The delirious sight of Meryl Streep leading a river of multigenerational women singing Dancing Queen is one of the high points of Mamma Mia!, the musical built around the songs of the hugely popular pop group ABBA. The plot sets in motion when Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Mean Girls), daughter of Donna (Streep), sends a letter to three men, inviting them to her wedding--because after reading her mother s diary, she suspects that one of them is her father. When all three arrive at the Greek island where Donna runs a hotel, Donna flips out and finds that passions she thought she d laid aside are coming back to life. But let s face it, the plot is not the point--it s a ridiculous contrivance that provides an excuse for the characters to sing the massive hits of ABBA. Regrettably, first-time film director Phyllida Lloyd (who directed the original stage production) has drawn over-the-top performances from everyone involved, even Streep, every production number hammers its exuberance into your e...

#Don t be put off ~ give it a chance ~ you will love it (2008-11-22) My wife and I went to see the stage show about a year ago . . . . . I didn t think I would enjoy it, but I did . . . . brilliant show. Then the film came out and we went to see it with some friends, I was convinced that the film would be cheesy and wouldn t be able to hold a candle to the stage show . . . . . . . . . it s one of the most entertaining films I ve ever seen . . . . . . . lifts your mood and is a really excellent feel good experience. OK so Brosnan isn t anything of a singer, but it doesn t matter beca...

#WWB (2008-11-22) I love Julie Walters and Meryl Streep but, if like me, you don t enjoy ABBA music, can I recommend you turn the volume down when singing occurs and then you could find it tolerable.

#dont believe the hype (2008-11-22) after watching this film, you can come to only one conclusion, and that is it is very bad. you have a cast of actors such as pierce brosnan, colin firth and julie walters, that atempt to sing,but lets face it, these people are actors and actresses, as you will find out if you ever have the misfortune to watch it, singing is very bad. you have a cast of lets say britannia high on crack on a greek island,and everyone smiling more than is humanly possible. meryl streep is the only thing that makes it classed as a film,great acting, and can even sin...

#SO MUCH FUN - for ABBA fans and anyone else (2008-11-22) Being a great ABBA fan, I saw the film for the first time just before the London premiere, loved it, and saw it again and again and again. . . If you are a member of the one and only Official International ABBA Fan Club in Roosendaal, The Netherlands, you know what I am talking about. If not, Google them (make sure you don t fall for imposters in Germany, etc), and become a member! Get to know all there is to know about this great film you are just about to order, enjoy recent pictures of the former ABBA members but, more than ...

#Clearly missing something (2008-11-21) Am I only the person out there who found this film dull and annoying? Pierce Brosnan s singing was painful rather than funny. I enjoy a bit of cheesy music as much as the next man but 105 minutes of ABBA ended up feeling like 180 minutes.

What s a panda to do when his dreams of kung-fu awesomeness awake to the cold reality of noodle-making? Clumsy, overweight Po (Jack Black) dreams of becoming a kung fu master like China s revered furious five, but instead seems destined to follow in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in the restaurant business. When great leader Oogway has a vision that the imprisoned kung fu warrior Tai Lung (Ian McShane) will soon escape, he declares it time to choose China s dragon warrior--one kung fu master deemed worthy of possessing the dragon s scroll and its secret to limitless power. Po and all the townspeople rush to the Jade Palace atop the highest mountain to witness the contest between Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross) and Viper (Lucy Liu), but Po is locked outside the palace. After a miracle of sorts, Po lands inside the palace gates, where he is chosen as the dragon warrior and placed under the tutelage of the decidedly non...

#One good film :D (2008-11-16) This is actually a really great film! My dad took me to see it in the cinema, cos he thought it looked good. Even though I think Jack Black is fully amazing, and Jackie Chan is awesome, I didn t think I would enjoy it, since I m not one for cartoons, even though I m not that old. I could hardly stop laughing though! It s a great film, for kids and adults, and even the odd teenager, like me! I highly recomend it, if, like me, you love comedies! :)

#The Panda of Destiny? (2008-11-12) Our story centers around Po the Panda (voiced by Jack Black). He is a Kung Fu legend. Evildoers fear him and the people adore him. The Fearsome Five long to fight with him. And everything. . . hold on, maybe that isn t the way it really is. In reality, Po works in his father s noodle restaurant waiting tables. He s way overweight and out of shape. But he dreams about Kung Fu and idolizes the Fearsome Five, Monkey (Jackie Chan), Crane (David Cross), Tigress (Angelina Jolie) Viper (Lucy Liu), and Mantis (Seth Rogen). That s why, when it is...

