OBLIVION

You may be forgiven for thinking that, of late, Tom Cruise seems to be on a one-man-mission to kick start possible franchises left, right and center. That, or either Hollywood producers and directors want him aboard to green light their films and hope that they'll get a franchise out of it!

So, along with his ongoing Mission: Impossible saga (the fifth instalment has been given the go ahead) and the not-so-certain to-be-continued Jack Reacher, Cruise has teamed up with a man who's no stranger to sci fi epics with possible sequel connections...

Despite the average reviews and fair box office receipts of his Tron: Legacy sequel, director/writer Joseph Kosinski is moving forward with the third instalment of the Tron universe, but not before he gets the chance to muck about with (and muck up) the real world instead of its cyber version. And this time, Cruise is along for the ride.

Oblivion's premise can be easily explained for those who need their plots basic and summarised - it's Tom Cruise as Pixar's Wall-E - a "Tom-E" if you will. The future Earth is all but uninhabitable. Stationed across it's desolate wastelands are teams of "clean up'ers" who ensure the maintenance of droid probes. Tom's "two weeks until his Earth shift finishes" character stands in for Wall-E - Jack, the mundane drone who has a heart. He even has a plant that he has nurtured from the wastelands. This he presents to his current love interest (Andrea Riseborough) who, like EVE, is clinical and work-obsessed. His life, and the way he sees it will forever change upon the arrival from the sky of Olga Kurylenko - the EVE of the movie that falls for and connects with Tom-E.

Now, this doesn't mean that Oblivion is a rehash of a Pixar great. It does have its own merits and is worthy of both time and money from audiences. Kosinski, who has a flare for visual story telling as shown in Tron: Legacy, shows that grand landscapes are his forte still, if not actual characterisation. His camera sweeps and soars along with the Harrier Jump Jet-esque craft that takes Jack across the desolate remains of New York or when following the super speedy drones on their seek-and-destroy missions. All looks impressive, even if the imagery of recognisable New York landmarks are constantly thrown in your face to hammer home the point that you're looking at Earth, and in particular, New York - The METS Stadium, The Empire State Building, The Statue Of Liberty, The NYC Library... these ALL make an appearance! To the point of near exasperation.

Which can nearly be said about the other cast. Apart from Cruise and Kurylenko, all the others are frankly wasted. This is never more evident than with Freeman who should be the equivalent of Fishburne's Morpheus from The Matrix (who even gets a "you have to see it to understand it" line of dialogue) but instead comes across more as a DeNiro from any of the Fockers sequels - just phoning it in for the pay cheque. Normally that wouldn't ruin a film too much but Freeman has the pivotal role as narrator for what has happened before. His one big speech that clues both Jack and the audience into the reason of what, why and where feels like an afterthought and is over in a rushed sentence. It's not his fault but that of the script which jogs along at a happy pace up until the reveal and then trips over it in its haste to move along to the next dazzling special effect-laden chase sequence.

A visual delight, Oblivion is a fun 2 hours that harks back to the big Summer Blockbusters of times gone by where A-list stars wowed the senses but not necessarily fed the brain during their antics upon the silver screen. Watch on as big a screen as you can find for the best experience.

UK release date: 10.04.13
Certificate: 12A

TRANCE

Danny Boyle. Now officially a national treasure and icon. Before, he was just the man who made Ewan McGregor do things such as swim up through the worst toilet in the world... Now he's the bloke who made James Bond help the Queen to parachute out of a helicopter to open the Olympics.

Prepare to have yet another reason to worship at the alter of Danny.

His latest is one of those films where words are wholly inadequate to either describe what takes place or to convince you to take a seat and watch what unfolds without giving anything away. Trance is one of those manic movies - a "lean forwards in your seat and readily play 'guess the direction of the next plot twist' type of experience." Try and picture The Sixth Sense on steroids dating The Usual Suspects whilst fantasising about Inception and you will be ready to describe Danny Boyle's newest celluloid conundrum.

