After the invasion of Iraq Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) is tasked with finding the Weapons of Mass Destruction, but after drawing several blanks, he begins to question the intelligence provided by the mysterious source who the Pentagon have locked away. Working with CIA man Brendon Gleeson he goes off reservation to try and discover the truth.

When news came out that, the script had been re-written and several scenes had been re-shot (normally a warning sign), it became clear that Greengrass was moulding his vision nicely. With Matt Damon on board, comparisons with the Bourne films are inescapable, except that here Miller has the crap beaten out of him by a man with a handlebar moustache in the first 20 minutes.

Without Bourne’s super human abilities to fall back on, Miller’s peril is intensified, especially as he upsets the plans of Pentagon pen pusher Clark Poundstone (Greg Kinnear). Damon excels as a little boy lost who slowly has his eyes opened. Sadly Amy Ryan is underused as the journalist questioning her own exclusives, as is Jason Isaacs - who despite his aforementioned’ tache – is given screen time but little dialogue to work with.

Where the film excels is that Greengrass understands it has to be cinematic, rather than simply conveying a message. He crafts a compelling thriller that, although lacking a huge twist, maintains the tension as characters must question their own culpability. From the press, to the government and even Miller himself, no-one gets off scot free.

The opulence of life inside the American controlled Green Zone is sharply contrasted with the plight of Iraqi citizens desperate for basic supplies. Khalid Abdalla is sensational as Freddy, playing the voice of the Iraqi people.  Even as helps Miller, he admonishes him for thinking that his choice of a future leader is any better than the American favoured puppet.

The action has Greengrass’ trademark visceral edge and the last 20 minutes maintain a palpable sense of tension as the protagonists converge in a maze of Baghdad side streets. Entertaining and thought provoking, when was the last time you could say that about a movie?

It is rather ironic that Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to receive the coveted Best Director Oscar for a male dominated war film. It made a late charge to beat out Avatar to the top prizes and left Bigelow’s  ex-husband James Cameron nursing a few technical awards. Ultimately it was the right decision. Avatar did look amazing and it may ultimately prove to be game changer in cinema, but that does not mean it was the best film.

It was a night of few surprises at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. Jeff Bridges scooped the Best Actor Oscar for Crazy Heart - an excellent performance was combined with the fact that the 40 year veteran of Hollywood has been too often ignored by the Academy. If they had a sense of humour, he would have won for the Big Lebowski.

 After Helen Mirren (The Queen) in 2008 and Kate Winslet (The Reader) in 2009, Carey Mulligan failed to make it a hat trick in the Best Actress category. Instead Sandra Bullock completed a historic double by adding the actress award for Blindside to the Razzie (for worst performance of the year) she won for All About Steve the night before. And fair play to Sandra, she picked up the Razzie herself and has said she will display the awards side by side.

It was a disappointing night for the Brits but at least Colin Firth and Mulligan already had already won BAFTA’s  to compensate. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd was one of the Hurt Locker’s only nominees to miss out on the big prize, leaving Young Victoria costume designer Sandy Powell to keep the British end up.

Solomon Kane seems intent on reviving the genre but has a tricky task. Firstly if you not a fan of mystical hokum, nothing in evidence here will change your mind. Secondly, the titular hero is from the West Country. Imagine Jimmy Nail as Spender taking on the world’s terrorists.

Kane (James Purefoy) is a murderous mercenary who when threatened by a demon with eternal damnation, renounces his violent ways in an attempt to save his soul. When a warlock threatens his native land, Kane must take up arms and fight evil on earth.

The film is based on a comic book character, which can make it a tricky transition to the screen.  It is a brave decision by director Michael Bassett to play the film straight. No light relief or idyllic settings here. The West Country tourist board circa 1600 must be turning in their graves. The perpetual rain and mud is an interesting counterpoint to the witches, warlocks and 30ft hell beasts.

The end result is as if Ridley Scott decided to merge the decapitations and bloodletting of Gladiator with the hocus pocus of Legend.  If you are able to suspend your disbelief enough, then there is much to enjoy.  Purefoy makes an engaging lead, despite dealing with the worst accents since Kevin Costner in Robin Hood. Rachel-Hurd Wood is also good as a kidnapped daughter who represents Kane’s hopes of redemption.

Ultimately the film is forgettable yet enjoyable, but the hopes of a franchise suggested at the film’s climax are a little hopeful. It’s difficult to see the film gaining a wide audience.

