Netflix And Chill: Ladies First (2026)

If Ladies First had been made in the 1980s then it might seem like something fun and harmless. It could make use of some comedy stars to have some fun with the deep-rooted problems in a patriarchal society that would seem ripe for an overhaul. As a film released in 2026, however, it's just a depressing reminder of how little progress has been made throughout modern history. And it doesn't have the right lead actor needed to make it an amusing enough distraction.

Sacha Baron Cohen plays a male chauvinist pig named Damien Sachs. Working for a company that needs some better optics, he promotes the talented Alex Fox (Rosamund Pike), but doesn't really want to take note of her good ideas. He doesn't really want her input on anything at all, because he and his colleagues are used to completely ignoring women unless they're trying to sleep with them. That becomes a big problem when Damien hits his head and wakes up in a world where the roles are reversed. Women are in charge, and he will be trapped there until he can figure out a way to get into a top management position.

I actually wondered why I didn't have more fun with this, but writing out that plot summary has clarified things for me. This is a Netflix film based on another Netflix film, "Je Ne Suis Pas Un Homme Facile", which may not seem like a great idea, but there's just about enough talent behind and in front of the camera to make it work. If only anyone involved actually made some effort.

Director Thea Sharrock doesn't do much to liven things up, settling for a reliance on numerous production design gags (various ads using males in very little clothing, Burger Queen, etc.), and writers Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman seem so busy having fun with the role reversal concept that they forget to pack in more gags or any storyline that viewers may actually care about. Everything about this, from the obviousness of the jokes to the character names (male character names Sachs, female is Fox, and even a character our lead needs to pursue as he tries to get promotion is named Chase), is lazy.

There are better performances from most of the other players, but Cohen cannot make his main character work, which is a big negative. He can be cocky and rude, believably sexist for most of the runtime, but there's nothing tempering that, either because of the writing or because Cohen cannot manage to add a touch of honey to his sharpness. Pike is much better, but even she is unable to do anything truly great with what she's given. Fiona Shaw presents a riff on a character that she's done a number of times before (she's very good at being the polite Brit who also happens to be struggling to contain a burning passion), Richard E. Grant is amusing enough as he portrays "Pigeon Man", and there are decidedly okay turns from Emily Mortimer, Tom Davis, Charles Dance, Bill Paterson, and Kathryn Hunter, to namecheck the main faces I recognised.

I had heard bad things about this before I pressed play, but I figured that it was just being dismissed by people who weren't in the mood for some silliness. I was wrong. Silly isn't bad. Silly and lazy and unfunny is bad. Did I smirk a couple of times? Yes. Did I laugh enough times to be able to rate this as a comedy? Not even close.

3/10

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Netflix And Chill: Jay Kelly (2025)

George Clooney can convince me of many things. He can be a handsome doctor. He can make me think that I need a swish coffee machine in my kitchen. He can even be Bruce Wayne/Batman, occasionally. Hey, the film isn't great, but he is far from the worst part of it. Unfortunately, one of the things that he cannot convince me of is a message that basically says "oh, look at George Clooney, isn't it sad that he has had to make some sacrifices on his way to being a beloved global superstar."

Jay Kelly is the story of Jay Kelly, an actor (Clooney) about to have a bit of a crisis. His crisis doesn't necessarily affect him, however, as much as it affects people who once knew him in the past (mainly Timothy, played by Billy Crudup), his management team/handlers (Adam Sandler and Laura Dern), and his two daughters (played by Grace Edwards and Riley Keough).

