Just Checking In...

Well it has been an eternity since I last contributed to Filmlead but due to being away, exams and assignments, yours truly has been rather busy.

I was contemplating a box office report but I'll leave it cos I refuse to talk about Beyonce...well I just did but you get the point...

A few movies I've seen recently:

The Boat That Rocked is Richard Curtis's new effort and it is poor. Rare funny lines are ruined by a weak script, no plot and unlikeable characters not to mention a criminally underused Philip Seymour Hoffman. Love Actually, Four Weddings and Notting Hill all managed to combine characters you cared about, comedy and tragedy. This new effort is throwaway tosh with a great soundtrack. The shame is that it could have been decent if the running time had been cut by like 45 minutes. I saw it at 7PM...it finished at 10.10. A comedy! A perfectly good opening hour is destroyed by a ridiculous, overblown and tedious concluding act that sees a Titanic-esque sinking of the ship. Never will you see such a waste of time in cinema. I'm incredulous that Curtis thought this was acceptable. Embarrassingly he infuses a few scenes with emotional insight into characters and then just ignores them and moves onto another stupid gag or Hoffman and Rhys Ifans climbing a mast for like 10 minutes.

After the 2 hour mark i said out loud 'Please end'...people around me inclunding my mate looked pissed at me...they werent as pissed as I was...

Fast And Furious has done magnificently in US and UK. How? Well it contains hot women pointlessly making out, dancing on cars or just half naked. Yeah it is hot! But to be fair there is no plot, the villain is obvious and crap, Michelle Rodriguez dies in like ten minutes and the action is fine but nothing more. The only reason this movie is an okay watch is because of the returning Walker and Diesel. Diesel is muscles, muscles and more muscles and Walker provides good support to Vin. Their relationship has a bit of spark but apart from that it is a very average movie.

Let The Right One In is a Swedish vampire film. Still there?! It is an impressive feature that made a decent amount in US with a £2.1m budget getting a $2.8m haul. It is brutal in places and quite tense but what the movie achieves most is the poignancy of loneliness and friendship. Both child actors are superb. It contains comedy and severed limbs plus an impressive burning woman as well as a stunning end.

It will touch you, make you laugh and entice you to Sweden...it does look like that just without the bloodsuckers...!

Eyes Wide Shut. Saw this the other day. It is absolutely terrible. Anyone who says it isnt is just a Kubrick obsessive. It is a porno without the main stars getting that dirty. Kidman prolongs the film with a tedious slow voice. Yes it is impressive but it is also infuriating. Cruise is decent but he's in a film about nothing. No plot, no point. Last movie for Kubrick? Shameful. Way toooooo longggggg. I didnt care about either character to be honest. And the neverending scene in the poolroom? HAHA. Absolutely appalling.

Last line. 'You know what we need to do now, dont you?' - 'What?' - 'Fuck'. Yes that is exactly what you need to do after this tosh. I chose to eat dinner and watch Talladega Nights. Bliss.

...Yesterday I saw a small film that has no real stars or publicity. It was called Wolves...no Wolverine. That's it. Apparently it is a prequel.

Nah just kidding. Of course we all know what Wolverine is! Great movie. Was unsure after initial reviews. But two mates loved it and I took their advice. Delighted that I did.

Terrific action that amazes, good plot, well paced and a lot of comedy in a well written script. Hugh Jackman (The Fountain performance was astonishing) brings so much depth to this role. You care about the tortured soul that he is. This guy can act. Liev Schreiber excels as Sabretooth (Wolverine's brother). Taylor Kitsch does a nice job as Gambit and surprisingly Will.I.AM is solid and good fun as teleporter John Wraith. Ryan Reynolds is ok as Deadpool.

Danny Huston is intense and plays the villain brilliantly. Look out for some old friends po up as well.

To be honest I think Gavin Hood (Rendition and Tsotsi) has pleased everyone with excellent action sequences, well ahndled plot, slick opening credits and a well shot opening. The final battle is jaw droppingly cool. The locations, mostly Canada's rich and lush forests in British Columbia are used superbly and give the film an extra sheen of class. Hood has proven he can direct an action flick after two heavy dramas. Something Marc Forster failed with miserably with Qauntum of Solace. A really good movie.

The first blockbuster of last year was Iron Man and that rocked. Lets hope that the second of this year, Star Trek, will not disappoint.

I'll check in soon. Fare thee well.