h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ah, Black Sheep. I found that so cringeworthy I gave it away

That's why we ended up with a copy - somebody was giving it away. We thought it was hilarious.

Nod and Osh went to see Godzilla today. Favourable reports.

Mol

I think Black Sheep seems to be one of those films that everybody should watch, but maybe not keep

The Love Punch. This was like a rom-com for the middle aged/retirement (although I fear Pierce Brosnan as an about-to-retire businessman wasn't aimed at the grey market).

It was a barrel of fun with Emma Thompson as Brosnan's newly-empty-nested ex-wife extremely fraught at the thought of the loss of her pension-pot, and two co-stars in the form of Timothy Spall and Celia Imrie as their neighbours and partners-in-crime.

Unfortunately there was a massive plot hole because of a left-behind cat which I fretted about throughout the film - it was seen at the beginning and talked about - but not mentioned again until the very end (the neighbour offering to feed it). I found this hard to ignore as a Blue Cross volunteer and cat owner whose social life revolves around the comfort of her cat. If you can ignore this (my partner did, he said "It's just a film! She didn't really abandon her cat!") you'll enjoy it, although I also felt disgruntled at the ending, another plot hole but the result was a joy to see - when I mentioned this afterwards I had to explain it to my partner as he's not worked in a bank and didn't understand why I said that couldn't happen IRL.

GB

Sounds just like my kind of film.

I wouldn't mind Pierce Brosnan being thrown at me.

Don't worry about the cat - it probably had its own masseur and stretch limo for the duration of the filming. In fact, it was probably three or four cats in rotation, so they didn't get overworked. A bit of CGI to correct the markings and hey presto - it's the same cat!

I've just noticed that it came out on 8 May here. Didn't read anything about it at all, was totally unaware of it. Now I'll have to wait for the DVD.

Do movies stay in the theaters for only a week where you are, TC? If not, then it should be shown somewhere near you. "Love Punch" is coming to my area on May 23.

Phew- I'm glad I didn't give away any spoilers. Yes, I'd say it's just your kind of film TC, and there's plenty of Pierce Brosnan, he's in just about every scene!

Do watch out also for the cameos of their son's flatmate. These had us (and most of the cinema audience) laughing even though neither of us have ever "skyped" it seems to me now that I'm missing out

Just back from "Calvary"
A good film very well acted but very dark and grim.

(The Sligo tourist board will be very pleased with the outdoor shots though)

Just had a quick look on Imdb as to what that is. Somehow I immediately thought "Brendan Gleeson" when I read the title, and your comment that it was filmed in Ireland gave it away really. Will definitely make the effort to see it!

Saw "The Wind Rises" earlier this month - the finale animation of Hayao Miyazaki out of Studio Ghibli. A quite touching and eandearing film - amazing really when you consider it is all hand drawn. I was particular taken by how he animated the engines and the vortices of the wind around the engines of the planes. The sound engineering on the railway and during the Earthquake, sounded almost organic it was very odd.

Something wss lost in translation though. The romance in the movie had everyone in our theatre laughing. Not sure that was the intended effect but it was the common reaction.

In a month of big fantasy movies wanting to be realistic - the best description of this movie I heard was a realistic movie that segues into fantasy.



Saw Godzilla last week. Very favourable report - definitely a film of three acts: the first and last being the best with the middle being a bit saggy and rife with plot holes and absurd coincidences.

Problems that if you concentrate on them could ruin it for you, but I can only say that while watching I did not mind, it was very good fun.

It was only in the post-hoc analysis that those things cropped up.

The greatest comparison and in a way compliment I can offer is that it reminded me a bit of Jaws - it's not as good as that film is, and lacks much of the humour and strong characterisation - but it has restraint for a monster movie which is unusual, and it handles human emotion pretty well but spoils it by a lead who motivation is well a bit thin (I'm angsty / I must get back to my family) are about all the development he gets but that being said it is novel to be here and all and so far as it goes it is done fairly well.

The problem is you start thinking it would have been better if - and that's then a whole different movie. For what is it is, I give it a solid 4/5.



Off to go see X-men DOFP tonight. Looking forward to this!

Ooh, I'll be interested to hear what you think of the new X-Men.

I saw X-Men on Sunday. I enjoyed it a lot.
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Be very, very careful who you give samples of your DNA to!

