PAUL

Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kristen Wiig. Dir: Greg Mottola

I was a bit underwhelmed when I first saw Paul. It was on a plane (never the best way to see a film) and I was expecting something of the impact and full-on comedic attack of Hot Fuzz or Shaun of the Dead. After all, this was another Pegg and Frost pairing and their first self-written outing. But it's not like that at all, and when I saw it for a second time, without those expectations, I really liked it a lot.

Pegg and Frost are two English comic geeks on their first trip to America, visiting Comic-Con and touring famous UFO hot-spots. And, wouldn't you know it, they happen to run across a fugitive alien, the foul-mouthed yet endearing Paul, voiced very well by Seth Rogan. They also pick up Wiig's Christian fundamentalist and a tail of mysterious Men In Black.

And, despite the frequent (and very funny) foul language it's actually a very sweet film, cleaving more closely to ET than anyone would expect (yes, there's a Spielberg cameo!), loaded with sci-fi in-jokes and quotes, and filling its cast with reliable comedy players, from Bill Hader and Joe Lo Truglio to Jason Bateman and an unbilled Sigourney Weaver.

Where this finds an audience is anybody's guess. It's almost a family film, but loses that audience through the sustained (as mentioned before) bad language. It's surprisingly conventional really, but has a warm-hearted charm that modern comedy often avoids. An odd mix, but strangely satisfying.

The Malay Chronicles: Clash of the Empires (**) is a Malaysian film (in English) and, by any standards, it's pretty rotten stuff. The story is of a Roman prince who travels to marry a Chinese princess. It's 120AD and they're hooking up in neutral territory (somewhere in India I think). Protection is being supplied by a hunky fellow apparently descended from Alexander the Great. Fighting, sorcery, sappy love affairs and fatuous exposition ensues. Though epic in scope this is let down by risible acting, terrible dialogue, poor direction, hammy special effects and, oh, just everything really.

There are some arresting images in I Love You Phillip Morris (***) , which is not – as might be assumed – an ode to a cigarette manufacturer. In one, Jim Carrey is having sweaty sex when his partner is suddenly revealed to be not his wife, but a moustachioed man. For this is, in fact, a gay love story mixed with a typically cartoony Jim Carrey take on con-man drama Catch Me If You Can. Doe-eyed Ewan McGregor is the titular love interest and, despite funny moments, the pacing is uneven and the jokey tone makes it hard to care about the characters. Kudos, though, for bravery.

Amongst the recent glut of 13th century movie shenanigans, Ironclad (****) stands out. Ridley Scott's Robin Hood ended with King John signing the Magna Carta and this kicks off at that point as Paul Giamatti's delightfully loathsome monarch brings in Danish mercenaries to regain his dictatorial reign. Blocking his conquest is Rochester castle and a small group of heroic hard-living rebels led by Brian Cox. Seven, as it happens, as in ‘Samurai' or ‘Magnificent'. Blood and mud, swords and sieges, with a tight script and classy cast of Brit thesps – it's all good stuff, if undeniably brutal.

Red Cliffs Pt 1 & 2 (*****), the full version of John Woo's Chinese battle epic, is now out. What we got last year was the ‘international cut' where both films were condensed into a single piece, losing almost half its length. Much was missing and, although the story retained its cohesiveness, characters became indistinct and the brilliant subtleties of battle strategies were obscured. Here, in its full glory, it is possible to appreciate the true scope of Woo's vision and it's stunning stuff, richly detailed and hugely impressive. Each film is around two and a half hours, so settle in and enjoy.