair in the face of the overwhelming power of the elements.  As expected, IMAX 3D makes the scenery look stunning, but the presentation format is largely used to evoke the sense of scale and power of nature rather than climbers-in-jeopardy shots.  The strong unshowy ensemble cast works well, with Watson, Knightley, Worthington, Nori and Brolin doing a lot of thoughtful work, and Jason Clarke giving a strong performance in a role which finally suits him well.  The first half is a bit of plod, and quite a lot of the exterior-set dialogue is incomprehensible, but once the snow hits the fan - apart from occasionally jarring clearly-fake studio shots - Everest is a quietly sad and sincere docudrama.

FILM: Maze Runner - The Scorch Trials 3D (dir: Wes Ball, 2015)

 "Yeah, yeah.  I know."

This is proving to be the little YA franchise that could, largely thanks to Wes Ball putting as much of the budget on screen effectively as possible and showing himself to be a strong director or action sequences, and Dylan O'Brien again giving a very engaging and expressive performance as the central protagonist through whose eyes the audience goes on this expanded journey of discovery.  The first act is terrific, capped by a superb sequence in an abandoned mall - brisk, energetic and world-building from the tight high concept of the first movie - even if we are on rather more familiar virus/sci-fi territory.  The rest of the film is a little less inventive, for example a cracking-window-skyscraper sequence similar to The Lost World's trailer-over-cliff, apart from a couple of good reveals, a full-on outpost attack and a strong set-up for the final chapter.  Design is glorious - the film looks great and 3D works extremely well in the film's favour.  Picking up from the end of the original, it does little to welcome new viewers, and a couple of scenes are surprisingly full-on for a 12A, even in this pre-cut version.  Nevertheless, this is a lively and effective sequel that moves forward with real purpose and is never less than entertaining.

FILM: American Ultra (dir: Nima Nourizadeh, 2015)

"We were the perfect f**ked-up couple.  She was perfect, and I was the f**k-up."

American Ultra tries reasonably hard, but this action/comedy/stoner hybrid doesn't quite hit the mark until its fairly well-staged finale.  Little is added to what is seen in the trailer, and only occasionally the film shows flashes of achieving the promise of its premise with a somewhat undernourished script that plods along for the most part.  Kristen Stewart fares best out of the leads and acquits herself particularly well in the second half, but Jesse Eisenberg and Topher Grace, both strong actors generally, feel ill-cast here.  Lacking the deftness and consistency of a Vaughn/Goldman vibe that it seems to be striving for, American Ultra ends up as a rather lukewarm experience.

FILM: Straight Outta Compton (dir: F. Gary Gray, 2015)

"We gave the people a voice.  We gave the people the truth."

The surprise Summer hit justifies its popularity, proving to be a very well-made and engaging docudrama of the NWA story.  It is visually and aurally immensely strong, with brisk and well-considered direction by F. Gary Gray, that elevates this movie well beyond being just a hip-hop Jersey Boys rise-and-fall tale.  For a film of this length, it is to its credit that the incident-packed story has sufficient edge and only occasional melodrama that makes it consistently interesting to watch, teamed with absolutely powerhouse performances, particularly O'Shea Jackson Jnr as Ice Cube, Corey Hawkins as Dr Dre, and a magnetically superb and potentially awards-bothering turn by Jason Mitchell as Eazy-E.  Ambitious in scope and burning with energy, the film does not shy away from issues of race and authority, but its only major flaw is that it is deeply one-sided and non-critical, at times uncomfortably so.  Nevertheless, Straight Outta Compton is an extremely well-executed, nostalgic and thoughtful movie.

FILM: Me And Earl And The Dying Girl (dir: Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, 2015)

"I'm just trying to be funny...."