From the get-go, all seems to be familiar territory for those who have followed the films of Boyle. Flashes of his back catalogue are all present and correct - the stylised kinetics of The Beach, the catchy tunes of Trainspotting, the constant character reveals of Shallow Grave, the time-jumping framing of Slumdog Millionaire - all these previous sum parts make up a brand new whole to enjoy.

All seems straight forward with the opening salvo of McAvoy breaking the fourth wall and explaining directly to the viewer the challenges facing anyone thinking of trying to steal high-priced art. A quick flashback shows how easy it was to do a "snatch n grab" - all you needed was brawn and balls back in the day. As we, and he, find out, you still need those qualities but a whole lot more to pull off a heist nowadays. Here McAvoy emulates Boyle's original protege (McGregor) from Shallow Grave - all Scottish charm and smirks with an unhealthy dose of hysteria when the shit hits the fan. It's after this that things really do get intense, intriguing and immersive.

By saying that there's twists aplenty does ruin the possibility of the viewer letting it all just appear on their radar as the film makers intended. Knowing that there's a twist makes the audience purposely look out for it rather than have it unfold before their eyes but Trance constantly changes the ground under your feet so that even if you think that you're that clever, you will not be able to spot anywhere near half of them that present themselves during its 101 minute running time. Not unlike an Ocean's 11 plotline, the heist has several things going on simultaneously that only fall into place when all (well, mostly) is revealed just before the end credits roll. And just before that, all manner of clues and hints that were vaguely present before, become relevant and eye-opening as the secrets are viciously torn apart. Those "blink-an-you'll-miss-em" clues suddenly start to fall into place as the domino's, the cast and the walls of perception fall one-by-one.

Of course, plotline's alone do not a fantastic film make. Cassel and Dawson are superb in their roles as both victim and victor (depending on which part of the twist is being unveiled) and Boyle lets his eye and camera deliver angles and accents that only help add to the blissful confusion. Who else could make the M25 and other roads look like a red neon sign to the Devil from up above?

Brilliant and baffling in equal parts, this is Boyle back on form that anyone will love. Just like he has done on all of his efforts in the varied fields he's attempted, this is a top notch example of how a genre film can be. Go see, then see again. And then once more for the hell of it.

UK release date: 29.03.13
Certificate: 15

IDENTITY THIEF

Type casting - a double edged sword. It keeps you in business and helps with the mortgage repayments but on the other hand it can propel you away from your fans and box office receipts as they see you again and again deliver the same ol' same ol'.

Since his cult raise to fame with TV's under-rated classic show Arrested Development, Jason Bateman seems to be stuck in the role of "put upon average Joe." This was perfectly shown in his Horrible Bosses role as out of the criss-cross would-be murderers, Bateman's was the most normal.

So, if it ain't broke...  Director Seth Gordon reunites with his 2011's  Horrible Bosses star to explore the all-too-real world of identity theft. Of course though, this being Gordon who's cut his teeth on the likes of Modern Family, The Office and Community, facts and seriousness aren't included here on the menu.

Instead, what we are given is what feels like a poor man's combination of Planes, Trains & Automobiles and Midnight Run. Now, on paper, that sounds like a match made in heaven - both being fantastic comedies of their generation that have stood up against the ravages of time. But here in practise, the result is less-than-impressive.

Mazin and Eeten's screenplay tries to recreate the mis-matched road travellers of Steve Martin vs John Candy (Planes, Trains and Automobiles) and Charles Grodin vs Robert DeNiro (Midnight Run). What doesn't help the wanna-be's Bateman vs McCarthy is the reason that they're thrown together in the first place on their cross-country road-trip. McCarthy's fraudster willingly goes with her mild-mannered mark from her Florida home where he has tracked her down, to his in Denver to help him keep his job that she's put in jeopardy. So we have to believe that the woman who has stolen his entire life wants to now save it.  This just doesn't sit right despite the obvious nods to McCarthy being a broken heart that does what she does for friendship, so the storyline becomes irrelevant and thus the jokes are left to fend for themselves. Which doesn't really help them. Or the audience that much.

