Summative Statement

These films represent only a small portion of the industry, and only a very small part of their respective genres. I've seen quite many movies, as several members of my family have worked in a video store, and I really enjoy film as a visual medium that's capable of conveying so much more than the written word, though I enjoy that, too.

I've found, though, with these movies, that while often very good, many of them were in my opinion a little disappointing. It's interesting how the impression that you get from a well-done movie trailer can be so very different from the actual film.

These movies represent for me the best of the recent ones that I've seen in acting, art direction, set design, and overall effect - because there's a lot of bad ones out there.

Film Review: 'State Of Play'

'State Of Play' is a political murder-mystery thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald. The screenplay was written by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Tony Gilroy (writer of The Bourne Identity), and is based on the 2003 British mini-series of the same name that starred John Simm, Bill Nighy, James McAvoy and David Morrissey.

A small-time thief is found dead in the street, a pizza boy is found nearby with a critical gunshot wound, and the aide to Congressman Stephen Collins falls in front of a subway train and dies. Three completely unrelated incidents. Or are they? Cal McAffrey, a reporter for the Washington Globe with past ties to the congressman, has information which suggests that everything is not as it seems. With the help of fellow reporter Della Frye, Cal goes where the clues lead him, and uncovers a startling conspiracy involving the private sector security firm that Congressman Collins is currently investigating. But as he digs deeper into the role the private company might play in the deaths, Cal also realises that they may have all been played for fools from the beginning ...

While the characters aren't too complex, the plot more than makes up for that with it's twist ending that really throws you for a loop. All in all, it's a solid mystery thriller that I'd recommend watching.

Film Review: 'Julie & Julia'

Julie & Julia is a new movie written and directed by Nora Ephron, and based on the blog and book by Julie Powell. It stars Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina.

This movie tells the story of Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a cubicle worker who decides to attempt to cook her way through all of the recipes in Julia Child's first book and write a blog about it. Julie's story is interspersed with the story of Julia's beginnings in the cooking business and her life in Paris with her husband Paul (played by Stanley Tucci). This mixing of the two stories is a really well-used storytelling device, as it helps to illustrate the how different these two women actually are.

Before watching this movie, I had never heard of Julia Child, but I've since seen a video of her on the Internet, and would say from watching it that Meryl Streep's performance was absolutely perfectly in character. Stanley Tucci was also very good as Julia's husband Paul, showcasing his great versatility as an actor in a completely different role from his recent turn as murderer George Harvey in Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones'.

'Julie & Julia' is a good movie, like one would expect from Nora Ephron, but with something of a surprise for Julie (and the audience) near the end when she discovers through a reporter that Julia has not only heard of what she's doing, but has an opinion on it. I had been wondering throughout the film whether the two women's paths would actually cross, and it would have an interesting end to the movie, but since it was based on a true story (or two true stories), that may have been bending the facts a bit too much.

The overall message I got from this movie was that your heroes aren't always what you build them up to be.

Just in case anyone's interested, here are some related links:

• Julie & Julia on IMDB
• and the true story behind Julia Child's reaction to Julie's blog, from the reporter who rang Julie and told her about it - Russ Parsons of the Los Angeles Times. Beware: if you haven't seen the movie, this will probably ruin the ending for you. You have been warned.

Film Review: 'Alice In Wonderland'

'Alice In Wonderland' is a new live action Disney film directed by Tim Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway, Lindsay Duncan, Marton Csokas, Stephen Fry and Michael Sheen.

Tim Burton is one of my favourite directors for his darker take on storytelling. I really enjoyed his earlier films like Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. However, when I heard that he was doing Alice In Wonderland, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I figured I'd be disappointed somehow.

I've been reading some online reviews and it would seem that many people don't like this movie ... but I don't agree. As with most things Burton, I really enjoyed it.

This version of Alice In Wonderland was children's fairy tale, done in Tim Burton's inimitable style: bright, stylised, fun, colourful, and entertaining. The plot may not have been the most complex ever invented, but I don't think it needed to be - the simple 'heroic destiny' plot was enough story for the movie's run time, and if you cram too much in there, people begin to lose track. And no, it wasn't Alice as we know her - it was Alice revisited. I'll own that it had its darker moments, but I liked that about it. Probably my only real problem with this movie (besides the simple plot) was the obviousness of each character's allegiance - they were either red (bad) or white (good?).

I particularly enjoyed Johnny Depp's take on the Mad Hatter (though, from reading reviews, I may be the only one who did) - who was, indeed, quite mad, but had his moments of almost clarity, making him slightly more believable; and also Stephen Fry, who was brilliant as the Cheshire Cat. I thought Helena Bonham Carter was very good as the petulant Red Queen, along with Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts, Alan Rickman (who practically guarantees quality) as the Caterpillar, and even Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, who managed to pull off her ethereal queen with the faintest undercurrent of nastiness.

I only saw the movie in 2D, not 3D, but I don't think that it detracted from the experience at all.

Film Review: 'Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time'

Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time is Hollywood's latest take on video games, directed by Mike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the man behind the Pirates Of The Caribbean and CSI franchises.

