X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE
Close to challenging Rocky and Rambo combined for painfully long-running franchises,
the latest X-Men adaptation takes the Star Wars route: a prequel. With comic
book capers in the ascendancy again thanks to Watchmen, perma-brooding Hugh
Jackman reprises his role as Logan, aka Wolverine, for the most iconic X-Man’s
slightly preposterous back-story. Some stunts are Die Hard 4.0-level on the
oh-yeah-right scale (granted, suspension of belief is always handy with mutant
superheroes) and the fairly irrelevant heartstring tugging over Logan’s
tragic family past won’t exactly cause spontaneous weeping. But for
nerds and casual viewers alike, the X-Men movies have always been a guilty
pleasure, and little alters here.
Verdict: Clawing its way above average
IN THE LOOP
Building on the unimpeachably wonderful TV political satire The Thick Of It,
this feature length spin-off takes Whitehall transatlantic, with Iraq on the
agenda. Inspired star turns ahoy: Tom Hollander (Pirates Of The Caribbean)
steps into the firing line as a hapless British minister, a finely-judged mix
of bumbling intelligence, while Sopranos' top gangster James Gandolfini is
an even bigger coup as a war vet US general. The Brits take ultimate glory,
however, carrying over the finest character from The Thick Of It: Alistair
Campbell-indebted Scot spin doctor Malcolm Tucker (the flawless Peter Capaldi).
His swearing is spectacular, administering the human hairdryer treatment to
all and sundry. Funnier than just about every movie you can hope to see this
year, In The Loop is also one of the smartest. Keep an eye out for a cameo
from director Armando Iannucci’s old pal Steve Coogan, too.
Verdict: Politically correct
FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING
Catapulting you into gritty late ’80s Troubles-torn Belfast, Jim Sturgess
is real life charming wideboy-turned-IRA-informant Martin McGartland. Loosely
based on McGartland’s autobiographical book of the same name, sickened
by sectarian bloodshed he grudgingly snitches to charismatic police middleman
Fergus (Ben Kingsley). What follows is, true to history, close-to-the-bone
and unsettling, filled with bombs, blood and bullets, yet oozing brusque Ulster
humour underpinning grim sectarian violence and terrorism. And spiv shaver
Sturgess is brilliant, a troubled young man torn by loyalties and oppressive
mixed morals. Refusing to land either side of the political divide, but steadfastly
highlighting the conflict’s biggest cost – the human one – Fifty
Dead Men Walking is unsentimental, hard-hitting and gripping to the last.
Verdict: You won’t walk out
FAQ ABOUT TIME TRAVEL
All gentlemen of a certain age had soft spots for Back To The Future and many
will have grown into guys familiar with Simon Pegg-style slacker comedy. By
that reckoning, FAQ About Time Travel could come off as a demographical attempt
to perfect the unlikely Brit hit for 20/30-somethings, if it weren’t
for its gloriously silly premise. So when two geeks (one is The IT Crowd’s
Chris O’Dowd) and a cynic stumble upon a time portal in, erm, a pub,
the mayhem unravels swiftly as the laws of time have their ribs well and truly
tickled. And if it’s hardly a film you’ll be viewing 10 years from
now, perhaps by then technology will allow a quick zip back in time to watch
your current self passably killing an hour or so.
Verdict: Not FAQing bad
Adam Kennedy gets comfy in the film review hotseat