1. Ocean’s Eleven  8.5/10

Stars: George Clooney and Brad Pitt

A really good re-make of the classic movie with strong performances by all of the cast. This is a great afternoon’s entertainment and has some great comedic moments.

2. The Heat 7.5/10

Stars: Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy

A fun female cop buddy movie with some really funny moments. Bullock and McCarthy work well together and give strong performances,  While not a likely award contender, it is still an entertaining movie.

3. Mask 7/10

Stars: Cher and Eric Stoltz

A great movie based on a true story,  Cher and Stoltz are excellent in the main roles.  There is a good mix of comedy, drama and pathos.  A solid and moving film.

4. The Lone Ranger  7/10

Stars: Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp

Far better than I expected it to be. Depp plays the sort of character he has become typecast as, but Hammer was good casting as the lawman turned vigilante of the title.  It is fun if you suspend reality while watching

5. Jesse Stone: Night Passage 6/10

Stars: Tom Selleck and Viola Davis

Selleck in another of the Jesse Stone made for tv movies gives his usual strong performance.  He plays this sort of role well and is very believable.  Some good comedy scenes and minimal violence.

6. Much Ado About Nothing  7.5/10

Stars: Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker

A very entertaining modern treatment of Shakespeare’s play. Acker surprised me with her talent.  Really enjoyed this. The way Joss Whedon moved the story into the 21st century kept me enthralled. Quite liked the use of black and white filming as it seemed fitting.

7. Bird on a Wire  6/10

Stars: Mel Gibson and Goldie Hawn

A funny, but not great, comedy with a lot of very visual, almost slapstick type humour a s well as some tense moments. Hawn and Gibson do well but it’s not really one of my favourite movies as it seems a bit too contrived at times. 

8. Wedding Wars 6/10

Stars: Eric Dane and John Stamos

A reasonably good movie with marriage equality as its central theme.  Stamos and Dane give steady performances.  The script is well-written and it addresses a current topic of debate in a sensitive and sensible way.

9. Listen to Your Heart 7/10

Stars: Alexia Rasmussen and Kent Moran

A good look at how the hearing world should make more of an effort to understand the deaf world. Strong performances by the two leads.  Cybil Shephard also gives a good performance.

10. The Medallion 1/10

Stars: Jackie Chan and Kate Forlani

This movie is terrible.  It has nothing to redeem it as it has really bad action scenes and too much CGI. Even for this genre it is a really poor effort.  It is hard to imagine there are even any Chan fans who would find this a good effort.

11. The Christmas Cottage 5.5/10

Stars: Jared Padalecki and Marcia Gay Harden

This movie has some good parts but was a little slow-moving. The direction makes this Thomas Kinkade biopic seem a little like a Kinkade painting, which may have been the intention

12. Nowhere Boy  7.5/10

Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Kristen Scott Thomas

Another biopic, this time about John Lennon in the years leading up to the formation of the Beatles. Strong performances by the whole cast make it well worth watching.

13. That Thing You Do   6.5/10

Stars: Tom Everett Scott and Liv Tyler

An entertaining look at the music industry with good performances by the leads. The title song is the main feature of the soundtrack but the rest of the music is fun and the story is well-developed.

14. Rapid Fire  6/10

Stars: Brandon Lee and Powers Booth

The story is fairly average but there are some good action scenes. Lee and Booth give strong performances and the rest of the cast is ok.

15. Lovestruck: The Musical  6/10

Stars: Chelsea Kane and Drew Seeley

Not a bad effort.  The songs are catchy. the storyline is ok. There’s a few funny moments.  Quite entertaining but nothing special.

16. Center Stage  8/10

Stars: Amanda Schull and Ethan Stiefel

The dance sequences in this movie are excellent. The characters are good and the storyline is strong making this a good, entertaining ballet movie. I particularly like the final ballet.

17. Rebel  3/10

Stars: Matt Dillon and Debra Byrne

An Aussie musical set in 1942.  Should have been reasonably good but the overdone Australian accents are a bit annoying. It didn’t transition well to the big screen from the play on which it is based, Herbert’s “No Names, No Packdrill”.

18. McBride: The Doctor is Out…Really Out  7/10

Stars; John Laroquette and Mark Lutz

This Hallmark made for tv mystery movie is one of a series.  The acting is good, the plot is ok and the overall effect is entertaining.  Laroquette’s performance as the title character is very good.

19. Centurion 1/10

Stars: Michael Fassbender and Dominic West

This movie would be good if you just wanted a whole lot of fight scenes strung together by a minimal plot.  But it held little attraction for me.

20. Matching Jack 7/10

Stars: Jacinda Barrett and Richard Roxburgh

A reasonably good Aussie movie with a mix of humour and pathos.  Barnett was very good as was James Nesbitt.  Good performance by the two young boys as well.

21. The Cowboy Way 6.5/10

Stars: Woody Harrelson and Kiefer Sutherland

Quite a funny and entertaining movie. Sutherland and Harrelson are a good combination and Harrelson is particularly amusing. Liked this more than I expected to,

22. Damsels in Distress  3/10

Stars: Greta Gerwig and Analeigh Tipton

Not very amusing given that it’s a comedy.  I found this boring and felt that there was a lot of lost opportunities in the script.  May appeal to a younger audience.

23. Rock of Ages  7.5/10

Stars: Julianne Hough and Diego Boneta

A fun and entertaining movie with great performances by supporting actors Alec Baldwin and Russell Brand. The songs and choreography are really good.

24. The Queen  8.5/10

Stars: Helen Mirren and Michael Sheen

An excellent movie with wonderful performances by Mirren and Sheen.  The casting is extraordinary and the depiction of events is well-directed.  Another standout was James Cromwell as the Duke of Edinburgh.

25. SWAT 4/10

Stars: Colin Farrell and Samuel L Jackson

This is one of those movies that has potential but really didn’t move beyond mediocre.  It has a few good moments but these are not sufficient to take the move to an above average level.

26. Sharknado  1/10

Stars: Ian Ziering and Tara Reid

Nothing good to say about this D grade horror movie. The premise is ridiculous and the acting is overdone.  Sadly, this probably means it will become a cult movie.

27. Jesse Stone: Sea Change  5.5/10

Tom Selleck and Kathy Baker

Another in the made-for-tv series.  Good performances by Selleck and Baker, who is good in any role.  Not a bad effort.

28. Sister Act  8/10

Stars: Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith

A great movie with excellent performances by Goldberg and Smith.  Good musical numbers and lots of laughs make it a fun movie to watch.

29. Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit 6/10

Stars: Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith

Not as good as the original but still has a few great musical numbers and some very humorous moments.  An entertaining movie.

30. The Banger Sisters  6.5/10

Stars: Goldie Hawn and Susan Sarandon

Hawn and Sarandon are very good in this and the supporting cast, which includes Geoffrey Rush, works well together.  A good script and strong direction makes it worthwhile viewing.

31. The Wolverine   8/10

Stars: Hugh Jackman and Tao Okamoto

Better than its prequel but not quite as good as some of the others in the X-Men franchise.  It was engaging and exciting with strong performances by the whole cast except for Svetlana Khodchenkova who was unconvincing as Viper.