Me And Earl.... will easily prove to be one of the best films of 2015, and its moderate box-office suggests that a lot of people are going to miss out on this absolutely wonderful movie.  The performances from both the younger cast (Thomas Mann gives a superb performance in the central role, RJ Cyler so natural as his 'co-worker' Earl, and Olivia Cooke poised and sympathetic as the 'dying girl') and the adults (Connie Britton, Jon Bernthal, Mollie Shannon and the scene-stealing Nick Offerman all do wonderful and hugely enjoyable character work) are uniformly exemplary.  If The Fault In Our Stars was the Hollywood-ised treatment of teen terminal illness, Me And Earl... is the more lo-fi but credible take on the issue.  Aside from the dramatic through-story, there is so much to enjoy: the movie is very film-literate, with the boys' fixation on classic arthouse movies and their own 'Sweded' parodies of them; direction and editing show real creativity and thought; and even what could have been the stereotypical high-school-cliques scenes are given a refreshing honesty and deadpan humour.  The transition in tone as the movie progresses is so skilfully handled that it comes as quite a shock to suddenly realise how far the viewer has been swept along on this genuinely emotional journey.  The last twenty minutes are desperately poignant and unfold so beautifully that only those with hearts of stone will leave the cinema unmoved.

FILM: The Transporter Refuelled IMAX (dir: Camille Delamare, 2015)

"I'm good at following the rules."

As the Transporter franchise ran out of box-office steam and gave rise to a TV series, it comes as something of a surprise to find it determinedly rebooted and with an IMAX release as a presumable statement of ambition, but apart from replacing the seemingly-irreplaceable Statham with a younger model, little has changed under the hood.  Refuelled is a simple old-school action potboiler, complete with outdated weak Russian villains and literally every female character a prostitute!  A stripped-down revenge story is effectively structured but holds no real surprises, the father-son relationship is pleasant fun but hardly Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, and Ed Skrein makes for a competent Frank who is far more likeable as the lead than the trailer suggests.  The film looks handsome (the South of France films well), and the action done reasonably well in the current whiplash-edited style, although there could be more of it. This film would love to be a Fast & Furious or Mission: Impossible franchisebuster, but overall this is a low-key, moderately entertaining and distinctly standard third sequel.

FILM: We Are Your Friends (dir: Max Joseph, 2015)

"Should've gone to college."

With the dubious honour of having the fourth-ever-lowest box office wide release US opening weekend, We Are Your Friends seems to have completely missed its likely audience, perhaps the result of a marketing campaign that failed to get across the tone of the film, rather like the actual movie itself seems to search for.  Like videogame adaptations, this hedonistic sunshine-and-neon-bathed DJ-and-drugs tale is perhaps targeted at an audience who would rather be out there doing it as opposed to watching it on screen. It's life/coming-of-age messages and construction are hardly subtle (hilariously, there is a shot of the Las Vegas Eiffel Tower outside the hotel window for the sex scene), but it takes a lot of wading through a mish-mash of tones and ideas before thankfully arriving at a final poignant realisation of  moving on from the indestructible carefree youthful idealism to a more grounded adult reality in touch with the real world.  Efron is earnest and effective, Wes Bentley puts in good work as his older DJ mentor, and Jonny Weston stands out with an energetic turn as Efron's club-bound best friend.  The soundtrack is well-chosen, and as end-of-summer lightweight filler and an Idiot's Guide To Laptop-DJing, We Are Your Friends fits the bill,  but it lacks a consistent energy and drive that the set-up suggests and needs.

FILM: Hitman - Agent 47 (dir: Aleksander Bach, 2015)

"I only want pieces of you."

