Finding Character

Finding oneself is a journey, and even Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) hides low self-esteem and ADHD behind layers and layers of trash talk. A used car salesman with all of nine people in his life – Deadpool gets transported to a different timeline to find the Anchor Being (Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)) – however the instance of the multiverse where this rather tenuous association between Deadpool and Wolverine is to be is called the Void – a Mad Max-esque (with credits) world where one Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) turns out to be the arch-villain. With many other characters such as X23 (Dafne Keen), Elektra (Jennifer Garner), The Human Torch (Chris Evans) and Gambit (Channing Tatum) in tow. Adequately entertaining, with a reasonable storyline and engaging renditions of 70’s and 80’s music (think Like a Prayer to Time of Your Life), this is saving the hackneyed Marvel franchise – for now. As with the multiverse and our timeline in the story. High marks for energy

15.5/20

House Down Part Deux

What were the odds of two near-adjacent posts on this blog, both based on movies about the White House going down? This time it is the disgruntled weapons lobby, led by the US President Sawyer’s (Jamie Foxx) former head of security detail – Martin Walker (James Woods) – and a team of mercenaries – that take over the White House over a series of bombings, gunfights, and hostage-takings. Once again it is up to an underdog – out-of-favour Cale (Channing Tatum), out on an ostensibly harmless White House tour with daughter Emily (Joey King), to save the White House and by implication the world. White House Down is a tad more believable than Olympus Has Fallen, with a lot more detail, and never a dull moment

13/20

The Destructive Side

The likes of Robin Cook have continually explored the thin line between going the extra mile for patients versus the pressures of big medicine. When Emily Taylor (Rooney Mara), a depressive patient, is prescribed a new anti-depressant medication on advise of her psychiatrist Jonathan Banks (Jude Law), the consequences are devastating for Emily and her husband Martin (Channing Tatum). As Emily ostensibly grieves over her murdered husband, Jonathan tries to piece together facts that have derailed a promising career, especially the role of Victoria (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Emily’s previous psychiatrist. Side Effects is less about the side effects of medication, that the side effects of all-pervasive and destructive ambition within the medical fraternity

13/20

GI makeover

The all-American franchise quickly dumps Duke (Channing Tatum) in the wild wastes of Pakistan, and the Rock takes over from there. In their biggest challenge yet, surviving Joes Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Flint (DJ Cotrona) and Lady Jaye (Adrianne Palicki) team up with Snake Eyes (Ray Park), Jinx (Elodie Yung) and unexpectedly Storm Shadow (Byung-hun Lee), to take out the threat of Cobra Commander (Luke Bracey) and an impostor US President (Jonathan Pryce), bent on doling out annihilation – nuclear or otherwise. The Nuclear Summit involving all key heads of state becomes the battleground for the final showdown between good and evil, with much noise and fanfare and pump-up music. Oh, and an honorable mention to General Joseph Colton (Bruce Willis), apparently the founding father of the Joes. Watch GI Joe: Retaliation for nothing in particular besides well-executed action sequences

12/20

Lady Fighter

Beauty and.. er.. brawn mixed martial arts fighter Gina Carano gets her first break into big-ticket Hollywood with Haywire. In a movie that is rather understated even as it carries the weight of an all-star cast and pans global locales, Mallory Kane (Gina Carano) recounts a mission where ex-boyfriend Kenneth (Ewan McGregor) sends her off to Barcelona, on a mission directed by US Government agent Coblenz (Michael Douglas) and his Spanish contact Rodrigo (Antonio Banderas) to rescue a man in Barcelona. The mission is not quite what it seems – and nor is Mallory's subsequent assignment to pose as the wife of MI6 agent Paul (Michael Fassbender) in Dublin. Mallory has to rely on her own wits and do her own fact-finding in a setup laden with multiple traps. And with the audience on her side, one hopes that she get the better of the nexus in the end. A well-paced introduction to a new action heroine, who will sharpen her thespian skills even as she can clearly hold centre-stage in a tightly scripted Steven Soderbergh thriller

14/20

Eagle One

Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) has clearly not seen movies of the likes of Centurion. Hence when his father disappears with the Roman Ninth Legion in a Britain infested with Celtic hordes, Marcus sets out to redeem the family’s honour, into a territory so hostile that, beyond Hadrian's Wall, it marks the end of the Roman Empire. Marcus sets out into North Britain with the fiercely clannish local slave Esca (Jamie Bell) and manages to connect with the past – however, it is utterly uncertain whether he will manage to achieve his objective of recovering the Roman Eagle from an unrelentingly hostile territory. This is a reasonable watch but in all fairness outclassed in its genre. Watch this when you have run out of period movies, including (the Pict-infested) Centurion

12/20

Go Joes!

Expect the usual blend of high quality special effects and hand to hand physicality from GI Joe - The Rise of Cobra. A circumspect Duke (Channing Tatum) is on a mission to deliver certain warheads, runs into a skirmish with the “Joes” and ends up joining them, an enemy mission with former flame Ana (the Baroness, ie Sienna Miller) steals back the warheads, and a race against time ensues to save the worls from destruction. The series sees the creation of the GI Joe core team as well as their arch villains (Destro and Cobra). This is straight-up unbridled action without the morality tales of the Marvel comics superheroes that held our breath all of 2008. Good entertainment without appearing too gizmo-laden for comfort

14/20