Film Reviews by Rob S

Sorry to say (as I love both of the stars) that this was a major let down. Formulaic and dull, predictable and by the numbers. Filled an evening, but left me wanting so much more.

This film is average at best. It's well made with good acting, especially from Washington, but the whole thing is quite light weight and forgetable. Can only recommend if you can't find anything better to watch

Excellent rom com with good performances (especially from Gerard Butler). The plot revolves around a TV station trying to boost ratings by employing Butler as a kind of life agony uncle who is in no way PC. Heigl is his producer with her own relationship hang ups and that's the basis for the film - how the two get along (or don't). I would say that this is more appealing to a male audience than most films of this genre. It does have a number of laughs in it and receives a warm recommendation.

I had a very poor expectation having seen some fairly bad reviews of this, but having an open mind and to be honest, not being a big musicals fan, I settled down to watch this. Wow, I was so impressed by the whole thing - the cast are perfect and all perform their numbers superbly. All of the songs are acted out in DDL's head (so different to say, Mamma Mia, where they are real) and take place in a film studio set, he is imagining all of these scenes as part of a new film ...he has writers block. For the songs they really push the boat out with the staging, costumes and choreography. Some great numbers especially Fergie's and Kate Hudson's and as for Ms Cruz ....phew... Okay, so the plot is maybe not that thrilling (but was okay for me) and maybe Nicole and Judi could have been used more, but for me, this is one of the best films I've seen over the past year and may end up buying a copy as the rewatch value is high. Extras wise, there are a few short featurettes which provide an interesting insight into the effort that went into the film (Kate rehearsed for 6 months and Penelope cried after her song was complete - it meant that much to her). I've not seen Chicago, which is suppossed to blow this away, but for me this was very entertaining and enjoyable. Recommended

Agree that this is a slow paced movie, but I have to disagree with the other reviewers here as I thought this was a great little character driven film and personally one of the best that I saw in 2005.

This is OK but quite average really. It's a Bruce Willis film and as long as you approach it from that angle then it's quite enjoyable. There are some good moments and probably worth a rent but ultimately it's no Die Hard and is quite forgetable.

I had no real expectation of this film and had read some negative reviews prior to watching, but I must say that this was really superb. Yes the characters could have been developed more, but that would have lead to a 2-3 hrs saga, so to keep the running time acceptable I guess they could not develop the 8 or so main characters more than a little. The plot is as outlined in the review above and I would say that this is a little like Alien but not as drawn out for the first hour. The acting, script and the effects really are top notch and the extras on the disc, especially the commentary by Dr Brian Cox, are very interesting.

If you like your Sci-fi quite 'real' then this is for you. It has quite a bit of tension towards the end I actually had to get my breath back at the end...very intense.

Highly recommended.

Excellent cast and interesting story playing a bit like a 17th Century Princess Diana. Georgiana courted the press even back then and was quite well known and followed by the public. The Duke (her husband) is portrayed as a real pig and makes some very tough and hypercritical decisons. The film follows their lives through thick and thin and even the introduction of a 2nd woman into the marriage (very Camilla like).

The Blu Ray itself has a very good transfer with terrific level of detail in the intricate costumes and fabulous interiors. Sound wise it' s quite dull as dialogue driven plus I found the score rather repetitive and annoying.

Recommended if you like period dramas.

Overall Movie 4/5, Image 4.5/5, Sound 3/5

This is an excelent thriller and I don't think it really matters if you work out (which is likely and exactly what we did) how Hopkins did it. It doesn't spoil the film as you're then intriged as to how he is going to get caught.

It's not a classic, but as the above reviewer said - it's a Ronseal!

Recommended.

I have to say that my expectation of this film based on some reviews I'd read was not high, however it was actually quite good. Basically Denis Quaid's family move out of the city and buy a rundown house in the country which still has all the belongings of the previous occupants remaining. As renovations start Stephen Dorff arrives and after saying that he used to live there offers to help with the work. Basically he wants them out of the house for reasons later explained and a battle begins between Dorff and Quaid. This is not a horror but has some tense moments. It's not the best I've seen in this genre but it is certainly worth a rent if, like me, you are struggling to fill your movies list.

