Wednesday

There are three things you may have noticed. The first is that I stopped posting for a while and have now started again. The second is that the films I've posted about recently are different to those I usually watch. And the third is that there is a new feature to every post I make called 'Movie News'. This last addition is fairly self-explanatory. I don't want this to be a movie news website, but I thought there might be some readers who'd appreciate the headlines as to what's happening in Hollywood. The first two things I mentioned are related to me spending time with a new girlfriend, and inevitably having to 'compromise' (at least this is what she calls it) on my movie choices. My theory has always been, however, that if you don't watch bad films, you won't know what good ones are. Plus, as I've recently proved, you can find something interesting or surprising even in the worst movies.

Movie News: Iron Man tops the UK and US box office charts; a second movie is already probable.

Tuesday

I was surprised last night by a movie called Prime, starring Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. You may not have even heard of it. I think its cinema release, in 2006, was muted (at least here in the UK). Inevitably it was billed as a 'chick-flick', but once again this categorisation is slightly off. Thurman plays a recently divorced woman in her late 30s who gets involved with a man only twenty-three years old. It sounds awful, I know. But there is an intelligent sensitivity about this film that impressed me. Yes, there is humour, but I wouldn't call this a comedy. Neither is it entirely a romance. It is at times quite mature and realistic in its outlook. It reminded me of the brilliant The Break-Up, or even the great Woody Allen films of the late 1970s. What was missing was a better actor to play the younger man, and a slightly better script. It needed a sharper edge to it, more humour, and less stereotyped characters. Overall, though, this was surprisingly enjoyable.

Movie News: Amy Winehouse may no longer be doing the new Bond theme tune.

Thursday

It is not without a certain amount of apprehension that a man such as myself sits down to see a movie called 27 dresses. Yes, I had seen trailers, and even read a brief review. I knew what I was letting myself in for. Katherine Heigl had been good in Knocked Up, but that was no reason to see every film she made. The film was written and directed by people who had had some success in the past, but nothing I had, or had wanted, to see. So, I sat down not expecting much, and I was right to do so. This is not a good film. But then you didn't really think I was going to say it was, did you? It was, however, fun in the light-hearted, candy-for-the-brain type way that such movies are. I did laugh, and I did get marginally involved with the dilemmas of the characters. Aside from a few original moments, however, the situations were so overworked and the 'I know how this will end' factor so ubiquitous, that I can't imagine the movie having any lasting value, even to those who like this kind of film. So, if your girlfriend wants you to go to the cinema this weekend, this is the best of your options.

Movie News: Cruise set to make fourth Mission: Impossible.