As David Rice (Hayden Christensen) is growing up he discovers that he has the ability to teleport. Feeling no ties to home after being brought up by his angry and bitter dad, Rice follows temptation and sets himself up for life by robbing the odd bank or two. However, it turns out that he’s not the only teleporter around, and worse yet not everyone believes the ability to flit in and out of places is such a good idea. Rice finds himself a target of Roland (Samuel L. Jackson), a man with murderous intent who doesn’t mind if Rice’s childhood sweetheart (Rachel Bilson) gets in the way.

I have no idea why I decided to watch this film. It looked to me like an all out kids movie lurking at the end of the new releases shelf and to be honest I had zero expectations as I flicked on the Dvd player. Yet against all odds, I really enjoyed this film. I’m not a huge fan of Christensen or Bilson, and I was worried that Samuel L. Jackson would be portraying one of those evil obsessed characters that he seems to be typecast as these days. And, even though Jackson is stuck with the same role again, it doesn’t seem to matter. I didn’t even mind the cheesy voice over at the start that introduces us to the action.

I think Max Thieriot did this film a lot of favors by playing the vulnerable young Rice discovering the quirks of teleportation. He gave the character a solid base which made the transition to Rice’s later life a lot easier to watch. Christensen does a relaxed job of guiding Rice through his more selfish antics without really building up any chemistry with Bilson. Jamie Bell isn’t too over the top as the other teleporter battling back against the Roland’s Paladin army.

Acting aside, this is one of those movies that relies heavily on the special effects department. They handle the teleportation sequences really well, and the director Doug Liman uses them to clever effect throughout the actions scenes. The film is well paced without any real lulls between the action shots.

I suppose the most important part of watching this movie is realizing that it is complete and utter hokum. There isn’t much attempt to explain why Rice and others have this ability, or why Roland is so outraged that they should have such a gift. It was as if no one really had the answers. We just have to accept that Roland is blinded by righteousness and no one Rice meets seems able to explain.

I was pleasantly surprised that this movie was as entertaining as it was. A lot is down to the casualness of Christensen coupled with the scrapbook of well known locations around the world. The special effects of the fights scenes employing teleportation to it’s limits does a lot to make this movie watchable. There’s not much to offend and I’ve no doubt there will be a sequel that might perhaps deliver the answers that weren’t in the this one.

Andrew Wyke (Michael Caine), a famous author, is visited by Milo Tindle (Jude Law), an aspiring actor who is the new lover of Wyke’s wife. In the author’s high-tech mansion the pair engage in a menacing game of deception and humiliation. One is looking for revenge, the other for anything he can get.

It’s hard to term this as a remake of the 1972 film Sleuth,  an adaptation by Anthony Shaffer of his own play. That movie pitted Michael Caine in the role of Tindle against Laurence Olivier’s Wyke to brilliant success. Seriously, if you haven’t seen that movie then stop reading this and go and rent it now!

The new version is written by Harold Pinter, the man of long pauses, comic timing and a Nobel Prize for Literature tucked away in a cupboard somewhere. Remarkably, Pinter didn’t see Shaffer’s play or the original movie before writing the script, and it makes for a complete re-invention of Sleuth. Pinter’s take is darker, more intimidating and loses the essential fun of the first one.

I think there’s an awful lot to enjoy in this movie. In the first half an hour Kenneth Branagh’s direction mischievously sets the tone with odd angles and framing of Caine and Law. It’s almost a quick homage to the film’s theatrical origins before he settles down to let the two actors get on with the business at hand. The verbal jousting between the two men is witty, full of sinister undertones and a refreshing change to a lot of dialogue we have to listen to these days.

Caine and Law are superb in the lead roles and it’s a testament to them that they are able to carry a movie that only has a minimal set of locations and characters. If you suffer from claustrophobia it might be brought on by Branagh’s direction in the confining location. Yet, the mansion itself becomes a character in it’s own right.  It’s  an impartial witness to the games of deceit the two men employ and adds something to their performances.

