Springingtiger's Blog

September has been a good month for Cinema. I’ve seen eight films some I enjoyed more than others but I have always enjoyed the experience. I am not a movie buff, for me the experience of seeing a film in the cinema is as important as the film. In the cinema I am free from distraction, the lights go down and I am in my own world. I prefer to go in the morning when there are fewer people in the theatre, I have my coffee and my popcorn and I am happy. I would prefer it if the volume were a little lower but that’s what ear plugs are for.In the cinema it is possible to be absorbed in the film in a way one can never be when watching the same film on television. And now the films…

The Expendables is an utterly ridiculous film with a fabulous cast. Silvester Stallone both stars and directs a cast of some of the biggest names in action films including Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke supported by a star cast. The film is fast moving and violent with lots of explosions and an amusing cameo by the Governor of California. I loved it. (Gunfire and explosions)

The Last Airbender. I blogged somewhat on my view of this recently (Not The Last Airbender – Reflections on Opinion) . It is a much better film than the media would have you believe. Directed by M. Night Shyamalam the primary characters are young – Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz and Jackson Rathbone with a supporting cast of old hands. It is a fantasy adventure with lots of moral messages. The film is well paced, well acted and the special effects are amazing.

Resident Evil Afterlife. What can I say? It’s a Resident Evil film, Milla Jovovich saves a small group of humans from flesh eating zombies as usual while fighting the evil Umbrella Corporation. Lots of violence and explosions and special effects.

The Runaways. Unfortunately this was hard to watch, the music was loud and there were lots of flashing lights, warning over, it is a great film. I was pleased at how good Kristen Stewart was as Joan Jett – she’s so much more than a wimpy vampire lover! Dakota Fanning made a great Cherie Currie and Michael Shannon was a very obnoxious Kim Foley. The film is based on Cherie Currie’s experiences and I found it thoroughly gripping, the time passed quickly. The 70s a great decade for music!

Scott Pilgrim vs The World I really don’t know what to say about this, if it had a point I didn’t get it. The music was far too loud and there were far too many flashing lights and I’m not at all sure what it was all about. Over and against that the over-the-top acting was fun, the characters were well drawn and Jason Shwartzman makes a great villain.

Salt. This I liked! A fast paced film full of action and spectacular stunts. Angelina Jolie stars as CIA agent Evelyn Salt, Liev Schreiber is excellent as her boss. The plot is full of twists up to the very end, I loved it! (loud gunfire and explosions)

Grownups. This was better than I hoped. It starred some of the big names in US comedy like Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Rob Schneider and Kevin James with Salma Hayek and David Spade. A special mention for Ebony Jo-Ann as Mama Ronzoni, she was hilarious! Apart from a few scenes of mawkish sentimentality this was a funny film, a bit over the top but Adam Sandler directed it so that’s no surprise nor was it inappropriate. I could happily watch this again.

Tamara Drewe. I think this is my film of the month. It does what British comedies do so well – observe characters and their interactions. Gemma Arterton stars as Tamara who is a bit of a cypher the main point of the film is not her but the stories that occur around about her and in relationship to her, she exists in the film largely as a catalyst. It has a great (largely British) cast with Roger Allam as the unpleasantly adulterous Nicholas Hardiment and Tamsin Greig as his long-suffering wife, Beth. Luke Evans plays Andy, a character who could have stepped from a Thomas Hardy novel and amusingly Bill Camp plays the American academic, Glenn who is writing a book on Hardy. Jessica Barden and Charlotte Christie are wonderful as the bored schoolgirls who precipitate events. The film based on a graphic novel by Posy Simmonds is set in Dorset and has links to Hardy’s novels in the names of the characters and a plot that to some extent derives from Far From the Madding Crowd (or is it Return of the Native?). See this film!