Ah, films. Filmy filmy films. Films. Good, aren't they? Except for the ones that are bad. Well, I'm glad you agree and we've got that sorted. Care to know what I've been watching? Tough, I'm gonna tell you anyway.
Horton Hears A Who - In a nutshell:- A fun little film just brimming with glee, from the top of its head to the cap of its knee*. Pixar have definitely been setting a level of expectation for CGI animation and this one does it's best to live up to that standard. It's good fun and feels very Seuss-like (Seuss-y? Seusssian?) while updating it for a modern audience and fleshing out the story to fill a feature length running time. There's a definite sense that the cast are enjoying their roles and that enjoyment feeds through into the animation. There are also some nice traditional 2D animation sequences thrown in for good measure - being an anime fan, I particularly enjoyed the anime pisstake sequence. All in all, well worth a watch.
Iron Man - In a nutshell:- Enjoyable superhero chicanery. There are a lot of similarities between Tony Stark (Iron Man) and Bruce Wayne (Batman). Orphaned? check. Billionaire? Check. Loner unable to connect with people? Check. So what separates them? Well, the main difference I would say is that Tony Stark enjoys being the billionaire playboy and that definitely comes across in this film. Robert Downey Jr seems to be having immense fun in the title role. It's not all fun and games - the main plot is driven by Middle East arms manufacturing and terrorist kidnapping and places Iron Man in a more real world setting. Obviously, as with all superhero films, this is your origin story so it's mainly about establishing the characters for the inevitable sequel. The main difference here being, with the inclusion of Samuel L Jackson in a post-titles scene and Robert Downey Jr cameoing as tony Stark in The Incredible Hulk, Marvel films are beginning to truly mirror Marvel comics - they're all starting to share one universe (which will pay off after the upcoming Thor and Captain America films when they all team up in The Avengers). See, you learn something geeky that you didn't need to know every day...
Kung Fu Panda - In a nutshell:- Great animation, great slapstick and great kung fu. This was great from start to finish. The animation was superb, the comedy was spot on and some of the set pieces was not just great animation but great kung fu action pieces (I've got a bit of a soft spot for martial arts films) - in particular the sequence involving Po and Shifu attempting to eat dumplings (trust me, it's a good bit). The storyline is nothing we haven't seen before - unlikely underachiever must become great warrior to save village - but it's carried off with style and conviction. A definite recommendation - go see it.
That's it for the minute but I've been watching plenty of other films courtesy of the London Film Festival. I shall tell you all about that next time...
* Yeah, OK, I'll leave the Dr Seuss-ing to the experts...
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