Hairspray

Cast
John Travolta
Queen Latifah
Amanda Bynes
Christopher Walken
Nikki Blonsky
Michelle Pfeiffer
Zac Efron
Brittany Snow
Screenwriter
Leslie Dixon
Director
Adam Shankman
Running Time
110 minutes

Early ’60s Baltimore, and Tracy Turnblad (Blonsky), a big girl with big hair and an enormous heart, dreams of appearing on teen TV dance party The Corny Collins Show. Her wish is granted, but not all goes according to plan...

It was a wonderful experience and I smiled broadly throughout whole sections of the film, however I'm unsure whether to give it five stars. The thing is, if I try to be critical about it then I can see that it's a little too long (maybe 15 minutes) and both Travolta and Walken weren't done real justice dance routine wise.

Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix

Cast
Daniel Radcliffe
Emma Watson
Rupert Grint
Evanna Lynch
Helen McCrory
Imelda Staunton
George Harris
Screenwriter
Michael Goldenberg
Director
David Yates
Running Time
138 minutes

Harry (Radcliffe) faces expulsion, as the Ministry Of Magic tries to quell claims that Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) is back again.

I considered giving it four stars but then it occurred to me, why? It's enjoyable and very well made and the nearly annual event of seeing the continuing saga of these characters or really just Harry, is an enjoyable occasion but are they really that great. I always get the sense of being told the synopsis of a book, which I am. I haven't read them and am really a LOTR guy (not that I suppose you can't be both) having read it back in '86. The LOTR movies are near masterpieces but they still lack some of the richness of the Tolkien trilogy and some of the Harry Potter books are as big as the whole LOTR.

Die Hard 4.0

Cast
Bruce Willis
Justin Long
Maggie Q
Timothy Olyphant
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Screenwriter
Mark Bomback
Director
Len Wiseman
Running Time
129 minutes

Terrorists initiate a plot to bring down the U.S. in a cyber attack, taking out transportation, telecommunications, financial and power networks with systematic hacking. Luckily, New York cop John McClane (Willis) wanders into their orbit, an analogue hero for a digital dilemma.

This is thrilling stuff. It brought back to me memories of the great '80s and '90s action movies, obviously by the presence of Bruce Willis but also the overall feel.
Willis dominates the movie and it's his screen persona which adds immensely to the whole experience lifting it up another level.

Shrek The Third

Cast
Mike Myers
Antonio Banderas
Cameron Diaz
Eddie Murphy
Justin Timberlake
Directors
Raman Hui
Chris Miller
Screenwriters
Jeffrey Price
Peter S Seaman
Jon Zack
Running Time
93 minutes

With the frog-king (Cleese) dying, it dawns on Shrek (Myers) that he’s next in line to be monarch – something he’s keen to avoid. When he sets off to track down the only other living heir, Fiona’s cousin Artie (Timberlake), Prince Charming (Everett) unites all the fairy-tale world’s bad guys and takes Far, Far Away by storm. Even worse, Fiona (Diaz) tells Shrek she’s pregnant…

It was alright, I liked it. It has been a while since I last saw the first two but I seem to think they were better.