Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Having purchased this on DVD for my son last Christmas (Dec 2016), this is the first time I have watched the film - my son hadn't even taken off the cellophane wrapped around it! That tells me what he thinks of it. He's more of a Marvel fan and thinks DC have gone off the track with their film adaptations. I started watching this film with a great deal of scepticism. However, the film I watched had some good qualities. I liked the Batman suit and gadgets (like his car and plane), especially the heavy lead alloy suit he wears when fighting Superman. I liked the female senator who attempts to bring everyone to Capital Hill to tell the truth.
I didn't like Batman's butler Alfred at all, I didn't enjoy Ben Affleck as Bruce Wayne/Batman. I found it hard to accept the motivation for Bruce Wayne to fight Superman. The fight scene is good however and mitigates my disbelief while it lasts, although it doesn't last long enough. You could get away watching the special feature for 10 minutes rather than the whole film if that's what interests you.
I like the Wonder Woman character played by Gal Gadot.
Better than I expected but still largely silly.

Dark Feed (2013)

I watched this film this week and was less than impressed. It took a long time to get to the point and when it did reach the climax, there were no surprises. Standard fair here, setting the making of a horror film in an old mental hospital. Seen it many times before and done better, the acting was below par with absolutely no characterisation. I just didn't care for anyone who played a part in the movie - either in the crew or cast. There are no redeeming qualities that make me like this film.

Inferno (2016)

The latest in the trilogy of the Dan Brown film adaptations, I watched this the next evening after Angels and Demons. It is the least likeable of the three films and pushes even more at the limits of plausibility than the other two. As such it will seem more ridiculous to sceptical audiences. I'd only recommend to fans invested in the character of Robert Langdon, of which I consider myself. I am less harsh about the film as others might be because of this, I do recognise the silliness of it all though. This film concerns a billionaire who believes that the planet is over-populated and needs an extreme extinction event to save humanity from its own destruction. So Robert Langdon and the WHO have to prevent a weapon of extreme biological terror from being released in Istanbul.

Angels and Demons (2009)

After seeing the Da Vinci Code film, the following evening we watched the sequel called Angels and Demons. The sequel also features Robert Langdon as the main character. The first film was about the search for the Holy Grail. This film is about stopping the release of an anti-matter bomb. It has a faster pace than the first film and is also more of a typical thriller film. It is an enjoyable ride, if also implausible and silly at times. I enjoyed it and anyone who liked the first film would probably like this also.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

I watched this film for the first time last week. I must admit it was more captivating that I thought it was going to be. Most people I know who have started to read the book have just given up. That may say more about the writer though, Ron Howard directed this film and I think he is a safe pair of hands generally in films. Tom Hanks plays the main character Robert Langdon, an academic from Harvard University who is a professor in religious symbology and iconography. It is nice to have a hero who is academic rather than one who shoots guns and kills people. I must admit though, Tom hanks with long hair is hard to get used to. The film is long but it is quite good overall, the score by Hans Zimmer is worth mentioning in the way it plays on you.

Hannah (2011)

This film was probably the last one I watched in 2017. It was better than I thought it might be, I didn't know of the film and wasn't expecting to be impressed. I was impressed however. The suspense was good and the story was better than the usual fair for a thriller. Hannah is the daughter of a CIA operative who has gone dark somewhere in the wilds of Finland. He brings her up, teaching her self defence and more. There is a secret though. He leaves her to decide whether she wants to stay in the wild and be self supporting or whether to go into society and live in the city. She decides the latter but things aren't as simple as that. He can't return in plain sight as he would be identified and the CIA would be after him. They agree to separate and meet in Berlin. Well, Cate Blanchett plays a good character and she plays a baddie well. A good film for lovers of thrillers and suspense.

Happy New Year

I hope you have a fantastic and utterly brilliant 2018! My Christmas was short and not so great - I was stricken with cold/flu and so was the rest of my family. So a lot of the week was spent feeling ill and lying down or not feeling up to going out or seeing people. Not the greatest, at least I can say I didn't do much and mean it. I did see a few old films at The Rex cinema in Berkamsted. I saw Die Hard, It's A Wonderful Life and Pretty Woman. I enjoyed them, even Pretty Woman, I think it is better on a bigger screen than on the TV at home. Not on my favourite films list though. I'm looking forward to watching lots of films again in 2018.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

I took my son to go and see this film, he said he enjoyed it a lot. I was not so sure I enjoyed it. I like the fact that there is a strong female lead character but as a film in its own right I just felt that something was missing. It felt too formulaic and unoriginal to me. A battle between Rey and Kylo Ren seems ends with a rebellion battle cruiser splitting the master Imperial star destroyer in two and in a later scene Rey appears in the Millenium Falcon with no explanation of how she got there. I was also confused by not really knowing the backstory of Supreme Leader Snoke or not having it explained - my son says he appeared as a hologram in The Phantom Menace, a fact I had fogotten. So, overall there was plenty of action in the film but not much of it was new. I also don't really enjoy the character of the pilot Poe Dameron - he had potential to be a good character with a touch of the Han Solo hustler about him but he is played too straight for my liking.