Films of 2012

Thought it would be good to log which movies I actually make it to at the cinema this year... and thinking about it I might do a separate DVD one as well :-)

November

Skyfall - I had to wait a week after it opened before I could get to the latest Bond outing and I very carefully avoided all reviews/spoilers before going. It was absolutely brilliant - great characters this time - Javier Bardem as the baddie was outstanding. Lots of humour as well - it felt like an 'old school' Bond movie, and now I can't wait for the next one! The best of the three Daniel Craig Bond movies in my book. 

October

Looper - I'd been very keen to see this as I thought the shorts had looked good, and I do like Joseph Gordon-Levitt. And it didn't disappoint :-). Not quite 'Inception' but it was a great film to just sit back and go with. Lots of time travelling stuff, a bit of Bruce Willis, and an ending I didn't see coming. Would definitely recommend it. 

Searching for Sugarman - I went to see this with a friend, using my Orange '2-for-1' deal. It has been out for quite a while so it was good to be able to catch it. I loved this film - similar to The Imposter, I won't say much about the story, as where it goes is quite unexpected. It is a documentary about the search for a musician who was huge in South Africa, but no where else, and it really is fantastic. Another recommend.


September

Brave - I went to see this with Lucy when she was visiting me - we were tired after a long day doing fun stuff, so went and collapsed for a couple of hours. This is the latest Pixar movie and I enjoyed it. You know exactly what you're going to get, but this was a lovely film. Great stuff about the relationship between a daughter and a mother. Recommend it :-).

The Imposter - A documentary which is a story that is so crazy it seems almost unbelievable. That is all I will say as to reveal anything would spoil it. But it is fantastic and I thoroughly recommend it!


August

The Bourne Legacy - I had originally been a bit sniffy about seeing this as I thought they were going to have a new actor playing Jason Bourne, but once I realised they were carrying on the story, and I'd seen the shorts I decided it was probably worth a look :-). I enjoyed it - some of the reviews have been a bit 'Well its not as good as the Bourne films', but it was still an enjoyable action/spy film. And I do quite like Jeremy Renner...  

July

The Dark Knight Rises - The final part of Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy and I thought it was superb. Finished it off brilliantly - really really well done. Not my favourite of the trilogy - I think that would be Batman Begins, but I did love this :-).

June

Snow White and the Huntsman - I really enjoyed this. Which I think is sort of sacriligous to say... But I saw it on a Sunday afternoon, and was just in the mood for a flight of fancy. Again - Charlize Theron was great, and I enjoyed Chris Hemsworth as the Huntsman. Didn't realise he'd played Thor until I got home though! Not a great actor, but he does what he has to do well enough... Twiglet girl was ok - probably not the best casting, but I enjoyed the story. And it was nice to watch a film that had two strong female characters at its heart. Loved the dwarfs - although given they were played by the cream of British actors, digitally turned into dwarves, that is probably wrong to say as well!


Prometheus - This doesn't really need much introduction I don't think! No where near as good as I thought it should be. The previews were so amazing I had very high hopes. I did enjoy it (and thought Michael Fassbender as David was amazing), but I didn't love it. As much as I love Noomi Rapace, she just didn't work that well for me. Thought Charlize Theron was good as well though. I did have to come home and read reviews and some of the geek forums to help me put my finger on what I didn't love about it though.


May

Avengers Assemble - I loved this film! I'm a big fan of Joss Whedon (have been since Buffy) and I thought he did this very well. Loved all the pop culture quips all the way through it, and thought the chemistry between The Hulk and Ironman was brilliant. I saw Thor on DVD a while ago, so enjoyed seeing those two characters again - silly, but still very good. Have added Ironman 2 to my Lovefilm list now - I've seen the first one, but not the second, and after seeing this I think I want to watch it now :-).


April

Marley - I found this film fascinating - and one I think most of my family would really enjoy. It is long - about 2.5 hours, but it tells a very comprehensive story of Bob Marley's life, with comments from all sorts of people throughout it, including interviews with him before he died. Really very well done - and interesting to see the timeline of his life, and thinking how old I was at that point, and was I listening to his music. There was one brief clip of him being welcomed by a Maori powhiri in NZ in the 1970s - did wonder if any of my siblings went to see him! And very sad when you find out how his cancer was not treated properly the first time - perhaps if it had been he, wouldn't have died so young.

