Gravity (10th viewing)

It seems quite fitting that THE movie of the year is probably the last movie I'll see this year. Probably the last time I'll see Gravity on the big screen too. Which is a big shame because I've genuinely enjoyed every viewing of this film. I should have persuaded Liz and Graham to have seen it too because it's not going to be the same on the small screen.. Watching it tonight and I was still in total awe.. Arguably my greatest regret this year was not seeing it on IMAX down the bay..

The film of the year, and any year for that matter. *****

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The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2nd viewing)

Missed the first minute of this one due to a slight overrun of Harry Hills latest movie (less said about that the better..)
This time I saw it in 2D and the film lost none of its appeal as a result of dropping a D..
I still enjoyed it and the barrel sequence still had me, and the rest of the audience gripped!
Still an entertaining, if slightly long **** movie..
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The Harry Hill Movie

This was an odd one..
It was a 'filler' movie while I killed some time before 'The Hobbit 2'. As a result I left before the credits had ended and knowing Harry Hill there was probably a funny 'end of credits' moment..
Plot goes, Harry's hamster (voiced by Johnny Vegas) falls ill and he's told by the vet he has only a week to live. So Harry decided to take him on a holiday to Blackpool.. You still with me? Along the way they end up in 'Blackpole' due to the Sat Nav (which voice options consist of Angry White Van man, Sheila and Yakuza Mob boss..) So they end up staying in a B&B run by The Magic Numbers... Throw in a guided tour around the local Nuclear Plant by the cleaner (played by Jim Broadbent - in drag), seashell people and heavily armed chickens and you can see where this film is coming from.. In fact judging by that synopsis It sounds quite good.. It wasn't. That being said I'd prefer to sit through this than 'Die Hardly'... but surreal oddness do not a good comedy make..
Overall a ** movie. (1 for the gung-ho chickens and another for the mutant, radioactive Godzilla hamster.. don't ask..)
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47 Ronin

I knew it was too good to be true. How long can the run of 4 to 5 star movies go on for?

Ok, here goes.. Now I'd seen the trailer for this one so many times that it got to a point where I'd sigh every time it came on.. This was a sign I should have paid attention to. The trailer told me everything I needed to know about the film...

Synopsis, for what it's worth goes something like this. Keanu Reeves plays Kia, a half-breed who's taken in by a Japanese community and blah, blah, blah.. It's immaterial.. The film was shite. The script was embarrassingly bad and littered with clichés. The love interest was laughable, there was just no chemistry.  Even the special effects were average at best.. And to top it all, in the end *spoiler alert* they all kill 'em selves.. Utter rubbish. 

The question remains was it 'Die Hard 5' or 'Riddick'?

I'll give it ** ('Riddick' bad)

The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (2nd viewing)

Spoilt for choice today but due to the long running times I only managed this one. And this is still an excellent film..
****1/2 still..


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All Is Lost

As we were going out tonight I wasn't sure if I could get another film in today.. As it turned out I could and I was fortunate enough to see Robert Redfords latest staring role. In fact he was the only one in it! I hadn't seen a single trailer for this but the general consensus was it was good.

This was another one of those films that, on paper just doesn't do it for me.  Bloke on a boat... Boat sinks.. That's the basic synopsis... and to be fair that pretty well sumed up the movie. But there was more to it. Mainly Robert Redfords performance. There was practically no back storey and unlike 'Cast Away' for example, there was very little dialogue.  There's not much more I can say about it really, only that it enthralled me and that Robert Redford reminded me a lot of my Grandad.  Which is probably why I liked it. They both shared a similar strong, silent composure and had the ability to fix things when required to do so..

Overall a moving ****.

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The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty.

I must have seen the trailer for this film 50 times over the last month or so.. Not to mention TV spots. Plus I bought the 'Of Monsters And Men' album and Jose Gonzalez's latest single just because they feature on the trailer... (Yes, the trailer!). I've even set up a 'Walter Mitty' playlist on my iPod. So, you can see where I'm coming from regarding this film. Oh, I did I mention I'm a big fan of Iceland and photography too...

Anyway, the story goes thus... Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) works for Life magazine (which incidentally is the job I was born to do) and one day he turns up to work only to be told they're closing down the magazine. That same day he receives a film roll from legendary photographer Sean O'Connel (Sean Penn) with the proviso than negative 25 should be the final cover for the magazine. Only thing is that negative is missing! What then follows is Walters attempt to track down Sean O'Connel (and hopefully  negative 25). The initial half of the film is littered with moments when Walter drifts off into his own dream world and these moments are particularly funny. The cinematography is excellent and now Iceland is DEFINATELY top of my bucket list.. Not only was the film hilarious in parts but also very moving (I found my self welling up on numerous occasions..)