The latest movie incarnation of the game is a serviceable and adequate mid-range thriller.  Aside from a couple of dodgy actor-replacement CGI shots, it uses its moderate budget very well on-screen to give the film a slick, glossy hi-tech sheen and is well shot.  There are some odd (and large) plot-holes, but the film rattles along, city-hopping from one action set piece to the next with reasonable energy.  The fight scenes are blindingly flash-cut with a love of close-ups that makes the film curiously intimate at times.  The rather routine and standard story is delivered unfussily, but the need to occasionally remind the audience what is going on grates.  Intriguingly, the film one step away from being a Terminator movie minus the time-travel/sci-fi trappings, with its two unstoppable emotionless killers and a T2 Sarah Connor-type figure, and it does beg the question: is this lean, stripped-back action-thriller approach what is needed to save the ailing cyborg franchise (that the bloated and messy Genisys failed to deliver)?

FILM: Sinister 2 (dir: Ciaran Foy, 2015)

 "Let's watch another."

The latest cheap horror from Blumhouse works best when it follows the strengths of the original, but it is less effective when trying to be something else.  After an arresting foreshadowing opening, a red-herring religious sidestep gives way to an odd mix of creepy spirit children and a tonally awkward domestic abuse/custody strand.  Without the on-screen unravelling of an actor of the calibre of Ethan Hawke that drove the first movie, the mid-section here is particularly dreary, and in spite of some spirited (sorry) and interestingly-staged poltergeist-like activity in the finale, this is generally tepid horror fare.  Incredibly, the villain of the piece, the Bughuul, is used in a far less effective way than before.  This film brings to the fore the old argument about how children should be used in horror films, as the foregrounding of the child characters - both living and dead - in this sequel gives rise to some harsh situations, but more interesting is the issue of voyeurism and the watching of the 'family deaths' spirit movies that drives the narrative.  However, Sinister 2 is not a particularly interesting sequel that adds little to the far more more potent original, and in spite having of one of the more intriguing antagonists in modern horror, maybe this is a tale that has nothing more to be told.

FILM: Vacation (dirs: John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, 2015)

"Well played."

Vacation feels like it is in very familiar territory right from the start.  It is very sweary, low-brow and has a heavy reliance on pooh-and-dick jokes, but what else is to be expected?  Nevertheless, it is reasonably chucklesome and played well with an audience, with a game cast that elevates the material considerably, and there are a number of reasonable set pieces that veer from desperately predictable to occasional surprise, taking in gross-out and sometimes distasteful humour along the way.  Ed Helms does what Ed Helms does but is consistent and a good fit here, the magnificent Christina Applegate is as ever comedically very engaging, and the two boys are unusually strong performers here, with nicely-played work from Skyler Gisondo as the older more sensitive brother and Steele Stebbins is fun as the foul-mouthed bullying younger.  Chevy Chase's brief cameo shows he still has spot-on timing, and Chris Hemsworth swaggers hilariously as the smug brother-in-law.  Vacation is what it is, and indeed what the National Lampoon movies always have been - undemanding, simple, low-brow adult-comedy entertainment - and on that level it delivers appropriately.

FILM: The Bad Education Movie (dir: Elliot Hegarty, 2015)

 "You can take our lives, but you will never take our pasties!"

No doubt inspired by the success of The Inbetweeners films, Bad Education makes the leap to the big screen, but thankfully unlike the dreadful Mrs Brown's Boys movie, this is actually written as a movie and not an unfulfilling over-extended TV episode, and it fills its ninety minutes effectively.  Like the finale of Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, there is a clear understanding of genre at play here, so when the final act tips over into siege/thriller territory, what could have been thin and lame is generally well-staged and very effectively edited and directed.  There are a number of good laughs to be had, from typical pratfalls and physical comedy (Alfie's 'downed' high-wire ride and his extraordinary dare with a swan are both Inbetweeners-worthy), to some fun movie references (E.T, Braveheart and Pirates..., for example). Jack Whitehall has grown into an increasingly capable actor, here playing both comedy and pathos enjoyably, Joanna Scanlon makes a welcome addition as Joe's monstrous mother and Alfie's nemesis, and with a welcome reunion of the entire cast of students from the TV show, Charlie Wernham steals it with a gleefully wicked performance as the subversively naughty Mitchell.  Indeed, there is a palpable sense that everyone involved is enjoying their last hurrah, and like with the character of Alfie Wickers himself, it is the balance of silly comedy and that very British sense of regretful sadness that transfers well here from small-screen to big-screen, making The Bad Education Movie good entertainment and a positive transition to movie form overall.

