Brendan Gleeson plays Seargent Gerry Boyle, a cop with the righteous heart but a foul mouth and a world weary attitude who finds himself teamed with an FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle), in a drugs bust operation which follows a murder investigation. Everett is portrayed as a straight up and down American detective in the classic vein, who cannot fathom Boyle and does not know how to take his sniping or his fake racist jibes but needs him as the locals will have nothing to do with him and his investigation.

The movie is all Gleeson whose Boyle character emits a constant stream of obscenities and rebuffs towards all and sundry, but whose insightful detective work keeps him one step ahead of everyone else on screen. The comedy is dark, deadpan and at times vicious but it all seems to gel perfectly when wielded by Gleeson, whilst the villains seem to spend half of their time discussing philosophical points and have a soft spot for the ‘straight cop’. As for the action sequences, they mostly come together at the climax of the movie when Kalashnikovs chatter and pistols do the talking and the film takes a rather predictable turn.

7/10 – A thoroughly enjoyable comedic romp with Gleeson playing the part to a tee and with so many quotable lines it would be a shame not to use a selection, though most if not all will be offensive! Taken in good part all the way it mixes ‘The Quiet Man’ with ‘In Bruges’ and maybe a touch of a Tarantino’s style of dialogue, if you liked the aforementioned or perhaps ‘Lock Stock’ then you’ll like this.

The lead played by relative unknown Chris Hemsworth is of course a brawny figure with a booming voice to match as fitting for Thor, heir to Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and a suitable boy candy lure for scientist Jane Forster (Natalie Portman). The background to the story is pretty simple and told at the beginning of the film which goes along the lines of a race of Ice Giants on the rampage through the universes are tackled by Odin and the Asgard warriors and driven back home and their source of power is captured leaving them trapped on their own world. However just as Thor is about to take the reins at Asgard, events occur suggesting that these Ice monsters are on the loose and intend to regain their power source and take up the fight once more. The arrogant Thor is banished to Earth after taking matters into his own hands and it is there that the movie really begins…

As might be expected from a Branagh effort, there is an underlying Shakespearean bent to the proceedings but it is not stilted and indeed there are frequent light and humorous moments to keep the whole ably ticking along despite the drama at its heart. The rivalry between Thor and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is well judged and both characters benefit from their respective player performances, as does Darcy (Kat Dennings). However the romance between the earthbound Thor and Jane Foster falls flat as Portman seems to be caught between overplaying the smitten scientist one minute and sleepwalking through scenes the next, wrongly cast is the phrase of choice here. The actions scenes are pretty captivating as the special effects team and the mighty hammer goes to work, but it does seem to be stretched over a rather thin premise at times, with an obvious plotline from the first few scenes. I felt for the most part engaged more often than not by the swaggering and bombastic figure of Thor as he struggled with the new found status of ‘man’, but in hindsight some of the backdrops and sets were way overdone and the script plays out in fits and starts rather than flowing. It entertains but it is a little long for the material and patchy in the quieter moments.

7.5/10 – Played with a lighter touch and knows its limits, I think Branagh did a very good job with this one and for me at least it hits the mark. You could never call it a classic, but once it is in motion it creates a momentum that carries you along with it, flashing a cheeky smile over its shoulder.

This fourth outing of Disney’s Johnny Depp vehicle sees the search for a fountain of youth, with a change of cast as Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley bow out and we are instead introduced to Angelica, played by Penélope Cruz and Ian McShane’s grizzled and leather faced Blackbeard. There is suitable pomp and circumstance in the form of the King of Spain and George II as royal rivals for the fabled elixir, and so we have a three way contest with pirates in every camp. Speaking of camp, it is of course Depp’s characterisation of Jack Sparrow as a lovable rogue rather than murderous cutthroat and plunderer of treasure who carries the whole show with effortless charm and humour.  There is another cameo in the form of Keith Richards as Sparrows dad Captain Teague, which has my favourite line from the movie, but there are smatterings of one liners and cut shots throughout that are genuinely funny.

