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The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey
Nearly everyone I’ve spoken to about this film says,"Oh yes, very good, but not as good as Lord of the Rings." What a lot of nonsense. This is a different sort of film: remember that the original book was written for children. I my opinion it’s every bit as good as LOTR, subject to one complaint. The casting is good; the pace is good; the special effects are overwhelming and Gollum, for such a skinny little creature, exudes such an air of menace that I for one wouldn’t like to meet him on a dark night. The only thing that didn’t work for me was the attempt made at the start to stitch together the future (i.e. Frodo et al) with the past (i.e. with Bilbo writing his memoirs, so that the whole film is one giant flashback). I’d have just started with the party and to hell with any baggage brought along by LOTR. But I don’t suppose PJ would have listened to me... it’s too late now anyway. Go watch it. It’s a great film. I’m a little surprised there’s enough for three films to be made out of the story... but I’m not complaining so far.
Skyfall
So Skyfall actually made an appearance in Ayr and we booked in advance for it - which was just as well, as the auditorium was packed. Was it worth it? Is this the ‘best ever Bond’, as some pundits are claiming? Well, I don’t know about the best ever, but it’s pretty good. Plenty of reasonably believable action, a baddie who’s rotten to the core, the reappearance of Q, technology mixed up with the human plot... yes, it all works well. My other half didn’t go to sleep and Small Boy was enthralled (and now wants a boxed Bond set for Christmas). Having watched it, I can in retrospect think of quite a few plot holes. And despite including some technology, I felt that the film wasn’t entirely comfortable with it. The parts of the film which were not so believable were the technological parts. Still, all in all it was a jolly good romp and I certainly wouldn’t put anyone off seeing it.
Anna Karenina
I wouldn’t have chosen to go to see this film, but my other half wanted to. So we went. In the event I have to admit it was rather good. The way it is put together is a little unusual, but you soon get to grips with that after the first ten minutes or so. The acting is excellent and the casting is spot on. And of course the plot itself is outstanding, as you’d expect from an original book that many pundits regard as one of the best ever written. So if Anna Karenina isn’t near the top of your ‘to see’ list, I suggest you bump it up your order of priorities.
The Magnificent Seven
I first saw this film when it first came out, in 1960, and I remember thinking how wonderful it was. For my birthday I got a whole lot of Westerns on dvd, including The Magnificent Seven, and I sat and watched it with Dylan. He loved it, although he got a bit tearful when half the seven (approximately) got killed off at the end. I enjoyed it too. It hadn’t dated as much as I thought it would have, perhaps because of the amazing cast list. Of course, since those far off days in 1960 I’ve seen The Seven Samurai, and I realise now just how much of an inferior copy the Hollywood western remake is. But if you know any seven-year-old boys (approximately), I think you’ll find that he’ll enjoy The Magnificent Seven almost as much as I did when I was that age, even though they’ve been exposed to so much excitement and special effects on today’s TV.
The amazing Spiderman
While we were on the South coast and struggling to stay out of the persistent rain, we went to see The Amazing Spiderman at the Brighton Marina. Okay, so it’s a 12A, but Dylan has seen other 12As and he was adamant he wanted to see it. In the event he had no problem with it at all. I enjoyed it, even though I’d forgotten to take my hearing aid so I missed 60% of the dialogue. Let’s face it, dialogue isn’t necessary in a Spiderman film. Anyway, I’ve read so many spiderman comics over the years and seen so many films, that I knew exactly what was happening. I enjoyed it (and so did Ivy and Dylan). We saw the 3D version, and I suppose the action scenes were slightly better as a result, though I’m still not convinced that the film companies have properly got to grips with enhancing the film experience with 3D. Still, the action scenes were good, and this version of the story left fewer hanging threads (hoho, hanging threads, get it?) than such films usually do. I preferred it to the previous Amazing Spiderman, but not by much. Like most of the world, I rather wonder why a new one is needed so soon (unless the previous franchise had written itself into too many corners). Anyway, we all thought it was good, and I recommend it.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
We watched this on dvd the other night, having missed it for some reason on the big screen. I warned my other half that ‘there will be a lot of talking in it, it will be complicated but low key, and you’ll probably doze off.’ Well, two out of three ain’t bad. Having read the book when it first came out, and watched the TV adaptation some years ago, I knew what to expect and vaguely felt this version wouldn’t live up to its predecessors. I was wrong. The brilliant cast swept everything along very smoothly. The plot, as far as I can recall, is pretty much untouched and if anything comes over more clearly than previously (no bad thing). If I have any criticism to make, it’s that the director maybe didn’t make the best use of his star cast: some of the big names barely got a look in and you wondered why they were there at all. But it’s a minor complaint. I thought this was a terrific adaptation. Oh, and Ivy stayed awake the whole time, so that just showed me.
