"Raiders of the Lost Ark"

The Man With Hat is back in his original adventure...

A wonderful opportunity to see that great Spielberg movie on the big screen, and on the IMAX, and a brand new print. 

I won't begin to bore you with the plot, as I am sure that just about the World and his wife have seen the movie at least a dozen times, and know the plot inside out.

Just to say that seeing Harrison Ford as archeologist 'Indiana Jones' is a real delight, this first film is by far the best, having ticked all the boxes. From that fantastic opening in the South American caves with Jones trying to outrun a huge boulder, to his tracking down the 'Well of Souls' and then the unveiling of the Ark of the Covenant.

The action comes thick and fast with some truly wonderous set pieces, the score from John Williams is amongst some of his best work, the cinematography and editing are a delight to see, and the cast all excel, but I have to give a special mention to Ronald Lacey who played 'Toht', the rather evil Nazi, just a delight watching him on screen, he really does scare the bejesus out of one.

Does not get much better than this.......9 out of 10

"The Sweeney"

Regan and Carter are back....

Those kindly gentlemen from the Flying Squad, are back on the big screen, with a new interpretation. Long gone are the flares and scowls of John Thaw and Dennis Waterman. Instead we are right bang up to date with probably the toughest actor on screen, namely Ray Winstone, and a young man who is really maiking a name for himself cinematically, and he is Ben Drew.

A robbery in a Jewellers goes wrong, and an innocent shopper is shot and killed. The team are determined to bring to justice those behind the killing. Regan is convinced that his regular Crime Boss, 'Allen' is behind the job.
They arrest and question him, but in the end they have to let him go due to a lack of evidence. Their attention soon moves to an Eastern European criminal. But could it be that the two are working together?

Pressure however is being applied to the Flying Squad from those up above, due to the methods that they sometimes operate to when catching criminals. The costs of their operations are escalating, and it is being noticed. It probably does not help matters that 'Lewis' who is investigating the Flying Squad, his wife is sleeping with 'Regan', so not the best of situations.

Will they get their man or men even?
The film is ok, the main thought that went through my mind was that Cinema did not seem to be the ideal medium for this film. It could have easily been done as a television series, like the original, and probably would have been better suited.
There are indeed some excellent set pieces, most notably the shoot out in Trafalgar Square.

I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong with the film, there probably is not that much wrong, its just that film was average. Nothing to make it stand out. Damian Lewis who is riding high after the smash success of "Homeland" is woefully underused, blink at times and you miss him.

After his directing debut hit with "Ill Manors" the one saving grace in the film is Ben Drew who gives a decent performance as 'Carter', making the character believable and you really take to him.

Good but maybe a smaller screen would have been better......6 out of 10

"Premium Rush"

A new thriller from the Director of that very excellent chiller "Stir of Echoes" and starring one of the best leading young men in Hollywood, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

A match made in heaven?
You must be bloody kidding. This is a dire mess of a film.
Levitt plays a biking courier. Need something there is a hurry then he is your man. For he can navigate his way around New York with great skill and ease. He may seem a little out of sorts, as he has been dumped by girlfriend, for a biking colleague. Ouch.

He sent to a local University where he is given an envelope, and an address. So off he cycles. This is where his problems begin. For also keen to get their hands on the envelope, is gambling debt ridden Cop 'Bobby Monday' played by Michael Shannon. It could be the answer to all his money woes. So a chase begins on the streets.

But to be honest, do we give a toss?  No we most certainly do not. The plot is dreadful, the characters are poorly written, the cast don't seem to care either, giving truly terrible performances. There are some nicely executed moments with the bikes, but these nowhere near compensate for what we have to ensure in the way of plot.
Michael Shannon has a painfully awful character to bring to life, and deserves far better. And as for Levitt, well after such a great job in "The Dark Knight Rises", he has definitely come down to Earth with a bump. Let us hope that his forthcoming release "Looper" will restore our faith in him.

All concerned should have known better, and stayed well clear of this turkey......3 out of 10

"To Rome With Love"

Woody Allen is back with his latest movie, here we see the various story strands of several characters all who are in the Italian city of love.

There are the parents of 'Hayley' arriving in town for their daughter's forthcoming marriage to a local Italian man, 'Leopoldo' who is thrust into the limelight to become the next greatest celebrity though he has no idea why, a newly married couple, with the husband desperate to impress his family who could further his career, an Architect revisiting his past, and a possible trio of love entanglements when three friends get together.

It was a great pleasure to this movie on the big screen, it having been a staggering 7 years since I last saw an Allen film at the cinema. Much to my shame I did not see the masterpiece that is "Midnight In Paris" at the cinema, and I still greatly regret it.

