The Muppets

Well, it's finally here...it's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights, it's time to get things started on The Muppets review tonight.

Yeah, sorry. But I'm a bit of a Muppet fan...

Ever since hearing rumours of a new Muppet movie two years ago, I've kept an eye out for any news, good or bad, and tried my best remain hopeful of a much needed return to form. As anyone who watched anything offered since Muppets From Space will know, our fuzzy friends have been seriously lacking in the originality, fun, and most importantly, humour departments. As a kid, I, like thousands of others, couldn't get enough of the Muppets. We all know they're basically designed for children, however, there is one thing they seemed to lose track of in the last decade; and that is that The Muppet Show and all the movies were crammed to bursting point full of ridiculous, wall-breaking-direct-to-adults humour. Self-deprecating jokes that are designed to fly over the heads of the kiddies. And that, I am pleased to say, has finally come back.

The first piece of good news we got about the new film was that Jason Segel had written it, a man who is probably one of the brightest comedy writers around at the minute. The story of The Muppets is a basic, but solid one: the gang have lost their prime-time fame and, like so many TV, movie and music stars gone their separate ways. Now, upon super-fan Walter (a brand new Muppet character) discovering that the Muppet Studio are about to be torn down, heads on a quest to find and reunite the cast to put on one final telethon-style show to save their old home.

So thanks to this, we get a classic Muppet set-up: Kermit takes a more 'straight' role, in his battle with whether or not to fall for Miss Piggy; Jason Segel and Amy Adams do pretty much the same thing; Walter finds himself a new member of the cast; and the cast themselves are allowed to get on with all the shenanigans you'd expect. Yep, you see them all, even for just a little bit: Fozzie, Gonzo, The Swedish Chef, Animal...so naturally, that gives them the excuse to set up a montage movie spoof just like they used to.

Now, what with this being a Muppet movie, naturally it's a tad musical. But thankfully, they've left behind the slightly over-Disneyed ways of the past, and gone back to tongue-in-cheek cheesiness. There are a couple of numbers in there that you feel yourself slightly cringing through, until, that is, Segel shrugs knowingly at the camera...or you see Micky Rooney or Jim Parsons of all people turning up in the middle. They didn't win the Oscar for best original song for no reason, and you'll love the 'Muppet Or A Man' sequence, not least for the Segel/Muppet, Walter/Man (Parsons) segment.

The second piece of good news we got about the movie was the seemingly endless list of cameos we're treated too, just how it always used to be on the show. At different points we see...deep breath... Dave Grohl, Alan Arkin, Zach Galifianakis, Whoopi Goldberg, Emily Blunt, Selena Gomez, Neil Patrick Harris, Ken Jeong, Sarah Silverman, Kristen Schaal and Feist. A particularly highlight being Harris' exclamation of "Yeah, I don't know why I'm not hosting either" when answering a call on the telethon. Add to that the appearance of Jack Black...I'm not really sure you can call it a cameo, given that he's a pretty integral part of the plot, even if he doesn't really say more than 10 lines, but each of them is definitely worth it (just wait for his disgust at a particularly grungey Muppet performance). And the best thing about these cameos? Pretty much all of the stars asked to be in the picture, not the other way round. In fact, there were some seriously big names filmed, but what with time constraints looming over them, the producers had to cut their scenes. To name but a few of those cut: Ricky Gervais, Billy Crystal, Mila Kunis, Ben Stiller, Lady Gaga and Danny Trejo. Slightly disappointed we didn't get them all!

The only disappointment I had with The Muppets was that we really didn't see quite enough of the fuzzy cast. For example, Gonzo, who has been a main player in at least three of the Muppet movies, barely has five lines. Similarly, Rizzo the Rat has, unless I'm mistaken, no speaking role on screen. Our favourite old hecklers, Waldorf and Statler are also criminally underused, though admittedly hilarious in their brief appearance.

