Ninja Scroll

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

Loved this one as a kid, probably one of the first animations with adult-ish content I'd seen. Filled with violence and sex, crazy ninja powers and cool characters. It really is an archetypal story and it plays out beautifully.

It's been many years since I'd seen it and watching it now in HD I have an all new appreciation of the great art style. the action is just as cool as ever. Love the fantastic world. Never seen the series but perhaps I'll give it a go.

This film is just really really cool.

God Bless America

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jordan

A bit of cynic wish fulfilment. A very low budget independent production and it shows sometimes but it gets its point across. It's rough around the edges and structurally pretty clunky. The young girl character Roxy really got on my nerves, the way she was written and acted.

The whole thing is obviously over the top but I don't think that should excuse a certain amount of plausibility from the writing. There's still a lot to enjoy in this dark comedy, a little startling after the real life shootings in a cinema in the US but as I said, some good wish fulfilment.

Spawn

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: No
Watched With: Jordan

Yikes. Time hasn't been kind to this one. I was young and naive when I first watched this and like some of the new CG fx they developed for it. They don't really hold up too well. KNB EFX work still looks great though.

But even when I was young I could see this was a hugely problematic movie. It's like they tried to make a dark violent r-rated movie but aimed for little kids. It's not going to work for anyone. I do remember all that flashy late 90's style editing, I used to like that too. But in this film they over do it and with all the flashbacks and forwards the films structure becomes a bit of a mess too. So many zany transitions haha.

And the dialogue... It's big comic-booky dialogue. Some of it is just plain bad dialogue. Pretty funny.

John Leguizamo is giving it his all, that's for sure. I didn't mind him so much as a kid but yeah, he really grates now.

There's a good film that could be made from the franchise. This is not it.

Ides of March

IMDB
First time viewed: No
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Jordan

Write Up.

Pretty funny viewing this again after The Campaign.

The Campaign

IMDB

First time viewed: Yes

Current Release: Yes

Watched With: Jordan

After making some award winning political dramas for HBO Jay Roach is back to doing comedy but he still seems to have something to say about the American political process.

I find Will Ferrell hit and miss. I'm glad to say I think this film has more hit than miss though, definitely one of his better films. Zach Galifianakis is also great here and there's a killer supporting cast. For me, Dylan McDermott stole the show, purely with his entrances and exits from scene to scene.

I needed a laugh and this film provided. The film probably won't have much staying power, they sacrificed going all the way with theme for going all the way with silly comedy. It's a tricky tightrope for sure but a darker ending that really brought the message home would have killed the fun tone, so I think they made the right choice and still get their point across.

I totally ate 2 hot dogs during the film. A novelty that was sure to increase my enjoyment of anything. This film, like those hot dogs, wasn't nutritious at all but man it hit the spot for a quick fix when I needed it. 

A Royal Affair

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Myself

Oooh, a classy foreign period piece, don't I feel cultured. Actually really enjoyable too.

Handsomely produced and a great true story hampered only by a pace and running time that brings on slight fatigue and a lead actor who I've only ever seen play villains in blockbusters and hence could never fully trust here despite the characters best intentions. Such is the life of a european character actor.

But it's easy to see why this is doing so well in its homeland. The performances are great, the film look gorgeous and the themes are just as apt today. Glad I caught this one before it left the cinemas.