The Hunger Games - I can see that these books would be very good, as the film was great. Bits of it didn't quite work for me - or weren't explained that well. Which I can't explain without including plot spoilers! I would like to read the books - I think that if I'd read the books beforehand it would probably be a bit like Harry Potter - the bits that are left out are annoying, but probably aren't crucial to the story. So there were questions I had that weren't really answered - but still very very good! Didn't like the shaky camera filming much tho...

March

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - I enjoyed this film. It was exactly what you would expect - a nice gentle English comedy drama with a cracking cast - Judi Dench and Bill Nighy just for starters. Did exactly what I expected it to, and did it well. Nice easy watch :-).

The Muppets - Well what can I say? I LOVED this film! I was literally crying with laughter at different points. Very, very good. Enough said :-).


February

Young Adult - This one I probably wouldn't have gone to as the posters looked like it was yet another RomCom type of film, but Dr K quite liked it and Julia was keen to see it. Not really what I was expecting - not exactly a black comedy, but not a standard comedy either. I was laughing, but at the same time not wanting to laugh - and there were definite bits that were a bit too close to the bone! It is written by the woman who wrote Juno, so definitely has more of an edge to it. Enjoyed it though. 

The Woman in Black - Another one with Lucy and Gareth! I have always been meaning to go and see the stage play of this, so was quite keen to see the film. And the shorts looked good. It was ok - I definitely jumped a few times (more than Lucy did!) and I loved the fact it was like an old school ghost film, rather than a slasher type modern horror movie. Not great, but much better than The Grey!

The Grey - Went to see this with Lucy and Gareth - it had had relatively positive reviews from Dr K (and in fact is still getting good comments from the listeners) but I thought it was pretty bog standard. I think I'm missing the key point somehow - it just seemed like a film about a bunch of men in the snow, getting picked off by wolves. Apparently it is much more about the existential male crises (or some such nonsense). Didn't really work for me whatever....

Moneyball - Another Oscar nomination, but I had wanted to see this when it came out. I was suprised it was still around to be honest. I have a recurring film trip once a month with a friend from work - we go on a Wednesday to take advantage of Orange Wednesday (2 for 1) and this was our latest outing. Really interesting film - a sport movie thats not really about sport as Dr K says. Not sure it is an Oscar winner, but its a good watch. Brad Pitt plays an 'everyman' very well - at times you almost forget how good looking he is!

January

The Iron Lady - I wasn't sure about going to see this, but I was curious... Meryl Streep probably has a strong chance of winning the Oscar but I'm not so sure... There was too much of her being 'old' in it for me, and not enough of the politics. Interestingly that is also what Dr K thought as well, but I didn't listen to his review until I'd seen it! Honest... I've seen a few of the Oscar Best Film nominations but still more to go!

The Artist - The silent movie being tipped for the Oscars. I have to say I loved it - thought it was so well done - you almost didn't notice there was no dialogue! Highly highly recommend it.

DVDs of 2012

And here is the list of all my 'catch up DVDs' of the films I missed at the cinema, or have heard about via other means...

Troll Hunter - I really enjoyed this. A Norwegian film that plays on the 'found footage' approach that Blair Witch used. But what I liked about it was how it took the fairy tale stories of trolls, and applied them to the real world. If a Troll can smell a Christian man, can he smell a Muslim? You'll have to watch the film to find out!

Super 8 -After Melancholia I was sent 'We Need to Talk About Kevin' but I returned it without watching. I realised that I really didn't want to watch it. Then came Super 8 which I thought was great. Reminded me a bit of Stand By Me - it wasn't really an alien movie, more a rite of passage. Thought it was very very good. 

Melancholia - Well this one wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs! Not that I thought it would be mind... It was ok - but I don't think I'm much of a Lars von Trier fan. Bit too 'self reverential' for me. But was ok as a dvd rental...

X-Men First Class - Another one I put on my list after seeing Avengers Assemble and I loved it! Thought the introduction to the X-Men was done so well - Michael Fassbender fantastic as the young Magneto - very good intro!

