What I Just Watched?

Seraphim Falls (1st view) – Part western, part revenge thriller, part chase movie. Very good overall. The almost wordless first 15 minutes set the tone remarkably well and the pace never lets up. Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan are both on terrific form – 4/5

Happy-Go-Lucky (1st view) – An absolute terrific film from Mike Leigh, a far more optimistic and positive film than his previous outings. Central to the films success is Sally Hawkins as Poppy, the eternal optimist. It’s a wonderfully assured performance, one of the very best I’ve seen in years, and she’s almost matched by the superb Eddie Marsan. Certainly the best film that 2008 has so far produced – 5/5

The Devil’s Backbone/ El espinazo del Diablo (1st view) – Beautifully told coming-of-age/ghost story from Guillermo del Toro. Fine performances and a genuine sense of atmosphere and emotions make this exceptionally worthwhile – 4/5

The Host/Gwoemul (1st view) – Completely bonkers Korean monster movie. Hugely entertaining with some heart pounding action scenes. It’s slip up occasionally, mainly during the more subdued moments of the film, but this is a winner on the whole - 4/5

The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (2nd view) – Robert Shaw leads a group of men in taking a subway train full of passengers hostage, and Walter Matthau is the transit cop trying to negotiate with him. Both give great performances, and a backed by a fine supporting cast. Tense and exciting, a 70s crime classic - 4/5

The Playhouse (1st view) – Buster Keaton being as inventive as ever. Particularly impressive is the first 5 minutes in which Keaton plays all the characters in the titular building – audience, orchestra and stage actors. Very impressive – 4/5 Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (1st view) – All a bit crap really. True, it gives some big screen time to a few reliable TV support players, and it’s always good fun trying to guess which non-entity will snuff it next, but it’s a long way from being the Ridley Scott masterpiece which started it all – 2/5

Ok have seen Indy 4 three times now, and I absolutely bloody feckin loved it. Lots of people are saying it's too far fetched unbelievable and ott but hey weren't they all . Thats something I always loved about them. 5/5 from this very happy chappy!

THREE TIMES! It's only been out a day :shock:

THREE TIMES! It's only been out a day :shock: Maybe he watches movies faster than the rest of us... :D

I've not even seen it once yet :cry: Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World (4th view) - Peter Weir's spendid seafaring tale, based on Patrick O'Brien's saga of novels. Russell Crowe, as Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, has rarely been better and as his his friend and ship's surgeon Stephen Maturin, Paul Bettany gives his best performance. The friendship between these two is obvious and makes for the heart of the film, but Weir has a fine grasp of the action sequences as well, and they do indeed set the pulse racing. It's a fascinating film to watch, filled with trvial details, and is perhaps the one film that most conveys what it must have been like to spend months at sea. A fine support cast and an exceptional score just add to the atmosphere. If it hadn't come out in the same year as The Return Of The King, I'd have been hoping for it to win all the Oscars it was up for as it would have thoroughly deserved them. Excellent - 5/5

Raiders Of The Lost Ark (15th view) - In the run-up to me watching the la-*test*-('") instalment, I'm giving the originals a rewatch, and films really don't get that much better than this. Last year, Empire magazine called it the most entertaining film ever made, and it's very hard to disagree. Like pretty much all of Speilberg's films, the whole thing looks effortless. I can't really explain it, but the man knows his stuff, everything just seems to fit together perfectly and, with Indy such an iconic character nowadays, you can almost sense that this was the intention. Ford is perfect as our hero, and his love interest, sidekick and enemies are equally memorable. The script crackles with energy, and the action is fantastic. When it gets going, it just doesn't let up and the last hour of wonder and mayhem (the map room, the Well of Souls, the plane punchup, the truck chase, Katanga's boat, the Ark) is as near a perfect hour of film you're going to find. To top it all off, John Williams once again proves himself as the film world's finest composer with a grand score, with the Raiders March instantly recognisable and a piece of music that can transport you back to the film after just a few notes, bringing back that sense of fun and excitement. The direction is assured, the story engages, the characters entice, the music soars, the action thrills, the whole thing is just top notch. Brilliant.

