Looper (12A) ****

Looper (12A) ****

Dir: Rian Johnson

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt

Synopsis: In 2074, time travel exists and is used primarily by the mob as a means to dispose of a body by sending it back 30 years where assassins known as Loopers are hired to kill and dispose of them. When his future self is sent back to have his loop 'closed', Joe ends up fighting himself and the mob to try and fix both present and future.

Verdict: Whenever a film comes along with a time travel plot, especially a plot where one's future self meets a past version of themselves, I end up with a massive headache. Time travel makes great sci-fi, but is one of the most complex things to get your head around as a viewer, and when the film tries to explain the physics behind it, the headache gets worse.

Therefore, Looper gave me this headache - wondering how many times this had happened, trying to think of the possible outcomes and, though you get Willis' Joe tries to explain it and how his own memories are affected and re-written to his younger self (Gordon-Levitt), it still remains one of those things that bugs you.

However, once you accept that you can't in all honesty get your head around the logic behind the science, you can enjoy the film for the story. While Johnson's explanation of time travel and its effects on the same person and their respective memories and the fate of the future aren't perfect, the story itself is well written, taking into account the various timelines and coming to an altogether satisfying conclusion.

Gordon-Levitt's portrayal of the Looper, Joe is brilliant, especially when you think about the antithesis between him and Willis' older version -their different views on how to 'correct' the future. The portrayal is made all the more impressive when you get to grips with the amazing effects used to make him look like a younger Willis - the three hours of effects make up and prosthetics (done by make-up artist Kazuhiro Tsuji), that make him look like that, the end result is uncanny, and causes a double take to say "is that really him or another actor?".

On the subject of the effects, the CG is impressive throughout the film, from the city-scape, action sequences and futuristic vehicles, to the brilliant effects on young Joe, they are bound to impress.

Willis is also on form, playing the type of character we know from previous work, he does his guns-blazing act brilliantly and, thanks in part to Gordon-Levitts Joe as well as Willis' Joe, he creates a character that you don't know whether to think of as the villain or a misunderstood anti-hero - a trait which take the film up a notch or two.

As it seems to be with any film Gordon-Levitt has worked on recently (Inception, Dark Knight Rises) this is definitely one to go and see.

Man on a Ledge (12A) ***

Man on a Ledge (12A) ***

Dir: Asger Leth

Starring: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell

Synopsis: A cop is sent to prison for a crime he says he did not commit. Determined to prove his innocence, he stands on the ledge of a posh New York hotel, providing the perfect distraction for his brother to find the evidence that clears his name.

Verdict: I had my doubts about Man on a Ledge when it originally came out at the cinema, and so haven't seen it until its DVD release. I am pleased to report that, up until the last few minutes when it becomes almost unbearably cheesey, I actually enjoyed it.

The main thing that I enjoyed about this film is the way that director Leth has made it so suspenseful. From Worthington's Nick Cassidy on his perch threatening to throw himself off, to the cliche'd last minute, get-so-close-to-getting-caught crime that's being pulled off by Bell and Genesis Rodriguez's Joey and Angie, the film did have me involuntarily leaning slightly forward.

It's rare nowadays to come across a film that has little CGI in it, but with films like these it's more appropriate sometimes not to have fancy graphics everywhere as it detracts from the, albeit an over the top story line, reality of a similar situation.

All of the cast worked well in their respective roles, with Banks' move from a more comedy background to being the cop-negotiator being performed really well. The only niggle I have is with Rodriguez's role, which seemed to be another cliche in the film - the young, passionate and spunky Latina woman with her breasts on display for the majority of her time on screen. The story would have worked just as well without having a tug on the over-excitable teenage sex drive.

The biggest cliche Leth saves until last, with an ending that is cheesy to the point of being cringeworthy, deflating the feeling created by the main body of the film. The twist at the end he could have got away with if it had not been done in the way it had.

Final verdict: a surprising film which manages to pull out of the bag everything you least, and most, expect.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (12A) *****

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (12A) *****

Dir: Stephen Chbosky

Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller

Synopsis: An introvert high school freshman finds friends in the form of two senior students who show him how to have fun, fall in love, and the struggles that come with all those things.

Verdict: It has been a while since a film has made me connect with the characters to the point of getting a tear in my eye, but The Perks of Being a Wallflower did that to me.

The first thing to say about this film is that if you are out for escapism, this is far too real for that. It is very true to how life as a teenager is like, even when you take out the series of events that befell the characters before the story begins. When you throw the various things that have happened, especially to Lermans 'Charlie', the film steps up a level.

This is one of those films that, towards the beginning and middle, you begin to guess at what will happen to the characters at the end but Chbosky, as both writer and director of Perks, begins to make you think that what you thought will happen won't and, just as you begin to accept that, he flips it around, and then flips it around again. This technique creates a lot of tension in the final parts of the film.

Part of the films appeal is the connection that is established between character and viewer. Lerman's 'Charlie' is the main focus of the film, and his portrayal of the character is great - the shyness, the introvert, and the obvious psychological aspect to the character is achieved in a very believable way.

Watson, in her second role since the end of the Harry Potter franchise, plays Sam, the object of Charlie's desires. At first, I wasn't convinced by the american accent that she adopts for the film and, by the end, I still wasn't overly convinced. However, when you look at the rest of her performance - from lip-syncing along with The Rocky Horror Picture Show to her relationship with Charlie - you take the slightly dodgy accent with a pinch of salt.

One of the highlights of the film is Miller as Patrick. His performance of a character that has so much comedy, energy and life is fantastic and, while the character does suffer (as do the rest), it is him that brings the group together and gives the film a lot of its comical, and touching, moments.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is both an easy and difficult one to watch, showing - albeit to some extremes - the ups and downs of being a teenager, adjusting to going to high school and leaving for college.

American Reunion (15) **

American Reunion (15) **

Dir: Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg

Starring: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Seann William Scott

Plot: It is 13 years since the gang graduated High School, and they've all come home for their reunion. Marriage, new commitments, and missing the past all come together in the fourth of the films to make it to the big screen (not including the straight to DVD Band Camp and so on).

Synopsis: Whilst the first and second film were amusing, the drawing out of the franchise to the seven or so films (including straight to DVD) is growing wearisome.

I know lots of people enjoy the series, or maybe I've grown boring, but after three previous installments I found the comedy to be the same as before, and the principal characters are all the same as in the first film.

Jason Biggs' Jim is the centre of attention, as usual, and his characters comedy comes, as before, from sheer cringe factor. Seann William Scott is still the sex and beer obsessed Stifler, and Jims dad (Eugene Levy) is still embarrassing.

While the premise of the film has changed from being all about getting sex to about relationships and how to make them work, it still , ultimately, boils down to sex (with Jim and Michelle (Hannigan) being stuck in a rut). There are, however, some nice moments - such as Jim trying to get his dad to start dating again after the death of his wife, and convincing the girl he used to babysit to find a decent guy to lose her virginity to.

The soundtrack is similar to the previous films as well, with pop-punk college rock being the staple, along with the throwing in of more recent chart hits.

If you're a teenager, and a fan of moderate sex references and soft-core breast and bum flashing, then this film will be right up your alley.