The true highlight of the film is the telethon itself: a 20 minute version of The Muppet Show, including opening titles. Nostalgia trip doesn't really do it justice though, because they've made sure to broaden their humour to snatch all ages of audience, whether that's through the mixed guests (Goldberg, Black and Gomez) or to the basic gags, subtle breaks and movie nods throughout, we're all included, and we all laugh.

Overall, yes, this movie hits the mark for future Muppet efforts. It brings back the laughter, it brings back the daftness, it needs to bring back some more of the characters, but hopefully, and I really mean hopefully, it'll bring back the Muppets. Kids love them, adults love them, but we forgot about them being in the big picture. Guilty pleasure or not, I don't care, anyone who hasn't smiled at a piece of Muppet slapstick, or a ludicrous cameo is someone not to be trusted in my eyes. Segel wrote this film to get the Muppets back where they belong, and he certainly managed it, now we want them to stick around. Who knows, you might just see The Muppet Show cropping back up on your TV screens some day.

4/5 - Brilliant at breaking you down to the basic levels of Muppet humour, and makes you enjoy what feels like going back in time, to when they were big TV stars. Only complaint I have is that you just don't see quite enough of some of the characters. Go see it, you'll feel appropriately all warm and fuzzy.

War Horse

Greetings once again one and all, and a belated Happy New Year.

After a lengthy break without physically being able to get to a cinema, I hath returned, and what a fantastic piece of film I come back to. This review is on Steven Spielberg's first live action movie since the fourth instalment of Indiana Jones...which I still maintain was all right, but let's not dwell on that one. Yep, we're talking about War Horse.

Adapted both from the 1982 novel by Michael Morpurgo and the highly successful stage version thereof, War Horse is the tale of a young man who raises and trains a thoroughbred horse, before it is sold to the army at the outbreak of World War One. I don't want to mince my words here, and don't want a usual jokey style to stumble in the way of this, but this film deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.

The whole concept of the story is hokey and a little cheesey, after all, it was initially written as a novel for children. However, at no point during the entire film do you find yourself questioning the plot or recognising any cheesiness at all. Under the influence of Spielberg and the screenplay offered by Richard Curtis and Lee Hall (of Billy Elliott fame), you are swept up and sucked in to just about every emotion you thought you had, plus the odd couple you might newly discover.

The movie is framed fantastically; we are led through the innocent, happy farm lifestyle of the Norracotts of Devon, who buy Joey the horse, essentially bankrupting themselves in the process. Life gets hard for the family, until their son Albert (Jeremy Irvine) trains the horse to help their labour. This scene is then shattered when a ruined crop means Joey is sold to the British army to aid the war cause.

The journey undertaken by Joey from this point is staggering, through a series of events both tragic and horrific, he is passed from owner to owner, British, German, French and back again. But each time he is moved on, he deeply affects the life of those who take care of him.

I genuinely do not wish to divulge too much more of the plot, as it deserves to be seen for itself, but know this: no matter how coincidental a journey Joey's may be, you never let the thought spoil the story for you. This is a tale that truly works on screen.

The movie also demonstrates that Spielberg is, if not the finest director working, he is at the very least the best in the business at conveying the true horrors of First and Second World Wars. He showed us the nightmares of the Holocaust in Schindler's List, and the harrowing task of the soldiers landing Normandy in Saving Private Ryan; this time out Spielberg undertakes the challenge of taking one of the most truly soul destroying battles in military history, and doing it justice in cinema; The Somme. Spielberg gets everything perfect here, from the gut-wrenching wait for the British soldiers to go over the top, to their inevitable mass losses as they ran directly into enemy fire, surrounded by their fallen comrades and a never-ending jungle of barbed wire, we are forced to see just how terrifying an experience the battle must have been. But importantly, in one of the most memorable scenes of the film, Spielberg also shows us the compassion and mercy the men of opposing sides shared for one another, whereby a Tommy (from South Shields, no less) and a German soldier call a truce in the name of aiding a certain four-legged fellow.

