1. Morgan Stewart’s Coming Home 6.5/10

Stars: Jon Cryer and Lynn Redgrave

Cryer is endearing in this comedy and Redgrave gives a masterful performance as the domineering mother.  Not a great movie but quite entertaining nevertheless.

2. Coyote Ugly 7/10

Stars: Piper Perabo and Adam Garcia

Good music and an engaging storyline in a small-town girl makes it in the big city movie. A bit predictable.  John Goodman is very likable as the father.

3. Duets  6/10

Stars: Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow

Some good songs and a passable storyline.  But there seems to be something missing as the characters appear to be a little poorly developed.

4. Thor: The Dark World 8.5/10

Stars: Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleton

Another great movie from the Marvel franchise. Lots of action and some very good cinematography and special effects.  Hemsworth and Hiddleton once again provide great entertainment in their roles as Thor and Loki.

5. The Nightmare before Christmas  6.5/10

Stars: Danny Elfman and Catherine O’Hara

While I am not a fan of animated movies nor of Tim Burton, this movie does hold some appeal.  The animations are good and the storyline is clear and well-developed.

6. Batman Begins  8.5/10

Stars: Christian Bale and Michael Caine

A great re-boot of the Batman story.  Bale gives a very strong performance as the caped crusader and Caine is excellent as his butler Alfred.  The story is engaging and Christopher Nolan’s direction is very good.

7. The Dark Knight 8/10

Stars: Christian Bale and Heath Ledger

Another good offering from Christopher Nolan.  Bale and Ledger give good performances as does Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent aka Two-Face.  Not quite as good as the first but still a very good movie.

8. One Chance 9/10

Stars: James Corden and Alexandra Roach

A lovely movie depiction of the story of ‘Britain;s Got Talent’ winner, Paul Potts. Corden gives superb performance as Potts and Roach is also good in the female lead role.  A great feel good movie with a good story that takes you on a rollercoaster journey of emotion.

9. The Dark Knight Rises 9/10

Stars: Christian Bale and Tom Hardy

Strong performances by the whole cast and a great plot make this the best of the trilogy. The Bale and Hardy a great as the key protagonists and Anne Hathaway gives a noteworthy performance as Catwoman.  Joseph Gordan Levitt is also good as Robin Blake.

10. Alex Cross  3.5/10

Stars: Matthew Fox and Tyler Perry

This movie failed to impress as the beginning dragged and it never gained any real momentum.  The cast tried hard but a poorly developed script which didn’t do credit to the book from which the movie is adapted let them down. Quite disappointing.

11. The Way  8.5/10

Stars: Martin Sheen and Emilio Estevez

A moving and interesting story with solid performances by Sheen, Estevez and the supporting cast. I found this an engaging movie to watch. Some solid camera work meant really good vision as well.

12. Punch-Drunk Love 4/10

Stars: Adam Sandler and Emily Watson

This movie was tedious and painful.  Sandler should stick to movies with Drew Barrymore as these are the ones he odes best. I had hopes for this when I heard it was a drama but it missed the mark.

13. The Butler 8.5/10

Stars: Forrest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey

A beautiful and well-acted movie with great performances by Whitaker, Winfrey and the rest of the cast.  Strong and well-structured dialogue and direction.

14. Sunshine  7.5/10

Stars: Cillian Murphy and Rose Byrne

A suspenseful science fiction movie which, although a little long, manages to provide a solid story that is well-directed and in which the actors give strong performances.

15. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider 6/10

Stars: Angelina Jolie and Jon Voight

Despite a strong cast this movie is not as good as it could have been. I feel the plot let it down somewhat and that it is not as good as the hype around its release would have led us to believe.

16. American Beauty 8/10

Stars: Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening

Though a little disturbing, this Lolita storyline provides agood opportunity for the cast to demonstrate their skills and, as a result, the movie is well-acted and well-directed.

17. Killing Kennedy 7/10

Stars: Rob Lowe and Ginnifer Goodwin

A great performance by Lowe as JFK with a very good performance by Goodwin as Jackie Kennedy. Also noteworthy were the performances of Michelle Trachenberg and Will Rothhar as the Oswalds.

18. XXX 6/10

Stars: Vin Diesel and Asia Argento

Lots of action and some great cinematography but a rather shallow plot.  Diesel and Argento gave steady performances and some of the dialogue was clever.  But all-in-all a very predictable action/adventure movie.

19. Rocky 6/10

Stars: Sylvester Stallone and Talia Shire

I know this is considered a classic but some of the dialogue borders on being corny.  As sporting movies go it’s not bad  but I don’t feel that it’s great.

20. The Star Chamber 7/10

Stars: Michael Douglas and Hal Holbrook

Strong cast and a good premise makes this 80s action movie entertaining viewing.  Though it may seem a little trite by today’s standards it is a reasonably good example of the legal thrillers of the time.  Worth watching if, like me, you have never seen it before.

21. Romancing the Stone 7/10

Stars: Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner

Douglas and Turner give steady performances in this adventure movie. Strong direction and some very good cinematography ensure that the viewer is entertained and engaged throughout.

22. The Jewel of the Nile 6.5/10

Stars: Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner

Though not quite as good as Romancing the Stone this second pairing of Turner and Douglas is still entertaining.  Again, some good cinematography and direction help to add to the viewer’s enjoyment.

23. Jane Doe: The Ties that Bind  6/10

Stars: Lea Thompson and Joe Penny

Another offering in the made for tv movie series. Thompson and Penny work well together as the investigative team but it is the members of the family that have the best scenes.

24. Shrek Forever After 6/10

Stars: Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz

The last in the series of Shrek movies, while not as good as the first movie, has a few moments of humour as well as a storyline that would hold attraction to fans of the movies. Not great but also not bad.

25. Chaplin  8/10

Stars: Robert Downey Jnr and Geraldine Chaplin

What a good movie! Downey does a great job of bringing Chaplin’s personality and actions to the screen in this biopic. A strong cast with some very good direction.  Well worth watching.

26. School Ties  8/10

Stars: Brendan Fraser and Matt Damon

A very good movie with many of today’s stars in their earliest feature film roles. Some parts are disturbing in their focus on religious bigotry but it is a very well-directed and acted movie.

27. Trading Places 6.5/10

Stars: Dan Ackroyd and Eddie Murphy

Though I am not usually a fan of comedies I found this movie reasonably well-scripted and felt that the cast gave good performances. Sadly though, Eddie Murphy’s voice always makes me think of Donkey from Shrek so It lost some of its impact.

28. Pretty Woman  6.5/10

Stars: Julia Roberts and Richard Gere

The cast is quite strong in this movie and they give good performances but I felt that the story moved too slowly.  There were some standout scenes but it would have been better served by a slightly shorter script.

29. The Princess and the Cobbler  6/10

Stars: Matthew Broderick and Vincent Price

The animation in this movie is somewhat dizzying and its story seems thin in comparison to Disney’s ‘Aladdin‘, which was released a few months prior to this movie’s release.  It seems slightly menacing for a very young audience but is still entertaining.

30. The Librarian: Quest for the Spear  7/10

Stars: Noah Wyle and Kyle MacLachlan

This is a movie worth trying if you like the genre.  Wyle is likable as the professional student turned librarian who goes of on a quest for a stolen archaeological fragment.  It has merit as entertainment of you aren’t looking for complete historical accuracy.