Bad Neighbours

***
UK Release Date: May 3rd 2014

A couple with a newborn baby face unexpected difficulties after they are forced to live next to a fraternity house.

Director: Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, The Five-Year Engagement)

Starring: Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne, Zac Efron, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Click here to watch the trailer

Seth Rogen is a comedy genius, and having the right people around him only makes him the better. Frat boys Zac Efron and Dave Franco are a welcome addition to Bad Neighbours. There are plenty of laughs in this film, but they aren't great enough to be remembered.

It's nice to see that the limelight is not being hogged by Rogen like we've seen before (Knocked Up, The Green Hornet). Rose Byrne plays Rogen's wife and she has just as much fun as the others. They rely heavily on imrpovisation. Some of the spur of the moment dialogue hits home, but at other times it's excessive rambling.

This is not a plot driven film. The gags in scenes never last longer than a heartbeat, or have little relevance to the story. Rogen and Efron have a bat-off with one mimicking Michael Keaton's Batman and the other Christian Bales'. A scene involving car airbags was used in the trailer. Credit has been taken away from this particular gag as we've already seen it.

The great thing about comedy movies is quoting memorable bits. Bad Neighbours lacks this. You'll find yourself trying to remember what was funny, shrugging and saying 'it was ok' instead.

Pompeii

**
UK Release Date: May 2nd 2014

A slave-turned-gladiator finds himself in a race against time to save his true love, who has been betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts, he must fight to save his beloved as Pompeii crumbles around him.

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, Death Race)

Starring: Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jared Harris, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje

Click here to watch the trailer

Pompeii is a spectacular disaster, not a spectacular disaster film. It's one of those films I hoped would do well, but with Resident Evil veteran Paul W.S. Anderson at the helm (and the appalling movies he's made in the past) its future isn't bright. The only bright and moderately interesting thing is the volcano's eruption.

The acting has had a major dent because of the shoddy script. Names are said too often in sentences, and they don't go down smoothly as they're so damn long! Kit Harrington struggles as front man Milo due to bad dialogue. His 300 style abs can't save him here. Even Jack Bauer cannot save the day (Kiefer Sutherland for those who haven't traversed the world of 24).

The inevitable doom that dominates the second half is jaw-dropping. Needless to say Pompeii's characters have very little development, so when the doom eventually arrives, I found myself hardly caring. The 3D aspect is pointless. A few boulders thrown your way means it's not worth paying the extra for this wasted use of technology.

I've been informed that Pompeii has a lot of historical inaccuracies. Judge for yourself if you know its history. Look out for a critical continuity error. One character is hit by the volcano's eruption before the other, even though the other had spent the second part of the film heading away from it. 

Ghost Ship

**
UK Release Date: January 24th 2003

A salvage crew that discovers a long-lost 1962 passenger ship floating lifeless in a remote region of the Bering Sea soon notices, as they prepare to tow it back to land, that "strange things" happen...

Director: Steve Beck (Thir13en Ghosts)

Starring: Gabriel Byrne, Julianna Margulies, Desmond Harrington, Isaiah Washington, Karl Urban, Emily Browning

The opening scene of Ghost Ship is terrifically gory. A dinner party on-board a ship goes horribly wrong, holding some of the best gore you're likely to see. It's a shame that the rest of the film blows off like a wet fart.

The stellar cast struggle with the shocking script, with everything that comes out the actors mouths sounding like old wives tales. The only one to pull it off is Gabriel Byrne, telling tales of haunted ships to scare us and those around him.

The notion of it being frightening is scarier than anything that exists on the ship. As soon as the crew find some abandoned booty, everything goes south. One by one they fall victim to the ship and its ghosts via stereotypical algorithms. Scooby Doo jokes around with the groups splitting up, and Ghost Ship copies. The harder it tries to be serious the funnier it is.

Overview:The first five minutes are worth watching, then switch it off before wasting your time with the drivel that follows.     

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

****
UK Release Date: April 16th 2014

Peter Parker runs the gauntlet as the mysterious company Oscorp sends up a slew of supervillains against him, impacting on his life.

Director: Marc Webb (500 Days of Summer, The Amazing Spider-Man)

Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Jamie Foxx, Dane DeHaan, Felicity Jones, Paul Giamatti, Sally Field, Chris Cooper

Little time has passed since the events of The Amazing Spider-Man. Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Garfield) and Gwen Stacy (Stone) are still very much in love. Their affection for each other is distinguishable in TASM2. The romance is genuine and natural. Anyone can relate with their affections. 

