The point of “Doctor Who” has completely been missed here. I get this movie was made in 1965 when “Doctor Who” and its mythology hadn’t been fully established but any of it that was by that time is completely abandoned here and what we’re left with is the most generic and unfulfilled movie of its kind, you even know it’s going to bad when the opening credits commence.

In this film, Doctor Who is not an alien but instead he’s a whacky inventor played here by Peter Cushing (“The Horror of Dracula”, “Star Wars”) and he and a few companions that are some of the most two-dimensional characters seen in movies travel to another world in the Doctor’s TARDIS (it looks terrible here) and encounter the Daleks.

Peter Cushing seems like a good choice to play Doctor Who but here the script is so distanced from the show that it seems unfortunate that he’s been cast here. The Daleks at least look okay here and are the only thing from the show to make an appearance. The companions are dreadfully silly and they never seem to experience any sense of danger, which in the show all of the companions (even the earlier ones) seemed to.

“Doctor Who and the Daleks” should have distanced itself even further and called itself “Professor What and the Robots” but even then it probably would only gain an extra mark from me. I loved the programme (the 2005 reboot was disappointing though) and I thought a movie based on this starring a seemingly perfect choice in the lead role would make this an enjoyable romp but instead it is severely dull film that lacks any real imagination because that was what made shows such as “Doctor Who” and “Star Trek” great to begin with. I think they need to make another “Doctor Who” movie.

“Doctor Strange” is another big superhero movie from Marvel. It features some of the best special effects I’ve ever seen but sadly it didn’t quite deliver everything else I was hoping for.

Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch “The Imitation Game”, “War Horse”) is a brilliant neurosurgeon but then he’s involved in a car crash and now he is the one with the neuro problems. He travels to Nepal to find a way to heal himself but finds himself drawn into the world of mystical arts. It isn’t long before Doctor Strange finds himself battling to save the universe as we know from a demonic entity from another dimension.

Benedict Cumberbatch is somewhat enjoyable as Doctor Strange. The character creates some genuinely funny moments at times but sadly Doctor Strange is not as memorable as Spider-Man or Iron Man and that probably explains why it has taken this long for him to get a big movie. Tilda Swinton (“Constantine”) plays the ‘Ancient One’, who trains Strange and she does a decent job. Originally, the character was going to be a Tibetan man but was changed to a Celtic woman over fears the movie would not get a release in China. Madds Mikkelsen (“Casino Royale”) plays the villain and while he gives a good performance, the character just isn’t going to leave much of an impact.

I loved the special effects and the action sequences make the film like “Inception” taken to the next level. However, I think what disappointed me about “Doctor Strange” is that it really doesn’t manage to make aspects such as the characters and the story particularly entertaining. I think “Doctor Strange” is a really good offering from Marvel and it’s a better than most of their films but I really think it had the potential to be better than the first “Iron Man” and maybe even rival “Guardians of the Galaxy”.

Based on a videogame series that I’m unfamiliar with, “DOA: Dead Or Alive” feels like a desperate attempt to cash-in on the success of the “Charlie’s Angels” movies. The movie features lots of girls in bikinis and not a great deal else.

In this film, the world’s best fighters journey to a small island so that they can take part into martial arts tournament. You very quickly realise that this is the same premise as the “Mortal Kombat” movie. Some of the fighters soon realise that there is something else going on and they will need to work together to save the day.

The main stars are Jaime Pressly (“Not Another Teen Movie”), Devon Aoki (“Sin City”, “2 Fast 2 Furious”) and Holly Valance (“Taken”). We get to see these women in many different bikinis with lots of shots of their cleavages. The one played by Valance at least has a little bit of personality to go along with her looks. Eric Roberts (“The Dark Knight”) plays the villain. The other characters are all forgettable. The acting in this movie is pretty atrocious and so is the dialog. The fight scenes defy every law of gravity and look pretty bad.

“DOA” is as corny as they come. As I have mentioned, there are countless shots of women in skimpy clothing and there is even a volleyball sequence. I have seen few films that are this dedicated to catering to their demographic, which is clearly adolescent males. Adolescent boys will no doubt have some fun with this film but that does not make it good. The acting is bad, the special effects are lousy, the plot is clichéd and the dialog is abysmal. However, you do get to see Valance fight a group of people while trying to put her bra on.

“Do The Right Thing” is another movie to feature what I like to refer to as a ‘pseudo-reality’ like the ones in “Rear Window”, “Barton Fink” and “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”. I call it this because it seems real but an almost dreamlike effect is created via the lighting, the colouring and the camera angles. It’s a powerful movie with dialog like “Reservoir Dogs”.

“Do The Right Thing” takes place in a mainly black area of Brooklyn but also features Italian-Americans, Latinos, Koreans and whites. What’s happening is that it’s one of the hottest days of the year and tempers are rising so the various groups end up in a big scuffle. It’s done almost like a music video and features a lot of shouting and a lot of passion.

