50/50

Last Thursday I went to see 50/50.

A young guy takes on the big 'C' in this funny, romantic and touching comedy starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogan.

At 27, Adam Lerner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) has a great job and a talented, attractive girlfriend (Bryce Dallas Howard). But Adam's just been told he has a rare form of cancer. The doctor puts his chances at 50/50 - which, as his oafish buddy Lyle (Seth Rogan) points out, is better odds than you'll get in any casino. So now Adam has to embark on a journey that no young man should have to take as he enters the world of counselling sessions and chemotherapy clinics. Kyle, meanwhile, sees an opportunity to score medicinal marijuana and play on girls' sympathy. And Adam's overbearing mother (Anjelica Huston) gets swept up in the drama of the situation. Inspired by his own brush with cancer, writer Will Reiser's truthful and unexpectedly hilarious comedy underlines the therapeutic properties of laughter! 

In Time

Tonight I have been to see In Time.

Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried run from the time police in this sci-fi thriller.

In the future, science has enabled humanity to stop the ageing process. But there's a catch. Although nobody gets older than 25, they're genetically programmed to live just one more year. The only way to get out of it is to buy more time. That makes the rich effectively immortal, remaining 25 forever. Everyone else has to earn or steal enough time to get through the day. And then a chance meeting leaves Will Salas (Justin Timberlake), a young man from the poor side of town, with more time on his hands than he knows what to do with. Accused of murder, he teams up with a beautiful woman (Amanda Seyfried) to run from Timekeeper Raymond Leon (Cillian Murphy). Writer/director Andrew Niccol, who wrote such intriguing sci-fi films as 'The Truman Show' and 'Gattaca', delivers another frighteningly plausible future nightmare.

Wuthering Heights

Tonight I have been to see Wuthering Heights.

A bold new version of Emily Bronte's classic romantic tragedy.

Orphan Heathcliff (Solomon Glave) is plucked from the streets of Liverpool and taken to live on an isolated Yorkshire moor farm. Here he forms an intimate friendship with Catherine Earnshaw (Shannon Beer). As an adult, Catherine (Kaya Scodelario) is sent off to the local manor house to marry Edgar Linton (James Northcote). Heathcliff (James Howson), meanwhile, is abused and cast out. He eventually makes a fortune and returns - bent on revenge and yearning for Cathy. This striking new adaptation of Emily Bronte's legendary 1847 novel by 'Fish Tank' director Andrea Arnold bravely casts 'Skins' star Kaya Scodelario as Cathy, while Solomon Glave and James Howson are the first black actors to play Heathcliff (matching the character's description in the novel). And Arnold doesn't forget the dark side of Bronte, stripping away costume drama conventions for a starker take on this eternally compelling tale.

Tower Heist

Tonight I have been to see Tower Heist.

It's a high-rise heist as Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller head the cast in this hilarious action-comedy.

Josh Kovas (Ben Stiller) is the proud manager of one of the most luxurious and secure high-rise blocks in New York. With his dedicated staff, he ensures that everything runs smoothly for the benefit of the rich residents. And none of them are richer than Wall Street billionaire Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), who occupies the penthouse apartment. But Shaw's under house arrest for a massive $2 billion swindle - and his victims include Josh and his team, whose pensions he was entrusted to handle. Now they want their money back - and to help get it, Josh has recruited career criminal Slide (Eddie Murphy). 'Rush Hour' director Brett Ratner puts two great comedy stars together for the first time, with Murphy making a welcome return to the odd-couple action buddy-movie genre in which he scored his earliest successes.

Contagion

Tonight I have been to see Contagion.

A lethal airborne virus decimates an A-list cast in this terrifyingly realistic thriller.

Two days after Beth Emhoff (Gwyneth Paltrow) returns from a business trip in Hong Kong, she's dead - and the medics can't tell her husband Thomas (Matt Damon) how or why. But before long, the virus that killed Beth is out of control. As panic spreads, scientists battle to control the global pandemic. Dr Erin Mears (Kate Winslet) is a researcher at the US Centers for Disease Control, working under Dr Ellis Cheever (Laurence Fishburne), while Dr Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard) is an investigator for the World Health Organisation - and Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) is a crazy blogger peddling misinformation. One of the most consistently creative directors to grace the movie mainstream, Steven Soderbergh delivers a meticulously researched disaster movie. 'Contagion' dramatises the deadly outbreak with the same scary realism that Soderbergh's classic 'Traffic' brought to the global drugs trade.

Johnny English Reborn

Last Night I went to see Johnny English Reborn.

Rowan Atkinson's unlikely super-spy returns to cause more hilarious chaos in the espionage world

Since we last saw him, secret agent Johnny English (Rowan Atkinson) has been honing his martial arts skills in a remote region of Asia. But now the call has come through: Her Majesty's Secret Service needs him back! Summoned by Pamela Head (Gillian Anderson), the cat-loving boss of MI7, Johnny is set to work hunting down a gang of international assassins who plan to bump off the Chinese premier at a heads of state conference. With just days to prevent the world being plunged into chaos, Johnny must master the latest hi-tech gadgets and unravel a conspiracy that goes to the heart of the CIA, KGB and even MI7. Dominic West and Rosamund Pike join the cast of this eagerly-anticipated second adventure for Rowan Atkinson's phenomenally-popular comic creation. As the famously accident-prone man himself would say: "Let's kick some bottom!"

Jane Eyre

On the 27th September I went to see Jane Eyre.

A bold, atmospheric, stunningly filmed new adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's classic love story.

After fleeing the imposing Thornfield Hall, Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) runs across the eerie, foggy moor until she arrives at the door of young clergyman St. John Rivers (Jamie Bell). While recuperating, Jane reflects on the experiences that formed her, from a Dickensian childhood to her employment as governess for the cruel, cold Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender). Anyone who's familiar with Charlotte Bronte's much-filmed classic will recognise that this is a brave departure from the text. Director Cary Fukanaga ('Sin Nombre') frames the story as a series of flashbacks, underlining how Jane is haunted by her past. He also gets the best out of a to-die-for cast. There's a stand-out central performance by 'Alice in Wonderland' star Mia Wasikowska. Michael Fassbender makes a memorable Rochester. And the great Judi Dench is on excellent form as Thornfield's all-knowing housekeeper, Mrs Fairfax.