Co-written by director Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, who also appears onscreen in a very small supporting role (aka blink and you can miss her), Jay Kelly may not be about George Clooney, specifically, but it is hampered massively by the fact that it has Clooney in the main role, which makes it feel as if it IS about his life, and that doesn't feel, from the outside, like a life full of struggles. Oh, Clooney put the work in for many years before he finally got his breakthrough, but those tough years have always seemed to have worked in his favour, keeping him well-adjusted and very appreciative of his success. Which makes this film so jarring. As much as I really like Clooney, he feels horribly miscast here. Maybe he has had the kind of introspective moments that are shown here, maybe not, but watching him calculate his gains and losses onscreen here is akin to watching some documentary about a monarch who is unhappy about having staff and adoring fans ready to cater to their every whim.

The rest of the cast work a lot better though, and both Sandler and Dern are superb, although the latter is sadly underused. Crudup has one fantastic scene that helps to start dismantling the tower of cards, Edwards and Keough are both very good, and there's a supporting turn from Patrick Wilson that reminds you of just how easygoing and enjoyable Wilson can be onscreen when not playing a ghoulish con-man pretending to be a record-breaking exorcist. Oh, there's also a surprisingly decent role for Stacy Keach, playing an unimpressed father.

There are good moments here, some of them are really good moments, but they are too few and far between in a film that clocks in with a 132-minute runtime. And you'll struggle to remember the highlights as the end credits roll and all you can think of is the air of smug self-satisfaction emanating from the thing. Maybe some would say that's exactly why Clooney should work well in the lead role, but the tone of the film fails to play to his strengths.

I was looking forward to this, mainly for Clooney, but also for the fact that Sandler has been on a great run with his dramatic roles recently. It turns out that Sandler is the best thing about this, and he effortlessly steals a number of scenes away from everyone around him. Sadly, I cannot recommend this to anyone but the biggest fans of those involved. And even they (considering I count myself among them) are unlikely to be impressed.

4/10

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The Saint (1997)

There are many films you could choose to watch if you're in the mood to remember the great talent of the late Val Kilmer, who we lost just a couple of weeks ago, but I decided to finally watch The Saint. Having not given it much thought throughout the decades since it was released, I picked up a digital copy of the movie ages ago for less than the price of a cup of coffee. Now seemed as good a time as any to finally get around to watching it. 

Kilmer is the titular character, AKA Simon Templar AKA a variety of false names always referencing saints. He's a master thief, as well as a master of disguise, and aiming to hit the magic number of $50M in his bank account to afford him a relaxing life of retirement. That's why he takes on a lucrative job that requires him to steal the ground-breaking work of Dr. Emma Russell (Elisabeth Shue) and help a powerful Russian (Ivan Tretiak, played by Rade Serbedzija) monopolise the modern miracle of cold fusion. Things are complicated by pesky feelings though, and it becomes clear that Mr. Templar will struggle to get to the end of this particular adventure with his halo intact.

There's some talent here, certainly when it comes to the people behind the camera. Writers Jonathan Hensleigh and Wesley Strick have been responsible for a wide variety of films that, whether good or bad, have often been interesting, at the very least. Director Phillip Noyce can do tension and intelligent thrillers, and was coming off a great run of features helmed between the late '80s to the mid-1990s, but none of his skill is on display here. It's obvious that the script isn't strong - it's muddled, lacking action, and even fails to make Templar appealing beyond the natural charm of Kilmer - but very disappointing that Noyce couldn't figure out how to create something that would be able to distract us from that big problem.

Kilmer cannot carry the film alone though, but he's forced to. As much as I enjoy her work, Shue is not served well by having to portray someone smart enough to turn the theory of cold fusion into a reality, yet also silly enough to be taken in by Templar in one or two of his more ridiculous disguises. She needs to be both the valuable "asset" and the standard love interest, although I will admit that it was a pleasant surprise to see a third act in which Kilmer's character only survives thanks to her assistance. Serbedzija is stuck playing a dull villain, in line with the dullness of almost everything else in the movie (from the visuals to the other characters), Valeriy Nikolaev gets to have a bit more fun as the angry son/henchman, and Alun Armstrong, Tommy Flanagan, and Emily Mortimer all appear onscreen just long enough to look slightly embarrassed about being there.

