Mega Film Update

It's been a while since I wrote anything down and I've been going through films at a rapid rate. These are the highlights.

Good Kill

Related to the previous blog about drones, this is a drama starring Ethan Hawke as an airforce pilot relegated to piloting drones and showing signs of the strain.

A slow drama that captures the growing tension between Egan and his colleagues regarding their work, and also with his wife (January Jones), it never quite succeeds, everyone being a little too controlled and unemotional. Not bad, though.

Future Shock - The Story of 2000AD

A documentary on the creation, trials and  success of the best comic Britain ever produced:

This introduces you to figures such as Pat Mills, Andy Diggle, John Wagner, Brian Bolland, Dave Gibbons, Carlos Ezquerra, Carlos Ezquerra and Grant Morrison. Even Neil Gaiman and Karl Urban get a look in. 2000AD affected an entire generation (mine) and, although video games and the internet have lessened it's effect, it still packs a punch.

Spectre

Yet another outing for Mr. Bond. James gets in trouble again when he follows a lead to a mysterious organisation... (yawn). Tell you what, I'll let Honest Trailers explain.

 A nice finale for Daniel Craig, although the plot was meandering. It all looks very nice, stylish an' all, and there's enough special effects, stunts and exotic locations: I think it's just that it's a fantasy and it shows.

Killer Joe

Desperate for money, Chris (Emile Hirsch) plots with his inept and devious family to have his estranged mother murdered by hitman "Killer" Joe Cooper (Matthew McConaughey).

A film version of a stage play, it shows as it's sometimes slow and claustrophobic. The Southern Gothic makes the film too grotesque for my taste, and, although the plot has a few twists and McConaughey does his best, it doesn't really engage. It also puts you off KFC.

The Fantastic Four

 Reed Richards (Miles Teller), after demonstrating his matter transporter with childhood friend Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), gets invited to help perfect a larger version with Sue (Kate Mara) and Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), together with original inventor Viktor von Doom (Toby Kebbell).

A remake of the Marvel film made about ten years ago (probably because Chris Evans is now Captain America), it's basically a teenage version, and a bit rushed at that.  The special effects are good, but the plot seems a bit haphazard. Not bad, but just not that good, as if someone deliberately made a pizza movie.

Happy New Year

Suffering the last of April's storms, I thought I'd sit down and write something at long last. The main reason for the long time in writing is the amount of work and the long drive home, which the roadworks at J30 of the M25 have made even longer.

I've not really been ripping through the movies much, although there are one or two interesting ones. First, Fruitvale Station. On New Years Day, 2010, Oscar Grant (Michael B. Jordan) was shot and killed by a Transit Policeman in San Fransisco, while handcuffed and unarmed. The film depicts the day leading up to his death, as well as showing flash-backs to his earlier life.

Although this is a film worth watching due to it's subject matter, it's not preachy or trying to convey any message other than that of a waste of life, and it does carry you along. The only complaint I have is that the sound quality is bad and it's difficult to follow the conversations. Recommended.

Tomorrowland stars George Clooney as a former child inventor who discovered a parallel, futuristic city.

A strange, confused film that just avoided bombing at the box office, it's difficult to see who it would appeal to. It's too complicated for children and teenagers (where is Tomorrowland, is never successfully answered), and there's too many children in it to appeal to the adults. This is mitigated to some extent by the gobsmacking special effects in the visualisation of Tomorrowland, how everyone in the 1960's thought the 21st Century would look.
There's also been a new series of Bosch on Amazon. Harry Bosch investigates what looks like a gangland shooting:

Slightly less distracted than the first season, Welliver slips back into the role like an old, favourite jacket. Ten hours well spent.