Iron Man 2 - I put this on my Lovefilm list after seeing Avengers Assemble and I really enjoyed it. Particularly as it introduced some of the characters from Avengers. And Robert Downey Jr is fantastic - although he does essentially play the same character in Iron Man as he does in Sherlock Holmes!

Drive - I have had this dvd since I last updated this blog! Just haven't had time to watch it for various reasons. I had been waiting for ages for Drive - it had had such good reviews. But I was a bit under-whelmed to be honest. Maybe I shouldn't have watched it when I did as I probably wasn't in the mood for it, but I'd had it for such a long time it really was time to watch it and send it back. Just thought it was 'ok' really. And the lack of dialog, overuse of music, and lots of staring into the distance just annoyed me. And the violence was a bit un-necessary as well. So all a bit disappointing really.

The Lincoln Lawyer - another great Saturday night DVD - certainly not a film worth seeing at the cinema! Fairly standard lawyer-ish fare, with an all too brief cameo from the wonderful William H. Macy. But Matthew McConaughey is pretty good in it - nice and easy to watch. 

Oranges & Sunshine - a 'docu-drama' about the forced deportation of English children out to Australia (although children were also sent to other countries as well). Riveting tale - and one of those 'OMG - I don't believe it' type of films. Highly recommended.

The Adventures of Tintin - the Secret of the Unicorn - this had had mixed review (certainly the Good Dr didn't think much of it) and I have to admit I was pretty underwhelmed by it. Don't quite know why - think maybe I loved the characters too much as a child to enjoy thier transition to the big screen. They didn't look enough like they do in the books, and I didn't think the story was great. Not really my cup of tea...

In Time - I have to admit, I'm not sure I quite understood the ending of this one... if anyone else has seen it feel free to let me know! I did enjoy the premise though - time as currency, and there were some very clever aspects to it. Having to run everywhere if you're in a poor district as you don't have time to waste - I liked that! But I did lose it at the end. Oh - and it has the lovely Cillian Murphy in it :-).

Blitz - Sometimes you've just gotta watch a bit of Jason Statham... and this was better than the last JS movie I watched. Also had Paddy Considine in it as well who I quite like. Ridiculously silly story, but JS got to run around being JS a lot, Aiden Gillen tried to play bad, and PC just looked lovely :-). 

The Twilight Saga - Breaking Dawn - I love the 'Twiglet' movies :-). Still don't get why anyone would love Bella - she is such a moaning myrtle, and I'm also definitely in Team Jacob - again, why go for a pale, cold vampire... Looking forward to the final instalment tho!!

Trust - I don't know if 'enjoyed' is the right word for this, but it was a very thought provoking drama. Tells the story of a 14 year old who is 'groomed' via the internet and the fallout on her and her family. Directed by Ross from Cheers, I thought it was quite well done. I really like Clive Owen and I thought he was very good in the role as the father. Bits of it were a bit unlikely, but on the whole it felt quite lifelike. Gave me an inkling into how girls get sucked into being scammed by these men, and why they don't run a mile when they finally meet them.

Contagion - not quite a DVD watch, as this one I 'bought' via my tv provider. I'd wanted to see it when it first came out, and then Virgin had it available on demand early so I watched it. Really enjoyed it - done very cleverly, and also quite scarily as well. Does certainly make you think about where you put your hands on public transport! If you've seen it, you'll know what that comment relates to... :-)

Water for Elephants -  This was definitely a DVD only film, but it was fine. I think the book may have been much better than the film - especially if it goes into more detail about life in the circus's back when it was set.

Julia's Eyes - This was one of Dr K's top 10 films a year or so ago so I thought it was worth a look. It also had Guillermo del Toro attached - never a bad thing. Really enjoyed the first 3/4 of it - some great imagery and scenes playing on being blind, and I loved how you never see the face of the care worker, but the last quarter let it down a bit I thought. Great spooky first part to it though. 

