The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow is a very interesting American screenwriter, producer and director. Her best known work to date would probably be the thriller ‘Point Break’ (1991). In her latest movie, ‘The Hurt Locker’, Kathryn Bigelow creates an extremely powerful piece of cinema. Ok, the beginning of the movie comes across like pseudo-documentary American Propaganda, showing us how well the boys are doing in the Middle East, but, about 30 minutes into the movie, it takes an unusual turn. A platoon of elite American soldiers has the dangerous job of disarming bombs in the heat of combat. The platoon acquires a new leader, who is an egotistical and cocksure S.O.B., and he always manages to get the platoon into some very dicey situations. Naturally enough, the tensions are going to mount. The film is an absorbing study into the mystique of war, comparing it to a drug addiction.
Young Victoria
Emily Blunt stars in this English movie as the young Queen Victoria, who ascends to her throne at the age of 18 years. Inexperienced in her role of Queen, the early years of Victoria’s reign become quite turbulent, as various politicians seek her favors and try to influence her decisions. Meanwhile, over in Belgium, Prince Albert, a member of Victoria’s extended German family, is being coerced into seeking Victoria’s hand in marriage. Victoria is not against the idea, but, being a modern monarch, she wants to marry for love and not dynastical purposes. Albert comes to England to court Victoria. The movie is an extravagant example of a British historical costume drama. The sheer ‘pomp’ and ‘circumstances’ of the film will keep you fascinated!
Franklyn
This is one of those ‘arty-farty’ pieces of cinema which could only have been made through the support of the British Film Council. The movie is way too pretentious to be undertaken by a commercial producer. Honestly, I didn’t have a clue what it was about until the end. There are a few narratives going on, including a father searching for his missing son, a man who wants to restart a relationship with an old flame, a neurotic artist who is working on a video project about suicide, and, more bizarrely, a story set in a parallel universe. Here, society is dominated by state religion, and an agnostic hit-man is given the job of assassinating a troublesome religious leader. Yes, it’s all a bit strange, but, it does come together in a very interesting conclusion.
My Bloody Valentine in 3D
I love 3D movies. I love all those corny effects of things flying at you right off the screen. I also love corny ‘slasher’ movies. Love the cheap sets, bad lighting, and the appalling acting from the over-endowed bimbo actresses who usually star in this kind of thing. Put ‘3D’ and ‘slasher’ together and you get an hilarious ‘black’ comedy hit. A serial killer, who was thought dead 10 years ago, comes back to life to wreak terror in a small American mining town. The body count rises at an alarming rate. As this is the movie’s DVD release you won’t get the full optical effects, but, it’s more than enough. You will certainly find yourself ducking the occasional pick axe!
Night At The Museum 2
In 2006 ‘Night At The Museum’ was an unexpected hit. Its whimsical plot, concerning a night-watchman and the order he has to create out of the chaos which comes about when the exhibits at the Museum of Natural History come alive at sunset, apparently caught the imagination of the public. In this sequel Ben Stiller reprises his role of the night-watchman, but, the action has been shifted to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. This allows for a lot more crazy exhibits to become re-animated. Most of the action concerns an ancient despotic Pharaoh who has world domination in mind, and must be stopped at all costs. The exciting stunts and fantastic special effects will provide heaps of entertainment for children and parents alike.
Star Trek. The Future Begins
After the demise of its successful television series, the first ‘Star Trek’ movie appeared in 1979. Since then, there have been at least nine more episodes in this ongoing movie series. However, somewhere along the line, I have lost the plot. I am not quite clear where this movie fits into the general scheme of things. It’s all a bit confusing. I am not sure if this movie is about the children of the crew of the first USS Enterprise, or, if it is the original crew depicted at a much younger age. The Past, the Present, and the Future all get mucked up together. Anyway, there is a rather evil alien spaceship cruising around out there somewhere, with a rather nasty weapon, which must be destroyed. And, again, the exciting stunts and fantastic special effects will provide heaps of entertainment for children and ‘trekkies’ alike.
Wolverine
This is part of a silly movie series I never bought into, so, I have no idea where this movie fits in. It seems to be telling the story of how Hugh Jackman became the ‘Wolverine’. I guess it will mean something to fans of the ‘X-Men’ series, or the readers of the Marvel comic books on which the series is based. Once again, the exciting stunts and fantastic special effects will provide heaps of entertainment for children and ‘mutant freaks’ alike.
