Ang Lee’s (“Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”) “Hulk” is a gripping psychological thriller with lots of explosive action and it is also a movie that has divided audiences. Despite criticism I really liked this Marvel superhero movie with everyone’s favourite angry green monster.

“Hulk” follows a scientist named Bruce Banner (Eric Bana “The Time Traveller’s Wife”), who finds out the dark and sinister world of his past. At the same time he finds out that he has a strange and incredibly angry creature living inside of him and when he’s angry or outraged a startling metamorphosis occurs and he becomes a monster. The army, especially General Ross (Sam Elliott “Ghost Rider”), is out to get him so Bruce and his fierce alter ego must hide as Bruce uncovers more about his past and the army close in on him.

Bruce Banner is portrayed wonderfully by the charismatic Eric Bana, who perfectly captures the tortured soul side of the character that I feel is key to Bruce Banner’s persona. Jennifer Connelly (“The Day The Earth Stood Still”) is good as Bruce’s ex-girlfriend Betty Ross. Sam Elliott is fantastic as General Ross. Bruce’s dad (Nick Nolte) is a scary and fascinating character. A lot of people complain about that the Hulk looks like Shrek. I myself think he looks stupid in some shots but I would never consider him Shrek-like.

“Hulk” is an entertaining film with some really gripping psychological scenes that make it feel more than just your average comic book fare. It also has some wonderful action as the Hulk battles killer mutant dogs and a creature that can absorbs his power. The movie also has some shots look like a comic-book as it has several angles in several panels in one shot to make for an interesting new way of filmmaking. From beginning to end this movie will entertain because it treats it audience as more intelligent than most superhero movies such as “Spider-Man” or “X-Men” and don’t get me wrong I like those movies, it’s that just this one feels a little more grownup.

“Hudson Hawk” was a big flop when it was released and it’s still bad to this day. Here we have a movie that doesn’t know if it’s a spoof or a legitimate action/adventure and as a result feels like a tug-of-war game.

In “Hudson Hawk”, a cat-burglar nicknamed Hudson Hawk (Bruce Willis “Die Hard”, “The Fifth Element”) has just been released from prison and he wants to go straight but unfortunately for him he’s forced into a job that’ll take him to Europe as the eccentric and evil Darwin Mayflower (Richard E. Grant “Dracula”, “Spice World”) intends to use one of Da Vinci’s machines to make money worthless.

You know the filmmakers have misused Bruce Willis when we see him singing instead of using a watch as he steals. The Hudson Hawk character lacks the personality of John McClane from the “Die Hard” franchise (which Willis was perfectly suited for) and ends up being another bland action character. The villains are really weak. We have this rich fruitcake played over the top by Richard E. Grant and we have James Coburn playing a whacky and rogue government agent. The girl is an undercover nun played mediocrely by Andie MacDowell (“Groundhog Day”).

“Hudson Hawk” is a turkey despite the fact parts of it are entertaining and we do get a sense the filmmakers were having fun doing the film a whole is a mess. This is a film where the filmmakers simply wanted to make it and no one was there to control them. As I was watching the picture, I got a feeling that the script was being written as production went on and that’s not a good sign in my view. Sure, there are a few chuckles and sure there are a few good action parts but the majority of the film is so confusing even the characters don’t have a clue what’s going on. Is it a mockery of action films? Or is it the real thing? I don’t think anybody is sure.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” is a truly intriguing anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki (“Spirited Away”, “My Neighbour Totoro”). It might be a little tricky to follow but it feels worth it because this is a magical and moving picture.

In this film, a pretty young girl by the name of Sophie becomes cursed by a witch. Sophie now has the body of an elderly woman and sets out to find a way to break the spell and she appoints herself cleaner of a castle that walks on metal legs and belongs to a mysterious wizard called Howl. Sophie falls in love with Howl but in the meantime, a ferocious war is being fought between two civilisations and Howl is drawn into the conflict.

I really loved the Sophie character and you really want to see her break the spell and have her body restored. Howl is quite interesting and the way he turns into a giant bird creature is rather enjoyable. The other characters include an adorable dog, a scarecrow and a talking fire so I absolutely adored the creativity here. All the characters are animated incredibly well and lots of details seems to have been added to maximise the impact of the characters’ visuals on the audience.

“Howl’s Moving Castle” is up there with “Spirited Away” and “Princess Mononoke” as among the masterpieces by Miyazaki. This a visually amazing film with a lot of heart and so much imagination that I couldn’t help but find it brilliant. It must take some serious skill, a lot of will and genuine creativity to make a film as great as “Howl’s Moving Castle” and that’s why Miyazaki is a truly wonderful director. Fans of anime will certainly want to see this magnificent picture and I think the mainstream audiences should make a real effort to see this as well.

“Howard The Duck” is a new kind of disappointment in a movie shockingly produced by George Lucas, the creator of “Star Wars”, about a Marvel superhero.

