The fact is that an adaptation of ‘A Princess of Mars’ was always going to be a risky undertaking. Disney reportedly spent a good $250 million on John Carter, and it’s certainly visible onscreen. This is a polished, epic depiction of an alien landscape, up there with Avatar in terms of science fiction world-building. A bit too polished, some might say.

John Carter is a veteran of the American Civil War who’s bitter and resentful of the sacrifices he had to make for his country. Thus, when he’s whisked away to Mars only to discover another civil war taking place, he’s less than enthusiastic about taking up arms to help anybody. As far as reluctant heroes go, John’s given a decent enough back-story to make us understand why he wouldn’t fight. Taylor Kitsch is… good enough in the role. He doesn’t let the film down, but neither does he enable it to soar to great heights.

The supporting cast are more successful. Lynn Collins is great as Dejah Thoris, the aforementioned princess, and it’s nice to see that effort has been made to ensure that she’s not merely a damsel in distress. Well, in the broader scope of things, yes, she is a damsel in distress. But she’s portrayed as a brilliant engineer, leader and warrior, which is just enough to raise the source material from a sexist quagmire. Mark Strong plays YET ANOTHER bald bad guy, and he’s great as always. Willem Dafoe and Samantha Morton perform capably as Sola and Tars Takas, two of the green-skinned Tharks, and I didn’t recognise them at all, which is a nice change from ‘stunt’ voice casting.

The visual effects are practically flawless, and it’s nice to see such a pricey cinematic endeavour actually looking like money well spent (as opposed to, say, G.I. Joe or Green Lantern). The action scenes are well handled, even if there’s nothing truly awe-inspiring. Director Andrew Stanton shows us that his true skill still lies with directing CGI creations, as John’s Martian ‘dog’ continually steals the show from the humanoid characters.

The problem is that, whilst it may be more subtly nuanced than Avatar, John Carter falls a bit flat. I’m at a bit of a loss to explain exactly what the problem is, but it probably has to do with the pages and pages of expository dialogue required to explain what is going on. There’s also a sense that, whilst the film jumps around a lot, it still manages to be sluggish. This, perhaps, is the result of too many rewrites, which is of course a mainstay of such big budget productions.

John Carter is not, as some would have it, an out-and-out awful film. There is one particular action scene that is both awe-inspiring and emotionally affecting, and it serves as a glimpse of what could have been. As a piece of epic sci-fi, it’s a good way to spend two hours, if only because it’s so rare that such films get made (outside of Star Wars/Star Trek anyway). I should point out that, whilst fairly pedestrian, the film never comes close to the woeful Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which somehow continue to attract audiences despite being, on just about every conceivable front, shit films.

Worth the 80 year wait? Probably not. But it’s an amiable time-waster with some great visuals.

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Young Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives in a Paris railway station, scampering through the rabbit warren of tunnels and secret passages to ensure that the clocks are kept in proper working order. He has a fascination for all things mechanical and when he gets caught stealing from the local grumpy toymaker (Ben Kingsley), he finds that the two of them have more in common than he originally thought.

Hugo is a film that’s enamoured with the early days of cinema, and it shows. It’s not only obsessed with the works of Georges Méliès but recreates some of his most famous films. One action sequence even deliberately uses scale models instead of resorting to CGI, just to prove that the old methods are the best.

In a way, Hugo is a technical marvel and a great marriage of techniques old and new. The CGI blends wonderfully with the practical effects, and whilst there are a lot of whiz-bang visual effects being thrown at us, the editing is decidedly old-school and is cautious not to bombard the viewer with too much at once. It has been said before that Avatar was probably the only film that really deserved to use modern 3D technology; I would add Hugo to that exclusive list. Every single shot has been designed with 3D in mind. Whilst the current trend can be seen as a kind of carnival sideshow-like attraction, this film at least has an excuse: the works of Méliès were exactly that.

So let me make it clear: I have no problem with the construction of Hugo. It is the storytelling itself that disappoints. The film is decidedly sluggish and predictable. I could anticipate the narrative’s every step and I knew exactly what to expect from scene to scene. The pacing is terribly slow and even the performances are found to be lacking.

