Laura's screening with Laura Weaser

This Means War. Directed by McG (Charlie's Angels fame). In cinemas now.

‘Mates before dates' is put to the test.

Taking the Battle of the Sexes literally, two grown men start a full-scale war on each other in the hope of winning the heart of the one girl they are both madly in love/obsessed with.

British Tuck (Tom Hardy) and American FDR (Chris Pine) are two best friends who spy together and play together. But Tuck is looking for more, and wants to settle down.

On a random date he meets lovely Lauren (Reece Witherspoon), and they hit it off.

Unfortunately, fate has its hand and the same day she meets the persuasive and charming FDR. As she begins to date the two of them, things become complicated.

It is a shame that such fine actors – I mean this honestly– waste their talents on films like these.

I put it down to them needing down-time between working on high-profile pieces.

Tom Hardy is busy being buffed up big-bad Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, Chris Pine returns as Captain Kirk next year in Star Trek 2 and Reece always has a grace and charm that I love, and after all she is an Oscar winner.

Great talent let down by a terrible screenplay.

Rom-coms baffle me. If you have come to read my blogs or know me personally, you will know I am incredibly biased in so far as I hate the genre for its clichéd, archetypal, predictable endings.

There are good rom-coms in my opinion, but the difference between a good rom-com and films like this is an element of realism.

You can have great romantic movies, but please, we are all adults here, enough with the Disney stuff.

The best rom-com I saw recently was a French film called Heartbreakers.

What made it good was, despite knowing the two main protagonists would get together, they suffered real issues that couples in real-life face.

I can hear you saying, ‘but the point of a rom-com is to escape from real life to a fantasy land of hot men and clichéd lines'.

Sorry, but I don't see it that way because I know the real world better.

Don't get me wrong, it is not all bad. For those that enjoy rom-coms you will probably really enjoy this.

Reece is not only very attractive, but completely adorable as she agonises over who to choose.

Their irrational, out of character behaviour to win Lauren over (after stalking/researching her likes and dislikes) is hilarious, including FDR buying a '12 year old dog with a milky eye”.

Chris Pine is his usual charismatic self, while Tom Hardy shines as the sensitive, solo father.

They are the yin and yang, and hence Lauren's dilemma to choose just one, both embodying things she likes and dislikes.

A strange terrorist sub-plot that seems to never fully flourish runs alongside the relationship dilemma, showing up a real mish-mashed element to the screenplay.

With a lack of any fighting, save a few adrenalin inducing stunts here and there, it is really focused on Lauren's struggle to find the perfect man in just one man.

Reel Moments

The crowd pleaser – Chelsea Handler as Lauren's married best friend. Toning down her foul-mouthed slander for a PG13 rating in the State (M for us) she is the shinning comedic light in this film that puts the ‘com' in rom-com.

The stage dive – My complaint with every rom-com: the ‘wrap-up' at the end that sees everyone living happily ever after. We are big kids now and we realise life doesn't play out like that.

Final curtain call? – Rom-com lovers will enjoy the lengths these men go to win the ultimate girl. Men will whine that there aren't enough action scenes despite the trailer promising broken noses and German bad guys.