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Just when you thought buddy cop movies were dead and buried here comes The Guard the story of small town sergeant of the Garda Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) who has to assist FBI agent Wendell Everett who is investigating an international drug smuggling ring. The unorthodox Garda sergeant must put aside his light hearted prejudices and work with the very orthodox Agent Everett in order to halt the drop off of half a billion dollars worth of illegal contraband. Can the seemingly simple sergeant Boyle cooperate with by the book Agent Everett without antagonising each other? From the FBI briefing conducted by Agent Everett sergeant Boyle is seen to be revered amongst his colleagues as a hapless small minded, bigoted who has no respect for authority figures. He almost descends the briefing into a farcical mess by offending Agent Everett with comments like "I thought only black people deal in drugs". The differences between the two unlikely comrades are there for everyone to see and are akin to the relationship between Virgil Tibbs and Gillespie in the socially evocative In the Heat of the Night. The movie plays a around with the relationship between the two leads and the audience's preconceptions are fully exploited. Whatever you don't believe that Sergeant Boyle will say or do he's predicated towards with seemingly wanton innocence. The script is funny and inventive the conversations between the bad guys namely Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham and Liam O'Leary are witty and surprisingly philosophical for men predisposed towards dark deeds.

The narrative and look of the movie is very reminiscent of the classic Local Hero with Wendell Everett very much the great foreign power visiting the small town with his big city modern thinking beautifully juxtaposed with Sergeant Boyle's desire for the simple life. The movie is very entertaining and that is not in the least down to Brendan Gleeson's comedic Colomboesque performance in contrast to Don Cheadle's straight man performance. I'm not equating his intellect to be on par with the great man but there is definitely more to Boyle than meets the eye with Everett even saying to him at one point "I can't work out if you're dumb or very smart?" That is the beauty of this movie it has the appearance of something quite simple like let's say Lieutenant Columbo but once it gets going it is evident just like the great Lieutenant that there is a lot more going on than was earlier surmised. If you're looking for something different than comic book hero's and special effects The Guard is very funny and is on general release from 19th August and receives a very deserved 3 ½ out of 5.

The First Avenger is finally with us, the superhero that embodies the American spirit and what it truly means to be a hero explodes onto the big screen in brilliant colour. The story of ninety pound asthmatic weakling Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) who is so desperate to do his bit in the war against fascism that he submits himself to Dr Erskine's (Stanley Tucci) experiment to create the perfect human. Instantaneously Rogers becomes a poster boy for the Second World War and puts on about eighty pounds, he now runs faster and is stronger than any other human on Earth. But he is not alone in his abilities and he soon finds himself embroiled in the war he was so desperate to be a part in. Can the kid from Brooklyn be the hero his larger than life heart preordains him to be? If you're expecting this movie to be full of gross Americanisms and lots of flying the flag basically the ultimate U.S. propaganda spectacle and admittedly there is much that would appease the American sensibility. But this is a story about one man and his heart and courage of epic proportions, man with a propensity for good and fighting for the good of the common man. This has always been Marvel's answer to DC Comics man of steel Superman and by way of adaptation alone they have beaten Superman's most recent reboot. Joe Johnson has expertly captured that bygone era of periodic Saturday matinée serials and when you look at his resume you can see why he was chosen to depict the story of one of America's most famous sons.

The acting from the lead is again surprising; Chris Evans has previously played roles full of testosterone and ego but here skilfully balances a man full of humility and guts the size of a nation. His interpretation of the star spangled man of might accurately pays homage to a hero forgotten in recent years with the onslaught of comic book characters. Hugo Weaving is suitably maniacal as Johan Schmidt aka Red Skull and Tucci is excellent as the man of great wisdom and knowledge tasked with creating a new weapon against the rising tyranny of Nazi Germany. Mr Johnson has struck a great chord with the special effects which never overtake the telling of the story but instead are skilfully used to enhance the story. If Mr Snyder wants a tip on how to bring great power and heroism to the screen he wouldn't go wrong in watching this adaptation, one only hopes that the impending Avengers can continue in this vein. Captain America receives 3 ½ out of 5 and is in cinemas now.