July’s cinema selection was a fairly mixed bag.

After 12 years of waiting, Die Hard 4.0 finally makes an appearance. You mostly get what you expect with this one: a bunch of action sequences held together by a somewhat ridiculous plot, some over the top villians with questionable motives, and John Mclane killing everyone. You get that all here, but it’s all a bit too ridiculous, too over the top. If you can switch your brain to off, then you can enjoy it. Otherwise, this may be a bit wide of the mark.

Having only seen Glengarry Glen Ross recently, it was a pleasure to see another film by the same playwright, David Mamet. Edmond is about a man who loses his place in the world and goes about trying to find it amongst the seediest parts of New York. Surprisingly dark in tone, this film doesn’t hold back in its vision of the terrible things people can justify to themselves. Superbly shot, with exceptional dialogue, the one caveat being that it’s origins as a play are fairly apparent, Edmond is an excellent film. Highly recommended.

The Simpsons Movie is what most people expected, a long episode of the series. Thankfully, though, it would be an episode from one of the later single-digit seasons. While not as good as the earlier episodes, it doesn’t degenerate as far as the later series which were almost entirely variations on “The Simpsons go to [insert place and vaguely racist jokes here]” or “Homer works as [something stupidly unlikely and unfunny here]”. Although the best joke was spoiled by the trailer, there are still enough set-ups here to make it worth seeing.

Finally, Transformers is Hollywood at its very worst: crass, loud, brainless, and without style. If it had been two hours of robots fighting, I could have gotten behind that. If it had been built-up with any tact, that’d been fine. Instead we’re treated to an episode of Dawson’s Creek, numerous advertisements, some terrible comic relief, and more plot holes than I’ve seen in any other film in recent times. Even the few action sequences on offer are merely perfunctory. I mean, no-one should’ve been expecting a masterpiece here, but if the action scenes aren’t up to much (they’re either mostly off-screen or a blurry mess), then what is the point? The film is almost entirely without merit.

The obvious winner this month is Edmond.

June was a bigger month than May for cinema, with 6 films taken in. Let’s get started.

The Hitcher is a remake of the classic Rutger Hauer film about a couple who don’t pick up a hitch-hiker they almost run into. The hiker, the bad guy, then ruthlessly chases across state, murdering anyone who gets in the way. Sadly, it lacks the excellent directorial work of it’s namesake, becoming more of a modern (and by that I mean “dumb”) horror film rather than a taut psychological thriller (with more than enough action). Sean Bean also continues his recent run of terrible performances. Though I can’t really recommend The Hitcher, there is at least one scene that is really quite something to see.

I once said that the big failure of Ocean’s Twelve was that it didn’t really show the heists being perpetrated by the main characters: Ocean’s Thirteen makes me take that back. This time they painstakingly go over every tedious detail of the large scam, spreading some sections way beyond breaking point. Again, this is basically watching an A-list cast mess around on holiday, with a overwritten dialogue and underwritten plot. If you liked the second film, you’ll probably like this.

French thriller Tell No One is about a man whose wife is killed after they have an argument and, seven years later, he spots her on CCTV. From there the investigation reopens, placing him as a suspect, as he tries to understand what’s happening. The director captures every aspect of the story perfectly, from the bitter anger to the overwhelming passions. Beautifully shot and performed, and only marred by a few extraneous scenes and characters, this film is one of the best of the year.

One of the few Asian action films to make it through this year, Exiled is a fairly silly example of the gun play and gangsters genre. Normally the story is just an excuse for some ludicrous action scenes, but here there are nowhere near enough worthwhile action scenes to keep things moving forward. It suffers sorely by tring to be more stylish than it is. A regrettably poor entry.

Owen Wilson tries his hand at the fright game in Vacancy. This is a modern horror film done well, balancing the brutal and gruesome with intense emotional moments and impossible but necessary decisions. The set-up is unsurprising, but the pay offs are of a high enough calibre that it does not matter. Vacancy won’t win any awards, but it’s a fine example of the genre.

Finally, Captivity is pretty much the opposite in terms of the quality of horror it offers. More of an excuse for a bunch of pre-canned set-ups than an attempt to do something that makes sense as a whole, this film fails on a number of levels, not least of all a number of weak performances and a nonsensical plot. If you liked Saw, you might like this (similar style). If not, avoid.

The winner this month was the excellent Tell No One, proving itself to be great in almost every suit.

One of the reasons the film fight series has been a little delayed this year is that I was a little less obsessive about my record keeping than normal. One consequence of this is that I only seem to have seen one film in May. This could be true (I was travelling a lot) or possibly not. Either way…

Magicians is what happens when two of Britain’s best comedians, David Mitchell and Robert Webb, get watered down to fit a mainstream audience. While this could’ve been another great and fairly dark piece of comedy, like Peep Show at its sickest, it’s barely more than a children’s film with some blue references. Forgettable, and uninteresting. Avoid.

Sadly, despite the review, Magicians wins for May… unless I can remember what else I saw.

Update: I found the other two ticket stubs for May!

28 Weeks Later is that rarest of things: a sequel that pays adequate respect to the original material, while standing on its own feet. The opening sequence is both stunning and shocking, the excellent score making it one of the most intense openers I’ve seen in a long time. As zombie films go, 28 Weeks Later is ok. It isn’t trying to make a point, but has a reasonable vision of how the world would go wrong. There are some fairly trite missteps, such as the main character zombie (a device used effectively by George Romero in his series of zombie films, but abused here). Overall, this is still fairly enjoyable.

