Let Me In

Starring: Kodi Smit-McPhee(Romulus,My Father;The Road)
Chloe Grace Moretz(500 Days of Summer;Kick-Ass;Diary of A Wimpy Kid)
Elias Koteas(I Come With The Rain;The Killer Inside Me;Shutter Island)
Richard Jenkins(Waiting For Forever;Dear John;Eat Pray Love)
Directed by: Matt Reeves
Let Me In is a remake of a Swedish film Lat Den Ratte Komma In (Let The Right One In) directed by Tomas Alfredson. It is a drama/horror movie released by Overture Films/Relativity Media in the US and Icon Film Distribution in the UK. It was released by a variety of producers including Simon Oakes and Guy East.
Owen(Kodi Smit-McPhee) is a sad lonely child whose mother ignores him while she is in the throes of a divorce. At school he is bullied mercilessly by a group of 'friends' ; Owen does not have much of a life. One night at home he meets Abby (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is 12 as well and has moved in next door to him . They strike up a friendship even though Abby says to him they cannot be friends. She tells him that he needs to stand up for himself and fight the bullies off; eventually he does so but with consequences. Abby reveals herself as a vampire and the fallout from this has consequences as well.
This was a well thought out thriller with good performances from Kodi Smit-McPhee and again from Chloe Grace Moretz (who's becoming quite a favourite for myself). Richard Jenkins played a solid character as did Elias Koteas.
With a good cast and a good premise and a little bit of malice thrown into the mix; I give it four stars out of five.

Killers

Starring:Ashton Kutcher(What Happens in Vegas, Personal Effects, Valentines Day)
Katherine Heigl(Knocked Up, 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth)
Directed by: Robert Luketic
Killers is an action/comedy film released by Lionsgate pictures. It has quite a list of producers - seven in fact - most notably Ashton Kutcher who stars as well.
Jen Kornfeldt is an overly cautious girl who breaks up with a boyfriend and travels to Nice with her parents to forget about the break-up. While there she meets Spencer Aimes, the man of her dreams, and they are happily married. Unfortunately the man of her dreams turns out to be a contract killer - retired- so the fun and games begin. Spencer becomes a wanted man with a price on his head ; how does Jen cope?
Ashton Kutcher is NOT one of my favourites by any long stretch of the imagination so I am always wary about his presence in any movie and I am afraid he missed out by a long shot on this movie. Katherine Heigl is generally quite a good actress but the material she was given was very stilted and formulaic in this particular case. The mother (Catherine O'Hara) was a bit of a hoot - otherwise an ordinary cast in an extremely ordinary film.
I give it two and a half stars out of five.

Centurion

Starring:Michael Fassbender(Hunger,Blood Creek,Inglourious Basterds)
Dominic West(Hannibal Rising,300, Punisher:War Zone)
Olga Kurylenko(Hitman, Max Payne,Quantum of Solace)
Director:Neil Marshall(Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday)
Centurion is an action film filmed in Scotland and Britain's Ealing studios in London and in Surrey. It is produced by Christian Colson and Robert Jones.
Quintus Dias is the only survivor of a raid by the picts, a fierce tribe whose tactics rival that of guerilla warfare. He is rescued by the legion of Titus Flavius Virilus who have been ordered in to wipe out the Picts for good. The plans go awry and the general is captured and all but six of the romans end up meeting a sorry end. Quintas and his bunch of followers try to regain the general but it is not always as it seems.
This could have been an interesting premise but I think it was overdone and some of the scenes quite graphic. The male leads were quite good (Fassbender and West) but Olga Kurylenko (as Etain) was a little stilted.
A bit more thought rather than the cinematic formula- I give it three stars out of five.

The Karate Kid (in a kung fu movie?)

Starring: Jaden Smith(The Pursuit of Happyness, The Day the Earth Stood Still)
Jackie Chan( The Spy Next Door,The Forbidden Kingdom, Rush Hour 3)
Taraji P.Henson(Smokin Aces, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Date Night)
Directed by: Harald Zwart(Agent Cody Banks, The Pink Panther 2)
The Karate Kid is a martial arts remake of a film of the same name.The story moves to Beijing this time instead of Los Angeles,California. The movie is produced by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith along with Jerry Weintraub, Ken Stovitz and James Lassiter.
Sherry Parker begins a new life moving from Detroit to Beijing, but unhappy with the move is Dre who has left all of his friends behind. He incurs the wrath of a bully (Zhenwai Wang) and his master Li, his only friends being Mr Han(Chan) and a girl he has developed a crush on Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han). Mr Han is a kung fu master who teaches him the art of self-defence. The pair come to rely on each other and enter together in a kung fu tournament to beat their respective demons. Will they win face?
This could have become quite formulaic but was surprisingly well done. Jackie Chan was very good as was Jaden Smith. Taraji P.Henson was a little over the top as the mother ; but many other characters were well cast.
I was very surprised by this - 4 out of 5 stars.

