What I Watched Last Week (22nd-28th April)

Contagion
This makes for some interesting viewing. Whilst it has an amazing cast (Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Damon and Jude Law just to name a few) this definitely isn't a character led film, instead with the focus most definitely on the disease. Whilst you may think this would make the film disengaging I found that the fact that the characters were basically numbers waiting to be eliminated made for some tense viewing. Marion Cotillard is criminally underused in a script that basically abandons her half way through until the end but Matt Damon's storyline with his daughter brought a sense of humanity to what otherwise could've alienated viewers from what is a VERY brave film... It is rare to see one of the biggest actresses in Hollywood killed off in the first 10 minutes!
4/5

Iron Man 3
What a great start to the summer blockbuster season! This film took the franchise in a much darker direction than the previous two films with terrorism and anxiety attacks at the forefront of the storyline, a move that definitely paid off by rescuing the series from the dregs of Iron Man 2. Full cinema review to follow.
4.5/5

What I Watched Last Week (15th-21st April)

Silver Linings Playbook
One of my favourite films of last year with good reason. Whilst it was labelled as a rom-com in its advertising campaign, it's so much more than that - a romantic dramedy about mental illness may be a halfway decent way of describing it. The acting is where this film really excels, Bradley Cooper was a revelation as Pat (The Hangover may have been his breakout role but this is the role where he really proved himself as a serious, talented actor) and Jennifer Lawrence was magnificent, as ever. For some the slight turn to schmaltz in the last 30 mins may put them off but I think it was necessary for the romantic element of the film and shouldn't deter anyone from watching this heart-warming film.
5/5

Looper
This is a VERY different film from the one I was expecting. When I first heard about it I was expecting something along the lines of The Terminator but instead what we have here is a very talky B-movie which spends the whole first hour giving you just about every little detail before a brilliant last 45 minutes or so after Emily Blunt's character is introduced. Whilst I understand that in order to fully explain the whole time travel concept and flesh out back story, I felt like the first hour just dragged on a little bit until it got to the real action at the farm. The real surprise for me in this film was just how sinister the little boy is - from being a sweet little kid minute to (literally) exploding with rage the next - I found him to be genuinely terrifying! I also thought it was very slickly edited, flashing from one time to another with ease and sometimes redoing events without confusing the viewers. This film has a very good concept, if it was just a little bit less talky it would've been great... Maybe it will grow on me after a second viewing like other sci-fi films of this ilk have before.
3/5

Argo
I can definitely see what all the fuss was about at this year's awards season, I just can't believe it's taken me this long to get round to watching it! This film is gripping from start to finish, the tension ratcheted so high in the airport that I genuinely felt sick, mix that in with a little bit of humour from Alan Arkin's character and you have a near perfect drama. I like the way that they incorporated real footage from the actual events throughout - it gave the film a bit of a feeling like the actual events were unfolding on screen rather than a dramatic interpretation. Ben Affleck's really proven himself as a director here following his two other brilliant directorial features (Gone Baby Gone and The Town) and along with a talented cast and a fantastic script the story never plods.
5/5

What I Watched Last Week (8th-14th April)

Sorry, haven't had much time this past week to watch films... Been busy with revision!

Malcolm X
Having watched this film last night, I still don't quite know what to make of it. The first half of the film was all background knowledge of his life. Whilst I understand that all of the details in it were important for establishing why he made the decisions he did later in life, a bit of snappier editing may have drastically reduced the bloated 3hr21min runtime. Whilst the acting was superb (Denzel Washington deservedly won an Oscar and looked the spitting image of the real-life Malcolm X, footage from his era was very cleverly mixed into the film) I found myself distracted by constant voice overs throughout - especially when during conversations! When a film is so long that it has to be viewed across two DVD discs you know you're in for a long ride but the final hour makes it all worthwhile.
3/5

What I Watched Last Week (1st-7th April)

Winter's Bone
Whilst Jennifer Lawrence's performance was brilliant I was left slightly disappointed with this film due to the fact that not much actually happened meaning that I did look at the clock a few times. What this film does do a good job of is making the audience slightly uncomfortable witnessing these people's grim lives with plenty of help from Lawrence - who manages to portray so much emotion without actually saying very much with the camera on her just about the whole time (deservedly earning an Oscar nomination). In addition the cinematography and locations are stunning because they make the film all the more atmospheric.
3/5

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
I watched this for the first time in about 6 years this week only to be reminded how much of a classic film it is. Whilst some scenes like the TV were laugh out loud funny because of how dated they were, the performance by Gene Wilder and some of the catchiest songs in film history have helped this film to age well over time. Wilder's performance manages to make Willy Wonka seem absolutely bonkers but not creepy, a feat that Johnny Depp couldn't quite realise in the slightly unnecessary remake a few years ago.
4/5

The Hangover
In my opinion this is probably one of the best of a flurry of 15-rated comedies released in the past few years along with Bridesmaids, 21 Jump Street and Ted. Many moments are laugh out loud hilarious and there's some quotable lines "IT'S NOT A PURSE, IT'S A SATCHEL!". In addition you actually grow to care about the characters which is key to any successful comedy - probably the reason why films such as Bad Teacher of late haven't reached their full potential.
4/5

Mean Girls
This has to be the definitive teen comedy of the 21st century! With lines as hilariously quotable as "WHY DON'T WE ALL JUST STAB CAESAR?!" and "You can't just ask people why they're white" along with breakout performances from Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried along with Lindsay Lohan at her peak (not long before her very public breakdown) this film has the perfect mix of believably bitchy teen drama and laugh out loud funny lines. When people on twitter claim it to be a "right of passage" to show their younger siblings this film on their 12th birthday (this film must've just scraped a 12 rating, there's some pretty mature stuff in here) you know it's a film that's impossible not to love.
5/5