Alastair Maggs (amaggs)

Another Halloween, another Saw film. But that?s not a bad thing this year. Saw V focussed almost entirely on back-story, which was interesting enough, but the ?game? storyline was nowhere near as good as earlier films in the series ? it lacked likeable characters, gore and any sort of urgency. Saw VI fixes this (in fact, if you watch them back to back, Saw VI actually goes some way to making Saw V feel like a better film). This time ?The Game? is good. It?s gory (4 people actually left the cinema), clever and it?s a back-to-basics revenge story, tied in to Jigsaw?s (John Kramer?s) own past. The flashbacks continue, and build on what we learned in Saw V and fits the last film into the ongoing mythology unravel, bringing back Amanda, Jigsaw and other characters from the franchise to tell more of Hoffman?s story. Hoffman is a worthy successor to Kramer (much more so than Amanda), but he starts to unravel as his identity is threatened to be revealed, and it?s good to learn more about Jill Tuck, Kramer?s estranged wife. We finally learn what was in the box she received in Saw V, and it leads to a satisfying conclusion, whilst making way for at least one more outing. And, unlike Saw V, we see the return of a decent twist...

I Love You Man is a bit predictable: Man has no friends, man makes a friend, man falls out with a friend, man and friend miss each other, overcome their problems, and reunite. It?s a classic love story, but of a different kind, and it?s funny. It?s a really good film, and it plays on its predictability well, sending up the stereotypes of male/female relationships but putting it firmly in the ?male friendship? camp. Paul Rudd is hilarious, as always, as the likeable guy, as is Jason Segal as the care-free guy. Worth watching.