Cyrus Review: Mother Lover

CYRUS (15): On General Release 10th September

Jay and Mark Duplass have so far made their way in Hollywood by impressing people with their short films and well-received mumblecore features like The Puffy Chair and Baghead. Unfortunately, their latest project, Cyrus, just fails to hit the high notes of comedy and the depths of emotion that they’re clearly aiming for with their handheld indie style.

John C. Reilly stars as John, a middle-aged editor whose life took a downturn when his wife Jamie (Catherin Keener) left him seven years ago. After Jamie forces him to come to a party with her, John manages to catch the eye of Molly (Marisa Tomei), despite being drunk and emotionally needy. Read more

The Last Exorcism Review: Farmkille

THE LAST EXORCISM: On General Release Friday 3rd September

Take one disenchanted preacher, leave him at a farm in the middle of nowhere and add one conveniently shark-eyed girl who seems to be possessed by Satan. Cut the power, set the camera to shaky and leave to simmer for 90 minutes. Eli Roth knows this horror recipe better than most and in The Last Exorcism, he and director Daniel Stamm cook up a decent flick which plays on religious doubt to great effect.

Mixing well-practiced horror machinery with subtle and probing character development, this tale of a priest trying to expose the fraud of his church by filming his final exorcism is good but not quite great. The German director deliberately creates a creepy ambiguity, but ultimately it is this mystery which eventually swallows the film to some extent. Some audiences may well be drawn further in by this, but those who enjoy a twist that can be explained will be slightly disappointed. Yet an intersting angle and a good lead from Patrick Fabian as the bright but cynical priest distracts us from a plot which has not so much been well beaten, but ploughed up and turned into a motorway. Read more

Jonah Hex Review: Cursed

JONAH HEX (15): On General Release Friday 3rd September

Sometimes reviewers can be quite harsh, but let me assure you, we love movies and are willing to give almost anything a chance (sorry Shank). Having said that, after seeing the posters and trailers for Jonah Hex, I found myself saying, “Megan Fox! She’s an actress? She’s barely a human”. Which is fine because Jonah Hex is barely a movie.

Set in the old West of 1876, the time of America’s centennial, Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is a gruff bounty hunter whose scarred visage can be seen on wanted posters everywhere he goes. Hex is out for revenge on the man who not only gave him his scar but killed his wife and child; Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), his psychotic commanding officer. Read more

22 Bullets Review: Out Of Ammo

22 BULLETS: On General Release Friday 3rd September

Jean Reno has had a bit slump of late. His seminal performance is undoubtedly 1994’s Léon where he played the titular honourable hitman for hire. Since then, he’s not really had much to write home about, appearing in a number of films which will quickly fade from public consciousness (Armoured anyone? Couples Retreat?)

Sadly 22 Bullets will do nothing to bring Jean Reno back to prominence even though he’s easily the best thing about the film. He stars at Charly Mattei, a retired Marseilles gangster living with his son and wife and trying to put his ugly past behind him. But when he survives a hit in a car park which sees him riddled with bullets (guess how many!), he vows revenge on his assailants. Read more

Dinner For Schmucks Review: Sous Sous

DINNER FOR SCHMUCKS (15): On General Release Friday 3rd September

With one quite obvious exception, it is true to say that there are few things worse than an average comedy. Not only has the offending film shown the temerity to not be amazing, but it has also been put together with just enough expertise to prevent us from wallowing in it’s crapness. Both attributes will ultimately consign it to the supermarket shelf, where it will be passed over for much poorer – but much cheaper – options. (Tesco recently tricked me into paying £3 for Quantum of Solace..)

Dinner For Schmucks is such a movie. Punctuated with clever lines, ushered along by some good situation slapstick and boasting a supporting cast of high calibre, this is a screwball comedy that looks great on paper. Unfortunately, it was then committed to celluloid. Read more

The Switch Review: Switched Up…

THE SWITCH (12A): On General Release Wednesday 1st September

If I’m honest, the prospect of watching The Switch didn’t fill me with much anticipation. And if I’m honest, the reality of watching said film was also pretty underwhelming. Oh, it wasn’t awful. If I had nothing else to do in the world then maybe I would watch it again. But that’s about as far as it goes.

We begin with Kassie (played by Jennifer Aniston). Of course she is a lonely career woman, desperately longing to have a child but with no decent man in sight to, ahem, fulfil her desires. Obviously she is blind to the charms of her best friend Wally (Jason Bateman) who is (again obviously) secretly in love with her. Soon Kassie decides she can’t wait around to find a decent bloke and instead remembers that these days, sisters are doing it for themselves. She opts for artificial insemination, which Wally highly disapproves of. Read more

Grown Ups Review: Wasted Youth

Grown Ups (12A): On General Release Wednesday 25th August

Adam Sandler used to be funny. Ten years ago he was knocking out comedies like Happy Gilmore where his brand of barely caged anarchic humour was enough to cover for the predictability of his film’s plot lines. But as time went on, he never really outgrew this mould and eventually the beast became tamed and steeped in a kind of schmaltzy sentimentality in a calculated effort to endear himself to a wider audience.

Watching Grown Ups is like having to watch someone else’s holiday video – it might have been funny if you were there but for everyone else it’s a torturous experience, a tedious waste of time in which you’re constantly looking at your watch. Read more

The Girl Who Played With Fire Review: Second Degree Burns

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (15): On General Release Friday 27th August

When journalist Dag Svensson approaches Millennium magazine with a detailed thesis about sex trafficking in Sweden, publisher Michael Blomkvist is only too happy to investigate. But when Svensson and his girlfriend (and co-researcher) Mia Johansson are murdered, and his old friend Lisbeth Salander’s fingerprints are found on the gun used to kill them, Blomkvist must attempt to pry truth from fiction in an effort to exonerate her.

The Girl Who Played with Fire is a tense and engaging thriller. If you have read the source material, then the plot developments are unlikely to shock. Actually, even if you are new to The Millennium trilogy, you may find that some of the plot twists are slightly contrived. Though Blomkvist is the primary character, the film’s story really belongs to Salander. While Blomkvist seeks to expose criminals, Salander endeavours to make them pay. Read more

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Review: 1UP

SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD (12A): On General Release Wednesday 25th August

This summer’s been a bit of a letdown as far as blockbusters go. The A-Team was a wash out, The Expendables was disposable, Knight And Day a waste of space and the less said about The Last Airbender the better. With that in mind, all eyes turn to Scott Pilgrim as the last hope of the summer box office – a lone solider carrying the flag for good cinema while its comrades lie bleeding to death on the battlefield.

Scott is a 22 year old bass guitarist in an up and coming band called Sex Bob-omb (a nice little reference to a Super Mario character for all you geeks out there – references that Scott Pilgrim is littered with like so many Super Mushrooms). After a tough break up with his last girlfriend, Scott is now dating a high school student called Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) much to the derision of his band mates and his gay roommate Wallace (Kieran Culkin). Read more

OTB Movie Podcast 3: The Critics Strike Back

After putting the last coat of paint on our shiny new Death Star, we’re back to talk about this week’s news, movie releases and trailers.

We’re joined this week by Ewan Roberts who’ll be giving his views along with OTB regulars Emily Moulder and Jez Sands. Now witness the power of this fully armed and operational Podcast!

Download this podcast

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