Dr. Strange 2

I took the day off today and went to see the new Dr. Strange movie.

I'm not going to spoil anything for anybody but will just say that I really enjoyed it. Beginning to end. 

There was more horror in it than anything else from the MCU so I'd think twice before letting your children see it but... yep... a great movie.
 

DUNE

One of my favourite books growing up was Frank Herbert's DUNE.

I think it was the first book that I'd read that ranged from people, through families to politics. Mixing in their a whole heap of strange characters, some of whom were very sinister, in that they were trying to shape and control everything, without most people knowing.

So, the film. The second feature film to attempt to bring such a large story to the screen. I went to see it early afternoon in an attempt to avoid a busy cinema. Who was I kidding, it was at least two thirds full.

It was fabulous.

It was different in places, which I like as it is a different media, but it maintained its grip on the characters, the world, the tribes, the families, the politics.. I couldn't fault it.

The standout moment for me though was the way the sand moved as the Sandworm moved through it. Like a Red Sea washing up against the rocks.

Fantastic and I'm glad I saw it on the big screen.

Invisible Man special screening.

I was a little embarrassed to be the only visible person at the special Invisible Man screening for Invisible People. Trust me to turn up at the wrong event, I thought the seats were a little too good for your average man on the street.
Enjoyed the film, it had a good number of jump in your seat moments.
I had a little trouble believing in the transition of the lead 'victim' in it, moving from victim to hero a little too well for my taste, but over all an enjoyable movie.

Captain Marvel, better than some but not MCU's best.

I took the opportunity, whilst up in Glasgow visiting my daughter, to go and see the latest from the Marvel Comic Universe at the cinema.
I chose, well actually it was near where Jemma was that evening, to go to a small independent cinema called Grosvenor in Glasgow's West End, off Byers Road.
There has been a lot of talk about this movie.
Much of its profile was due to some insecure males trying to destroy it before it even got a chance to be seen. Rotten Tomatoes took down the review / feedback page as thousands (or maybe a couple of industrious idiots with many accounts) gave it a terrible rating.
I was always going to see it.
I remember buying issue 1 of Ms Marvel (as she used to be known) for my sister way back (late 70's maybe) to try to get her into comics. I failed at that but quite liked the character myself and so always kept an eye on her development over the years.
Anyway, what did I think of the movie?
It was about middle of the Marvel Movies for me.
Not as good as Winter Soldier or Infinity War, better than Thor and it's sequel. Not as good as Thor:Ragnorak but better than Iron Man 2.
It worked well in the continuity of the other movies and being set in that universe's history allowed us to see some interesting moments.
It also threw in a few surprises here and there to keep the comic nerds, like me, on their toes.
Yes.
Enjoyable.
Not a classic but a very good use of an evening.

Movies of 2017.

I'll confess to see mostly movies about Superheroes with my daughter Jemma but I also took time to see the last Apes movie in the trilogy and the sequel to my favourite film of all time, Baderunner.
It's always difficult listing things in some kind of order as they all have something different and overall then only assessment I feel qualified to talk about is 'How much I enjoyed them'.
So.
Here goes.
In order of my enjoyment.
Thor - Ragnarok

This had the feel of a buddy movie, and whilst it had a similar feel to the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie, with Hulk playing the role of Drax to Thor's Starlord and even Valkyrie playing Gamora, I went along for the ride and really enjoyed it. There were some great one liners and I loved the way the even the trailers were misleading when put in context of the surrounding movie.
War of the Planet of the Apes
A great ending to the trilogy, and I hope not the parking of a great re-imagining of the franchise.

I loved everything about this movie. I really 'human' story with a message. Some really nice touches, one of which explained humanity's loss of the ability to speak as seen in the original. Yep, I really hope they do more.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
Yep, this one was almost as good as the first and like the Thor movie it never let up from bugging to end. One of those films where the end credits surprise you more for them coming what seems like too soon than the little extras.

Drax is excellent and baby Groot is used really well. The soundtrack is fabulous too. Sure it plays a bit with comic book mythology but I'm not going to complain at all. Comics are comics and movies are movies. I love the little changes, otherwise what's the point really.
Wonder Woman.
Certainly the best of the DC movies to date. Human story, well developed characters, not too much CGI and an actress who carried the role really well.