As an aside, my two favourite moments are pieces of light comedy. Indy's wonderful howl when Marian clunks him with the mirror, and his shaky stumble backwards when he gets punched in the face by Pat Roach :D

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull - It's no secret I'm not the biggest fan of this franchise and therefore my expectations weren't exactly high. To be honest, I was only hoping it wouldn't be as abysmal as Speed Racer. Happily, I found it entertaining... for the most part. Too much of the first act was spent unnecessarily tying up stuff from the previous films. The second act was ok, at times visually spectacular but felt too much like a filler for the final act without any real story or character development. The commies were cartoonish and not a patch on the Nazis of the earlier instalments. The final act... how to put this in a spoiler-free fashion? My internal monologue went along the lines of: Well, this is pants. Hang on, where are they going with this? Ooh, this could be good. Actually, it's not. FFS, who wrote this?! FFS!!! This is ridiculous! Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo... Last scene: awwwww... ha, ha! Conclusion, if you're a fan I think you'll like this. Everyone else, it's an entertaining couple of hours and far better than that National Treasure nonsense.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull

Very good but just doesn't have the magic of Raiders and Crusade and it seems to have a Mummy vibe to it but still its better than the Temple of Doom. Harrison Ford is still Indiana and Shia is a great addition and plays off him well, John Hurt and Karen Allen were wasted, Ray Winstone was underdeveloped and Cate Blanchett Villain was just not very convincing or threating like ones in the past films. These quibbles aside however it was still a very entertaining film and lets hope they ignore Lucas script wise if they do a fifth one. 7/10

Whoa talk about running the gauntlet, I am holding out for Indy until it comes to my arts centre :cool: Yesterday I went to an arts exhibition at the arts centre and Happy go lucky was just about to start in the cinema talk about torn!! I so want to see that. White noise What a load of bunkham and I stayed up late especially as it was recomended by someone who shall be unnamed. It had the potential but just left me completly underwhelmed in fact I will go as far as to say the second one was far better and that doesn't happen much with sequels. 1/5

Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom (9th view) – Quite a bit like my Raiders review, but generally not as good overall. Ford is still on fine music, John Williams excels once more and Spielberg again has a fine grasp on the material, the action and comedy delivered with a deft touch. Unlike many, I quite like Kate Capshaw as Willie Scott. A completely different romantic interest to Marian but just as sexy and likeable in her own way. Short Round is the big problem for me in this; I just hate the little wisecracking numpty. The plot also isn’t quite up there with Raiders; the story just doesn’t quite hold the same level of interest for me, although a turn to the darker side should be applauded. I also greatly missed Sallah and Marcus Brody, Short round was a very poor substitute. Also, considering I saw it on a remastered DVD, some of the shots in the mine cart chase look abominable, just awful (and not in the kind of nostalgic good way that the other two films have). Still, there is far more good here than bad. Very good entertainment – 4/5

Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade (23rd view) – Quite a bit like my Raiders review, but with everything just that little bit better. Considering how much I love Raiders, it’s hard to put into words how much I adore this film. It isn’t a perfect film, there are bitty flaws all over the place, but to focus on such niggles to the detriment of the film would be too cold and clinical, as the film is perfect entertainment, in such a way that it can brush over any problems. Everything is right, the thrills the humour, the emotion, the story, music, acting etc, all balance themselves to form a tremendous whole. It’s wonderful to have Sallah and Marcus back, the supremely sexy Elsa Schneider is easily my favourite female in the series and her relationship with both Jones boys seems to flow more naturally than in the women in the other films. And, of course, there is the marvellous interplay between Indy and his father. The casting of Sean Connery was a small piece of genius, and he works brilliantly with Ford, every line of dialogue, every gesture, every facial tic between the two of them is perfect. Their double act is one of the finest I can think of in films, and it’s great to watch. All too often it seems that films that set out to be great fun, pure and simple, get scolded for not advancing the art of cinema, lacking any solid emotional connection with the audience, or not having Citizen Kane or Godfather levels of characterisation, Well, bugger it, when I love a film this month I really couldn’t care less. Film of the year so far for me – 5/5

