The Smurfs 2

In order to see the Smurfs 2 I had to see the 3D version as the times for 2D were not convenient. I do not believe that it added anything to the movie and as always I would recommend you save money and see in 2D if you can.

The film itself is pretty average, with a very slushy storyline about parenting seemingly taking precedence to the detriment of the action, and I'm not sure I want to take parenting lessons from the Smurfs.

There are long sections with very little happening and when there is some momentum the acting from both live actors and voice artists is poor.

Maybe I'm not the target audience and kids might enjoy this, there are some positives, the bird racing scene is pretty good but on the whole the overwhelming feeling I have is one of boredom and disappointment 4/10

The Wolverine

Another if the big draw blockbuster movies this summer, The Wolverine was much anticipated, however for me it failed to make an impact.

I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but it is missing that something that turns a good movie into a great movie, everything it does is safe, there are no real risks with this movie, and that makes it largely forgettable.

The largely Japanese cast do a decent job in support of Jackman, and the storyline is interesting, but the whole thing just lacks that extra dimension.

Not enough is made of the threat to his healing powers, this particular plot point could have been done a lot better in my opinion.

I'm sure if you are an x-men/Marvel fan then you will enjoy this, but for me it was just a little disappointing, it's not a bad movie, but it's not a great movie either 6/10

The Heat

I really should give up judging movies based on the trailer. Once again I didn't think his movie would be any good, and once again I was proved emphatically wrong.

I have not laughed this hard since I saw Ted last summer, this is absolutely hilarious throughout, brilliantly funny and by far the best comedy I have seen in 2013.

Sandra Bullock playing the straight woman to Melissa McCarthy is an absolutely brilliant combination, the latter being so much better than her last outing in Identity Thief, McCarthy's comedy timing had me laughing out loud more times than I care to count.

With so many big draw blockbuster movies currently in the cinema it would be very easy to overlook the heat, but if you get the chance to go and see it, you won't regret it ,10/10

The Worlds End

The Worlds End was a very pleasant surprise, having seen the trailer I didn't think it would be very funny, but I am happy to admit I was wrong.

Whilst its not sidesplittingly funny, there are several good laugh out loud moments to be had along the way, and a tale of human success and failure.

The plot is a bit contrieved, and the end is just really weird as they lose their way finding an ending, and it does rely on you believing that in a small town with 12 pubs, not one of them has become a convenience store in the last 20 years!

The best thing about this movie is the fight scenes, which are brilliantly choreographed and very funny.

Simon Pegg does an excellent job as Gary with great support and a cameo from Pearce Brosnan.

all in all this is a lot better than I thought it was going to be 8/10

Monsters University

I have read a lot of reviews of Mobsters Uni. Most saying that it is not as good as Monsters Inc, however as I have never seen Monsters Inc I cannot make that comparison.

I can however compare it to some of the animation released this year, regular readers of my blog will know that I was a huge fan of Wreck it Ralph and The Croods, and Monsters University is simply not in the same league.

The characters are weak, and the relationships between them are quite shallow, there is little emotional involvement in the story line.

There are some positives, the plot is fun, and ticks along nicely, and a couple of nice surprises in terms of where it goes with the story.

However, this is far from the best animation this year. And with Planes out in August, it may not be the best Pixar movie this year. disappointing 6/10

Pacific Rim

I wasn't really expecting much from Pacific Rim, Its a bit of a check your brain at the door movie, which if you over analyse it doesn't make sense.

For me the film starts way to late in the story, by monologing the start of the war and beginning the film 5 years in, perhaps the writers have missed something. I Think the first attack and the invention of the robot machines to fight back may well have been a better movie.

The film is incredibly inconsistent, one moment we are told that the alien creatures are all grown to be Identical, the next we are told they are all different and one of them is pregnant.

The Characters are very shallow with little back history, and the acting is quite wooden, although Idris Elba does try hard, his Independence day speech moment just didn't work for me.

Like all these sort of movies, the fight sequences are incredibly loud and difficult to follow, I had a headache with the 2D version, so I'm sure the 3D version would have just left my head spinning.

If you want a no brain, big action monsters v aliens fighting movie then great, just don't expect a great price of cinematography or acting, Like everything this time of year it's the box office rather than the awards ceremonies.

Entertaining in parts, this is not the worst piece of entertainment this year, the concept is a good one, its just badly executed 5/10