Eclipse

Starring: Kristen Stewart(Adventureland, Twilight Saga, The Runaways)
Robert Pattinson(Little Ashes, Remember Me,Twilight Saga)
Taylor Lautner(Cheaper By The Dozen 2, Twilight Saga,Valentines Day)
Directed by: David Slade(30 Days of Night,Hard Candy)
This is a romance/fantasy vampire film after Twilight and New Moon. David Slade directs this film as New Moon director Chris Weitz was in post production when it began filming.
Seattle is reeling at the unexplained deaths of several young people while Victoria(Bryce Dallas Howard) continues her quest for revenge on Bella and her vampire friends. Things come to a head when the battle between the Newborns and the Cullens/wolf pack escalate. Bella must also examine her love for Edward and her feelings for Jacob - what will she do?
This is a much better script than that of New Moon was and a lot more action-packed than that of New Moon. Taylor Lautner has become a favourite at my house (thanks to my 9 year old daughter) and Jackson Rathbone is surprisingly good as Jasper. Bryce Dallas Howard is also well-cast as Victoria, the one whose revenge knows no boundaries. The leads ,Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, are adequately cast but don't bring much character to the screen.
Overall its better than the first two but not quite up to scratch for someone whose tastes lie elsewhere.
I give it 3.5 stars out of five.

Marmaduke

Starring:Owen Wilson(v.Night At The Museum 2,Drillbit Taylor, Marley and Me)
George Lopez(v.Beverly Hills Chihuahua,Spy Next Door,Valentine's Day)
Kiefer Sutherland(v.The Sentinel,Mirrors,Monsters vs Aliens)
Fergie(v.Madagascar 2,Nine)
Emma Stone(v.Superbad,Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,Zombieland)
Lee Pace(Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day, Possession,The Fall)
Directed by:Tom Dey
This is a live-action film of Brad Anderson's comic strip of Marmaduke.It is directed by Tom Dey whose credits include Shanghai Noon and Failure to Launch.
This follows the adventures of the Winslow family and their pets Carlos (the Balinese cat) and Marmaduke (the great dane). The family move to California from Kansas for Phil's job. Marmaduke is excited and with the help of Carlos he pretends to be a tough dog and win a fight with Carlos. This makes Marmaduke 'king of the dogs' but all good things must come to an end and Marmaduke must come to accept that living a lie has its own consequences.
Unfortunately this was a dog-aweful comedy that the kids loved but I could take it or leave it (mostly leave it!) Owen Wilson I am not a big fan of anyway and he appeared lacklustre in this film. The cat Carlos was funny but maybe that's my own fault coming from a cat-loving household.
I could only find it in my heart to give it two stars out of five.

Animal Kingdom

Starring: Jackie Weaver(The Two-Wheeled Time Machine, Cosi)
Joel Edgerton(The Waiting City,The Square)
Ben Mendelsohn(Knowing,Beautiful Kate)
Luke Ford(Kokoda,Ghost Machine)
Guy Pearce(Bedtime Stories,The Hurt Locker)
Sullivan Stapleton(Centre Place, The December Boys)
James Frecheville(The Fourth Pillar)
Directed by: DavidMichod
This is a crime/drama film that is loosely based on the the Walsh Street police killings and the saga that went with them. The film is produced by Liz Watts.
Joshua 'J' Cody's mother dies of an overdose so he is left to be taken in by his grandmother and uncles who are criminals. His introduction to the seedy underworld of crime as part of his 'normal life' by his uncles and their friend Barry leads him to believe that nothing is safe when people have their backs to the wall. J is thrust into the killings - does he take the easy way out or is something more sinister in mind?
I felt that this was a good portrayal of the underside of life in Melbourne in the mid 1980's. The series of killings by police of several men wanted for and suspected of crimes was highly suspicious.
Andrew 'Pope' Cody(Ben Mendelson) was a very good character as was Barry Brown (Joel Edgerton). Jackie Weaver played a magnificent character as Janine 'Smurf'Cody- a resourceful woman who'll stop at nothing to protect her boys. A bit of a let-down was Guy Pearce as Det.Leckie - perhaps a little shallow? James Frecheville cast as the young J is one to keep an eye on.
Overall a crime drama that is very satisfying. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.