Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)
I suppose with 'impossible' in the title I'm not supposed to believe any of the stunts/gadgets etc. in this film are even remotely possible, which they aren't. But the ride was enjoyable enough to take me along with it - just about. Incidentally, got more laughs from me than This Means War (2012) a few weeks ago...
The Bourne Legacy (2012)
Anyone who's listened to Mark Kermode review this film may have as difficult a time as I did watching it, as all I could hear throughout the film was his voice in the back of my head: 'It's NOT A BOURNE FILM!'
Agnosia (2010)
So strange that I should watch this film in a week when I'm reading a book about the history of the fairy tale (especially when you consider it has been one of my LoveFilm DVDs that has been sat by my TV for the last month or so), as it is so similar to so many of the stories and themes that inherent to that genre.
Marketed as similar to Pan's Labyrinth (2006) the fairy tale themes in the narrative and Spanish period setting are about as far as the comparisons can go. But from an early shot of Joana as a young girl holding black balloons at the end of a jetty with the sun breaking behind her shows that this film is going to be beautifully shot.
As well as the fairy tale influence, however, there was also an evocation of the Godfather (especially Parts 2 & 3). Maybe it was the slight sepia tones in some shots, or the fact that the two male leads had a slight look of De Niro as Vito Corleone about them (it was probably the moustache). Add to this the final climatic scene, which tales place on a a seemingly endless set of church steps, which created an air of deja vu (we all remember the end of the Godfather Part 3, right?) and you just get the sense that this particular fairy tale is not going to end well.
Hansel and Gretel (2007)
Deciding to keep up the fairy tale theme, I finally got round to watching this which I've had on my Sky box since Film4's Firghtfest season last year. A Korean take on the fairy tale that we're all familiar with, it's classed as a horror, but I found it nowhere near as unnerving as many of the East Asian horror films that I've seen in the past - especially those involving children. Having said this, it didn't take anything away from the film at all. While veering from the usual Hansel and Gretel narrative somewhat - direct links include the 'candy' house, in this instance where it seems to be perpetual Christmas, references to losing your way in the woods and using bread crumbs to find your way back next time, and the burning of a 'witch' in the oven - the tradition fairy tale themes are all there in abundance: the supernatural other, not always to be trusted and definitely never crossed, childhood versus the adult world, wish fulfilment, etc. One to get on DVD for repeat veiwings methinks.
Unknown (2011)
Just a general run of the mill action/thriller film. Liam Neeson is always watchable, and although the 'twist', so to speak, was easily decipherable from early on, it still took me long enough to work out how it all fitted together to hold my attention until about 3/4 of the way through.
Grabbers (2012)
Simple premise really: what would they do on a small Irish island if there was an alien monster trying to suck the blood of the inhabitants? Have a pub lock in and get bladdered of course! Ok, that's reducing the plot to the bare minimum - the getting drunk part does actually make sense as far as the plot is concerned, and leads to one hilarious situation after another (super-soaker filled with petrol as a flame-thrower anyone?). All future makers of small scale alien invasion movies take note: let your characters get drunk, it will be so much more fun to watch!
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