Week 3 of 52 - the great movie experiment continues!

This week was a curious mix of comedy, superhero movies, animation and Foreign gems.  It's almost become routine to watch a movie a day now, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it.  Remember to click follow while you're here and get updates when they're ready.  Some great recommendations this week, check it out.

January 15th - X-Men

Long before Batman Begins, Spiderman or Iron Man came along, there was Bryan Singer's X-Men.  This was before Comic book movies had built in mass audiences, and Batman & Robin had seemingly killed off any desire of the movie going public to see them again any time soon.  An unknown Aussie was cast as the iconic Wolverine, Shakespearean Thesps such as Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart were cast as Magneto and Professor X.  The trailers slowly came out, and anticipation started to build.  This could be the real deal.  A $50 million dollar opening weekend later, and suddenly Superhero movies were cool again.  This was no over the top, colourful kids movie.  X Men was dark, dealt with the holocaust and themes of acceptance.  It was a comic book movie made for adults, with the merchandising and toylines an afterthought instead of a priority.  A standout movie at the time, it's still an entertaining flick.  But the bar has been raised since and it may not be quite as good as you remember.  It seems to me that just as it was getting started, the movie ended.  X2 picks up beautifully and is clearly a superior movie (will make it my movie of the day soon), but there is no doubt of the important role that the original X-Men movie played.

7/10

January 16th - The Inbetweeners Movie

I've never been into The Inbetweeners.  I caught one or two episodes and it always seemed to me to be trying too hard to be shocking and disgusting.  Maybe I was just unlucky.  There's always a time for disgusting humour, hell the Farrelly Brothers have made a career out of it.  But the episodes I saw were just cringeworthy and not particularly funny.  That being said, I caught the trailer to this a few weeks ago and wondered if you would have needed to be a fan to enjoy it.  It turns out, you could come to this as a newbie like me and still enjoy it.  The plot is the simplest in the world.  Four friends from school all go off on a lads holiday in search of 'clunge' (that's women to you and me).  And that's pretty much it.  But it's always about the characters, and although The Inbetweeners are all cliched characters (thick one who's good with ladies, bragger who isn't, geek and the one who always wants to have a girlfriend), it's their friendship that comes across as genuine.  It's a rites of passage movie, an American Pie for the Brits.  And it's also disgusting and funny in equal measures.  It doesn't always work, but if you don't laugh at the Headmaster's speech as the start, then I'm afraid you're a little dead inside.

7/10

January 17th - Jumper

An original superhero movie, not based on an existing comic book, but based on a book and adapted by one of the writers of X-Men 2?  Where do I sign?  Unfortunately, this is a movie where the ideas are fantastic, some of them are well executed, but it all just feels so underwhelming and undercooked.  Hayden Christensen is actually on good form here (calm down Star Wars geeks, he's not that bad an actor!) as the cocky Jumper of the title.  All he has to do is picture a place, and boom, he's there.  Some of the imagery is fantastic, from standing on the clock hands of Big Ben to lunching on the top of The Sphinx.  The only regret he's ever had is an unfulfilled crush from his childhood (isn't there always a girl?), so he goes off in search of her.  At the same time, there are agents who are out to punish those who have this ability, citing that 'only god should have the power to be everywhere at once'.  It's almost as if that line was written specifically for Samuel L. Jackson, as he chews the scenery as one of those agents.  There are a couple of good action sequences, and the discovery of another Jumper who's played by Billy Elliot.  There are hints at a bigger war and also mysterious family ties to this ability.  But again, like X-Men, it seems to end just as it's getting going.  The movie is only 85 minutes long, and you can't help but feel that another half hour of this would improve the movie dramatically.  Well, that, or a sequel.

6/10

January 18th - Hot Shots Part Deux

Remember when Charlie Sheen was more known for being a movie star, with a range from dramatic to comedic, and not just a cheap punchline on Twitter?  Don't get me wrong, I like many others, watched on intrigued by his very public meltdown.  But here is a reminder of why he was once a highly bankable actor.  Admittedly, Hot Shots Part Deux hasn't aged that well.  The last time I watched it was years ago, and I remember it being side splittingly funny.  And while that isn't the case anymore, there is still some fun to be had here, especially with Lloyd Bridges President Tug Benson.  For similar movies I'd probably go with the Naked Gun movies now.  Altogether now - 'I loved you in Wall Street!'

6/10

January 19th - Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

How's that for a movie title?  I first came across this movie as it was heavily advertised in DC Comics for the last few weeks.  Being a creature of impulse I saw it was £6.99 on Amazon for the blu ray and just ordered it.  So glad that I did.  This is part of the Cine Asia label, that is collecting the works of Jackie Chan, Donnie Yen, Jet Li amongst others, and giving them a bit of spit and polish for Western blu ray audiences.  These are unfortunately not movies that you will see inheriting your local multiplex.  And that is such a shame as there is more inventiveness, innovation and breathtaking beauty in these movies than 95% of Hollywood's output.  Detective Dee is set in 9th Century China, as they are about to inaugurate their first Empress.  A series of murders start to occur, and even though he has been imprisoned for 8 years, there is no-one better than Detective Dee to investigate the case.  Think of Sherlock Holmes meets Bruce Lee and you're almost there.  The action is superb, the cinematography exquisite and it is funny as well.  Highly recommended.  Brilliantly bonkers filmmaking and the standout movie of the week.

9/10

January 20th - Batman: Year One

This is an odd title to review.  The graphic novel by Frank Miller is iconic, and this sticks very closely to it.  The animation is very good, and Bryan Cranston is perfect for Lieutenant James Gordon.  But it just doesn't quite work.  For one, having Ryan from The OC voicing Bruce Wayne / Batman is such an idiotic choice it's not even funny.  And it all just feels so unnecessary.  Batman Begins took a lot of inspiration from the graphic novel, and as a movie interpretation of the beginnings of The Dark Knight, Nolan's movie is pretty much the benchmark.  Batman: Year One covers the first year of Batman, as Bruce Wayne returns from over 15 years in exile.  In the comics, having the time and date jump around is pretty standard.  In a movie, it's pretty jarring and some scenes are mere seconds long.  As I say, it's a pretty faithful adaptation.  But what works in comics, doesn't always translate well to the screen.  Buy the graphic novel instead.

6/10

January 21st - Horrible Bosses

I actually caught this at the cinema.  At the time, I was really looking forward to it being a fan of Jason Bateman, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell.  I'll admit, I was pretty underwhelmed.  There were bits and pieces that were funny but it just wasn't as good as I expected.  So I approached a repeat viewing with a bit more caution.  And although it wasn't amazing, it certainly held up.  The story is basically three guys who would like to kill their bosses but don't want to spend 25 to life in jail.  So they trade murders and go about trying to make them look like accidents.  As I say, there is some fun to be had with the movie, but in places it feels like a missed opportunity.  It needed more of Colin Farrell's scumbag boss, more of 'Motherfucka' Jones and maybe a bit less of trying to show everyone Rachel from Friends swearing and talking dirty.  This is funny to a point, but I think they take it a bit far as it was probably their best marketing tool.  As I say, above average but there are certainly better comedies out there.

6/10 

And there you have it, week 3 done and dusted.  Next week I have Shame, They Live and Woochi: The Demon Slayer (another from my new favourite label Cine Asia) lined up.  May finally get round to watching Warrior as well!  As I say, remember to click follow and I'll see you here next week!

Until next time...........