There are some nice touches thrown in here and there, but that's Identity Thief's problem - it's too sporadic for what should have been a balls-to-the-walls all-out comedy. Even with some humorous cameos - Modern Family's Eric Stonestreet, The Office's Ellie Kemper and Robert Patrick as a Terminator 2-esque bounty hunter -  their appearances, and the laughs they add, are both fleeting and quickly forgotten.

Let's just hope the Horrible Bosses 2 sequel that Gordon and Bateman are in pre-production on doesn't hold back like this outing did.

UK release date: 22.03.13
Certificate: 15

STOKER

The genre of horror has dramatically changed over the years - originally  they were all about fear and suspense, whereas now it seems that the key factor is gore and how grizzly the deaths can be.

Recently, the likes of The Woman In Black has gone back to the "good old days" where mounting tension and off-camera scares are pushed to the fore to create the desired effect from the audience. This movement towards old school continues with an unlikely source - the director of the violent and kinda-gory vengeance trilogy (Oldboy, Lady Vengeance and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.)

Director Park Chan-wook brings to this Western tale of a family and its secrets a very Asian flavour, bringing to mind the creepier moments of the likes of the Ring, The Eye and The Grudge franchises. Just like those cult classics, every image seems to have been contemplated and dissected before it's inclusion in the final film. Nothing it seems has been left to chance in either those films or here too. Imagery is key. For story purposes and for fear-inducing purposes.

The point here is fear caused primarily by uncertainty - of what's happening and of what some of the characters will do next. Imagine the various family members of say The Munsters, Beetlejuice or The Addams Family - condense them into just a handful of characters, and then mix in a decidedly 18 certificate feel and you will be someway to realising the Stoker family. Chan-wook, along with his (alien-to-him) English-speaking cast has delivered some of the more weirder individuals to be placed upon the silver screen in recent memory. This, along with striking visual imagery and a book ending of the film with the same scene, helps the events that unfold take on a certain "troubling dream-like" quality. The opening credit sequence starts this off with its imaginative placing and removing of the names not unlike those of Night Watch where the images upon the screen - Mia Wasikowska standing by the roadside - affects the words and their visibility. This use of imaginative imagery also shows such striking dissolves as Nicole Kidman's brushed hair blending into a field of wind-swept grass, and Wasikowska's tiny frame walking along the middle of a highway followed by her just discovered Uncle Charlie in his open-top Jag, into her walking up her driveway still followed by the ever-increasingly strange Uncle Charlie in his open-top Jag.

Kidman, who is no stranger to sexually-charged but emotionally-fragile roles (think of Dead Calm,  The Others and To Die For) nails it as the recently widowed Evelyn who becomes more-and-more enamoured with Mathew Goode's Uncle Charlie. Goode delivers the perfect amount of smiles and uncomfortably long stares towards Wasikowska's just-turned-18 and greiving daughter - India - who seems to be channeling a mixture of young "angsty" Winona Ryder within the looks of a young Claire Danes. Running throughout the entire Stoker, as with these three characters, nothing is at all what it seems.

With its swings-and-roundabouts plotline of just exactly who Uncle Charlie is and his connection to the recently widowed Evelyn and emotionally-closed down India, the film boasts a not-too obvious story arc that has a great but disturbing flashback in it that breaks the mainstream cinema taboo of killing children which still doesn't fully shed light on events that will unfold afterwards.

Intriguing, interesting, inventive, imaginative and incestious, Stoker is a rare breed of film that mixes its horror with thriller and adds dysfunctional family as well just to create a more heightened emotion to it all. You'll never view distant family members in the same light again.

UK release date: 01.03.13
Certificate: 18

OSCAR PREDICTIONS 2013 - UPDATED WITH THE WINNERS!

So, with all the major players, award-wise, out of the way - BAFTA, Golden Globes, Screen Writers Guild etc - it's the 85 year old man himself left.

On 24th February, the world, and anyone who's interested, will be put out of their misery as host Seth MacFarlane leads the congratulatory back-slapping award show through what some people have already called "predictable" in the recipient category.

