Scream 5 (4 Stars)

There was an eleven-year gap between "Scream 3" and "Scream 4", followed by another eleven-year gap before the fifth film. Maybe these long breaks helped to stop the series becoming stale. Or maybe nobody knew what to do with Ghostface for another decade.

"Scream" aka "Scream 5" brings back Sidney, Gale and Dewey, but this isn't simply another reunion. The film calls itself a "requel", combining new characters with survivors from the original films, while warning us that in a requel anything can happen. Dewey's death proves it. After surviving four encounters with Ghostface, he seems almost untouchable, so his brutal death comes as a genuine shock. From that moment onwards, we know that Sidney and Gale aren't safe either.

The film is entertaining and suitably self-aware, although at times it seems too dependent on reminding us of the original. Jenna Ortega makes a strong impression as Tara, while the returning characters give the film an emotional connection to the past. My biggest disappointment is the music. "Scream 5" doesn't sound like a Scream film until the familiar music arrives during the closing credits. By then it's too late.

Success Rate:  + 3.8

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Alice Cooper - School's Out

Ask a typical music fan what he thinks about Alice Cooper. He'll say he's a good musician, naming "School's Out", "Elected" and "Poison". But what about his other music? He's made 30 albums since 1969. I've listened to most of them, looking for great music like these three songs, and I was disappointed. I found most of his albums unlistenable.

"School's Out" is a classic. The song takes one of the simplest and most universal childhood experiences, the joy of leaving school for the summer, and turns it into an anthem of rebellion. It begins with an instantly recognisable guitar riff, simple but enormously effective. Within seconds the song has announced itself. There's no lengthy introduction and no attempt to be clever. The riff arrives, Alice Cooper starts singing and the rebellion begins.

The brilliance of the song is the way it exaggerates a perfectly ordinary feeling. Every child knows the excitement of the last day of school, watching the clock and waiting for the final bell. But Alice Cooper isn't satisfied with school being out for the summer. School is out forever. The school hasn't merely closed its doors for six weeks; it's been blown to pieces. It's the sort of ridiculous fantasy that makes perfect sense when you're a child and never want to see another classroom.

Alice Cooper's performance is equally important. He doesn't sing the song as a cheerful celebration of the summer holidays. There's a sneer in his voice that makes it sound dangerous. The heavy guitar riff reinforces that feeling, turning what could easily have been a lightweight novelty song into a genuine rock anthem. It's catchy enough to be a pop song, but aggressive enough not to sound like one.

Then come the children's voices. They're the perfect finishing touch because the children aren't frightened by Alice Cooper's rebellion; they've joined him. The adults have lost control and the pupils are celebrating their victory. It's theatrical, funny and just threatening enough to fit Alice Cooper's image.

More than 50 years later, the song hasn't lost its power. Musical fashions have changed beyond recognition, but children are still sitting in classrooms waiting impatiently for the summer holidays. That feeling doesn't date, and neither does "School's Out".

I don't like Alice Cooper, but I love "School's Out".

Scream 4 (4 Stars)

Eleven years after "Scream 3", Ghostface returns to Woodsboro. Sidney Prescott is back in town promoting a book, while Dewey is now the sheriff and Gale is struggling to find a new purpose in life. But this is a new decade. Mobile phones, webcams and the Internet have changed the way young people communicate, horror films have changed and, most importantly, the rules have changed.

The original films played games with the familiar rules of slasher films. Eleven years later, horror has moved on. Remakes and reboots are everywhere, and a new generation has grown up believing it knows exactly what to expect from a horror film. Ghostface has moved on as well, using modern technology to play a new version of the old game. Sidney, Gale and Dewey have to learn that the rules they knew no longer apply.

Hayden Panettiere plays Kirby Reed, one of the new generation. She's confident, likeable and knows almost as much about horror films as Ghostface. She easily stands out among the younger cast.

"Scream 4" is a good film, but for me it doesn't live up to the first three. "Scream 3" brought Sidney's story to a perfect conclusion, and the franchise could have ended there. The fourth film finds a clever reason to bring Ghostface back, but it still feels like reopening a story that had already been completed.

There's another difference that bothers me even more: the music. The first three films were filled with bouncy songs that gave them a distinctive energy. "Scream 4" is acoustically much quieter, with songs only appearing occasionally. It doesn't matter whether they were 90's songs or contemporary songs; I simply miss the constant musical background of the original trilogy. "Scream 4" has Ghostface, Sidney, Gale and Dewey, but it doesn't quite sound like "Scream".

Success Rate:  + 0.4

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

I love you, Beth Cooper (3½ Stars)

Yesterday I was sad to hear the news of Hayden Panettiere's death. I immediately decided to watch one of her films to remember her, but I had to delay it because I'd already bought a ticket to watch "The End of Oak Street". I picked "I love you, Beth Cooper" not because it's her best film, but because it's the film in which she has the most screen time.

Dennis Cooverman is the school valedictorian, and during his graduation speech he suddenly declares his love for Beth Cooper, the most popular girl in school. He's sat behind her in class for years, but he barely knows her. To his amazement, Beth turns up at his house that evening with two friends, and what follows is a chaotic night in which Dennis discovers that Beth is very different from the perfect girl he's created in his imagination.

I wouldn't call "I Love You, Beth Cooper" a great film. It's a silly teen comedy, but it's good fun while it lasts. There's not much in the film that's memorable, apart from Hayden Panettiere. She gives Beth an energy and personality that lifts the film whenever she's on screen.

