Weekend Visit to the Cinema

At the weekend we went to the cinema see X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I'd been looking forward to the film for quite a while and I wasn't disappointed, although I know the film hasn't been universally well received.

In its hour and three quarters running time the film covers a lot of ground - from Wolverine's childhood through to present day and his battles with various mutant assasins.

Along the way, we are introduced to a number of familiar characters from X-Men history: Cyclops, Gambit, Deadpool, Professor Xavier, Blob, Emma Frost ... and I'd like to see some of these characters origins explored further in future films.

I thoroughly enjoyed the film - it had a good story that was well paced, a good mix of action-packed and light-hearted moments and I don't think there was a bad performance from any of the cast - it left me wanting more: surely a good thing when it comes to films.

In some quarters the film has taken a bit of a knock - one commentator that I respect even said that he was 'embarrassed that was the best they could do' - but I can't help but feel that these people just have too high expectations. It must be a thankless task creating a film from a book or character that people really love, as is certainly the case with Wolverine, and perhaps try as the creators will such people will never be satisfied (and I don't mean that to sound a criticism of either party you understand).

I would say that maybe the film makers tried to cover too much material in the hundred or so minutes - or put another way, I'd have been happy for the film to run to another 30 mintues or so.

Would I recommend the film? I certainly would - in fact I'd like to go and see it again.

Film Review: Eagle Eye

Over the weekend I finally caught up with the film Eagle Eye - featuring Shia LaBeouf, Michelle Monaghan and Billy Bob Thornton. I first saw the trailer late last summer but for some reason missed the film when it came to my local cinema.

For those that haven't seen the film the story focuses on two characters Jerry Shaw (LaBeouf) and Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) - strangers who are thrown together and forced to follow instructions from a mysterious female voice on the telephone. Their journey eventually takes them to the Pentagon, pursued by agents of the FBI led by Billy Bob Thornton.

Whether the two lead characters are travelling by train, fleeing the authorities by car or planning to disobey their instructions the female voice on the phone seems to be one step ahead of them.

I'm not giving too much away when I say that the core theme of this film is 'big brother
is watching us' - monitoring our calls, tracking our whereabouts from our mobile phone signal, reading our emails and so on.

I felt there were good performances from LaBeouf, Monaghan, Thornton and the supporting cast and that the dialogue was generally ok but overall the storyline left me unsatisfied.

I'm a big fan of conspiracy stories and have to say there have been a number of films
released over the years that I think are better - Enemy of the State, Conspiracy Theory, Mercury Rising ...

Disappointing.

Taken

Over the weekend we watched the film 'Taken' on Sky Box Office. I'd seen the trailers and thought it looked pretty good - no more than that - but I have to say I thought it was superb.

Without spoiling the film for you Liam Neeson plays Brian - a guy who's trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughter who he feels he's let down over the years that he was working away from home in his role as a Secret Service agent. When his daughter - Kim - is kidnapped he has to use all of his skills to track her down and rescue her.

For me, this is the film that the 2004 Punisher should have been (and, don't get me wrong, I liked the Punisher) - the lead character is fundamentally a good guy but someone's messed with his family ... so he's going to mess with them. The European location gives the film the feel of one of the Bourne films, with a nod to the Death Wish series.

I won't say any more - watch it on Sky Box Office or pick up the DVD, let me know what you think.

Iron Man 2 Just Got Better!

I've just read on CBR* that Scarlett Johansson has signed on to play Natasha Romanova - The Black Widow - in Iron Man 2.

What a combination - one of my favourite actresses and one of my favourite Marvel characters.

Directed again by Jon Favreau, Iron Man 2 has a release date of May 7, 2010.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

I'm really enjoying all things X-Men at the moment - as I've said previously one of the best titles I've read in recent months was the Jean Grey Origins title and I've just picked up a copy of Brian K. Vaughan's now out-of-print Mystique 'Drop Dead Gorgeous' trade.

Continuing the 'Origins' theme is the forthcoming X-Men Origins: Wolverine film due for release in May and from the look of this trailer it will be worth waiting for.