FILM: How To Train Your Dragon 2 IMAX 3D (dir: Dean Deblois, 2014)

"You just keep doing what you're doing..."

This follow-up to the very enjoyable 2010 movie is every bit as delightful and does what a good sequel does - it moves on (and forwards - five years in fact, with Hiccup now a floppy-fringed older teen) and increases the narrative and emotional stakes considerably to very good purpose.  The voice cast truly delivers; Baruchel is great, and noticeably aided by the ongoing improvements in animated lip-synching/movement on-screen, although Blanchett's accent proves interesting.  The standard and employment of animation, 3D and lighting techniques are all astounding here, and John Powell provides another excellent, soaring score.  That Dreamworks has managed to get this franchise so right is to their credit - we can only hope that they do not Shrek up the third episode.  Dragon 2 is not only a hugely successful sequel, it is also one of the strongest and most enjoyable films of 2014 .

FILM: Tammy (dir: Ben Falcone, 2014)

"I didn't MEAN 'thank you'."
"I didn't MEAN 'you're welcome'."

In this alarming female-cross-generational-road-trip movie scenario in which Susan Sarandon plays Allison Janney's mother and Melissa McCarthy's grandmother (!), Tammy is a very broad generic comedy that relies too much on its star's loud mugging and physicality to drown out some interesting ideas in order to appeal to a mainstream audience.  Sarandon (as expected) relishes the role of the vice-embracing pensioner, McCarthy always works better in the quieter moments, and Kathy Bates scene-steals supremely as the lesbian cousin.  It is a shame that the potentially sweet burgeoning relationship between the reserved Bobby (an excellent Mark Duplass) and Tammy is not given more screen time, as these are the points that the movie really breathes and develops, as the actual comedy set-ups are largely unfocussed and patience-testing, creating an uneasy and underdeveloped relationship between the comedic and dramatic elements that never really gels.

FILM: Mrs Brown's Boys D'Movie (dir: Ben Kellett, 2014)

"I said cheap.  I didn't mean this f**king cheap!"

Bereft of the focus and brisk energy of the studio-bound TV sit-com format, D'Movie is mostly a disappointing drag.  The aspects that work best transfer surprisingly well from the TV incarnation - the fourth-wall breaking, the corpsing, the occasional meta-bits such as the opening that transfers the audience from a set to the 'real' world - but as soon as it moves away from the focus of the family members and tries to be more of a movie, such as an underwhelming opening song-and-dance number, it meets with far less success.  There are a few laughs to be had (though often through mindless offensiveness: Parkinson's, Tourette's, visual impairment, racial and sexuality stereotypes), with far more to like than The Harry Hill Movie, and the cast try hard, but yet again the transfer from one format to another is not truly successful.

FILM: The Fault In Our Stars (dir: Josh Boone, 2014)

"I love it when you talk medical to me."

This is a full-on Love Story for this generation's teenage girls, which tries to give some degree of truth about relationships and illness whilst wrapped up in teenagers talking nonsense and stretching credibility (the Anne Frank house stairs scene, Willem Defoe's unpleasant writer) way too far at times, but these are balanced by some lovely scenes that court teenagedom and impending doom nicely.  The biggest surprise is that Shailene Woodley is out-performed here by Ansel Elgort, who gives a sincere performance of good depth and range, whilst both give a pleasing note of happiness to their doomed relationship.  Laura Dern also delivers strongly as Woodley's anxious but warm-hearted mother.  It is necessarily glossy and idealised to meet its target market, but this film of the hit novel has a little more edge than expected and delivers emotionally at the right places.

FILM: Jersey Boys (dir: Clint Eastwood, 2014)

"If you work hard, everything follows."

Jersey Boys makes the transition from stage to screen effectively for the most part.  Casting is impeccable with a range of strong performances across the main cast, the story proves compelling enough to sustain interest (although a shift from the musical journey to Valli's personal tragedies in the third act is less engaging), and the back catalogue of The Four Seasons is robust and enjoyable.  Eastwood is a smart and solid director, with a very fine line walked between the band's rough Italian 1950s youth and the necessarily unrealistic gloss provided by the musical format.  Skipping over the band's mid-70s resurgence is a disappointment, but Jersey Boys provides an interesting look at the changing musical times and a story worth telling.

FILM: 22 Jump Street (dirs: Phil Lord and Chris Miller, 2014)

"There's a f**king dragon in here!"

