The Sofa and Popcorn Degree

AMERICAN ASSASSIN starring Dylan O'Brien, Michael Keaton and Sanaa Lathan directed by Michael Cuesta A review by Helen J. Reynolds A young couple are holidaying in Spain, relaxing on a beach. Mitch (Dylan O'Brien) directs a home-made video on his phone pretending they're honeymooners. The dialogue is cute: his girl hits back that they're not married before diving into the water. It then turns into a proposal, and as your heart warms at this easy, happy, loved-up couple, it also starts to pitter-patter in anticipation. Something is going to go wrong... The long, intimate opening catches you off guard. It's well-thought out, gives a clear, psychological profile to the main character and is very alert to the real fear of terrorism that can take place anywhere, at anytime with such devastating effects. Middle-East terrorism is the main enemy of the movie (though certainly not the only one) and scenes of random killings are brutal to watch. This isn't l...

THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson  directed by Patrick Hughes A review by Helen J. Reynolds The Hitman's Bodyguard is a calculating comedy involving fascist governments, killer romance and cars that smell like arse.  Ryan Reynolds plays Michael, a self-named Triple A protector for the rich cats whose successful career takes a nosedive after a client ends up with his brains splattered over a plane window. That one didn't go quite to plan... Plan B sees him roped into protecting a witness for the trial against dictator Vladislav Dukhovich (the very excellent Gary Oldman). But the witness isn't just any witness, he's Samuel L. Jackson, here playing Darius Kincaid, a renowned assassin doing hard time. There's nothing revolutionary in the plotting of this comedy, but there are some great jokes. The romance between Jackson and Salma Hayek (playing his wife) is easily the best part of the movie. It gives Jackson the h...