There's a decent score from Graeme Revell, although even that pales in comparison to a soundtrack that includes tracks from Sneaker Pimps, The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, David Bowie, and Orbital (delivering a superb reworking of the familiar theme tune), and a couple of nice moments just before the end credits roll that will leave you wishing that the rest of the film played more into the iconography of the character. That's all I can compliment though, aside from Kilmer. 

3/10

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Paddington In Peru (2024)

I do try to avoid listening to too many other opinions and/or reviews before checking out films for my self, but it's sometimes very difficult, especially when it comes to a big release like Paddington In Peru (the third film in a series that has proved to be both delightful and hilarious so far). A lot of people seemed to say the same thing. This wasn't as good as the previous two films, and part of the reason for that stems from taking Paddington back out of London. I would have to agree. The joy of watching Paddington in movies has been the joy of watching him seem confused about British life while also managing to embody the kind of pride and good nature that we should all aspire to.

Having received an alarming letter about Aunt Lucy and her health, Paddington and the Brown family embark on a trip to visit her at her retirement home in Peru. Unfortunately, Aunt Lucy has disappeared by the time they get there. There are one or two clues pointing to where she might have gone, and Paddington knows that he must do whatever it takes to find her. The Brown family will help, of course, and they might also be assisted by Reverend Mother (Olivia Colman), a not-suspicious-at-all nun who keeps clarifying this by mentioning how unsuspicious things are, and a riverboat captain named Hunter Cabot (Antonio Banderas), as well as his daughter, Gina (Carla Tous). 

Dougal Wilson is now in the director's chair this time around, someone who seems to have spent a lot of time over the past two decades making music videos and short films for the likes of John Lewis and Apple (I say short films because they are sometimes a bit precious about their adverts, but they're adverts). And it's Mark Burton, Jon Foster, and James Lamont responsible for the screenplay, with the latter two having spent some time writing for Paddington in his TV adventures. Nobody does a terrible job. They're just not great. There's nothing here that comes even close to rivalling some of the set-pieces or laughs from the previous two movies, and that's a real shame.

While things are weakened by the relocation of the main characters, they're also undermined by some strange casting choices. Emily Mortimer has taken over the role of Mary Brown from Sally Hawkins. I like Emily Mortimer, and she does well in the role, but I think it's particularly odd to recast such a central character in a film aimed at younger viewers, especially when everyone else manages to return. It may lead to parents being asked a few questions as children learn about the fickle nature of scheduling and movie roles, whereas a better screenplay might have been crafted around some premise that had Mrs. Brown absent (a journey through loss and/or grief could have been an interesting parallel with the physical journey through jungle environments). Bonneville puts on his Henry Brown persona like a comfortable sweater, and he's very good, while both Madeleine Harris and Samuel Joslin portray the now-young adult Brown children. I have nothing against Harris and Joslin, but if any characters could be recast without anyone really noticing then they were the most likely candidates. It might even have made sense to keep the children at a younger age, allowing them to seem more vulnerable and ill-equipped as they joined Paddington on his Peruvian adventure. As for the titular bear, it's hard to think of anyone other than Whishaw voicing him now, which makes his return to the role essential, and every line of dialogue that he speaks is a comforting little hug. Colman is fun, if a little underused, and Banderas is also a welcome addition, and especially entertaining when he also portrays a number of his ancestors who plague him in spirit form.

It doesn't feel right to spend too much time being critical of a Paddington movie. There are good intentions throughout all of them, it's just that this time around those good intentions aren't matched by the dialogue and plotting. There's still enough here to enjoy though, especially when you get around to a speech in the finale about the idea of home, family, and being able to embrace the idea of being firmly British and being a Brown. And the end credits provide one or two delights that ensure most people will have one last chuckle.