Cowboys & Aliens - This was the Daniel Craig/Harrison Ford outing - Tracey and I had talked about going to see it when she was over on holiday last year. It wasn't quite what I was expecting - not terrible though. But I was expecting more of a comedy drama, but it seemed to be playing it straight. We didn't miss anything at the cinema - definitely fine to watch on a DVD or on a plane!

Animal Kingdom - An Australian film so probably known to any NZ readers I have. Not quite as good as I thought it would be, but still definitely worth watching. I did think the boy playing the teenager was very good - played the gormless 'I'm fine' teenage role brilliantly :-).

Skeletons - This was (I suspect) a little known British film when it was released. I think I heard David Morrissey talking about it on the Mayo/Kermode podcast. I really enjoyed this - didn't quite know what to expect, but it was good. Very quirky, offbeat, funny and sad at the same time.

Limitless - This was ok. Quite a clever idea, and I enjoyed it. Sort of film that would be good on an airplane. ie don't really need to pay much attention to it. Was definitely one that was fine to see on DVD...

Movies what I saw in 2011...

• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest
• The Big Sleep
• 127 Hours
• The Way Back
• The King's Speech
• Black Swan
• The Fighter
• True Grit
• Never Let Me Go
• Source Code
• Boy
• Bridesmaids
• Sarah's Key
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• The Ides of March
• The Help
• Wuthering Heights
• Hugo 3D
• Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Not a bad list... faves were The King's Speech, True Grit, Boy and Hugo 3D.  Doesn't look like a very comprehensive list to me - must do better next year!

The truly wonderful 'Hugo'

Today I went to see Hugo - which I absolutely loved. It is based on the book 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' which I borrowed off Kevin last year. The book itself is a graphic novel - although most of it is pictures rather than words. And graphic novel does it an injustice, or paints it as something that it isn't.

It is a wonderful story, and the film absolutely does it justice. It was 'very 3D' - most of the other 3D movies I've seen have had bits of it in 3D, but this one really is almost entirely 3D. It makes it quite tiring to watch, but it was so beautifully done, and it really does add to the film.

Just loved it :-). One you could rewatch and rewatch - although at home with no 3D that might be quite difficult!

Out on the wiley windy moors...

So today I went to see the new adaptation of Wuthering Heights - I knew it had had mixed reviews but Mark Kermode made it his film of the week a couple of weeks back, and I had wanted to see it.

Rather wished I hadn't bothered now. Didn't do it for me at all. I didn't get much feeling out of any of the characters at all - either when they were young, or when they were older. It wasn't the shortening of the story that I didn't like - I just didn't warm to any of the actors. The Observer review is interesting - I just didn't see them bonding as children particularly. Maybe I'm too literal - but it bugged me tht the actor who played Hindley didn't change (and appeared to be almost an adult when Heathcliff is first brought to the house) but Cathy and Heathcliff are played by different actors as adults. The ages just didn't seem to work/gel for me. Personally - I wouldn't recommend it. Has made me want to re-read the book though!

The Help

I went to see The Help this afternoon - it was a very foggy dank Sunday afternoon so it just seemed to call out for a trip to the cinema. 

I really enjoyed it - although I've read a few reviews which are vaguely critical of it in that it is a white person 'to the rescue' again, and a lot of the political history of the time is mentioned at a very high level in the background, but doesn't form much of the story.

However having just read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' I was fascinated by the depiction of the maids bringing up the children of their employers - this is a key theme throughout TKAM as well. And even with the caveats above, it is still an easily watchable piece of social history - that I sat through and thought 'really?' while knowing that it was probably much worse than what was being depicted on screen...

Ya egg!

Finally got to see 'Boy'! As part of the 'City of London Festival' there was a mini-NZ film festival on at the Barbican - I knew Boy would have to be the opener so I was obsessively checking for tickets from when I first heard about it.

Maya and I went and had a good old Kiwi nostalgia fest. Loved it - the language, the scenery, the 'old stuff' I recognised (like Stud Cola!). Just fantastic.

Taika Waititi was there to introduce it as well - he was somewhat 'jetlagged' however so I'm not sure he really added much to it!

I also sat next to the guy in this advert - somewhat odd. He made sure I knew it was him in the advert - very funny. Or maybe he was trying to hit on me - I wasn't quite sure! But it was definitely him :-)

Good but disturbing...

