One fed up girl shares her thoughts and opinions on movies as she reviews them.

The International (2009) Rated 6.9/10 on IMDB this is a solid movie and I'm sorry that I can't be more positive about it. I love all things Clive Owen and I love him again in this but this movie just falls short of expectations. From all the trailers for this movie you start out expecting big things, a nice big conspiracy - and you get one. However, the suspense just isn't there. The whole concept of evil bankers controlling military regimes and the like is truly inspired and the movie should leave us wondering whether our local multinational bank is engaged in that sort of activity, the way The Matrix left us wondering whether we were living in the 'real' world or 'the matrix', but it doesn't. A sharper criticism of the film and a poignant example of the main problem with the film is that about three quarters of the way through I started to wonder if it was ever going to end, it just didn't hold my focus. All this being said it is a good movie, it will entertain you, it's just not something that has you leaving the cinema saying 'This is the best movie I've ever seen!'. Naomi Watts is excellent and be sure to hang around to read the newspaper headlines in the credits, possibly the most clever part of the whole movie and I worry that people won't stay to appreciate it.

He's Just Not That Into You (2009) Hmm... let me just check the movie's rating as a reference point. 6.6/10 on IMDB at the moment. And I have to say that I agree, something wasn't quite right. This movie has a sensational cast, I love Will Tippin (Bradley Cooper would be his real name) and almost everyone else in the movie. However, these movies really do let you see who is a good actor (or actor if they're a girl) and who's not. And I'm really sorry but Ben Afflek and Jennifer Aniston as much as I like you guys, you're not. These two really are the case in point. Saying they're bad at their craft is a bit harsh they're just not great at it. I spent the whole time I was watching their scenes together (they're together in the movie) just knowing that even though her name is Jennifer she's not Jennifer Garner! If they were good we'd forget about their real person-ness and just see the character that they are portraying. But back to the film itself. It was a bit long. There were too many stories. I liked the headings that flashed up on screen to give the film a little structure. But the fact that the main conversation we had when we'd finished watching the movie was about Scarlett Johansson and Drew Barrymore's teeth should be recognised universally as a non-endorsement for the film.

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (2009) With an IMDB rating of 6.8/10 I'd say that's about right. Obviously if you like this genre you'll rate it a little higher, if not a little lower which is why we get this lovely median of around 7. So now that we know how means and averages work onto the movie. Okay for Underworld fans this is how it goes: the first movie (as is often the case) is the best one in the franchise, the second one was a solid performance, but this one goes against the trend and actually picks the ball back up again... or stops fumbling it at least; I don't think we completely dropped it in the second movie. Good stuff: all the CGI and special effects stuff was great (all to be expected, especially if you check out the resume for director Patrick Tatopoulos). The plot was also solid, something which is often lacking in these movies. Also, the big moments were big. You'll know what that means if you watched the ever disappointing Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). Bad stuff: one major major complaint - the sex scene, it's just so out of place in this type of movie and I have no idea who it's supposed to appeal to. They had a similar deviation into something to appeal to those movie-goers who were dragged there by someone who likes the genre in Spiderman 3 (2007). It's just weird.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) This is a remake of a film called The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) so as you can see they were very imaginative with the title. If you're contemplating seeing the original - don't - it's dated very very badly yet still somehow has a rating of 8.1/10 on IMDB so I guess it's a classic? Anyway this new version has a rating of 5.6/10 on IMDB and that pretty much sums this movie up... not very good. There are good bits though. For starters it's delightful to see a movie where Keanu Reeves' expressionless acting and monotone actually fit the character - that hasn't happened since Much Ado About Nothing. And that really is the end of all the good stuff. As per usual with these movies the military has a whole bunch of soldiers with guns but otherwise are beligerant and ineffective against everything and fail to do anything even close to right, the scientist (well, actually they assemble a whole thinktank of them) is ignored - we should ignore Jennifer Connelly more often! Then we get this whole bunch of doomsday save the planet warnings like we're getting a moral at the end of a childrens cartoon. Perplexing.

Transporter 3 (2008) The third movie in The Transporter franchise is more of the same old, which is reflected in its IMDB rating of 6.0/10. As always Jason Stratham totally rocks. So as I said it's more of the same: one girl who doesn't speak english so well two cases of Stratham taking his shirt off three explosions three car chases four fight sequences; and four car tricks. Unfortunately I also thought about the length of the movie and how much more I had to go a total of five times... not good for a 100min film.

In Bruges (2008) Brilliant! Rated 8.1/10 on IMDB and that rating doesn't do it justice. For fans of films like Pulp Fiction this is an absolute must see. Viewers should beware that the film does start out a little slow. My eighteen year old brother loved it (he's not so patient), but he would have given up and stopped watching if he hadn't been told that it was very funny and totally brilliant, so he perservered and got to the hilarity and the brilliance. Probably should also include a warning about the language. Fuck and its derivatives appear in the film... alot. It's not actually swearing (I know Americans as a generalisation have trouble wrapping their heads around this notion) because the word fuck is used as a noun, as a verb, and as an adjective NOT as an expletive or exclamation (most of the time). I think the IMDB trivia page for this movie says that the word fuck and its derivatives are said 126 times throughout the 107 minute film, which equates to 1.18 fucks per minute. As you can guess it's not even a real word by the end. This wouldn't be an accurate note about the film without mentioning that Colin Farrell is neurotic and totally awesome, and that his partner played by Brendan Gleeson is just so patient and calm - makes you worry about just who really might be a hitman.