The film’s director, Spike Lee (“Malcolm X”), stars here as pizza delivery boy Mookie and he’s pretty darn good playing the average African American. Danny Aiello (“The Godfather Part II”), Ossie Davis (“Bubba Ho-Tep”) and John Tuturro (“Transformers”) are the best though. I particularly enjoyed Aiello, who plays the owner of a pizza place that Mookie works for and it becomes the place where most of the film’s aggression plays out. Samuel L. Jackson (“Pulp Fiction”) is also good as the radio disc jockey.

It’s fast, it’s funny, it’s emotional and it’s disturbing. It’s not really about the big scene; it’s all about the build-up. The dialog is written so beautifully here that you don’t say see stereotypes, you see real people occupying a world that uses stereotypes. As I say, what makes it work so well is the way it creates this otherworldly effect to use as an overlay. It makes the shouting sequences stick in one’s mind. It combines real people, real situations and real feelings but manages to give a slant that makes it seem somewhat different and intriguing.

“Disturbia” rehashes the premise of “Rear Window” and “The ‘Burbs” but sadly doesn’t have the charm of those movies. The movie wishes to be funny, romantic and scary and while I’ll admit that it is funny in places, the romantic elements are weak and the scares are non-existent.

A young teen by the name of Kale (Shia LaBeouf “Transformers”, “Eagle Eye”) is put under house arrest after assaulting his Spanish teacher. With his Xbox Live and iTunes subscriptions cancelled by his mother (Carrie-Anne Moss “The Matrix”), Kale gets his kicks from watching the neighbours. He soon comes to the realisation that one of his neighbours, Mr. Turner (David Morse “The Green Mile”), is a serial killer.

Shia LaBeouf is not exactly good here but he doesn’t provide a few laughs. There is a scene where Kale delivers an incredibly sappy romantic speech to Ashley (Sarah Roemer “The Grudge 2”), who is the attractive girl that’s just moved in next door. David Morse gives a truly cringeworthy performance as Mr. Turner. The character is ridiculous because he never seems to try and hide that he’s a serial killer. The other characters aren’t any more interesting than Kale or Turner and you’ll probably forget about them rather quickly.

There are funny scenes in this film such as one where Kale builds a tower out of Twinkies but as soon as the movie tries to be intense, it just comes across as cheesy. The performances are poor, the mystery is a no-brainer and the thrills are just too ridiculous to leave any meaningful impact. The movie would’ve been better had it just been about a teen coping with being under house arrest but then comes the whole plot about a killer next door and suddenly the movie goes downhill. I think most will want to skip “Disturbia”.

“District 9” is an interesting film about Earth’s first encounter with aliens and is somewhat of a cross between “Escape from New York” and “The Fly” but sadly it stumbles at times and never really hits the mark.

Filmed like a documentary throughout, “District 9” tells the story of Wikus Van Der Merwe (Sharlto Copley “The A-Team”) as he leads an operation to evict a bunch of aliens nicknamed ‘Prawns’ from a slum in Johannesburg so they can be placed in a concentration camp outside the city. Wikus is exposed to some of the aliens’ technology and begins mutating so now he’s on the run.

Wikus starts off as a polite young man but as the film goes on, his lines include a highly frequent use of bad language and this is a real shame as it proves the filmmakers couldn’t think of anything interesting for him to say. I kind of like the idea that the first group of aliens that mankind meets, lack any kind of grandness to them but unfortunately, they seem awfully bland and that’s a massive shock because “Escape from New York”, which I mentioned above, showcased a great level of culture that had been developed by criminals in a similar situation. The other characters in the film didn’t appeal to me either.

I like some of the ideas and I really like the high-tech guns but that’s about it. I get the government want the weapons and some way to get them from the aliens but they clearly wish to get rid of them as they intend to place them in concentration camps so why don’t the aliens, when they find out about this, just admit that they have found a way to go home? It’s questions like these that can severely damage a sci-fi flick and “District 9” wasn’t doing too well to begin with.

“Disney’s The Kid” is a wonderful little family picture starring Bruce Willis (“Die Hard”, “The Fifth Element”), who is often just considered to be an action star but he definitely has the range to do plenty of other stuff and this film shows that. The “Disney’s” part has obviously been added so it isn’t confused with the Charlie Chaplin film “The Kid”.

Russ Duritz (Willis) is an unhappy and generally disliked image consultant and when he wants something, he wants it now. A few days away from his 40th birthday his 8 year old self (Spencer Breslin) appears and at first grown up Russ thinks this is a hallucination but after proving his theory incorrect he must think of a way to help send his younger self back home.

Bruce Willis is absolutely perfect here as he’s so darn sharp and so darn funny that you just really will find yourself thinking ‘nobody else could do like this’. I think Spencer Breslin is a poor choice for young Russ as he bears no resemblance to Willis; I get that they are vastly different but I think they are just a little too different as not only does he not look the same at all but his whole manner doesn’t match Willis’. The chemistry between the two is okay. Emily Mortimer (“Hugo”) is good as Amy.

