The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies and the Fight for the Lonely Mountain
The Battle of the Five Armies wraps up the Hobbit with glorious fights and great CGI, but for me it’s too long and should have been two films, not three.
The Battle of the Five Armies wraps up the Hobbit with glorious fights and great CGI, but for me it’s too long and should have been two films, not three.
My Guardians of the Galaxy review: a funny, scrappy space ride with a great soundtrack, a brilliant Rocket and Groot, and a forgettable villain.
My The Matrix Revolutions review: amazing action, a bleak mood, weak Smith CGI and an ending that left me with questions. 2.5 to 3 out of 5.
My The Matrix Reloaded review: great freeway action, but the rave, the Architect and the twins left me cold. Not the continuation I wanted. 3 out of 5.
My The Matrix 1999 review: the cryptic ads, five trips back to the cinema, the dojo, the subway and the rooftop. Everything about it worked. 5 out of 5.
My Revenge of the Sith review: Vader’s birth is the useful part and Order 66 is interesting, but the rest was average. 3.5 out of 5.
My Attack of the Clones review: slightly better than the last one, with good fights and a story that was a waste of time. 2 out of 5.
My The Phantom Menace review: I queued for the midnight launch and it hurt. Jar Jar, midi-chlorians and a slow plot. 1.2 out of 5.
My Return of the Jedi review: the Ewoks put people off but I loved it, from Han’s rescue to Endor to Vader and the Emperor. Better than Empire for me.
My The Empire Strikes Back review: the Hoth battle, Luke and the wampa, Yoda, Cloud City and Vader’s reveal. One of the darkest endings ever. 10 out of 5.
My X-Men: Days of Future Past review: two casts, a wrecked young Charles, the Quicksilver scene and an ending I’m still in two minds about.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 crams in three villains and one devastating ending. Garfield and Stone are great. The film around them is doing too much.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier turns Marvel into a seventies conspiracy thriller, and I think it’s one of the better MCU films so far.
My Resident Evil Retribution review: good action and some favourite faces back, but nothing much happens and Alice as a mom didn’t work. 2.5 to 3 out of 5.
The Amazing Spider-Man reboots Peter Parker five years after Raimi. Andrew Garfield’s take, mechanical web-shooters, and a Lizard that never quite lands.
My Avengers 2012 review: Joss Whedon turned five films of setup into a team-up that works, funny and legible where it counts.
My Resident Evil Afterlife review: 3D that didn’t work for me, a copout loss of Alice’s powers, but baddies that match the games. 3 to 3.5 out of 5.
My Resident Evil Extinction review: a desert apocalypse, an Alice with no limits and a clone twist. Fun, but not my favourite. 8.0 out of 10.
Spider-Man 3 finally puts the black suit on screen and then wastes it, with a thin Venom, a buried Sandman and a jazz club scene I can’t defend.
My Resident Evil Apocalypse review: characters lifted straight from the games, bigger action, a superhero Alice, and a solid 10 out of 10 from me.
Spider-Man 2 review. Molina turns Doc Ock into a man overruled by his own machine, the train scene is iconic, and Peter walks away from the job.