Filmed almost entirely in that horrible, shaky, hand held first person camera fashion that seems to be oh-so-popular and oh-so-over-done at the minute Chronicle follows Matt, Andrew and Steve as they test and develop their new powers in only the way a couple of teenage boys would, by messing with other people’s cars, confusing the general public and making girls flash their knickers. Unsurprisingly things take a turn for the worst fairly quickly however, although it was only with hindsight that this descent becomes apparent quite so early on; this aspect of the movie, at least, was handled with a reasonable amount of subtly and intrigue.

I must also grudgingly admit that the direction the movie’s narrative took was a bit of a surprise at first: the hero of the piece is somewhat misleading for the first quarter of the movie, causing you to develop almost protective feelings for the boy who turns out to be the villain, whilst the inclusion of the “popular kids” who are actually decent people rather than narrative vessels to provide the protagonist with a revenge plot to follow, is somewhat of a change from the norm.

Otherwise however, Chronicle is just fairly mediocre; the acting is satisfactory and it’s full of the rather tepid teenage angst we have come to expect of our Hollywood movies, beyond that the movie left very little impression whatsoever.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

Unfortunately for Tennant, whose performance is complimented by leading lady Kelly MacDonald and a variety of both Scottish and American bit-part actors, the Decoy Bride is rather more of a rubber chicken than anything else. As romantic comedies go it is quite insincere and unimaginative; book ending all the romance scenes with predictable jokes or under whelming music scores that would be more appropriate in an episode of Hollyoaks than the movie that is set to mark Tennant as a romantic lead.

It is not the failure of the ex-Doctor or his co-stars that let this movie down at least; rather it is the combination of a predictable story, poor writing and a number of dubious accents that inevitably result in the downfall of the Decoy Bride.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

Despite its premise however the Innkeepers manages to be a surprisingly interesting movie, with a number of well written and well acted characters at its heart. Both Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) are rather nice and believable characters whose relationship develops slowly over the movie’s 101 minute run time to create a surprisingly real connection, the ghostly storyline would have done better to be skipped over altogether.

While this central relationship is by far the most engaging aspect of this movie, it is impossible to review it without mentioning the ghosts that lurk around in the hotel’s shadowy corridors; Unlike most ghost movies you have seen before, The Innkeepers, thanks largely to director Ti West’s (The House of the Devil 2009) use of the set and architecture, creates a far creepier and more patient fear that builds to a crescendo of tension.

The movie’s patience however is also possibly its biggest obstacle for many viewers, particularly when Claire whips out her video camera and you get the sudden sinking feeling that this is going to descend into another first person camera horror debacle that is little more than fast cuts and blood shed. The Innkeepers is a treat for those interested in the more European horrors, which have a taste for ghosts and a lengthy attention span.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

With his third union with writer/director Dito Montiel Channing Tatum seems determined to get himself type cast as the vulnerable but bad ass rookie cop who gets roped into investigating the on goings of the New York criminal under world. The Son of No One is, rather bluntly put, just like the duo’s previous endeavours 2005’s ridiculously named A Guide to Recognizing your Saints and 2009’s Fighting.

The surprising cast of the Son of No One is hardly enough to counteract the dire nature of the storyline however, which is a rather transparent and predictable cop-drama with a dirty secret and a dirty cop at its heart. Though you might see this is somewhat of a spoiler, fear not, you would have worked it out for yourself within the first fifteen minutes. I have in fact saved you from the 75 minutes of complete boredom that would have followed this ‘revelation’.

Evan for fans of the genre, the Son of No One is likely to disappoint.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

Made under the banner of the British horror movie studio, Hammer Horror, The Woman in Black is an interesting addition to the wealth of adaptations of Susan Hill’s 1980’s novel. This interpretation combines the traditional Victorian horror style with the dark sensitivities of modern cinema go-ers and does so quite effectively. The Woman in Black is a surprisingly creepy and genuinely spooky horror film; filled with did-you-or-didn’t-you see that moments, and elements present only in some of the tensest of modern thrillers.

I was genuinely impressed by The Woman in Black and feel it could have been a truly remarkable movie, if not for one very poor choice. Radcliffe, cast here as a grieving single father, is not only ill suited to the role but also performs poorly in it. I struggled throughout to see Radcliffe as a father based not only on his physical not-really-a-grown-up-yet appearance but also on the globally accepted association of him as that wizard with the scar.

Furthermore, I also felt he lacked the emotion that was required for the role; haunted by a ghost who has experienced the most harrowing possibility to any parent should move Radcliffe in such a way that his parental and instinctual fear should both be abundantly clear to any viewer; what we are instead treated to is a rather slack and shocked facial expression.

It really is a terrible shame; I would have far rather watched an unknown actor play the role well than someone famous with the on screen presence of a flobberworm.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

After the antics of the first Ghost Rider movie Johnny Blaze has taken himself off to Europe to lead a quiet life and forget about his secret alter ego; things are going reasonably well until the Devil himself begins attempting to take physical form on Earth. It’s at this point that Blaze realises he must use the powers given to him by God to stop Satan from destroying the world as we know it.

