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07 / 12 / 2008
Fantasy Rally: The final Fantasy Rally results are in - we have a winner! See how your team fared or see the Rally GB results.

05 / 11 / 2008
Review: After the gruelling James Bond press junket tour, I bet Daniel Craig could use a Quantum of Solace.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Brad Pitt steals the latest from the Coen brothers: Burn After Reading.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Simon Pegg learns How to Lose Friends and Alienate People.

23 / 10 / 2008
Review: Ben Stiller directs stars aplenty in Tropic Thunder.

12 / 10 / 2008
Review: A few words on some recent movies: RocknRolla,
Death Race,
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army,
Space Chimps,
Stuck,
The Babysitters,
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder,
Son of Rambow,
Jack and Jill vs the World,
Made of Honor,
Meet Dave,
Doomsday,
Pathology.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: You can mess with Adam Sandler, but You Don't Mess with the Zohan.

15 / 08 / 2008
Review: Mike Myers tickles some chakras in The Love Guru.

14 / 08 / 2008
Review: Toot and come in, it's The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

14 / 08 / 2008
Review: You can stop watching the skies now, it's The X Files: I Want to Believe.

31 / 07 / 2008
Review: Batman Began and now continues in The Dark Knight.

24 / 07 / 2008
Review: The Chronicles of Narnia continue with Prince Caspian.

23 / 07 / 2008
Review: Pixar goes Short Circuit with Wall-E.

22 / 07 / 2008
Review: Jules Verne never envisaged a 3D version of Journey to the Centre of the Earth.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Jet Li and Jackie Chan team up in The Forbidden Kingdom.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Will Smith keeps the streets safe and smelling of booze in Hancock.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: M Night Shyamalan's latest, The Happening.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: Spanish creepy-creepy The Orphanage.

09 / 07 / 2008
Review: A quick catchup of movies that don't get the full treatment:
Be Kind Rewind,
Street Kings,
What Happens In Vegas,
Superhero Movie,
The Ruins and
Teeth.

08 / 07 / 2008
Review: Bend that bullet Angelina! Wanted.

01 / 07 / 2008
Review: Those cats were fast as lightning - Kung Fu Panda.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Don't make Ed Norton angry - The Incredible Hulk.

24 / 06 / 2008
Review: Carrie and Big's wedding, it can only be Sex and the City.

11 / 06 / 2008
Review: Everyone's favourite pot-addicts are back in Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Harrison Ford returns in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

04 / 06 / 2008
Review: Tube driver seeks suicidal man in Three and Out.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: CGI fantasy motor racing in Speed Racer.

18 / 05 / 2008
Review: Your creases will fly away with Iron Man.

18 / 08 / 2005
Sudoku! Have a go at the online Sudoku game.

Plenty more
See the rest of the reviews here.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Cast: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Julian McMahon, Kerry Washington, Laurence Fishburne. Directed by Tim Story. Story: The superhero quartet face a new planetary threat. Running Time: 1hr 32 minutes. UK Certificate PG.

Another week, another sequel. According to the certificate thingy at the beginning, the movie's actually called "4: Rise of the Silver Surfer" - no Fantastic. I'd agree with that.

Fantastic Four was always going to be one of the dafter superhero movies, a burden that it successfully counteracted with light-hearted humour that really hit the mark. This sequel doesn't go as far down that route, but scores more points with its spectacular special effects - so it's a matter of personal preference. Chris Evans (who I feel obliged to point out every time I mention him, isn't the ginger TV goblin) is still the most charismatic of the bunch, but doesn't seem to be putting in quite as much effort as he did in the original or his recent dramatic turn in Sunshine. Jessica Alba is still hugely incongruous, looking as she does like a strange porcelain doll, with somewhat less acting flexibility, while Ioan Gruffudd's classical style is simultaneously commendable yet uncomfortably misplaced within the cartoony environment.

According to friends who know more than I do, the story is pretty close to the original comic book series, i.e. it's pretty silly. If you start picking holes in it, you'll be there all day and your friends will stop returning your calls, so it's best to have a giggle and gawp at the effects. The London scenes are of specific interest to us limeys, with the London Eye coming in for some particularly entertaining abuse at the hands of the new shiny protagonist. The plot is a by-the-numbers affair, with the next step being telegraphed so loudly you almost have to wear earplugs, and the humour isn't really strong enough to bear the full weight of the movie on its own.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a typical sequel. Top marks for effects, must try harder with the rest. I still enjoyed it, I just found myself at the end of the movie with a bit of an "is-that-it-then" feeling.

I enjoyed this film: 3/5

I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: 4/5

Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: 0/5

To enjoy this film you should: expect a rather uninspired sequel.