currently on at the 'pictures':

[Jonny Whizz]

I went to watch Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows at the cinema today. I thought it was great, and just as good as the first film, which I was a big fan of. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it, but it has some brilliant scenes.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Yes, it wasn't bad at all, Jonny.....


--after a pretty lacklustre Christmas season set of offerings, thinfs seem to be picking up again, starting with:


THE IRON LADY ***

Love her or loathe her----and I definitely belong within the latter bracket------Maggie Thatcher went down in UK History, for better or for worse, and she remains the longest-serving British Prime Minister ever. Meryl Streep portrays the unwavering one very effectively indeed, and has Mrs T's mannerisms down to an, er, 'T'. This biopic starts off with a latter-day Mags mundanely buying a pint of milk in a corner shop; the younger customers simply don't recognize who she is in her less-than-coiffured headscarf-topped attire.


The crux of this portrayal centres a lot around her seemingly latter descent into dementia, a shell of her former iron-grip glory.

Anyone who grew up in the cusp of Maggie's unforgettable regime will doubtless recall the many Historical events that bore her decisions: the Brighton Bomb of 1984, the Miner's Strike of around the same period and of course the Falklands campaign of 1982-83 are all touched upon here, though perhaps not as in-depthly as they might have been: her relationship with Denis [from the 50s onwards] take to the fore in many scenes. Actual newsreel [though the real deal is only seen from behind here, so not as to jar with Streep's portrayal] is rolled out in force, either for authenticity, or for budgetory cutbacks, depending on your viewpoint.


Although Maggie is portrayed as a warts-and-all mortal in this effort, I [quite remarkably] found myself sympathising with her here, despite the inhumanity of some of her rock-steady policies.


If you liked THE QUEEN featuring Helen Mirren a few years back, well, this is in the same template.

[starscape]

I saw Sherlock Holmes too. Thought it was dreadful. Typical American over-acting rubbish.

Also saw The Darkest Hour. Despite the ratings it's getting, I thought it was a terrific little sci-fi horror. Very recommended if you like 28 Days/Weeks Later.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I've seen all of those, starscape___I've been to the cinema 8 times since last week---with still tomorrow [Friday] to go!



WAR HORSE *****

I'm not an absolute avid Spielberg fan [even if I used to work at his animation unit, and I actually seen him once during a visit] and I anticipated this serving with the usual measured apathy.... nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprized. Yes, there is the usual Speilbergian saccharine ingredients, but it's much more restrained than we usually have to tolerate, here.

This sprawling epic covers the period just before the outbreak of WW1, the duration of the conflict, and immediately afterwards, and follows the exploits and misadventures of a pair of thoroughbred steeds as they change hands between caring owners and inhuman Military types.


This film contains some of the very best 'Hollywood' scenes of battlefield conflict [if that's not a contradiction in terms] regarding the Great War, and the appalling, bloody catastrophe that summed up the events of that period is grimly portrayed and rightfully scathing in it's attack of the foolhardy mentality that brought about such devastating waste of life, limb and soul.


On top of the many millions of combatants who perished over the 1914-18 conflict, there were also millions of horses dragged into the melee as literal workhorses, hence the theme of this film.


Harrowing, thrilling, and, dare I say it, tear-jerking, this played to a packed, hushed house when I saw it.



MUST SEE

[colcool007]

Yes, it wasn't bad at all, Jonny.....


--after a pretty lacklustre Christmas season set of offerings, thinfs seem to be picking up again, starting with:


THE IRON LADY ***

Love her or loathe her----and I definitely belong within the latter bracket------Maggie Thatcher went down in UK History, for better or for worse, and she remains the longest-serving British Prime Minister ever. Meryl Streep portrays the unwavering one very effectively indeed, and has Mrs T's mannerisms down to an, er, 'T'. This biopic starts off with a latter-day Mags mundanely buying a pint of milk in a corner shop; the younger customers simply don't recognize who she is in her less-than-coiffured headscarf-topped attire.


The crux of this portrayal centres a lot around her seemingly latter descent into dementia, a shell of her former iron-grip glory.

Anyone who grew up in the cusp of Maggie's unforgettable regime will doubtless recall the many Historical events that bore her decisions: the Brighton Bomb of 1984, the Miner's Strike of around the same period and of course the Falklands campaign of 1982-83 are all touched upon here, though perhaps not as in-depthly as they might have been: her relationship with Denis [from the 50s onwards] take to the fore in many scenes. Actual newsreel [though the real deal is only seen from behind here, so not as to jar with Streep's portrayal] is rolled out in force, either for authenticity, or for budgetory cutbacks, depending on your viewpoint.