Like Bill & Ted and Wayne & Garth before them, Jenko & Schmidt are daft, immature, utterly likable screen characters who give the two Jump Street films an immense sense of warmth which is perhaps even more evident in this sequel.  Thankfully, the writing is strong, with a plethora of genuinely funny verbal/visual/slapstick gags that are maintained throughout (and whilst the self-awareness angle works, the early laboured set-up scene borders on smug rather than funny, but more effective subtlety follows).  Although 22 feels a little more episodic than 21, the through narratives hang together well, enabling a gloriously funny mid-movie reveal which leads to a wonderful reaction scene when Channing Tatum discovers it later in Captain Dickson's ("...like a cube...of ice...") office.  Indeed, Hill and Tatum simply work together so well that they are a joy to watch, Ice Cube is surprisingly fun, and 22 Jump Street is one of the smartest silly movies out there that is hugely entertaining to watch, right down to the myriad 'next case' scenarios in the credits.

FILM: Edge Of Tomorrow 3D (dir: Doug Liman, 2014)

"Do I look like a fresh recruit?"

Edge Of Tomorrow is an immensely enjoyable sci-fi actioner.  Retooling the novel's eighteen-year-old grunt to fit Tom Cruise's combat-averse PR-man Cage does work surprisingly well in context.  Fans of mech, aliens, combat and timey-wimey-stuff will all be very satisfied indeed.  The Starship Troopers meets Groundhog Day comparisons are apt, but Liman keeps the film fresh and dynamic from the word go, with a blistering pace and very kinetic action sequences.  Cruise is excellent, Emily Blunt is a revelation and more than a match on-screen, and the great Bill Paxton plays deadpan humour to perfection.  For genre fans, Edge Of Tomorrow is about as good as mainstream blockbuster cinema gets.

FILM: A Million Ways To Die In The West (dir: Seth MacFarlane, 2014)

"I look like Jane Austen threw up all over me!"

Sadly, this film isn't up there with Ted.  It almost feels like they quickly realised the limitations of the core concept when writing the script and abandoned it, as the gags and invention run out very early, leaving a reliance on the f-word and bodily fluids to tell a basic romantic/revenge story.  Seth MacFarlane directs with some flair, with a great use of classic Western vistas, and he shows surprising charm and vulnerability in the lead role.  Charlize Thron and Amanda Seyfried perform well with a good balance of straight acting and knowing archness, and Neil Patrick Harris delivers his patented nemesis character effectively.  Sadly sidelined, Giovanni Ribisi and Sarah Silverman do great work as the oblivious couple, and a couple of surprise cameos are fun.  Overall, A Million Ways.... is a rather drawn-out affair that provides a few good laughs and with little content that is stretched rather thinly.

FILM: Maleficent 3D (dir: Robert Stromberg, 2014)

"I like you begging.  Do it again!"

Maleficent is, of course, Wicked does Sleeping Beauty (mercifully without the Broadway screeching) on a day-trip to Middle Earth, but it does it all with immense visual richness. It is a mostly straight-faced alternate take on Disney's own animated classic, told this time from the curse-caster's point of view.  Quite simply, this is the Angelina Jolie show - everything else pales into insignificance - and she owns the role and commands the screen with incredible power and presence.  The first act is perhaps too twee and slow, but the final showdown is surprisingly strong and interesting.  Being a fairy tale, Idiot Plot abounds (one wonders exactly over what Maleficent rules, and everyone's lives appear to be on hold for sixteen years until Aurora's fateful birthday).  The target audience is unclear - too frightening for kiddies, too dry for teens, too familiar for adults - but Maleficent is an unusually ambitious and darkly entertaining film from the House of Mouse.

FILM: Tarzan (dir: Reinhard Klooss, 2014)

"It's a jungle, not a pick-up bar!"

The most remarkable thing about this latest animated take on the Tarzan story is very quickly realising that this would have been a worthy tale for a contemporary live-action version.  It is unashamedly Young Adult in the positioning of its two leads, but it is also surprisingly sombre and bombastic, with some strong emotional beats for a PG film.  The photorealistic backgrounds and creature work are very good indeed, and only occasionally the stylised human faces undermine the otherwise terrific mo-cap animation of movement.  Whilst at times the on-screen action owes more to Avatar, Jurassic Park and The Blue Lagoon than Burroughs, this is a daft but refreshingly interesting updating of a very well-worn and limited concept.