Movie of the Week: Spectre

16th December 2015

Another outing for James Bond which I avoided for several weeks because my cinebuddy, H, saw it with her husband and said the overall volume was WAY TOO LOUD and the whole thing wasn't as good as Skyfall. Eventually, however, it was a slack week for new movies, so we went to see it. (H for the second time.) Glad to say that at Wakefield the overall volume was not too loud, so it must have been a quirk of the cinema H saw it in (Sheffield), however she was right about it being not as good as Skyfall, which i think was the best bond movie in years, largely due to the onscreen chemistry between Bond and M, Daniel Craig and Judy Dench.

Dench's M is still running the show in this one, despite her shoes having been filled by Ralph Fiennes, having given Bond a lead to follow which leads him to someone from his childhood who has long had it in for him. Sadly that required a lot of suspension of disbelief to get past the plot holes and I didn't quite make it, but it delivered the usual Bondish action of chases (car and foot) and ingenious escapes. Q and M actually got some protagging to do, which was interesting. But the villain, supposedly a supervillain, was lacking in general onscreen menace.

Movie of the Week: Star Wars - The Force Awakens

22nd December 2015

At last, the movie we've been waiting for all year. Both H and I managed to avoid pre-movie spoilers and so we saw it fresh. Verdict? Yes, good. I finally feel as though we've reclaimed Star Wars from the dreary prequels. Hard to review this without spoilers, though I guess most people who want to see it will have seen it by now (writing on 7th January), however I will avoid the major ones.

The new characters are pretty good, particularly Rey (Daisy Ridley), the main (female) hero who is strong. gutsy, clued up, and who takes what she's given and runs with it. Finn (john Boyega) is only half a pace behind as a reformed storm trooper who rejects his heritage and training and makes a run for it rather than slaughter innocents. I was a bit ambivalent about Kylo Ren when I saw this the first time round (yes, I've seen it twice already) but on second viewing it's obvious he's a flawed villan and his flaws are what make him dangerous.

The original heroes of Episodes 4, 5 and 6, Luke Leia and Han are all in there, suitably older but still perfectly cast. Leia is no longer a princess, but a general in the resistance and Carrie Fisher is going to bat for all older actresses. I think she pitches it perfectly. Harrison Ford's Han Solo still steals the show, I think, though he doesn't overwhelm it. Mark Hamil, Luke Skywalker is there, but largely being saved for Episode VIII, I think. This movie slices through decades of Star Wars novels and cuts adrift  the Luke/Han/Leia (and their children) storylines post Return of the Jedi, which was inevitable, really.

It's now thirty years on from the defeat of the Galactic Empire in Return of the Jedi, and the good guys (the resistance) are now fighting the First Order, who seem to be the inheritors of the ld Empire, even if they don't quite see themselves in that light. Rae is a scavenger on a backward and back-woods desert planet who finds (or is found by) the little droid BB8 after Poe Dameron (hotshot pilot in the resistance) and Finn crash after escaping from the bad guys. There are hints that Rae has some kind of heritage that's hidden form her and you can read endless speculation about this online if you want to, but it's easier to take her at face value in this movie.

Essentially Episode VII, The Force Awakens, follows all the beats of Episode VI, A New Hope, but this isn't a box ticking exercise, it's a reclamation. Looking forward to Episode VIII and the standalone movie that we've been promised for December 2016.

Movies of the Week 2015 - Roundup.

Well, I guess the new Star Wars movie was the highlight of the year, much anticipated and very much enjoyed. Other that that there were some highlights and some stinkers. Sadly Pan was probably the worst of the stinkers, beautifully filmed, but an afternoon of my life I'd like to reclaim because I couldn't care about any of the characters. Hunger Games Mockingjay 2 suffered from being split into two movies. Perhaps, one day, someone enterprising with re-cut it into the one movie it needed to be. It wasn't a stinker, but it wasn't as good as it could have been. Of the teen dystopian movies I much preferred Insurgent. I've made sure I don't read the books first this time. (However not reading the books couldn't really rescue Maze Runner - Scorch Trials.) Easily forgettable movies included Fantastic Four, Age of Adaline, Spectre, Tomorrowland, Scorch Trials, Victor Frankenstein, Jupiter Ascending (which could have been so much better than it was!), Into the Woods and Cinderella. None of them was awful, but, a bit like eating a chocolate bar - OK at the time, but once the last bite disappears, the memory fades.

The Martian was fabulous, well deserving of all its rave reviews and I hope it gets a look in at the Oscars. It's certainly in my top two of the year. If you didn't see it at the cinema buy the DVD when it comes out.

Extremely enjoyable were Mission Impossible-Rogue Nation; Man from UNCLE, Jurassic World, Avengers-Age of Ultron, Kingsman, Chappie, Insurgent, Second Best Marigold Hotel, Night at the Museum 3 (Yes, really!), Absolutely Anything, and (suprisingly) Ant Man, which I was in two minds about seeing, but I'm really glad I did.

Birdman was fascinating, and I do think it deserved it's Oscar win, but it's not a movie I would want to watch twice.

The animations were all pretty good: Inside Out, Minions, Home and Big Hero 6 all delivered, though at times Inside Out was like watching an animated psychology textbook.

The live cinema broadcast of the National Theatre's Treasure Island probably shouldn't be included in this list because the experience was more like watching theatre than cinema even though it was experienced via the big screen. I enjoyed it very much and will certainly check out all the other live-performance broadcasts in the coming year.

Anyhow, here's what I saw in 2015:

• Star Wars - The Force Awakens


• Spectre


• Victor Frankenstein


• Hunger Games, Mockingjay Part Two


• Pan


• The Martian


• The Scorch Trials (Maze Runner 2)


• Man from UNCLE


• Absolutely Anything


• Fantastic Four


• Mission Impossible - Rogue Nation


• Ant Man


• Inside Out


• Minions


• Jurassic World


• Tomorrowland - A World Beyond


• The Age of Adaline


• Far From the Madding Crowd


• Avengers - Age of Ultron


• Cinderella


• Home


• Insurgent


• Chappie


• Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel


• Big Hero 6


• Jupiter Ascending


• Kingsman: The Secret Service


• Into the Woods


• National Theatre's Treasure Island (Live Broadcast.)


• Birdman


• Night at the Museum 3 - Secret of the Tomb