50 Word Review

Movies | The Curious Case of Benjamin Button | 05-11-2009 | Score: 4.5/5

A baby boy, Benjamin (later played by Brad Pitt), is born an old man and the film follows him as he grows up growing younger at the same time. A very clever concept film which Pitt and Cate Blanchett act brilliantly. Real Sunday night stuff. (45 words by Simon White)

Movies | Fantastic Mr Fox | 05-11-2009 | Score: 5/5

Wes Anderson's take on Rohald Dahl's classic is itself fantastic. George Clooney and Meryl Streep lead the cast of voices for this kids movie which will please every parent possibly more than the kids! It manages to be exciting and cool and slackerish. Genius. (44 words by Simon White)

Books | Incendiary - by Chris Cleave | 30-10-2009 | Score: 5/5

Thought provoking, engrossing, insightful, frlghtening. This is a spectacular book set in a very near future London where a catastrophic terrorist attack on a Chelsea/ Arsenal derby profoundly affects the lives of one mother who decides to tell her story to Osama in a letter. Requires concentration but brilliant. (49 words by Fiona White)

Movies | John Tucker Must Die | 30-10-2009 | Score: 3.5/5

Better than average high school comedy/ drama/ romance. The preppy girl, the goth girl and the cheerleader get together with the new girl to get revenge on three-timing school hero Tucker. The best bits involve watching him wriggle his way out of their traps and coming up smelling sweet. (49 words by Fiona White)

Movies | The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus | 30-10-2009 | Score: 3/5

Surreal! What would you expect from Terry Gilliam. I'm not really sure what happened but it involved deals with the devil and 4 different versions of the main character (Ledger, Farrel, Law and Depp). Acting great and animation both incredible and 'Python' familiar. Just not quite convinced. (47 words by Fiona White)

Movies | Cloudy with a chance of meatballs | 25-10-2009 | Score: 3.5/5

This cute and very original animation tells the tale of Flint Lockwood, wannabe inventor and creator of the amazing machine which turns water into food. Once it starts to rain burgers the townspeople bombard him with requests for favourite foods. Lots of fun but lacking much for the grownups. (49 words by Fiona White)

Movies | Couples Retreat | 25-10-2009 | Score: 4/5

I was prepared for a formulaic buddy comedy and, while the prerequisite happy ending did materialise, this was a little above. Four couples go to idyllic island retreat to 'find themselves' and meet a variety of quirky characters. Vince Vaughan is charismatic as usual in a good team effort. (49 words by Fiona White)

Movies | Les 400 Coups | 07-09-2009 | Score: 5/5

An adolescent Jean-Pierre Leaud debuts as the young delinquant in this semi-autobiographical Truffaut-directed masterpiece. The story of Antoine Doisnel - a young parisian misfit - glides effortless between comedy and pathos in a film that generally regarded as having kick-started the nouvelle vague genre. Genial! (45 words by John Timson)

Movies | Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist | 01-09-2009 | Score: 3/5

Sadly, this film wasn't Juno and, whilst Michael Cera is a fantastic actor, this was nothing more than a bit of teen angst noodling about love, bands, indie music and growing up with New York as a pretty backdrop. Makes you realise just how good Ferris Bueller really was! (49 words by Simon White)

Movies | Funny People | 01-09-2009 | Score: 3.5/5

Judd Apatow's thoughtful movie about a comedian and film star (Adam Sandler) who discovers that he has a rare form of cancer never really catches fire and, whilst Sandler and Seth Rogan are excellent, the film took 2.5 hours to reach very few conclusions. Fun but ultimately disappointing. (48 words by Simon White)