FILM: Cowboys & Aliens (dir: Jon Favreau, 2011)

"I told you not to call her that."

Whilst last year's True Grit remake was able to sell itself on being an authentic and iconic film property with the direction by the Coen Brothers thrown in for good measure, this comic-book-inspired Alien franchise/spaghetti Western/abduction mash-up was always going to be a tougher sell to the mass market, as its soft U.S. opening showed.  Indeed, the fact that there is much more Western than Sci-Fi on screen may make the movie a challenging experience for younger viewers, but therein lies the movie's strength.  The Western elements are established very effectively, with good-looking design, wonderful hard-bitten performances by Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford as amnesiac 'stranger' and town leader respectively (with notable character work by Clancy Brown and Sam Rockwell) and Favreau's usual strong direction and attention to detail.  The action beats are brief but enjoyable, and the violence is very direct for the 12A rating, yet the whole affair feels strangely low-key and small-scale.  The script is tight and well-structured, if a little clinical in terms of plot progression.  Cowboys & Aliens as a concept is of course utterly daft, but on its own terms, this movie is solidly entertaining and to a reasonable extent delivers on the ideas it offers.

FILM: The Devil's Double (dir: Lee Tamahori, 2011)

"I will never let you go.  I will never let you go, mmm?  I love you too much."

This remarkable tale of the House of Hussein in late 80s Iraq, shown through Saddam's son Uday (with his Scarface-style descent into excess and madness) and his enforced body double, gives director Tamahori possibly his best film to date.  The conceit of having Dominic Cooper play both lead characters works fantastically, with two excellent individual performances by Cooper and the interaction between the two contrasting characters utterly convincing and showing remarkable nuance (only a couple of poor head-paste shots in one scene stick out), with many excellent supporting performances on show throughout.   The beautiful cinematography is mostly bathed in a sumptuous golden tint, a bleached palette introduced for scenes in which the atrocities occur.  Christian Henson provides the film with an intriguing score which augments many scenes effectively.  There are moments which truly shock, but there is an overall feeling that the film merely touches the surface - the arcs of both of Cooper's characters are complementary and well-handled, but the film sadly fails to deliver an explicitly strong pay-off that both the movie and the audience deserve.  Nevertheless, this is a strong, interesting and bold film, elevated by Dominic Cooper's superb and challenging work.

FILM: The Smurfs 3D (dir: Raja Gosnell, 2011)

"What do you get if you cross a Smurf with a cow?"
"Blue cheese."

With a storyline reminiscent of Enchanted, the Smurfs are transported from their village (charmingly realised in the opening scenes) to New York in this predictable but gently entertaining adventure.  The movie is well shot and effectively directed, and the integration of CG Smurfs and live-action works very well throughout.  3D looks fantastic in the city scenes but is inessential.  Hank Azaria delivers a mildly-evil Gargamel, and Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays use their comedic experience well as the couple who look after the Smurfs - Harris's reaction on finding the Smurfs still in his flat the morning after their arrival is priceless.  Even if the relentless replacing of words with 'smurf' rapidly becomes annoying, The Smurfs is harmless, simple, well-made and shows some real thought has been put into it.

FILM: Horrid Henry The Movie in 3D (dir: Nick Moore, 2011)

"Don't even think about laughing."

From the hit series of books and TV shows, Horrid Henry The Movie stretches the concept woefully over an hour-and-a-half.  The C-List Brit-comedians adult cast mug shamelessly in hysterical panto style (with Richard E. Grant and Rebecca Front emerging relatively unscathed, as Angelica Huston's interesting Scottish accent wanders), whilst most of the child actors - apart from a relentlessly spirited but irritating Theo Stevenson as Henry - are generally weak.  The meagre script criminally forgets to be funny - the only real response from the children in the audience came when Henry picks his nose and flicks it at the audience - and even the use of Glee-style musical numbers is abandoned after the first half-hour.  The excellent 3D - a first for a UK live-action children's film - is a surprising positive aspect in this disappointing movie, which completely pales in comparison with the Diary Of A Wimpy Kid films. 

FILM: Rise of the Planet of the Apes (dir: Rupert Wyatt, 2011)

"Hold on.....What the -?"

Of all the big movies of Summer 2011, Rise of the Planet of the Apes stands head-and-shoulders above the general sea of lame comedies, exhausted franchises and mediocre super-heroes - and to say that is a complete surprise.  It was interesting to observe how the indifference to the announcement of the project and the first bland trailer gave way to sudden interest at the much sharper second trailer, and the resulting film ultimately exceeds all expectations.  Rupert Wyatt may not have seemed an obvious directorial choice for this project, but he controls the developing story superbly, from the seamless moving forward of time to the carefully-controlled and often imaginative use of camera.  The film is packed throughout with wonderful moments, from big-scale rich visuals to small character details.  James Franco makes an excellent lead, proving that with the right direction and focus he can deliver, John Lithgow is touching as his Alzheimer's-afflicted father, with solid support from the rest of the (human) cast with their limited roles.  The trump card is the fact that this is Caesar's story from start to finish, and the audience is able to invest in this emotionally not only because of another stunning mo-cap performance by Andy Serkis and the mostly-seamless CGI, but also because of the skillful script that tells his story from infancy which treads a fine line between his 'human' and simian development.  There are a couple of nicely-placed nods to the original film, but Rise of... has its own style and a clear contemporary take on the mythos.  Stay in your seat for a rather obvious sequel-setting scene after the main closing credits, and a second film will be most welcome if it maintains the standard of this entertaining, intelligent and well-realised movie.