In both the first film and this one, Gwen Stacy has more to do than look pretty and be a helpless damsel (unlike Kirsten Dunst in the original). Gwen is just as much a hero as Spider-Man is.

Spider-Man is the youngest of the superheroes out there right now. TASM is the only superhero film that is specifically aimed at a younger audience. It's lighter-hearted than the like of Batman or X-Men and will reel in a different crowd that the others might not.

Joining Garfield and Stone this time round is a trio of villains, two of which suffer in different ways under the hands of Spider-Man. The third has a smaller part and will probably feature later on. Everything that's happened, past and present, Oscorp is responsible for all. From the demise of Peter's parents, to the new villains, Peter/Spider-Man is effected by the companies' actions more than anyone else.

Harry Osborn (DeHaan) has no choice but to return to New York due to his father's (Norman Osborn) illness and discovers that the fatal disease is hereditary. He seeks the help of Spider-Man through Parker, insisting that his blood will cure him. Furthermore, estranged Oscorp employee Max Dillon (Foxx) becomes infatuated from the attention Spider-Man gives him after saving his life. He soon blames our webbed hero for selfishly hogging the attention of the public.

The trio of youngsters (Stone, Garfield and DeHaan) keep us focused and electrify more than Electro does (Dillon's alter-ego). Garfield soars in more ways than one with how well he portrays emotion and DeHaan's teenage angst leaves little room for others to shine.

Overview: The dialogue is a little cheesy in places and a lot of time is invested in setting up future films rather than focusing on the present. Besides that Sony has delivered the goods to expectation.

Batman Begins

*****
UK Release Date: June 16th 2005

After training with his mentor, Batman begins his war on crime to free the crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption that the Scarecrow and the League of Shadows have cast upon it.

Director: Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia)

Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy, Gary Oldman, Tom Wilkinson, Ken Watanabe

Everyone must be familiar with Christopher Nolan's epic Dark Knight trilogy by now. This is neither a sequel or a prequel to the previous Batman films. Nolan decided to revamp the franchise. No one suspected this new take to be darker or even better than the 89' original.

Nolan is experienced at dealing with psychological issues (Memento and Insomnia both cover it) and is if not the best to tackle Bruce Wayne's troubled past. Through a number of flashbacks we see how the young Bruce picks up his fear, the inevitable ending of his parents (which stays true to the comics) and how he gains martial arts training from the League of Shadows (led by the fearsome Liam Neeson).

Batman Begins has no lead villain but a few with smaller roles. This helps to keep the attention on Bruce Wayne/Batman and the people around him. This is Christian Bale's moment to shine and he is faultless in this role. His ability to show a level of psychological instability and a need for revenge against the criminal underworld of Gotham City makes him the most interest character on screen at all times.

The other cast members do a terrific job supporting Bale. In order for Bruce to become Batman, he needs the money and a place to keep his identity safe. Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) is in charge of research and development at Wayne Enterprises. He handles all of Bruce's finances, whilst his butler Alfred (Michael Caine) acts like a surrogate father and cares for his well-being.  

If he's to take on the criminals of Gotham City, he's also going to need to recruit some help. Batman relies on the only good cop in the city, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and childhood sweetheart turned lawyer Rachel (Katie Holmes). Rachel is just as much a love interest as she is an associate.

Now Batman wouldn't be Batman without attracting crazy villains. Tom Wilkinson performs well as kingpin Carmine Falcone and Cillian Murphy racks up the crazy a notch as Dr. Jonathan Crane, a.k.a the Scarecrow. He unleashes his powerful fear hallucinogen to manipulate situations.

It's great to see DC giving Marvel a hard time as the best comic book studio in the film industry. It looks like Batman has taken the lead as the best superhero on the big screen.

Overview: If you're a superhero movie fan then you'll be hooked from the first minute. It takes well over an hour for us to see the new bat, but this is no problem, as the dialogue and drama are instantly absorbing.

The Other Woman

**
Release Date: April 23rd 2014

After discovering her boyfriend is married, Carly soon meets the wife he's been cheating on. And when yet another affair is discovered, all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on the three-timing SOB.

