Monday 25 June 2012

June movie update

Here are the films that Pete and I have received from Lovefilm.com and watched on TV and DVD over the past few months in reverse order, with my ratings out of ten from my movie list on the IMDB.
  
The Artist (2011) 8
I had been saving this and was cautious of watching it due to the hype. It was a new and fresh experience and I liked it a lot. Who would have thought that a silent film could work so well?!
 
Chronicle (2012) 7
It starts out as a comedy-horror about some kids who get special powers, but gets dark pretty quickly. Lots of special effects and poor acting, but I enjoyed it all the same.
   
Men in Black 3 (2012) 7
Watched this as part of my first drive-in movie experience! Lots of silly fun.
 
Watched on the plane and it's too dark for that environment. The whole film seemed to be about finding scary things in rooms of a big house. A bit dull.

The Descendants (2011) 8
Watched on the plane and enjoyed thoroughly. George Cluny is a fine actor.
 
French film about love and war - worth a look if you like classic French cinema.
 
Poor horror film. Hayden Christensen really cant act!

Dream House (2011) 6
A horror beset with lots of production and final cut issues and it shows. Daniel Craig refused to promote it due to the way it was cut as it gives too much away too early. Just didn't work.
 
Confusing and weird German Harry Potter(ish) film. Don't bother!
 
Zodiac (2007) 7
Very good drama based on the true story of a serial killer. The start is very violent and may put some people off.
 
Still a brilliant film - just ignore the sequels.
 
It's not the teen classic I was expecting.
 
Silly Harry Potter wannabe, and surprised that Christopher Ecclestone was so appalling! The young actor who played the lead is all grown up now and has matured nicely.
  
Another Earth (2011) 6
A very strange movie about a second planet Earth drifting towards us. Pete liked it more than I did.
 
* previously viewed

4 comments:

  1. Zodiac is a wonderful movie. I give it 9. Yes, it's violent at the start, but stick with it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Re: The Artist and your question: "Who would have thought that a silent film could work so well?!"

    I'd like to refer you to my review for the answer to that: http://oneexwidow.blogspot.co.uk/search?q=the+artist

    :-p

    ReplyDelete
  3. Everybody reads your blog Andrew and can certainly remember your review!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sorry so hopelessly late in commenting, Stephen. So, to keep it shorter than I usually write:-

    'Artist' & 'Descendants' - yes, agreed. An 8 for each is fair. (Particularly surprised by the latter, which I was preparing myself not to like.)

    'Men in Black 3' and 'Woman in Black' - both 4 at most, though that's stretching it in both cases. (I did jump once during 'Woman'!)

    'Zodiac' - yes, a 7.

    The original 'Planet of the Apes' (an 8+ from me) surely contains one of the very best, most effective and surprising twist-endings in cinema history. When I saw it back in 1968 I can still recall the gasps of astonishment from the audience, among which was my own. I'd spent the previous hour and a half being irritated at the sight of these apes on an alien planet speaking not only English, but with an American accent too. And then it all fell into place oh-so-neatly. (The Pierre Boulle novel, which I only read some years later, does not have the same clear-cut ending. The film is better in that respect.)

    Btw: At the Oscars that year the idea was going the rounds that the award for best make-up would go to '2001: A Space Odyssey', but (or so the story goes) no one could believe that the apes in that film were not real. Anyway, 'Planet' got it. I don't know if the story is true or was just a rumour, but it's an interesting one.

    Wish I'd seen 'Another Earth' but it didn't come to a cinema near me.

    I'll try to be quicker on the uptake with your next review, Stephen. Comments are much more worthwhile when the original blog is still fresh.

    ReplyDelete