Everything about the DVD cover of Konga proclaims it to be London’s answer to King Kong: the title, the giant gorilla angrily striding over the diminutive Houses of Parliament, the terrified blonde trying to run clear off the DVD. Unfortunately no one seems to have realised that King Kong was a rhetorical question.

The 80s was a decade of low budget horror, most long forgotten and ready to stay that way. But every so often, a film returns to the modern world, ready to be re-evaluated, and maybe even re-appreciated. With the gratuitous cover art of a chainsaw-wielding anthropomorphise pig, I was expecting 1980’s horror-comedy Motel Hell to be another disappointment for the fire. But there is a god, and Motel Hell actually lives up to its evocative advertising.

When The Hangover took the box office by surprise way back in 2009 (was it really only 4 years ago?) most people were suitably impressed. It wasn’t particularly original, nor did it have uniquely memorable jokes, but it was fine enough in a period devoid of any other notable comedies. It gave us Zach Galifanakis, who we were all certain would go on and wow to world with his revolutionary brand of comedy. It gave us Bradley Cooper, now an Academy Award-nominated actor. It gave us hope that comedy film-making in general would learn that true comedy comes from reining the more colourful actors in and focusing on the straight man.

In 2001, The Fast and the Furious skidded into cinemas and gunned every adrenaline-fueled, testosterone-steeped, speed-freak fantasy within us. Set against a back drop of underground racing, it pushed the car beyond just what it could do and showed us exactly what it could be. More than just modes of transports, they became invaluable tools, weapons of mass destruction, growling, grinding extensions of an owner’s soul and the ultimate path to freedom. And yet, even with two subsequent sequels, this franchise seemed doomed to be a sad one hit wonder. Luckily for gear heads everywhere, it only took 8 years till the Fast & Furious brought back all of the original cast in an effort to reboot the story and kick-off an unprecedented rejuvenation which has already given us three brand new installments and no plan on stopping.

Neil Jordan’s newest offering is a blood-soaked, barmy tour de force, anchored firmly by its two leads, Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan. There are definite strains of Jordan’s previous foray into the genre present here, but where Interview with A Vampire was all about male power play, Byzantium is concerned with the struggle of women in a world where men will constantly seek to drag them down. Beautifully filmed, and bolstered by its generally strong cast and a couple of suitably flamboyant touches, Byzantium is – despite belonging to a seriously over saturated genre – a vampire film that you can actually sink your teeth into.

“Always try to see the best in people.” It may be the mantra that The Great Gatsby’s narrator tries to live by, but it is a luxury that not all of the novel’s fans will have granted Baz Luhrmann when this latest adaptation was announced. Known for his highly stylised visuals and a penchant for aligning period specific plotlines with present day flourish overt enough to rival Quentin Tarantino’s, some feared that in Luhrmann’s hands the story would lose not only its context, but also its subtlety. Thankfully, they were wrong. Well, at least about the first part.