Beth is confident, reckless and seemingly carefree, but there are quieter moments when we see that there's more to her than the beautiful girl Dennis has been dreaming about. Hayden makes those different sides of Beth convincing. The film gives her plenty of opportunity to be funny and exuberant, but also allows her to show Beth's vulnerability.

Don't ask me to defend "I Love You, Beth Cooper". I watched it because I wanted to remember Hayden Panettiere. For that purpose, I couldn't have chosen better.

Hayden Panettiere
August 21, 1989 – August 16, 2026

Success Rate:  - 1.1

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

The End of Oak Street (2 Stars)

First we had Jurassic Park.

Then we had Jurassic World.

Now we have Jurassic Suburbs.

This is one of the silliest films I've seen for a long time. A chunk of land surrounding the peaceful Oak Street is transported into the distant past, where it's surrounded by hungry dinosaurs. Unlike the carefully separated territories in the Jurassic Park films, the dinosaurs are all mixed together. There are no herbivores, only meat-eating dinosaurs.

No explanation is given how the time travel happens. Maybe they're saving it for the sequel. Please, we don't want a sequel. In its favour, there's a lot of action and suspense as people run from dinosaurs. It's just too ridiculous to take seriously. There was a woman sitting next to me who obviously felt the same way that I did. Every time a new dinosaur threat appeared we turned and looked at one another and laughed. It should have been made as a real comedy, instead of making us laugh at its silliness.

Terminator 2 (5 Stars)

"Terminator 2: Judgment Day" is one of the best films ever made because it does everything right. James Cameron takes the simple premise of the original and expands it into a spectacular action film without losing its humanity. Arnold Schwarzenegger's transformation from unstoppable killer to protector works perfectly, while the T-1000 is an extraordinary replacement as the new threat. The action and special effects are magnificent, but the film's real strength is the growing relationship between John Connor and the Terminator. Beneath all the explosions, "Terminator 2" is a surprisingly emotional film about humanity, fate and the possibility of change.

Which film is better? I can't choose. "Terminator" is a lean, frightening science-fiction slasher, while "Terminator 2" is a much larger action film with greater emotional depth. The sequel doesn't improve on the original so much as reinvent it. They're two very different films, but they're both masterpieces.

Success Rate:  + 3.5

	Order from Amazon.com
	Order from Amazon.co.uk
	Order from Amazon.de

Miyamoto Musashi 5: The Duel at Ganryu Island (4 Stars)

"The Duel at Ganryu Island" brings the five-film series to a sombre and satisfying conclusion. Musashi has travelled a long way from the wild young man of the first film. He's become the swordsman he always wanted to be, but his victories have come at a cost. After the bloodshed of the previous film, particularly the killing of 13-year-old Matashichiro Yoshioka, Musashi is beginning to understand that defeating opponents isn't enough to give his life meaning.

The final confrontation with Sasaki Kojiro has been inevitable for several films. Kojiro has watched Musashi's progress while establishing himself as the one swordsman capable of challenging him as an equal. For that reason, the duel is surprisingly short; one sword blow and Kojiro falls dead. After such a long build-up I would have preferred a longer and more spectacular battle. Nevertheless, the brevity has a purpose. This isn't simply another opponent for Musashi to defeat. Kojiro is the culmination of Musashi's obsession with proving himself, and killing him brings little sense of triumph.

Musashi's real victory comes afterwards. He finally recognises that being undefeated isn't the same as being complete. His redemption doesn't erase the men he has killed or excuse everything he's done, but it shows that he's finally gained something more important than skill with a sword: wisdom. The five films have shown Musashi learning how to become a great swordsman. At the end of "Miyamoto Musashi 5", he finally learns how to become a man.

Miyamoto Musashi 4: The Duel at Ichijo-Ji Temple (4 Stars)

The fourth film in Tomu Uchida's Miyamoto Musashi series shows how far Musashi has developed. The wild young man of the first film has become a disciplined and calculating swordsman. He still wants to prove himself as Japan's greatest swordsman, but he now relies as much on strategy and intelligence as physical skill.

After Denshichiro Yoshioka is killed by Musashi in a duel, his 13-year-old son Matashichiro is appointed the new head of the Yoshioka school. Although he's a non-combatant, his clan places him in the middle of a battle so that he can symbolically claim victory over Musashi. Dozens of Yoshioka swordsmen are waiting to do the actual fighting. Sasaki Kojiro attends as a spectator because he increasingly regards Musashi as the only swordsman worthy of being his ultimate opponent. He wants to observe his abilities for himself.

The most disturbing moment comes when Musashi deliberately kills Matashichiro first. He's only a child, but as the new head of the Yoshioka school he's officially Musashi's opponent. Musashi understands the clan's strategy and turns it against them: by killing Matashichiro, he has technically completed the duel before taking on the other swordsmen. His reasoning is understandable, but that doesn't make his action easy to accept.

The final battle demonstrates just how formidable Musashi has become. He uses the terrain and careful planning to overcome overwhelming numbers rather than relying on brute strength. He's undoubtedly becoming a greater swordsman, but the death of Matashichiro raises a more troubling question: is he also becoming a better man?

"The Duel at Ichijo-Ji Temple" is the strongest film in the series so far. Musashi's development and Kojiro's growing interest in him point towards the confrontation that now seems inevitable.