In “Howard The Duck”, we start off with several duck versions of common 80s household things such as an issue of “Playduck” instead of “Playboy” and a poster for “Raiders of the Lost Ark” with a duck replacing Harrison Ford. We then meet the cynical Howard T. Duck (voiced by Chip Zien “All My Children”), who finds himself mysteriously transported to Earth where he meets the mediocre rock singer Beverly (Lea Thompson “Back to the Future”) and makes himself a new friend but then a strange creature has come down to Earth and it’s up to Howard to save the world from this new menace.

Howard is an incredibly unentertaining character and the gimmick of having a humanoid duck doesn’t even work at all. He’s not cute and he’s an incredibly poor superhero or hero. Howard’s friends are incredibly dull too. None of them are interesting in the slightest as not even Jeffery Jones (“Beetlejuice”) can save the day. Everyone else in the movie is exceedingly awful as well.

“Howard The Duck” is the worst kind of bad. Nothing about it makes any sense and none of it is pleasant. All the characters are poor, the script is beyond bad, the acting is terrible and the plot is stupid. George Lucas should be ashamed at the horrific mess. The concept of “Howard The Duck” is fun but I absolutely hate the fact that constantly we see people try and kill him or vice versa. The humour is disgusting for a kids’ movie as no kid wants to look at the fact that a humanoid duck keeps a condom in his wallet. I didn’t enjoy “Howard The Duck” and it’s arguably one of the worst movies if not the worst I’ve seen and I believe anyone with a brain will hate this movie also.

“1917” is a rather harrowing war film with plenty of disturbing scenes. Like Hitchcock’s “Rope”, the movie has been crafted in such a way that it makes it look as though it is one continuous shot. You really have to admire the skill of the filmmakers as it’s very convincing.

In “1917”, two young British soldiers (Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay) are given an assignment by General Erinmore (Colin Firth “The King’s Speech”). Their job is to deliver a message to stop Colonel MacKenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch “The Imitation Game”) from leading his troops into an ambush. This will be no easy task as they must navigate their way through hostile territory with danger never far.

I think it was a wise decision to cast two unknown actors as the main soldiers. It may have been distracting and taken away from the experience if we were looking at familiar faces. The two main soldiers are really engaging and it’s interesting seeing their interactions as they try to overcome various obstacles. Firth, Cumberbatch and Mark Strong (“Green Lantern”) all appear in very small roles. They give decent performances but none of the big names are on the screen for more than a couple of minutes.

“1917” is not a movie for those that just want to relax. This is a very intense movie with lots of intense sequences where soldiers make their way through narrow trenches and crawling across battlefields littered with the corpses of dead friends and enemies. The way that the movie has been shot only amplifies the intensity. We really do get a taste of just how awful it must have been to be stuck in muddy trenches surrounded by rats and bombarded with the noise of explosions. It’s not the most exciting war movie out there but it is very captivating and I think those that really like their war films are going to need to go out of their way to watch this one.

“House” is a 1977 Japanese experimental horror film. It defies explanation because it offers very little as a film but as an experience, it is fairly unique. Much of it feels like randomness for the sake of randomness but it also creates a great surreal atmosphere like “Monty Python”.

A Japanese schoolgirl (Kimiko Ikegami “The Geisha”) is displeased with her father’s new wife and decides to travel to the countryside, along with six of her classmates, to visit her aunt (Yôko Minamida). There they stay in a large house where they find themselves up against bizarre supernatural forces including a deadly piano. Trying to explain the rest of the film is very difficult because so much of it is just a series of crazy imagery.

The girls that play the schoolgirls were supposedly not trained actresses but it is really hard to tell in a film as deranged as this. Everybody is playing second fiddle to the ridiculousness of the rest of the film. The cheesy special effects, the animated segments and the weird editing choices seem to trump any of the cast members. There’s also a white cat that seems to steal a lot of the scenes. I suppose the schoolgirls are acceptable yet they are nothing special in a film where everything else is so insane.

“House” is definitely one of the strangest films I have watched. Exactly how all the weird moments contribute to the film often feels unimportant because it seems like the filmmakers just want to suck you into a madcap world where almost anything can happen. Possibly the best moment involves a piano devouring someone. Although it is undeniably silly, there is something sinister about all the bizarre images. I do not think I can really recommend it as a film to the average person but those looking for an odd experience like “Brazil” or “The Shining” then I guess “House” might be for you.

Allegedly based on the popular videogame franchise of the same name, “House of the Dead” is all the proof you need that movies based on videogames are a bad idea. We also quickly learn that director Uwe Boll, the man behind several film adaptations of videogames including “BloodRayne”, is one of the worst filmmakers out there.

This movie is supposedly based on the popular arcade shooter of the same name but it seems to have as much connection to it as any other zombie movie. If it were not for the constant clips of the videogame popping up, one could easily be fooled into believing they were watching something not inspired by a computer game.

The acting in “House of the Dead” is terrible but it’s not even the amusing type of terrible. Nobody in the film is memorable and the zombies couldn’t possibly hope to pick them off fast enough. The dialog is all absolutely atrocious and it’s amazing to think a human being wrote the script. The zombies in this film look incredibly generic and are therefore woefully bland. None of them look anything like the ones from the videogame and that presents a real issue when we’re constantly reminded of what the ones from the games look like.

