A good run

I've had a surprisingly good run with movies of late.

While I'm a TV addict I don't see a lot of movies, owing mainly to the effort involved. Cinema? Too much planning involved. Video? expensive due to my laziness. Internet? Takes too long to arrive and sucks my download limit into oblivion.

My brother manages a video shop across the lane from my place of work. Despite this, and my tendency to visit once or twice a day within said store, I can still manage to leave a new release DVD sitting at home for over a week. If I still had the money given over in late fees, I would be wearing solid gold pants right now.

Most of the movies I end up watching I see through one eye while I'm working nights. This leads me to pick titles I don't want to devote my entire attention to, and leads me to pick a lot of sub-par stuff. It has taught me that movies about two animals fighting each other can be quite good - but only if the animals are genetically modified in some way. It can be surprising when 'Shark versus Crocodile' turns out to involve animals that both conduct electricity, but in a good way.

Despite all this, the last half-a-dozen or so films I've seen have been really good. I intended to write out some full reviews, but my laziness in viewing cinmea must carry over to writing about it as well.

Who knew?

Anyway, here's some quick thoughts on some films I've seen recently and would recommend. Note that my seeing them recently has no bearing on their release date. I again point to my earlier confession, regarding pervasive laziness.

Juno. A fantastic film about a young girl who falls pregnant and decides to give the baby to a couple in need. A descent into overt sweetness is threatened but never comes, with the film balancing touching moments and cutting humour expertly. Michael Cera and Jason Bateman steal every scene they're in. Ellen Page's teenage Juno is sympathetic and hilarous, with the kind of idealised confidence, support and wit that makes it impossible not to identify with/envy her. Highly recommended.

Sweeney Todd. Musical about a murderous barber in ye olde England. A strange as it sounds. Reinforces my opinion that any Burton/Depp collaboration is worth a look. Watched this on a Sunday afternoon while alternatively ironing and sitting next to someone who was ironing. Well suited to that task, but not as entertaining as the trailer suggested. Who knew they could mislead?. Reminded my of Superbad, in that I enjoyed the film, but was out of step with the unadulterated adulation heaped upon it.
Well worth a look.

Shoot 'Em Up. Within the first 15 minutes our hero - Clive Owen - kills a man with a carrot while delivering the line 'always eat your vegetables', delivers a baby mid-shootout and cuts an umbilical cord by firing a gun. At that point you either love it or hate it, and your opinion will not be changed. Hundreds are killed by thousands of bullets in the hope of saving a baby and lactating prostitute. Viewed as a collection of highly choreographed shoot-outs it's great fun. The story is hamstrung in the end when a 'guns are bad' message is introduced, striking a bum note amongst the guilt-free violent excess. A rridiculous film I highly enjoyed. Much fun to be had for the right audience. Tortue for everyone else.

Stardust. Boy meets girl. Girl adopts superior attitude and chooses bastard instead. Boy seeks to win girl's heart by crossing into a fantastical dimension and retreiving a fallen star. A lyrical modern fairytale as only Neil Gaiman can create - the film is based on Gaiman's original story. Weaves quite a few narrative strands together neatly. Buoyed by some excellent performances. Robert DeNiro's turn as an effeminate pirate going undercover as a tough guy nicely underlines the film's playful strangenes, even if his scene adds to the middle a bit. For this nerd, it was refreshing to see a fight between a witch and a swordsmen with a realistic conclusion. The ghostly peanut gallery added a lot. Highly recommended.

Happy Feet. Missed this when it came out as Pixar-lite shovelware has dampened my taste for animated films. Certainly worth the warm reception I distantly remember. Sincere and affecting with a lot of solid gags. Animation was excellent. Impressive for daring to set such a fanciful tale in the real world - complete with human interaction - and pulling it off. The real world is cast in a rose-coloured hue, but that's to be expected. Great use of music. Lots to get depressed about through the middle but it makes the ending sweeter. Well worth watching if you're as out of touch as I.

Se7en. Watched this when it came out twelve years ago but was in the wrong environment and paid no attention. That's a shame as it's an excellent film. Inspired to revisit it by Zodiac, an excellent movie also by director David Fincher. Seven involves the old chestnut of 'murders on a theme' - in this case a man committing seven murders evoking the deadly sins by way of bizarre contraptions and methods. Unlike subsequent, paler films working in the same ballpark - such as the Saw franchise - Seven uses the device as a springboard to greater heights and turns out a dark, moody tale. Excellent performances, particularly from Kevin Spacey. Murders are kept off screen to allow focus on the real meat of the tale - the characters. While never named, the fictional city is felt through every washed-out frame. An oppressive force that sticks with you. It was only after watching that I realised that the feeling in my gut had not been manufactured through gore or jump scares, but through atmosphere and tension. Depressingly rare these days. Well worth watching, as I'm sure you already have.

What about everyone else? Seen any good films lately?