Catching Up

I've seen a bunch of films in the last couple of months that have gone un-reviewed thanks to moving house. Here for you now a quick catch up.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD
An excellent adaptation of a mediocre comic, taking the highlights and eschewing swathes of rubbish like a certain wizard adaptation should have. The pop art of cinema I greatly enjoyed this.

TAMARRA DREWE
I laughed from beginning to end at this tale of a newly gorgeous Tamarra returning to her home village and wreaking havoc amongst the quiet country dwelling folk. Expect characters rather than plot and you should be entertained.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK
A film about quatelling over privileged friends, intellectual property law and litigation sounds dull. A film which is "The Facebook Movie" sounds dull. But Aaron Sorkin's writing, as with the West Wing is compelling and Fincher's direction make for a surprisingly absorbing and engaging film. You don't have to use Facebook to enjoy this. I don't.

THE OTHER GUYS
The first part of a police double bill is no comedy classic but there's enough here to keep you chuckling on a wet Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly found Mark Wahlberg's straight man funnier than Will Ferrell's goofball.

THE TOWN
A distinctly average heist movie with some better than average highlights. Sort of a cross between Heat and Dawson's Creek. The film tries to cover about 5 genres and loses it's way doing so. At it's best when dealing with heists, at it's worst when dealing with the girlfriend who should add tension having been victim of the heist but doesn't.

DESPICABLE ME
Or Predictable Me as I would call it. Insufficient despicability and too much sentimentality rob this film of it's potential leaving it an often entertaining but ultimately disappointing diversion.

THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE
The same level of acting and cinematography as the first mean this is let down only by a slightly lazy plot from the book and the fact it was edited down from a longer TV version. Feels very much like the setup for the final part and almost certainly needs to be seen beforehand. Very much enjoyed.

LET ME IN
The American remake of Let The Right One In hits all the right beats and is an excellent first film from recently revived Hammer Studios. It's difficult to pick the two apart in fact but something about the atmosphere of the Swedish version just puts it ahead for me. Either is worth watching but you may not want to bother with both.