”Once”, which I saw last night on DVD, is a musical. I’m probably as fond of musicals as any straight man is allowed to admit to being in polite company, but I recognise the problems of the form. Chief amongst these is the violence done to suspension of disbelief when people burst into song for no apparent reason. This just isn’t a normal reaction to, say, unwanted pregnancy, hanging, or Nazis. Passers-by spontaneously springing into oddly well-choreographed dance doesn’t help matters.

Once dodges this particular bullet by framing the songs in a story whose protagonists, being musicians, actually have plausible context for song-bursting-into. Films like The Blues Brothers and The Commitments have pulled this trick before, but here it is taken further, as the characters are singing about their situation in the manner of a traditional musical, but always in a way that doesn’t rip you out of the narrative. Even when the nameless female lead is wandering down the street in her pyjamas and in song, it’s done in such a way that you could almost, almost believe it might actually happen. Not quite, though - it is, after all, still a little bit of a fantasy.

The film as a whole is enjoyable, touching, and on a small, intimate scale. It feels more like a long TV drama than a feature film. As such, even though I’m not sure it would seem right on the big screen, it works very well on DVD. And very few bystanders dance at all.

We caught another premiere at the Film Festival on Friday. Well, I say “premiere”, but the stars and red carpet all seemed to be in London a day before. And I say “caught”, but due to a slight mix-up with the time, we arrived half an hour in. On the plus side, they had author Toby Young and producer Stephen Woolley for a Q&A afterwards, and we got to find out that cinemas still have people with torches to show you to your seat.

I have to confess that the trailers didn’t fill me with confidence. However, with a reasonable cast, headed by the excellent Simon Pegg, we decided to give it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised; it’s by no means a classic, but definitely worth the price of admission. The main issue won’t be a surprise anyone who’s familiar with the book - the main character isn’t exactly what you’d call sympathetic. In fact, and it’s a little difficult to figure how to bring this up in a Q&A with the real-world counterpart sitting right there, he’s pretty much a grotesque. They’ve softened him up to allow the narrative to work as a romantic comedy, but as a result, he seems to veer wildly from loveable loser to contemptible creep. Pegg, and to a lesser extent his co-star Kirsten Dunst, save this from disaster with likeable performances, but it still sits slightly uncomfortably at times.

Than again, perhaps I’m being harsh. Maybe the first thirty minutes is pure gold.

Last night we caught the UK premier of The Understudy at the Cambridge Film Festival, and - assuming it gets a more general release - I’d thoroughly recommend it. The basic story (the tag line, “Dying for stardom she finds a role to kill for”, tells you pretty much all you need to know) could have turned into a schlocky car crash if given the standard Hollywood treatment. However, even though it was filmed in New York, it’s written and directed by a British couple, which might be why its both subtle and very, very dark. The only fault I might find with it is that the plot never really surprises - however, that doesn’t particularly detract from a great film. Highly recommended.

I was intending to start writing up films I’ve been to see, with an individual entry for each. I haven’t quite managed that, so here’s a grab bag of things I’ve seen recently. First up, Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Going to see the original when it came out a few years ago, I was expecting a fairly standard two hours of mild diversion, but nothing more. In fact, it turned out to be great - visually inventive, a good ensemble cast, and most importantly, never taking itself too seriously. Everyone involved seems to be enjoying themselves immensely, and it comes through in the finished product.

The sequel is more of the same, with a sprinkling of tight white t-shirt flashbacks and a dash of the non-Franco bits of Pan’s Labyrinth. The same sense of fun is still present, and the effects are if anything more impressive. This is possibly the only black mark against the film; the original felt small in scope, which was part of it’s charm, whereas the sequel tries for something more grandiose. As a result, it doesn’t have the same amiable feel. Still, it’s one of the most entertaining films of the year so far.

Next, Get Smart. It’s by no means a classic, but it’s worth seeing. Most heavily-promoted movies starring Steve Carrel leave me cold, and the trailers for this didn’t fill me with confidence, but I’d enough fond memories of the TV show to give it a go. I’m glad I did. Carrel is excellent as Max, the other headline names (Anne Hathaway and Dwayne Johnson) and supporting cast (notably, Masi Oka from Heroes) all acquit themselves with aplomb, and an unexpected, cantankerous bonus appears in the form of Alan Arkin as the Chief (random fact; Arkin also starred with Carrel in the superb Little Miss Sunshine). Another nice touch is that, unlike most of the regular-Joe-is-forced-to-become-field-agent genre (and it is a genre), Smart is actually competent, as well as being a bit of a buffoon. Not an easy trick to pull off, but Carrel manages it.

Finally, a random assortment of slightly less recent films. There isn’t really much to say about Wall-E - it’s Pixar, so even if it was their worst film ever, it would still beat the crap out of pretty much everything else in the box office. In any case, it isn’t their worst film by a long shot - in fact, it’s vying with Toy Story and The Incredibles for my favourite Pixar of all time. The short is one of their best, too. Hot Fuzz isn’t even slightly new, but it’s well worth digging out the DVD, as it just gets better and better every time you watch it.

Finally finally, The Prestige deserves a special mention - fantastic performances and intelligent plotting with genuinely unpredictable twists. The only slight flaw in this gem of a film is the exposition sequence at the end, complete with flashbacks to fill in the gaps. I only just figured out what was going on, dammit! Don’t take that away from me!

Sorry. I’ve calmed down now.