Chloë Grace Moretz is fantastic, as usual. In fact, she’s the only one that really impresses. Asa Butterfield looks right for the title role but isn’t particularly memorable, while a whole host of historically brilliant actors turn in perfunctory performances. Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee and Richard Griffiths are particularly unmemorable, and even Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance as the station inspector is inadequate.

The critical acclaim surrounding the film and its inclusion in the Oscars shortlist leaves me wondering if it is purely the thematic content of the film (its obsession with Méliès) that had such an impact on the opinions of those of import. Hugo is a film that looks and sounds great, and it’s clear that a lot of love went into making it, but the humdrum storytelling leaves a lot to be desired.

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The film features a stunning opening scene that contains all the cinematic beauty of the title sequence from Watchmen, but without the intellectual spin the alternate history vibe afforded that superhero opus. We get introduced to Baby Doll (Emily Browning) just as her mother dies. She and her sister are left in the custody of their cruel stepfather, and after a violent tragedy, Baby Doll’s whisked away to a mental institution. The sequence is wonderfully realised, with Snyder’s trademark eye for detail and a cover of The Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Browning that’s as haunting as it is brutal. It’s an incredible scene and one that shows Snyder at the height of his powers.

Alas, the film doesn’t have much to back up such promise. Sure, there are several more dazzling scenes in Sucker Punch, but overall the story lacks the *ahem* punch of the visuals. The film is a collection of dreams and fantasy sequences, and whilst it’s technically very proficient, it doesn’t have the narrative to back it up.

All the performances are great, and it’s clear to me that whilst Snyder doesn’t make perfect films, he does elicit wondrous performances from his actors in any given scene. The same could be said of Watchmen, which was impressive in small doses, yet had some problems with regards to the narrative peaks and troughs. Browning is a fantastic action hero (considering that none of her moves would work in the real world), and the supporting cast also impress.

Abbie Cornish (looking a lot like a young Nicole Kidman) plays Sweet Pea, the strong older sister of Rocket (played with youthful enthusiasm by Jena Malone), whilst Vanessa Hudgens and Jamie Chung play Blondie and Amber respectively.

The action scenes are super-fun, and the episodic nature of the story means that the film certainly feels like a computer game at times. Such impossible acts of (mostly bloodless) violence are akin to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World in terms of downright blissful lunacy. The majority of the film has been done in front of a greenscreen, and Snyder has to be given credit for somehow making an $80 million film look like it had twice the budget.

The soundtrack is awesome. Featuring a bunch of covers and/or remixes, the tunes are perfectly married to the imagery. Browning contributes to three of the songs, including a version of The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” and The Smiths’ “Asleep”, whilst there is a great remix of Bj

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There isn’t much in the way of mystery, which is a disappointment. Guy Ritchie’s Holmes spends much more time beating people up and dodging explosions than he does deducting. The film opens with the capture of Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), a man who’s been dabbling in black magic and making sacrifices and whatnot, much to Scotland Yard’s chagrin. With Blackwood due to be executed, one would think that Holmes (Robert Downey Jnr) and Watson (Jude Law) deserve a bit of a rest (in fact, Watson has a permanent retirement from sleuthing planned, together with his soon-to-be fiancée, Mary (Kelly Reilly)). Unfortunately Blackwood’s diabolical scheming doesn’t end with his death, so the duo will soon find themselves embroiled in a dirty, steampunk-influenced race against time.

I’m not quite sure why modern retellings of Sherlock Holmes seem to require something extra (remember Young Sherlock Holmes, the book ‘Shadows Over Baker Street’, or the PC game ‘Sherlock Holmes and the Awakened’?) – don’t get me wrong, I like a bit of steampunk, devil worshipping and/or Lovecraft with my Victorian storytelling, however it does seem to miss the point of Conan Doyle’s creation.

The genre incursions are fine, really. Okay, so there’s a lot of action and a lot of mysticism, but the screenplay does do the characters justice. The main difference is that Holmes is a bit of a smug bastard (rather like James Bond), something which wasn’t overt in the original fiction – he was aware of his own limitations, rather than thinking himself a god amongst men. It is good to see that everyone in this film is clever, not just Holmes. All the characters seem highly intelligent and they fool Holmes more than once.