Worth a watch, and maybe a repeat viewing will see it grow on me, but I doubt anyone will revisit it as often as either Paddington or Paddington 2. Part of me hopes, and assumes, that this is the final part of a two-thirds-brilliant trilogy. Part of me also knows that I would still be optimistic about any fourth outing for our marmalade-sandwich-loving little pal.

6/10

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Mubi Monday: Young Adam (2003)

One of a number of movies that fans of Ewan McGregor can add to their super-secret special files (aka Ewan gets nekkid), Young Adam is a character study wrapped in an erotic thriller that is then wrapped in a grimy exploration of work life drudgery. It's also an impressive sophomore feature from writer-director David Mackenzie (adapting the source novel by Alexander Trocchi into screenplay form).

Everything starts with a body in the water. It's the body of a dead woman found by Joe (McGregor) and Les (Peter Mullan). Joe works on a barge for Les and his wife, Ella (Tilda Swinton). He also spends some time getting lusty with Ella whenever Les is out of the picture. As the film jumps back and forth in time, we get to see a previous relationship that Joe had with a young woman named Cathie (Emily Mortimer). It's obvious that Joe has long been a selfish and fairly carefree young man, but unfolding events may force him to reckon with the consequences of his actions. 

Although set in the past, and it's a time when the death sentence was still doled out here in the UK, many moments in Young Adam feel as if they could be just as easily transposed to the here and now. Working on a barge, and living with the boss/family, is just the same as the many jobs here in the UK that offer different kinds of accommodation, from a bedroom to a caravan, from a truck cab to a hotel room. And people confined to a certain type of fairly bleak existence, one without any obvious rays of sunshine in the skies ahead, tend to lean on one another more for support and move quicker to grab chances at fleeting moments of happy distraction. Mackenzie knows exactly what he is doing, balancing things nicely between the mix of characters, the morality being explored, and the twists that take place without seeming placed there as attempts to wrong-foot viewers. He also knows just how easy it is to keep this riveting with so many talented cast members involved.

McGregor is pretty much perfect in the lead role, adding just enough charm and obvious appeal to take the edge off the sharp flaws of his character. Swinton does as well as expected with her Scottish accent, considering her lineage and love of the country, and she emanates an earthy sexuality that makes it believable whenever McGregor wants to get down and dirty with her, Mullan is on top form, and Mortimer conveys a heart-breaking mix of love, sadness, hope, and hopelessness. Therese Bradley and Pauline Turner are two more potential conquests for our lead, and Ewan Stewart and Stuart McQuarrie do excellent work with their small roles.

I first saw this close to when it was first released, over two decades ago now, and I was quite underwhelmed by it. Others seemed to heap a fair bit of praise upon it, but it just felt to me like too much time spent wallowing in misery. I'm glad I revisited it though. While it will never be a favourite of mine, the cast and quality of the film-making assure that you won't regret giving it 98 minutes of your time. The music by David Byrne is also a plus for people familiar with that particular artist, the dirt and darkness is all shown clearly enough by cinematographer Giles Nuttgens, and there's no obvious weakness in the talent pool of artists and technicians all working to get Mackenzie's vision onscreen.

7/10

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Ani-MAY-tion: Cars 2 (2011)

While I was pleasantly surprised by my recent, long overdue, viewing of Cars, I knew that I shouldn’t get my expectations too high for either of the sequels. Although I have forgotten the full conversation, I remember hearing that one was dire and one was a pleasant surprise. I hope the third Cars movie is a pleasant surprise, because this one wasn’t very good.

When Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) rises to the challenge of racing Francesco Bernoulli (John Turturro) he ends up unwittingly amidst a scheme that could lead to the death of many cars. It’s all to do with selling fuel, but a couple of secret agents (voiced by Michael Caine and Emily Mortimer) are on the case. Unfortunately, a misunderstanding leads to them thinking that Mater (Larry The Cable Guy) is working alongside them. There are chases, there are death traps, and there are many moments that have Mater defying the odds to make progress in his “mission”.