The aspects of the film that just tipped me over the edge were the appalling special effects and the editing; whoever edited this film doesn’t just need firing, they need locking in an insane asylum. “House of the Dead” is certainly worse than “BloodRayne” and it’s probably the worst adaptation of a videogame I’ve ever seen and that’s saying something when a movie is up against “Max Payne” and “Silent Hill: Revelation”. “House of the Dead” is so bad that you feel as if you’re the victim of a crime and not a single person (living or dead) should have to sit through it.

There’s a certain type of martial arts movie that consists of a lot of slow-motion and action that flows more like a ballet than anything else; I’ve seen the style in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, “Hero” and “Iron Monkey” and this one doesn’t match any of those but it’s still good.

In “House Of Flying Daggers”, Zhang Ziyi (“Hero”, “Rush Hour 2”) stars as Mei, who is the supposed blind daughter of the old leader of a rebellious group named the ‘Flying Daggers’. A plot is constructed to have Mei be used as a pawn to find the extremists but not all is as it seems. While the plot has some twists and turns it ultimately comes down to a clichéd love triangle and I think that’s why I like some of the movies I mentioned earlier a little more.

Zhang Ziyi isn’t my favourite action star and she certainly doesn’t hold her own as much as the likes as some other tough female stars like Uma Thurman (“Kill Bill”) nor is she as skilled at fighting as the likes of Jet Li (“Fist Of Legend”) but nevertheless she is somewhat likeable here. The fight scenes here are interesting and creative in the way the other movies mentioned are.

“House Of Flying Daggers” has some great visuals and some decent fight sequences and is worth seeing if you really liked “Hero” or anything such as that but make sure you get your priorities right. I think the reason I was so disappointed with this film from a storytelling perspective is because it shows promise of being something more but sells itself out in the last act. This is definitely a weak recommendation from me as you’re certainly not going to come out of this feeling the genre has been redefined or anything like that but it’s still a recommendation.

With his directorial debut, Rob Zombie has created a smart slasher satire with “House Of 1000 Corpses”. Zombie clearly loves the horror movie genre and here, he gives us a very funny take on the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” movies. This film is like if Quentin Tarantino (“Pulp Fiction”) directed a slasher flick.

Two young couples visit a novelty horror establishment. The clown faced Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig “Kill Bill: Vol. 2”) guides them on an amusement ride. After getting hooked on the story of a killer that was supposedly hanged nearby, the couples end up at a house occupied by a family of cannibalistic serial killers. It’s not long before they are taken as prisoners.

Many of the characters are named after Groucho Marx characters including Spaulding from “Animal Crackers” and Rufus Firefly (Robert Allen Mukes) from “Duck Soup”. The Captain Spaulding character is a unique character for a horror film and he is absolutely great. It’s a shame he is not in that much of the movie. The other weirdos are pretty fun. The teens are surprisingly interesting for a horror film but that’s possibly because the film is so comedic. The dialog for the characters is really good.

“House Of 1000 Corpses” may look like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” but this film is intelligent and funny. Some of the humour is actually quite subtle (check out all the crazy t-shirts the characters wear) so I can see how a lot of people could easily mistake this for another dumb celebration in gore. The tone of this film reminded me of “Evil Dead II” and what Zombie has managed to do is create a film that works as both a horror movie and a parody of the genre. This is a creative and enjoyable movie that has its faults but deserves to be checked out.

“Hotel Transylvania” is an animated horror-comedy for kids and all it proves to be is further evidence that the only good horror intended for kids is that of the original 1960s “Scooby-Doo” cartoon show. It’s messy, it’s not very funny and the animation looks cheap.

In “Hotel Transylvania”, Dracula (Adam Sandler “Big Daddy”, “Happy Gilmore”) owns a hotel where the monsters of the world can hide from the persecution of human beings. On her 118th birthday Dracula’s daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) seeks to go to the human world and at the same time a young human named Johnny finds himself at the resort.

The monsters are boring and you’ll notice a few of them are voiced by the various by the same cast members as the also bad film “Grown-Ups”, which came out round the same time as we hear Adam Sandler, Kevin James (“Here Comes The Boom”), David Spade etc… making me think the contract was a two-for-one deal. The Mavis character is incredibly dull and no kid will find her interesting as they try to make her too deep. The Johnny character is very irritating and I wanted to see the monsters eat him up. The characters just don’t work here.

The film might have a few cutesy moments but it tries to be far too deep and meaningful for a cartoon about famous monsters yet it’s still too dumb to appeal to anybody who isn’t a young child. It’s boring, the animation looks only a tiny bit better than a lot of C.G. cartoons on television, the jokes are bad for the most part and the music numbers are plain awful. It’s a very poor quality to film and I don’t see why a parent can’t just show their child some of the decent Universal Studios monsters movies of the 30s and 40s (“Frankenstein” and “Dracula” are excellent) as they are quite tame by today’s standards.