Thoroughly enjoyed this one and thought the, albeit fairly obvious, twist at the end was well executed and tied up all of the loose ends perfectly. Edward Norton does a fine job as the magician who returns to claim his childhood sweetheart who was banned from seeing him. Giamatti steals the best acting credits though as the detective who tries to piece together whats going on and feels ever more concerned at following his employers whimsical requests to get rid of evidence and various people.

All in, a great couple of hours of entertainment.

Recommended.

This is like an intelligent take on Mr & Mrs Smith with Roberts and Owen playing a couple who are (allegedly) working together to pull a an industrial espionage stunt and make a few million. The details of their relationship are not known initially although we know that they know each other. The film is told in a number of flashbacks inbetween present day scenes and slowly we begin to understand the relationship. This is qiute a complicated film and to be honest probably needs two viewings just to check that all of the plot lines tie together. So, it requires concentration to follow all of the nuances but I found this highly enjoyable and with a few decent laughs. The chemistry between Owen and Roberts is also very good (a doubt that I had prior to viewing) and if you're looking for a intelligent thriller with a few laughs and a great many twists and turns then this is for you.

In regard to the BR Disc, the picture is 3.5/5 (it's not stunning, but perfectly passable with some nice detailed shots especially in some of the opulent hotel scenes). Audio wise I score a 3/5 as mainly front dialogue and music orientated but what there is sounds good.

Overall score 4/5 - recommended.

I really wanted to like this film. It starts quite slowly as all of the characters have to be introduced and the state of their live's explained in order to set the seen for the main plot point. This comes about 30 mins in when the men, out on a fishing trip in the middle of nowhere, find a dead girl's body in the river. This is the best bit of the film as the acting at this point is very good and conveys the harrowing nature of such an event. The plot takes a turn here as the men decide not to head back immediately and report their finding (there's no mobile phone signal out there). When they do get back a couple of days later, there's a big fuss and newspaper articles etc. The men are frowned upon and one of the wives takes it upon herself to try to make up for her husband's misdomeanor by trying to comfort the family of the victim but is not welcome (the girl was aborigine). Whilst all of this is going on the killer (who was introduced at the beginning of the film) keeps popping up all over the place (although not sure why). You might think that this would then turn into a murder mystery but it doesn't, it sticks with the personal relationships of the main characters and drags out a fairly thin story over the remaining time of the film.

It is quite unusual for us but we even thought of switching this off before the end as it was just dull, but we did stick with it in the end.

So, it's a fairly interesting story but very slow and drawn out with quite a few loose ends that never seem to be resolved, leaving you quite dissatisfied. My rating is 2 out of 5.

For those who have an interest in the subject matter, be it from morbid curiousity or just wanting to pay tribute to the heros on this flight, this film hits just the right note. It is not overly sentimental and although the terrorists are shown as such and they are clearly the villians of the piece, there is even an insight into how they may have felt even though they executed this terrible act. The film also goes someway to highlight why this mission (thank god) aimed at the Whitehouse, failed.

Good performances from an unknown cast and excellent documentary (if a little long) if you want to know more about the real victims and about the genuine feelings that the cast had for the people that they portray in the film.

Highly recommended.

A strange one this - Great idea, some very good execution with clearly a great deal of effort going into the filming - but somehow just left me a bit cold. There are some good scenes, just not enough of them and there aren't enough scary bits or shocks. The shaky camera work didn't bother me too much and kind of put you in the middle of things, but there are too many far fetched things going on here that just wouldn't happen in the real world.

Overall entertaining, but not a classic and not really worth seeing more than once.

The most annying thing is the extras as you cannot view the making of featurettes unless you watch the film and then click when the icon comes up. Really annoying trying to spot them on fast forward. I must say though that the ones I did see offered an interesting insight.

Picture quality is good but not reference standard and the sound was OK, but again nothing spectacular.

Rating 3 out of 5