The acting is superb on all parts, with great supporting roles from the likes of David Thewlis and Emily Watson. But again, it is the horse itself who takes the plaudits here. Lord only knows how he managed it, but Spielberg really does make sure that the audience understands exactly how Joey must be feeling at each and every turn, despite the fact that you'd expect a non-talking, non-human character to be easily overshadowed by the vast war being fought around him.

You will almost certainly catch yourself with something getting stuck in your eye at some point during this film, if not several times. It has Oscar-winner written all over it, and is simply another fantastic movie to add to the list of Spielberg classics; I very much doubt he will believe he has made many finer films than this.

5/5 - This is the film to beat in 2012. There are many I am anticipating this year, but they have some task in toppling this one.

Go. See. War Horse.

The Troll Hunter

It's been a while, but we're back and kicking...because that's so very obviously a common phrase. Not really been able to get myself to the cinema for a little while, but a Halloween movie marathon did leave me with a little gem to share with you... Presenting, The Troll Hunter.

The Troll Hunter is a Norwegian (where else?) light-hearted horror, presented in the mockumentary style of The Blair Witch Project, however, the genre is pretty much the only thing these two have in common. Originally released in 2010, the film is entirely in the native tongue, and as such suffered a lack of interest over here due to subtitles, I'm pleased to say it's starting to get a nice bit of a cult following.

This is the story of three university students tracking the mysterious appearances of dead bears all over Norway, before stumbling upon a very strange man at every single scene of the crime. They nag and stalk him until he relents, finally revealing that he is, in fact, a troll hunter, an employee of the government of Norway responsible for keeping the population of trolls under control, whilst working entirely in secret.

Okay, I know. It sounds absolutely preposterous. And in all honesty, it is. However, my advice here is simple: don't be a boring fart. This is a great example of how to make a tongue-in-cheek 'horror' movie. When you consider that the actor playing the eponymous hunter is one of Norway's most notable comics should tell you that this is to be watched for a bit of fun. The performances of all the cast are very open and honest, and they really do create the illusion that you're watching actual documentary footage...though definitely massively coincidental footage at that. There is a sense of humour that seeps from each of the cast, particularly brilliant is the debate over whether a troll will be able to smell the blood of a Muslim, or whether it's just Christians they like the taste of.

You will be impressed by the special effects too, and rightly so. There's really no way (NORWAY!) you could take this film as a good watch if they didn't make the trolls something special to look at, and they really are. Whether it's a three headed woodland troll or an 80ft mountain king, you'll certainly not be confusing them for those weird doll things...

The plot is, like I said, a bit coincidental, but then again, which films aren't? It is almost guilty of being a little too rainbows and sunshine cheese towards the end (no spoilers here), but saves itself entirely due to an ever present sense of humour and brilliantly daft little subplots running around in there. You get all sorts: environmentalism, animal rights, a fairly unexpected but unobtrusive love interest and probably one of the most unique car chases you're ever likely to see.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, I really did. Go see it!

4/5 - Brilliant watch if you're looking for something original and fun, but still up for a little bit of a scare.

Farvel!

Top Ten Halloween Horrors

A moderately spooky evening to you all. What with one of my favourite faux-holidays of the year coming up, and the inevitable (and greatly anticipated) influx of horror films due to be shown on TV, I thought I'd share with you my favourite movies to watch around Halloween time. Yep, be they new, old, inbetweeny, I love a good horror film. In fact, I love a bad horror film, I mean, who doesn't get entertainment out of predicting when a drug taking teen is about to be picked off by the giant ghoul with the kitchen knife/machete/chainsaw/tomato? So here it is, my top ten favourite Halloween Horrors.

