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Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

~ Nikki Baughan

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Has Jack Sparrow met his match? He’s in London, facing piracy charges, has no crew, no ship and – seemingly – no hope. But, of course, keeping Jack behind bars wouldn’t make for much of a film and so, following a beautifully-choreographed escape through the streets of London, a scene-stealing cameo from Keith Richards as Jack’s worldly-wise father and reunion with feisty former love Angelica (Penelope Cruz), Jack is soon ensconced on the ship of the legendary Blackbeard (Ian McShane), on the hunt for the fabled Fountain of Youth. On his tail is pirate nemesis Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) but, as the journey gets increasingly dangerous, the old foes may find that they need to work together if they are to make it home alive…

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Sherlock Holmes (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

No Clue

When it was announced that Guy Ritchie was to bring a new version of Sherlock Holmes to the big screen, many thought that the director of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and the iconic gentleman sleuth created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would not make for easy bedfellows. And now that we’ve seen Richie’s revamped Holmes in all its glory, it seems the sceptics were right. For although this modern Sherlock may be popcorn friendly it is, in essence, a by-the-numbers action movie with misplaced literary pretensions that will leave fans of the novel cold.

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Law Abiding Citizen (DVD)

~ Nikki Baughan

Rough justice

After ordinary guy Clyde Shelton (Gerard Butler) watches his wife and young daughter die at the hands of two violent burglars in his own home, he relies on hotshot Philadelphia district attorney Nick Rice (Jamie Fox) to see that justice is done and they are sent to prison for life for their heinous crime. But when Nick Makes a deal that sees one of the killers walk three, Clyde is unhappy to say the least. Fast forward 10 years and, following a stint in the military, Clyde is back on the scene to exact his own form of extreme vigilante justice. And when prison isn’t enough to stop him, Nick embarks on a race against time to save his own family.

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