currently on at the 'pictures':

[stevezodiac]

I'm also going to see Twelve Angry Men at the Garrick on the 25th. Starring Robert Vaughn and Martin Shaw. Solo and Doyle!

[stevezodiac]

Enjoyed Gravity a lot. Have left the cinema in the past feeling indifferent but not this time. Would happily watch it again straight away. I thought George Clooney was wrongly cast, though. He's too lightweight for this sort of thing (but as they are in orbit I suppose he would weigh nothing). I saw the 2D version and suppose the 3D version would be stupendous.

[Peter Gray]

-eally enjoyed Hobbit 2 lots of fun and the dragon was impressive in the gold...
the barrels and Legolas was very funny...

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

yes Peter the Hobbit was pretty good----great fantasy stuff---well worth a look.

**** [4-and-a-half out of 5]

[colcool007]

Just been to see the latest remake. Robocop. As a big fan of the original movie, I was loathe to go and see this, but the small annoying one had been squawking to see this. So I thought what the hey.

The premise stayed the same, police officer gets horrifically injured in the line of duty and Omnicorp patches him up so that they can push their product into the US Law Enforcement market. So no big differences in the plot line.

But can I say it is a slavish remake? No, I can't as José Padilha puts his own stamp on the movie. And the CGI does make the original effects look poor.

Overall, a movie that is worth seeing in the cinema as it does look beautiful on the big screen, especially the part with Robocop vs 50 robots that are out to take him down.

It is never going to win Best Picture at the Oscars, but it does romp through and it does not feel like it is coming in at 108 mins. Best performance is Michael Keaton's by a mile.

4/5 from me as it looks good, it's enjoyable, made me laugh in a few good spots and didn't make me feel like slitting my wrists was preferable to watching it.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Thanks for your input, O great Col.

I saw this too--twice-----and the violence is indeed watered down from the 1987 original, however it's still pretty inventive: the scenes where the human victim is confronted with the extent of his organic damage is harrowing and unforgettable.

The Robocop character is even more Dredd-like than ever before, thanks to the scenes where he is driving his souped-up motorbike, the satire of modern society and obsession with TV formatting/the Media is still pretty good if not quite as cutting-edge as we got in 1987.

This outing is 'Robo-Lite' in my view but still a rattlingly good sci-fi yarn:

4/5 from me too!

[philcom55]

The LEGO Movie

Don't be put off by the fact that it's, well, a movie about Lego, or by having to sit in a theatre packed with screaming kids on their half-term holiday - this really is a brilliantly inventive romp that should appeal to adults and children alike in the same way that the Toy Story films did. Besides which it features the funniest version of Batman this side of Adam West!

Now if I can just stop myself from humming 'Everything is Osssuummmm!!!' all the time...!

- Phil Rushtuummmm!

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

CAPTAIN AMERICA: The Winter Soldier *****


official trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SlILk2WMTI

My local Kinema kindly re-run the first outing t'other night, and I went back for a repeat viewing to refresh the old memory cells [it's still pretty good] and so I was well tuned for the follow-up the following night.

The first story was mostly set in the 40s of course, with the Cap entering hypersleep to awake 70 years later in our own time, and this continuation changes gear considerably, it's basically that old Warhorse idea of our hero being persued by all and sundry for crimes he did not commit.

Despite nothing all that original on offering here, the execution of the exhilirating special effects grafted onto a pounding, ever-driving-forward , fluid screenplay reaps considerable dividends, with much excitement and imaginative mayhem almost bursting through the screen, and so elaborately mounted are the chase scenes and guilt-free carnage that the viewer cannot fail to be amused.

Scarlett Johansenn is perhaps starting to show her age a little but she is still eminently watchable, if you get my drift.

Much of the imagery is easily on par with the comic-book equivalent, if that grabs ya.


Easily the finest 'Superhero' offering of recent times, with much other servings proving to be a little lame in my view: this one manages to keep you on your toes, with muchos action peeking around every celulloid corner.



Most satisfactory: I'll be back to see this again....twice.

MUST SEE [5/5]

[philcom55]

...Scarlett Johansenn is perhaps starting to show her age a little but she is still eminently watchable, if you get my drift.

...And none the worse for that imho!

In fact I was quite impressed by the number of high octane female roles in this film - not least a brief sequence in which Jenny Agutter gets to do a surprisingly effective impression of Emma Peel!

I agree with Rab - this one's a winner!

(Incidentally, I think I'm finally getting won over by Joss Whedon's TV version of SHIELD as well. Did anybody else notice the fleeting reference to a fallen agent called 'Bucky' in the last episode?)

- Phil Rushton

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

'fraid not, Phil, but I am glad you liked the big screen outing---I was unable to spot Stan Lee this time, but I'll look out for him next time.

I still haven't got the first CAPTAIN AMERICA or AVENGERS ASSEMBLE on blu-ray, as the costs are still steep [unlike most other studios' DVD/blu output, which drop in price considerably even after a few months]---almost 2 years on, these admittedly excellent films are still very expensive for fans to buy.

I also heard that IRON MAN 3 was the most successful film of last year, earning a Billion Dollars: so whatever one makes of declining comics sales, lots of hard coin is clearly being generated through the big screen/DVD sales, etc.

[philcom55]

Stan was the security guard at the Smithsonian who discovered that Cap's WW2 uniform had gone missing.

- Phil R.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Thanks, Phil!

Sometimes I recognize him, sometimes I don't---it's a great running gag, though.

[starscape]

Wow, I wasn't even that impressed with Iron Man 3 (except the Manadarin revealing himself - if you know what I mean).

If only we could get Spidey and the X-Men into the Marvel films stable...

[philcom55]

Yes, I felt that all the SFX pyrotechnics at the end of Iron Man 3 just went over the top and became repetitive. The Winter Soldier goes down the same road but - imho - does it right!

I also liked the Sterankoesque graphics that accompanied the closing titles.

- Phil R.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I liked the Jenny Agutter 'morph'!

[see the film to see what I mean.......]