Lately I've seen quite a few films that I'd like to reccommend. Last night Heather and I went to see Batman.
I've never been a huge fan of comic book movies (superman aside), they're always too predictable, too CGI stunt filled and plot light, but I'd read some good things about Batman and we fancied a trip to the cinema. It's the opening weekend so we booked tickets and arrived early to queue. I haven't been to a blockbuster opening weekend film for so long, I remember queuing for an hour to see Jurassic Park, and the sense of anticipation when sitting in a packed cinema is well worth the wait.
I haven't seen Batman Begins because it didn't appeal so I don't know how the two tie together but my verdict on The Dark Night is - great. Go see it.
I was blown away - it's complex, believeable, full of great (non cheesy) dialouge and one particular breathtaking stunt which had the whole audience gasping. A lot has been written about the late Heath Ledger and it's all true. He steals the shoe and is mesmerising, just like Daniel Day Lewis in there will be blood. He comes accross as amoral, psychotic in a scary, but compulsivly fascinating way. See clip below for an example.
It's dark, brooding and wonderful. I could watch it again right now, and there aren't many movies I would say that about.
Last week I saw KNOCKED UP.
Not as good as Juno but very funny and enjoyable.
The week before that I saw another film which really stands out - CLOVERFIELD. The trailer is possibly one of the best ever made and the film was gripping from start to finish. Shot completely from a hand held camera it captures the sense of fear, terror and confusion of a group of friends in New York fleeing from a disaster/emergency and trying to find a separated friend. What really impressed me was the clever way the plot developed, through clever dialogue - very difficult to do when it all comes from one camera.
Its from the creator of LOST, which I'm also a big fan of and his creativity is evident throughout. I'm about to watch War Of The Worlds now which I don't expect to be impressed with but who knows.
The word on the street is that it's a very long and quite dull film. But then again, the word on the street goes to see Norbit. De Niro's painstakingly methodical manner is often described like that of a brick layer. He patiently builds his wall piece by piece, and you the finishing block can't be in place until the others are. As a director, The Good Shepherd typifies this.
Matt Damon brilliantly plays a grey and serious Edward Wilson, who while at Yale joins the exclusive Skull and Bones fraternity and is recruited to the OSS. A week before he is posted overseas Wilson is forced to marry a girl he's only just met (Angelina Jolie) in a shotgun union. He learns of the birth of his son and his subsequent five years over a crackling line in war-torn Europe.