Films of April

Identity Thief ***
Sandy Patterson is a nice businessman who has his identity stolen by an apparently harmless looking woman. He has to travel from Denver to Miami to track the thief down as the Police do not have the jurisdiction.
Jason Bateman plays his usual role as the friendly hard done by funny guy. However, he never fails in making me laugh and his co-star Melissa McCarthy pairs up well with Bateman in making this enjoyable comedy.


 Trance****
Danny Boyle's latest film lives up to the expectation. The story is interesting, exciting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. I'll keep this short, as the film is riddled with twists that turns the film upside down and inside out.

James McAvoy improves in every film he is in and annoyingly I missed his other film 'Welcome to the Punch' which was released in the same week. The great Vincent Cassel adds to the well picked cast.


 Jack The Giant Slayer**
This adaptation on the old children's story is fun and enjoyable, but will not be in the top ten at the end of the year. Ewan McGregor and Stanley Tucci always put in a enjoyable performance, while the young Nicholas Hoult is building up his prestige as a recognisable actor that can be the lead actor in a Hollywood film.


Oblivion***
The ever reliable Tom Cruise stars in this beautifully shot futuristic film, in which the earth is a baron planet after humans won a war against an invading alien force, but sacrificed the planet in doing so. Oblivion is a really good Spring blockbuster, packed full action, suspense and magnificent special effects.
I was only satisfied with the ending, as I feel the easy way out was taken.

The Place Beyond The Pines****
The Place Beyond the Pines is an incredibly well made film and story. Once again I don't want to give away any spoilers so I'll step lightly around this one. This film is like 3 stories in 1, which gives it an unusual feel as you have to adapt to the story as it evolves.

Beyond the Pines is one of the best films of the month and a must see.


Oz:The Great and Powerful**
Set as a prequel to the Wizard of Oz, Oz the Great and Powerful does a respectable job of creating a back story to a well known classic. However, after a promising couple of scenes involving Oz, Finley and the china girl, where there are several laugh out loud moments, the film struggles to reach that level again and slowly trails off.



Olympus Has Fallen**
Olympus Has Fallen is a high action robust film, in which the White House is hijacked by terrorists and it is up to Gerard Butler and his shady American accent to save the day. As I am not a insanely patriotic American I found it best to switch off my common sense and political correctness.

I never had a tense feeling in me about whether the good guys were going to win. I just hoped the ending wasn't to God bless America, but it was rather painful and red, white and blue. Remember to set your nausea level quite high.

Jack Reacher

   Jack Reacher has got 2013 off with a good start, although it was actually released on Boxing Day, so technically it's last year's film...Nevertheless, it is a very good film, though it doesn't challenge my top 10 films of 2012 and I don't believe it will challenge the best of this year either.
   Tom Cruise is as enjoyable as ever to watch and he has good chemistry with Rosamund Pike, who plays Helen, the lawyer who takes on the seemingly impossible task of helping Barr (Joseph Sikora) avoid the death penalty.
   Jack Reacher is based on a series of books by Lee Child, and though Tom Cruise does a great job, Jack Reacher is supposed to be about six foot five and Cruise scrapes in at a modest five foot seven. However, I think only the hardiest of Jack Reacher fans will have a problem with this.
   The car chases are exciting and the fight scenes have a comical edge to them as Reacher has little trouble beating his enemies senseless. The film begins to trail off during the second half and although the final fight sequence is well shot, humorous, exciting, tense and intriguing, I can't help but feel annoyed that Reacher decides to put his gun down and fight his main enemy with bare hands. He could at least have his gun knocked out of his grasp instead of voluntarily laying down his weapon to endure a punch up.

For fans of Tom Cruise, Lee Child and humorous action scenes.

Stars ***