I had worried that this would feel too much like Captain America, a warrior out of time, but it had its own thing going on and just flowed so well.
Logan.
A bleak end to Hugh Jackman's Wolverine run but the best of the lot.

I just wish they'd been allowed to make this type of movie for all of his solo outings. Powerful stuff.
Justice League.
Yep, I enjoyed it. So there.

There has been a lot of criticism of this movie but I was always going to watch it regardless. A lot of the criticism I'd read was actually, well, just wrong. Written by people who must have on half watched the movie. It's a shame that the internet gives a voice to anyway (yep, I see the irony there, with me writing the post). I loved the Flash and the scene when he was spotted by Superman despite feeling invulnerable moving at speed is the standout scene for me this year. Yes, it was dark, but it allowed all the characters to have screen time and certainly sets up an interesting future for the franchise. This is if people stop listening to know-nothing critics and give the films a chance.
Bladerunner  2049.
It didn't ruin my favourite film.

I actually allowed myself to go to this despite my fears that it would ruin the myth that follows the original, Bladerunner.
It didn't and I enjoyed the movie.
Not as good as the original, or anywhere near it, but a decent film with a great soundtrack and some amazing visuals.
SpiderMan - Homecoming 

Although it felt a bit too much like the main Marvel movies and didn't really stamp its own identity on the franchise (which Ant-Man did so well), I enjoyed this latest version of Spidey and think it is probably the best to date. I also liked some of the more subtle changes to supporting characters and thank somebody somewhere that it wasn't another origin story.
Plenty of movies lining up for next year, should be a good one.

Bladerunner 2049.

It's not news that I'm a big fan of the original Bladerunner movie.
It's one of those films where everything just works.
The story, the actors, the cinematography, the special effects, the music and the myth that followed in the stories wake... Was Deckard a replicant?
And so I decided that I wouldn't go to watch it.
More than that, I'd avoid hearing anything about it.
But that was of course impossible.
I saw a photo of a much older Deckard.
But did that necessarily make him human?
Who was I kidding. I couldn't resist and found myself at the first viewing.
I think it must have been too early as you can see from the photo above.
What was the film like? It was excellent.
It built on the first story, and didn't try to re-write any of it.
The actors were great, and old Harrison Ford still plays himself better than anyone else can.
The cinematography was as good as the first film.
The music had echoes of the great Vangelis soundtrack from the original.
The myth was preserved, with Deckard's humanity as uncertain at the films end as it was at the beginning.
The film is a success and I'd recommend it to anyone... and everyone.
I liked it so much I even bought the T-shirt.
Go see it.
But take a friend... just in case.

Dr. Strange.

This week I found myself staying overnight in London once again with the day job. What do you do with yourself in such circumstances ? Well, I'll confess, usually not a lot. This time however I decided to go and see the new Dr. Strange movie on the IMAX in Leicester Square.

Why ?

Well two reasons really. Firstly my usual cinema buddy, my daughter Jemma, is away at University and secondly Chris Dingsdale, but don't tell him I follow his advice, heartily recommended it on Facebook.

Now I'm not a big fan of 3D cinema, but I wanted to experience the full spectacle and so within an hour or so I found myself sat in front of a very large screen, wearing silver looking glasses over my normal ones and hoping that they worked better when the film was on than they did when it wasn't.

I needn't have worried.

The film itself was very good. Solid story, great character development (and Stephen Strange although similar, was very different to Tony Stark (which had been a concern of mine)), some nice humour here and there and great acting... but it was the special effects that made it fabulous.

And the effects worked so well on the IMAX that I found they messed with my mind at certain points. 

Although I was sat in a chair I found myself trying to right myself as the images in front of me kept tumbling, with floor becoming wall and wall becoming ceiling.

This is my favourite Marvel film to date.

I don't think it'll be quite that when it hits my 2D DVD collection but sat there watching it on IMAX it certainly was.

The one small thing that annoyed me slightly was that, to my uneducated ear, the sound track sounded a little too similar to the new Star Trek theme tune, although I loved the 'Sherlockish' version at the end as I waited for the second extra scene.

Go watch it.

If you can go watch it in 3D on an IMAX.