FILM: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. IMAX (dir: Guy Ritchie, 2015)

"Smoothly done."

This loose first-mission prequel to the 1960s TV series absolutely nails the period's aesthetics and cinematic stylings.  Like Ritchie's previous mismatched-buddy movies, it looks great, the set-pieces are well-realised, and the lead trio of Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer and Alicia Vikander are great fun and hugely watchable in their individual performances as well as together.  Rather than go for purely consistent dynamic action, Ritchie does like going for cinematic tricks such as repeating scenes but with added information or a different point of view, which does make the storytelling somewhat leisurely, but this film does allow the main characters and relationships to breathe and to develop very effectively, even if the villains are predictably underused.  The Man From U.N.C.L.E is a solid, enjoyable and stylish romp that never quite hits the heights but is a well-made antidote to modern dour spy thrillers.

FILM: Paper Towns (dir: Jake Schreier, 2015)

"Well, that was fun!"

Thankfully lacking the mawkish nonsense of the same author's The Fault In Our Stars, Paper Towns turns out to be a surprisingly engaging and consistently well-made film.  This is S.E. Hinton brought up to date, with the end of high school/teenagehood transformed into a romanticised epic, with sumptuous golden hour and city night filming embellishing a well-told and excellently-performed tale.  The three clear acts cover familiar teenage movie tropes, but this time through the experiences of a trio of refreshingly grounded 'ordinary' boys whose easy, warm-hearted friendship comes across very well and makes each of the three clear acts and the 'journey' extremely entertaining. 

FILM: Absolutely Anything (dir: Terry Jones, 2015)

"You are feckless."
"Feckless?"
"You are without feck."

Take Bruce Almighty, replace Jim Carrey and God with Simon Pegg and aliens, and you basically have this rather tepid Brit-com.  Simon Pegg is thankfully as affable as ever as the ordinary schoolteacher who is imbued with omnipotent power as a test to see if mankind should be spared destruction through his actions for good or evil.  The literal results of his requests are occasionally amusing, and his English-speaking pet dog (voiced by Robin Williams) has some potential, but the film is thrown off-kilter by an awful American stalker sub-plot/character, and the film's writing for the female characters is distressingly appalling (a spectacular Bechdel Test failure!) - Kate Beckinsale is to be commended for an heroic attempt to wring something out of the horrible lines and situations her character is given.  Whilst not a disaster, Absolutely Anything would have been served by better writing and stronger ideas.

FILM: Pixels 3D IMAX (dir: Chris Columbus, 2015)

"That's why we have a reset button."
"Yeah.  We didn't have that growing up."

The central concept of Pixels is great fun, but the actual movie is less so, largely because of a huge mis-match between tone and audience.  The good news is that it is an Adam Sandler movie that is actually reasonably watchable, Peter Dinklage and especially Brian Cox seem fully aware of the comic potential, and Michelle Monaghan shows some nice delivery.  The film is squarely aimed at the kiddie market and as a consequence is very limply written indeed, and herein lies the biggest problem, as this is surely not the main (older) audience who will get the big nostalgia kick out of the conceit of 80s videogames being let loose for real by mistaken aliens.  The actual 'battle' sequences are absolutely knockout, and the great pity is that there is clearly a terrifically cool 'straight' action movie in here crying out to be unleashed as a potentially very cool Summer blockbuster, but instead Pixels has a flat and basic script with stretches of weak comedy that underwhelms overall. 

FILM: Fantastic 4 (dir: Josh Trank, 2015)

"They actually wear labcoats here."

