Jack Ryan:Shadow Recruit

Forgot about this one.. Which probably says a lot..

Ok, if you're familiar with Jack Ryan movies this one is like an origin story. It starts off and we see Kirk.. sorry Jack working for the CIA, basically number crunching... Along comes Kenneth Brannagh and .... I honestly can't remember... I should have reviewed this when I saw it because it clearly hasn't made a lasting impression..

I think *** could be over generous and as I can't remember a thing about it I'm gonna drop that to **1/2..

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Gravity 3D (12th viewing)

Erm... There must have been a mix up with the bookings...

Who am I kidding, it's still the best film out there. And if Cineworld are going to put a 12pm showing on Sunday what am I supposed to do? I can't just ignore it.. 

The only downside was that this showing was in screen 1 which is probably the worst screen in the cinema. There's a light patch in the bottom left of the screen and the 3D transfere is pretty poor. Having said that it's still an awesome film and I'd watch it every week if it was on.. It wasn't empty either, probably about 20 or so.

***** of course..

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The Wolf Of Wall Street

Ok.. Here goes. This film is Martin Scorsese's latest. Based on the true story of Jordon Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his rise and fall as a Wall Street stock broker in the 80's and 90's... 

Firstly the pros.. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hills performances were very convincing. Also Margot Robbie acted way above her 23 years.. There's nudity and drug use aplenty (mostly at the same time) and at certain points I felt I should be sat in a booth with a box of tissues such was the level of sex.. 

Cons? The film was way too long. 3 hours?? This is not a Tolkien masterpiece. 2 hours would have been plenty.. Christ, an hour and a half would have been punchy and far more entertaining.. 

Don't get me wrong it had its moments. I laughed a few times and was generally amused.. But I looked at my phone a couple of times (at one point when it seemed near the end I checked the time, only to realise there was still an hour to go..)

Overall I wouldn't recommend it.. Even for the sex and drugs combo..

**1/2 (and that's for Margot Robbie who's one to watch out for. Her entrance reminded me of the worlds introduction to Cameron Diaz in The Mask..)

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12 Years A Slave

I knew I was only going to get one in today so I thought I better make it count. This one is director Steve McQueens latest offering. I have to confess I haven't seen 'Hunger' or 'Shame' but, as with this one they are highly regarded in the world of movie critics. Currently this one has 10 or 11 BAFTA nominations and that'll probably lead to Oscar nods too!
And to its credit the film was excellent. Once again the Brits shine. Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor are as expected and Sherlock himself, Benedict Cumberbatch adds to the list.
The synopsis goes thus.. Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Solomon Northup, a well todo violinist living in New York in 18something or other. He is then kidnapped and transported south, where he is sold into slavery.. The film is harrowing.. There's no doubt about it. Steve McQueen pulls no punches and this makes the climax all the more emotional because of it. It reminded me a lot of Schindlers List, in that it's a film I'm glad I saw but probably wouldn't want to see it again..
Overall a resounding **** stars! a must see..

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Gravity 3D IMAX (11th viewing)

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Watched Gravity, in IMAX, at 23.15 down Cardiff Bay"

Whoo hoo!!

Liz and I had made plans to see 'Delivery Man' today. But, as expected Liz dropped out and I was left hanging.. It was then I noticed Cardiff Bay Odeon were showing Gravity.... in IMAX... at, erm.. 11.15pm.

How could I not go... It was a sign I tells yer!

  

Despite the 'tut tuting' of pretty well everyone I jumped on Graham's bike and headed down to the Red Dragon Centre.. After getting a ticket (upgraded to a Premier for a couple of quid extra) I grabbed a coffee and joined the queue..? Yes, a queue, for a film that's been out for nearly 3 months! In the end the screening was probably about a third full.

Regarding the IMAX experience I've only seen one other IMAX movie and that was Avatar. This on the other hand was made for IMAX.. I donned the wrap-around, Audrey Hepburn, 3D glasses and settled in for and hour and a half of gorgeousness.. And, surprise surprise it didn't disappoint. The screen seemed to film my face.. Although, with hindsight it would have benefited if I'd sat a bit nearer the front (sod the Premier seats.. remind me next time not to upgrade, complete waste of money).

Overall, for the eleventh and (*probably) final time it was another excellent FIVE STAR  showing.!

* Liz commented the following morning "I hope you've got that out of your system now?"...

We'll shall see...

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The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (3rd viewing)

This would have been my favourite film of 2013 if it weren't for Gravity.
I still love it.
****1/2

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American Hustle

First film of the year for me and as it turns out it wasn't that bad. 