When 14 year old Susie Salmon (Ronan) is murdered, instead of going to heaven she watches over her family and murderer (a creepy Stanley Tucci) with her soul trapped between the worlds - until Susie can help her mourning father to find her missing body.

Ronan is the best thing about the movie. Having to spend most of the running time acting against CGI backdrops, the teenager shows us Susie’s fear, confusion, wonder and ultimate realisation of the missing element stopping her from going to heaven. She is one to keep an eye on.

Using his New Zealand stomping ground, Peter Jackson crafts a visually gorgeous dream like world, crafting some of the most sumptuous images since Vincent Ward’s What Dream May Come. Deliberately hyper real, these scenes are awe inspiring and the only time you heart begins to soar.

Sadly the rest of the performances are moribund. Weisz and Wahlberg have zero chemistry and are unconvincing as parents of three children. Even Susan Sarandon fails to bring much life to film story that unforgivably lacks emotion. Music is often used to replace dialogue, leaving character development short of backbone. Rarely has a film felt both too long and to short

The fractured nature of the narrative does not help with the film jumping between worlds with little connection. What worked on the page has not translated well, which is surprising since screenwriters Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens previously managed to adapt Tolkien so well.

The Lovely Bones is not a terrible film, but given the talent on show and the strength of Alice Seabold’s source material, it is a huge opportunity wasted.

Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro -looking creepy even before the transformation) returns home to his ancestral home after the mysterious death of his brother. While investigating on behalf of his widow Gwen (Emily Blunt, delightful but underused), he is attacked by a feral creature and come the next full moon…well you know the rest.

Johnston has kept the feel of the film refreshingly old school, harking back to the 1941 original. Shafts of light penetrate each darkened room as Johnston tries (somewhat successfully) to create a climate of fear.

The show really kicks off when the beast within Del Toro is unleashed. Make-up maestro Rick Baker does his best work for years to create a human creature that is refreshingly low on CGI. Although no transformation will ever top An American Werewolf in London, they don’t shy away from the pain and show several stages of the process.

The best decision Universal have made was not to pare down the deaths for a 12a audience. Heads are lopped off, blood is spilt by the gallon and let’s make it clear that this is gory not gorno. Gross without being sickening.

Del Toro is given little time to establish any chemistry with Blunt, which is a shame as they are both excellent actors. It feels as if a whole story arc was left on the cutting room floor. As for Anthony Hopkins, well it seemed as if he was reading his lines in a coma early in the film, but give it time and what emerges is one of his most understated and enjoyable performances for years.

A refreshingly irony free, non box office baiting, bit of fun.

Invictus deals the portion of Mandela’s life after he takes up the Presidency. Sensing a country still hugely divided, he identifies rugby (formerly a symbol of white hierachical society) as a potential unifying force and approaches the Springbok captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) to help bring the two sides together under one country, one World Cup.

Freeman is a very understated actor, able to convey a lifetime of emotion in a single look. He encapsulates the great man brilliantly, capturing his diction and heartwarming smile without attempting a perfect characterization. Presenting who he was and what he represented is more important than what he looks like.

Despite his diminutive stature compared to the real man, Damon makes an excellent Pienaar, bulking up, capturing the accent and portraying a man whose sport has taken on a greater significance.

Sports movies are always difficult to portray on the screen. Although director Clint Eastwood makes a good stab at capturing the intensity of rugby, keeping the camera at pitch level, if you’re no fan of the sport, nearly half an hour of action may bore you senseless - especially a final match lacking much excitement in the tries department.

Eastwood’s dispassionate direction does not help. It occasionally feels like just another movie, which given its truly astounding tale, is a little disappointing. Yet for Freeman’s performance alone this is well worth a watch.

The most interesting story would see Worthington head up the cast of Alex Proyas’ Dracula: Year One.  The film will take the form of an origin story, charting the transformation of Vlad the Impaler (already a nasty piece of work) into the biggest, baddest bloodsucker in the galaxy. No doubt with Worthington in the lead, it will make its lead a tortured figure, rather than a heartless (sorry) mass murderer. Add in some epic battles and some hot gypsy action to spice up the plot and the box office tills are already going ker-ching.

Proyas’ Hollywood career has been littered with interesting failures. Knowing and I Robot had fascinating concepts but got bogged down in the A list talent of Messrs Smith and Cage. For an example of his best work, re-visit Dark City, a superb sci-fi mystery that pre-dated The Matrix and featured a superb eclectic cast (Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, Rufus Sewell) The question is can he remain keep to his vision under the gaze of a multi million pound budget?