“Disney’s The Kid” is a lovely little family picture that is funny, heart-warming and features a nice touch of magic. Like I said I dislike the casting of young Russ and also have mixed feelings about the ending but I really do think the film shines in most other places so if you like Disney’s film or you like Bruce Willis then this is a good film to see because it’s definitely a lot of fun.

Michael Douglas (“Basic Instinct”, “Black Rain”) and Demi Moore (“Nothing But Trouble”, “Striptease”) star in “Disclosure”, a romantic thriller about sexual harassment in the workplace. A lot of the movie works but it decides to get overly complicated (especially in the third act) and becomes completely ridiculous.

Computer company worker Tom Sanders (Douglas) is expecting a promotion but when that promotion goes to ex-lover Meredith Johnson (Moore) things go from bad to worse. She makes sexual advances towards him but when he will not go through with it, she accuses him of sexual harassment. Believing that the facts are on his side, his response is to sue her for sexual harassment.

Douglas plays a family man that has his career and his personal life put in the firing line when he is faced with serious allegations and he does a good job. Demi Moore is really quite good as the attractive and scheming Meredith. The love scene between the two is intense and entertaining. We really do believe that these two have a romantic history so I cannot complain about the lead performers. Donald Sutherland (“Space Cowboys”) and Dylan Baker (“Selma”) are a little annoying in supporting roles. Roma Maffia (“Double Jeopardy”) is good as Tom’s lawyer and Caroline Goodfall (“Cliffhanger”) is okay as Tom’s wife.

“Disclosure” starts off as a film about sexual harassment but it becomes increasingly about corporate conspiracy stuff and that is when the movie loses all focus. There is a hilariously corny scene where Douglas’ character uses a virtual reality gizmo to access the company’s files in cyberspace. The whole segment feels like a deleted scene from “The Lawnmower Man”. The more the film decides to move away from the sexual harassment case, the crazier it gets and we begin to lose interest in the characters.

Directed by Bob Saget from tv’s “Full House”, “Dirty Work” is 90s comedy about two losers just like “Dumb And Dumber”, “Wayne’s World”, “Tommy Boy”, “BASEketball” and “Friday”. The movie was intended to be raunchy and very vulgar but a lot of the content was cut as the studio wanted a film they could market more to younger teens. We are left with no nudity and no particularly harsh language but still has gags about rape, child molestation and dead prostitutes.

Mitch (Norm MacDonald “Screwed”) and Sam (Artie Lange “Beer League”) are best friends and real losers. When Sam’s father (Jack Warden “12 Angry Men”) has a heart attack and needs a transplant, Mitch and Sam decide to start a revenge-for-hire to pay for it.

Norm MacDonald seems completely false and his delivery of lines makes it seem almost like he’s aware that he is in a movie. It’s a very strange style of performance. Artie Lange is forgettable as Sam. Jack Warden is okay. Christopher McDonald “Quiz Show”) plays the bad guy, a rich businessman by the name of Travis Cole and he’s quite good but gets very little to do. Don Rickles (“Casino”, “Toy Story”), Gary Coleman (“On The Right Track”), John Goodman (“Barton Fink”) and Chevy Chase (“Fletch”) appear. This was also the last film to be released featuring Chris Farley (“Tommy Boy”). Adam Sandler (“Mr. Deeds”, “Big Daddy”) appropriately has a cameo as Satan.

There are a lot of jokes in here and some of them are okay but a lot of the film just falls flat. The idea of a revenge-for-hire business is great. I was reminded a little of Richard Pryor’s “Brewster’s Millions”, another comedy with a terrific premise and mediocre execution. There are some gross moments such as a scene where skunk mates with a chihuahua as well as a scene where a man recalls an incident where a prostitute bit his nose off. If that’s your type of humour then I say go for it but otherwise, skip “Dirty Work”.

When I heard about this film, I was hoping and expecting a film like “The Producers” and you do sort of get that. However, it lacks the wit of that film and that’s a real shame because the setup is there but the film just fails to knock it down.

Michael Caine (“Batman Begins”, “The Italian Job”) and Steve Martin (“The Jerk”, “The Pink Panther”) star as two con-men that try working together but have such different styles that it just doesn’t work and therefore they make a bet to see which one can secure a set amount of money from a specific woman.

Michael Caine and Steve Martin are both very talented but the film never allows them to truly express themselves in clever ways as we see Martin play a ridiculous interpretation of a mentally-challenged man that proves to be as funny as Martin’s more recent and sadly bad films. Mr. Caine gets a slightly better deal here perhaps. The chemistry between the two should work but they’re given such vastly different approaches that it never really works and that’s annoying because I really can see the duo working well together. The other characters are bland and leave very little impact.

I found “The Producers” to be a funny movie and this film is the same on the surface but it lacks the heart. “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” isn’t really a movie with ups and downs but rather an averagely amusing vibe to all of it and as a result doesn’t make much of an impression. I like both stars a lot, I think Caine’s suave and sophisticated look makes him memorable and I think Martin can be very funny but he has a tendency to pop up in the wrong films and this is another one to add to his list of bad choices.