Although Maggie is portrayed as a warts-and-all mortal in this effort, I [quite remarkably] found myself sympathising with her here, despite the inhumanity of some of her rock-steady policies.


If you liked THE QUEEN featuring Helen Mirren a few years back, well, this is in the same template.

Just seen this. And undoubtedly, it earns Streep her 17th Oscar nomination. But I was more impressed with Alexandra Roach for her portrayal as a young Maggie. The thing that jarred with me is that the movie was too sympathetic to Maggie as we knew she was a harridan and arrogant, but she got the job done. While this movie portrayed her as a bit too touchy-feely. Oliva Coleman was brilliant as Carol Thatcher as well. Not a duff note in any of the cast, but it was just too pink and fluffy for my taste. 3.5/5

I was never an out and out hater of Maggie as I know that many were, but I do appreciate what she did for Britain despite being subjected to the Poll Tax a year before the rest of the UK...

[Digifiend]

Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominated The Artist isn't showing in any of Hull's cinemas. Shame on you, Odeon, Reel, and Vue.

[colcool007]

Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominated The Artist isn't showing in any of Hull's cinemas. Shame on you, Odeon, Reel, and Vue.

The Artist doesn't actually come out for general release until today...

[Digifiend]

Um, wrong, I saw an advert in yesterday's paper saying it was "In Cinemas Now" (so it came out yesterday at the latest) and a letter in the local paper the day before complaining about it not being in any of our cinemas. I think it's possible to get the listings the day before the release, so yeah, like I said, nowhere's showing it here. If anywhere is, then why the hell did the Hull Daily Mail publish that letter?

[colcool007]

Here in the Big Smoke, it only opens today. Must be a staggered release throughout the UK then.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I saw the Artist about 3 weeks ago 'oop North' here, Col----maybe the studio were testing the waters first, with it being such an unusual offering.

[Digifiend]

Here in the Big Smoke, it only opens today. Must be a staggered release throughout the UK then.

More likely the cinemas down south only bothered showing it once it proved a big hit at the Golden Globes.

[colcool007]

I think it's more like a staggered release adding cinemas as it grows in popularity. IIRC it was first released in the art house cinemas before it went to general release. The R4 report I listened to obviously found it somewhere in Lincolnshire as they took the widow of Bernard Herrman to see it.

So all three of us are right. So what did you think of it Rab?

[stevezodiac]

There was a report that cinemagoers in Liverpool had asked for their money back when they realised the film was silent. I don't go to the "pictures" so am looking forward to the dvd release of Drive on Monday. Last week I picked up Ip Man 2 which was superb but not quite as good as the first. Asian martial arts films are my main dvd choice at the moment.

[colcool007]

Just been to see The Artist and it was worth every penny. I really was trying to play down how bad I thought the movie would be. Usually after great revues, you go and see it and you are sorely disappointed.

A great homage to cinema's change from silent to talkies, with lots of great self-reference as in when Peppy's board said "I want to be alone". However, if you don't like intellectual movies, it's not for you. It does force you to think and to look a bit deeper than what you see on the screen. 5/5 for me.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

Glad you liked it, Col:


here's my belated review of THE ARTIST****


This film looks almost certain to clean up at the forthcoming Oscars Ceremony [not that that really accounts for anything]: this is a bit of a curio item unless [like me] you have a deep interest in film history [which includes the silent era---I have copies of The General, Metropolis, Phantom of the Opera in their silent versions in my DVD collection, with a few more on my hit-list].

THE ARTIST of course is unusual in as much as it is a modern movie shot 'silent' [well apart from a very brief sequence at the end, celebrating the arrival of the talkies] and may not appeal to some youngsters who prefer the 'shoot-em-up' variety of multiplex-fodder. However I found this a refreshing change, and was captivated from the first 'coming attractions' trailer.

Essentially, this covers the early silent-movie period of the 20s as the arrival of the 'talking pictures' around 1928 make serious inroads into career of a Douglas Fairbanks-like matinee idol, and indeed actual footage from a swashbuckling Fairbanks SNR feature or serial appears briefly. The actor portraying the fading star is born for this role, and his wide fan base in the early scenes introduce us to the aptly-named Peppy Miller, a bit-part starlet with an eye on the main chance: the two meet onset.


The crux of the story centres around Peppy's monumental career boost, in comparison to the empty cinemas that greet the Matinee Idol.

All this is lovingly shot in lustrous, moody and magnificent monochrome, and at times even a seasoned filmgoer can be forgiven for forgetting that this is a modern recreation: remarkably, this film was not shot on b/w film-stock originally, but in normal Technicolor, whch was converted to glorious black and white by the background boffin boys.

Watch out for recurring amusing cameos from a lovable pooch-hound [a staple of ths period in film history].


Excellent film if you are open-minded to new experiments.