Movie Madness

You may recall that the last movie I reviewed before my unscheduled sabbatical was Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which was an awesome film. The next movie I was due to review was Divergent. But anyone who looks closely at my list of cinema visits will notice that I did see something in between those two films, I just wasn't sure if I should review it as it was a play, but I happened to watch it in a cinema...

Anyway, as promised, here is the complete list of all the films (and plays) I saw at the cinema in the last 4 months, and a brief review of each:

• Broadway's Romeo and Juliet ~ 01/04/2014

Orlando Bloom and Condola Rashad play the star-crossed lovers in this most recent adaptation of Shakespeare's famous tale. I saw the Broadway show which was transmitted live in the cinema. The two leads both shone in different ways but ultimately I couldn't help but feel that 37 year old Bloom was just a little too old to pull off playing a teenage Romeo.

• Divergent ~ 05/04/2014

My best friend is currently reading the series of Divergent books and can't put them down. The film however I found quite forgettable. The most memorable thing about it was the shocking way in which the producers 'hid' Kate Winslet's pregnancy, here love, why don't you carry around this giant folder (binder) for the whole film for no apparent reason. Yeah, no-one will have noticed...

• Noah ~ 14/04/2014

Shocking, shockingly bad and long. It's not quite bad enough to be truly terrible, and it's not even so bad it's funny. It's just long, boring and not especially well acted. Look out for Jennifer Connolly's snotty nose towards the end of the film. It's really quite gross.

• The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ~ 18/04/2014

After the recent good run of Marvel movies I was really optimistic about Spidey 2, especially after how much I loved the first re-boot when I'd not been looking forward to that at all. Unfortunately the second one suffers from the too many villains scenario, and again has the problem that a lot of Spidey films have, in that the villain isn't really a bad guy, just a nice guy that shit happened to and he lost it. Do better with Spidey 3 Marvel. 

• The Other Woman ~ 11/05/2014

It really bugs me that this film is called The Other Woman. There is more than one so shouldn't it be The Other Women? Rant aside, a comedy that's slow to get off the ground but gets better as it gets into it's swing. The bit at the end with all the blood though, not fitting with the rest of the movie and kinda nasty.

• Godzilla ~ 17/05/2014

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed Godzilla. I liked the twist, I liked the story, even though I spent a lot of the time saying "well that's convenient isn't it?" to my cinema buddy, this is one I would definitely add to my collection if it was on sale. It's fun, you can switch off your brain and just sit back and enjoy the giant lizard/dinosaur/fish creature. Brilliant B movie. 

• The Two Faces Of January ~ 21/05/2014

A taut and intriguing thriller about a man and wife on the run from the mob. They meet a shady tour guide and go on the run across Europe. It was shot in stunning locations, with a pretty cast but the end was disappointing and didn't seem to fulfill it's earlier promise.

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time ~ 22/05/2014

Yet another play that was transmitted live, this time from the National Theatre in London. Not the easiest play to watch due to the subject matter but it was incredibly well acted and one that I am glad to say I have seen. 

• X-Men: Days Of Future Past ~ 25/05/2014 and 22/06/2014

With The Amazing Spider-Man 2 out of the way, Marvel move back into the fanperson's good books with X-Men Days of Future Past. They had a lot of ground to make up for after X-Men 3 was so shoddy. And I wasn't particularly impressed by X-Men First Class either, so DoFP had a lot to live up to. And live up to most of it, it did. Now they just have to carry on from where they left Wolverine in 1973 and I'll be happy. 

• Edge Of Tomorrow ~ 31/05/2014

Tom Cruise gets killed over and over again. What's not to like? There is also a bad ass Emily Blunt doing hot training. Seriously, what more could you want from a movie? Oh right, plot. Well, it's not got a bad one. Tom and co are fighting a losing war against a bunch of aliens, but luckily for the war effort, Tom has the ability to re-set the day and start over each time he dies. Meaning they can learn how to defeat the aliens and win the war. Hurrah!

• Grace Of Monaco

Ironic that I saw a Tom Cruise movie followed by one starring his ex-wife. Grace Of Monaco felt distinctly like a made-for-TV special from start to finish. Just with bigger stars than you'd expect to find in one of those TV movies. The behind the curtain look into Princess Grace's life after she left Hollywood was intriguing, but never really delved deep enough to make an impact. Kidman was woefully mis-cast and I can't help but feel like having her as it's star did the film a disservice, as a lesser known actress in the role might have made it easier to look at her as Grace rather than just seeing Nicole Kidman looking like she was playing dress up. 

 

• How To Train Your Dragon 2 ~ 15/06/2014

It seemed like we'd waited forever for the sequel to How To Train Your Dragon. I managed to see a sneaky Father's Day preview of the film with my cinema buddy (and at the IMAX too) and it was awesome. It lost it's way a little in the middle when (Spoiler Alert) Hiccup's parents started singing and dancing, but then picked up again just in time for the grand finale. Pity they couldn't have hired a wee Scottish Girl to voice Hiccup's long lost mammy as Cate Blanchett just didn't cut it for me.

• Jersey Boys ~ 21/06/2014

I have never seen the play of Jersey Boys and now I definitely don't want to. This movie, despite being a musical (I despise musicals) had everything going for it that I should have loved, the golden era of Rock 'n' Roll, 50s/60s music, a band, but I was bored. It's way too long and the story just goes nowhere. Most shocking of all was when the end credits rolled and up came the announcement that it was directed and produced by Clint Eastwood! Not only was I shocked because it's nothing like the films he normally makes (i.e. good), I couldn't understand why he would want to make this movie. Your mum will probably love it, as would mine, but in my opinion, you'd do better to spend 3 hours of your life doing something (anything) better.

• 22 Jump Street ~ 25/06/2014

After the surprise that 21 Jump Street actually wasn't a half bad movie, I knew I had to see the sequel, even though it looked even more preposterous from the trailer. Some genuine laugh out loud moments, and a very memorable end credits sequence meant this was one of the better comedies I have seen in recent months. Just needed more shirtless Channing Tatum. FYI to directors out there, every Channing Tatum movie needs more shirtless Channing Tatum. 

• Chef ~ 04/07/2014

I thought I'd missed my opportunity to see Chef but I just managed to catch it before it finished it's run. A delightful, lighthearted and feel good summer movie. It won't change your life, but it will make you hungry. Just don't expect a lot of Robert Downey Jr or Scarlett Johansson and you won't be disappointed. 

 

• Transformers: Age Of Extinction ~ 05/07/2014

A promising start soon turned into an overlong metal on metal grudge match. Yes, I know that's what the other three movies were too, but this one has a really pointless sub-plot about a bomb and an alien ship too. Just save yourself some money and 3 hours of your life and avoid this rust bucket of a movie. 

• Poltergeist ~ 05/07/2014 

Classic movie, open air screening in the middle of summer, what could be better? Well the weather for one as it poured down on me and my cinema buddy, but hey, it's the UK, it was bound to happen. We stuck it out and thankfully didn't catch a cold (or take home a ghosty) and thoroughly enjoyed the film on the pop up big screen.

Well that's all for now folks, full review of Boyhood to follow tomorrow.