29 December 2008

21 December 2008

King Kong 3/5 (R)

I really liked this at the cinema but on a second home viewing I could see the first half for the bloated mess it really is. It's far too long and mostly unnecessary and the CGI just doesn't work with the live action. Once the real love story (and this is a love story, so much more than tosh like The Notebook) kicks in all is well again.

12 December 2008

04 December 2008

The Notebook 1/5 (R)

Bland characters, boring story and completely predictable throughout

02 December 2008

30 November 2008

28 Weeks Later 5/5 (D)

Not quite perfect but despite the flaws it's still a great experience.

Of Time And The City 4.5/5 (C)

24 November 2008

14 November 2008

02 November 2008

29 October 2008

24 October 2008

The Day After Peace 3/5 (R)

Like the first Peace One Day film there isn't really anything special about the actual documentary but Jeremy Gilley's attempts at establishing a day of world peace are absolutely fascinating and inspirational and more people should know about the Peace One Day movement.



Visit The Peace One Day Website

15 October 2008

Hot Fuzz 3.5/5 (D)

Not as good as I remembered.

10 October 2008

02 October 2008

20 September 2008

The Producers 1/5 (R)

A waste of time. Neither the jokes or the songs work. Go and watch the original instead or even better season 4 of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army 3.5/5 (C)

Better than the first and much more interesting than the majority of the summer films but I expect more from del Toro.

The Bridge 3.5/5 (R)

A fascinating documentary taking an interesting look at suicide.

19 September 2008

The Weather Man 3.5/5 (R)

An odd film with very little to like but somehow I ended up liking it.

11 September 2008

09 September 2008

16 August 2008

Spider 3/5 (R)

I had trouble keeping interest in this but I think that was a problem with me rather than the film. It's probably much better than I think.

Mean Girls 4/5 (R)

Smartly written and much better than you'd expect. It's only really let down by a 'group hug', an occasionally annoying voice over and one too many trips into Cady's imagination.

10 August 2008

04 August 2008

01 August 2008

Flightplan 2.5/5 (R)

The coincidences and plot holes can just about be forgiven but the weak ending can't.

29 July 2008

Frequency 2.5/5 (R)

Interesting concept but it just didn't work for me.

15 July 2008

Batman: Gotham Knight 2.5/5 (D)

Hit and miss short stories.

14 July 2008

Batman Begins 3.5/5 (D)

I want to like this more than I actually do. Everything seems right about it but it just seems to be lacking that something special to hold it all together. Even if this was a slight disappointment I'm still ridicoulsly excited about The Dark Knight.

13 July 2008

07 June 2008

Northanger Abbey (1986/TV) 3.5/5 (R)

It's completely over the top, very obviously made in the 80s and somehow manages to lose the story towards the end but I really enjoyed this (more than I enjoyed Ang Lee's Sense and Sensibility that I watched yesterday).

23 May 2008

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 4/5 (C)

Despite a worrying start and too much dodgy CGI, it's really great fun. Better than Doom but nowhere near as good as Raiders.

20 May 2008

Grindhouse 4/5 (C)

Absolutely loved Planet Terror and all of the trailers but, for me, Death Proof didn't fit with my expectations of what this highly anticipated cinema experience was supposed to be.

16 May 2008

30 Days of Night 2.5/5 (D)

Starts off well, feeling like it could be Tremors with vampires, but the central premise of the title is completely wasted and it marred by a ridiculously dumb ending.

23 April 2008

Jumper 3/5 (D)

Lacking in plot but somehow still enjoyable and if a story can be found then a sequel would be welcomed.

19 April 2008

18 April 2008

17 April 2008

Son Of Rambow 3/5 (C)

High expectations resulted in this being slightly disappointing (when will I ever learn?)

10 April 2008

The Orchestra of the Piazza Vittorio 3/5 (C)

1408 2.5/5 (D)

Good film, terrible ending.

Just found out that this was the directors cut and the theatrical version (not on the DVD!) has a different (can't be worse) ending.

06 April 2008

The Boss Of It All 2/5 (C)

Everybody else in the cinema seemed to find it more amusing than I did. Not bad, just not that good either.