10. Let The Right One In

When this first came out, I must admit, I thought it was just another foreign language film doomed to be fawned over by the pretentious section of cinema goers. I'm glad I was wrong. Let The Right One In is a brilliant and refreshing new take on the vampire genre in a time where we have to suffer through vampires being the new fad, a great big thank you to that sparkly prat and his hairy werewolfy chum. None of that here. Nope, here we have a constantly eerie, and yet weirdly charming tale of a young boy who is bullied, and who stumbles upon an odd little girl who doesn't quite seem right. If nothing else, this piece of Swedish magnificence forces you to think about the what-ifs of vampire life...or undeath...or....something like that.

9. The Mist

Just one of many Stephen King novels to have been thrown at the big screen, and one which certainly works better than a bulk of the ones the author didn't want adapted, The Mist is probably one of the most disturbing films you're likely to see. Simple enough prospect; in true King style, everything is pretty much hunky-dory in Smalltown America, but things are bubbling under...and a portal to another dimension is accidentally opened by we silly humans. Now what you get is enormous bugs, and unseen horrors lurking in the eponymous mist that engulfs the town, but it is the social politics ripping through the survivors which is more disturbing. Extremist religious nutjobs and the suspicious hillbillies threaten our heroes throughout. Don't watch if you don't like really deep, really...really emotionally scarring endings, because that's certainly what you get here. Oh, and it's done by serial King adaptor Frank Darabont, who also did The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and current TV greatness, The Walking Dead, so you know it's good.

8. Dawn Of The Dead

If you haven't seen this, there is something wrong with you, there really is. George A. Romero's Dawn Of The Dead is, in my opinion the seminal zombie movie. The tale of survivors of the ongoing zombie apocalypse taking refuge in a shopping mall has become so ingrained into the minds of film fans that the majority of us can't help but form zombie contingency survival plans for pretty much every building we enter...especially shopping centres now. Rammed with cheeky humour (everyone in a shopping mall is a zombie...hur hur) and genuine scares throughout, the film even had time to produce a classic quote of movie history: When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

7. 28 Days Later

Fairly quickly after George A. Romero's first few Dead offerings, the zombie genre died a death, and didn't crawl back out of the grave, clawing for our brains until 2002, when Danny Boyle gave us 28 Days Later. Basically, this story took our ideas of "what if zombies actually happened" and showed us just that. It's a modern zombie film, with all the daftness and camp taken out, meaning that it's really quite brutal. Anyone who has seen it will remember the truly mesmerising scene of our hero, seemingly the sole survivor of a virus ravaged London walking through the notable streets of the capital, totally alone, not a soul in sight. 28 Days Later makes zombies seem possible, and for that reason alone...it'll scare you out of most of your pants.

6. Shaun Of The Dead

The third and final zombie flick of the bunch, and it's definitely a goodun. Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg's Shaun Of The Dead is both an absolutely hilarious comedy film and a genuinely chilling horror movie. Inspired by an episode of the equally brilliant Spaced, this is a film that lets a close group of zombie fans deliver countless tributes to their favourites of the genre, either by making you laugh or recoil in horror. Whether it's simply "You've got red on you" or the lovingly stolen "We're coming to get you Barbara!", Shaun Of The Dead knows what it's doing, and it'll confuse you...you want to laugh at it all the way through, but you can't help be scared by it.

5. The Innocents

Time for an oldie, but make no mistakes about it, it may have just reached a half century, but The Innocents is one of the most haunting (literally) films you're ever likely to see. Based on stage adaptation of Henry James' The Turn Of The Screw, this is the tale of a governess who takes charge of the two children left in a stately home by their nonchalant uncle, but things seem to be awry from the very off. The housemaid seems to believe in pretending to get rid of a problem...and the previous two members of staff, having mysteriously died  seem to have a presence in the home. Are they really there...are they trying to possess the children? Who is that singing in the garden...who keeps appearing at the window...and who stands over the lake? Seriously, the lake and window scene actually scare the living bajeebuz out of me to this day. Oh, and if that's not enough, part of the soundtrack is used in the cursed videotape seen in The Ring, so yeah, it's pretty damn scary.

