Wednesday 31 March 2010

The Blind Side

Cast
Sandra Bullock
Tim McGraw
Kathy Bates
Quinton Aaron
Lily Collins
Ray McKinnon
Catherine Dyer
Sharon Morris
Stacey Turner
Kim Dickens
Screenwriter
John Lee Hancock
Director
John Lee Hancock
Running Time
128 minutes

Teenager Michael Oher is surviving on his own, virtually homeless, when he is spotted on the street by Leigh Anne Tuohy. Learning that the young man is one of her daughter's classmates, Leigh Anne insists that Michael--wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the dead of winter--come out of the cold. Without a moment's hesitation, she invites him to stay at the Tuohy home for the night. What starts out as a gesture of kindness turns into something more as Michael becomes part of the Tuohy family despite the differences in their backgrounds. (Warner Bros.)

A touch generous in my score 3½ is probably more like it but so far I'm not doing half stars. The film is really a TV movie of the week but the performances are terrific and I really enjoyed it.

Wednesday 24 March 2010

I Love You Phillip Morris

Cast
Jim Carrey
Ewan McGregor
Leslie Mann
Rodrigo Santoro
Screenwriters
Glenn Ficarra
John Requa
Directors
Glenn Ficarra
John Requa
Running Time
97 minutes

Family man Steven Russell (Carrey) has a secret: he’s gay. Well, two secrets: he’s also a con man. When he’s jailed for fraud, he falls in love with inmate Phillip Morris (McGregor), but staying together isn’t going to be easy...[Empire]

First off if you find bodily fluid humour funny you'll like this much more than me. It was fine, in no way was it bad but it wasn't great either. Maybe the Carrey performance was too cartoony for me to empathise with. A major plot point was spoiled by Jason Solomons when he stood in for Mark Kermode on Film 24 [BBC News channel] last friday which robbed the end of suspense for me.

Tuesday 23 March 2010

June Comics

CBR has the new DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and Image solicitations for June.

This is the stuff I'm thinking about in addition to my regular pull list.


ABE SAPIEN: THE ABYSSAL PLAIN #1 (of 2)
Mike Mignola (W), John Arcudi (W), Peter Snejbjerg (A/Cover), Bjarne Hansen (C), and Dave Johnson (Cover)
On sale June 30
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Miniseries
On one of his first B.P.R.D. operations, agent Abe Sapien leads a naval crew to a sunken Soviet U-boat to retrieve an ancient relic. What he uncovers is a paranormal crime scene, with a tanker full of dead men and secrets that should’ve remained buried in the deep.
Written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, and featuring the chilling artwork of Peter Snejbjerg (B.P.R.D.: War on Frogs), The Abyssal Plain explores another early Abe solo adventure, in the spirit of Abe Sapien: The Drowning and Abe Sapien: The Haunted Boy.
• Peter Snejbjerg (Books of Magic, Preacher, Starman) takes on his second B.P.R.D. comic!
• Cover by Dave Johnson (100 Bullets).

This is really just the Abe Sapien ongoing, Dark Horse does all the Hellboy books like this as a series of minis although you don't see issues of this as often as the main title and BPRD, so it's not really an addition.


SERENITY: FLOAT OUT
Patton Oswalt (W), Patric Reynolds (A), Dave Stewart (C), Frank Stockton (Cover), and Jo Chen (Cover)
On sale June 2
FC, 40 pages
$3.50
One-Shot
Acclaimed writer/actor/comedian Patton Oswalt (The Goon, Batman, JLA, Dollhouse, Ratatouille) brings back one of Firefly’s most beloved characters in this special spotlight issue!
Always ready with a brilliant aerial maneuver and a terrible one-liner, Wash was pilot of the Firefly-class ship Serenity in Joss Whedon’s cult-classic TV series before being killed in the movie. Float Out includes three brand-new stories of Wash in a series of exciting smuggling raids, each providing a hair-raising escape or daring last-minute rescue! Featuring a cameo that will leave Serenity fans reeling, this special one-shot presents new tales of the Serenity universe’s past and tantalizing hints about its future!
Acclaimed writer/actor/comedian Patton Oswalt pens Serenity!

I loved the series.


