Dark Shadows

It's a Tim Burton film so you can count on a few things, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and dark and mysterious vibe. Well you won't be disappointed as all of those things are present. You may however be a little disappointed in the story which is a little weak. The acting is all very good, the style is brilliant and the script has some very good moments and Eva Green is pretty hot, especially in the red dress! The story just needed a little more mystery, the whole premise was revealed far too soon.

Date Night

Awkward and very funny. Steve Carell and Tina Fey are excellent together and more than believable in this romantic night out that goes very very wrong. There are more than enough funny moments to keep you entertained. My favourites have to be the backwards suit and the pole dancing which was completely cringe worthy! This is a film that you could quite easily sit through with the Mrs without trying to kill yourself with the infra-red beam on the remote (unlike some films they'll make you watch)! A good fun story with some excellent comedic actors and a whole host of surprising cameos.

Dredd 3D

I shall start by saying that I am not a fan of 3D, it does nothing to enhance the story and is just a gimmick that the movie industries try to revive every twenty years or so.  In Dredd however the 3D probably does a little something for the story, mostly because there is no story! It's very straight forward Dredd locked in tower block with evil gang with lots of fire-power. This is not the worst movie ever, Stallone pretty much took care of that in his version, but it really could have done with a little more story and less reliance on over the top gore and 3D (which admittedly did look really good in the slow-motion). It reminds me of when Robocop when it first came out with how shocking the violence and gore was, well this is clearly the next step up. Good but should have been better.

Immortals

Visually this is would deserve 4 or 5 stars, the execution of the story however was a long way off that and so it sits somewhere in the middle.  There was a couple of continuity errors but nothing too stupid.  It is a fantastic story but the delivery just didn't do it justice.  Ultimately for me the most troublesome part was the teen pop gods who just seemed a touch ridiculous which was a real shame because like I said before visually I loved it.  It falls into a similar bracket as Sucker Punch, all style no substance.

Priest

So the war between humans and vampires is over and humanity's savours, the Priests, are stripped of their power and forced to return to society, a society control by the church.  When one Priest's niece is kidnapped in a vampire attack he breaks his vows to go and rescue her.  He discovers that the war is far from over.  This is a pretty good action flick with some good bits and some not so good bits.  The best part of this film was Karl Urban who's character was excellent and deserved far more time on the screen.

Lost S01E23 – Exodus Part 1

So despite some dangerous signs and dark undertones, this is a very positive episode, sure Rousseau shows up out the blue and warns them that the others are coming and that they will kill everyone, but despite that everyone seems to have their moment.  Jack and Sawyer finally make up and there is an exchange of respect for one another, Jin and Sun finally make up just as he's about to get on the raft and sail into the horizon, however the most touching moment is when Walt's dog, Vincent, tries to swim out to the raft but gives up  and turns back as it gets too far away.  No one in particular is the focus of the flashbacks in this episode we do however meet a new character in one of the flashbacks, Ana Lucia, who was sitting in row 42 to Jack's 23 (ooo! the numbers!!!).  Just lots of pleasantries and all round goodness, that's all going to end very soon!

Battleship

D-3... miss... D-4... hit... you sunk my battleship!  Ok, so this film is obviously a little more entertaining than the original game although the way they tied it into the film was actually quite clever.  All in there is plenty of action and it is quite exciting for some parts, there was a whole load of crap that could have been cut and replaced with more action and excitement and I mean proper cheesy crap as well.  The best thing other than the action was obviously Brooklyn Decker... hmmmm!

Anyhow, it's not nearly as bad as they would have you believe although it could and should have been better.

Lost S01E14 – Special

This is very much a middle of the road sort of episode, some stuff happens whilst not a lot happens at the same time... We find out more about Michael and Walt, and would you believe it their troubled relationship (funny how that keeps happening).  The main questions here are, is Walt special or is it the island showing them what they need to see, damn you Abrams et al, now we can't believe anything we see!  And that includes the dodgy special effects polar bear (not impressed).  So Michael is going to build a raft, the black rock is mentioned once more and Claire appears from no where.  Long way to go yet before any of this starts to make sense!

Friends with Benefits

As far as romantic comedies go this is actually quite good.  Mila Kunis and Justin Timberlake were good together, although it was Woody Harrleson who stole the show.  Basically two friends both fed up with relationships decide that to satisfy their needs they would help each other out, so to speak.  The outcome is as predictable as any rom-com but as with all of these it’s more about the journey than the result, which for the most part is very funny.

Lost S01E07 – The Moth

Episode seven finally gives a bit more details of Charlie's past and it's appears that none of the survivors had a pretty happy life prior to the crash, read into that what you want but it's bound have some symbolism at a later stage. This episode is very biblical in a sense as we see the temptation of Charlie and even Locke telling him to ask for his drugs three times and he will give them too him. We get to see a little bit more of a hint at the impending Kate, Jack, Sawyer love triangle... it's some way off yet but there is a hint at it. And then Sayid getting whacked near the end adds more questions.

They've still not really answered any questions and yet they continue to pile up, that is one of the best and most frustrating things about Lost, so many questions, how can they possibly answer them all?