While I understand the need to avoid a complete replay of the first movie, Cars feels like a movie series with a limited number of plot options. And, let’s face it, many successful franchises have managed to repeat a formula over and over again, with minor tweaks, including a certain other huge Pixar title. Kids are especially pleased by repetition, which makes the road taken here (no pun intended) all the more bizarre.

Writer Ben Queen does what he can with the premise, presenting a kid-friendly James Bond adventure with Mater being the accidental hero of the piece, but he ends up delivering something incredibly weak. The main lesson feels overwhelmed by the secret agent shenanigans, and the secret agent shenanigans pale in comparison to almost any other film in this vein that you can think of. It doesn’t help that co-directors John Lasseter and Bradford Lewis don’t seem to have any interest in elevating the material, relying on the voice cast to make up for the many weaker elements.

That would be okay if the voice cast was better, but it’s not great. Caine and Mortimer ARE great, but they are absolute highlights here. Wilson is fine, but sidelined in favour of everything else going on, Turturro is equally undone by his relatively limited dialogue (he is fun when he gets time to chatter away), and the likes of Eddie Izzard, Joe Mantegna and others are wasted in supporting roles that don’t give them enough to do. The person who gets to do plenty is Larry The Cable Guy, who is enjoyable enough as Mater, but also quite an acquired taste (although there’s a chance that younger viewers will just lap up everything he says and does).

I didn’t absolutely hate this, mainly thanks to the slick visuals and a couple of small gags that made me chuckle, but it was very disappointing. Am I wrong for wanting another plot that saw Lightning McQueen having to learn some new tactics for a different kind of racing? Probably. Could that have been better than this bit of silliness though? Probably. It gets bonus points for the casting of Caine though, who is the best thing about it.

4/10

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Prime Time: Mary (2019)

I think the best way to warn people against Mary, a painfully poor horror movie from the director of the stupid-and-why-can't-more-people-see-it-is-stupid Megan Is Missing (honestly, I have no idea how so many people were so affected by that film, apart from considering it an internet-savvy way of tapping into the modern equivalent of Satanic panic), is to describe it as a film that could have easily been put out by Dark Castle at the turn of the 21st century. The big difference is that Dark Castle would have delivered some much better production design and visuals, thrown around some blood and fun scares, and not made the mistake of thinking the silly premise could be turned into something serious.

The plot is quite simple to summarise. A family buy a boat, and that boat turns out to be, well, not very nice. It may even have an evil spirit on it. As the family are taken further out to sea, things get more dangerous. That's all you need to know. Oh, there's also some tension, of course, between the husband and wife, because one partner had an affair.

I can only assume that the script, by Anthony Jaswinski, seemed like something that might work better when adapted to screen. Or maybe those involved were just big fans of The Shallows (also written by Jaswinski). I can't think of any other reason for both Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer to sign on for this. I really like both actors, but they are unable to do anything here to outweigh the dire material. Maybe they both had large, unexpected, bills that needed paid. People do what they have to do for a decent payday. And I am not saying that they are bad here, just to clarify, I am just saying that they're unable to polish this turd.

Others acting alongside Oldman and Mortimer are Stefanie Scott and Chloe Perrin (playing their daughters, Lindsey and Mary), Owen Teague, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Jennifer Esposito. Teague and Garcia-Rulfo are wasted, at least Scott and Perrin get one or two decent moments between them, and Esposito feels like a character drafted in from a more straightforward cop thriller flick.

Mary is more annoying for the fact that it could easily have been something pleasantly surprising and fun. But that would have meant someone at the helm who wanted to show that they cared about the thing. Director Michael Goi doesn't want to do that. He instead just meanders from one moment of melodrama to the next, occasionally stopping for a bit of horrible CGI to shake up one of the main characters, and keeps heading towards an ending that is as bad as everything else that precedes it. Although most of the problems stem from the script, a bit of restructuring and some time spent working on the overall tone could have made this less of an endurance test. The runtime is only 84 minutes, yet it feels like it goes on so much longer than that.