ASTRO CITY #1 NEW PRINTING
On sale JUNE 23
32 pg, FC $1.00 US
Written by KURT BUSIEK
Art by BRENT ANDERSON Cover by ALEX ROSS
The hometown heroes of ASTRO CITY were first unleashed on the world in this adventure that introduced The Samaritan, The Honor Guard and more! Reprinted for just $1.00, this issue is featured in the ASTRO CITY: LIFE IN THE BIG CITY TP (AUG068076).


FABLES #6 NEW PRINTING
On sale JUNE 30
32 pg, FC $1.00 US
MATURE READERS
Written by BILL WILLINGHAM
Art by MARK BUCKINGHAM & STEVE LEIALOHA
Cover by JAMES JEAN
Reprinted for just $1.00, this pivotal FABLES issue — the first pencilled by series mainstay Mark Buckingham — introduced the farm, home to non-human Fables. But all is not well on the farm — and a conspiracy to free its denizens may lead to war. Featured in the FABLES VOL. 2: ANIMAL FARM TP (MAR058123).

JACK OF FABLES #1 NEW PRINTING
On sale JUNE 9
32 pg, FC $1.00 US
MATURE READERS
Written by BILL WILLINGHAM & MATTHEW STURGES
Art by TONY AKINS & ANDREW PEPOY
Cover by JAMES JEAN
The adventures of everyone’s favorite Fable got under way in this issue, reprinted for just $1.00! Last seen hitchhiking from Hollywood, Jack’s about to run afoul of other renegade Fables. Featured in the JACK OF FABLES VOL. 1: THE NEARLY GREAT ESCAPE TP (NOV060300).


DETECTIVE COMICS #854 NEW PRINTING
On sale JUNE 16
40 pg, FC $1.00 US
Written by GREG RUCKA
Art and cover by J.H. WILLIAMS III
Co-feature art by CULLY HAMNER
A new era began with the first Batwoman adventure in DETECTIVE COMICS, now reprinted for just $1.00! Kate Kane is a soldier fighting her own private war – one that began years ago and haunts her every waking moment, in a story collected in the upcoming BATWOMAN: ELEGY HC (FEB100181). This new printing also includes The Question co-feature!

Again all the ones I don't have.

Wednesday 17 March 2010

Shutter Island

Cast
Leonardo DiCaprio
Mark Ruffalo
Ben Kingsley
Emily Mortimer
Michelle Williams
Max Von Sydow
Jackie Earle Haley
Screenwriter
Laeta Kalogridis
Director
Martin Scorsese
Running Time
138 minutes

Shutter Island is the story of two U.S. marshals, Teddy Daniels and Chuck Aule, who are summoned to a remote and barren island off the cost of Massachusetts to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a murderess from the island's fortress-like hospital for the criminally insane. (Paramount Pictures)

I had sort of guessed what the twist would be so when we finally got there I was thinking depending on how well they put this across it's either going to sink or soar. Well it soared and the final act impressed me but the whole wasn't amazing and that plot device has been done too many times before to really surprise.

Wednesday 10 March 2010

Alice In Wonderland

Cast
Mia Wasikowska
Johnny Depp
Helena Bonham Carter
Crispin Glover
Anne Hathaway
Stephen Fry
Christopher Lee
Michael Sheen
Alan Rickman
Matt Lucas
Timothy Spall
Barbara Windsor
Michael Gough
Paul Whitehouse
Frances de la Tour
Screenwriter
Linda Woolverton
Director
Tim Burton
Running Time
108m 25s

Alice returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen's reign of terror. (Disney Pictures)

I thought it was lovely. The visuals were beautiful [I'm not sure whether the 3D made much difference]. The story was fun and the cast was great. I've never read the books, I should do but never have so I can't say how close it is to them but probably not very.

Wednesday 3 March 2010

A Single Man

Cast
Colin Firth
Julianne Moore
Matthew Goode
Nicholas Hoult
Screenwriter
Tom Ford
Director
Tom Ford
Running Time
101 minutes

Set in Los Angeles in 1962, at the height of the Cuban missile crisis, A Single Man, is the story of George Falconer, a 52 year old British college professor who is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim. George dwells on the past and cannot see his future as we follow him through a single day, where a series of events and encounters, ultimately leads him to decide if there is a meaning to life after Jim. George is consoled by his closest friend Charley, a 48 year old beauty who is wrestling with her own questions about the future. A young student of George’s, Kenny, who is coming to terms with his true nature, stalks George as he feels in him a kindred spirit. (The Weinstein Company)

A mood piece which was lost on me, I found it kind of dull.