Lost S01E06 – House Of The Rising Sun

No surprise here really but this episode follows Sun and dips into her past and reveals more about Sun and Jin's relationship.  Jack also fails to convince all of the survivors to join him in the caves and surprisingly Kate is one that decides to stay on the beach.  There is obviously something about the two corpses that they found in the caves, Adam and Eve, that will no doubt be revealed much later in the show (wasn't in the first four seasons that I remember).  Kate said she didn't want to be Eve, can't help but feel like that's going to come back and bite her!

Bit of an average episode compared to some of the others but the tension is building and it's not going end with a calming song and everyone sitting around a camp fire every episode.  Still one of the most intriguing and enthralling shows I've ever seen.

Grimm S01E01 – Pilot

It's going to sound a little bit like I'm completely obsessed with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Grimm is somewhere between Supernatural and Buffy (every where I look I can't help but see her).  The style is very good and fits perfectly with the Grimm fairytale theme.  There is obviously quite a lot of material for them to work with so you would think they should be able to get a good number of recognisable stories to flow throughout.

Interesting premise, look forward to more (although it's not as good as Supernatural which is fantastic).

Lost Girl S01E01 – Its A Fae Fae Fae Fae World

Lost Girl starts out quite sexy, sleek and mysterious but then it quickly turned into Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  Now this isn't necessarily a bad thing but I was really enjoying the first half of the show and then the Buffy monsters appeared which weren't really in keeping with the style of it up to that point.

I did enjoy it and will definitely watch a couple more episodes, but I feel it could have been much better and guaranteed that I would watch many more an episode.  Less plasticine monsters and more of Bo seducing and draining bad people's life force!

Alphas S01E01 – Pilot

When an informant is shot dead in a sealed interrogation room a special team are called in to solve the seemly impossible crime.  Each member of the team has there own special abilities that make them a unique crime fighting team.

This was kind of like Heroes but without anything really special about it.  It was all quite nicely done but didn't really blow me away.  I just kept thinking all the way through "you're not as good as Heroes was!".  Could improve but I'm not holding my breath, looks like another middle of the road science fiction show that won't last more than two seasons tops.

Falling Skies S01E01 – Live and Learn

Humanity has fallen to an alien invader and all that is left is a handful of survivors who are struggling to stay alive and are ever hopeful that they will find a way to stop the invaders for good.

This is a show that should be right up my street, and for the most part it was pretty good but sadly not spectacular.  Hopefully it will improve as the series continues.  Can't help but think that it will end up in a War of the Worlds style conclusion, lots of hints at it.  Although with my history of science fiction shows I'm worried about it's longevity.  Also quite annoyed to see an element in this story that is remarkably similar to a story I have been planning for some years now.

Lost S01E03 – Tabula Rasa

Well episode three is a little bit of a come down after the first two episodes.  It's still good but it doesn't ask  us any more challenging questions, this one is primarily for character development.  It shows you exactly who is capable of what!  The focus of the episode is Kate's past as we see some flashbacks from before the crash.

My favourite part of this episode is towards the end when the Lost team lay an upbeat and happy song over the scene and everyone seems to be getting along for the first time, it's a feature that they use very well throughout the series; it's a real feel good moment just before the focus shifts to something or someone else, the music stops and everything looks very sinister again.

Film 360/365, Day 364/365 – Star Wars: The Phantom Menace

Not the best addition to the Star Wars franchise but it's not nearly as bad as some people would make out.  Sure, there are some rubbish characters, Jar Jar Binks, and the better ones were not used nearly enough, Darth Maul.  It has everything you would expect from a Star Wars film, great music and fantastic special effects.

Synopsis:  When the Trade Federation creates a blockade stopping any craft from leaving or going to the peaceful planet of Naboo the Galactic Empire sends two Jedi to resolve the conflict unaware that the Sith, their ancient enemy, has reappeared and are orchestrating things.

Film 359/365, Day 364/365 – National Treasure

Good adventure with plenty of action and suspense.  In my mind this is actually better than the Da Vinci Code purely because it assumes that we can think and allows us to discover the answers with the characters and not just tell us what they are.  Good fun.

Synopsis:  The latest in a long line of treasure hunters attempts to find a treasure so great that the Knights Templar hid it away from the world.  He is not the only one trying to find it so he's going to have to hurry.

Film 358/365, Day 364/365 – License to Drive

Classic eighties comedy.  If like me you grew up in an era when Corey Haim and Corey Feldman were in everything good, then you will love this.  It is by no means an outstanding film but is good fun and great for some nostalgia.  It's going to be a wild and ridiculous night!

Synopsis:  A teenager who is determined to impress his hot date, has taken her out even though he just failed his driving test.  To make matters worse he has borrowed his Grandpa's Cadillac and he has to get it home without a scratch or face the consequences!

Film 357/365, Day 364/365 – The Grinch

Funny and ideal for the children at Christmas.  It is also worth noting that the Grinch was a fine example of an Environmentalist, he was a keen recycler and advocate of reducing the amount of waste at Christmas.  Jim Carrey is the only person they could have got to be the Grinch and it's amazing how much Taylor Momsen has changed since 2000!

Synopsis:  The Whos are busy preparing for Christmas when some children encounter the Grinch.  The Grinch hates Christmas and when one little girl attempts to include him things quickly back fire and he becomes more determined to ruin Christmas than ever before.