The big issue with Trank's FF reboot is that of expectations. Fox apparently were hoping for an Avengers-style romp but instead got the director's 'grounded' take on the material, which it many ways makes it one of the most grown-up superhero movies of recent times.  It completely flips the structure of the 2005 film, which quickly dispensed with the set-up to deliver a comic-strip tights-and-flights caper, whereas this 2015 version is entirely a careful, sincere but occasionally plodding origins story, at times a bit too restrained in its 'scientists cracking inter-dimensional travel' scenario.  Apart from the well-staged finale, there is surprisingly little excitement generated, but in its place there is a lot of well-played character work by the central quartet (Teller and Jordan are great, Mara good but a bit one-note, and Bell is criminally under-used after a promising start) and also Toby Kebbell as Doom (ignore the early internet nonsense about the character, by the way).  Trank's direction is assured, the character work kept the audience interested throughout, but Beltrami's standard superhero score feels an odd fit at times.  This is a brave and thoughtful film that goes against expectations - which may be its box-office undoing - but it certainly paves the way for a potentially interesting sequel, as it would be good to see this talented young cast really let loose in this particular style and tone.  Now: just where did Doom get that cape from in the other-dimension world?

FILM: Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation (dir: Christopher McQuarrie, 2015)

"What we do, we do for our friends - right?"

Like the Fast and Furious franchise, the M:I films have now found their reliable groove and identity, and this fifth entry in the series is a slick and confident product that works extremely well and fully justifies its bold move up from its originally-intended Boxing Day release to compete in the big blockbuster Summer of 2015.  Rogue Nation also benefits from joining other spy thrillers from this year such as Kingsman, SPY, Spooks - The Greater Good and The Man From UNCLE by embracing its retro roots with modern stylings, from its dizzying globe-trotting to a fine mix of modern tech and old-school physical action. Whilst obviously a Tom Cruise vehicle - and these films really work with the total evident commitment on- and off-screen by the star - the rest of the core cast (an excellent Simon Pegg and wonderfully-played character work by Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin) are very strong here, accompanied by a superb and riveting performance by Rebecca Ferguson as an agent of questionable loyalties.  There is a fantastic car/bike chase sequence, a wonderfully-choreographed assassination attempt at the Vienna Opera House (even if it is over-extended), and in spite of a rather straightforward story given the film's lengthy running time, Rogue Nation is a very complete and well-mounted actioner that demonstrates this series is very much alive.

FILM: Inside Out 3D (dirs: Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen, 2015)

"Think positive!"
"OK - I'm positive you'll get lost in there!"

Pixar delivers yet another absolutely delightful film that fizzes with character, invention and energy.  Yet again, accessible audience-relatable themes (here, moving house and burgeoning adolescence) are filtered through the eyes (often literally) and mind of an eleven-year-old girl with precision and touching depth alongside a relentless bombardment of zany imaginative visuals and almost exhausting rapid-fire dialogue.  Pace and quality are maintained throughout, comedy and pathos are very well-balanced, and the whole film is immensely satisfying to watch.  The traditional accompanying short, Lava, is also beautiful in its simplicity and execution.

FILM: Ant-Man 3D D-BOX (dir: Peyton Reed, 2015)

"Cool....yeah.  If it ain't broke....."

Rather than try to match the epic scale of Guardians and Ultron, Ant-Man serves as a very effective and hugely enjoyable origin tale, in which Marvel wisely scales it down (sorry) to a more domestic and intimate feel, with very careful and well-drawn setting-up which allows characters and (an admittedly slender) plot to develop effectively.  It cements its place in the MCU with a couple of pleasing cameos and some rather blunt references, and if the film does feel familiar in tone, look and sound, one suspects that Edgar Wright's long-gestating take on the material has had the more interesting edges smoothed off a little on order to achieve it.  Visually, Ant-Man is stunningly realised with some occasionally very creative ideas, and the use of 3D is absolutely exemplary.  Paul Rudd, like Chris Pratt before him, is an engaging and amiable lead as expected, and Michael Douglas does sterling work as Hank Pym (including some remarkably impressive CG-de-ageing at the start of the film).  For a lesser character, Marvel has taken the right approach here in this the potentially uneasy mix of sci-fi, superhero, comedy and melodrama that gives the audience a more grounded hero in the MCU that still delivers on big-screen entertainment.

