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.