60-second cinema

6 out of 10 The original Fantastic Four movie was not widely regarded as the finest of super hero outings. Personally, I found it light entertainment that required no thought whatsoever: a kids film. No match for the likes of Spider-man, but a wheeze none-the-less This second outing of the fabulous foursome introduces yet another Marvel character to the cinema-going public, a particular favourite of mine: The Silver Surfer. Let's get straight down to it, as a friend of mine said this is more Batman & Robin than Batman Begins. That about hits the nail right on; this is very much a kids movie, but not a bad one. The effects are good, they have done justice to the chrome-plated Surfer but just don't expect much depth to the characters or plot. The story, in brief, sees the world under threat from the mysterious surfer and the FF crew must join forces with an arch-rival to discover what is happening and how to stop it. The character of the Surfer is unveiled slowly, from ...

6 out of 10 Interesting, well-told and well-acted, Zodiac held my attention throughout its long running time, but failed to ever excite me. Following the story of a newspaper cartoonist, a journalist and a cop on the case of a serial killer (the eponymous Zodiac), the film maintains a slow but steady pace right up to its anti-climactic conclusion. Of the cast, Jake Gyllenhaal , playing the put-upon cartoonist, was as good as ever, but perhaps a little typecast. Robert Downey Jr , as the journo, was, however, disappointing; almost identical to his character in A Scanner Darkly. I hope he’s not always like this; it’s a pity when you find out that actors were just playing themselves all along. Mark Ruffalo , however, was the best thing in the film, brilliantly playing the detective with a hint of Columbo about him and I look forward to seeing more of his films.