4. The Grudge

It was absolutely trashed by the critics, but seemingly loved by a large group of fans, it is, in my opinion, the king of the J-horror (...though really it's K-Horror) movement which swept Western audiences in the early 2000s, it's the pants wetting The Grudge. A remake of the South Korean Ju-on: The Grudge. The story ropes you in, simply because you realise that no matter what you do, this curse is going to claim you. The feeling of helplessness really makes you squirm for the victims, not to mention the fact that tiny, blue-tinted Asian boys who meow are apparently UNBELIEVABLY CREEPY. And then you have the lovely Kayako, the lady of the haunted house, who is quite probably one of the most terrifying creations of cinema history. The bone creaking, throat rattling spindly onryu ghost reminds you of The Ring...but she doesn't just come out of the television...just you try hiding from her...I don't recommend under the duvet.

3. The Shining

Again, if you haven't seen this film, there's something wrong with you, The Shining has become a classic of cinema itself, nevermind horror. Stanley Kubrick's take on Stephen King's masterpiece is the example of tension and suspense...plus a masterclass in psychotic breakdowns from Jack Nicholson. This story has made us creeped out by hotels, which takes some doing. Any number of scenes can be chosen to scare you, whether it's the waterfall of blood, the exchange with Lloyd the barman or those exceptionally shudder-inducing twins, the film may not be as ground-breaking in scares as it was upon first release, but I dare any first time viewers to not freak out a little when watching Mr Torrance snap. After all, all work and no play...

2. The Thing

The 1980s brought us many things, and unfortunately, many of them we can't forgive...mullets, lycra and Madonna, for a start. But the 80s did give us something we should forever be grateful for: movie special effects. The Thing is a classic example of why you don't need CGI to impress or terrify, when a much more gruesome effect can be achieved by the prop department. The story of an ice base team set upon by an alien which can take the shape of seemingly any living thing. The paranoia and claustrophobia alone are enough to put the shivers in you, but then there's the Thing itself, which we never see in a natural form, only in the disgustingly mutated shape of the crew and even their huskies. The infamous "head spider" scene has got to be one of the most memorable of any film, and I'll be amazed if you get the same stomach-churning, flesh tearing effect from a computer that you get here. Truly disgusting, but absolutely brilliant.

1. Halloween

Okay, I know it looks like a massive cliche to pick this as my favourite Halloween Horror, but all gimmickyness aside, Halloween deserves the top spot. For a start, it jump-started the slasher genre, which hadn't really been done properly since Psycho, eighteen years earlier. But secondly, and most importantly, it was one of the first films to successfully merge the supernatural and the truly normal. What could be more scary than a perfectly ordinary, sleepy suburb, in the middle of celebrating the spooky holiday in the true American style, whilst unwittingly being invaded by the seemingly indestructible, unstoppable and damn right evil serial killer, Michael Myers. Society tends to be fascinated by serial killers, we tend to assign a supernatural element to them, so therefore it seems only natural that Michael Myers actually becomes the supernatural whilst on his rampage. Officially credited as "The Shape", Myers moves almost entirely silently, and simply stands in view of his victims, whether that be in plain sight in the street, or partially obscured by their laundry (probably the scariest image in most horror films I've seen), he simultaneously sneaks up on his targets, and announces himself without hiding. Yep, Halloween embodies the spirit of the holiday, no matter how old we get, we're always guilty of thinking that the boogeyman is waiting for us somewhere, and who says that it's not Myers who makes us want to sprint up the stairs like little girls when we turn off the light at night?


Thank you for reading, and let me know which films tickle your Halloween-y fancy, as I know I missed out some great ones.

Happy Halloween to you all.

Johnny English Reborn

Brace yourselves...it's time for a review of one of the least expected sequels of all time. Rowan Atkinson returns as Johnny English Reborn.

