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Acknowledging the generic nature of your film is one thing, but it's only a half-step towards avoiding being generic at all. For all its off-the-wall innovation, "Deadpool" is still a perfect fit for the Marvel movie mould: take a wise-cracking superhero with a helpless sexualised love interest, a 2-dimensional "British" villain, and an assortment of bizarre sidekicks, and sprinkle with explosions. Spelling this template out in the wacky opening credits is not defence enough against its conformism.

"Deadpool" attempts to subvert long-established Marvel standards through breaking the 4th wall - a technique which loses its potency in constantly occurring, seemingly more often than actual dialogue - and its absurd jokes. This at least is a success - irreverence piles up as sexual abuse victims, drug addicts and cancer sufferers are all thrown under the bus in the name of Offbeat Humour. Nonetheless, inevitable cringe-inducing superhero epigrams make appearances too. Pop-culture referencing is another tenet of Marvel films and this manifests itself abundantly, to the delight of Marvel aficionados in the audience. Superhero films have always cornered the market in special-FX budgets and cinematography, and "Deadpool" is no exception: the action sequences really are breathtaking, the violence fortuitous. The aberrant 15-rated certificate is made full use of with F-bombs and gory lacerations littered like bullet casings throughout.

Even though it punches above the level of previous Marvel features, "Deadpool" still suffers from the usual pitfalls of plot holes, predictable story arcs, poor emotional pacing, and stock characters. What redeems it is its superior sense of humour, irreverent tone, and subtle boundary-pushing in the form of 4th-wall-breaks and gratuitous violence.

The most indie-esque film to come out of the '70s that I have seen, "Harold and Maude" wallows in irreverence. Suicide is played around with as a theme - never trivialised, but used frequently as a source of dark humour. The unlikely relationship between the titular characters is remarkably sweet and loving, if a little rushed, and the jaunty folk soundtrack uplifts the mood despite the heavy themes. The script is superlative, counterbalancing all the incidents of gore; the film almost comes across as a pre-emptive "Breakfast Club" for the "Fight Club" generation. Desperation and listlessness weighs Harold down, until Maude lightens his existence by showing him how to live for once. Her bubbly persona is the yang to his yin, and the film's quirky comedy cheers the audience as well as Harold with its subtlety. A true unexpected pleasure, "Harold and Maude" is surprising and charming throughout, with enough dark substance to mark it out as truly unique.

"Stoker" is as weird as a film can get without being classed as art- cinema. As someone who relishes dark plot lines and creepy twists, I wasn't put off by the premise, i.e. a young girl's feelings for her enigmatic uncle in the aftermath of her father's death. "Stoker" embodies a very Gothic style thanks to the brooding country house, dark clothing and macabre subject matter.

The cinematography and symbolism were evidently the director's main focus: obscure camera angles capture close-ups of shoes, belts, faces, all fraught with symbolism. The plot itself, although original, is not the stand-out characteristic, being marginally too predictable and sensationalised. That said, there were several small events which I didn't anticipate, which added to the tense atmosphere of the claustrophobic house. Small, insignificant sounds are heightened in the film, both to imply India's ability to notice things that others don't, and to imply the tiny peculiarities of the Stoker family. It's this attention to minute detail which makes the film stand out above similar films.

The music is at once sweeping and minimal, reflecting the sinister atmosphere. Were it not for the use of cell phones, it would be hard to place "Stoker" in a specific time zone - the Gothic atmosphere and the house's isolation mean that it could even be set within the frame of Grant Wood's "American Gothic" painting. The film is effective in making subtle jibes at American culture, from mid-US suburbia to high school chauvinism.

The effectiveness of "Stoker" relies on its under-the-surface creepiness, and the wondrous performances of all 3 main actors portray it perfectly. Nicole Kidman is the bereaved, neurotic typical mother; Mia Wasikowska the morbid introverted teenage weirdo; and Matthew Goode the charming but mysterious and unknown uncle; all 3 are hiding dark internal thoughts which are revealed as the story unfolds.

Despite some predictability in the plot, "Stoker" remains a dark and atmospheric drama film with an undeniable subtlety of tone.