Wanted

Cast
James McAvoy
Morgan Freeman
Angelina Jolie
Common
Terence Stamp
Thomas Kretschmann
Screenwriters
Michael Brandt
Derek Haas
Chris Morgan
Director
Timur Bekmambetov
Running Time
109 minutes

Wanted tells the tale of one apathetic nobody’s transformation into an unparalleled enforcer of justice. 25-year-old Wes was the most disaffected, cube-dwelling drone the planet had ever known. Until he met a woman named Fox. After his estranged father is murdered, the deadly sexy Fox recruits Wes into the Fraternity, a secret society that trains Wes to avenge his dad’s death by unlocking his dormant powers. With wickedly brilliant tutors—including the Fraternity’s enigmatic leader, Sloan—Wes grows to enjoy all the strength he ever wanted. But, slowly, he begins to realize there is more to dangerous associates than meets the eye. And as he wavers between newfound heroism and vengeance, Wes will come to learn what no one could ever teach him: he alone controls his destiny. (Universal Studios)

The action is terrific but the problem is that even at the end the characters were strangers to me. Wesley Gibson's (James McAvoy) the main character and although given the most screen time and numerous voice-overs remained an unbelievable caricature of a person and everyone else we learn virtually nothing about, including Fox (Angelina Jolie) whose back story is limited to one short flashback.

The Incredible Hulk

Cast
Edward Norton
Liv Tyler
William Hurt
Tim Blake Nelson
Tim Roth
Lou Ferrigno
Screenwriter
Zak Penn
Director
Louis Leterrier
Running Time
112 minutes

The Incredible Hulk kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular Super Heroes of all time. In the film, scientist Bruce Banner desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk. Living in the shadows—cut off form a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross—Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power. As all three grapple with the secrets that led to The Hulk’s creation, they are confronted with a monstrous new adversary known as the Abomination, whose destructive strength exceeds even The Hulk’s own. (Universal Studios)

I still like the original better, but it was good. Admittedly I thought more of the former at the cinema than on DVD later and I haven't seen it in some time but I still think it's better, although it's not perfect, the poodle being one obvious problem. There was a kind of monumental majesty seeing the Hulk leap across the desert landscape, Ang Lee is a visual poet and that movie was like HULK in capital letters whereas this one is small case. I just don't see why they had to change the cast, while I seem to be in a minority of those who loved the original what was the point of the change. I'd say there are three fundamentals actor, character and premise if you lose any one, the whole thing is different. Which is what they wanted to do, to reboot it but why? OK you don't like the original film but it's the same characters and your doing the same story. You could have exactly the same film with the original cast, I truly don't get the need to change. Tobey Maguire hurt his back before filming Spider-Man 2, if he had had to pull out would they have really gone ahead and even changed all of the other cast. In terms of the look of the Hulk, it differed from the first one but I wouldn't say either was better. It's difficult to say how really you could portray something that strange. Cameos, the Stan Lee one was early on and seemed fine but the whole Lou Ferrigno one was just bizarre. I suppose if you didn't know who he was it wouldn't stand out as much but it was really weird. The grey Hulk bit with the light shining on him near the end stood out too much as well but again maybe that's because I know what it's referring to. I guess there's a clearer, more straight forward final fight than in the first one but again although I haven't seen it in some time I thought that one was great.

SEX AND THE CITY

Cast
Sarah Jessica Parker
Kim Cattrall
Kristin Davis
Cynthia Nixon
Chris Noth
Screenwriter
Michael Patrick King
Director
Michael Patrick King
Running Time
145 minutes

Carrie Bradshaw, successful author and everyone’s favorite fashion icon-next-door, is back, her famously sardonic wit intact and sharper than ever, as she continues to narrate her own story about sex, love and the fashion-obsessed single women in New York. Sex and the City finds Carrie, Samantha, Charlote and Miranda four years after the hit HBO series ended, as our favorite friends continue to juggle jobs and relationships while navigating motherhood, marriage and Manhattan real estate. (New Line Cinema)

I guess I saw most, if not all of the series. A risque romantic sitcom that was fluffy, fun and compact (being 25-30 mins). It ended with the four women finding love and essentially living happily ever after. One of the things I disliked about the movie is that it undid a lot of that ending. It's also too long and the melodrama at times is visibly forced and just seemed unnecessary. Overall though I liked it.