Salt, The Girl Who Played With Fire and Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D

A predictable but an otherwise entertaining cold war thriller, Salt is very comparable to the James Bond/Jason Bourne genre but with a twist. Angelina Jolie takes the lead role in a pacy action movie well directed by Philip Noyce. Hammy, yes, but just what summer blockbusters should be.

I was so looking forward to The Girl Who Played With Fire after the the first in the trilogy was one of my films of the year. The sequel was not quite in the same league, but still highly enjoyable. The tension ramps up during the course of the movie and the cinematography was as good as the previous film. Noomi Rapace is absolutely brilliant as Lisbeth Salander, the only trouble is that she is not on screen enough. The parallel action which involves the Millennium magazine's hunt for the baddies is too distracting. We need to get back to see how Lisbeth is coping. Otherwise, a great movie.

I had no great expectations for Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D. the fourth installment of the game based fantasy thriller. But if ever a movie was enhanced by 3D, this was it. I was impressed that the zombie shootouts were kept to a minimum this time. The plot was fairly lame, and Paul W.S. Anderson does better with the direction of the CGI heavy action than with his screenplay. Mila Jovovich and Ali Larter are very watchable, the latter bringing some much needed classier acting to the table. There is also a cameo role for Kacey Barnfield, a young English actress who has cut her teeth on Grange Hill, The Bill and Casualty, but is perhaps better known as the girlfriend of Stuart Broad. Cameo meaning she comes a cropper halfway through.