Review: Lawless

Despite sticking him on the poster, Gary Oldman probably gets more screen time in those new O2 adverts than he does in this, so those wanting to see another Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy acting master class will be left disappointed.

Fans of Tom Hardy mumbling are in luck though, as despite delivering another convincingly menacing performance, it would be nice to be able to hear what he was saying more often. Shia Labeouf gets the most screen time as the youngest of three moonshine-selling brothers in Prohibtion-era America, trying to win the heart of the local preacher's daughter, as well as the respect of his two big brothers - and coming from the pen of Nick Cave, you can guess there's a few grisly moments along the way.

In a similar way to Public Enemies, Lawless has to count as something of a disappointment considering the names involved, but the general air of negativity around the reviews so far underplaying the many things the film does well. So adjust your expectations accordingly and you'll find another decent crime thriller lies within.

Review: Skyfall

Inception was often accused of owing more than a bit to the Bond movies, but the 23rd film in 007 series certainly returns the favour, with a fair few nods towards Christopher Nolan's recent efforts.

For starters we get a daring raid on a Shanghai skyscraper, followed by a villain's liar that looks more than a little reminiscent of Limbo. Bond even has his own Alfred-type character show up at one point, but as Nolan sadly denied us the chance to see Caine wield a sawed-off shotgun Get Carter-style, Skyfall easily one ups it in this area.

Jokes aside, Skyfall picks up where Casino Royale left off, righting the wrongs of the last effort (Quantum of Solace) and continuing the renaissance in the series since Daniel Craig took over in the lead role.

Bond has often been cited as the epitome of all things Anglo and Skyfall succeeds by making the series feel more English than it has in a long, long time - casting the cream of British acting talent and actually setting a fair bit of the story here in and amongst the traditional far-flung set pieces in foreign climes.

That being said, it is one of the international stars the steals the show, Javier Bardem plays his Bond Baddie with just the right amount of over-the-top mania that shows that despite what many would have had you believe a Roger Moore style villain can work in a modern setting.

Review: Argo

Argo tells a truth is stranger than fiction story of a 1980s CIA operation to rescue six American diplomats from revolutionary Iran - under the cover of a science fiction film.

You'll be surprised at just how funny much of Argo is, with the plans to put together the fake film from which the name is taken from coming across like an Ocean's Eleven-esque wisecracking caper. What Ben Affleck as director deserves a great deal of credit for is how it seamlessly shifts gears to its evacuation ending, which features some of the most tense scenes of recent memory.

The only black mark against Argo is the slightly stereotypical Hollywood portrayal of all Iranians as hostile hoodlums, which Team America lampooned so successfully - but I doubt Ben Affleck has watched that for some reason...

Spot The Difference #8

David Estes: Homeland

Emile Heskey: Footballer

Suddenly it becomes clearer why the Director of the Counterterrorism Center at the CIA kept missing that Brody was a terrorist.

Review: Fast & Furious Five

A sign of how far this fifth installment has moved away from the origins of the Fast & Furious franchise is when the time comes in story for an actual street race to take place, they skip over it and don't actual show it on screen.

Fast Five reinvents the series as an action heist film and the end result is the equivalent of Ocean's Eleven on steroids as Vin Diesel gets the band back together to take down a corrupt Brazilian businessman before The Rock's DDS agent can bring them in.

At any point if you stop and analyse what is actually going on in Fast Five, you realise its utter bobbins with enough gaps in logic to drive a muscle car through, but with your brain switched off the sheer ridiculousness of it all is highly enjoyable, with the 2 hour plus running time flying by much quicker than it has any right to - The Rock is star of the show playing a sort of Dog The Bounty Hunter with extra guns and is the nearest thing to a modern day Arnold Schwarzenegger, pumped up to the max with a one-liner after every punch/

Review: Madagascar 3 - Europe's Most Wanted

The original Madagascar film has grown in popularity over the years as it stands up surprisingly well to getting hammered at home by kids on the DVD player - the second in the series, Escape 2 Africa was a bit of a clunker, so it nice to report that this latest installment is a return to form for those who'll have to watch it umpteen times over the next 12 months.

There's not much new here to report, as despite the moving the setting to Europe the jokes largely stay the same - Noah Baumbach getting a screen writing credit is one of the more bizarre sights of the year, but you'd be hard pressed to spot any signs of his previous indie-riffic work at any point during this.

Truth be told, that's probably a problem that's affected the whole Madagascar series as a whole, as despite an impressive range of names involved in the projects, there's always the nagging feeling they could be a little bit better - though with likes of Cars 2 and Brave dropping standards slightly of late, the Pixar sized shadow doesn't loom over Dreamworks' output quite as badly as before.

Review: Moneyball

There's a natural and un-cinematic feel that starts as one of Moneyball's strengths but does also stop it falling slightly short of previous Sorkin effort The Social Network. Hampered by being a real-life story, the stage seems set for a West Wing inspirational speech and triumph against adversity full of stirring music and the like, but true life gets in the way of that slightly, which is a shame.

The film is at its best when Pitt (playing as downbeat as someone who looks like Pitt can get really) and Hill are together on screen - Hill deserves particular credit for a shy and sympathetic turn as stats guy Peter Brand, tuning down the increasingly obnoxious traits of many of his recent performances.

I personally could've done with a bit more Philip Seymour Hoffman, as his role a coach seems quite under-developed and disappears from screen far too early in proceedings.

Moneyball probably wasn't worth the awards buzz that came its way, but is a solid effort that even non-sports fans can enjoy.