This is a pretty long movie at two and a quarter hours, but most of the time the frenetic pace carries you along without any feeling of fatigue, aided by the frequent bouts of ship to ship, and man to man battles via the armaments of choice. It has to be said that the transfer of at least some further touches of humour to Depp from the Bloom/Knightley characters means that Jack Sparrow is in your face more than ever, but given that he is the fulcrum of the movie he deals with it well. The plot wends its haphazard way through the scenes in a somewhat hopeless effort to stitch the chaos together, since almost every new development has further madcap action or is off on a tangent making it hard to discern what is central to the theme from simple distraction. At times the film does seem to be faltering between action scenes as the script goes a little soggy, but overall it delivers on what it set out to achieve.

6.0/10 – the franchise does look tired, though there is certainly no sign of ending it just yet, I guess Depp will have the final say when that time comes. This is an often funny and entertaining romp but the material is starting to look stretched and the action scenes more frequent as cover.

Tying up the loose ends and explaining where things stand is the initial duty of part 2, and this is carried off by the cast with little ceremony, though you do sense a change in Harry through the grime and fatigue, he looks more focussed and purposeful. The early action is characterized by the raid on Gringotts to capture a Horcrux whilst the ride on a dragon in the escape is well realised and carried off to good effect. Fate it seems has a sense of humour as it returns them to Hogwarts for the final quest and reveals all about the relationship between the major characters in Harry’s past and their importance in the immediate future. Hogwarts itself in the clutches of Voldemort’s henchmen is a cold and forbidding place without the warmth of Dumbledore and co, and is soon to become embattled and largely destroyed in the siege that follows as Voldemort seeks to eliminate his tormentor. The battle that follows is action packed and there are some excellent scenes with monsters, spiders, ogres and dark demons on the attack whilst the defence is mounted by the great and good plus the children of Hogwarts.

Some of the characters shine a little brighter, Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) has matured from a chubby, stammering bumbler to a strapping chap with a keen sword arm, and a lynchpin in Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) whose performance was always mesmeric but is now bequeathed a secret that explains much of the preceding actions and changes the characters motives and loyalties. However I think that the big hand should go to Daniel Radcliffe, who looked vulnerable in the last two outings playing Harry as a very understated and confused character, but now rises to the occasion as fitting a hero and looks more steely, assured and fit to lead his colleagues in battle. He is almost matched by Ralph Fiennes Voldemort, whose depiction as a cruel and unhinged dark lord reaches its climax with the ‘death’ of Harry and the parade into Hogwarts to claim the allegiance of his subjects. I cannot help feeling that there are some dialogues missing from the movie that added crucial understanding of motivation or just amplified the sense of occasion around the battle and final confrontation, nevertheless they were not present and rightly or wrongly we have to judge the movie on that. There are also some residual doubts about the intensity of the battle scenes which looked a bit sparse for such an epic moment, but then I seem to compare most battles to Lord of the Rings sequences and that is unfair as they just pale in comparison.

9/10 – A fitting end to an epic journey for me and looking left at the close and the crumbling tear streaked face of my daughter as I hugged her, I knew it meant such a lot to her childhood and her world, now another small part of that has gone. A bitter-sweet outing and one not without flaws, but for all of that it gave closure and entertained me when it mattered. So long Harry Potter, it was magic whilst it lasted.

The tale is one of simple telling, the year is 1979 in a small Ohio town with the usual rivalries and conflicts, told from the viewpoint of a bunch of kids Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), Alice (Elle Fanning) and ‘porky’ Charles (Riley Griffiths) who is making a movie about an ‘Indiana Jones’ type figure and adventurer who encounters zombies in his latest outing, but their production is shattered when real-world events prove stranger than those they are filming! What follows is straight out of B-Movie lore, the Air Force turns up in the form of the egotistical Colonel Nelec (Noah Emmerich) to cover up the events of the night in question. From here the township begins to experience a series of oddities with electrical supplies and disappearing people and animals which spurs the kids into an attempt to uncover just what is behind the efforts of the military and the source of all of the strange activities.