Just back from seeing 'Never Let Me Go' - very good, but quite disturbing. Without giving away the story (although it isn't really a 'twist' as such), what is still sort of hanging around for me is the complete and utter acceptance of the situation the characters are in. It really is what it is - and that for me was very unsettling.

I haven't read the book, and I know that people who have are disappointed with the film, but if you've not read it, I think it is definitely worth seeing.

Oh - and my Oscar pick was way off :-( . But I did love 'The King's Speech' so its not too disappointing!

Oscar season

This year for the first time in ages I've almost seen all of the films nominated for the Best Film Oscar - unheard of for me!

Latest one I saw was 'Black Swan' which I went to last night. What a full on film - I came out of it still not sure what I thought, and I'm still a bit like that. Will definitely be watching it again on DVD. Natalie Portman was superb and I can see why its got the Oscar nominations it has.

Still to open here are True Grit and The Fighter - both of which I'm really looking forward to seeing. And Winters Bone (the only other nomination I've not seen) is on my DVD list! I really wanted to see that at the cinema when it came out and missed it - doubly cross about that now.

Having seen most of them I'm not sure which one I'd pick at the mo, as I have loved most of them. Probably Inception for its sheer brilliance and incredibly twisty turn plot and filming - but then again I did love The King's Speech and Toy Story 3...

Quality 'culcha'

Nice day spent seeing two very good cultural things...

First up was The Glasgow Boys at the Royal Academy with Nicola - very good and some great paintings. Very busy tho - but that does come of going the weekend before the exhibition ends...

Next up was The King's Speech with Jackie. Brilliant film - it has to be a shoe-in for an Oscar for Colin Firth, and Geoffrey Rush is also very good. Would absolutely recommend it - a fascinating story. I remember Mum talking about the abdication and how upset Nana was - that period has featured a lot in things I've seen recently so I might read a bit more about it.

Don't miss it!

Astonishing human endeavour

This has been a weekend of films relating to extraordinary human endeavour - both of which I'd greatly recommend.

First up was 127 Hours - despite knowing what happens, and so waiting the whole film for the 'act' to happen, it was still very very good. Showing Aron reaching the point where he has to do what he does is so well done - does make you wonder how much you would do to survive.

And on that theme I then went to see The Way Back today - I hadn't planned to spend my weekend watching two such full on movies, but today's was already in the diary, and 127 Hours was a spur of the moment thing.

There has been a bit of controversy surrounding The Way Back - was the book it was based on really true etc. This is an interesting piece on the whether it is true or not... However I really enjoyed it, although it did feel long - a bit like their walk :-). But again, showing what people can do and will do to survive. Fascinating film viewing.

The Big Sleep

Met up with Julia for lunch and we then went to see 'The Big Sleep' at the BFI. It was great! I'd seen it before, years ago, but was wonderful to watch it again. The dialogue was great - and so fast! I also loved the bloodless shootings - so much nicer than the bloodbaths we get nowadays.

My favourite bit was when they both admit they love each other "I guess its because I'm in love with you". Brilliant :-).

And again - I hadn't been to a movie at the BFI for years. Rediscovering things on your doorstep - great cinema, nice bar and restaurant. Might be going back there methinks!

Finishing the trilogy

On New Year's Day I hauled my slightly sorry carcass to the cinema to see the final film in the Lisbeth Salander trilogy.

I had seen the first two at the cinema so really wanted to make sure I caught the last one as well. I thought 'Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest' was very good. Finished it nicely and didn't mess with the storyline too much. I did feel a sense of completion!

On a related note, Maya bought be a spoof book for Xmas - called 'The Dragon with the Girl Tattoo'... Lisbeth becomes 'Lizbreath Salamander' - it actually looks quite funny!

Cinema-tastic

Been to a couple of good movies recently. First up was Harry Potter 7 - which geekily I went to see on the opening day :-). Fortunately I have my HP geek friend Kevin to go with as well, as I knew that Maya would be working!

I really enjoyed it - thought it was very well done. Didn't feel too long, thought it finished at a good spot (and yes I did get a bit teary), and overall was very well done.