If, like me, you were a big fan of Johnny English, you're probably a massive fan of Rowan Atkinson in general. Frankly, I'd probably pay to see him in anything up to and including a one-man-show remake of Terminator 2, Alien and The Shawshank Redemption. However, like me, even as a fan you were probably thinking that despite a cult following, it wasn't really popular enough to get a sequel, let alone that one should come out eight years after the original, when pretty much every one had forgotten about the first. But NO! NO! Said Hollywood...Well, Atkinson and the writing staff really. But I'm glad they did.

Let's get this straight, no one going to see this is expecting to see a genuinely great piece of cinema, and more over, no one is really expecting the story being told to be anything more than a vehicle for spy spoofs, but what you should expect, is that any film with Rowan Atkinson attached is going to be a comedy treat with bells on it. And that's exactly what this sequel delivers.

Simply put, JER runs very similarly to the first, but plays off on the predecessor for the benefit of the fans. A great deal of the jokes are made with reference to English's previous bumblings in either the first film or the gap in between, and it's still absolutely hilarious. The plot of the film itself is essentially an amalgamation of GoldenEye and Die Another Day, spoofed in the way only we British folk can: slapsticktastically. If nothing else, this will be a guaranteed guilty pleasure for most people, as you'll catch yourself laughing even when you recognise that some of the humour is occasionally a bit cheesey.

Personally, it's something of a joy to see Atkinson back on the screen after a four year absence, because the man is a national treasure. There's a reason he's heralded as one of the finest comedy actors around, and oddly enough, Johnny English is one of the perfect characters for him to display it: he does the goofed up suave spoofs and the completely ludicrous rubber-faced classics of his Mr. Bean days (particularly shown off in the brilliantly daft Rocky-montage-ish Monk scene at the start). He is certainly the star of the show, as the screen time is almost entirely dedicated to him, and you can't help but love him.

As for the support, Rosamund Pike makes you laugh simply by recalling that she played a similar role in a Bond film ten years ago, and Gillian Anderson gives a performance you'd expect from an 'M' of a spy film. However, the secret pleasure we get out of all the support is that Tim McInnery joins Atkinson on screen once more, as his 'Q', Patch Quartermaine. McInnery's appearance reminds you just a tad of Darling in Blackadder, which as we all know, is certainly not a bad thing. The only shame is that Ben Miller's character from the first film, Bough is not seen at any point, and a daft cameo would very much have been appreciated by the fans.

Overall, this is a 'you get what you pay for' film. You turn up expecting a daft hour and a half of Rowan Atkinson doing what he does best, and in no way do you leave disappointed. Complaints? If I have any, they would simply be MORE, the second half of the film tends to leave you waiting longer between gags than the first, but when they arrive, they're usually spot on.

3/5 - I'm certainly not saying it's bad, because it's not (I was genuinely surprised by this), but it's not going to be the best comedy you're likely to find at the cinema. However, it certainly makes you laugh, and...well...It's Rowan Atkinson again!

P.S. Stick around after the credits for a great Morecambe and Wise style kitchen musical number.

2012 Films We Needs To See!

Otherwise known as the 'I Haven't Been To The Cinema In Ages' blog, this time will be looking at some of the movies coming out next year...most of which I'm unbelievably excited for. Some are also a bit pants looking. But hey-ho, roll with the punches and all that.

First up is a horror film which actually creeped me out in the trailer, The Woman In Black.

Okay, this film has a lot of pressure on it already...Daniel Radcliffe is going to have to do very well for people to take it seriously without shouting out "DERRR...WHY DON'T HE DONE USE A PATRONUS". But this film is based on a pretty scary Victorian-style novel, and adapted for the big screen by Jane Goldman, who was also responsible for Stardust, Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class, so yeah, it's got good foundations. And in terms of good horror, Victorian-style is probably the best...it brings us right back to chain rattling, corridor bothering spirits that we'll all wet our pants at without wanting to admit it... How many of us run up the stairs when we turn out the light in case a shadowy thing we can't quite see chases us? Yep, that's basically what we're talking about in this film. Radcliffe plays a lawyer seeking to sort out the legal issues of a recently deceased woman, and stays in a house plagued by supernatural mischief. Check the trailer out...I can't wait.