#Bit of a let down (2008-10-28) Heard this was a great film, but kids and I were sadly disappointed. A few funny bits, but on the whole, it felt very very long and boring!

#side splittingly funny (2008-10-28) summary: ok I m biased, I love animated movies, martial art movies, and comedy in general but this really got to me - your kids will love it too!========================Jack Black voices Po, a lazy, overweight Panda who idolises the Furious Five kung fu champions: Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Crane (David Cross), Viper (Lucy Liu) and Monkey (Jackie Chan). However, when Po gatecrashes an initiation ceremony, he is accidentally chosen to be the mythical Dragon Warrior, who is destined to save his valley from the villainous leopard Ta...

#Great fun! (2008-10-10) As many before have kindly reviewed the story, I will leave at that. What I can add is that our 3 years old loved every second of it! Haven t been able to stop her from trying kung fu kicks since!Really good fun!

Nearly 20 years after riding his last Crusade, Harrison Ford makes a welcome return as archaeologist/relic hunter Indiana Jones in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, an action-packed fourth installment that s, in a nutshell, less memorable than the first three but great nostalgia for fans of the series. Producer George Lucas and screenwriter David Koepp (War of the Worlds) set the film during the cold war, as the Soviets--replacing Nazis as Indy s villains of choice and led by a sword-wielding Cate Blanchett with black bob and sunglasses--are in pursuit of a crystal skull, which has mystical powers related to a city of gold. After escaping from them in a spectacular opening action sequence, Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young greaser (Shia LaBeouf) whose friend--and Indy s colleague--Professor Oxley (John Hurt) has been captured for his knowledge of the skull s whereabouts. Whatever secrets the skull holds are tertiary, its reveal is the weakest pa...

#Boring (2008-11-22) I really wanted to like this movie. I remember vividly seeing the first Indiana Jones movie at the cinema on a hot day in August. But everything about this movie just screams fake! I found it unbelievably boring. What a shame. I m glad I didn t pay to go and see it at the cinema.

#INDY S BACK (2008-11-21) Let s be honest, we all wanted to see Indy back. And how could it have been better than this? There are so many nods to the previous films that you can forgive the faults: the sadly underused John Hurt for example. But let s face it, this is - as a stand alone film - exellent Saturday afternoon entertainment, just as George and Stephen intended, and a fitting tribute to the Indiana Jones saga - in fact, it leaves you hoping for another adventure. Harrison Ford looks excellent - in fact, 10 minutes into the film one forgets that he is 60 plus years old. We a...

#Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008-11-21) So very disaapointed in the film. Big yawn. I think Spielberg and Ford should have left fans to memories of greater films. The old bizzaz and sparkle wasn t there with Harrison Ford and with Spielbergs reputation am more than surprised he directed such a lame story. Sad, still the older ones are still about and they were the best. Time to hang up the rhino whip Indy.

#D R E A D F U L what a shame! (2008-11-20) I must admit to watching this film with great reluctance. How could you follow CRUSADE? It was the ideal full stop. But no. . . . they had to add this appalling PS!My first cringe moment was brought on by the most unbelievably pathetic attempt at a Russian accent by acclaimed actress Cate Blanchette. John Cleese was far superior in WANDA. The sets were almost on a par with Crossroads. . . totally insubstantial and plastic. What else? Ridiculously twee story line, awful casting, no cameo performances worth mentioning and too much ...

#Childhoods End. (2008-11-18) At least the other movies had a tenuous grip on reality, the stunts and action sequences at least SEEMED plausible and the story lines were routed in established well known mythology. This was just too way over the top, like a cartoon. Karen Allen s grin and that god damn tarzan bit put the turd on the cake. It s all about establishing internal logic with these films. This one had none. The locations were dingy.

More exciting than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the movie franchise based on C.S. Lewis classic fantasy books. The movie picks up where the first left off... sort of. It s been a year since the Pevensie children--Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Lucy (Georgie Henley)--returned to England from Narnia, and they ve just about resigned themselves to living their ordinary lives. But just like that, they re once again transported to a fantastical land, but one with a long-abandoned castle. It turns out that they are in Narnia again--and they themselves lived in that castle, but hundreds of years ago in Narnia time. They ve been summoned back to help Prince Caspian (Stardust s Ben Barnes, resembling a young, cultured Keanu Reeves), the rightful heir to the throne who s become the target of his power-hungry uncle, King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). And he s not the only one threatened: Mir...

#Saved by the mice and Lucy (2008-11-19) The first thing that I have to say is that this isn t a great movie,not by a long way. It s too long,boring in parts and I had the same problem that I had with the first film in the series. Namely,three of the four children are a charmless bunch bereft of any personality. Apart from Georgie Henley that is who plays Lucy. She gave the best performance in the first film and is also the best thing about Prince Caspian . As the Prince,Ben Barnes certainly looks the part but his accent varies between Spanish,French and Scottish. I also felt that th...

