In Time, Johnny English Reborn and Tower Heist

The concept of "In Time" was better than the fulfilment, but there are not enough good sci fi movies around so this one would have to do. In some ways it is a one trick pony, although the basic idea was a pretty brilliant one. Andrew Niccol, famous for writing "The Truman Show" and "Gattaca" has come up with another imaginative story. He has a pretty decent budget and the action looks great on the screen. The first half is quite good, but the movie descends into some awfully predictable car chases towards the end. Justin Timberlake still cannot act and is therefore unconvincing in the lead role. And Amanda Seyfried is almost unrecognisable in her wig.

I would have normally given "Johnny English Reborn" a miss, but Alison wanted to go, and as this would double her visits to the cinema this year to two, I could hardly refuse. In the end it was a reasonably jolly film. There were plenty of references to old Bond movies, and the action sequences were OK. I think that Rowan Atkinson is past his sell by date, but why would he refuse such a big pay day. And the attendances have been staggeringly high. At least Alison's next trip will be for the new Sherlock Holmes feature.

I had no great expectations for "Tower Heist" as I would normally avoid anything with Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in two of the main roles. However I was pleasantly surprised. This comedy caper did have quite a few laughs and some big twists and suspense moments towards the end. There is a long build up to the robbery and this worked quite well. Ben Stiller was OK, and Eddie Murphy was not in it for very long. Alan Alda, Casey Affleck and Mathew Broderick and the rest of the cast all did their bit. The direction by Brett Ratner catered to a mainstream audience, but he has done a lot of these movies before. I guess he repeated the formula for "21" and others before that. As a piece of frivolous entertainment, it worked fine.