Back in 2003, when Johnny Depp wearing eyeliner still conjured up images of Edward Scissorhands, Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer teamed up with Disney to turn a tired old Disneyland ride in to one of the most profitable movie franchises in history.

It was, of course, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Cure of the Black Pearl: a fun, funny and invigoratingly fresh film that represented everything a blockbuster movie should be. The [...]

Rango may just be the first animated Western/comedy with a cast of characters made up entirely of animals. In fact, I’m sure of it. But does it stand out from the recent deluge of computer animation on the big screen? You can breathe a sigh of relief, because it certainly does. And you won’t be made to wrap a crappy pair of 3-D glasses around your face to enjoy it [...]

By all accounts, The Tourist sounds like the perfect cinematic getaway. It stars two of Hollywood’s most beautiful actors, Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, and is set in one of Earth’s most beautiful locations, Venice. It also boasts action and romance, with a hint of comedy.

So why, dear reader, was I squirming in my seat like an earthworm on hot concrete?

Well, the chair was [...]

Alice in Wonderland is the result of Disney inviting director Tim Burton, a certified specialist in cinematic lunacy, and author Lewis Carroll, the pioneer of literary nonsense, to the same tea party. In other words, it’s the closest you’ll get to absolute madness without being locked in a room with padded walls. But being bonkers isn’t so bad. As Alice’s father remarks, “all the best people are.”

Michael Mann’s Miami Vice was certainly stylish, but the horribly convoluted plot and bland characterisations made it about as appealing as Colin Farrell’s mullet. In Public Enemies, Mann makes his apology by enlisting charismatic heartthrob Johnny Depp to portray notorious American bank robber John Dillinger. Whilst Depp sure does make up for Farrell’s mullet, it’s clear that Mann has yet to renounce all his other vices. He still under-develops his characters and has a nonsensical love for digital cinematography, causing this two-and-a -half-hour game of cat and mouse to lose momentum faster than a contestant on The Biggest Loser.