50/50

Cast
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Seth Rogen
Anna Kendrick
Bryce Dallas Howard
Anjelica Huston
Screenwriter
Will Reiser
Director
Jonathan Levine
Running Time
99 minutes

Inspired by personal experiences, 50/50 is an original story about friendship, love, survival and finding humor in unlikely places. Two best friends lives change when one of them is diagnosed with cancer. (Summit Entertainment)

I haven't seen everything he's done but I'm going to say that I find Rogan mildly funny although a guy in the audience laughed out loud at his lines many times. For me Joseph Gordon-Levitt held this together with his performance which was quietly affecting.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Cast
Robert Pattinson
Kristen Stewart
Taylor Lautner
Michael Sheen
Billy Burke
Anna Kendrick
Jackson Rathbone
Kellan Lutz
Nikki Reed
Peter Facinelli
Elizabeth Reaser
Ashley Greene
Screenwriters 
Melissa Rosenberg
Directors
Bill Condon
Running Time
117 minutes


Bella and Edward, plus those they love, must deal with the chain of consequences brought on by the marriage, honeymoon, and the tumultuous birth of a child, which brings an unforeseen and shocking development for Jacob Black. With more romance, passion, intrigue and action, the conclusion of The Twilight Saga begins. (Summit Entertainment)


I'd forgotten a lot of details so when Edward started reading minds it took me a second to work out what was happening and remember vaguely that the Vampires had various powers. Lots of the guests at the wedding seemed to be presented like they were returning characters but I couldn't really recall them. Not a lot really happens but it passed the time OK.

February Comics

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

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

CONAN THE BARBARIAN #1
Brian Wood (W), Becky Cloonan (A/Variant cover), Dave Stewart (C), and Massimo Carnevale (Cover)
On sale Feb 8
FC, 32 pages
$3.50
Ongoing
In this sweeping adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s fan-favorite “Queen of the Black Coast,” Conan turns his back on the civilized world and takes to the high seas alongside the pirate queen Bêlit, setting the stage for an epic of romance, terror, and swashbuckling. This is Conan as you’ve never seen him, with the combination of one of Robert E. Howard’s greatest tales and the most dynamic creative team in comics!
• A perfect jumping-on point for new readers!
• A bold, fresh take on the Cimmerian.
• “Queen of the Black Coast” is the most-requested Conan adaptation!


I got the 2004 Conan series and then 12 issues of Conan The Cimmerian but dropped it because it somehow felt off. I've read all the Conan stories by Howard and as was said in the letters pages several times it had never really felt right. However given how good Northlanders is, although I have dropped it because it doesn't have a regular cast, I'm looking forward to this.

Arthur Christmas

Cast
James McAvoy
Jim Broadbent
Hugh Laurie
Bill Nighy
Ashley Jensen
Imelda Staunton
Screenwriters
Peter Baynham
Sarah Smith
Director
Sarah Smith
Running Time
97m 23s

Set on Christmas night, the story of Arthur Christmas at last reveals the incredible, never-before seen answer to every child's question: 'So how does Santa deliver all those presents in one night?' The answer: Santa's exhilarating, ultra-high-tech operation hidden beneath the North Pole. But at the heart of the film is a story with the ingredients of a Christmas classic – a family in a state of comic dysfunction and an unlikely hero, Arthur, with an urgent mission that must be completed before Christmas morning dawns. (Sony Pictures)

Fantastic. Funny and inventive. I wept with joy at the end.

The Ides Of March

Cast
Ryan Gosling
George Clooney
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Paul Giamatti
Marisa Tomei
Evan Rachel Wood
Screenwriters
George Clooney
Grant Heslov
Beau Willimon
Director
George Clooney
Running Time
100 minutes

"The Ides of March" takes place during the frantic last days before a heavily contested Ohio presidential primary, when an up-and-coming campaign press secretary finds himself involved in a political scandal that threatens to upend his candidate's shot at the presidency. (Sony Pictures)

An interesting well made movie.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn 3D

Cast
Jamie Bell
Andy Serkis
Daniel Craig
Simon Pegg
Nick Frost
Toby Jones
Mackensie Crook
Gad Elmaleh
Screenwriter
Steven Moffat
Director
Steven Spielberg
Running Time
106 minutes

The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn is the first in the series of 3D motion capture films based on the iconic character created by Georges Remi, better known to the world by his pen name "Herge". (Paramount Pictures)

Action packed but emotionless. I've never read the comics but surely Tintin is supposed to be bright. Here he only slightly seems so because everyone else is so dumb.