Starter For Ten Review

This is a great film. It's sweet and nice (in a good way) and funny and incredibly nostalgic, even for someone who hadn't reached teenage years by the end of the eighties. Anyone who's been to university is going to find something in this film to relate to - though a lot of what happened actually reminded me more of my last year at school and my year out before university than my time at university itself.

All the characters are flawed but likable, which made it seem all the more realistic despite the usual romcom silliness (which was actually not too silly, nor too painful). And it was quintessentially British, in that (as Dave pointed out), only British guys have the talent of looking quite so pathetic (but still hopeful) as the main character manages on occasion.

Highly recommended for anyone who likes 80s music (Dave sang along most of the way through), and highly recommended for anyone who wants something light and fun that will make them think fondly about being at university.

Golden Oldie

( Decrepit is as decrepit does )

Casino Royale Review

Originally, the only reason I wanted to see Casino Royale was because Sebastien Foucan is in it. He's the guy who started up freerunning, and I thought whatever he would end up doing in Bond movie would be worth seeing. I'm glad there were other reasons to enjoy the film, though, because he was only in it for about five minutes and his freerunning wasn't shot in a way that made it look very impressive.

Empire was right - the title song was awful. Also, action movies don't seem to grip me like they used to, and there was generally a bit too much running around and blowing stuff up, but then I can't complain about that in Bond movie, can I?

As far as I'm concerned, the new boy done good. He's got the smirk and the sideways glance, his eyes are incredible, and he's rather appealing in a rugged almost ugly sort of way. He really doesn't look good wet, or with his clothes off (so the two occasions when those things were combined were low points), but he fills out the tuxedo nicely, even if he does look like a gorilla in a suit.

The middle section surrounding the poker game was by far the best bit, in my opinion, but that's because it was all about manipulation and psychology - anybody who likes action will be sure to appreciate the beginning and end sections as well.

The film had more emotional depth than most Bond movies I've seen, which was good - I would have liked a whole lot more, but Bond is iconically superficial, so I guess I should be grateful for what little there was.

Overall, well-made, exciting and quite satisfying - and Daniel Craig certainly has me converted.

MirrorMask

About six months ago, I started reading Neil Gaiman's online journal from the beginning (I'm partway through 2003 at the moment) and, when I reached the section where he started enthusing about MirrorMask, I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted to watch it.

For someone with an overactive imagination, who likes the fantasy genre, it's odd that I'm generally not keen on things that tend towards the surreal. Things have to make sense to me for me to enjoy them, and surreal things often make my brain hurt and freak me out. Dali paintings, for instance, are top of my list of things I really wouldn't want on the living room wall.

However, as with Lost (which seems to be my yardstick for weird stuff at the moment), I've got a lot better recently at just letting things be what they are, and not worrying about explanations and sense.

Still, I'd heard some strange things about MirrorMask and I really wasn't sure if I'd like it or not. Anyway, siroswold took the decision out of my hands by giving me the DVD for my birthday, and I just watched it. The Labyrinth influence was very clear, but it was weirder. However, it made sense to me in some respects and the other bits just were what they were and often that was quite cool. The upshot of which is that I quite enjoyed it.

Next on my list is Howl's Moving Castle, which is another film I'm not sure if I want to watch, but that someone gave me for my birthday. I'm more apprehensive about that one, because Princess Mononoke was rather too weird and unpleasant for my tastes, and Spirited Away hung around on the edges of my weirdness threshold, too - some bits I liked, but most of it was just too strange and nonsensical. Hey ho - I'll give Howl's Moving Castle a try, though. That's one of my favourite things about the person I've become - that I'm far more willing to give things a try than I used to. Besides, things I don't like make for much more interesting reviews!