Overall I thought it was very good, if a little lacking in feeling. The script is so cold that it’s hard to really care for either character or pick sides. This definitely is not a movie for everyone. If you’re put off by a film carried by dialogue over action then this isn’t for you.   It’s a clever movie that I found throughly entertaining.

Dennis Doyle (Simon Pegg) is a man who faces adversity by turning around and running in the opposite direction. Five years ago, this unfit and clueless security guard left the love of his life jilted and pregnant at the altar. Now she has a new super fit, successful boyfriend and Dennis’ only hope of winning her back is to finally finish something for once. This  turns out to be competing against the boyfriend in a Marathon through London.

Initially I  was a bit worried about seeing this movie. After watching the trailer I was thinking this might become a bit predictable and be very hit and miss. I loved Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and it’s hard not to think of those films when you see Simon Pegg headlining in a  new comedy. However, my fears were unfounded as this turned out to be quite a funny movie.

A lot of it’s success is down to the comic talents of Pegg. In other hands a lot of the slapstick jokes would probably have fallen flat or at least required an obligatory groan from the audience. But, Pegg somehow pulls them off and even if you can see them coming they’re still funny.  David Schwimmer directs with an even hand and does well to pace the jokes through to the end without having the kind of lull you get with some comedies.

The rest of the cast does what you expect. Dylan Moran is well, Dylan Moran – I saw his stand up show last year and he’s just the same. You know what you’re going to get and it’s perfect for the selfish best friend who’s only backing Doyle for his own gains. It was nice to see Thandie Newton pop up as Libby, Doyle’s girlfriend. Harish Patel does a nice turn as Doyle’s spatula wielding landlord. I don’t know much about him but he looks like a well versed Bollywood actor who makes the transition look easy.

The only question mark I had was for the hugely talented Hank Azaria. He seemed strangely ill at ease as the unlikeable boyfriend. I’m not sure if that’s just me not wanting to see him play a slightly villainous character or whether he was a little miscast. Still, he was looking extremely buff, if tanned muscles and talcum powdering scenes are your thing.

I would say you don’t have to be a fan of Pegg’s previous comedies to enjoy this movie. The jokes are gentler and even though you don’t get shotgun wielding mothers or zombie eating friends there’s still a lot to keep you interested. A definite watch for me.

Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) is back again to defend his family’s honor by unraveling a new trail of clues. This time it’s his great-grandfather who has come under scrutiny, as it emerges that he is listed in John Wilkes Booth’s diary as a conspirator in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

It would be pretty easy to be scathing about this movie if it weren’t for the fact that I don’t think it sets its ambitions that high in the first place. If you’ve watched the first installment of National Treasure you’ll know that everyone involved is looking to make a film that tries nothing more than to be entertaining for a couple of hours. There is no need to engage the brain just hit auto-pilot and let the movie do its thing. So, with that in mind the movie does succeed.

The original treasure hunting gang are back and are as one dimensional as ever. Oddly it’s not as disappointing as it should be because they don’t really need to be anything else. If anything it makes the performances of Jon Voight and Helen Mirren (Ben’s parents) all the more entertaining. It’s like watching them have a mufti day at work where they can just run about enjoying themselves.

The plot is incredibly outlandish and impossible to achieve in real life without Gates being shot as a terrorist on several occasions. As long as you’re able to take that in your stride it really doesn’t matter. The only danger is Cage taking Gates too far over the top to be reigned back in. Thankfully I can only remember that happening once and I was quite pleased to see him quickly arrested.

Let’s face it, if you watched the first one, a lot of what happens here is going to be familiar. It is simply another episode of a mindless action adventure that manages not to offend too much. I don’t think fans of the first movie will be disappointed by this one, if anything I think I might have been more entertained this time around.

You can do a lot worse than spending a couple of hours following the treasure clues with Cage and comapany. Just don’t expect to unearth a masterpiece.