The Last Station

I love James McAvoy. LOVE him. Admittedly Wanted was a bit shit, but even in that, he managed to be utterly delightful. Similarly in The Last Station, he's about as good as the film gets. It's based on Tolstoy's final year, and, well, it's just a bit boring. There's nothing wrong with it as such, the acting is mostly lovely (Anne-Marie Duff, Helen Mirren, yes, Kerry Condon, no), but the script is just a bit weak. I came out of it thinking what to think, which is never a good sign. A worse one is that the only thing I could come up with was 'meh'. It's not the worst film I've ever seen this year, but it's certainly the most average.

Everybody's Fine

I'm almost loathed to put this trailer up here, because the film it shows is absolutely not the film I watched. The plot implies shitty rom com. The music implies shitty rom com. The reviews online so far imply shitty rom com. But what I watched was absolutely nowhere near a rom com, let alone a shitty one. It is instead the incredibly touching tale of a man's loneliness and the struggle of a family trying to cope after the loss of its matriarch. Robert De Niro is brilliant. The small gestures, the tiny glances and the way he portrays the pride and love of a father for his children are all so utterly believable that it had me, a resolute non film cryer, weeping and snotting into my sleeve in a most unseemly and surprising fashion. While it doesn't seem to be pleasing all the critics, to me, it was gorgeous. Not flawless, but the most moved I've been by a film in a long time. Bad title, bad trailer, great film.

Up In The Air

I love air miles. It would also appear I love films about air miles. Or maybe I just love Jason Reitman's film about air miles? Either way, I really did love Up In The Air. It's brilliantly acted, obviously by George (although I've always been a bit non-plussed by his face in the past) but also in the support cast, particularly Anna Kendrick (massively under-rated in New Moon) and Vera Farmiga. The story - man likes a life on the road, man gets threatened with a life at home, man meets woman, man's sister gets married, man decides maybe there might be more to life than a life on the road - manages to twist and turn just as it verges on the clichéd and as a result keeps you interested, entertained and fully involved. It's funny and smart, and it's more than worth 109 minutes of your time.

New Moon

Uh-oh. It's here. The big one. NEW BLOODY MOON. I have decided to do the rest of my review in a list. Because the last couple of hours have brought out the 12 year old in me and I used to like a list in my youth.

Things of note:
1) IT'S AMAZING.
2) Jacob's teeth are incredibly white.
3) Bella basically talks in grunts, but I suppose that's heartbreak for you. I actually liked her a lot better this time around. The acting has improved and her friendship with Jake makes me want a werewolf for a best friend. The dynamic of their relationship is perfectly portrayed, and it's lovely to watch, in spite of my being anti it in the book. I was Team Edward I'm afraid.
4) Edward doesn't really move his mouth when he talks. It makes it easier to fixate upon and wonder what it's like to have a little kiss with it. I imagine that's EXACTLY what Chris Weitz had in mind with his stage directions.
5) Charlie Swan got hot. Moustache and all.
6) Jacob really does have the most ridiculous muscles ever. Good ridiculous. Like when the kids say 'sick' but don't mean vomit. And I know this because I spent the majority of the last 2 hrs and 15 mins watching them closely.
7) Said muscles made my fickle mind decide I might not be Team Edward after all and maybe, just maybe, I'm Team Jacob. Or can I be both? Team Jedward? Or is that just too X Factor?
8) For all Stephanie Meyer's being not the best writer in the world (I mean in terms of Pulitzers, clearly her imagination is brilliant), the woman can capture youth like no other. The heartbreak, the confusion, the loneliness and the love - the teen angst is palpable and even the most grown up of grown ups in the theatre felt it.
9) Dakota Fanning is one scary mother fucker.
10) When Aro reads Alice's thoughts and it cuts to a scene - WEIRD. You'll know what I mean.

Precious

So it's about this time of year that the clever folk who write about films with big words prefix everything they say with some form of Oscar insight. Ooh, look, this film's a bit deep or dark or does not star Seth Rogen, LET'S GIVE IT AN OSCAR NOD! And that sort of excitement is exactly what's been happening with Precious. Do not let the clever folk with their lighty-up pens put you off though. Precious really is quite brilliant. Often disturbing, always thought provoking, in parts hilarious and without exception brilliantly acted (even Mariah), it really is a worthy Oscar contender. While it's not always easy viewing, it's worth the pain (and the 15 minute standing ovation it got when screened at the Cannes Film Festival) - a truly great film.

The Boys Are Back

Just before I went to see this film, someone pointed out to me that Clive Owen can't act. It's true, he really can't. He is, however, quite pleasing on the eye and in that sense, the perfect person to play a dad struggling with bringing up two young boys in the aftermath of his wife's death. What I loved about this film was the way it managed to tug at the heartstrings, be touching and sweet and funny, without being twee or overly and obviously emotional. I also loved that the two boys, George McKay (basically Ron Weasley) and Nicholas McAnulty, lacked the usual precocity of a child star, and both gave touching and believable performances. Surprisingly lovely.

Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee

Without meaning to sound like a total penis, I don't very often pay to see films. Perk of the job innit. But this, I paid to see. Which is a good thing, because it was very stupid and very funny. The premise is a mocumentary shot in five days, centering around a rapper from the midlands, Scor-Zay-Zee, and his manger, Donk, who are trying to get a slot supporting the Arctic Monkeys. Considine is ridiculously funny, especially when rapping about Harold Shipman. And if that doesn't make you want to see a film, then I don't know what will.

Glorious 39

Oh dear. A sort of murder mystery of the Midsomer variety. Which it shouldn't be really considering the cast and the director. It starts off well enough, but slowly (very slowly, I'd knock at least half an hour of this) gets increasingly more ridiculous until you actually fully expect Miss Marple to pop out and make sense of the non-sensical. I'd almost rather she had. I know Mr Poliakoff is a very clever man, but in this outing, he's also more than a little boring.

A Single Man

Dear Tom Ford. If this is what the mind of a fashionable gay looks like, can I be one? Possibly the most beautiful film you'll see this year: Colin Firth (naked), Nicholas Hoult (naked) and Matthew Goode (not naked, although I may have been so blinded by bare bum at this point that I didn't even notice), you can only imagine the fun Ford had in directing his first ever film. Add to that exquisite tailoring (obviously) and glorious sets, who even cares what the narrative is?

Where The Wild Things Are

I saw this. I'm not allowed to talk about it yet though. But as soon as I am, I will probably talk quite a bit about how much I loved it and how utterly brilliant it is.

Love Happens

I will fully admit that the trailer for this film looks awful. Really, horribly awful. But what I was hoping, was that it would be the sort of awful that is actually quite brilliant. Blue Crush/Crossroads awful. Turns out, it's just awful. Firstly, Jennifer Aniston, please stop wearing pigtails. It's just not appropriate in a woman over 10. Secondly, Jennifer Aniston's agent, really? REALLY? After all the media lambasting, surely the least poor Jen deserves is a decent script every once in a while. Or even every once. I digress. The film is just not very good. If I'd paid money, I'd want it back. I sort of wanted money back even though I didn't pay money. Bad characters, bad story, bad script, bad, bad, bad. Even Aaron Eckhart, who I quite like in spite of the fact his face is massive, was a bit disappointing. Save your money. Rent Blue Crush.