Director: Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, My Sister's Keeper)

Starring: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Kate Upton, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Leslie Mann, famous for films like This is 40, and her wildly memorable cameo in The 40 Year Old Virgin (her husband is Judd Apatow), follows others like Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd in improvised humour. Although Mann attempts the same method in The Other Woman, it's squandered by a script with little laughs.

It starts with Cameron Diaz's Carly, and it starts positively, as the opening credits see Carly and new love Mark King (Game of Thrones' Jamie Lannister, otherwise known as Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), cavorting their way through the opening credits. Carly decides to surprise Mark at his home by dressing up, but who answers the door? His wife! Kate King (Mann) and Carly are both unaware of each others relationship with Mark so unexpectedly end up becoming best buds and planning their revenge.

Later on they find out that he's cheating on them with another woman. How does a businessman handle his work life and have three relationships on the go at the same time? Carly and Kate enlist the help of the Amber (Kate Upton) and their getting back begins.

Director Nick Cassavetes cannot land a laugh when it's needed most. The main actresses try so hard to be funny that they end up looking desperate. This is mainly caused by recycled jokes (spiking Mark's drink with laxatives and swapping his shampoo for hair-remover) and a less than spot-on editing. Other jokes fall flatter than a dump in the living room floor (Kate's dog in Carly's house) and Kate Upton doesn't have a funny bone in her body.

The Other Woman is another one of those films that shows premise but does little more than that.

Overview: Mann and Diaz's comic talent is wasted in this film. It may incur a few smiles, with the ending generating most of them.

Transcendence

***
UK Release Date: April 25th 2014

As Dr. Will Caster works toward his goal of creating an omniscient, sentient machine, a radical anti-technology organization fights to prevent him from establishing a world where computers can transcend the abilities of the human brain.

Director: Wally Pfister (Director of Photography of Christopher Nolan films including Inception and The Dark Knight trilogy)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Cillian Murphy, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman

Transcendence is Wally Pfister's first attempt in the directors chair. His acute work on most of Christopher Nolan's films means he deserves the chance in the front seat. Sadly, Transcendence is a spectacle masterpiece, but lacks a tough, unquenchable plot that shifts from credible, scientific fears to unbelievable fantasy.

Will Caster (Depp) is in the process of creating an artificial intelligence that can process and harness any given information. After presenting his work at a conference, Caster is shot by an anti-AI extremis. Before he carks it, his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) and friend Max (Paul Bettany) upload his 'mind' to the machine.

All seems well to begin with as Caster/Machine promises wonder and grandeur for the future, but a dilemma is formed when he and Evelyn go in to hiding. Caster starts expanding his knowledge and at a later date controlling humans. The main question to ask is it Caster that's in control or the AI?

The anti-AI extremists, led by the dubious Bree (Kate Mara) convince Max and the authorities that Caster is a threat to humanity.  
 
Working out exactly HOW Caster is healing incurable diseases and controlling people's minds is alluding. He's also able to repair objects with molecules in the air. Maybe Pfister decided to leave this ambiguous.

Overview: Pfister has grabbed an inspiration boost from his time with Nolan, but Transcendence is shiny on the surface and a little soulless on the inside, much like Depp's character. What a waste of money on an expensive actor.      

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

****
Release Date: 29th April 1994

A goofy detective specializing in animals goes in search of a missing dolphin mascot of a football team.

Director: Tom Shadyac (Liar Liar, Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty)

Starring: Jim Carrey, Courteney Cox, Sean Young

It's only taken me nearly 20 years to watch this film for the first time! Sadly I have missed out on some comedy gold.

You will either love the unique humour in Jim Carrey's debut or absolutely hate it. This is not for everyone. Carrey's brash, over-the-top characterisation would annoy the most easy going people.

Ace (Carrey) is finds lost or stolen pets and brings them back to their owners. The Miami Dolphins mascot is kidnapped just weeks before the Superbowl. Dolphins executive Melissa (Cox) asks Ventura to find the dolphin and its kidnappers. The story is as simple as that.

The whole 90 minutes is mindless fun and utter nonsense. There's consistent amusement throughout but there are golden moments that will make you cry with laughter (admitting that you like Carrey's style of comedy). Ace Ventura is probably his best and most outrageous character to date.

None of the jokes are dry or serious. All are crude and stupid, from ass talking jokes to silly facial expressions, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective aims to please your immature side.

Overview: Love it or hate it, you've got to admit Jim Carrey's humour is unique. This is escapism at its best.