Ever since I worked at the
Savoy Cinema in Nottingham I've been hooked on going to the movies. I'm happy to go any time, alone or with friends to see any film - expect scary ones. I draw the line at scary anything. I love the popcorn (sweet and salted mixed please), the slushy drinks and the chocolatey snacks (expensive though they may be) and tend to feel quite at home sitting in the screens, be they traditional or modern.
- Just a note on working at a cinema. When I first started I got told to go and "clean the screen". To which I responded "Ok, do I just brush it down or use a mop?". I got a pretty blank look. You see "screen" can of course refer to the room in which the movie is shown, not just the big white thing at the front. I think this is the cinema staff equivalent of an electrician's apprentice being sent for a left-handed screwdriver. If you ever get asked to do this this, be a pro and go and get the hoover. Don't go hunting for ladders like I did. -
Most recently I've been to see The Muppets and John Carter.
The Muppets blew me away with how funny it was. I was expecting outdated jokes and cutesy storyline. Indeed, the storyline was the usual formula of "ARGH! They want to cancel The Muppet Show, quick, we need to make money!" but anything cutesy was served with a side order of slapstick/ironic/situational comedy which just made the whole thing ace. Fans of
Flight of the Conchords will love the musical numbers. Brett McKenzie himself was musical director and contributed to a lot of the songs (won a few awards for them too). I'd say this movie is a must see for anyone with a sense of humour. There is also an impressive string of cameos from the likes of Dave Grohl and the dude who plays Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory which made it all the more fun. I for one am going to buy it on DVD as soon as it's released.
John Carter, on the other hand, is a film which I think lacks humour. I think it would have benefited from a Jack Sparrow type character with a few one-liners, just to make it stand up as typical Disney fare. Saying that, there is a pretty cool Martian dog in it which was funny and cute (in a toothy, slobbery way), and, aside from the humour stuff, I personally thought it was an enjoyable movie. There wasn't anything really spectacular about it which blew my mind as such, but my mum (49) and nephew (12) both thought it was really good, and it was definitely aided by good use of 3D. I feel quite sad that it's
reported as a flop by the BBC. I think this could be due to harsh reviews given to it by websites and newspapers putting people off going, but
Rotten Tomatoes shows that, even though it was given a review score of 51%, 71% of people who actually went to see it enjoyed it and I think that speaks for itself. If you have a free evening I recommend giving it a whirl.
One must-see movie, which I'm so excited to see I get a funny feeling in my tummy when I think about it, is
The Hunger Games which will be released on the 23rd March (that's only two days time!!). I intend to go watch it this weekend because sadly I can't do cinema during the week when I'm away working in Yorkshire, but hopefully I will be able to book tickets and it won't be too busy.
I'm super excited about this movie because I recently read the
book trilogy by Suzanne Collins and enjoyed it immensely, despite the fact that the concept of post-apocalyptic survival isn't really a new one. I'm expecting it to be pretty dramatic and I saw the trailer last weekend before John Carter and it looked like it would be emotional. However, I heard on the radio yesterday a snippet of a review that said the extreme mortal peril wasn't really put across properly in the movie. I figure this is to be expected in order to make the film a 12A rating. Personally I'd like to see it properly souped up and aimed at adults, with a lot of emotion, fear and gore but hey, that's just me. I like book-to-movie adaptations to be intense in order to meet my expectations.
DVD wise I recently bought
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, a Japanese animated movie about a girl who, in a minor lab accident, gains the power to be able to jump backwards in time. She uses this power to go back and fix events and help out her school friends. It's a really sweet story with a fairly simple time travel angle and I think it's going to be one I'll watch over and over because I find animated movies pretty relaxing. I'm also going to get hold of the
book of the same name which is loosely described as a prequel, but I imagine it will be more of an inspiration for the story in the movie.
If you've been to see a movie lately that you think is a must-see, or you think is a do-not-see, please let me know. I definitely appreciate recommendations!
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