OK people, here's all the films I've seen in Canada, 15 in all!! :D Enchanted (2007), It's a Disney film, but not as you know it. It blends the worlds of classic Disney animation with that of modern day New York. In the land of Andalasia, it has fairytale princess Giselle (Amy Adams) being transported from her animation fantasyland to real-life New York, where she is soon involved with lawyer Robert Philip (Patrick Dempsey), but Prince Edward (James Marsden) is on his way to rescue her from this strange land, and the evil Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) intends to put a stop to any such fairytale happy ending. A good breath of fresh air for the tired old Disney film, it's something different and it works, and it has good performances and good fish-out-of-water jokes within. 4/5

Casino Royale (1967), a kick in the balls to the original Bond films. This was the result of a troubled production and too much money. This has Sir James Bond (David Niven) comes out of retirement to take on SMERSH, but in order to trick SMERSH, every available agent is renamed James Bond. One of which, Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers) is sent to take on Le Chiffre (Orson Welles) in a game of baccarat at Casino Royale. The film is like some horrific car accident, the sort you can't tear your eyes away from!! It took 5 directors (Val Guest, Ken Hughes, John Huston, Joseph McGrath and Robert Parrish), to do it. But, it did have a good cast, including Peter Sellers, David Niven, Orson Welles, Ursula Andress, Woody Allen, Ronnie Corbett, William Holden, Bernard Cribbins, Geoffrey Bayldon, Derek Nimmo, Chic Murray and Deborah Kerr!! Without this film, there would have been no Austin Powers!! ;) 3/5

Speed Racer (2008), The Wachowski Brothers make a film completely a world away from The Matrix, with this film, they lighten up, and do something for the whole family with this film based upon the 1960's Japanese Cartoon. This has Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), a teen who lives and breathes racing cars. His family Pops Racer (John Goodman) and Mom Racer (Susan Sarandon), run an independent business building racecars, but when their homerun business is threatened by the corrupt Royalton (Roger Allam), Speed decides to fight back using his knowledge of racing. It's a hyperkenetic, super-psychedelic adventure, containing the sort of visuals some films have never dared put on. It doesn't always work, but at least it's different from alot of the other summer films this year. It's just big, dumb fun, nothing more to it. 3/5

Bad Timing (1980), one of Nicolas Roeg's most upsetting and shocking films, but also one of his very best films. Set in Vienna, this is a story told in flashback focusing on a relationship between Alex Linden (Art Garfunkel) and Milena Flaherty (Theresa Russell), which ends in sexual obsession and tragedy. It's hardly the stuff of mainstream cinema, but Roeg brings the best out of his cast, which also features Harvey Keitel and Denholm Elliot. But, it does have some sickening moments, tastefully done though, including Garfunkel fucking his dead wife!! :shock: Now, you don't get such obscenity in films like that today!! 4/5

In Bruges (2008), a black comedy from director Martin McDonagh. This has hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) who after a hit gone wrong after told by their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes), to stay in the history Belgian city of Bruges and await further instructions, they become used to the local customs of the city, but it's not very quiet for long. A very good film, it balances it's dark moments out with some very funny moments. It's got some funny dialogue and good performances, it almost feels like a Coen Brothers film in places, but McDonagh is most certainly a director to keep an eye on!! ;) 4/5

Shine A Light (2008), Martin Scorsese does a live concert film of The Rolling Stones, performing live over 2 nights at the Beacon Theatre in New York in 2006. The film brings out the very best in them, as they perform old classics and some songs never before done on stage before. Plus, they're not alone, they have some special guests in the form of Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera. Scorsese even punctuates the songs with some old archive interviews, which adds to the entertainment. Shine a Light is very well shot, and The Rolling Stones still have the momentum which has kept them going for about 45 years now, long may it continue. 5/5 - IN IMAX!! :D

Network (1976), one of the most topical films of the 1970's, this has UBS TV newsanchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch) being sacked for his shows low-ratings. So, he threatens to murder himself on live television at the end of his last week, his rants capture the attention of the American TV viewing public, and entertainment programming boss Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway), who is looking for new ways to boost the stations ratings. It's a very well made film, and it's alot more relevent today than it was back then, it's well written by Paddy Chayefsky and director Sidney Lumet keeps the mood up throughout the film. Hollywood should take note of this film, as we need more like it. 4/5