The costuming and recreation of London is fantastic. This is a really pretty film and it matches perfectly with Ritchie’s cinematic style. Hans Zimmer’s score is fantastic also – probably the best orchestral score of the year – and, of course, the performances are great. Everyone knew that Downey Jr. would make a great Holmes, and he does. Jude Law and Rachael McAdams are wonderful in their roles also. In fact the only thing lacking is the story.

Whilst watching Sherlock Holmes, I was really enjoying myself, but once it was over, there was nothing particularly memorable about it. The main problem is that it’s not very clever. There are one or two well-written moments, but apart from those, it might as well be The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Alright, so that was a bit harsh, but it is really just an action movie set in Victorian London. To top it all off, the filmmakers were waaaay too eager to let us know they wanted a sequel. It shoves the idea down our throats, actually.

Overall, Sherlock Holmes is a crowd pleasure and a well-written, nicely paced action movie. At least it proves that Guy Ritchie ha more than one good film in him. It mightn’t spit in the face of Conan Doyle per se, but it doesn’t include many of the elements that fans of the original fiction love.

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In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a hand made mechanical doll awakens to find his creator dead and himself hunted by terrifying mechanised monstrosities. He bands together with other like creations (numbered 1-9, so as to avoid confusion with Slipknot) to fight their predators and discover the meaning of their existence.

The opening moments of 9 are spellbinding. There is an incredible sadness one feels at seeing the character 9 (Elijah Wood) being thrust rudely into consciousness and being greeted by nothing but death and decay. The character animations are the film’s strong point and 9, together with his other friends, invoke great sympathy as Frankenstein’s monster-type ragdoll creations. As with all good animation, their simple design (no ultra-realism here, á la Beowulf) means that their expressions are wonderfully basic yet exaggerated. The world they inhabit is a thing of rusting beauty, perhaps reminiscent of the PC game ‘Fallout 3’.

In fact, the animation immediately brings to mind computer games – the ‘handmade’ characters look a little like those from ‘LittleBigPlanet’ and whilst watching, it did occur to me that this would have made a particularly heartfelt gaming experience. The other elements are things we’ve seen before (for instance one of the monsters looks like it’s straight out of The Matrix, and the opening titles are remarkably similar to those of Coraline).

The voice acting is decent. Elijah Wood, John C. Reilly and Christopher Plummer are all instantly recognisable, whereas I didn’t even realise I was listening to Jennifer Connelly’s vocal talents. The score is also fantastic. It’s by Deborah Lurie but features ‘themes’ by Danny Elfman, which thankfully don’t stand out as Elfman’s work usually does.

Despite the beautiful presentation and the lovable characters, the unravelling of the central mystery of their existence is pretty disappointing. In fact, in retrospect, large portions of the premise don’t make sense. Whilst I was enthralled by their tale (and wowed by the action sequences), the experience was ultimately disappointing, particularly if one was hoping for a plot to match the intricate and gorgeous visuals. If the story telling matched the production values, then this would be a fantastic feature indeed.

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Ember lies deep beneath the surface of the Earth, and for its inhabitants, there is nothing ‘up there’, just darkness. Young Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) and Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) have just come of age and been assigned their official duties in the city. Both wonder what lies beyond, but it’s Lina that finds a mysterious box alluding to a way out of Ember. Unfortunately, a prologue tells us a great deal about the history of Ember and the mystery of the box, so the first half of the film we’re simply waiting for the leads to work it out, which is always frustrating. Once things finally get moving, the film is surprisingly lacking in excitement.

It’s a pity, because this is a beautiful film. The enormous set makes it feel old fashioned in a good way – we’re not being inundated by greenscreened backgrounds. The costumes and production design are pretty also, leaning ever so slightly towards steampunk.

The presence of Tim Robbins and Bill Murray also hints that this could have been something more – both actors have been extremely choosy lately. I can only imagine that the screenplay got washed down over time, because it’s full of narrative dead ends and characters whose motivations are either merely vague or missing altogether. It’s not entirely clear why the search for the truth is actually a ‘race against time’, either.

