The Company You Keep
A collection of domestic freedom fighters from the seventies have their thirty year hiding spots blown open by an upstart journalist in this well paced chase movie where no one breaks the speed limit.
Dan says: Each member of Robert Redford’s over-the-hill cast feels like a beloved and well worn piece of clothing that Hollywood has decreed is out of style. Combined, the outfit is not only as comfortable as you remember, it has also become retro-cool. LaBeouf stands out like a pure white iPod that nonetheless slips perfectly inside the jacket pocket completing the ensemble.
No surprises in this suspense but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Iron Man 3
What’s it about?
Picking up in the aftermath of The Avengers, Tony Stark is dealing with his brush with death by ignoring the world until a terrorist called The Mandarin brings the battle to Stark’s doorstep.
What did we think?
Anthony says: If you’ve seen the trailers you’ve seen most of the twists and a good deal of the action already. But you’ve not quite seen it all and there’s enough to keep even the rabid fans happy. There are lots of explosions, snarky dialogue and a stunt scene that has to be seen to be believed. The plot is a tad clunky at times but it’s clever, humorous and – most importantly of all – big. Spectacular in parts, even.
It’s not a great movie but it is great fun.
3.75/5.
Song for Marion
What’s it about?
Arthur, a stereotypically cantankerous old man with a complete aversion to fun learns to cope with the death of his wife, Marion, while mending the strained relationship with his son and carrying on Marion’s legacy at the local choir club. Think Glee but with old people.
What did we think?
Matthew says: From beginning to end, Song for Marion is as clichéd and predictable as it comes. If it weren’t for Stamp, Redgrave (and even Arterton), this movie would have fallen completely into the dark abyss of mediocrity. It’s a shame they did not have a huge amount of material to work with and much of the plot seemed to be dragged out and made to appear larger than what it was. It lacked the impact it should have had but the sincere performances and one particular solo still managed to move me to manly tears (a fact that I will strongly deny).
Jurassic Park 3D
What’s it about?
An eccentric billionaire (Richard Attenborough) employs a pair of palaeontologists (Sam Neill and Laura Dern), a rock star mathematician (Jeff Goldblum), and his grandchildren (Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello) to earn their seal of approval for his ground-breaking, but woefully understaffed, dinosaur park. All it takes is one rogue technician and a poorly thought out power grid for the aspirant utopia to become a walking, screeching nightmare…
What did we think?
Mitch says: This 3D re-release is a testament to the visual achievement that Jurassic Park really is – here we are, 20 years later, and the animatronic work of Stan Winston and his crew is as captivating and believable as it was 1993, even having gone through the rigours of 3D processing. The film itself as is enjoyable a ride as ever, with the added bonus that now at least you can say you’ve seen a man die on the toilet in 3D.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation
What’s it about?
The G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their existence.
What did we think?
Anthony says: Putting Channum Tating, the Rock and Bruce Willis together in a movie sounds like a no-brainer. Sadly they must’ve used up all the money on the cast and special effects (which are impressive, it must be said) and none on writers. Or continuity/error checkers. There are a couple of great action scenes but this 110-minute-long action-figure advertisement has more plotholes than…. zzzz. Sorry, what was I writing? I nodded off just thinking about the movie.
Escape From Planet Earth
What’s it about?
An heroic alien being is lured to Earth (aka The Dark Planet) by a false SOS and captured. His smarter but no-so-heroic alien brother sets out to rescue him.
What did we think?
Anthony says: You’ll want to Escape From The Theatre. While the premise of humans being the feared bad guys promises some interest, the fact aliens all seem to act the same way just leaves this film as space junk. William Shatner playing the bad guy is the sole saving grace of a movie that will only appeal to the very young.