Second...the culmination of all the fantastic super-heroe movies... The Avengers.

I really don't think there's much I need to say abouOH MY GOD THIS IS GOING TO BE AMAZING! Look at it, we'll have Robert Downey Jnr as Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff and Mark Ruffalo as The Hulk (no picture yet) just to name a few. Oh, and it's directed by Joss Wheadon, responsible for Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Speed, Toy Story and Thor. So yes. It's going to be brilliant, I mean...come on! Definitely fake, but still entertaining trailer here.

Neeext, and it's a sci-fi piece of greatness. Prometheus.

Here it is: a new piece of the Alien franchise actually directed by Ridley Scott. After watching the series get absolutely butchered by Alien Vs Predator, it would seem Mr Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom Of Heaven, American Gangster...) has decided to go back and save his baby. Prometheus is, however, not strictly speaking a prequel. In fact, Scott has distanced it from the franchise slightly, however, the basis of the story is set 30 years prior to the first Alien outing, and explores the first possible encounters with creatures and technology seen in the other films. It stars Noomi Rapace, Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender and Guy Pearce. And it's going to be spiffing. Possibly fake trailer here.

Like you need an introduction for the next one: The Dark Knight Rises.

Unless you're a bit weird, you loved The Dark Knight, so unless you're still a bit weird, you'll definitely be waiting on the edge of your seat for this, the final part in Christopher Nolan's Batman series. This time Christian Bale and Gary Oldman are battling against Anne Hathaway's Catwoman, and Tom Hardy's Bane. Along with pretty much every one else who was in Inception. You know what to expect from this, and if it's anything like the first two, it's going to be simply fantastic. And now that we know gadgets like the batwing (a ridiculously cool plane for Batman, in case you needed to know) have been thrown in, I think I safely predict that we're all in for a bit of a treat. Trailer fun here.

Penultimate one I'm going to mention is a zombie apocalypse giant, World War Z.

It's not out until December 2012, so doesn't have a poster yet, but basically here's the jist: Brad Pitt is a UN employee travelling the world, interviewing the survivors of the zombie apocalypse, known as World War Z. It's based on the novel by Max Brooks (son of living movie god Mel), a book so popular upon it's release, you'd be hard pushed to find one in twenty people who hadn't at least heard of it. I have high hopes.

And finally, the one I really am looking forward to the most... The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Again, this one comes out too far into the future to have a poster just yet, but things really are coming together quite nicely. After a scare of whether or not it would happen, due to changes in director, Peter Jackson, the man who brought us the Lord Of The Rings films decided to step in...like anyone else should do it instead! If you've read the novel, you probably fell a little bit in love with it, and it couldn't be in safer hands than with Mr. Jackson. The cast has pretty much all been announced, the notable members include: Martin Freeman as Bilbo, Sir Ian Holm returns as the older Bilbo, Sir Ian McKellen (!) returns as Gandalf, Richard Armitage as Thorin, Andy Serkis returns as Gollum, Hugo Weaving returns as Elrond, Cate Blanchett returns as Galadriel, Christopher Lee returns as Saruman, and small cameo roles are give to Elijah Wood and Orlando Bloom as Frodo and Legolas respectively. Even Stephen Fry has a part, as the Master Of Lake-Town. And probably the most bizarre member of the cast, as the Great Goblin, is Barry Humphries...yes, that's Dame Edna.

Look, I don't need to sell this to you, it's going to be easily in the top three best performing films of the next five years, never mind next year. Millions of us will see it, and millions of us will love returning to Middle Earth again. And no, I honestly do not care just how splendidly nerdish that sounds.

Before I leave you (and you've done well to stick with it this long), it would also seem that 2012 is going to be the year of flogging a dead horse. Next year there will be unexpected (and most likely unwanted) new offerings in the following franchises: Underworld, Journey To The Centre Of The Earth, Clash Of The Titans, American Pie (actually featuring the original cast), Scary Movie, Men In Black (even including Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones....somehow) and G.I. Joe. At least there'll be a new James Bond to look forward to then.

