Review: After Earth

Even going in with the lowest of expectations its hard not to be disappointed by After Earth. Of the its many problems, the biggest hurdle the film faces has is that Jaden Smith is just a really bad actor, ruining each scene he's in - when you realise he's in virtually all of them, that gives you a scope of what you're up against.

Those hoping Will Smith's presence and charisma on screen can save After Earth are out of luck - playing a character who survives by being to hide his fear and emotions, Will plays this like he's been sedated with a distant look on his face like he's doing an eye test just off screen.

M. Night Shyamalan directs, though you'd be hard pressed to notice - everything looks nice enough in a sub-Avatar kind of way, but whatever you think of his diminishing results, one of his trademark twists would've livened up a dull script that just ambles along with even the actors looking bored.

Review: World War Z

Plagued with production problems, even going as far as having a completely new final act filmed - World War Z is better than you'd think but still ends up as less than the sum of its parts.

The main problem is that the new ending, written by Lost's Damon Lindelof feels like a completely different film to what has gone before, as somehow Brad Pitt ends up in an office in Cardiff with Peter Capaldi after an hour of massive disaster movie set pieces. As well as the massive stylistic change, matters aren't helped by it looking much, much cheaper too, like Charlie Brooker has somehow managed to cast Pitt in Black Mirror or Dead Set.

The first hour is far from a flop, though after a stunning set-piece in Philadelphia to kick things off the reasons for Brad Pitt's Gerry to fly all-over the world trying to halt the zombie apocalypse do become a little contrived and just excuse for some more impressive CGI stunts in front of another landmark - but as the stunts are well done, evoking memories recent stuff like Contagion and Cloverfield for a similar sense of chaos, you can't complain too much.

Matthew Fox turns up for a couple of seconds, and you wonder if he had a bigger role in the original ending, which re-iterates the film's main problem - you never feel like you've watched a whole film, just the start of one and the finish of another.

Review: Fast & Furious 6

If you were a fan of the previous installment in the Fast & Furious films, then you'll love part six of the series - as it takes all of the chaos of the previous Rio heist and adds more of pretty much everything.

Those who weren't a fan will find that whilst its an improvement on the the last one, some of the same flaws still remain. Whilst the story is slightly less flimsy this time (just) and unlike the last one actually tries to place events somewhere in the timeline, it still suffers problems from trying to cram too many characters in alongside token car races every now and then just to stay true to the franchise's origins.

Gina Carano stands out of the huge array of characters and even manages to outshine The Rock in their double act, which is no mean feat considering how he made the film his own the last time around. Luke Evans is the main villain is a bit of an afterthought as he tries to get a computer chip for nefarious reasons that are never really delved into that much, as a result of having such an undeveloped character the tension is never really there to keep your attention as to how and when the good guys will come out on top. Hopefully that isn't the case for Fast & Furious 7, as the post-credit sequence teases the appearance of a new character that will leave all action move fans on the edge of their seats.

Review: Man Of Steel

There's plenty to like about the opening half of Zakk Snyder's take on the man from Krypton's origin story - it's a shame that it descends into a long mess of a final fight scene that tries to outdo Avengers Assemble, but ends up a boring sequence of CGI spearing and punching through buildings that goes on forever.

You can feel the influence of Christopher Nolan, whose watchful eye Snyder was under in the films first half, giving the film a similar feel to Batman Begins (with added dragons). Whilst Russell Crowe hams it up (with aforementioned dragons) as Jor-El , Superman's birth father on Krypton - Kevin Costner steals the show as Jonathan Kent, his father figure on Earth full of world weary wisdom and advising the restraint of Clark's powers - whether he sneakily used them to knock up a baseball pitch in the corn fields though we'll never know.

I'm not sure whether the fact that General Zod looks like Paul Robinson from Neighbours actually improves this latest Superman reboot or not, but Michael Shannon manages to stay on the right side of scenery chewing throughout.

For the most past Man of Steel deserves credit for mixing the fantastical elements of the story with a modern day setting, but its a shame that the films finale is its weakest part, as its the films abiding memory leaving the cinema, not all the good stuff that came before it.

Spot the Difference #9 New Liverpool Kit

WWF Wrestler Crush

Liverpool FC Third Kit 2013-2014

Well they did say it was based on a classic Nineties design.