MIB 3
Young Dylan hasn’t seen either of the Men in Black films but I thought he’d probably enjoy them so when MIB 3 found its way to Ayr, we went along to see it. My verdict? I was a bit disappointed. I thought it was a bit slow (compared to the other two); I didn’t think it made especially good use of 3D effects; and, worst of all, there weren’t enough aliens. The story focused on one very nasty bad alien and how he went back into time to kill K, and so naturally Will Smith had to go back in time to undo all the mischief that had been done. Going back in time is always a fretful affair when it comes to making a cohesive plot. This plot is very far from being cohesive, but it’s just a bit of Hollywood fun, so let’s not go there. Sure, it had its good points. The actor playing a young K nailed the character to..uh..a T. The baddie had a great catchphrase which I won’t spoil by telling you. And lots of the special effects were good. But all in all I thought, good try, could have been better.
Super 8
I was in an HMV shop for some reason and saw the dvd of Super 8 promoted in a sale so, remembering that the trailers in the cinema looked vaguely interesting, I bought it. And the other evening I sat down with my other half to vet the film for possible Dylan viewing. Well, it has its good points. As a film produced by Spielberg I suppose you’d expect no less. The acting was passable, the special effects were very good, and to start off with the story was fairly gripping. But ultimately I think it lost its way. Some of the plot doesn’t make sense, I spotted one big continuity error, and the ending is just silly. I think it’s a pity, because the groundwork was all there, but there wasn’t enough attention to detail and not enough thought had gone into the film’s resolution. Oh, and no, it wasn’t suitable for Dylan. Some bad language, some horrific crash scenes, and a scary monster all make this somewhat more than the 12 it actually is. Some parts are positively PG, other parts are more like 15. Go figure. But, frankly, I wouldn’t go see it.
Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows
For some reason we didn’t see this when it first came out. Either we missed it, or it never even came to the distant outpost of Ayr. Anyway, we watched it on dvd last night, and we both enjoyed it. It’s a piece of hokum, of course, and the deductive skills of Holmes aren’t on display much. It’s much more an adventure romp, with plenty of action. Jared Harris is perfectly cast as Professor Moriarty, but Stephen Fry makes a miserable Mycroft, in my opinion. I feel the franchise has moved even further away from the original Holmes concept, but as a piece of mindless fun, it’s good in its own way.
Avengers Assemble
Avengers Assemble seems to be breaking all sorts of box office records, and I’m not surprised. It’s got everything it needs to be a great blockbuster. The characters already have sentimental appeal to millions who, like me, read stories about the Avengers in comics of the 60s and 70s. And of course they have a whole new batch of admirers because of recent films such as Iron Man and The Hulk. Bringing all these characters together was bound to cause a stir in the superhero world, and it’s certainly done that. But it wasn’t without risks. Other superhero films have suffered from having too many baddies in them, too many plotlines cluttering up the story. There was always the chance that Avengers Assemble would have too many superheroes, with the same cluttering consequences. But no, the plotline is refreshingly simple, and although there are some subplots, they don’t confuse the issue at all. The action is brilliantly done; there’s plenty of humour; there’s just a touch of romance and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, and heartily recommend it.
Woman in Black
Woman in Black is unashamedly a traditional things-go-bump-in-the-night ghost story. I’m in two minds as to whether it is a good film or not. It’s certainly not a bad film, but I can’t work out in my mind whether it is any better than ‘workmanlike’. Let’s dispense with one headline-grabber: is Daniel Radcliffe any good in it? In my opinion, he’s a little wooden, but not bad. Some pundits refer to him as ‘lightweight’. Maybe he is, a little, but the plot demands someone who is put-upon by his boss. He doesn’t have the strength of character to stand up to his boss, and fear of losing his job is what drives him to stay at the haunted house, working away in the dead of night when I would long since have run away. So, I think DR does reasonably. The plot is a little thin, but it unravels at a nice pace. The effects are very good and not over the top (one of my usual complaints in ghost or horror films). Woman in Black relies on glimpses, things just out of sight, sudden shock. It all works much better than the big budget special effects some films employ. The weakest aspect of the film is its ending. I won’t spoil it for you by spelling it out, but suffice to say I can think of several better endings, and I haven’t thought about it much. If the ending had been better, I’d have come away convinced I had seen a very good film. As it is . . . I still can’t work out whether it is any more than workmanlike. I’d certainly not put off anyone who wanted to go to see it. So why don’t you watch it and come to a decision yourself, and let me know?