Cinema Review: Prometheus (2012)

In the months prior to the release of Prometheus, Ridley Scott has been trying his hardest to distance his new film from Alien, refusing to call it a prequel. All the early signs suggested a prequel is exactly what it is, and indeed, in the sense that it depicts events that take place before those in the 1979 classic, it fulfils the prequel brief to a tee. However, expectant viewers should retain Sir Rid's comments in their head before watching, because Prometheus certainly doesn't play the simple join-the-dots game that may have been anticipated. It really doesn't dovetail much into Alien, and provides few clear answers to any of the burning questions, such as, "where is the alien from?" or "how did the derelict spaceship full of eggs end up crashed on that planet?" If answers are what you're here for, prepare to be disappointed.

Blu-ray Review: Braveheart (1995)

It's clear throughout Braveheart that it is very much Mel Gibson's baby. Gibson's typically Australian antagonism towards the English, continued in 2000's The Patriot, is given plenty of airing here. Taking on the unenviable task of both starring in and directing (for the first time) this monstrous, "they don't make 'em like this any more" three-hour epic, Gibson's lion-maned William Wallace dominates the film. The actor's Scottish accent may have been the subject of some ridicule since, but Gibson nails the essential charisma and physicality demanded by the part; you can understand why men would follow him into battle, and factor that the leading men in some subsequent historical pictures such as Alexander and Kingdom of Heaven have struggled to emulate. In the light of his subsequent directorial effort The Passion of the Christ, precursors in Gibson's direction can be identified, and indeed, the theme of heroic, selfless sacrifice is central to both, even if it takes up more of the running time in The Passion. (Wallace is even attached to a crucifix for the climactic torture sequence.)

Blu-ray Review: Mad Men, Season One (2007)

The likes of The Sopranos, The Wire and The West Wing now long gone, it has fallen to Mad Men to hold the current mantle of 'the best thing on TV'. The first venture into drama by US network AMC (who have since have a major hit with The Walking Dead), Mad Men started life as a relatively small and unassuming show, albeit one with a strong pedigree - creator Matt Weiner cut his teeth on The Sopranos. Four years later, it had won the Best Drama Emmy for each of its four seasons. Unlike previous Emmy hoarders, though, Mad Men has never quite caught on with the general public, its critical adoration and small but ardent fanbase keeping it alive despite low ratings.

Cinema Review: The Avengers (2012)

It's difficult to think of another film that has been teased for so long before finally appearing, so The Avengers (official UK title: Marvel Avengers Assemble, which I will ignore) has a lot to live up to. Beyond the usual trailers and TV spots, you could say that this film's marketing campaign has consisted of five actual movies: Iron Mans 1 and 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Captain America. All of those films shared to varying degrees an identical problem: none of them felt like complete films within their own right, with that everpresent distraction of The Avengers lurking on the horizon. Laying such groundwork for a future film has been a ballsy plan by Marvel and a first in cinema, but the signs are that it will pay off big time. Finally, at last, here is a film with no obligation to build up to a figurative "To be continued". Sure, there will no doubt be further sequels, but this is the main event.

Blu-ray Review: Hugo (2011)

Hugo is Martin Scorsese at play. Never before has he had such a toolbox at his disposal. It is his first venture into 3D and also his most extensively effects-based movie yet, and the master does not disappoint. Hugo is a technical tour de force but also a completely enchanting picture, its extravagant effects and sumptuous production design used in the service of telling a charming story. Scorsese has said he made this film so that his 12-year-old daughter could finally watch one of his films, but Hugo isn't just a children's film; indeed, it will probably hold much more interest for adults, especially those with a love of Paris and cinema history.

Blu-ray Review: Wuthering Heights (2011)

After Red Road (2006) and Fish Tank (2009), a pair of highly acclaimed gritty urban dramas, Andrea Arnold is one of the current champions of British independent cinema. For her third feature, she has taken a detour to what initially sounds like costume drama territory: Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, the classic story of a doomed romance on the Yorkshire Moors. Unsurprisingly, though, the result is a big departure from the typical confines of heritage cinema. With its sparse dialogue, naturalistic filming style and occasionally uncompromising brutality it's designed to shock those expecting another Pride & Prejudice (although those with any knowledge of the story should know its harshness well enough already).

Blu-ray Review: Game of Thrones, Season 1 (2011)

Game of Thrones is HBO's latest sensation, and deservingly so. Based on George R.R. Martin's as-yet-unfinished series of novels called A Song of Ice and Fire, it's a fantasy saga that's more medieval than Middle-Earth. The title, taken from the first book of the series, could not be more apt, as the series' main preoccupation is the constant intrigue surrounding the seven kingdoms of Westeros, with numerous contenders claiming their right to the throne that unites them all. (The throne itself, made of hundreds of melted-down swords, is already an iconic image.) There's also the everpresent threat of an invasion of mysterious, demonic 'White Walkers' from the north, a frontier that is protected by a massive ice wall, which is where the pilot episode begins.

Blu-ray Review: Cleopatra (1963)

"Surely Cleopatra will come to mark the end of a Hollywood era... There will always be movies of course, and presumably better ones than there ever were before; and yet they won't be quite as grand, as foolish, as wonderful as they used to be." These were the prophetic words of Cleopatra publicist Nat Weiss, written in 1962 after his first viewing of the film. He's not wrong: you don't get films more grand or more foolish than Cleopatra, whose production woes are perhaps more legendary than the film itself. Star illnesses, production delays, director firings, studio relocations, and the real-life celebrity romance of celebrity romances - this one had the lot.

Cinema Review: John Carter (2012)

Since I saw it about two weeks ago, John Carter has already gone down in the record books as one of the most costly flops of all time. That will therefore be its legacy, rather than the quality (or otherwise) of the film itself, which is the criteria by which I intend to judge it. Clearly greenlighted in the wake of Avatar's success, John Carter's story shares superficial similarities, primarily the central theme of a normal Earthling thrust into an alien world, who then learns to adapt to the new world's ways and cultures. Disney's hype machine have made sure to point out that Avatar was in fact one of many sci-fi stories inspired by the John Carter tale, which is nearly a hundred years old, its origins being Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, first published as a novel in 1917. The film's original title was John Carter of Mars - infinitely better than the totally bland moniker we ended up with.

Feature: The Top 10 Films of 2011

It's that time of year again, finally, when I roll out the Official Filmverdict Top 10 of the Year. What better time than the day the Oscars take place? Tonight's runners and riders at the big awards jamboree may be largely absent from this list (I haven't seen many of them, and several count as 2012 releases in the UK) but here are my favourites that I have seen from 2011...