Sunday 1 May 2016

What we've been watching (April)


We watch quite a lot of movies; at the moment LOVEFiLM send us two discs every week... although I'm always considering the best way to get our movies.


So this is what we watched in April - come back to see what May has brought us.



Labor Day
This is one of those movies which manages to tell the story with a very small cast. Kate Winslett is a depressed single mother living with her young son; one day in the grocery store they meet an escaped convict (Josh Brolin) and they spend the day with him; forging a relationship. The film is as much about the development of the characters as it is about the story of the day unfolding.




Dragon Blade
Jackie Chan and John Cusack are on the famous Silk Road two thousand years ago. A Roman Centurion and a member of the Silk Road Protection squad; initially on opposite sides they become somewhat unlikely allies when they are both framed for treason. Some impressive scenery, a good story and (of course) some impressive fight scenes,




Pan
Another film examining the story of Peter Pan; this is a sort of origin story. Peter is an orphan taken from the orphanage to the magical world of Neverland. It is one of those films which feels that it could have been a little bit more, it certainly isn't one of the best attempts at Peter Pan.




Hotel Transylvania 2 
Back in the world of Hotel Transylvania for another story, Dracula's daughter is all grown up and married with a child of her own - the question is, will he become a vampire? This feels like a sequel for sequels sake, but it is a diverting enough way to spend a short amount of time.




The Martian
This film had a high bar set for it, so much publicity preceded it. The film centres around an astronaut who is stranded on Mars when his crew return to earth, and the plot centres around his experiences trying to survive and his struggle to return home. I'm not fond of films where there are large sections of the plot centring on one character alone on screen. Ben Afleck did a good job, but I found that the film went on too long, and I lost interest in the outcome before we got to the end of the film. 





The Dressmaker
Kate Winslet as Myrtle returns to her home town to take care of her unwell mother. There she has to face the townspeople and a dark secret from her past. All the cast put in stellar performances in this film; a good story too.





The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 
Having watched all of the previous three films it was more of a chore than anything else to watch the final instalment. Not so much of a film to tell a story but a vehicle to wrap up all the loose ends. Probably only one that got good marks from die hard fans.




Intern
Robert de Niro becomes bored of his life in retirement so he takes a job as an intern. He manages to become an indispensable part of the company and forms an unlikely friendship with his boss, Anne Hathaway. A quite light-hearted film with occasional moments of comedy.




The Lady in the Van
Watched about twenty minutes of this film. which came highly acclaimed from many sources, but the story telling style just didn't grab me (despite the cast, which is good on paper).