DVD: Super (dir: James Gunn, 2011)

"You don't see them getting bored in comic books."
"That's what happens between the panels."

It is easy to see why this low-budget project attracted such a top-notch cast, as writer/director James Gunn takes another genre and gives it his own bizarre, leftfield and irresistible take.  The 'culture of speed' that Gunn created on set -borne out of budget-constrained necessity but also of his own creative approach - plus the guerrilla-style visuals give the film tremendous energy and impact.  Timing means that most viewers will see this following Kick-Ass and make inevitable comparisons, but whereas Kick-Ass revelled in its stylised comic-book sheen, Super is determinedly grounded, in spite of its weird-out moments (such as Frank's brain literally touched by the finger of God, voiced by Rob Zombie!).  As a result, this very human (and adult) take on super-hero conventions provides superbly relatable characters and abundant humour - the riff on Superman's costume-change is perfect, for example.  There has been criticism of the level of violence presented, but its explicitness merely highlights appropriately that the actions presented have real-world physical consequences.  Rainn Wilson gives a staggeringly heartfelt and hilarious performance as Frank/The Crimson Bolt, Ellen Page is a joy as his desperate manic side-kick wanabee Boltie, Liv Tyler is a revelation as Frank's estranged wife and Kevin Bacon delivers yet another great character performance (not forgetting an unrecognisable Nathan Fillion as The Holy Avenger!).  The uber-violence escalates into a Grand Guignol finale, but the film's closing scenes are utterly beautiful and heartbreaking, highlighting the true heart and humanity that make Super such a wonderful film.

DVD: Battle Of Los Angeles (dir: Mark Atkins, 2011)

"Guess we found out what we're dealing with, huh?"

Battle Of Los Angeles is another redundant mockbuster from The Asylum, but even by their standards this is a weak entry.  The template here is clearly Independence Day rather than Battle: Los Angeles, and whilst the very low-end CGI scuppers the big visual shots of the mother spaceship, some simpler effects of the small fighter ships attacks are integrated reasonably well.  A well-developed music score injects some energy, but a very weak script and dull pacing of its dialogue weaken the film overall.   This movie's blast-from-the-past actors feature Nia Peeples (TV's Fame) and Kel Mitchell (of Kenan and Kel!), who do their best with the limited opportunities available here.  Lacking the daft fun of the studio's monster mash-ups, Battle Of Los Angeles comes across as cheap, unnecessary and uninteresting to watch.

FILM: Super 8 (dir: JJ Abrams, 2011)

"Production values!"

That Super 8 is a love-letter to early Spielberg is without question.  This is no slavish homage, however; by taking the simplicity of storytelling and emotional clarity of those movies such as E.T. and Close Encounters, Abrams has fashioned a film that deftly marries shocks with sweetness, innocence with experience and an honest exploration of themes such as grief, friendship and coming-of-age.  The end of the 70s is lovingly created (Heart of Glass sounds brilliant on a Walkman, even if the equipment has to be explained for the modern audience!) and provides a setting for the children's adventures that would not quite ring as true in contemporary times.  Although the first half is more credible and convincing than the later stages of the movie,  the gang of children have a joy, openness and energy that runs through the film, with Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning in particular giving performances of pleasing strength and depth.  Trademark lens flares make an appearance, and Abrams has created another movie with real characters, heart and spectacle - if nothing else, the extraordinary train wreck that sets events in motion (rather like the aeroplane crash that opened Lost) is worth the price of admission.  By eschewing 3D and producing a non-franchise Summer movie, Super 8 shows how going back to the basics of commercial film are all that are needed - when done as well as this - to entertain successfully.

FILM: The First Avenger - Captain America 3D (dir: Joe Johnston, 2011)

"I'm Captain America!"
"I beg your pardon?"

Marvel's latest addition to its Avengers set-up cycle thankfully slots into its universe organically, reaping the benefit of its wonderfully-realised 1940s setting and using clever bookends to position its lead in the modern era as well.  Chris Evans gives a remarkably humble performance as Steve Rogers on his journey from (rather spookily-created) weakling to vacuous celebrity to super-soldier, Tommy Lee Jones gets all the best lines and delivers them with his trademark dry sarcasm, Dominic Cooper works well as Stark Snr and - in yet another male-dominated superhero movie - Hayley Atwell proves to be a strong presence, forging a nicely-played Top Gun-style McGillis/Cruise relationship with Evans.  3D is used well to provide an effective sense of huge scale, with the story's comic pulp origins being mined stylistically to good purpose throughout.  Joe Johnston's direction is assured, but - like his last film, The Wolfman - the whole enterprise would benefit from a little more pace and energy to truly engage emotionally and pack more punch.

FILM: Mister Popper's Penguins (dir: Mark Waters, 2011)

"There's nothing wrong with a man who recycles."

Alarm bells ring in the opening scenes, as Jim Carrey falls quickly into his dated manic gurning schtick, but do not be put off - what follows is a simple, sweet children's entertainment, sustained by three main elements: cute comedy penguins, a performance by Jim Carrey that showcases both his comic timing and genuine dramatic ability, and strong direction by Mark Walters which gives the film just sufficient edge to the general fluffiness (which he achieved similarly with The Spiderwick Chronicles). The wintry New York backdrop is beautifully shot (if slightly misplaced for a movie released at the height of Summer), and the unsurprising unfolding of events pass by fairly breezily.  Mister Popper's Penguins is also (justifiably) the first film that I can remember to bear a BBFC warning for 'flatulence jokes'!