But Oscar is nothing but surprising in some awards so nothing can be taken for granted across the board. So, here is a breakdown of the hopeful "gong-getters" and who I think will win and, just for fun, who I think should win. Any bets placed because of my predictions are placed at your own risk - remember, guesses can go down as well as up...

BEST PICTURE

Amour

Argo

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Miserables

Life Of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Oscar Winner - Argo

Shoulda Won'er - Life Of Pi

ACTUAL WINNER - ARGO (score 1 point for nailing it!)

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Daniel Day Lewis (Lincoln)

Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook)

Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables)

Jaoquin Phoenix (The Master)

Denzel Washington (Flight)

Oscar Winner - Daniel Day Lewis

Shoulda Won'er - Daniel Day Lewis

ACTUAL WINNER - DANIEL DAY LEWIS (score 1 point for nailing it!)

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained)

Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master)

Robert DeNiro (Silver Linings Playbook)

Tommy Lee Jones (Lincoln)

Alan Arkin (Argo)

Oscar Winner - Tommy Lee Jones

Shoulda Won'er - Christoph Waltz

ACTUAL WINNER - CHRISTOPH WALTZ (score 1/2 point for wanting it!)

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty)

Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook)

Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts Of The Southern Wild)

Naomi Watts (The Impossible)

Emmanuelle Riva (Amour)

Oscar Winner - Jessica Chastain

Shoulda Won'er - Jessica Chastain

ACTUAL WINNER - JENNIFER LAWRENCE (score 0 point!)

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Anne Hathaway (Les Miserables)

Amy Adams (The Master)

Sally Field (Lincoln)

Helen Hunt (The Sessions)

Jacki Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook)

Oscar Winner - Anne Hathaway

Shoulda Won'er - Anne Hathaway

ACTUAL WINNER - ANNE HATHAWAY (score 1 point for nailing it!)

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

Brave

Frankenweenie

The Pirates! An Adventure With Scientists
Paranorman
Wreck-It Ralph

Oscar Winner - Brave

Shoulda Won'er - The Pirates! An Adventure With Scientists

ACTUAL WINNER - BRAVE (score 1 point for nailing it!)

DIRECTING

Life Of Pi - Ang Lee

Lincoln - Steven Spielberg

Amour - Michael Haneke

Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

Beasts Of The Southern Wild - Benh Zeitlin

Oscar Winner - Ang Lee

Shoulda Won'er - Steven Spielberg

ACTUAL WINNER - ANG LEE (score 1 point for nailing it!)

MUSIC (Original Score)

Anna Karenina

Argo

Life Of Pi

Skyfall

Lincoln

Oscar Winner - Argo

Shoulda Won'er - Lincoln

ACTUAL WINNER - LIFE OF PI (score 0 point!)

MUSIC (Original Song)

Chasing Ice ("Before My Time")

Ted ("Everybody Needs A Best Friend")

Life Of Pi ("Pi's Lullaby")

Skyfall ("Skyfall")
Les Miserables ("Suddenly")

Oscar Winner - Skyfall

Shoulda Won'er - Skyfall

ACTUAL WINNER - SKYFALL (score 1 point for nailing it!)

WRITING (Adapted Screenplay)

Argo

Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Life Of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Oscar Winner - Life Of Pi

Shoulda Won'er - Silver Linings Playbook

ACTUAL WINNER - ARGO (score 0 points!)

WRITING (Original Screenplay)

Amour

Django Unchained

Flight

Moonrise Kingdom

Zero Dark Thirty

Oscar Winner - Zero Dark Thirty

Shoulda Won'er - Moonrise Kingdom

ACTUAL WINNER - DJANGO UNCHAINED (score 0 point!)

Care to challenge me or question why I've made the choices that I have? You've got until the end of the 24th to put your money where your mouth is... bring it!

So, out of a possible 11 points, I scored 6 1/2. You've gotta love the unpredictability of the Oscars, even when it seems like there are such things as certainties! 

Here's to next year!