Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Unranked at time of writing.

Painfully cool. As in, immensely cool, and just a little bit painful.

I really wanted to like this film, and there's a lot to like: it's funny, original, endlessly inventive, and packed with geeky video game references. But (and I hate to say this) I was bored.

Hard to pin down what was wrong with it. Lack of chemistry between the main characters? All flashiness and no content? I dunno. There seem to be enough people who loved this film to propel it into the IMDb Top 250, but for me it would have worked better as a TV series - it just didn't have enough substance for the big screen. One for DVD perhaps; there are certainly enough background jokes to deserve a second viewing. Or perhaps the comics are where the real fun is at.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Ramona Flowers was suitably awesome, and I thought Alison Pill as Kim Pine punched above her screen time. Michael Cera was, well, Michael Cera - which is no bad thing.

I'm still rooting for writer/director Edgar Wright. Shaun of the Dead is one of my favourite films, and it's great to see him hit the big time. I look forward to the third in the Blood & Ice Cream trilogy.

Edgar Wright apparently obtained permission to use the famous theme song from the NES title, The Legend of Zelda, by writing a letter to Nintendo, saying that it is considered to be "the nursery rhyme of this generation". Loving the 8 bit music.