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Land of Bad staring Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth is a modern take on warfare, splitting the screen time between drone operators well away from the conflict and a small team of special forces dropped covertly over a border to tackle a terrorist cell.

I had pretty modest expectations for this movie as despite the strong lead cast I really had not seen much promotion for it and the budget was very modest at $20m.

Upon watching it I was pleasantly surprised as the action is well executed, with good editing and of course the acting by someone of Crowe's calibre is (usually), above this level of movie. The contrast of the two settings is stark as is the intention, though is slightly overplayed (grocery shopping scene).

Crowe is really out of shape for this one which I'm not sure was planned for character or not! Overall a surprisingly good take on modern warfare and well worth a watch for fans of action movies.

7/10.

Wimbledon (2004) staring Paul Bettany, Kirsten Dunst and Sam Neill is a romantic comedy sports movie with a positive vibe to it.

At a concise 98 minutes long it doesn't waste much time introducing the two protagonists, though is pretty far fetched in how Lizzie (Dunst) reacts to this encounter with Peter (Bettany). That aside, Bettany is likeable, charming and funny in his role as the career tennis underdog at his last major championship, though I find the chemistry between him and Dunst to be somewhat lacking.

The supporting cast are all fun and likeable though some of the acting seems below par or maybe just over the top. The actual tennis match scenes were really nicely shot in my opinion and gave a glimpse of the work of a lower ranked tennis pro at a slam on the small courts. We see the blood, sweat and tears of it all.

Overall a fun feel good movie that is more than the average romantic comedy, though slightly let down by some of the performances.

7/10.

Upon seeing the trailer for 'Fly Me To The Moon' I was not quite sure what to make of it, but as I'm a fan of period films and the cast was strong I added it to my 'to watch' list.

Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum and Woody Harrelson are the main cast with Johansson standing out the most as a fun and cheeky con artist that is hard to dislike. Harrelson adds personality, as only he can, as a CIA agent however Tatum in the lead role as the NASA launch director is pretty vanilla and one dimensional.

The period effects and sets are lovely although do seem overly clean, the movie is somewhat overlong and convoluted in the final third. Unfortunately the chemistry between the leads is not great, and as the romance is not there, or a great deal of comedy, its hard to place where this movie sits.

However, it is hard to dislike because it is a visually beautiful, clean, fun story, the likes of which rarely get made anymore on the big screen. It could have just done with a little more commitment to being either a drama or a comedy and not tried to cover all bases.

Overall it is solid and enjoyable but not spectacular and is a movie that both sexes and multiple generations could enjoy watching together.

7/10.