Seen in 2012

Confusing, farcical and bizarre, Stardust is a mess. But stick with it and it's an enjoyable mess. Extra points for that scene with De Niro in a dress.

Never ages, never bores. Perfect performances, perfect songs. This film will live forever.

The first third of Wall-E is utter perfection, channeling Chaplin and Keaton with silent movie prowess.
The rest is charming but the environmental message is so overt it's a bit cloying.

Sturdy adaptation of the first HP book. Solid performances throughout but a lot of the special effects haven't aged well, and the ending is always a bit of an anti-climax.

This film doesn't know what it is. Comedy, romance or plain farce?
Some really hilarious classic Carrey moments, but features so many (almost offensive) gay stereotypes that it annoyed somewhat.

Occasionally moving biopic of John Lennon's early life.
Features some great performances, especially from Kristin Scott Thomas and Anne Marie Duff, but ultimately feels culture-lite.

Superb black and white short combining laughs and suspense, with an excellent cast with Michael Fassbender and Liam Cunningham.

Comedy drama focusing on asylum seekers in Britain. This short doesn't quite hit the mark with its switching between realism and farce. The production values also let it down somewhat.

Repetitive and irritating, this short film tries to hard to be cool,and only fails.

One joke comedic short where a foul mouthed chav talks constantly to anyone who'll listen. Reasonably amusing yet needs a conclusion.

Hilarious and original animated short featuring, well, a man in a cat. Some real gross moments and utter bizarreness add to its charm.

A short with a crazy plot and shock ending. Another name to watch.

Possibly the funniest and unexpected short I've ever seen. It may only be a few minutes long but it's genius.

Believe the hype. The Artist is perfect in every way. Funny, moving, beautiful and inspiring. Jean Dujardin is really one to watch.

Oh dear. Duncan Jones blew me away with Moon, and then exasperates me with following it up with this dull thriller. It has no personality, and no real suspense, and I figured out who did it on the first "play" of events.

Watchable sci-fi horror with genuinely horrible monsters, Pandorum is trying to be the new Alien. Of course, it doesn't even come close, but it's reasonably enjoyable silliness.

Uneven and uninspiring adaptation of the wonderful Philip Pullman novel. Dodgy CGI adds to its failings. A real shame.

Disappointing Ghibli animation that lacks the magic present in so many other Miyazaki films. Some cute moments are there but I lost interest halfway through and found the ending a bit strange.

Dark and odd film loosely following a murder investigation in the suburbs, when two strangers meet by chance on a walk and spend two days together. The limited locations really work and great turns from the two leads help this become one of the more interesting debut films I've seen.

Flashy, funny and a riot of action, this sequel meets expectations for fans of the first film. Both Downey Jnr and Law have their characters down pat now and are clearly having a ball, ricocheting off each other with aplomb. The plot is more solid and Jared Harris' turn as Moriarty is a delight as he proves a formidable foe for Holmes.

Melancholy biopic focusing on the lives of two boxer brothers, it concentrates mostly on the drug addiction problems of Dicky rather than his up and coming brother Micky (you couldn't make those names up!), but that is its strength. A towerhouse performance from Bale, and a happy ending brings it all nicely together.

Ridiculous yet actually quite chilling sci-fi nightmare of Artificial Intelligence gone haywire.
Julie Christie does well considering she's the only person on screen for the most part, but bad special effects let it down.
Great sinister ending though.

Mostly pointless "updating" of a tired horror franchise, at least it carries on from the original film and isn't just a remake.
Mostly unscary but does feature a reasonably likeable cast and may ensure even more sequels for Jason Voorhees.

See my full review here:
www.listal.com/viewentry/1905629

Touching, sweet and very funny love story that focuses on the unusual relationship between a young man and an 80 year old woman. Full of pitch perfect moments and dark comedy, it reinforces your faith in love.

A real mess of a sci-fi/psychological drama that flits between fantasy and reality to the point of annoyance. Even a good turn by Sam Riley and other cast members cannot save it.

This short from the guy who brought us Garth Margenghi is in a similar vein - a pastiche of a popular genre - here 1970s cop films.
Brilliantly shot and portrayed, I wish it was feature length.

Read my full review here:
www.listal.com/viewentry/1965379