Set in the world of Godzilla (2014) but way earlier during the cold war, an unmapped island is discovered and a team set up to investigate it. Before long, they are accosted by giant gorilla and settle in to discover that the island is full of gigantic versions of animals, a peaceful human tribe, and ruled by Kong himself. Now…I wasn’t excited by this film (nor interested at all) as I’ve never been a fan of monster movies and the first in this universe quite frankly sucked (Broderik’s Godzilla is perhaps the exception). But a raving review from a trusted friend, a reasonable trailer, and a cast consisting of half of the Marvel universe persuaded me to give it a go. I was not only not disappointed but actually impressed with what followed, for reasons I’ll outline below.

Overall...

Despite a promising trailer, and the excitement which followed, I still approached Wonder Woman with tepid caution. Following on from the fragmented blandness of Man of Steel, the ‘two films badly cut into one’ of Dawn of Justice, and an altogether fun but with poor plot choice and horrific CGI Suicide Squad, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I half thought that we’d be treated to an awfully Snyderised rendition of Captain America and be left with no hope for DC’s movie universe. I could not have been more wrong in my suspicions for what I experienced was nothing short of one of the best superhero movies in the last few years (and those of you that know me know how much I love Logan and Civil War).

Its plot is absolutely on point. The entire film, though set in the past, is...

Walking in to the theatre I was filled with both excitement an apprehension. As a child of the (American) Power Rangers revolution I was unsure what they could have done to update this cheesy mixture of spandex-laden teenagers doing an unnecessary quantity of backflips. Turns out they can remove both the spandex as well as the backflips in place of awesome space suits and actual fighting. I was pleasantly surprised by what turned out to be a genuinely good film with some great updates to bring it in line with modern superheroes (the trailer, let’s be honest, is a better Fantastic Four film than any of the “Fantastic” 3 which have happened). It also provided more substance than the original by creating backstory amongst not only the characters but also in relation to true events on...

Well…what can I say about this movie. As short of words I am now I was equally gobsmacked at the start of the credits (and some 30minutes later). The film starts in a not-to-distant future, where mutants have all but died out, with Logan and Xavier on their last legs. Logan’s healing abilities have slowed right down and Xavier is suffering from some sort of dementia combined with seizures. Unexpected events as well as the fate of their kind send them on their last journey together and this was quite simply spectacular for a number of reasons.

Firstly, it provided the perfect ending to a journey which we have been following for some 17 years now. The mentoring-turn-brotherhood relationship of Logan and Xavier has taken them to their very limits. They have now reached a point in...

If you were to sit in the restaurant equivalent of the Hollywood script industry it would probably go like this.

You are shown to your generic NY diner style booth by a generic waiter and offered a menu that has been through a thousand hands before yours. 

‘Can I interest you in the specials today?’ 

‘Not today’ 

‘Can I get you anything to drink’

‘Yes, I’d like a standard diet cola please.’

‘Coming right up’

A few minutes later the drink arrives in a plastic cup with a lid that has a slot for interchangeable figures on it. Today, a plastic rabbit.

‘Are you ready to order?’

‘Could I get a Minions short to start please?’

‘And for your main?’

‘Yes, could I get a Lost Animal Tries To Get Home please...

First off, any concerns that the X-Men reboot trilogy would end with a repeat of the disaster that was X3:The Last Stand have been put to bed. Apocalypse is nowhere near that bad, on the contrary in parts it's actually pretty enjoyable; it's also not the end of this run of X-Men films.

Apocalypse, the world's first mutant, reappears on the scene thousands of years after an attack on his followers leaves him buried and forgotten.  He recruits four acolytes and then sets about his master plan to reset the Earth for only the strongest of mutants.  Rivalries, egos and fears all need to be put aside in order to defeat him.  It's a no-brainer popcorn movie at its finest.

As enjoyable as it maybe it does have a few flaws and, like ripping off a plaster,...

Ok, here we go...

Captain America: Civil War is a clever, tense and often emotional, rollercoaster ride of a film; charting the struggle within the Avengers as Rogers & Co. have the fallout from their actions laid out before them. Consequence is the over-riding theme of the film.

The chain of events from the previous films, added to the MCU's own version of the "Stamford Incident", leads to the Sokovia Accords, a piece of legislation that leads to a schism within the group. Stark is pro-registration and the belief that the Avengers need to be accountable to a higher power, whilst Cap is still very much for personal freedom and accountability, and fears that a higher power may send the team on missions that serve the ulterior motives of their new handlers.

The...

To say I was excited about seeing these films is perhaps somewhat of an understatement. I love the series and was more than intrigued to see how well it would translate on to the big screen.

To set the stage for the uninitiated: Attack on Titan is set 100 years after the remnants of humanity seal themselves behind a series of concentric walls to protect themselves from giant, man eating monsters called Titans. The denizens of the walled area have grown complacent and many question whether the Titans are actually real or merely a tale told to keep people in check. 

We are introduced to our main characters Eren, Mikasa and Armin three kids who were born and have grown up behind the wall. Eren questions the existence of the Titans and they set off to the wall to prove...

Twenty-four films in do we need an introduction?

No of course not.

So let's get the less successful stuff out of the way first.

It's too long by probably about 30 mins. In fact the whole final act of the film is superfluous.

The plot is convoluted and requires at least a cursory knowledge of ALL of the immediately preceding three films (yes even the really bad one that no-one can remember - oh you know, ‘Quarrel Of Something…’).

There is a relationship that is central to the plot and is absolutely key, but feels very forced and unnecessary (more on this later).

The quality of the effects work from the inside of the helicopter during the fight scene are a bit ropey.

The theme song is terrible (but you have probably already heard it and...

You know when you leave the cinema and there's that uncomfortable silence as folks are still trying to sum up how they actually feel about the movie that just paid to go and see?

Didn't happen this time - it was clear that this pile of garbage was fired out of someones nose with all the force and beligerence of an elephant with a cold.

The Minions Movie left me ffeling not just a little betrayed, but actually sort of inclined toward not caring about the protagonists by no small margin.  Perhaps its because I actually kept finding myself wishing to understand what the three malformed half-wits were trying to convey (which in previous movies had never been a problem, oddly), or perhaps it was because at one point I was actually hoping that ANY of the background...