The movie is a gently nostalgic and superbly told homage to the days of old school cinema and indeed amateur filmmaking which is encapsulated within the thread of this release. Whilst the parallels with Spielberg’s ET and Abrams earlier ‘Cloverfield’ are there for anyone to see, there are very nice, neat touches with likes of the Walkman in the garage scene, and the viewers realisation of just what would be involved with movies before the advent of digital equipment and media! The children are both at the core of the movie and are also one its strongest credentials, their interaction is honest and telegraphs the innocence of the age, whilst there are tender moments that seem to allow us a window into children being children, as opposed to modern USA derived efforts which depict adults as the dumb foil of arrogant kids. The first 45 mins are superior in terms of action with some decent character development in the middle but does descend into a familiar and somewhat predictable Hollywood sugar coated climax. Stay for the credits too and see the movie being made inside the main event- made me chuckle!

8/10 Elle Fanning and Joel Courtney are especially strong in this outing and convey a very natural screen presence and ability beyond their years. It does try and blend a few too many genres, a coming of age/first love, drama, action and monster movie all rolled into one, but it does so with entertainment firmly in its sights and has a decent touch of humour and spectacle. Isn’t that what a Summer blockbuster is all about?

Road trip movies tend to follow a pretty well-defined path with soul searching and discovery at the heart and revelations on the way…Michael Winterbottom has taken a somewhat different tack with this outing, using Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon as the ‘characters’ playing largely mock versions of themselves as they perform a competitive verbal joust in this ‘road trip’ vehicle.

The story in a nutshell is that Steve Coogan is contracted to produce a magazine article (or series) taking in some of the best restaurants in the North of England over a five day sojourn, but since his girlfriend Mischa has returned to the USA he turns to Rob Brydon as a companion for the journey. The two set out then via the M6 to partake in a gourmet delight via eateries dotted through Lancashire, the Lake District and North Yorkshire moors, with a gaggle of personalities at their command… Richard Burton, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Woody Allen and Hugh Grant all make improvised vocal appearances courtesy of Brydon and sometimes Coogan.

You immediately sense the competition between the two which is telegraphed prominently, though their obvious friendship shines in the chemistry they generate even in the barbed one liners and love-hate sniping as they pull you into their riposte fuelled flight. You see the somewhat exaggerated characters and their flaws exposed both to each other for jibes, ad-hoc impressions and general competitive banter, and to us for a view into the world of the celebrity and clown. The difference between the characters is what creates the spark, Brydon as the bright and happy go lucky family guy, whilst Coogan mulls his career and lack of USA success coming over as a tormented, desperately serious performer. Drama in the piece is provided by Coogan and his pondering of his failure in marriage and seeming inability to get to grips with his son or his girlfriend whilst his break into the USA is providing food for thought.

Food also stars very prominently in the melee, with views in to the kitchen as sweaty cooks fashion tiny, delicate portions of fantastic looking dishes, Brydon seems to order scallops to start at every location whilst they take the great pains to poke fun at the offerings as much as themselves. At times the impressions can take a life of their own and go on a little too long but it left me in fits of laughter, in the end I hardly realised the time had passed when the film was over, and that is the acid test of enjoyment.

8.5/10 – This was a bit of a treat for me, bouts of wicked verbal sparring are brilliantly carried whilst the natural beauty of the outdoor shots in the North make for breath-taking scenery, and to top it the gorgeous food in a variety of inns and charming eateries. One to put in the funny cerebral category and definitely one to watch if you like your mind and culinary senses tickled!

After the introduction of the two central characters the main action takes place in a cold war setting at the point of the Cuban missile crisis, Xavier (James McAvoy) an academic and genetics specialist who has his own mutant abilty, whilst Magneto (Michael Fassbender) alights on a revenge mission against Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and his existing team of mutants. So a very strong lead cast supported by the mutant characters Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), a delectable January Jones (Emma Frost), and Oliver Platt as a Covert Man in Black type, there are also oodles of young mini-skirt clad (and sometimes less) ladies wandering about which sets the sixties scene off very nicely!