Also went to see Easy A - independent film, weaving in The Scarlet Letter and modern teenage morality. Very good - lots of funny references to teenage movies from the 80s as well. Definitely worth a look.

Next up will be The American, and the final Lisbeth Salander movie - both of which I'm really looking forward to!

The Social Network

I went to see this film - very interesting and very good! If you like West Wing I think you'd enjoy this. I'm not sure how very true to life it is, but it is a timely reminder of what a brief time facebook has been around for, and how very pervasive it has become in (most of our) lives...

How did we get on without it? I've certainly noticed the impact on my blogging as I do most of my social networking through fb... But then a blog isn't about social networking, but I figure that most people follow what I'm doing through fb.

A challenge I continue to struggle with, as I often feel like I'm blogging into a void which no one is reading.

Two very different films...

Recently I've been to see 'Inception' and 'Toy Story 3'. VERY different films, but both great.

Inception is one of those films that you really need to talk to people about - and its always so exciting when you find someone else that has seen it so you can say "What did you think about...?" And almost without fail they have seen something in it that I've missed and vice versa. Just fantastic.

And Toy Story 3 - what a wonderful trilogy. I really hope they stop there. It finished so well - and I'll definitely be buying that box set when it comes out!

Crazy Heart

Went to see this - was very keen as it had both Jeff Bridges and country music. What a great combo!

And it was good - the music was great. Am def going to get the soundtrack. It was a film Mum would have liked - you knew exactly where it was going, but it was still enjoyable watching it unfold. Country singer, alcoholic, meets girl... and thats all I'll say.

The relationship between Jeff and Maggie G wasn't that convincing to me, but that would be my one minor quibble. Still a very good film, and one worth catching. Although probably equally good on DVD...

And a few films...

I've been making more of an effort to get out and see films actually at the cinema - instead of doing my usual waiting until they are out on DVD... So lately I've seen:

• Avatar: I went to see this as I was expecting it to mop up at the Oscars, and I thought I really should go and see it. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would and liked the 3D - although then it didn't win everything at the Oscars!
  
• Invictus: Very good - although Morgan Freeman still sounded like Morgan Freeman... But it did almost make me glad that South Africa won the world cup - almost!
• Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Having just finished the second book in this series I was curious to see how they would adapt the first book. But being a Swedish film as opposed to a Hollywood one, it was pretty close to the book, so some of the scenes were pretty disturbing. Which has meant it has been accused of focusing too much on the violence against women - not sure I agree with that. It was difficult to watch at times, but I've seen as bad in CSI and other horror movies.
• Alice in Wonderland 3D: I enjoyed this. Lots of the reviews have been quite critical, but I just thought it was a good visual adaptation of the story. Didn't really need to see it 3D I don't think, but it was still fun.
  

A cinematic start to the year

Not doing too badly so far for films... Have seen 'Up In The Air' and 'The Road'.

Up In the Air was good - bit of a George Clooney vehicle but not quite the romcom I was expecting so I enjoyed it. Not sure its good enough to be in the Best Film list for the Oscars however...

Saw The Road last week - wow. What a film. Blew me away. I haven't read the book, but absolutely thought the film was fantastic. Felt like I'd been emotionally thumped at the end of it, and would quite like to see the ending again. I think I was so over-wrought by it that I wasn't really taking it all in properly. I definitely needed my tissues for that one...

A wee round up...

Not been enormously busy lately as I've been settling back into the groove of work - aligned with the fact that January is always a quiet month as we get paid earlier in December so that December pay has to stretch out a looonnngg way...

But I did go and see Moctezuma at the British Library a couple of weeks ago. Not sure if that link will work or not as it finishes today so they may move the page... Very good exhibition tho - in the same theme as the Hadrian one I went to - didn't paint the Spanish in a very good light - although I guess they were fairly typical of any conquering sort of nation. Also interesting to see the 'name glyphs' they used, as opposed to the 'hieroglyphs' the Egyptians used...

Also went to see Up In The Air last week - the new George Clooney movie. I didn't know much about it so was expecting a rom com. Doesn't quite fall into that category it has to be said... Enjoyed it tho - wasn't expecting the ending at all.