The plot of The Sands Of Time closely follows the plot of the game of the same name: the Prince (who was known only by his title in the games but has now acquired the name Dastan) accidentally gets caught up in a battle to control the powerful Dagger of Time, an artifact capable of controlling the flow of time, and allowing one to do all sorts of dastardly things. He is helped by the princess of the city that his father's army invaded. He manages to save the world, but saving the world comes with something of a nasty catch.

Now, video game adaptations in general, like comic book adaptations in general, have usually been regarded as complete failures by fans - with examples of this being Super Mario Brothers (starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo), Hitman (starring Timothy Olyphant), Doom (starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Karl Urban), Resident Evil (starring Milla Jovovich), Silent Hill (starring Radha Mitchell) and Max Payne (starring Mark Wahlberg). The question is: does Prince Of Persia fall as flat as its predecessors?

Yes and no. While it keeps the plot that fans of the game know and love, it's been stripped of many of the other things that we love. The Prince's acrobatics take a back seat in the movie, except for a truly well-done sequence in the movie's opening where he climbs the walls of the holy city of Alamut and opens the gates for his brother's army virtually by himself. Feisty princess Farah has been replaced by the equally feisty princess Tamina, which isn't in itself a bad thing, as her character seems to incorporate elements of characters Elika and Kaileena from later games. And instead of being chased by creepy sand thralls, the Prince and company are now being pursued by creepy assassins, sent by Nizam - who used to be known only by his title, the Vizier, and is now the Prince's uncle …

Despite these little things, Prince Of Persia still manages to be a fun romp through the desert, with some really good performances from Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton and Ben Kingsley, as well as a fun turn from the always-excellent Alfred Molina as a rogue ostrich-racing promoter (of all things) who seems a little too fond of his ostriches.

I'd give it about a seven out of ten.

Film Review: 'Iron Man 2'

Here's a link to the official site.

Iron Man 2, the latest production of a Marvel comic book, is the sequel to Iron Man, directed by Jon Favreau and starring Robert Downey Jr as irrepressible genius and narcissist billionaire-turned-superhero Tony Stark.

In the first film, Tony revealed himself to be the secret identity of mysterious, metal-suited hero Iron Man, and must now deal with the consequences of this action - namely the American government trying to seize the Iron Man suit for their own ends, the jealousy of his long-time business rival Justin Hammer, and the sudden appearance of a new and very dangerous adversary: Whiplash.

As in the first film, Tony struggles to be a hero. He knows that he's irresponsible and unreliable, but being a good hero seems pointless in view of the fact that he is rather rapidly dying of palladium poisoning – from the device in his chest keeping him alive. In the face of certain death, Tony must now decide what kind of a legacy he wants to leave behind.

Iron Man is refreshing as a superhero, as he has a distinctive personality, and is defined more by his character faults, vices and misdeeds than by any tendencies towards heroism. His secret identity is public knowledge, and he is Iron Man for his own benefit more than anyone else's. Tony is a rarity among the ranks of Marvel superheroes - he's selfish, seeking fame, not redemption, and having no real cause.

The visual effects were above par, fitting seamlessly into the live action material - it was really very hard to tell which was which. As far as entertainment goes, Iron Man 2 doesn't disappoint – part action film, part romance, part drama, part comedy. It isn't being released in the United States for another four days, but has already grossed $100.2 million, making more than the original.

Robert Downey Jr is as usual effortlessly screen-stealing, and so believable that he could in fact be Tony Stark playing Robert Downey Jr. Gwyneth Paltrow as the female lead is nowhere near a damsel in distress, and nor is Scarlett Johansson as femme fatale Black Widow. Mickey Rourke is very good as Ivan Vanko, aka Whiplash, a man whose brutish exterior belies a massive intelligence - he's almost as clever as Tony.

Film Review: 'Love Aaj Kal'

Love Aaj Kal is an Indian film written and directed by Imtiaz Ali, a popular Bollywood director known for his earlier films like Jab We Met (starring Kareena Kapoor).

This film tells the story of Jai Vardhan Singh (Saif Ali Khan), a young man in modern day India who's breaking up with his girlfriend Meera Pandit (Deepika Padukone). He believes in being practical, and their separation is to avoid a difficult long-distance relationship as their lives and jobs take them to different countries.

As Jai gets on with life, his friend Veer Singh tells him the story of the great love of his life, Harleen, and what happened to them back in 1965, in an attempt to get Jai to slow down and appreciate what he has.

The two stories of Jai and Veer are told simultaneously - which is good because like Jai, we wait until the very end to find out what happened to Harleen. Saif Ali Khan plays both the role of Jai and also that of young Veer, though at first, you may not notice - he's so good as both characters that it's not immediately apparent that they're actually the same guy. The plot is quite different to your average romance, with a nice about-face close to the end that really makes you wonder whether this movie is actually going to have a happy ending ...

Being a Bollywood movie, there are of course musical numbers, which isn't for everyone, and this movie is really more of a drama than a comedy, but if you can get your hands on it I would recommend watching it for its well-drawn characters, good choreography and colourful art direction.