Film Reviews

I’ve seen quite a few films over the weekend. So let’s pretend that you’re interested in my opinions of them and give you some reviews.

Batman Begins
I still love buying and reading superhero comics. But it’s been some time since I saw a really satisfying film based on a comicbook hero. This wasn’t very satisfying at all. I’ve never really got the hang of all this “Dark Knight” interpretation of Batman. I grew up in the sixties when we all watched Adam West playing Batman and that’s always been the real Batman to me.

Having said that, this was obviously much better than the last two Batman films and is on a par with the Tim Burton/Michael Keaton version. I’m wasn’t at all convinced by Christian Bale as either Bruce Wayne or Batman. He seemed too young for the role. And when he put on his deep Batman voice I just wanted to laugh.

Sin City
Now if you’re going to make a film based on a comic, then this is the way to do it. The stylised direction of this film makes it about as close as you’re going to get to just filming Frank Miller’s comics – which is, of course, a very good thing. If you haven’t seen this (and I suspect that I’m about the only person who hadn’t) then rent the DVD and watch it as soon as possible.

Ghost World
Another non-superhero comic adaptation. Not quite as successful as Sin City, but still pretty good. Mind you anything with Steve Buscemi in can’t really fail can it (ok, that’s your cue to come up with counter-examples).

Sideways
Chosen purely on the basis of a trailer on some other film that made this look interesting. I don’t think it completely lived up to expectations, but it was still a pleasant enough way to spend two hours. Some of the set pieces were a bit cliched, but they were handled pretty well and there were enough laughs to keep me amused.

Brokeback Mountain
This is one of those films that you really feel to have to see in order be able to have intelligent conversations with other film fans. It reminded me a lot of Cold Mountain. Very well written. Great direction. Fabulous acting by a great cast. But ultimately, all rather dull. Can’t really see the point of making it myself.

Withnail & I
This wasn’t part of the plan, but somehow we ended up watching this in the evening. It’s still wonderful.