3/10

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Relic (2020)

Another horror movie that takes the idea of the very real horror of gradually losing a loved one to dementia, or something very similar, Relic does everything very well, and leads to a finale that is equal parts moving and equal parts creepy (or at least attempting to be creepy).

Emily Mortimer plays Kay, a woman who heads along to find out what has happened to her missing mother (Edna, played by Robyn Nevin). Kay has her daughter (Sam, played by Bella Heathcote) there to help, and it isn’t long until they realise that Edna may no longer be able to live on her own. But is her decline in mental health due to the usual circumstances, or is there something else happening?

Directed by Natalie Erika James, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Christian White, Relic could easily have done gone very wrong, and I wouldn’t mind if the horror genre now moves away from this idea, before some film comes along that completely mishandles the subject matter. James and White take great care to keep fleshing out the heart of the film, the relationships that come with both love and pain, and they help themselves greatly by incorporating a superb cast.

Mortimer is rarely less than great, and this is another very good turn from her, while Heathcote is equally good, giving a performance that balances out the different dynamics you have between being a child and being a grandchild. Nevin may seem to get the easiest role - simply having to veer between moments of clarity and moments of confusion - but she also has to seem like a victim for many scenes, and then occasionally act with what could be malicious intent. There are one or two others onscreen, but it’s largely kept to the three main leads.

Although it’s very good throughout, and gives an interesting twist on what you might expect to happen, this is also a surprisingly straightforward film, in terms of how things unfold and the reveals that occur. It’s a shame that James didn’t take some more chances, with both the narrative and her stylistic choices, but maybe she was concentrating on keeping the tone so finely balanced for the duration.

A solid, if unspectacular, horror. I recommend this, and it definitely fully won me over by the time the end credits rolled.

7/10

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Netflix And Chill: The Party (2017)

Black and white, very stagey, without any major special effects, lacking any major brand recognition, The Party is about as far removed from most of your blockbuster movies as it is possible to be, and yet it proves to be just as enjoyable and gripping as any of them, for two simple reasons. A very good script and consistently great acting.

Kristin Scott Thomas plays Janet, a woman who has just been promoted to a major position in her political party. Things aren't that good between her and her husband (Bill, played by Timothy Spall) but they will keep a polite smile pasted on and enjoy the party they are set to host. Well, that is the plan. It starts to unravel quickly, however, when the guests arrive and interact with one another, trading sweet barbs and not-so-subtle digs as secrets come to light and tension starts to build and build, to almost unbearable levels.

Written and directed by Sally Potter, with Walter Donohue credited as a story editor, The Party uses some standard melodramatic staples to show what happens when individuals start to forget how their beliefs, be they philosophical or political or religious, impact upon the lives of others. There's a lot going on here, either intentionally or unintentionally (I suspect the former), that underlines both the danger of trying to maintain the status quo while major upheaval is causing the ground to undulate and crumble beneath your feet and the pain that can come from making sudden decisions that will reverberate throughout the whole circle of people around you.

I'm not going to bore you by repeatedly saying how great everyone is. I'll just list the cast and who they play. Aside from the leads, both seeming to relish such great roles, you have Patricia Clarkson and Bruno Ganz as a married couple hoping that this is their last friendly engagement before they divorce, Cherry Jones and Emily Mortimer are a lesbian couple, with Mortimer pregnant with triplets, and Cillian Murphy is a banker who turns up without his wife, as she has been delayed, and seems intent on causing some trouble, considering the fact that he has a gun secreted on his person and is stuffiing cocaine up his nose within minutes of his arrival. Everyone does fantastic work, and all feel perfectly suited to their roles, but my personal favourite was Clarkson, who I wish could be present at every polite party I have to attend for the rest of my life.

