Cage is again on form following his Oscar nominated role (in Spike Jonze's Adaptation) as Roy- the head of a small company that swindles people out of money in telephone scams and confidence tricks.

Rockwell plays his partner in crime as the set up guy who does all the leg work in their web of tricks.

Sir Nicolas Of Cage is great in this movie as his troubled but loving character has so many issues that confuse his life; from obsessive cleaning disorder to his comical and sporadic funny ticks - you get the feeling this chap is bordering on the strange. But Cage manages to give this guy a big heart and as the film progresses you find yourself rooting for him as he establishes himself as the good guy, despite being a criminal.

Nitro favourite Sam Rockwell is as good as ever as the charming wild man who tends to steal the scene and turn it on whenever necessary.

But for me the star of this film is the new comer Alison Lohman, who plays the integral part of Cage's daughter Angela, she is a revelation! Ridley Scott has obviously taken a huge risk and probably fought against the studio to get her this part but boy, the gamble has paid off. She holds her own with the big boys and you can't help thinking about her ahead of her co-stars - wonderful!

Ridley Scott has made some fantastic films in all genres and this again establishes his position, living up to the likes of Gladiator and Hannibal, this can join them on his recently glorious cv.

Scott has given the look of Matchstick Men a 50's watercolour hue and the rat pack music on the soundtrack give it a feel of an early Levinson film in the same vein as Tin Men or Diner. As ever Ridley's eye is great and he has a knack of making the ordinary appear so cinematic - this proves his standing in Hollywood today!

Matchstick men could have been so formulaic in it's pace and delivery with predictability at every turn but the team involved have made a film that's memorable long after the credits have finished.

Is there nothing that this man can't do? Watch this if you can - you will not be disappointed, a cut above with the emphasis on character.

CHARLIE'S ANGELS 2: FULL THROTTLE
Full Throttle is a continuation of the first Charlie's Angels film in as much as it is an extended music video and hair advert rolled into one!

Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore return as the invincible Angels and Bernie Mac replaces Bill Murray in the Bosley role. This time the bad guys are an ex boyfriend of Dylan's who is hell- bent on seeking revenge as the then girlfriend (Barrymore) sent her man to prison and ex-Angel Demi Moore is equally focused on exposing and killing her old boss Mr Charles Townsend.

Matt LeBlanc and Luke Wilson return as the suffering other halves to Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz and there are too many good and bad cameos to mention that pop up in this film as the story unfolds.

If you liked the first movie, returning director Mc G gives you more of the same but very little else, the action set pieces are impressive to begin with but then go too far into the ridiculous on countless occasions.

There are some really good moments and the male population will not be disappointed in how the Angels seem to live out everyone's sexual fantasies at least once- be it a Swedish yodeller or a leather clad assassin these three ladies will cover all possibilities!!!

The music plays an important role in this popcorn flick because where the writers and director couldn't think or be bothered to put in a plot change they insert a huge dance sequence or cue the soundtrack and have a musical section that will close or open the scene which sometimes can work well but in this case is often too relied on.

Movie fans will love the insider joking that is going on throughout the film and the premiere of Matt LeBlanc's character brings this to a funny conclusion together with the final fight sequences inter-cut between this tops it all off nicely.

Perhaps I expected too much from the second instalment (of many), the film is fine but only fine - it should have been better.

Go and see but don't expect too much and all will be groovy. 5/10
Fletch out.

HULK review by TJ Mackay - Jimmy's follows...

Finally, the jolly green giant makes it to the big screen - and it doesn't disappoint.

The Hulk takes a lot of risks, and thankfully, they pay off as it is made with intelligence, utter respect for the source material and humour.

Ang Lee has made an enjoyable comic strip movie that has at it's heart, the most important ingredient for super heroes - A darker than black back-story.

I won't go into the story as you should just see it but I will talk about the elements. Firstly - the direction, Ang Lee was a strange but wonderful choice. The film's only worry is that the initial hour is pedestrian and slow, although necessary. Lee's use of the comic book transitions is faithful, but overplayed toward the end.

The acting - Eric Bana, again a strange choice, was also a master stroke. Although he is not really given the best material that he can do. What he does do though, is excellent work. Jennifer Connelly is in the same boat - she's fine but not given a real stretch. The acting merits go to Nick Nolte, who is so deeply inside the body of David Banner that it is quite literally scary.

The Hulk - is wonderful, many whingers have remarked that the Hulk looks 'Cartoony'. People!!!! It's a friggin cartoon strip! He's ten foot tall by nine foot wide (and then some). It HAD to be animated - Lou Ferrigno will not do in this day and age. The Hulk is impressive but flawed in the shadows, but comes into it's own when in the daylight. The attention to detail is remarkable and it really has a 'character' that CG such as Playstation Neo could only hope to have. It's the size of a house, it's bright green with purple shorts - it's NEVER going to look real, our eyes just wont accept it.

The score - Danny Elfman has composed a very good, but forgettable theme for the Hulk, which is a missed opportunity.

The film really takes off when the Hulk goes nuts - witness the brilliant dog fight and the desert rampage. Also, big note to the brilliantly 'staged' scene between Bruce and his father - acting at its best.

