Jarhead 2: Field of Fire - 2014 **

Not on par with the first Jarhead on any scale. The acting, plot and general feel were second rate.
A corporal takes his squad to Taliban-infested territory where they must save an Afghan woman as well as resupply an outpost in the remote area.
It's quite gritty as well as immensely shocking, but it's no way near as exciting or well done as 'Jarhead' added to which, most of the time the camera man appears to be filming whilst riding a camel. How else do you explain the hideous bumpy projection.

Non-Stop - 2014 ****

'Non-Stop' is a superbly crafted thriller that stars Liam Neeson as a man wrongly accused of being a terrorist whilst on board a packed plane.
Bill is an Air Marshall who begins to receive a series of strange and threatening messages that insist he pays a large sum of money into a miscellaneous account. If he refuses, then passengers on the plane will be murdered, one by one. In agreeing to try and defuse the situation he rouses the suspicions of other people on the plane who begin to suspect he is the one behind it all.
Neeson is always exciting to watch, and the movie has a great twist (another one!) which you won't see coming.

Under the Skin - 2013 ***

'Under the Skin' is an eerily strange sci-fi movie about an alien who preys on unsuspecting men in Scotland. Johansson is an odd choice to play an alien, but some of the scenes that strike me as the weirdest are the ones where the film crew have literally picked on real men walking about and got Johansson to drive along side them in her van and hit on them. What a shock that must've given them. Most of them look partly terrified and partly aroused.
The music is good, and the ending is sad, but the whole idea is a bit blurred. And we get shot after shot of Johansson naked or taking her clothes off, luring the hapless men into a large black pit of goo.
Still, it's quite a good idea for a movie. But absolutely bizarre to see Scarlett traipsing round windy, gloomy Edinburgh.

The Art of the Steal - 2013 ****

Rather enjoyable heist movie starring Kurt Russell as the leader of a dodgy gang which reunite to steal a valuable painting and succeed in turning on each other when other deals take place in a suitably shady form. Very enjoyable with an excellent twist at the end (always great to have a twist that you aren't expecting), well acted and amusing.

So incredibly sad to hear about the passing of two amazing actors of the screen -
Robin Williams, kind, hilarious and a real friend to everyone, you made me laugh on more occasions than I can remember. 
Lauren Bacall - one of the last stars of the Silver Screen, gutzy, striking and never afraid to speak her mind, wife to the late great Bogie. You made me love Classic movies with a passion that has never gone.
Very very sad. They say the stars die in threes, but I really hope this won't happen.

 

RIP Both of you, you were too good for this world. xx

 

                                              

Diana - 2013 **

I was interested to see this after all the hype surrounding it, but actually I can't say I was hugely impressed by it. Naomi Watts maybe wasn't the correct choice for Diana, although the infamous 'three people in our marriage' interview was very similar, and Watts does have some of the same mannerisms, but overall she came across too much as an American trying to pretend to be a Britain, and therefore I felt a lot of the film was a bit weak. It also focuses heavily on Diana's relationship with Hasnat Khan, and it might've been better if it had gone over Diana and Charles's relationship too to balance things.
Overall it wasn't strong, and I suggest that if anyone wants to learn about Diana, that they watch one of the countless documentaries floating about on the internet instead.
 

The Other Woman - 2014 **

Well this was a bit of an oddball. A successful and attractive woman falls for a charming and handsome man, only to discover that he is married. What starts off as an awkward acquaintance seems to quickly progress into a full blown friendship (can you imagine guys doing the same?!) and is blown up even more when it comes to light that said man is going on holiday and meets yet another woman. The three women decide to team up and seriously pay back this god awful player for all he has done to them. It should be a brilliant, woman power type movie, but it comes across as a bit tired and sad to me. Cameron Diaz is a bit (dare I say it) washed up, Leslie Mann was awful and Kate Upton's chest did most of the acting for her. The three of them make a bit of a motley crew in all honesty, and whilst I never condone what the make character has done, I didn't care enough about any of the characters to 'have their backs'.

(HORROR) Evil Dead - 2013 **

I thought the first Evil Dead was pretty bad, the second was worse, and the third was downright stupid. So what possessed me to watch the new version I have no idea.
But I did. And I wasn't impressed.
A group of friends arrive at a cabin in the woods to help a pal of theirs recover from a drug addiction. Whilst going out of their minds with boredom they stumble across the Book of the Dead which they foolishly open and read from (despite being instructed not to). They summon up a terrifying presence that will not leave until it has got what it came for.
It's hard to feel any empathy for characters in these films when they can barely tie their own shoelaces without falling over.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - 2013 ****

Fantastical, surreal movie about a shy and retiring daydreamer who spends his days escaping into his own world where he is the polar opposite of his conscious being.
When his job is threatened he sets about trying to change his world, for real.
It's cleverly done, gently witty, and really rather sweet. Stiller is great here, and is able to play a weakfish character followed by a strong one in quick succession.
It's a strange film, and can't really be explained, so the best thing to do is to watch it.
n.b. It's nothing to do with the original 1940s film of the same name.

Bad Neighbours - 2014 ***

Seth Rogen is a rather amusing actor. And surprisingly, so is Zac Efron.
Rogen and Byrne play a young, exhausted couple having to deal with a young baby. They move into a new house that seems perfect, until they realise that it's slap bang next to a College Frat house. Efron plays Teddy, the bad boy leader of the fraternity, who can't stop having parties. Every night.
At the beginning, he is quite amenable when the couple ask him to keep the noise down, even inviting them in to the party, where they temporarily bond over a huge amount of drugs. But soon the noise is intolerable, they are getting no sleep, snapping at each other and finding it hard to function. And Teddy couldn't care less. Until he finds out that they called the cops on him.
Soon it's not just a friendly neighbourhood spat, but war, in the most extreme degree.
Some scenes are very amusing, including when the boys have a Robert De Niro themed party and all appear at the couple's door in various different outfits.
I liked it, although certain parts are utterly ludicrous and over the top, but that's really all you can expect from one of these sorts of movies.

A Million Ways to Die in the West - 2014 *** 1/2

I can't stop thinking how much Seth Macfarlane's face looks like a cartoon (think I've been watching too much Family Guy). He's quite amusing here though as a lowly farmer who is miserable in his relationship-going nowhere with his snotty, arrogant girlfriend. However when a new and mysterious woman appears in town he takes a shine to her, and she doesn't seem too repulsed by him either, although her thuggish husband isn't impressed. 

It's highly silly, and lots of people die in scene after scene, but it was a bit of a refreshing and novel change from the typical American comedies which are all the same. 

Side Effects - 2013 **** 1/2

Sublimely clever thriller about a depressed young woman named Emily who commits a horrific crime whilst under the influence of a powerful antidepressant. Jude Law is the psychiatrist who tries to help her, and uncovers a dark and terrifying story.
Zeta-Jones pops up now and again as Emily's old therapist in probably one of the weaker performances of her career, and Tatum has a smallish part as Emily's husband, but the whole film is basically centred around Law and Mara who have incredible screen chemistry together. (so pleased to be able to watch Law in something where he isn't playing a violent thug who can't stop swearing).
The film has one of the best twists ever in it, which I am amazed to say I guessed as the film went on and I really had to take a step back and marvel at Soderbergh's fascinating and unique visionary feast.