 I loved it! I almost rated it 5 stars but I think Gravity has a slight edge..

****1/2 Stars easily..

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Gravity (9th viewing)

I don't need to say anymore about this film..

*****

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Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues.

Here we have another one of those films where I am a BIG fan of the original and I always worry the sequel will soil it's good name..
Luckily this one didn't... kind of.. This time we see Ron has married Veronica and they have a 6 year old boy. When Veronica is offered the top job at the station (by none other than Harrison Ford) and Ron subsequently sacked he leaves her heads into oblivion (via a drunken stop over in Sea World).. He is then approached by GNN (the Gobal News Network) who are to start up a 24hour news channel...

And much hilarity ensues.. And to be fair I did laugh.. A lot of the best gags I'd seen in trailers and snippets but I still laughed at them.. again..! I think this is similar to the first one in that the appeal will grow on DVD and repeated viewings.. The obligatory 'News team battle' at the end had a lot of surprise cameos too..

Overall I enjoyed it. Not quite 'Alan Partidge' funny but another excellent comedy to add to this years collection..

Rating ***1/2 
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Gravity (8th viewing)

The weekends not complete if I don't fit in a showing of Gravity..

God knows what I'm going to do when this finishes..?

Rating: it's a thing of beauty... *****

Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (3D)

Ok, here's part 2 of the Hobbit trilogy. It kicks off where the last one ended and we find our intrepid short-people catching their breath having just escaped the clutches of some nasty Orcs.. After a bit of deliberating they decide to cut through the particularly murky Mirkwood.. And bump into elves, spiders and other wood dwelling types. 

The advantage this film has over part one of the trilogy is that there's no need for character introductions and consequently no musical washing up numbers incorporating plot details... This pretty well jumps straight into the action. And this films strong points is the action. The barrel escape was worth the ticket price alone!

Martin Freeman is excellent and the film hints at the dark influence the Ring has on its owner as it did in The Lord Of The Rings trilogy.

Again the film is too long, although this one was less than the usual 3 hours.. (but not by much!)

Overall Mr Jackson has done it again and no doubt I will try and fit in another showing over Christmas.

Rating: ****

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Saving Mr Banks

Well this one rounded off the weekend quite nicely.
Another heartwarming tale similar to yesterday's Nebraska. Both Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson were excellent, and personally I didn't think the Colin Farell sections were that bad (despite Film 2013's opinion).

Emma Thomson plays author P.L.Travers who, due to financial problems reluctantly decides to sell the movie rights for her book Mary Poppins to Mr Disney (Tom Hanks).  Not without her getting final say on the movie though.  As a result Mrs Travers comes to blows with Walt Disney and most of his staff. Occasionally there are flash backs to Emma's character as a young girl growing up in Austrailia, struggling with an loving but alcoholic father (Colin Farell). Over the two hours or so the story slowly builds up to offer an explanation into why Emma Thompson character is like she is. 

The film has excellent supporting characters too. Paul Giamatti and Jason Schwartzman were two I recognised..

Overall another entertaining ***1/2.

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Gravity 3D (7th viewing)

... erm... I'm just filling time while I wait for 'Saving Mr Banks'... Honest... plus I needed somewhere to get out of the rain..


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Homefront

I don't think I've seen a movie with Graham since Hummingbird.. Which was Jason Statham's previous offering. This was a totally different affair. Instead of 'the Stath' playing ex-special forces, out numbered and out gunned man on the edge, here he plays a small, 90 year old lady with arthritis and a replacement hip.. Yeah whatever.. I don't need to bother with the synopsis, needless to say this started off well and kind of fizzled out at the end..
Overall though a better movie than Hummingbird. Rating: ***

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Gravity 3D (6th viewing)

Yeah I know.. So much for my recovery program... It's just so damn good..

Rating.. As if I need to say..