Riding Giants 3/5 (R)

01 April 2008

29 March 2008

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 4.5/5 (T)

Now that's better! (After the disappointment of Doom)

23 March 2008

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 3/5 (T)

A massive disappointment after the practically flawless Raiders.

Mansfield Park 3/5 (R)

15 March 2008

Kingdom of Heaven 2/5 (R)

Overlong, disjointed and boring. If the first 90 minutes could be cut down to a coherent hour (or preferably less) then this might have been an okay film.

Apparently the Director's Cut is much better but I'd be reluctant to sit through an even longer version of the story.

14 March 2008

Anything Else 3/5 (R)

Fantastic Four 1/5 (R)

I thought it couldn't be as bad as everybody says but there really is nothing to recommend.

11 March 2008

Be Kind, Rewind 2.5/5 (C)

It's a mess but an enjoyable mess. Should have been a lot better though.

07 March 2008

Collateral 3/5 (R)

Still looks fantastic but didn't seem as good on this second viewing.

05 March 2008

03 March 2008

01 March 2008

I Am Sam 3.5/5 (R)

Great performances but there's something not quite right about the story.

28 February 2008

Joan of Arc 2/5 (R)

It's all a bit of a mess but it gets better towards the end.

27 February 2008

Last Orders 4/5 (R)

A pleasant surprise.

25 February 2008

20 February 2008

Cloverfield 4.5/5 (C)

Probably the best popcorn film we'll see all year.

Everything bad I'd heard about Cloverfield seemed to centre around the fact that the characters were far too irritating and bland and therefore the stakes were never set. Maybe expecting them to be really irritating meant that when they were only mildly smug I didn't mind becuase they weren't as bad as I'd been lead to belive.

The thing is I don't think it really matters that there is no character development. I don't even mind the implausibility of these people sticking together to go on a near impossible mission when they should just be running for their lives. The way this film is set up you pretty much know how it's going to end and with that understanding there is no need to invest in these people, in fact becuase you're waiting for the inevitable to happen not caring about the gang helps you through the experience.

There is a plot but it's purpose isn't to evoke emotion or to make you think, it's there solely to get from set piece A to set piece B and make sure that you have fun along the way. It really is a roller coaster ride and the most fun I've had in the cinema for a very long time.

Sadly it isn't perfect and by the end of the pleasingly short running time these niggles add up which is why it ended up not being a 5 star film. However as I'm writing this I'm tempted to change my mind becuase it's possible that Cloverfield could turn out to be one of the most important films ever made.

15 February 2008

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 4/5 (R)

Some of the animation looks quite dated now (but that might have been just the version the BBC transmitted), surprisingly the combination of animation and live action doesn't look old. The most important thing is that it's still a great story and the attention to detail is amazing.

10 February 2008

We Are Together 3/5 (C)

Control 5/5 (C)

Without they hype that surrounded my first viewing I really appreciated this a lot more and see it now for the great film it really is.

The Band's Visit 4/5 (C)

Once 5/5 (C)

Even better on a second viewing.

08 February 2008

04 February 2008

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street 3/5 (C)

Takes far too long to get going but once it does, it's bloody fantastic.

29 January 2008

No Country For Old Men 3/5 (C)

Failed to see what all the fuss was about. It was good but not great, perhaps another case of expecting far too much from something.

Paranoid Park 3/5 (C)

25 January 2008

The History Boys 3/5 (R)

I think that the original play would probably be better as this feels far too 'stagey'. It also seems strange hearing Alan Bennett's words coming out of young boys' mouths.

19 January 2008

18 January 2008

16 January 2008

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford 3/5 (C)

Loved the last hour but the rest of the film didn't do much for me apart from look fantastic.

15 January 2008

I'm Not There 4/5 (C)

I ended up really liking I'm Not There but I don't know why. I was literally nodding off at the start, often struggled to understand what was going or even follow the chronology. There were several points when I'd happily have had the film end but it just kept getting better and better. My knowledge of Dylan is probably limited to Don't Look Back and so I enjoyed Blanchett's sections the most. Had I known more about Dylan then I suspect that I'd get even more out of the film.

10 January 2008

05 January 2008

Spiderman 3 3/5 (D)

Better than I thought it would be but still too much squeezed into one film.

Beowulf 3D 3.5/5 (C)

Surprisingly good although I imagine it would be a bit flat if not in 3D.