City of Ember probably lacks enough excitement for kids, and is certainly too shallow for adult viewers. The concepts are sound, featuring corrupt politicians, alternative theology and the sins of the fathers (á la The Village), but none are developed. In terms of Walden Media’s quality of output, this is more like The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising than Bridge to Terabithia.

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Nevertheless, this is a better film than the original. First of all, it looks stunning. Incredibly stunning. Since the critical and box office success of Pan’s Labyrinth, the powers that be must have thrown buckets of money in del Toro’s direction, cos this is a truly lavish film. And the best thing about del Toro? He knows how to spend money. After witnessing Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, and bemoaning the lack of physical effects in Hollywood, I now see someone who has made a movie within the studio system and it’s filled with puppets. The creatures look fantastic, and there are none of the awful frogmen that very nearly ruined the first film. Trolls, faeries and ogre-like things inhabit this world, and it’s wonderful to see.

The story is fine, however it’s nothing to get excited about. After the exhaustingly plotted The Dark Knight, it’s a little strange to see a comic book film that’s a little more… comic booky. There’s certainly nothing to complain about, but it does seem a little thin on the ground. It has to be one of del Toro’s funniest films, however, which is a welcome improvement. Strangely enough, the laughs come a long way into the flick, something that is rare in a blockbuster film. They usually get them over and done with early on, like the recent Hancock.

The funniest moments would be provided by Johann Krauss. His introduction seems to set off the film’s more comedic moments, but not at the sacrifice of his character. Liz (Selma Blair) and Hellboy’s (Ron Perlman) romance continues, though it’s never really that convincing. At least they’re smart enough to never show them actually pashing. The performances are all great, Bros’ Luke Goss showing us once again how good a performer he actually is as the evil faery Prince Nuada. A couple of del Toro’s favourite performers, Brian Steele and Doug Jones play multiple roles, usually encased in a tonne of makeup. Neither disappoints, and this hopefully proves that the dying art of bringing monster suits to life isn’t quite over.

Despite the glorious world on show, it all comes a bit too easily, so the film doesn’t feel as epic as it should. It deals with the nature of the greater good in its own simple way, and is quite effective in doing so, even if it pales in comparison to the complexity of other comic book movies. It’s a great popcorn flick, however, and if you ever get bored you only need turn your attention to the fantastic sets and art design to keep you going.

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The Golden Compass is set in a parallel world not dissimilar to our own, where humans have their souls outside their bodies in animal forms known as Dæmons. Their world is linked to many other parallel worlds by the misunderstood power of ‘Dust’. Dakota Blue Richards is Lyra Belacqua, an orphan who lives in a secular/scientific school of high regard, and adores her scientist uncle Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig). After he makes a major breakthrough in his study of Dust, an attempt on Asriel’s life by a representative of the mysterious Magisterium leads to his rebellion and Lyra’s removal from school by Mrs Coulter (Nicole Kidman). Meanwhile, Lyra’s best friend Roger (Ben Walker) is kidnapped by ‘Goblers’, evil-doers who abduct children for unknown purposes. During her subsequent quest to find Roger she will inspire others to join her in what quickly becomes clear is a major battle between righteous free-thinkers and the oppressive Magisterium.

The Golden Compass is filled with generally well animated and realised fantastical creatures, from talking polar bears to the varied animals that make up the many characters’ dæmons. As representatives of the souls of their humans, they are playful or violent, sneaky and cruel, and often interact with each other with unexpected effects. The CGI is strong with only occasional moments that don’t quite work – particularly when two dæmons are interacting – and the colours and set design all combine to produce a world similar but differentiated from our own. Its appearance may be its best feature, although the final battle before the ‘to be continued’ ending suffers from too-rapid editing and being set in the polar nighttime – the characters are almost impossible to identify.

Dakota Blue Richards is quite charming, and she needs to be as Lyra starts out fairly unlikeable, before finding better qualities as the story progresses. She is surrounded by ‘name’ actors such as Kidman, Craig, Sam Elliott and Christopher Lee, as well as voice acting by others such as Freddie Highmore, Ian McKellen, Ian McShane, Kristin Scott Thomas and Kathy Bates. Unfortunately, none bar Kidman gets adequate time or character development to allow them to make their mark.

