Thor: The Dark World

SF: Alas not as fun as the first outing.  The effects are fine, the plot passable and the general feel all worked. Plenty of it was filmed in London, which is always going to win me over some what. I enjoyed it on the whole as the action was OK but mainly I wanted Thor to have more substance and Loki to have more screen time. Generally the main thing it lacked was drive, everything was just ok and I might have got a tad bored now and again. 6/10

50 Eggs: A complete snoozefest. I used to love these marvel films but something has gone badly wrong with them recently. This isn't as bad as Iron man 3 (and certainly not as bad as Iron man 2), but it all just feels so...inconsequential. The action is just too much fit-inducing CGI. I want to see Thor hitting things with his hammer, not a shooty laser spaceship battle. Even the poster is a rip-off of Star Wars. Try harder marvel. 5/10

DonkeyB: Bored the arse off me to be honest. Cineworld also decided to leave some lights on throughout the screening, which is very unhelpful in a normal screening, but in a 3D film is tantamount to terrorism. Its hard enough to deal with the light loss and the fact as a glasses wearer I have two pieces of material to look through without having a spotlight bright enough to follow along with the (leaden) script setting up all kinds of internal reflections between the various layers of glass on my face..... So that spoilt it. Back to the film itself, the script is terrible, only lifted when Hiddleston is on screen. A film entirely of Loki might be interesting. James Hunt battling the most boring, existentially pointless, villains in history across 9 invented parallel universes (or whatever) is incredibly not. The scenes back on earth were at least moderately impressive- the problem with the entirely green screened films I seem to spend an inordinate length of time in these days is there is no sense of scale, or drama. 3/10

Overall: 4.5/10

Rush

SF: This film is nothing short of brilliant. Following the rivalry between formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, I felt this had the right balance of racing and investment in the main characters. Not being a fan of the sport I was worried I'd be a tad bored but within ten mins I was hooked and the pace is consistent throughout. The last ten minutes of the film in Japan were so tense I almost asked DonkeyB to tell me what happens. Well worth a viewing on the big screen. 8.5/10

50Eggs: At last F1 gets a decent movie (I'm excepting Senna on the grounds that it was a documentary). More than decent, in fact it's one of the best films of the year. My knowledge of F1 only stretches back as far as Nigel Mansel so I didn't know the plot at all and consequently was enthralled. The drama is intriguing, the racing exciting and the cast is brilliant. And I don't usually notice music in a film but it really added to the racing scenes in this instance. 8.5/10

DonkeyB: I am/was a big F1 fan, and a monster history buff; so while not having been born when the 1976 season played out, I knew every detail of the story of this film before I even knew it existed. There are probably space nuts out there who were in a similar position with Apollo 13. The film is good, it's not great. It's largely accurate but I found the fake tv anchor grating, but I have to say Simon Taylor's presence was great fun and a nice nod to F1 aficionados. Taylor was in his first year as the BBC's radio commentator in 1976, and apparently he helped with the film production. It was a nice and fairly authentic touch to include him for some exposition along the way. 

There were other minor things that annoyed; Taylor pinched a Murray Walker line, the cut from Hunt joining (or re-establishing membership of) the mile high club to the pistons of his Cosworth engine was crass and they transposed the famous incident of the gear knob coming off from a non championship race in 1974 to the final race at Fuji in 1976- the story and the race are dramatic enough without that. 

I also thought they over played the rivalry, Lauda and Hunt were friends as they came up through the junior formulas. There was lots they left out which was excluded for length (not least Hunt's disqualification at the British GP) , but all these quibbles are additions which were unecessary. 

Nevertheless it is a thrilling story, well shot and Daniel Bruhn truly excellent as Niki Lauda. I think they captured the grimy glamour, spirit, speed, terror and occasional horror of what was probably the greatest season of F1. 8/10

Overall: 8.33/10

Snow White and the Huntsman

SF: There were many things I absolutely loved about this film, the effects, the costumes, cinematography all perfect. Reminds me of the well executed fantasy movies from when I was a kid. Sadly Snow White herself has zero screen presence or depth which is its downfall. Mainly she just stares at people/trolls whatever or the screen. It pulled me back from boredom thanks to the humorous dwarves otherwise I may have fallen asleep. So much wasted potential. Did anyone else spot the blatant Princess Mononoke bit? 5/10

50 Eggs: I'd actually been looking forward to this but it left me cold. I never felt that I cared about what happened to anyone, and the good ideas that were there (creepy mirror guy) were underused. 4/10

DonkeyB: Robin Hood (The Russell Crowe one with the great titles and wobbly accents) crossed with Joan of Arc. I really liked lots about it. Production design and directing were very good I thought. There is loads of potential to make interesting films by returning Grimm fairy tales to their Medieval roots. I think I was a bit too enthusiastic immediately after the film. 6.5/10

Overall: 5.17/10

The Cabin in the Woods

SF: A pleasant surprise. This reminded me of the 80s comedy horrors, a genre that has sadly vanished. Enough gore and humour to keep me happy. A very enjoyable bit of fun. Plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing. 7/10

50 Eggs: This is why I go to the cinema! For 2 hours I totally forgot about life and then came out happier than I went in. This is such a good movie, somehow managing to tick all the horror boxes while simultaneously being utterly surprising (so no spoilers in this review). I can't fault it, and that is a very rare thing. Go see it. 10/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall - 8.5/10

Avengers Assemble

Sequel to Captain America, Iron Man 2, Thor and The Incredible Hulk

SF: For me this was either going to be fantastic or a horrid disappointment. I'm pleased to say I loved it. Perfect blend of action, humour and character. Joss Whedon did an amazing job, captured the essence of the Avengers (well Ultimates really which is fine). Also best Hulk so far. A well earned 10/10

50 Eggs: It would have been so easy to mess this up but instead Marvel have excelled themselves. All the characters mesh brilliantly whilst retaining their individual appeal in a storyline worthy of the Avengers name. A minor plot hole aside, this is the best superhero movie ever...and yes, that includes you Batman. 9.5/10

DonkeyB: It was fun, a good popcorn movie (if popcorn was an appropriate cinema food). It's still too long and too much crash bang wallop though. Not as good as Captain America but within the margin still gets 7/10

Overall - 8.83/10

Thor

SF: I can't be impartial because I adore Thor, so naturally I loved every second of my marvel hero in the flesh. Lovely nod to Hawkeye too. 7.5/10

50 Eggs: Annoying film making where by far the best sequence of the entire film is right at the start. But apart from that its fine and nice to look at. Good to see Natalie Portman trying new things too. 7.5/10

DonkeyB: n/a

Overall - 7.5/10