A Middle Aged Movie Blog. Being the periodic journal of a film loving middle aged independent science fiction writing father of two and his ongoing adventures in cinema and home video

 

13/10/2017:
Started to watch Arrow season four. Got three or four episodes in and realized I’m not ready for it yet. Switched to Fear The Walking Dead Season 2 again, which I am watching alone, despite agreeing to watch it with The Lampshade Maker, as she is much too busy and tired to participate.

 

Watched Spider-Man 2 (2004) last night with the boy. Wowed again by the staggeringly kinetic effects work on display. Doctor Octopus, whose artificially intelligent appendages cause all manner of creative carnage, is a wonder to behold. The scene in the hospital, which includes a miniature chainsaw and lots of screaming, is a particularly knowing standout. The scene on the subway train, meanwhile, remains as perfectly orchestrated an action set piece as any in super hero cinema, either before or since the film’s release in 2004.

14/10/2017:
Up early, watched Tim Burton’s Batman (1989) with my Number 1 child, who loved it. Reveled in the stunning Gothic noir aesthetic of its production values and marveled at how kitsch Nicholson’s performance is in retrospect following the fear inducing sociopath Heath Ledger portrayed in The Dark Knight (2008).

Avoided watching Harry Potter 4 in the afternoon following a brief sojourn into the city to pick up some craft stuff and some Flash comics for the boy. Once the kids were in bed, sat down to watch Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982) on Blu Ray as my wife insists she can’t remember the details of the movie and we’re off to watch the sequel on IMAX tomorrow afternoon.

 

15/10/2017:

Watched Blade Runner 2049(2017) at the IMAX with The Lampshade Maker and it is easily my favourite film of the year so far. If Roger Deakins doesn’t win an Oscar, finally, for best cinematography, the academy ought to be disbanded. A visually stunning and occasionally superior film to Ridley Scott’s seminal original, the movie, directed by Denis Villeneuve is every bit the cerebral, stylish, philosophically challenging neo-noir dystopia that its predecessor was. Suffice to say this is a film whose themes, sub plots and meaning will be revisited and reflected upon for generations to come.

 

 

16/10/2017

Re-watched Wonder Woman (2017) for the benefit of the lovely Lampshade Maker, who didn’t get to watch it at the cinema originally, despite my advising her to go and watch it over and over again.

Having developed a serious aversion to DC in the era of Zack Snyder, the lack of humour being the driving force for her sustained repulsion, she refused to watch it initially, having pre-judged it based on Man of Steel (2013). She loathed Man of Steel (2013). Its depiction of Superman as a humourless frowner with the personality of a rock was bad enough, but when you factored the relentless and incoherent action climax into the mix, which maybe if it was dialled down a notch, would potentially have been comprehensible, there really was no going back.

Having continued to watch DC TV shows but skipped Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016) in protest, I had a hard job convincing her that Wonder Woman (2017) was excellent. However after much cajoling she finally gave in to pressure and we sat down to watch it with popcorn on the couch.

Happy to say she liked it as much as I did. The final climactic scenes were less exhilarating than I recalled from the big screen, messy and loud in typical Warner fashion and they had a rushed feel to them that most other action scenes in the movie most certainly did not. Still, the film impressed her in spite of this. It was fun and intelligent in all the ways Man Of Steel was not. Here’s hoping that now, Justice League can build on Wonder Woman’s success and that finally Warner has a template it can elaborate on. Time will tell of course, but we live in hope…

17/10/2017:
Watched The Kids Are All Right (2010), a Blu Ray that has been languishing on my shelf for the best part of five years. I have no idea why I haven’t watched it up until now. I always meant to but never got round to it.

Turns out I should have watched it ages ago. It’s a wonderfully observed pitch perfect domestic comedy that takes a modern family headed by middle-aged lesbian and bi-sexual parents Nic, (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore) and upends it by adding hipster sperm donor and restaurateur Paul (Mark Ruffalo) into the equation.

There are great comic moments in the film, punctuated by moments of disquietude and pathos. However, ultimately the film is optimistic. Bening is effortlessly brilliant as uptight Obstetrician Nic, whilst Julianne Moore is captivating as her aimless bohemian partner Jules, who is experiencing something of a midlife crisis and starting to come unstuck around the edges.

Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska round the cast out as the conflicted offspring with questions about their biological dad.

Verdict? The film is ultimately an engaging and charming essay on family and what makes a family tick and what constitutes ‘good parenting’; it is about identity, responsibility, coming of age and ‘getting older’. It asks some difficult questions of itself, and its characters, but ultimately comes up smiling; an enjoyably reflective movie that avoids proselytizing and is perfect for a duvet day when it’s raining and the curtains are drawn.

Spiderman 2, The kids are alright and Wonder woman
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