The one thing I found interesting about X-Men was when Peter Dinklage was first shown in the film, a few people in the audience seemed to have a slight laugh, and I'm curious about why.

Is it because everyone's seen him on GoT, so they're going "oh look, Tyrion's in a film, how silly" sort of thing. Or is it because of his height? Or something else entirely.

Admittedly it wasn't everyone, nor was it full on gales of laughter, but it was still "interesting" to hear.

No laughter in our theatre for Dinklage.

I enjoyed X-men DOFP. It's pacing jarred me a little, it was a little jumpy - and I figured the experience was as like reading panels from a comic rather scenes that segued naturally. It's not off-putting it's just something that registered.

Apart from that thoroughly enjoyed it - in terms of narrative it did two things very well: first it acknowledged all the history of the previous films in the series with flashbacks and quotes and secondly being a time travel movie it stuck two fingers up at Brett Ratner and just ret-conned out all the rubbish bits.

In terms of continuity then this could have gone so badly wrong, and it is a joy to report that it is good, not just good, they nailed it.

Some really touching character moments - Mystique stealing a look at Mutant autopsies, any scene with Quicksilver being awesome -, and nice reference back to the original X-men with Magneto: "I don't *think* I can stop them all" ... top notch thesping by the way from Mckellan and Stewart (and McAvoy in one inspired moment of cross-over): though in a way this movie belongs to Mystique. As interesting as the arc between the rival Magneto and Xavier are, it is how that rivalry plays out for the heart of Raven/Mystique that is the heart of this movie.

The Special Effect are gorgeous - mutant powers look simply awesome, I defy you not to be creeped out by the shot of the sentinels breaking into the temple at the end - the spectacle is truly spectacular (I love it when Magneto open a door, then just removes the entire wall and steals all the guns.)

Dinklage plays a very layered villain, not all twirling of moustache, "I shall destroy them", and it even gets wound up into the story of William Stryker and Wolverine (see X2).

I can't wait to see X-men: Apocalypse. Oh and stay for the post - credit scene. There is one (of course, it's marvel!) but it's right at the very, very end.

10/10

Damn, I missed the end credit scene.

I really hope they do make a Bishop film though, he was awesome (I think I've said this before, probably in this thread :P).

I know I ought to stay for the ending credits in Marvel and DC Comics movies, but I'm usually too antsy to do so . "X-Men" was about 150 minutes long, and it was quite late when it finished, so I hurried home.

Last night I saw "Chef," an enjoyable tale of a chef who wants to make a good impression on a famous food critic, but his boss refuses to let him cook the creative foods that the critic would appreciate. The critic's subsequent blog rakes the chef over the coals, the chef retaliates [his son shows him how to use Twitter, but the chef doesn't understand how to send the critic a private message, with the result that he insults the critic publicly, and his comments go viral ], and the chef quits his job when his boss won't let him cook new things for a return visit by the critic.

You'd think the movie was nearly over at this point, but it's really getting started. Having a food truck is less prestigious than cooking at a fancy restaurant, but the chef enjoys having the freedom to cook whatever he wants... Of course, the truck is rented from the chef's ex-wife's ex-husband , and there are numerous other plot twists

Turns out I did see the end-credits scene for DoFP, I just have a horrible memory!

Pompeii. A film for disaster movie junkies, it ticked all our boxes, with one fatal flaw. The story is more about the hero Milo and fellow slave Atticus (played brilliantly by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) than the romance it's billed to be, as Milo and his high-born lady barely have any time together. Think Gladiator crossed with 2012 and Titanic with some Warhorse thrown in and that's it in a nutshell. Great special effects (we saw it in 2D, it would have been much better in 3D) but you have to wait for the entirety of the film for them, until then it's mostly bloody fighting.

That brings me to the fatal flaw. Keifer Sutherland, playing a Roman tribune with the worst accent I have heard since Hank Azaria's Pharaoh Kahmunrah ruined Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

GB

I've just re-read my remarks on that film (Post: 7176). It seems it was bad enough even without Kiefer Sutherland's accent. I couldn't think of Carrie thingamijig as anything other than Trinity.

I watched Monsters the other day, done by the director of the latest Godzilla. I didn't get on with Godzilla, but I loved Monsters. Super interesting project as well, the whole film is ad-libbed and he had to edit of 100 hours of footage! All the special effects were done by him etc etc. Definitely worth a watch IMO.