May - December 2015 films

2015 was a busy year. I had a baby, bought a new car, spent 3 months in California... and didn't update this blog once between July and December. What I did do, however, was watch a number of movies. Maybe not during the summer, when we were in sunny California and there were sunny, outdoor things to do (and two children to look after 24/7). But when we got back in September I started taking the baby to baby cinema - and found time for myself occasionally to watch a movie or two on TV. However, I totally failed to write about any of them on this blog. So this is my attempt to make up for that...

Now, writing full reviews of movies I saw 4 months ago now seems a little excessive, so I'm going with a list format, and just a simple star rating:

October
Miss You Already - 3.5 stars
Hancock - 3 stars
The Intern - 4 stars
The Martian - 2.5 stars
Having You -3 stars
Warm Bodies -4 stars

November
Stoker - 2.5 stars
Brooklyn - 5 stars
Spectre - 3 stars
The Lady in the Van - 2 stars
The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part 1 - 4 stars
The Hunger Games: The Mockingjay Part 2 - 3 stars

December
The Good Dinosaur - 3 stars
The Bourne Legacy - 2 stars

All of this leads me on to the fact that it is also time (well, it was a month ago) to do my 2015 review. It's unlikely to be as in-depth as previous years, given how well my film blogging has gone this year, but I'll give it a go in the next post...

A Royal Night Out

Thursday 4th June 2015

Director: Julian Jarrold
Year: 2015
Stars: Sarah Gadon, Jack Reynor, Bel Powley, Emily Watson, Rupert Everett

The only film I've seen in the last month (look, I've been, umm, busy, OK?!), I quite enjoyed A Royal Night Out. Admittedly, I probably enjoyed it mostly because I went to baby cinema to watch it. I haven't been to baby cinema since I went with my son about two years ago, and, for the majority of the film, my daughter loved watching the screen. She's 4 months old and already a bigger TV fan than her big brother. Which makes me happy, 'cause I can watch a movie with her!

A Royal Night Out has a fairly simple plot (always a good thing when you're with a baby). It's VE Day, and the then young Princess Elizabeth (now Queen Elizabeth II), wants a night out. She gets what she wants, and all kinds of antics ensure. She and her sister Margaret get lost, separated, end up buses with no money... y'know, all the kind of stuff you'd never do if you were a royal and had somebody looking after you 24/7.

No, it's not complicated - but it is simple and fun. Which I was more than happy with at the time.

Rating: 3 out of 5

The Impossible

Sunday 3rd May 2015

Director: J.A. Bayona
Year: 2012
Stars: Ewan McGregor, Naomi Watts, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Penderghast

Don't watch this film if you're after something cheerful. Whether or not it ends well, it's a difficult movie to watch. It's possibly not the movie we should have picked to watch with our only free evening in some time - but at least it was good.

The Impossible tells the story of a family of five who were on holiday in Thailand when the tsunami hit in 2004. The title is probably something of a clue as to how the movie ends - but it's the journey the family take to get there that the film focuses on.

This probably isn't a movie that could have been made much sooner than it was - in many ways the tsunami and it's after-effects still feel very recent. But it is a well-told, respectful movie, and does do the subject justice.

Rating: 4 out of 5

February 2015 films

As you can see, this monthly review is two months late. However, in some ways, it's right on time. Because do you know how many movies I've watched since 1st March? Zilch. Nada. Zero. Yep, not one. This may have something to do with the arrival of a new baby - not to mention organising a trip to the USA, buying a new car, dealing with an incredibly stroppy toddler...

Anyways, here are the films I did manage to watch in February, when I was sat at home waiting for a baby to arrive and had a lot more spare time than I do now!

• Cuban Fury (2014) - 3 stars
• All Good Things (2010) - 2.5 stars
• The Avengers (2012) - 3 stars
• American Reunion (2012) - 4 stars
• The Raven (2012) - 4stars
• Quartet (2012) - 1 star

Whilst there are a number of average movies in here, Film of the Month and Film not to waste your time on are both fairly easy.

There are two contenders for Film of the Month - American Reunion and The Raven. Both incredibly enjoyable movies in their own way, they are very different, which does make it difficult to pick one over the other. I'd be happy to watch either of them again, but on balance I think The Raven has to be my Film of the Month. I really enjoyed John Cusack's performance here, and I have to admit that generally I prefer a thriller to a comedy - making me more slightly likely to re-watch this and not American Reunion.

Film not to waste your time on is, however, incredibly easy. Quartet involves watching a bunch of actors run around being ridiculous, and pretending that they're doing it for the sake of acting. This isn't acting, it's just idiocy. Boring idiocy at that.

Film of the Month: The Raven
Film not to waste your time on: Quartet

Cuban Fury

Friday 28th February 2015

Director: James Griffiths
Year: 2014
Stars: Nick Frost, Rashida Jones, Chris O'Dowd

I watched this the day before my daughter was born, so forgive me if I didn't pay full attention or can't remember the details (especially as I'm writing this a full two months later).

Cuban Fury tells the story of Bruce Garrett (Frost), a man who used to be a champion salsa dancer as a child but gave it all up due to a bullying incident. Now in his thirties, he's overweight and thinks his new boss, Julia (Jones) is out of his league. Can you guess where this is going? Yep, to a salsa dance floor.

It's not a complicated movie, and I have to admit it didn't have my full attention, but it was quite an enjoyable easy watch. Not a bad choice if you want something easy-going.

Rating: 3 out of 5