Get mad and go see the Hulk, you'll have a great time.

Just call me T.J. Mackay.

HULK review by Jimmy TwoTimes

People who know me, know that I was psyched to love this film before I'd even seen it. But after sitting through it I found that I liked it for a whole host of other reasons than the ones I thought I would. Even a week later, it has elements that have stayed with me and in moments of calm I am still finding scenes playing in my head, and you know what scares me the most... I like it...

Most of us are familiar, either from the comic books or the 70's television series, of who the Hulk is and how he came to be, so I won't go down that road. Suffice to say this is definitely Ang Lee's Hulk. He has some how managed to combine the Hollywoodism of a typical superhero movie alongside a tense human drama.

At the end of the day Ang Lee is a filmmaker, whilst someone like Sam Raimi, for example, makes movies. Where in Raimi's 'Spider-man' you had a great night out, it did everything you hoped it would, plus a lot more - The Hulk is a different kettle of fish. This definitely isn't a fun Saturday "I'll have a large popcorn" night out. Darren and Sharon are gonna be upset!

Though one hell of a big event, it ultimately is a film, a film about the human condition, it's Ang Lee's film. This is more than evident in the opening credits alone. Lee has taken the comic book format and transferred those same images onto the screen via the use of split screen, multi imaging, and multiple angles and this is as close as you're going to get to see a living, breathing, comic book on film. The camera shoots from scene to scene, there are screen wipes from top to bottom, left to right, one scene morphs into the other with such rapidity that the viewer has trouble keeping up. Not since the opening credits of 'Moulin Rouge' have I sat so in awe. There is only one point that I can recollect that this 'comic book' technique certainly did not work, but I'm not going to tell you what it is, but it involves the character of Talbot (Josh Lucas), and heck you'll know it when you see it!!

Anyway, enough of kissing the directors ass, how are the main leads, and more importantly does the big guy himself pass the test?? The answers in short are that they are everything you really wanted them to be and "oh hell yes!". Eric Bana most notably remembered for a mesmerising performance in 'Chopper' is a dark and tormented Bruce Banner. Bana plays Banner (confused?) as one emotionally scarred individual and it becomes increasingly apparent that it would be difficult to imagine anyone else pulling the role off as successfully. Jennifer Connelly also adds solid emotional support as Bruce's ex, and the one person who can calm old purple pants down, Betty Ross. Sam Elliot as General Ross (Betty's pa) is great as the Hulks/Bruce's aggressive pursuer with a few guilty secrets of his own, but the real scene stealer/chewer upper is Nick Nolte as Bruce's obsessive dad. Though you sometimes get the impression that he might not actually know that they are filming... Nolte as the wild haired psychotic David Banner truly stands out and for a moment, actually has you believing him when he tells you he's sorry. It's only in the final act of the picture that he becomes a bit more of a pantomime villain and he starts to lose any credibility. Josh Lucas who plays Glenn Talbot, rival for Betty's affections and a man who is keen to get hold of some of Bruce's gammaed up DNA, has, I think, been unnecessarily slated in other reviews for being a 2 dimensional character. I disagree, Talbot is a sleazebag, a scum, the perfect man to quell Bruce's inner rage, and whereas he may not really forward the plot along at any greater pace, he is there as a good excuse for Bruce to 'Hulk Out' a couple of times within the movie, and for this we must be truly thankful.

Now the important part: The Hulk. In a word- awesome! In all honesty, to begin with, after his first metamorphosis I was a bit worried. He did look a little too cartoony. But again, if I may draw comparisons with 'Spider-man' it seems that as the film went on, the CG effects got better. You have to ask yourself how realistic a 15 ft Green man is going to look, and what is the alternative, some no-necker painted green, or a lumbering animatronic creation, with the emotional range of a carp?

Whereas The Hulk may not quite be at the same level as 'LOTR' Gollum for example, the way in that he is made to interact with the environment around him soon dismisses any qualms you may have. The set piece in the desert as he faces off against General Ross' army is 'incredible' (d-dum tsss) and after his, extremely brutal, (this film is not for kids) fight with the unjustifiably infamous 'Hulk dogs' I felt absolutely exhausted. Such is the fast pace and the savageness of this scene, you feel like you are right there with him, you can almost feel every punch and smash. All of the anger, all of the rage- you feel it as the Hulk does, and by the time Bruce is sitting there in a pair of torn trousers, you feel completely knackered, and you don't even have the luxury of Jennifer Connelly to wrap you up and keep you warm!!!

Aside from a few slower moments and a quite rushed and somewhat confusing final act (answers on a postcard) this is great cinema. A great night out, if a bit harrowing in places, and a film that is going to be talked about/argued about for quite some time.

If you want my opinion,(and if you don't what are you doing reading this anyway?), this is going to divide the cinema going public. On the one side you are going to get those that think this is another string to the bow of great Marvel movies, while on the other you are going to have those that wish it was a bit more like 'Batman & Robin' (yes you're out there).

Me: HULK SMASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jimmy TwoTimes is getting the papers. Getting the papers.

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