Twilight (2008) First things first, I love this movie alot, this isn't a good movie, and you do need to have read the book Twilight to appreciate/like this movie. Now that you've read the book you have to realise and accept that this isn't a movie based on the book, it's a movie loosely based on the premise of the book. Hopefully, this will stop you from being too disappointed by the additions, omissions and changes going from book to movie. Onto the movie, it has a rating of 6.1/10 on IMDB which is fair enough - it's not very good - just remember that if you like Twilight you'll like this more than 6.1! When watching this movie you have to be forgiving of the many many things that do not translate well to screen - Edward running at vampiric speeds, sparkliness, glaring/brooding vampires and general vampireness - the overacting is at times just plain painful! But I have forgiven all of that as evidenced by my pre-ordered DVD. My main complaint is with the writer of the screenplay, Melissa Rosenberg, although I do acknowledge that not a whole lot actually happens in the book; she didn't have much to work with. But still... to waste the first part of the film with the "animal attacks" rather than setting up a believable anything between Edward and Bella is farcical. I think everyone playing at home would have been able to deal with three nomadic vampires just turning up and wanting to eat Bella, we could have kept those precious minutes for other more important things. Plus cutting out the fainting in Biology... why?.. wouldn't that have been a great way to set some kind of relationship up? Another huge problem (mainly if you've read the book) is that you sit through the movie comparing (not uncommon when books are made into movies) but they changed a lot of stuff! Eric was not asian in the book, Tyler wasn't black... although the book doesn't commit either way so we can forgive this addition to the United Nations of Forks, Edward's car definitely isn't a hatchback (no one looks cool speeding off in a hatchback!), and although it's not technically a change and I know the book says they are wow those Quilleutes are indian looking. However, some of the dialogue changes were much appreciated - real people don't talk like that - and in some instances didn't go far enough (so the lion fell in love with the lamb... that line should have stopped there!).

Burn After Reading (2008) Omg I loved this movie... and then I started talking to people and they kind of ruined my buzz by telling me things like it wasn't as good as other films by Joel and Ethan Coen and that it was missing something... Well, I kind of see what they were saying but then again I really don't care! This film has a rating of 7.4/10 on IMDB and good bits abound (even if you're one of those people who think that it's missing the zing of earlier Coen Brothers films). Brad Pitt is absolutely amazing, such a dork! George Clooney also put in another great performance but there was just something a bit NQR about it... Probably what I loved most about this film were the CIA and FBI jokes. The following is my favourite example: CIA Officer: We'll... interface with the FBI on this dead body. CIA Superior: No, no. God no. Burn the body. Get rid of it. CIA Officer: OK.

Wanted (2008) This really is just another one of those comic book to movie affairs. But nevertheless it's a pretty good one with a rating of 7.0/10 on IMDB. Angelina puts in a solid performance as a trained assassin - we already know she looks good doing this from Mr and Mrs Smith, Morgan Freeman is also totally awesome as the head of the assassin's guild. An honourable mention goes to Konstantin Khabenskiy who plays the exterminator and is so derranged it's inspiring. Things to look out for in this movie include bending bullets (yes, we're all having Matrix flashbacks!) and catching a whole bunch of rats in the back of a garbage truck by luring them out with peanut butter, then strapping wristwatches to them to act as timed explosives and then setting them loose on the hideout of our enemy (no, I'm not going to spoil that part for you and reveal who the dastardly supervillain is).

Taken (2008) This one has a rating of 8.0/10 on IMDB and really is a pleasant surprise. Liam Neeson is always a solid performer but he's very convincing as the concerned and over protective father, if simply irritating at times, and is still believeable (unlike Harrison Ford in Firewall) in an action-esque role. The major plot driver - the kidnap of his seventeen year old daughter - is heavily advertised in the movie's promotional material and when you're watching the movie you are left with no illusions; it's pretty obvious. There are of course the usual predicatable plot elements: his old CIA buddy helps him out analysing a recording, and he has a run-in with an old contact (who is of course now a little corrupt)! However, despite the predictable elements there's enough there to keep you more than entertained for the duration of the film. My only complaint is that the end was a little weird. The ex-wife was so odd and the daughter didn't really appear to be at all traumatised by her kidnap... but perhaps that was just the aura of safety exuded from her father? I don't know.

Nim's Island (2008) This movie isn't very good but it's solid and enjoyable, rated 6.1/10 on IMDB. Importantly Nim, played by Abigail Breslin isn't too irritating, something that is often the case with child actors (thank god!). It does start off a little too slow and has some plot elements that just seem a little uneccessary, the most notable being the invasion by the "pirates" - why? The CGI animals that are Nim's friends are also a little disturbing, plus I'm pretty sure that lizards don't really make noise! However, for all the parts of the movie I don't like there are more that I do. I was very impressed with Nim's can-do go-getter attitude - she reconnects the solar panels after one is damaged in a serious storm - this is probably translated directly from the book, but it's nice for a change. The stand out for the entire movie was Jodie Foster's performance as the 'borderline' agoraphobic was wonderful, she clearly enjoyed the role. Gerard Butler's performance as both Alex Rover (book character) and Jack Rusoe (Nim's father) was good but that accent travelled all over the place!

Eagle Eye (2008) This movie has a very promising beginning but ultimately fell short of great and had to settle for better than average. Jumping almost straight into the action was fantastic as was discovering the characters slowly throughout the film rather than having it all explained at the beginning was good - and worked for this film because we were focusing on the action thankyou very much. The film died about when we discovered who was jerking around lead characters Jerry Shaw played by Shia LaBeouf (I'm going to go find out where that name came from right after this!) and Rachel Holloman played by Michelle Monaghan and we started racing to save the day... Thoroughly enjoyable to watch but it doesn't deserve much more than it's IMDB rating of 6.7/10. The sequence through baggage handling at the airport is one to look out for.