As the story unfolds Xavier and Lehnsherr (who is not yet called Magneto) are recruited by CIA agents played by Rose Byrne and Demetri Goritsas to create an elite mutant team to bring the errant Shaw to justice. The early part of movie is spent showing the team assembling in a raw state and quickly shows their capability, even if they are still untrained individualists who do not trust each other. With the looming crisis in the political world Shaw plans to escalate matters that will lead the USA and Russians entering into a Nuclear war leaving the mutants the dominant force in the aftermath.

There are some pleasing touches with characters, Fassbender has the edge in development and sets the already known scene for Magneto in the latter films also holding a part in all of the films better moments, whilst McAvoy’s Xavier is an altogether softer and very English school portrayal that I found a little disappointing. Their on screen chemistry is also a touch false which is a shame as that is the central pillar on which the movie is based. The eye candy in the form of the aforementioned attired ladies is good but although the story starts brightly it loses its way somewhat in the middle third and becomes rather plodding until the last third when the showdown commences. That sequence provides the upsurge which kick starts the movie and at last delivers the expected action and the anticipated showdown - but it is a long time a-coming!

7.5/10 – Some decent set pieces and characters but a little lacklustre in many places which lends it a rather reaching aspect rather than the in your face effort I was expecting. If the franchise has anything left it has to be with Magneto at the hands of Fassbender, none of the other characters have the strength or appeal.

As the trailer intimates, Jake Gyllenhaal as ‘Colter Stevens’ is attempting to unveil a bomb on a train that has already detonated and to unmask the perpetrator to prevent a much bigger device exploding - which is destined for a major city. As the plot line unfolds we find that he is enrolled in a secret government programme ‘Source Code’ which allows him to revisit a specific moment in time, searching for clues on the train which was destroyed. His closest companion during these episodes is Michelle Monaghan as Christina (the love interest if you had not guessed), Vera Farmiga as his main contact prior to, and following his escapades and the scientist running the show played by Jeffrey Wright.

Gyllenhaal plays the part perfectly as a soldier who is at first bemused and panicked, then awakened to the urgency of the situation which leads to his determination to see the task through, his repeat incursions into the train and the subsequent actions are the joy to behold when decent entertainment is at a premium. But that is not the whole story, the pace and some of the scene cuts are subtle and yet urgent, Jones directs this with a deft touch and has an economy of style which allows the story to be told cleanly and cuts out the clutter that might otherwise have stifled the action. There are revelations on the way which you may feel are quite obvious like me, but it does not spoil the effect or impact of the movie taken as a whole, and indeed in some ways adds a sort of poignancy to the affair.

You can almost feel some of the influence of the old ‘Outer Limits’ or ‘Twilight Zone’ works, but not in a bad way, indeed the best of class has been used to great effect, in a nutshell it is a pretty good thrill ride and whilst it might not match ‘Moon’ for inventiveness it comes pretty damn close. Jones is definitely one to watch - I wonder just what he might do with a superhero movie?

9.0/10 A for real conspiracy/action movie which is not as cerebral as it is portrayed but sets an unrelenting pace whilst sometimes teasing with comedic moments, it borrows here and there from the aforementioned great shows - with a slice of ‘Groundhog Day’ meets ‘Inception’ a real sense of urgency and a breakneck pace. If that sounds good to you then welcome to the club…see it!