This may be the greatest problem with The Golden Compass – in its haste to get to the big action scenes and battle sequences, it forgets that the audience needs to care about those fighting (and dying). This may be subsequent to the need to explain so much of the world and its quirks, as the exposition in the opening half overwhelms the character information to the point that each is given rare moments to define themselves before being replaced by another whom we must get to know. Given it runs only 113 minutes – which is a nice change from the trend of making overlong films that just need some editing – it has room for another few minutes to allow a more comfortable pace.

While there is potential for an involving story complete with potent allegory to evolve in later films (there are two further books in the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy), this first suffers from being forced to define the world and its peoples. The Golden Compass unfortunately joins the list of fantasy-based film failures, in spite of its massive comparative budget of US$180 million. Rewatch The Lord of the Rings instead.

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Warned up front to watch closely, and then told the basic structure of the film in the guise of explaining the architecture of stage illusion, the audience has a lot expected of them in The Prestige. The tale is told in several separate but connected timelines, with neither date-stamping nor narration to explain their relative positions in the storyline. As if that weren’t enough, the film is full of overt misdirection and subtle suggestion – an uneasy sense pervades, that things of importance are being missed, while those of irrelevance are noted. One can never be sure of ones assumptions, nor if the tidbits of information are crucial or red herring. For those who find mystery thrillers difficult to watch, Nolan may just be asking too much.

Christian Bale is wonderful again, and is fast becoming one of Hollywood’s most reliable leads. His Alfred Borden, brilliant magician but lacklustre showman, is intense and angry, and dominates his scenes. Bale is balanced by Hugh Jackman, who gives what may be his best screen performance to date as less talented but more showy Robert Angier. His eventual decline into obsessive madness is quite brilliant, and his additional turn as Gerald Root showcases his range. The remaining cast, including Michael Caine (in yet another supporting role in a busy 2006) and Scarlett Johansson, are all impressive, and David Bowie is intriguing as Nikola Tesla.

The main problem with The Prestige is that although it will mean different things to different people, and some may rejoice at the tidy way all the strands come together at the end, others will find this diminishes the mystery and intrigue. Plot threads and timelines are merged so cleanly that it feels more like showing off than is natural. Additionally, the film is firmly rooted in the late 19th century, and Nolan does a wonderful job of evoking this era – on-screen audience astonishment at what science can offer is tempered by its treatment as sideshow spectacle – and yet the outcome requires a leap of faith towards science fiction that weakens the whole basis of the story in simple illusion.

While The Prestige contains excellent performances, it always feels as though Nolan is trying to be just a little too clever, with his multiple timelines and hints and misdirections. Stripped of these extravagances, the plot is straightforward and the outcome predictable, aside from the somewhat fantastical sci-fi manner in which resolution is found. Enjoyable, but perhaps not for everyone, and certainly not for those who wish their entertainment to be a little less like hard work.

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Like Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi), Howl’s Moving Castle has a wondrous beginning. Not only does it feature a heroine who works by day as a milliner (an underrepresented field in feature film narrative), but the world is fleshed out beautifully with stunning settings and marvellously comic creations. Turniphead has to be one of the best scarecrow characters of recent years (he’s much cleverer than the one that had no brain), and the film makes some clever observations about ageing and the elderly. Unfortunately Howl himself is kind of disappointing – a bit of a whining ponce, really. Plus there’s the fact that (like most anime creations) he seems to be stuck in the late 80s/early 90s, with his super high pants (Mark would like them), billowing shirt and sparkling eyes.

The film falls apart towards the end as we sluggishly work our way through the last half hour. Again, like Spirited Away, I simply didn’t care by the time the last act came around – I just wanted it to be over. There are some pathetic ten second resolutions in the last few moments that downright insult the first half of the film. On a macro level, there is a general anti-war theme, although the background story surrounding the ongoing war is pretty hazy at best.

Unfortunately, I had no choice but to see the English dub, and I’m sure the film suffers from the interpretation. Christian Bale (Batman Begins) is not doing any favours for his career, and whilst not as bad as the original Akira English dub (‘let’s ride!’), there are quite a few lacklustre character moments, particularly from Calcifer (Billy Crystal

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