FILM: Ted 2 (dir: Seth Macfarlane, 2015)

You could have been an inspiration to the world.  Instead you're just Justin Bieber."

Ted 2 is a fair sequel that relies on a lot of goodwill carried over from the original on the part of the audience.  The narrative structure is a loose re-tread of Ted, but here the film is less relationship-driven and more an exploration of issues, meaning it is a bit less fun and the gag-rate is sparser yet still enough of a crowd-pleaser to entertain.  When the humour is being pointedly outrageous the film delivers - the sperm donor clinic lab and the comedy improv theatre sequences are spectacularly and offensively hilarious - but at other times it meanders or fails to pay off, such as a Jurassic Park nod that delivers the joke but then falls flat as an attempt is made to extend it.  Ted himself is now so convincing that suspension of disbelief is barely required, Wahlberg is a little more muted this time round, and Seyfried is no Kunis but shows some good comic timing.  As ever, Walter Murphy's score delights, and Ted 2 is a significant improvement on the dismal A Million Ways To Die In The West, but like that film, the script and pace of Ted 2 lacks the snap that would make it really great. 

FILM: Terminator Genisys IMAX 3D (dir: Alan Taylor, 2015)

"What do we want?"
"Time travel!"
"When do we want it?"
"It's irrelevant!"

The critical vitriol for Terminator Genisys possibly stems from the fact that if you are not steeped in the Terminator mythos and do not have an tolerance for the inherent nonsense of time-travel and alternate timelines, then as a stand-alone this movie would make little sense.  Even within those parameters, apparent plot-holes and moments that seem to baffle even the characters in the movie do not help, unaided by an oddly-paced screenplay.  All is not lost, however.  Against the odds, a now-aged Arnie works reasonably well, Emilia Clarke is a surprisingly acceptable alt-Sarah Connor, Jai Courtney is appropriately cast, and Alan Taylor directs some great action set-pieces.  The fans can have fun as the film mashes up not only the four movies but also TV's underappreciated The Sarah Connor Chronicles, in spite of the pre-publicity insistence that it is a direct follow-on from Judgement Day.  This is also a bigger problem: Genisys might play a bit better than Salvation and some aspects of Rise Of The Machines, but it does not even come close to Cameron.  The biggest lesson not heeded from Salvation was making a crucial reveal in the trailer (and indeed the poster campaign), which here once again kills the impact of one significant twist.  Envisioned as a part of a trilogy, characters and ideas are introduced and dropped which will presumably play a bigger role in the ensuing films, in which - hopefully - plotting and pacing will also play a more effective part.

FILM: Magic Mike XXL (dir: Gregory Jacobs, 2015)

"This is not about being a dancer."

Whilst the first Magic Mike was an unexpected success, the sequel takes a different route and hits some roadbumps along the way.  The fairly standard and reasonably tight dramatic narrative course taken by the original is replaced here by a more free-form road movie, with the result that it lurches episodically from one scenario to the next and shoehorns in some of the 'male entertainer' action along the way in a less-than convincing manner.  Tatum is a solid centre for the movie as expected, Joe Manganiello is often hilarious, and Jada Pinkett Smith eats up the screen whenever she appears.  There is self-aware humour that occasionally comes across as crass, and whilst the first film considered male objectification and exploitation, here the focus is much more on the seemingly witless (female) punters, at times distasteful in its treatment of the gay community and larger-size women.  There are plenty of good, enjoyable 'buddy' moments, and Manganiello's garage-store scene and his reaction to a Twilight tribute are priceless, but XXL is not as strong as the original.