• Broken Land (The Adventures)
• Celebrate (An Emotional Fish)
• Somewhere in my Heart & Oblivious (Aztec Camera)
• Nowhere Girl & Remembrance Day (B-Movie)
• Living on the Ceiling (Blancmange)
• Tinseltown in the Rain & The Downtown Lights (The Blue Nile)
• African and White & Black Man Ray (China Crisis)
• Pearly-Dewdrops’ Drops (Cocteau Twins)
• Rain & She Sells Sanctuary (The Cult)
• Life in a Northern Town (The Dream Academy)
• Never Stop & Bring on the Dancing Horses (Echo and the Bunnymen)
• Brilliant Mind (Furniture)
• Shame on You (Gun)
• Temptation & Let Me Go (Heaven 17)
• Love Train & Americanos (Holly Johnson)
• Seven Horses & Birds Fly (Whisper to a Scream) & Hollow Horse & Love is a Wonderful Colour (The Icicle Works)
• European Son & Quiet Life & Ghosts (Japan)
• Follow the Leaders & Love Like Blood (Killing Joke)
• Forest Fire & Rattlesnakes (Lloyd Cole and the Commotions)
• A Song From Under the Floorboards (Magazine)
• Rip it Up (Orange Juice)
• Duel & Dr. Mabuse (Propaganda)
• Heaven & Heartbeat & The Ghost in You & Heartbreak Beat (The Psychedelic Furs)
• Good Technology & Steeltown (Red Guitars)
• West One (Shine on Me) (The Ruts)
• The Wheel & Never Take Me Alive (Spear of Destiny)
• Today & Talk Talk & It’s My Life (Talk Talk)
• Treason & Reward (The Teardrop Explodes)
• Do You Believe In The Westworld? & The Hop (Theatre of Hate)
• Song to the Siren (This Mortal Coil)
• In the Name of Love & Hold Me Now & Doctor Doctor (Thompson Twins)
• Ideal Way of Life & Snakes and Ladders & This is Zero & What’s Going On? & Something’s Wrong (TV21)
• Come Back & Sinful (Wah!)
• Parade & Let’s Forget (White & Torch)

So there you have it, a collection of gems to admire…not much in the way of star names or big hits admittedly but each one a pleasure to remember and savour.Don’t get me wrong, I’m well aware that a lot of bands to be admired from that time don’t get a mention, but, as plenty of them get good exposure still, I wanted to praise some of the more unsung (sic) participants of the decade in question…and the old adage is as true as ever…a good song is a good song…and that’s no lie.<Credit to Muso as the Author, or was it Methuselah ? >

The cast certainly stands up to inspection, with Jeff Bridges as the drunken and cantankerous US Marshall Reuben ‘Rooster’ Cogburn hired by the wise young headed Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) to capture Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) who murdered her father, whilst Matt Damon plays Texas Ranger LaBoeff who is along to claim the reward for the very same Chaney after his part in killing a US Senator. Rooster and LaBoeff set off to carry out the charge, only to find themselves pursued by Mattie who insists that the contract is for her to accompany Rooster, whilst she wants no part in the plans of LaBoeff. I am sure the story is well known to most, the pursuit is through Indian Territory and the harsh lands beyond, with weather and confrontation at every turn. However there is humour in the telling, with deft touches from the Coens for all of the characters played throughout the movie, from the courthouse scene to the famous riding out by Rooster to bring down “Lucky” Ned Pepper, the boss of the gang to which Chaney belongs.

The strength of the characters is telling in this remake with the young Hailee Steinfeld’s Mattie Ross commanding almost every scene she takes part in – which is most of them - and being near matched for all of that by Bridges, this could be Oscar territory for her at least. Even the outlaws are well delivered, with Josh Brolin making Chaney a part psychotic character controlled by his boss Ned Pepper (Barry pepper) via fear and no little respect. The movie takes a darker view of the Western and the brutality of that era is conveyed without pulling punches, indeed some scenes are marked by an explosion of bloody violence, though it remains in keeping with the storyline. What makes the movie all the more absorbing is that the scenery is so lush, and the measured camerawork skilfully draws you to it rather than glossing over it, moreover the score is equally well conveyed, with variations on the theme played out through and between the scenes and manipulated ever so slightly in places to suit the mood and moment. After watching this once I feel it needs another viewing to capture some things I feel I may have missed in trying to record events, but it is an excellent movie to watch, and whilst the ending is downbeat and if I am honest left me a little cold, it holds the attention throughout.

9.0/10 An excellent retelling which I was dreading to an extent as the original was a firm favourite of mine,  but this is superior in characterisation, humour and portrayal, even if I retain liking for the Wayne vehicle. The performances should eke out at least some nominations from the upcoming film awards, and I feel young Steinfeld has a great future with the right material.  Recommended.