To Watch or Not to Watch? Movies of 2012

Come Friday night, I am so exhausted from work, and so glad to see the back of another stressful week. In order to completely switch off from work, my boyfriend and I spend Friday nights at the cinema - it forces us to relax, have a laugh and above all - not talk about work.

The 3 movies that I have seen lately and which have have left an impression are: John Carter (in 3D), 21 Jump St, and The Hunger Games.

Let's first talk about John Carter, the flop of the century. Out of ten, it would just scrape 2 stars, mainly because it gave me the opportunity to eat popcorn and drink coke. What a disaster of a movie and I wouldn't even know where to begin. Whilst the special effects were on par with current movies, and the last two minutes of the movie was an "oh!" moment - it could not make up for the remaining 122 minutes of a poor attempt to replicate Star Wars. The acting was shocking, and despite being in 3D, the movie had a strange 2D quality about it - with lights that were too bright, and their voices coming out as echoes like ones that you would hear from an old TV set. Overall, save your money...and don't wait for it to come out on dvd.

21 Jump Street, however, was a surprisingly humorous comedy with fresh jokes and great entertainment value. Channing Tatum's good looks were just a huge bonus. Rating would be a 7.5/10.

Last, but definitely not in any way least - The Hunger Games - the most anticipated movie of the year. I watched it last night, without managing to contain my excitement. After having read the books and watched the trailers at least 100 times, I could not keep in my seat. The movie was remarkable - and largely because it showed a different perspective than what was offered by the book. The book focuses on Katniss' story and is seen through her eyes - whilst the film flits back and forth between what is happening on the outside of the arena and what is happening in Katniss' world. Katniss' performance was outstanding and in fact, all of the cast were cleverly selected. Rating = 8.5/10. I will be going back to see it a second-time tomorrow.