Movie reviews: Green Hornet, Conviction, Blue Valentine

But some superhero stars got short-changed in the name department, and one of them is the latest comic book creation to make it to the silver screen.

Whether you think the Green Hornet is a fitting name for a tireless campaigner against crime or sounds more like an unwelcome visitor at a picnic who expects you to recycle all your sandwich wrappers, there’s no doubt that an awful lot of cash has been chucked at the first blockbuster of the new year.

There’s a 3D version, naturally, but the accent here is as much on laughs as thrills.

And there’s a definite ‘left field’ feel thanks to director Michael Gondry, who helmed Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and Be Kid, Rewind – this is no formula hack just putting the special effects in place.

Seth Rogen is our hero, too, and he’s nobody’s idea of a deep and conflicted crimefighter in the Christian Bale Batman mould.

So Rogen is a rich publisher’s spoilt kid who turns over a new leaf which his dad is killed, and he discovers that pops was a masked marvel on the side.

He decides to follow in his father’s footsteps, which is the cue for lots of one-liners – although Rogen doesn’t just play it for laughs – and a fair amount of carefully choreographed fight action.

> Back to real life with Conviction, in which Hilary Swank plays a sister battling over the years to free her wrongfully-convicted brother from chokey. There are shades of Erin Brockovich in this tale of a jobless single mum who teaches herself to be a real legal eagle to help her prove Sam Rockwell didn’t commit the murder that landed him with a life sentence.

She puts herself through law school while working as a waitress and raising two sons, digs out the DNA evidence that can clinch the case and takes on the establishment. A real January release in time for Oscar glory, but a solid story told with, well, conviction.

> Also released this week is Blue Valentine, which finds Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams as a married couple who try to rescue their rocky relationship in just one night.

As this is apparently the top time of the year for unhappy hubbies and wives to head off to the solicitors with divorce on their minds, this might make uncomfortable viewing for some.

The story shifts between time periods to show the happy days and the drift into disaffection and despair.

Both leads are tipped for awards glory in the coming months, and if you’re not looking for a feelgood bit of fun to life your mood you could do a lot worse. Think Revolutionary Road without quite so much Mad M