Movies that I've seen recently
Recently I've been going to the cinema again...aside from the initial surge of annoyance at having to pay almost £10 for a ticket in central London, once the film starts I have to say there is still something special about watching a film on a big screen.
So what did I see?
'Down In The Valley' which was a little long and very evocative of 'Taxi driver' in particular but it made fine use of its location and the performance of Edward Norton as expected was good and held the picture together.
'X-Men 3' was as expected loud, noisy and special effects driven but ultimately rather disappointing and emotionally empty. I blame this in part to Bryan Singer's defection to a superhero from a rival comic book publishing house more about that later in the summer. I enjoyed the first two X-Men movies but this one just didn't let you care particulary about the characters.
'36 Quai des Orfevres' a French film that was actually made in 2004 and a Cop drama that is already going to be remade by Hollywood at some point. The influence of Michael Mann's 'Heat' from 1995 is very evident here in terms of the look of the film and the dynamic of having two strong chacters butting heads especially since you have two of France's biggest male leads in Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu in the roles. It was well made but not as great as I had hoped if anything it made me think about watching 'Heat' again.
As a side note I saw this film at the Institut Francais in South Kensington and it was a good cinema and a nice change not to be in a multiplex cinema. There were no cupholders here, it seems they show not just new releases but also French classics so I now have a new venue to go to every and then in the future.
So what did I see?
'Down In The Valley' which was a little long and very evocative of 'Taxi driver' in particular but it made fine use of its location and the performance of Edward Norton as expected was good and held the picture together.
'X-Men 3' was as expected loud, noisy and special effects driven but ultimately rather disappointing and emotionally empty. I blame this in part to Bryan Singer's defection to a superhero from a rival comic book publishing house more about that later in the summer. I enjoyed the first two X-Men movies but this one just didn't let you care particulary about the characters.
'36 Quai des Orfevres' a French film that was actually made in 2004 and a Cop drama that is already going to be remade by Hollywood at some point. The influence of Michael Mann's 'Heat' from 1995 is very evident here in terms of the look of the film and the dynamic of having two strong chacters butting heads especially since you have two of France's biggest male leads in Daniel Auteuil and Gerard Depardieu in the roles. It was well made but not as great as I had hoped if anything it made me think about watching 'Heat' again.
As a side note I saw this film at the Institut Francais in South Kensington and it was a good cinema and a nice change not to be in a multiplex cinema. There were no cupholders here, it seems they show not just new releases but also French classics so I now have a new venue to go to every and then in the future.
posted by fb at
1:37 PM
7 Comments:
I've seen none lately(outside of the house, that is)...I fell asleep while watching Meet the Fockers on the couch ast night. Doesn't count. I am off to watch some episodes of Nip/Tuck now.
plus, the music in x-men 2 was way better. *sigh*
I'm catching up on x-men 1 & 2 so I can go see 3 in the theaters. I know...bad me :)
I agree about X-Men 3, I was so disappointed! I'd been waiting for it to come out, let's just hope Bryan Singer justifies his defection with Superman.
I finally got a chance to see The Constant Gardener last week, and was really blown away by it.
Yeah, shame about B Singer not directing this one. I'm sure it would have been marginally better.
I haven't seen may foreign films... maybe when I move to the city, we could arrange to meet up to see some?
well, i am glad read this so i will lower my expectation level to -2 re: XIII. I had no idea about the IF in Kensington. will have to go there.
Glad to hear that you enjoyed 36. I wanted to see it last weekend, but wussed out (ie. slobbed out). I did see Thank You For Smoking and it was pretty great.
Next time you are in la-de-da Chelsea we'll have to check out United 93. :)
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home