John Carter
Dir: Andrew Stanton 
2012
***
Well I actually quite liked it. Here I am again in the minority but unlike other favourite sci-fi books I read as a child (The Hitch-hikers guide to the Galaxy comes to mind) this is actually pretty close to being a perfect adaptation. Many have said that they should have maybe updated the story, given that it has influenced so much Sci-fi in the last 100 years (pretty much everything), but then what would the point of that? I'm really glad a real fan has brought this to the screen and stuck to the books as best he could. I do wish it was called John Carter of Mars and I would have preferred an adaptation for each book but for fickle cinema goers who can't even be bothered to read anymore he did the very best he could and what he has made is pretty good in my book. Now, if someone could now make The Stainless Steel Rat and Bill, the Galactic Hero books, my childhood will be complete.

In the Valley of Elah
Dir: Paul Haggis
2007
*****
A brutally honest depiction of the War and the effect it can have on young soldiers. I hated Paul Haggis's Crash, I thought it was overrated and contrived but In the Valley of Elah is astonishingly good. I was going to say it took guts to make, I was going to go as far as saying it's pretty unpatriotic too but Haggis is Canadian, so it's not, but the fact it did so well in America can only conclude that people are starting to look at the war in a different way. Either that or everyone has missed the point. Making and releasing a film in the same country that you hang the flag upside-down in could be seen as the highest of insults. Haggis's is saying, America is sick and in crisis. The last 15 minutes of the film are so powerful, I'm not sure why it hasn't been praised more highly, I can only imagine it's due to the delicate subject matter but again, it's a subject that needed to be addressed. An unexpected example of brilliant film-making - if it had been made during the Vietnam war it would be now regarded as a classic and Haggis would have been shot. I think the people who have stated that it is a slow story with not enough action have missed the point somewhat.

Oculus
Dir: Mike Flanagan
2013
****
In many respects there is nothing new about Mike Flanagan's horror concept. Haunted inanimate objects are nothing new in the world of horror and Mirrors in particular have played a big part over the years. Who can forget Donald Pleasence smashing the evil mirror in John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness or Bruce Campbell fighting with his own reflection in Evil Dead II? Mirror's are the gateway to another world, we know this already. However, Flanagan doesn't go into the why's and what's, he does a Stephan King and gives us a multi-timeline adventure and states that the mirror is evil because it just is. He almost skips the first 3 or 4 films of the franchise and goes straight for the reboot/re imagining, the 'Wes Craven's New Nightmare' if you will. The audience is tired of the same old thing so he tells it in a different way, our lead characters are ready for a fight. This means that instead of screaming at the screen and pointing out the cliches, you are intrigued, thrilled and even a little scared. It's been a while since I've been either of those three things during a horror film and I applaud Oculus's originality.

Mystery Road
Dir: Ivan Sen
2013
****
Ivan Sen's Neo-nior, Neo-Western is a slow burning but rewarding thriller. The suspense and despair is both horribly real but impossible to look away from. Our hero is both strong but vulnerable, broken from the offset making him a very life like character the viewer can really get behind. It's a mix of really great Western and a social commentary based in a forgotten part of the world with a forgotten history. Nothing is what it seems either, making it an exciting thriller with an unexpected but classic conclusion. The mix of classic and contemporary is the heart of the films success, add the glorious direction and cinematography and this is one Australian Western that gives the American kind a run for their money.

Island of Adventure
Dir: Anthony Squire
1982
****
A childhood favorite of mine. It had an interesting cast looking back at it, including Wilfred Brambell, Norman Bowler, Catherine Schell and John Rhys-Davies. I met John Rhys-Davies at a convention a few years back and instead of asking him about the obvious questions he was used to (Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings etc) he was quite excited to talk about Island of Adventure. The truth is that he had forgotten even making it but was glad to be reminded, especially as his Granddaughter is a huge Blyton fan. So that was nice. The film really brought Enid Blyton's book to life for me and before the film I wasn't really a fan of hers. This is when made for TV films were still of a good quality and obviously had a budget.

Permanent Vacation
Dir: Jim Jarmusch
1980
*****
Not to be mistaken with W. Scott Peake's 2007 film, Jim Jarmusch's first feature film is both very amateur and very mature, although looking through Jarmusch's other films, maybe it's not as amateur as it first seems and maybe intentionally so. This film only has three elements to it as far as I could see. New York, Chris Parker and the script. All three are brilliant. New York looks dirty and lonely but big and magnificent, Chris Parker is completely believable as the young man looking for the answers and the script (was it scripted?) is pure Jarmusch. Bleak, thought-provoking and too cool for school. The film's title is taken from a lyric in the song "My Boyfriend's Back", by The Angels; "If I were you, I'd take a permanent vacation" which reminds me, the music was also amazing.

Ultraviolet
Dir: Kurt Wimmer
2006
**
Kurt Wimmer's 2006 Ultraviolet begings with the line; "Hello. My name is Violet and I was born into a world you may not understand."  That is quite an understatement. I'm guessing the budget was tight with Ultraviolet but they must have saved a bit of money by not hiring a writer. Ultraviolet is an odd film, it looks like a bad video-game and has a terrible story-line to match. The script is awful, really awful, although there are some hilarious moments ("are you mental?") and the special effects are just headache inducing. It biggest flaw is it's lack of character development and the most unbelievable part of this CGI mess is the relationship between Violet and 6. It's not 'So bad it's good' either but I can't help but think it's going to become a cult classic. I like watching Milla Jovovich running around in tight trousers as much as anyone but this is too much, that said it's more laughable than hateable.