Very cleverly done in the way that a number of points are made while also leaving plenty of blank spaces to be filled in by whatever viewers want to project there, The Party is a thought-provoking comedy that also holds up as something brilliantly entertaining. If you appreciate films that focus on quality dialogue and acting then this is a high priority. There are times when the experience of watching it is almost sublime.

9/10

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The Pink Panther 2 (2009)

Following on from the 2006 movie, obviously enough, Steve Martin returns to the character of the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in this amusing sequel that I think is just as good as the previous movie. Be warned, however, that I seem to be the only person who thinks this way. Most other people would like to take both films and burn them on a small pyre before returning to their happy place with some help from the classic films starring Peter Sellers.

This time around, a number of audacious thefts have been committed by The Tornado, a legend in the criminal world. Nobody knows who The Tornado is, but a dream team is assembled to put a stop to the crimewave. That dream team consists of Vicenzo (Andy Garcia), Pepperidge (Alfred Molina), Kenji (Yuki Matsuzaki) and Sonia (Aishwara Rai Bachchan). And Clouseau. When he's not busy driving Dreyfuss (played by John Cleese this time) up the wall, upsetting the lovely Nicole (Emily Mortimer) and sparring with his assistant, Ponton (Jean Reno), he's either showing how much of a calamity he is or, strangely enough, how sharp his mind can be.

A few people jumped ship in between the previous film and this one, which isn't ever a reassuring sign, but if you enjoyed the first film then I can't imagine you hating this one. Oh, you're unlikely to enjoy it as much as I did (so I have discovered), but there's plenty of fun to be had. The script, by Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber and Steve Martin, has plenty of decent lines peppered throughout and the direction by Harald Zwart is competent enough for something this lightweight.

The cast all look suitably worn down by Martin's chaotic character, with Andy Garcia especially good fun in his role and Aishwara Rai Bachchan having fun as the distractingly beautiful member of the team who is also an expert on The Tornado. John Cleese is okay as Dreyfuss, though he never seems quite as exasperated as Kevin Kline did in the previous movie (who never seemed quite as exasperated as Herbert Lom, the actor most associated with the role). Martin, Reno and Mortimer are all very good, and the supporting cast includes Jeremy Irons, onscreen for just a few minutes, and Lily Tomlin, playing someone who tries to help Clouseau adjust his attitude to women and people from other nations.

There's no denying that this is Steve Martin wayyyyyyyyy past his prime, coasting along and working with material that's often beneath him, but I still find it enjoyable and entertaining. Part of that will undoubtedly be down to just how highly I think of Martin. But part of it might be, just MIGHT be, down to the fact that the film isn't actually as bad as most people make out.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pink-Panther-Double-Pack/dp/B008N6EUNG/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1376507915&sr=8-4&keywords=the+pink+panther+2

The Pink Panther (2006)

I know, I know, it's a shocking oversight on my part that I've never actually seen any of the original Pink Panther movies featuring Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau (despite owning the boxset). I appreciate that many will feel my ignorance of those movies invalidates my opinion of this movie, and the sequel (review coming soon for that one, too). Well, trust me, despite having not seen the movies yet I AM aware of their prospective greatness. I have seen enough snippets of Sellers in action to know how good he is in the role of Inspector Clouseau, I've seen moments in which Charles Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is driven round the bend and I know about the friendly fights between Clouseau and his assistant, Kato (Burt Kwouk). Basically, I am emphasising the fact that I know the characters and dynamics even though I've not seen the movies. Yet.