With a job that has him travelling around the country firing people, Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) leads an empty life out of a suitcase, until his company does the unexpected and grounds him, when a new employee (Anna Kendrick) comes up with a cheap way of firing people by video link.

The cast is top notch from Clooney and Vera Farmiga to relative newcomer Kendrick. Clooney plays against type as a vapid character who has very little connection with society and whose only aim is to reach 10 million air miles. It’s a masterstroke in casting as the legendary Clooney smile keeps him on the right side of hateful. Yes he is somewhat soulless, but is still repelled by the idea of a firing system via video link. As he says at one point ‘This is the worst day of their lives’.

Farmiga if anything is even better, her character is as she says to Clooney at one point ‘you with a vagina’. They flirt over loyalty cards and the pros and cons of car rental firms. It’s refreshing to see such a well written and mature relationship where both characters have a chance to shine.

Despite being around for several years, the story has taken on an eerie prescience, with the recent economic downturn meaning many people would associate with the poor souls being given a just booklet and a few months pay in return for their working lives.

The film works so well because the basic premise remains grounded in reality. Don’t expect a Hollywood ending here. It is risky even playing the comedy card when talking about job losses but the film resists the urge to go for schmaltz and the easy answers. Yet it remains laugh out loud funny in the right places.

 It might get overlooked when the awards are given out simply because there are no big speeches, or tearful breakdowns(At least Reitman was rewarded with a Best Screenplay Golden Globe). What you left with is a film that is brilliantly acted, written and directed. You can’t get much better than that.

 Fear not. Although Sherlock Holmes takes an undoubtedly modern spin on Conan Doyle’s sleuth, it is Ritchie’s most accessible film. Being sent back to the Victorian era has forced the director out of his world of well monikored cockney geezers. What remains is some kinetic camerawork and a fantastic central pair of performances, even if there isn’t a deerstalker in sight.

Holmes’ (Robert Downey Jr) intelligence is tested to the limit when the last man he arrested, Lord Blackwood (a menacing Mark Strong) manages to survive a trip to the gallows and starts bumping of people in supernatural manners. Roping in his faithful assistant Watson (Jude Law) and ex flame and conwoman (Rachel McAdams), Holmes must unlock the mystery while battling some heavies who seen leftover from Ritchie’s Snatch.

Central to the film is the relationship between Holmes and Watson with Downey Jr and Law arguing throughout like Statler and Waldorf, with Holmes trying to scupper Watson’s impending marriage. Although Conan Doyle may never have envisaged his sleuth as a fighter, this Holmes is analytical even when he fights in the ring, analysing how he will disable his huge opponent. Not quite a troubled genius, he needs Watson to keep him from alienating everyone he comes into contact with.

The comedy dynamic is often more important than the plot, but importantly the film does have a cohesive story that makes narrative sense. At over two hours, it overstays its welcome a little towards the end but is sewn up neatly while still leaving plenty of scope for a sequel.

Just tell one hint for Mr Ritchie if he uses Tower Bridge as a location again. It is nowhere near the Houses of Parliament!

Cameron and Quentin may have won Oscars but their films are never traditionally seen as bankers to win awards. Bigelow’s Hurt Locker was an excellent film but also a complete surprise as she had not made a film for six years and was completely associated with action films. She and Cameron used to married so if one of them wins, do they have split the award 50/50? Maybe they should all have a fight. That would be fun to watch!

It is difficult to judge which films may come out on top as two of the Best Motion Picture nominees Precious and Up in the Air (starring George Clooney) yet to be released in the UK. The Globes are seen as a pre-cursor to the Oscars but these films are light years away from some of last year’s nominees (The Reader,Milk,Revolutionary Road). With the Oscars now shortlisting 10 films for the prized Best Motion Picture category, are we seeing a move towards more commercial fare taking home the big prize?

The ‘worthy’ films have some catching up to do. Nelson Mandela biopic Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon has nominees for acting and direction but missed in the best film category. Meanwhile Peter Jackson’s anticipated adaption of The Lovely Bones picked up just one nomination for best supporting actor (Stanley Tucci).

There is a strong showing from the British ladies. Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), Helen Mirren (The Last Station) and Carey Mulligan (An Education) have all been nominated for Best Actress. It is pleasing to see that there are still some well written roles for women out there.

You can see a full list of the nominations here

http://www.goldenglobes.org/nominations/