Texas Chainsaw Massacre Beginning - Dir: Jonathan Liebesman

The plot is essentially the same old youngsters get stranded at a creepy old house and then get tortured to death. The difference here is that you get to find a little bit more about how leatherface came to be and how the chainsaw became to be his weapon of choice. To be fair, in this film this guy uses anything sharp to bring his victims to a grisly end. It's no wonder he turned out the way he did raised by a family of freaks who think of nothing about in breeding and eating human flesh when animal meat runs out. Quite shocking in places, and perhaps a bit too much in places, but this is after all a horror movie. In your face grisliness means that this is worth a watch only if you can stomach it - this is a JM SUCK IT AND SEE.

Collateral Damage - Dir: Andrew Davis

Big Arnie teams up with consummate action director Andrew David (Under Siege/The Fugitive) in something a bit more gritty and realistic than his old full on blow stuff up movies. A terrorist bomb kills his wife and kid, and Arnie decides to go on a one man crusade to track the killer down. Actually this does sound like all of his other movies! Underrated at the time, certainly by me, a recent re-viewing showing shows that this movie actually holds up pretty well. It's not the best film Arnie has ever done, but certainly still a cut above a lot of the action movies out since. This is a JM RECOMMENDS.

Manhunter - Dir: Michael Mann

In my journey to revisit all the past Hannibal Lecter movies, it would be imcomplete without re-viewing this title. Before Hopkins came along, Brian Cox had given a seriously understated and creepy performance as Lecter. Based on the Red Dragon book, this film is often regarded as pretty good, but how well does it stand up now? The answer is pretty good. There is no denying the 80s synth soundtrack really chafes, but Mann's evidence of being a good director shines through even back then. Good performances all round. Stick with it. This is a JM RECOMMENDS.

Starter For Ten - Dir:Tom Vaughan

One of those UK movies that you might easily overlook and lump in to the low budget UK rubbish movie category. You would be totally wrong to do that. This really is a little gem. A coming of age story intertwined with a dream to appear on University Challenge. Stars James McAvoy who really is very good and the recent hype about his various recent roles is justified. Mark Gatiss (from League of Gentlemen) is brilliant as Bamber Gascoigne. Funny, warming and very watchable, with a great 80s soundtrack. This is a JM RECOMMENDS.

Underworld Evolution - Dir: Len Wiseman

This is the sequel to the werewolves versus dracula battle fest starring Kate Beckinsale. There's no denying that she looks good in a skin tight PVC cat suit but really that's the only straightforward thing in this movie. For the first hour at least you are wondering what is going on, the story is so complicated. The director has recently completed Die Hard 4.0 which was an action fest and although this movie has it's moments, it is so dark on screen it's hard to appreciate them. Ultimately pretty average. This is a JM THUMBS DOWN.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Dir: David Yates

If you ask people what they thought of this movie, they would probably reply in the positive. Listen to me, this is a very average movie. Four/fifths of it is school politics which is oh so dull and the last fifth is pretty much the same as all the others. It certainly doesn't have the magic and charm of the earlier books, and is nowhere as good as the last movie in the series, which in my opinion was the best. The acting is mostly terrible apart from Ron, Harry and Hermione. In particular the Weasley Twins and Seamus are beyond terrible. Direction was also pretty average. This is a JM THUMBS DOWN.

Dexter

This American TV show was shown over there quite some months ago. I raved at the time to anybody who would listen that they must catch this show. Bizarrely when I first saw a trailer for the show I thought it look dreadul, but thankfully I was very very wrong. Finally it is landing on these shores. Michael C Hall from Six Feet Under fame plays the eponymous Dexter who is a serial killer with a twist...he only kills bad people...and is a cop! Some nice twists and turns along the way and some great characters make this a definite JM RECOMMENDS.

All The King's Men - Dir: Steven Zaillian

This remake of a classic 1949 movie should be amazing. An accomplished writer and an amazing cast including Sean Penn, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Anthony Hopkins and James Gandolfini. Surprisingly it all ends up being blander than bland and leaves you with a vaguely pointless feeling. Sean Penn is always great to watch but there's a sense of not knowing really what he's trying to accomplish. It's hard to get away from seeing Gandolfini as Tony Soprano and Hopkins as Lecter in moments of boredom. It looks beautiful and the direction is solid enough, but it all ultimately feels as if it leads to nowhere. This is a JM THUMBS DOWN.

Flushed Away - Dir: David Bowers / Sam Fell

With an Aardman movie, a good level of quality is assured. You can always guarantee great attention to detail, great visuals and a pacy story. You certainly get a great deal of that here, but something seems to be missing which may just be the the final layer of Aardman fairy dust that has been sprinked on some of their other fun movies. Hugh Jackman and Kate Winslet certainly add star power but perhaps aren't the most recognisable of voices. Maybe it's just because the movie centres around rats that it felt less heart-warming. A cut above many animated movies out there, and one for Aardman fans, but don't expect too much. This is a JM SUCK IT AND SEE.