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Nebraska

Hi. My name is Mark Eagling and it's been 6 days, 2 hours and 45 minutes since I last saw Gravity.. And to help me along with my treatment I decided to watch this little monochrome tale..
It starts off and we see a rather haggard looking Bruce Dern wandering aimlessly along a busy road.. Cut to him being collected from the Police station by his son, played by Will Forte. It transpires that Bruce has received a letter informing him he's won a million dollars and that he was off to Nebraska to collect it.. It also transpires that Bruce is a troubled man and let's just say his lift doesn't quite go to the top floor..
What then follows is the two hour story of him and his sons road trip to collect his 'winnings'. Of course he hasn't won anything and his son knows this but still he indulges him regardless.. And it was a warm and genuinely lovely film. It reminded me of 'The Straight Story'. It's inoffensive apart from the odd f-bomb and the performances are subtle and sincere.. Plus the payoff at the end is superb..

It's a bit of a niche film in that my family would find it boring. But for me it was another excellent reason for the unlimited card and I'm glad I saw it.

Rating: ****.

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Oldboy (2013)

I decided to see this one mainly because after today they've only got evening showings, which is always a more tricky prospect..
I haven't seen the original but the basic premise sees Josh Brolins character locked up for 20 years. When he gets out he embarks on a quest for revenge.. or so the blurb goes.. Now this is an 18 certificate film and I'm always nervous when it comes to 'adult' films.. Although all the past 18 cert viewings have always been entertaining..

Well this one was certainly "entertaining" for want of a better word..

Elizabeth Olsen (who I last saw in 'Red Lights'... but can't remember her!?) was excellent and once again Sharlto Copley ('The A Team', 'District 9' and this years 'Elysium') is the go-to man for weirdos and generally unstable characters.. Throw in Samuel L Jackson and Spike Lee directing and you have another one of those movies with all the right ingredients.. Luckily this one wasn't 'The Counsellor' bad (another 18 movie... Yeah, I forgot about that one..) but it wasn't brilliant either.. There was violence and sex aplenty, and the twist at the end I did not see coming. There's a lot of negative reviews doing the rounds at the moment and I think this is mainly down to comparisons with the original. As I haven't seen that I had the advantage and took the film at face value. The question is "do I want to see the original?".. Being Korean it'll pull no punches so that'll have to wait till I have a stronger stomach..

In the end though, I enjoyed it for what it was. I won't see it again, it's a 'renter' not a 'buyer'.

Rating: ***1/2

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Carrie

Just managed to squeeze this one in to round the day off.
Here we have another remake to add to the pile that Hollywood keeps churning out. Unlike "Oldboy" I have seen the original... but it was a long time ago and I only remember 2 scenes.. The bit when Carrie %$&*^@$%! some *&^**%@ at her mum and the infamous 'Shock' ending (which everyone who's seen the film remembers..!)
The basic story revolves around a 'coming of age' Carrie (played by the excellent Chloë Grace Moretz) and the discovery that she has telekinetic powers.  After being humiliated at school and then the video of it being uploaded to youtube (don't remember that being in the original..!), one of her class 'mates' (Gabriella Wilde) takes pity on her and convinces her boyfriend (newcomer Ansel Elgort) to take Carrie to the Prom. Throw in Julianne Moore as an overprotective,  religious nutjob of a mother.. and the rest, as they say is history..

Overall, this wasn't a bad film.  The original was old enough to not have any real bearing on me at least and the performances were very good.
Rating: ***1/2

Gravity 3D (5th viewing)

I was getting withdrawal systems after last weekend.. It won't be around be around for much longer.. They've already moved it to the smaller screen 15.. Get it while I can..
Rating:*****...Duh!

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The Hunger Games Colon Catching Fire.

After the disastrous no-show of last weekend (I even missed the monumental 50th anniversary Dr Who episode... In 3D!!?),
I thought I'd catch an early showing of this one as it's quite a long film.
I'd seen the first Hunger Games but couldn't for the life of me remember what happened.. I try to watch it on Netflix as a refresher but that didn't workout either..

Anyway, brief synopsis... What I do remember is that it's set in a not-to-distant, post war future and the globe is divided in to districts. We start off with Katnis (the excellent Jennifer Lawrence) and Peta (Josh Hutchinson) about to embark on a world tour as the winners of the previous Hunger Games. Needless to say it doesn't quite pan out as the supreme leader, dictator (Donald Sutherland) would like. So he and his minions plan the 75th Anniversary games to dispatch the troublesome Katnis.. Are you still with me?
To be fair I'm doing this film an injustice. It was excellent with fine performances from all concerned. I was gripped when needed to be gripped and emotionally involved when the moment arose.. If you know what I mean..
Overall the autumn is once again turning out to be the best time to spend in the cinema..
Overall a solid ****.
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