Set in the late seventies it has an impressive ensemble cast including Christian Bale and Amy Adams who play con-artists.  After they're caught by an FBI agent (played by Bradley Cooper) he enlists them to help him catch one or two fraudulent politicians.. Needles to say it all goes out of hand (doesn't it always?) and the Mob get involved.. There are some star performances from pretty well all involved, including Jennifer Lawrence (who, once again, is excellent!) 

The attention to detail is what does it for me. It has big hair and an excellent soundtrack.  Plus, not to mention the introduction of the 'science oven' (microwave).

Probably my only gripe is that it was too long for my liking. Would I see it again? Probably not, but I'm glad I did see it (another thanks to the Cineworld card)

Overall, an enjoyable ***1/2 star movie.

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Review of 2013

This year I managed to see more movies than I have for a long time. We're talking back in the early days when I was single and spent all day watching 6 films at a time. Now I'm a married man with responsibilities and watching 3 films a day is an achievement.. Luckily for me Laura's taken up iceskating and every weekend we come to Cardiff. So, naturally I have to kill time..

This year had the potential to be Awesome! It started off well with Django Unchained. A return to form for Mr Tarantino. Sci fi was in abundance, and not just franchise sequels. Elysium, Pacific Rim and Oblivion were three I were really looking forward to. With the directors of District 9, Hellboy and Tron:Legacy in charge respectively what could go wrong? As it turned out pretty well everything. But they weren't the worst. Ohhh no. On reflection when it came to After Earth? What was I thinking? That surely is the final nail in Mr M.Night.Shamalamadingdong's coffin.. Talking of crap, I secretly enjoyed Die Hard 4.0... Die Hard 5 on the other hand was an absolute steaming pile... Yep, that and GI Joe 2.

Regarding franchise movies, once again Marvel provided some much needed quality (although The Wolverine could have been better). Both Ironman 3 and Thor:The Dark World were excellent though (my favourite being Shane Black's IM3). DC's offering's consisted of Man Of Steel and RED2. Man Of Steel having the edge, although both films where fairly ordinary. 

Regarding comedies this year my favourite has to be Alfa Papa, the Alan Partridge movie (which I caught a couple of times). Although I did take a shine to both the last in the Cornetto Trilogy and The Way,Way back which was a surprise comedy nugget. Anchorman 2 didn't quite live up to the hype (I'd seen a lot of the jokes in trailers) but I still enjoyed it and I'm sure it'll improve with repeated viewings (as with the original). Simon Pegg provided some welcome comedy in Star Trek Into Darkness, which I also enjoyed (twice). 

Films which promised more but didn't deliver seemed to be the theme this year. Riddick, R.I.P.D. and Kickass 2 all ticked this box.

Horror viewings consisted of Mama,The Conjuring, Carrie and World War Z (and maybe Warm Bodies? Is that horror?) Mama was my fav for traditional horror with Guimero Del Toro's influence being very prominent. World War Z also deserved additional viewings..

As we approached the autumn season I was pinning all my hopes on The Hobbit, Thor and Walter Mitty to save the year from 'meh..' I didn't expect much from Gravity...

It was, without doubt the science fiction movie to end all science fiction movies. It’s been a long time since I've come out of a screening and wanted to go straight back in. Luckily I wasn't the only one who enjoyed it and as a result it's still on limited release as I write this.. Unfortunately though, due to Gravity's excellent use of 3D and ability to portray the vast emptiness of space on the large screen I fear it will suffer on DVD. And for this reason I had to see it 10 times..

It wasn't just Gravity that made up for the disappointing Summer. As well as the a fore mentioned Hobbit, Thor and Walter Mitty (which I all thoroughly enjoyed), there was also a couple of other gems in the form of Nebraska and Robert Redfords excellent turn in All Is Lost. Both of which caught me by surprise... in a good way! Throw in Philomena and Captain Philips and once again the Autumn/Winter saves the year!

As the new year arrives there's a few I'm looking forward to..  Marvel have The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Captain America:Winter Soldier and Xmen:Days of future past. Again, I don't want to get too excited but Gareth Edwards Godzilla looks excellent judging by the trailer.. Three sci-fi's I'm getting in the queue for are Transcendence (Wally Pfister's directorial debut), Edge Of Tomorrow (featuring the ever gorgeous Emily Blunt) and Interstellar (Christopher Nolan - enough said). I lined them up last year and look how that turned out? So fingers crossed..