2010 - The Rest Of It: Part 2

Here's the rest of my recent film watching...

Red - It's completely silly but damn good fun. Morgan Freeman was underused, however.

Burke and Hare - Sadly very bland - aside from the curiosity factor of seeing Edinburgh onscreen (and the fact that I saw some of the filming), it's really very forgettable.

Skyline - A superb technology demo and a great display of what can be achieved with a low budget, but otherwise it's pretty much rubbish.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 - Probably the second best film of the series after Prisoner of Azkaban - splitting the book finally allows the filmmakers to actually spend time on the plot rather than rushing through at breakneck pace. I'm looking forward to the finale.

Unstoppable - It's a Tony Scott movie about a runaway train and does exactly what it says on the tin. Enjoyable aside from a couple of cringe-inducingly bad moments.

The American - A very good, but sedately paced drama with great acting and cinematography. Don't go in expecting a fast-paced thriller.

Monsters - A stunning technical achievement considering the non-existent budget, but ultimately it's somewhat lacking in plot. A very long, if pretty, 95 minutes.

The Tourist - An enjoyable if unremarkable romp, albeit one which probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense by the end of the film.

Catfish - An excellent, intriguing and surprising documentary. The fact I knew nothing about it going in made it a vastly better experience. The less you know, the better.

Tron: Legacy - The plot still makes no sense but when a film looks that amazing and has such a fantastic musical score, who cares? I'll be seeing it in IMAX...

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2010 - The Rest Of It: Part 1

So, 2010 is nearly over. And I haven't written a film review since August. Oops.

Anyway, it's obviously too late to catch up properly now so here's a very brief run-through (in two parts) of what I thought of the films I've seen since. As ever I have managed to miss a few big ones, but hey, that's what LoveFilm is for, right?

Knight & Day - Entertaining enough for a couple of hours but otherwise fairly forgettable.

The A-Team - It's dumb, it's fun, and Sharlto Copley (from District 9) steals the show.

The Expendables - Even for an 80's-style action movie, the plot's thin, and it's really rather dull. The much-vaunted cast is actually quite underwhelming when you realise that Willis and Schwarzenegger are there for literally one scene.

The Illusionist - I didn't think the story was particularly interesting or enjoyable, but it's worth seeing for the beautifully animated rendition of Edinburgh alone.

Salt - Nothing particularly original but enjoyable nonetheless. I admit that at the midpoint I was genuinely unsure about where the plot was heading, which was refreshing.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Fantastically entertaining, visually exciting, and flat-out bonkers. It's great!

Winter's Bone - A very good film with some superb performances, but it certainly isn't fun to watch. One to be appreciated rather than enjoyed...

The Town - A highly-entertaining, solidly-made and well-acted heist thriller that proves that Ben Affleck actually is quite talented after all.

The Social Network - Absolutely superb, one of the best films of the year. Fast-paced, intriguing, and fantastically stylish. Not bad considering I thought the film would be a disaster when I first heard of it.

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