Finally, Zodiac is David Fincher’s latest master work: an account of the Zodiac murders, largely from the perspective of the cartoonist who became so obsessed with the story that he wrote one of the definitive books on the matter. As the case was unsolved, Fincher focusses on the paranoia and fear found in this time and place, while expanding on the details. Every scene is beautifully shot, with CGI used seamlessly (as it should be), and excellent performances from the whole cast. Although it doesn’t quite match some of his previous work (Fight Club, Seven), it’s still a fantastic piece of cinema.

With that, Magicians is no longer the winner for May, Zodiac wins.

April was a big month for cinema, but something of a mixed selection.

First, 300 is the film version of the classic Frank Miller comic book. Though I expect most people saw this film, I thought it was fairly bad. The acting ranged from fairly strong in some places to camp, ludicrous and over-the-top throughout most of the film. While much has been made of the epic scale of the battles, it’s hard to be impressed by men clearly fighting in front of blue screens. I don’t know why Hollywood thinks they’re at a level where they can do pure CG convincingly, but the evidence is clearly against them. Everything looks cheap and empty, but on a larger scale than we might have otherwise seen. The story itself is strong (which is why it has survived this long) but the director has not done it justice here. A real shame.

I Want Candy is your typical Brit-comedy: cheap, a little tacky, but fun enough to watch. It’s the story of two struggling film students who, through some convoluted twists, end up making a porno with heart. It has all the usual boy-meets-girl storytelling you’d expect from the genre, but that’s not really a great criticism. Again, as light comedy goes, you can do much worse.

Far more serious is Danny Boyle’s Sunshine. The set-up is fairly obvious sci-fi boilerplate, but the plot is a little wider in scope: the exploration into the unknown, realising you’re a very small piece of a mind-bendingly large universe, and the effects of extremes on the human psyche. While much of this is brilliantly shot and scored, it stumbles in the final act. Writer Alex Garland uses his usual trick of establishing a more manageable crisis and resolving it as a finale, which generally works well. Instead, in this instance, the final third of the film falls in the science fiction trappings that have been so carefully avoided to this point and goes wayward. A real shame.

More comedy can be found in Blades of Glory, about two rival figure skaters who join forces to beat their evil rivals. The plot follows the standard buddy comedy pattern: they hate each other, they agree to work together, it doesn’t work out well at first, they each learn something from the other, a last minute fumble looks set to destroy it all, but finally they win through. Though it isn’t Will Ferrell at his comic-best, it still stands up as a decent film.

The Lives of Others deservedly won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film this year, the reasons shining through in every scene. Focussed on the activities of the Stasi and their invasive and bureaucratic processes, the film shows both sides of the ex-government activities. The main characters are a writer, who gradually rails further and further against the corrupt state, and the Stasi agent sent to monitor his every move. It builds a great tale of frustration and emotional impotence, in the face of a state destroying itself through its own policies and paranoia.

Half Nelson is about the coming together of an addict teacher and a young girl in his class who discovers him nearly passed out. The core of the film is about them coming together despite, or perhaps because of, their differences and trying to better themselves. It’s a fairly formulaic premise, updated a little, but fails in it’s execution: our teacher shows very little in the way of redeeming or interesting traits, his spiral downward being of his own making. It’s hard to sympathise with a character who is given numerous chances to change but doesn’t. Perhaps that’s the point but, honestly, I didn’t care by the end. There was not enough tension or struggle to warrant the time spent here.

Finally, mind-numbing action in the form of Shooter: a completely by-the-numbers political action-thriller. Mark Wahlberg gets caught up in a plot to assassinate the president for no good reason, but consistently evades capture while uncovering the conspiracy. Some terrible performances (excluding the competent lead) and obvious plot holes mark this remarkably bad film as one to avoid.

The winner? Easily, The Lives of Others: an easy contender for film of the year, even at this early stage.

Yes, I let film fight go for a number of months without update. I’m starting it again now, with the March update and should be back up-to-date by the time this month ends.

First up is A Guide to Recognising Your Saints, an autobiographical tale of a boy trying to escape the insular world in which he inhabits and become more than his parents. The story largely focuses on the hardships and maniac friends the protagonist keeps during childhood, and flips between showing his past and him occasionally revisiting it as a grown-up. Although there are some powerful, emotionally charged scenes between the lead and his father, the film itself is fairly hollow. It’s a standard coming-of-age story, which is a little too self indulgent.

Comedy: School for Scoundrels is a remake of the classic film, about a guy who goes to classes to learn how to be a bit better with the ladies. Billy Bob Thornton is perfectly cast as the devious, double-crossing teacher; doling out advice and stealing girls from the star performers. A fairly silly and lightweight film that won’t win any awards, but does entertain.

With The Prestige setting a fairly high bar in the magic and revenge themes only a few months ago, The Illusionist had a lot to live up to: it failed miserably. Using fairly weak CGI rather than stage magic is one mistake that can be forgiven if the plot is adequate but, sadly, it isn’t. It’s predictable, lazy, and lacks any real impact; certainly a weaker moment in Ed Norton’s career.

Finally, Matt Damon stars as a CIA spy back in the founding era of the agency in The Good Shepherd. Rather than focus on action, as is the vogue, it explores the cost of his dedication on his family life and the lengths to which he will go to protect them, despite an increasing distance between them. Ultimately, we know he put himself in this position, but we can’t help but feel sorry for Damon’s character as his life slips away. Beautifully shot, and with an air of authority, any shortcomings in pace are made up for in craftsmanship.

Though it may have struggled in a stronger month, The Good Shepherd is the only real candidate for March’s winner.