Finally, in terms of reboot or remakes, expect to find Ghost Rider back again...even with Nicholas Cage...Yep, I have no idea how they let him have another crack at it either, a new Judge Dredd film, with Karl Urban trying to get rid of Sly Stallone's version for us... And last and definitely not least, the new version of Spider-Man comes out, which might actually you know...be good.

Thanks for reading if you managed to stick with it.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

Buenos Hellos everypeople. Seeing as I've not been able to get myself to the cinema in the last couple of weeks, I thought I'd throw something different at you. Not only am I known to be a proven film addict/saddact, I'm also pretty much just as bad when it comes to music. So here it is: my take on the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, I'm With You.

After a pretty huge, and seemingly never ending five year wait, the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album is finally here, I'm With You was released at the very end of August this year. I'd say it's worth the wait.

Now I don't want to make constant references to the previous album, so I'll try and get it all out of the way now. Let's put it simple: Stadium Arcadium was a bit rubbish. The band for some reason decided to take about five decent songs, make two more bland versions of each and put it all together to make one fairly abysmal double album, where a poor standard album would have sufficed. That album lacked a great deal of what makes the Chilis the Chilis; call that funk, soul or even just a general care for what they're doing. And I honestly believe that it is because of that album that John Frusciante, for me one of the best guitarists out there, left the band, and I think it's fair to say you'd be forgiven for thinking that that may have spelled the end for RHCP.

But praise Jesus, Buddah, Allah and Kwanzaabot it wasn't. The three long-serving members of the band regrouped and recruited Josh Klinghoffer, their long-time touring guitarist, who sounds a little bit like Frusciante, but with a great deal of his own style thrown in there on top. Good move.

The new album sounds a lot more like By The Way than the last effort, but this time with a bit more of a funk and disco influence, which goes back to the style the band is known for from the late 1980s. There's everything you'd expect from the usual three here: Anthony Kiedis' vocals are as smooth and pleasing as ever; Flea's bass lines are bouncy and funky enough; and Chad Smith's drumming is as unobtrusive yet impressive as ever. And for the new boy, it's a pretty good debut. His style, like mentioned earlier, is a little like Frusciante in places, however, he's quite fond of a much lower, reverb-y sound, which is actually pretty exciting in a weird way, as we're not really used to hearing that on a Chilis song.

However, there are a couple of drawbacks here. While Kiedis' vocals are good, some of the lyrics are just plain bizarre. I'm not really questioning an art form here, but... "Just a lot of words on an old brick wall, 
Rob a lot of banks got a pedigree scrawl. Put my peg into your square, Run around like we just don't care." Yep. My thoughts exactly.

Similarly, Flea, whilst producing nice enough and indeed impressive enough basslines, isn't really pushed into anything new. I know he's been at it for the best part of thirty years now, but his efforts on this album are pretty much the same as on the last one. Again, it's not necessarily a bad thing, but you can't help but wonder if he's been taking a bit of a back seat whilst the new guy settles a bit more. Then again, I could be, and probably am, extremely wrong, as his playing certainly suits the album.

The whole effort runs together very nicely, from the storming opener to the softer ending, I can honestly say there isn't a track on there that I don't enjoy. Particular praise has to go to Monarchy Of Roses, Ethiopia, and the lead single The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie. Not even the loss of Frusciante's vocals has dragged the band down either, as Klinghoffer provides oddly eerie harmonies in his wake.

I'm With You is a solid return to form for a band that desperately needed it. It's not fantastic, but it's nice and steady, and there's nothing wrong with that. I think I believe the band when they say that this feels almost like a completely new group, their sound is back to a similar level as it was in the late 1990s-early 2000s, but with subtle differences that've been thrown into the mix by Mr Klinghoffer.

4/5 - It's not a masterpiece, but I really enjoy it quite a lot.