#Good sequel (2008-11-19) I was looking forward to this movie, this was one of the iconic books from my childhood. I have to say that I very much enjoyed it, however maybe not as much as the first film. The filming was excellent, with beautiful backdrops and surroundings, very good CGI and good acting. It s been so long since I read the books however, that I can t remember if this was faithful to the original though. . . will have to re-read them I think! The things that let it down for me were the comedy elements, the mouse-knights and alike fitted very much with a Disney film, ho...

#Prince Caspian (2008-11-18) This has to be one of the most disappointing films I ve ever seen. The books enthralled me as a child and, as an adult I have read them to children in my family who were equally delighted by them, so the liberties taken with the story were a total disaster for us. It starts off well enough, but then the film-makers apparently think they have to add plot twists with a very silly a subtext where Caspian & Peter are so jealous of eachother that they almost bring about the downfall of Narnia by it. Yet again Hollywood has tinkered with the original and wond...

#what happened to... (2008-11-16) I did enjoy the film - and thought it stood up well against The Lion et al, but what happened to a Horse and his boy ? (The 3 chronicle) also will we go back to the Magician s Nephew at a later stage?

#Excellent family entertainment (2008-11-13) I ll keep it short and sweet - great performances, great effects, true to th ebook while still fleshing out the story and characters a little more. Fantastically fun action adventure that s suitable for all the family without patronising kids or sanitising the darker elements of the story. Parents should not object to being forced to sit through it with the kids!

The Dark Knight arrives with tremendous hype (best superhero movie ever? posthumous Oscar for Heath Ledger?), and incredibly, it lives up to all of it. But calling it the best superhero movie ever seems like faint praise, since part of what makes the movie great--in addition to pitch-perfect casting, outstanding writing, and a compelling vision--is that it bypasses the normal fantasy element of the superhero genre and makes it all terrifyingly real. Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) is Gotham City s new district attorney, charged with cleaning up the crime rings that have paralysed the city. He enters an uneasy alliance with the young police lieutenant, Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), and Batman (Christian Bale), the caped vigilante who seems to trust only Gordon--and whom only Gordon seems to trust. They make progress until a psychotic and deadly new player enters the game: the Joker (Heath Ledger), who offers the crime bosses a solution--kill the Batman. Further complicating matters is that Dent...

#Great movie - whats with the voice? (2008-11-18) Great film, awesome performance by the Joker and 2 face. However, there are 2 reasons why i only gave this film 4 stars. 1. Batmans voice is ridiculous. Its the worse put on gravely voice in film and really grinds on me, esp the last scene with the joker. 2. Why oh why is that goon Caine, Alfred the butler. Cockney butler for one of the worlds richest tycoons - unlikely. I prefered Michael Gough, a classy English accent.

#More than worth the hype (2008-11-13) The massive media focus on Heath Ledger s tragic death has in its way done this film a disservice - sure, it was publicity, and Ledger s performance really is that astoundingly brilliant, but it tends to overshadow the fact that this entire film is just as astoundingly brilliant. From start to finish, this is an incredible, dark and tortured tale of a man who realises that in order to truly be a hero, he must allow himself to be painted the villain. Christian Bale improves on his first outing as Batman to bring out these dilemmas and the conflict...

#An absolute legend of a film (2008-11-12) Right, where to start?! As you can probably tell from the title of this review, I was extremely impressed with this film. As a fan of superheroes in general from a very young age to this day, I was horrified by the absolutely atrocious protrayal of batman by the likes of George Clooney and Val Kilmer. For the most part, I consider these two to be good actors but the script was just sooooo terrible that they could do nothing to make the films any good!When I heard that Batman Begins was going to return to the comic s dark and gritty roots, it ...

#You wanted me,here I am (2008-11-11) My favourite superhero has always been Batman by a long way. It s the dark edge to him,the turmoil that makes him a little different. I thought that the previous movie Batman Begins was a fine effort at re-inventing the franchise away from the almost comic to the intensity that is required nowadays. I read so many glowing tributes about The Dark Knight that I looked forward to seeing it with keen interest. When it was over I thought it was good but not quite as fantastic as I d hoped. The acting was pretty much first rate. Christian Bale is cle...

#Instantaneous classic (2008-11-08) No much to add to other five-star reviews. This is a classic and by miles the best comic book based film ever made. I would like Nolan to revisit the character once again but after having created such a brilliant plot, character development and poetic ending, maybe he shouldn t. . . Just brilliant!