His righteous quest is aided by a Monk who promises to rid Blaze of his dangerous other half, the Ghost Rider but in return Blaze must help protect a young boy who is an integral part of the devil’s evil plan.

Or something along those lines… for what on the surface looks like a fairly run of the mill comic book action movie Ghost Rider: the Spirit of Vengeance has a painfully complicated plot that I genuinely struggled to follow. Couple this with someone with the less than immense acting talents of Nick Cage and an obscene over reliance on special effects and you have what was probably the most monotonous 100 minutes of my life.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

There is very little else to this movie’s narrative and that in itself says quite a lot. The reference to the “grey pound” (the untapped wealth of the middle class post pension aged demographic) in the early minutes of the movie sum up the concept behind Best Exotic quite well, someone somewhere realized it would be a good idea to make a film that’s a bit like Passage to India, starring actors of a certain age, to help lure in an audience of a certain age.

Goodness knows what possessed the cast to agree to this incredibly unimaginative British rom-com, but their presences at least make the piece bearable; Judi Dench, Celia Imrie, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Ronald Pickup, Tom Wilkinson and Penelope Wilton play a variety of single characteristic stereotypes of the British middle aged middle class acting up abroad, it’s an 18 to 30’s holiday with less sex, drugs and rock or roll and more blatant racial stereotypes and over extravagant settings. Not that we get to see a great deal of the local countryside during the movie’s runtime, other than a few brief references to a “fabulous temple” or two.

No matter how much high calibre talent has been employed in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel it remains a distinctly average movie that relies on old stereotypes that will only be recognizable to an older audience.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

As with any corrupt-cop movie our anti-hero “Date-Rape” Dave Brown (Harrelson) is the man we love to hate and hating him is not a difficult task. He is a thoroughly unpleasant bully with absolutely no redeemable qualities, foul to his co-workers, despicably sexist toward his female colleagues and disgusting towards the two women he lives with, you can’t help but spend most of the movie hoping someone will shoot him in the face.

Beyond Harrelson’s gross and corrosive character Rampart is a portrayal of the LAPD in 1999; a time in which is discovered that a large part of the “Rampart” department were up to their necks in drug conspiracy and criminal behaviour. Although this is depicted as a public outrage, it somehow takes a backseat in the movie to Harrelsons character; who is so emotionally damaged and dangerous that all other aspects of the narrative seep into the darkness that surrounds him and become lost behind his atrocious behaviour.

Despite all of Brown’s horrors however Rampart is far from the quality of like minded movies such as LA Confidential, it is in fact an incredibly banal and predictable drama, fuelled only by Brown’s violent and abhorrent behaviour. The cameos from Steve Buscemi and Sigourney Weaver do nothing to save this movie from itself, and upon closing it remains an unnecessarily violent and occasionally chaotic run of the mill cop drama.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

For starters just take a look at the cast; Ewan McGregor, Michael Fassbender, Bill Paxton, Channing Tatum, Antonio Banderas and Michael Douglas, as if the promise of such an eclectic selection of some of Hollywood’s finest wasn’t enough there’s the appearance of ex American Gladiator Gina Carano as the leading lady. The world number 3 brings a sense of realism to the film that could only be brought out by someone with the talents of Soderbergh; where most action movies are plagued by a lack of story and an over indulgence on visual effects and over dramatic fight scenes, Haywire has a wince making realism that is due in large part to Soderbergh’s choice to cast Carano.

Beyond the painful but thrilling fights lies a complex espionage storyline that is challenging and intriguing: black ops solider takes revenge after she is betrayed and set up during a secret mission. This is no masterpiece however, the action will keep you on the edge of your seat but the narrative is a little bit weak.

Overall Haywire is better than most action movies, but as Soderbergh movies go it’s hardly a corker,

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso

Felicity Jones plays Anna, an English student visiting America who begins a relationship with fellow student and American native Jacob (Anton Yelchin) when the summer term ends however Anna decides to stay in America rather than returning home for a few months to save money for a second trip. What follows is not, as I expected, a story of a couple’s attempt to overcome the visa authorities and stay together in America, but rather a far more honest and believable story of the way in which this decision, fuelled by young love and passion, affects both Anna and Jacob for the rest of the their lives.

Upon returning home Anna begins to become entangled with a neighbour, whilst Jacob finds himself pursued by a work colleague; the couple find themselves tormented by their commitment to one another, their impulsive desires and the heart-deep fear that there is no way of knowing whether staying together or being apart is the right choice.

I was very pleasantly surprised by Like Crazy Jones is a pleasing casting choice and the more I see of Yelchin the more I find myself warming to him, here the two characters – although having that inevitably forced quirkiness that passes for personality in all modern 90 minute romances – have a realism that is very intriguing, you find yourself mutually upset and unsure about the choices they make, wondering how you yourself would react faced with the possibilities of finding “the One” verse settling for the one that’s actually nearby.

All in all a surprisingly impressive and emotive movie with all the charm of the indie-romance genre.

Reviewed by Alyse Garner, Cinema Paradiso