Wall-E

Directed By: Andrew Stanton

In the future, Earth has been abandoned by humanity and transformed into a smog covered wasteland. A robot with the brand Wall-E on his body, operates to compress the planet's trash by himself. His functions are mechanical, but his personality is like that of a small child, amusing himself with various pieces of junk he finds while working. After a spacecraft lands on Earth, Wall-E finds a companion in Eve, a fiery female robot who has been sent to search Earth as well. Wall-E is highly entranced by her.

The opening shots of Wall-E, with the quiet filming of a desolated planet Earth, present a film that is more considerate and serious about the environment than one would anticipate. There is a strong subtext throughout the film about the way in which technology has formed an entirely dominant control over humanities life and brought about the demise of planet Earth. Yet at its heart though, Wall-E remains a charming and clever cartoon, mainly because of its title character. Resisting the conventional and often dull use of celebrity voices, Pixar and Disney have instead employed more traditional techniques of characterisation to bring the robot Wall-E to life.

Just as older cartoons like The Sorcerers Apprentice used facial animations to convey emotion in their characters, Wall-E too is cleverly presented as innocent, imaginative and fragile through the tender look of his robotic eyes, or the trembling of his metal body when in danger. His fascination with junk too gives him a sense of innocence and naivety that is both enjoyable and funny to watch. He is a likeable and refreshing protagonist, one that children will certainly resonate with.

The second half of the film takes a surprising turn, particularly in accentuating its themes and questions of humanities use of technology. Though thankfully it never becomes too serious or overbearing in presenting these ideas. Despite being a more action packed half than the first though, the pace of the film does seem to lumber and drag slightly towards the end. Regardless, there is still an important and timely message to consider about the treatment of the Earth, humanities responsibility and our overly dependent use of technology. Wall-E is beautifully animated too, and a scene of both he and Eve drifting through space together, is one of the most endearing and sweet moments of animated cinema in years. This is a wholly charming film.

You have to see this...

The Captain From Wall-E

And then this man...

Looks like he's been doing more than just Giant Bomb!

Gamespot's Imperial Guard have tracked him down at last!!

In Bruges

Director: Martin McDonagh

Two hitmen, Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson), are sent to hide in the city of Bruges in Belgium, after a job goes horribly wrong. Much to the reluctance of Ray, they are forced to share a small room together and stay in Bruges for two weeks. Despite Rays hesitance to visit and site-see throughout the city, he soon becomes familiar with many of the locals, including a dwarf actor (Jordan Prentice) and Chloe, a woman who catches his eye (Clémence Poésy). Yet the fear of the hitmens psychotic boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes), ensures Ray and Ken cannot relax for too long.

This hilarious, but very violent crime caper, has been superbly scripted by director McDonagh to provide Colin Farrell with one of his best roles in years. Despite the reliance on many four letter expletives, both the dialogue and its delivery are sharp and very well timed by the cast. Much of the humour is also derived from Farrell's childlike sulking and tantrums, particularly at the beginning of the film. There are great moments like when he finds himself brawling with overweight locals, or when he shuffling his feet along the ground like a child, as he is dragged by Ken to various attractions.

The audience is also allowed to relish in the interesting and unique setting of Bruges too. McDonagh and cinematographer Eigil Bryld shot the film on location and together they have beautifully photographed the city and captured much of the medieval architecture on screen, showing a real appreciation for Bruges and its culture. The plot of the film, while not particularly deep or highly complex, does consider themes of guilt and anguish, while there are a few twists as we soon discover what really happened to Ray on the job. Farrell's character is not simply a caricature of a bumbling hitman, but rather someone who is uncomfortable, uncivilized and grieving all the same. His performance really carries the film throughout its duration.

Perhaps the films finale is overly brutal and violent in its climax; somewhat downing the humour of the rest film, but audiences should make up the own minds. This is not a particularly innovative film of the British crime genre, but it is still a very witty, action filled caper, with solid performances, that will ensure that you will never have to ask where Bruges is again.

The first concept art for Crysis 2: Legend of Psycho's Son has been released! Tell me what you think and raise your hand if you're excited!

Hellboy II: The Golden Army.

Directed by: Guillermo del Toro

Thousands of years ago a battle between humans and mystical creatures raged on. Having been ravaged by the invention of a Golden Army – thousands of giant mechanical foes – humanity sought a truce with the monsters. A crown that allowed its beholder to control the Golden Army - was separated into several pieces. In the present day, the King's son – Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who disagreed with the truce – murders his father and steals the remaining pieces of the crown. Hellboy (Ron Perlman), who has continued to work with the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, is having trouble living with his girlfriend (Selma Blair). Along with the rest of the investigation team, they must track down Prince Nuada and stop him from retaining the final piece of the crown, held by his own sister.

Guillermo del Toro, who wrote and directed this flash sequel to the 2004 original, has delivered a predictable but wholly likeable and fun film, that is a visual treat. Del Toro, as he showed with Pan's Labyrinth, has a talent for elaborate monster design, and here he is aided by some impressive special effects and makeup work, that brings the comic world of Hellboy alive. Yet the real strength of the film is its retention of the comic humour that made the first film so popular. Ron Perlman, reprising his role as Hellboy, seems to be realishing his part as the irresponsible, clumsy but resourceful demon.

He has many of the films funniest and coolest lines, and deliveries them with acute timing. He is a great hero. The inclusion of a strictly efficient, by the book German robot is another delight too, while Luke Goss – as the samurai-like Prince – is a handy villain. The story of the film is unsurprisingly minimal, with issues of isolation and responsibility very mildly touched upon, but as the film is intended for comic book and superhero enthusiasts, they are unlikely to mind. Hellboy II: The Golden Army, while light on surprises, is another action and humour filled adventure film, that is set to make the future of director Del Toro all the more intriguing.