Red Hot Chilli Project

Sylvain Chomet delivers another visual treat with The Illusionist. The animation is incredibly beautiful and atmospheric - the attention to detail, colour and lighting unlike anything else in animated cinema at the moment. I had high expectations before going to see this and could easily had been disappointed, but it excelled on every level! It is simply superb!

I went and saw Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) at the weekend. Pretty solid for a biopic, although perhaps a little rushed in parts (trying to fit the entire life of Serge Gainsbourg into a couple of hours was bound to be difficult). I really liked the creative twist, and of course the soundtrack was brilliant (I've always enjoyed his music).

Chris Morris' Four Lions is hilarious! Despite being a farce about a group of young men preparing for a terrorist attack it didn't feel all that controversial.  There is a lot of humour in the film and even humanity.  The ideotic characters were absolutely brilliant and really made this watchable without the context being an issue.

It was amusing seeing my local haunts in Sheffield being passed off as London, although that did rather destroy some of the illusion.  Not sure a bomb going off down the Moor would make a lot of difference!

I really enjoyed this film. Some of the cast may not have been the strongest of actors (they were cast for their music) but I still found myself warming to the characters and admiring their determination to play music despite the regime under which they live. It made me truly appreciate the freedoms we enjoy in the UK to express ourselves. I recommend this film to anyone who loves music and freedom.

This film really has style, Tom Ford's attention to detail really pays off (I'm loving the 60s style at the moment what with the third season of Mad Men currently on BBC Four). Colin Firth's performance is excellent and was deservedly awarded a BAFTA for it at the weekend. Glad I made the effort to head down to the Showroom in the snow the other day to see it.

For a moment I thought I'd found myself in a George Clooney led rom-com, but thankfully Up In the Air just didn't go there; instead a very funny and cutting commentary on US corporate thinking. It dipped a little in the third act, but quickly picked up and didn't disappoint. If you liked the director's earlier film Thank You For Smoking then you'll like this.

Not Almodóvar’s finest, but enjoyable all the same. Perhaps a little too long and lacking the humour of his previous films. That said I loved the numerous film references throughout and the ending was great.

J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek movie gets a big thumbs up from me; much to my surprise I actually enjoyed a Star Trek film! Chris Pine (who I’d never heard of before) was an excellent Captain Kirk.

I recommend Mark of an Angel staring Catherine Frot, a great performance in an unsettling thriller based on a true story. Why are the French so good at making thrillers?

In the Loop is f’ing hilarious! I was sceptical of the television to big screen transfer of the sitcom The Thick of It, but it works incredibly well and I was laughing all the way through.