This is a good Allen, but it has to be said it is not his best work. The comedy is there, but at times rather thin on the ground. I have noticed that quite often the best Allen films are the ones that he just writes and directs. This could well be the case here. I mean look at how successful "Midnight In Paris" was, also with "Bullets over Broadway", and contrary to popular opinion, I am a big fan of "Match Point".

Again it is clear that Hollywood is keen to work with Allen, assembling a great cast, Begnigni is especially wonderful as the bewildered celebrity. It examines what it is like to be a nobody and then to have the world at your feet.

I suppose given that Woody Allen has made about 40 films is as many years, to still be producing films of this calibre is remarkable.
One cannot expect a "Midnight In Paris" every time........6 out of 10

"The Bourne Legacy"

The 'Bourne' series is back.....well kind of.

Given the fact that Paul Greengrass was not asked back into the Director's chair, and seeing that his mentor would not be with him, Matt Damon promptly jumped ship too.
This left Universal Pictures with a major problem. They have a financially successful franchise, and no-one to helm or star in it. Plus how would they get round the problem of "Where is Jason Bourne"?

They hired "Bourne" screenwriter Tony Gilroy to continue the writing duties but also to take over the Directing duties. One would imagine that given his work on the series of films, that he would be well suited in the job.
Instead of hiring another actor to fill the almighty shoes of Matt Damon, the writing team depart from the Robert Ludlum novels, and create a scenario where 'Bourne' was one of several operatives who work on secret missions for the Government. Hence the character of 'Aaron Cross' arrives, and duly takes over the action duties from 'Jason Bourne'. With the exposing over of the covert operations by a British journalist, it becomes evident to all concerned that the various operations must be brought to a close, and anyone involved must be silenced, one way or the other.

There are some very exciting action set pieces, well executed, and Jeremy Renner does an admirable job of stepping into the lead role in the 'Bourne' series. All that having been said, it just did not work for me am afraid. If it had been a film in its own right, then I would no doubt have loved it, but you cannot watch this without thinking of the outstanding work done by Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon. I had been looking forward to seeing Albert Finney back on the big screen, but for the few seconds we get, it was barely worth waiting for.

Universal were obviously desperate to find a way to keep the series alive, and to all of a sudden find out that there were other operatives, without having there be a mention before, it just reeks of a desperate act. Maybe it would have been better to leave the series. But when a quick buck can be made, then nothing can get in the way of the registers from ringing in more dollars.
The film ambles along, and just when it feels like it is starting to get interesting, the bloody thing finishes. I am sure that there will be a sequel, whether I will go see it remains to be seen, though there are whispers that Universal are keen to unite Bourne and Cross. Could be quite the crowd pleaser.

Bourne but not as we know it.......6 out of 10

"The Imposter"

In 1994 Nicholas Barclay disappeared from the family town. His family heard nothing from him. That is until 3 years later. In Spain the local authorities get a phone call from a tourist who has found a young man, claiming to have been kidnapped. The Spanish Authorities contact the U.S. and with the help of the FBI, it turns out that he could well be the missing Barclay boy......or is he?

In actuality, he was a French man, someone who spends his life pretending to be other people. Who was wanted by INERPOL for several cases of impersonation. He hoped that by pretending to be the missing American boy, he could start himself a new life in the States.

The description of the missing boy, and the appearance of the supposed missing boy did have a few discrepancies. Firstly hair colour was different, then there was the different accent, also why would a blonde 16 year old have a two day beard growth, almost jet black?  And most damning was the question of the his changed eye colour.
These factors did seem to cause the FBI something to question, but not enough it would seem to be overly concerned. The family also seemed to have no worries that this was their returning son.

Were the family so desperate to have son back that they would overlook any possible factors that could give to the fact that this man could be an imposter?
How on earth were the local Authorities and the FBI so incompetent in their duties in making sure that this man was who he claimed to be?

The story is told with a combination of interviews with the family and Bourdin, the French con artrist, and also figures from the Authorities, as well as Family photos, and reconstructions. The film is well put together, but whether it was me missing something, but I just found the whole thing boring. So many Critics have raved about this film, and on 'Rotten Tomatoes' it has a rating of 95%, so hey what do I know.
Towards the end the film takes a turn, and may just make the film worthwhile, in that did the family have an ulterior motive for wanting 'Nicholas' back?....does anything come it?  Well that would be telling, but for me this film did not cut the mustard.

OK, but just felt that something was missing.....5 out of 10