Movie Roundup – March 06

Serenity

Serenity is a spin off movie from the cult tv show Firefly. The show only lasted one series, and I haven’t seen a single episode, however the producer, Joss Whedon, also worked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer one of the best TV shows ever – so Serenity was always going to be interesting. I quite enjoyed it, but there were clearly things going on that would only make sense if you’ve seen the original show. I’m certainly interested in seeing the tv series now.

Taxi

I’m not sure I should admit to seeing this, but I haven’t seen all that many new films this month so needed something to bulk it out. I am a huge fan of the original Luc Besson Taxi films, of which this is a remake. This version is definitely inferior to the original but the bad reviews it got wasn’t as deserved as I had expected. There were a few moments of humour and the car chases weren’t all that bad. The main problem was the lead role, I just can’t see Queen Latifah ever being a taxi driver.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Being quite a big Harry Potter this one was interesting for me. I actually haven’t seen any of the Potter movies at the cinema, since I don’t have anyone else who is interested in going, and refuse to go on my own. Each of the Harry Potter movies seems to be better than the one before. I’m a little concerned that they will start getting worse again, as the following ones will be more character, as opposed to action, driven. This film however doesn’t disappoint. The early sections whiz by at a ridiculous pace, and there are some fairly large chunks which are just ignored, but this is necessary to make the 500+ page book fit into a 2 hour film. Like the book the ending goes by fairly quickly, and it probably works better with multiple viewings, but if you like Harry Potter it’s definitely worth seeing.

Nanny McPhee

Not dissimilar to Mary Poppins, Nanny McPhee is about a group of troublemaking children who are ‘turned good’ because of their new Nanny. Slightly darker than the Disney classic, Nanny McPhee has it’s moments but isn’t my cup of tea.

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is the last in a series of movies about the title characters, Jay (the mouthy one) and Silent Bob. The story follows the misguided duo as they try to stop production of a movie about characters based on themselves (Bluntman and Chronic). There is relentless swearing and references to other movies, but overall it’s hugely enjoyable. Unlike…

Chasing Amy

Wow – there’s swearing, and lots of it. The first time I watched (that would be started watching) this was with my parents a couple of years ago (yep – that long). We had watched Dogma before, and loved it, so I assumed this was more of the same, how wrong could I be? This is most definitely not a film to watch with your Mum and Dad. Anyway since I had watched Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back the day before I figured I’d try it again (never got around to finishing it before). I didn’t like it. Jay and Silent Bob were only in the film for a short while and the story itself, whilst not terrible, just didn’t fulfil my expectations.

Chicken Little

Didn’t expect much from this film. I wasn’t thinking it would be bad, but also didn’t expect a Pixar quality movie. This meant I was pleasantly surprised when I actually got to see it all, because the film wasn’t too bad at all. The story is a little disjointed, flitting between scenes quickly, but it’s easy to follow and the humour is surprisingly adult. A perfect way to spend a lazy Saturday afternoon.