But let's get to THIS movie. Let's get to this interpretation of the character. Inspector Clouseau is still a bumbling, French detective (this time played by Steve Martin), Charles Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) is still being driven up the wall and there's now an assistant named Ponton (Jean Reno) who works with Clousea and deals with surprise attacks. The Pink Panther? Well, it's still a lovely diamond and the cause of a lot of problems. In fact, the disappearance of the gem is the main plot point of the movie, of course. Jason Statham makes a cameo appearance as its owner, Beyonce Knowles plays his partner and Henry Czerny is a suspect in the murder/robbery. Clive Owen has fun as a suave secret agent who inadvertently helps Clouseau to look good, and Emily Mortimer is a lovely young woman who falls for the Inspector, but the majority of the scenes focus on the bumbling nature of the central character and the catastrophes that he causes around him.

Directed by Shawn Levy, this is his typical brand of family-friendly entertainment. I happen to enjoy many of Shawn Levy's movies, but he's not exactly a risk-taker. He's capable enough here, helped enormously by the amusing characters and the script, co-written by Martin and Len Blum. Martin isn't a patch on Sellers when it comes to the character of Clouseau, but he deserves kudos for trying to stay true to the most familiar interpretation of him while also putting his own little spin on things. The fact that he's surrounded by people like Kline, Reno, Mortimer and Czerny helps a lot, and Beyonce does well as a beautiful woman who can make men act a bit funny.

Christophe Beck is the composer, but he uses that classic theme tune by Henry Mancini for both the opening credit sequence and many musical motifs throughout the movie, keeping soundtrack fans more than happy.

As long as you don't keep comparing every moment to the films starring Peter Sellers there ARE many laughs here. Including a very funny fart joke (hey, it's not big, it's not clever, but it's still funny). I'm not going to convince anyone that this is actually a decent comedy and I'm not going to try too hard. I like it, I'd watch it again and I may still like it just as much even after I finally watch my boxset containing the original movies.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Pink-Panther-Double-Pack/dp/B008N6EUNG/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1376345523&sr=8-6&keywords=the+pink+panther

Harry Brown (2009)

Daniel Barber's first full-length feature could, at a casual glance, be seen as a lazy way to fast-track him into the growing collection of great UK film-makers such as Shane Meadows, Danny Boyle, Christopher Smith, Neil Marshall, Guy Ritchie (YES, I said Guy Ritchie), Michael Winterbottom and others. It's a crime movie, it's done with a measured amount of gritty realism and it's got Michael Caine in it. So far so seen-it-all-before. But Harry Brown brings a bit more to the mix than just that.

Michael Caine IS Harry Brown, an old man living on a rather dilapidated council estate, spending his time either visiting his ill wife, playing chess with his friend Leonard (David Bradley) or simply filling the lonely, bleak hours in between such little moments of pleasure while, around him, the local area is going to ruin thanks to local teenagers playing with knives, guns and drugs and terrorising those who try to get on with their daily lives. When things happen that directly affect Harry he is then forced into making a decision he never thought he would make . . . . . . and to start cleaning up the estate. But it's not long before one good policewoman (Emily Mortimer) starts to suspect Harry's hand in the latest, bizarre events.

Michael Caine is an icon, an untouchable living British legend who can get by simply by being Michael Caine nowadays. Which is why it's been all the more impressive to see him put in damn fine performances in recent years and his portrayal of Harry Brown is one of his very best. Vulnerable and weak one moment, tough and dangerous the next, it's all believable thanks to Caine's performance. It helps that he's surrounded by the likes of Emily Mortimer, Liam Cunningham, Sean Harris and a group of young actors who all put in excellent acts, even while playing people you hope to never, ever meet in your life.

The character motivation feels real enough, the twists and turns don't leave you feeling cheated and the script stays truthful (sometimes disturbingly so) within the environment created for the movie so that's a success for writer Gary Young and director Daniel Barber that goes beyond any that a mix of standard crime antics and flashes of style could have provided.

The overall experience may be a little bit cold and bleak for some viewers but this is still a movie worth seeing, one that both entertains and makes you wince while also raising a number of moral questions as events move towards the climax.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Brown-Blu-ray-Michael-Caine/dp/B002XWV3C2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1372487268&sr=8-2&keywords=harry+brown