Hannibal - Dir: Ridley Scott

After revisting Silence of the Lambs, I decided to revisit this sequel. On paper, it has everything going for it, including thr return of Anthony Hopkins, a script by David Mamet and the arrival of heavyweight director Ridley Scott. In the same way that Hopkins is irreplaceable, is soon transpires that Foster is too. In this movie, the role of Clarence Starling is played by Julianne Moore, and although a pedigree actress, she never really hits the mark that Foster did. The script changes the book plot for the worse, and never really captures the menace of the previous film. Disappointing but worth it just to see Hopkins reprising his role as Lecter. This is a JM SUCK IT AND SEE.

Hostel 2 - Dir: Eli Roth

This backpacking Quentin Tarantino produced gore fest is back and has more than a few twists along the way. First up, it is a group of girls that get lured to the infamous hostel for some shaken, stirred and slashed frolics. Secondly we get to find out what happened to the protagonist from the first movie. Thirdly, we get to see the thrills and spills from the viewpoint of two of the people that bid to be a killer. As you would expect it is really gruesome, but perhaps not as much volume as the previous one, and some gratuitous nudity. The ending seemed slightly rushed but you'll know if this is your cup of tea already. This is a JM SUCK IT AND SEE.

All the President's Men - Dir: Alan J Pakula

This 1976 movie hooked up the two legends of Redford and Hoffman in this replay of the story of the lowly journalists that uncovered the Watergate affair and brought down Nixon. For a movie that centres around a lot of talking and investigating, it is incredibly absorbing. In part this is because of the great script written by the real journalists involved, but also because of the great on screen charisma of the leading actors. There certainly are very few people in Hollywood today that can hold a screen like these two in their hey-day. It's a classic film, that won 4 Oscars and was nominated for 20, but unfortunately is pretty long and won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's a JM SUCK IT AND SEE.

Live Earth Concert

Immediately so much more better than last weeks' Concert for Diana. The bands were much better and more special, the audience was rocking out more, and a nice balance of music with message. Highlights were the Foo Fighters, Metallica, Beastie Boys, Pussycat Dolls and of course Spinal Tap. The lowlight was the incredibly poor BBC direction, cutting off several acts before they finished their sets to show normally rubbish acts from the other Live Earth concerts. Very poor. More good than bad though. This is a JM RECOMMENDS.

Die Hard 4.0 - Dir: Len Wiseman

Best movie of the year so far without doubt. This is an old school action movie and vintage John Maclane. Nice plot revolving around hackers taking the US economy down, with Bruce Willis in the wrong place at the right time. Funny but not cheesy in places, good direction from the director of Underworld, and some money shot action scenes. One in particular near the end with a plane and freeway is very reminiscent of True Lies. This is most definitely a JM RECOMMENDS.

Dirty Sanchez - Dir: Jim Hickey

If you thought Jackass was bad then you haven't seen anything yet. I also got to witness things in this movie that I thought I would never see. These guys are just plain mentalists. Their tasks including getting liposucked and then drinking the body fat, getting hit by 100 paintballs from six feet whilst naked, and chopping off the top of a finger with a sword. It really is disgusting, possibly some of the most gut wrenching stuff I have ever seen, but bizarrelly addictive. This is a JM SUCK IT AND SEE.

Click - Dir: Frank Coraci

Adam Sandler teams up with Wedding Singer director again for what you think might be a similar comedy fest. Don't get me wrong - this is in an interesting concept - where a guy gets a remote control where he can fast forward bits of his life that he doesn't like. Indeed it starts off really well and moves along at a nice pace and is quite enjoyable. Christopher Walken turns up as a mad professor and is always watchable. The thing that made me edgy about this film is that it turns incredibly dark in the final third. It's not an essential watch but probably better than expected. This is a JM SUCK IT AND SEE.

Art School Confidential - Dir: Terry Zwigoff

This little gem went straight to DVD in the UK I think. It follows the story of Jerome as he goes off to Art School at the start of his path towards fame and fortune. John Malkovich stars as a blunt art teacher who quickly put Jerome and his cohorts in their place. Jerome quickly finds that life and love in the real world is more confusing than some of the crap abstract art that some of his peers are producing. To make things worse, a serial killer is on the loose on campus! It's a nice riff about the art world from the very interesting director Terry Zwigoff (Ghost World). Very nicely pitched and although it feels a bit cliched in places, it's meant to be. You'll see why when you watch it. This is a JM RECOMMENDS.

Concert for Diana - BBC

Very odd this was. In terms of giving publicity to some very needy charities that Diana was involved in, it did a very good job. In terms of an event, it all seemed a bit too sterile and hooray henry. The days where big events impress due to sheer numbers of acts are long gone. Few acts were fantastic, most felt rushed, and Elton's finale seemed to be cut off in its prime. Fergie, Orson and The Feeling felt like they were there down to some record company push. The Andrew Lloyd Webber medley was pretty good, the highlight for me. If it gets repeated in a highlights show, this is JM THUMBS DOWN.

Silence of the Lambs - Dir: Jonathan Demme

I revisited this movie with the recent Hannibal Rising just coming out on DVD. It really does stand the test of time. You couldn't imagine anyone else but Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster in the roles of Lecter and Starling, but actually they were not first choice to play them by a long way. Brilliantly directed with some great production design, there's a huge chance you've already seen it, but repeat viewings never fail even though you know what is going to happen. This is very much a JM RECOMMENDS.