Yours, Mine and Ours (1968), before the 2005 remake, there was the 1968 original. This has Navy warrant officer Frank Beardsley (Henry Fonda) who happens to have 10 children, and nurse Helen North (Lucille Ball), who has 8 children. When they meet, it's love at first sight, and they decide to marry, despite having 18 children between them. An innocent family film from the 1960's which you don't get the likes of these days, but it's good fun throughout, with some funny moments in it, and Fonda and Ball makes a good couple for the film. 3/5

Hang 'Em High (1968), Clint Eastwood does an American western done in the same style and manner of the Spaghetti Westerns he did. Eastwood plays Jed Cooper, a former lawman, who survives a hanging for a crime he didn't commit, but he soon becomes a US Marshall, and is determined to see that justice is served. A very atmospheric and very violent as well, it's a revenge tale which tells us that no-one wins when someone is on a personal vendetta. Oh, and it has appearences from Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper. 4/5

No Country for Old Men (2007), The Coen Brothers come back down to Earth with this violent modern day Western. This has hunter Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) taking a case full of cash from the aftermath of a drugs-deal gone wrong, big mistake. On his tail is assassin Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), who intends to get back the case, and behind him is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), who feels he is too old in the face of this new wave of violence. A contender for the Coen's best serious film, it's their most violent one to date, but it has some good performances to it's name, and it deserved every award it won!! :D 5/5

Forrest Gump (1994), Robert Zemeckis adapts Winston Groom's novel of simpleton Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), just a mother's boy from Alabama who just so happens to be at major events in American history, from meeting 3 presidents, to being a football player to fighting in Vietnam, meeting John Lennon, becoming a shirmping tycoon and running across America. I don't care what people say about this film, it's an excellent film, which shows the best and worst of American culture and life, all seen through the eyes of one man. It deserved the Oscars it won, and Hanks gave a good performance. 5/5

Cry-Baby (1990), a lovely camp and funny little film from Baltimore madman John Waters. This was his first big Hollywood film for Universal Pictures, and it helped make a big star out of Johnny Depp. He plays Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker, a 'Drape' (a rocker) who lives with his hilbilly family, and he tries to win the affections of local posh girl Allison Vernon-Williams (Amy Locane). It's a camp and cheesy musical, but that's what makes it good. It has moments which you'd expect from John Waters, plus it has a good cast including Iggy Pop, Rikki Lake, Traci Lords and Willem Dafoe!! 4/5

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), The Coen Brothers' first big Hollywood film for Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver. This has new college graduate Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), who is employed in the mailroom at Hudsucker Industries just as their boss Warning Hudsucker (Charles Durning), commits suicide, Norville is made president expecting to fail so the board can buy the stock, he however, has an invention which does well. A charming little film with good humour and a fairy tale feel, even the vision of 1950's New York in this film is rather like something out of a comic book, but it does contain some of the best scenes the Coen's have ever done. 5/5

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008), the cinemas grea-*test*-('") adventurer is back after 19 years. Harrison Ford returns as Indiana Jones, who this time is looking for a legendary Crystal Skull which belongs to an ancient society in South America. But, on his tail are the Russians, led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), but he soon finds himself reunited with a face from the past, and a secret or two. A great action adventure which makes you feel like a kid again, especially when that theme comes on. Steven Spielberg stages some good action sequences in the film, and gets the best out of the supporting cast, including Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt and Ray Winstone. This should give the franchise real closure now. 4/5

The Out-of-Towners (1970), a very funny comedy from writer Neil Simon and director Arthur Hiller. This has suburbian couple from Ohio George and Gwen Kellerman (Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis), who go to New York, as he has been offered a job there. But as soon as they leave Ohio, everything that can go wrong DOES go wrong, their flight to New York is diverted, they lose their luggage, they miss the train, they're kidnapped and that's just the tip of the iceberg. It's a very funny film, better than the 1999 remake, and it's got a good score by Quincy Jones in it as well. But, it's two lead performances and crackerjack dialogue complete the film!! 4/5

Phew!!

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