Reviews Round-up

As I've been constantly reminded to update my blog, I finally some free time (lawl) to do so. I made a list of the films I've watched (that I can remember) between my last blog update and last night, when I watched Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and Shutter. Both very different, but both enjoyable in different ways.

Turns out I've watched about 15 films in between now and then, this is the list:

The Inbetweeners Movie

The Ides of March

50/50

Friends with Kids

Shutter

Drive

Moneyball

Friends with Benefits

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

New Years Eve

Troll Hunter

In Time

The Hangover Part II

The Art Of Getting By

Final Destination 5

Episode 50

Apollo 18

I've listed those from best to worst, top to bottom. Due to the sheer number of films there, I won't be reviewing them all. However, I will note that The Inbetweeners Movie was far better than it had any right to be, featuring some decent character moments, some lovely ladies and an inoffensive story which didn't offer up too many surprises but basically served the purpose it always set out with.

The Ides of March is a solid - and powerful - political, starring George Clooney and Ryan Gosling as Democratic representatives. Featuring twists and turns, intense political intrigue, and a storyline initially reminiscent of Season Six of The West Wing, it's certainly one for fans of politics (and Ryan Gosling) to check out.

50/50 is a heatwarming tale of a healthy man struck down out of nowhere by cancer. Starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogen and Anna Kendrick, it's a decent film but one which never reaches any new highs or makes much of an effort to push the envelope. An odd ending too.

Shutter, it's worth mentioning, is the Japanese original, not the American remake. When a couple accidentally find themselves involved with a hit and run, spirits start appearing in their photographs, and a long-lost love returns to haunt them. Sounds by-the-numbers, but it's a film that horror film fans will love, providing solid scares, some gruesome images and a fantastic sense of foreboding throughout.

The last review is Friends with Kids, a film which had a decent cast but of which I don't think many will be familiar. Starring Adam Scott of Parks and Recreation fame, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig and Megan Fox, it's similar to Away We Go (also starring Rudolph) in that it offers a look at how different styles of couple deal with growing old in relationships, and how they cope with the notions - and practicalities - of marriage and having children. There are clichés added to the mix, sure, but it's a film which I do not believe will be afford any mainstream coverage and deserves a fair amount. It's not brilliant, but the acting is solid, the characters are fun to watch, and the film's moral isn't black and white.

Films aside, I wanted to write about Six Feet Under, of which I'm about to embark on the final season, and about The Shield, which I finished two nights ago.

Six Feet Under, I believe, is one of the most underrated television dramas in history. With its meagre cast, it offers a fantastic range of storylines, wonderful acting, an outstanding soundtrack (season 1, mainly) and provides an intriguing insight into death. It's one show which many people won't ever have heard, and one which needs to be seen by everyone, regardless of religious feelings, and whatever else dictates how people choose their television shows.

The Shield is one show which a lot of people will not like, due to its mature content and what it portrays throughout the entire programme. However, looking past season 6, it is a brilliant TV show. Providing me with one of my all-time favourite TV characters in Curtis Lemansky, and an ensemble cast which manages to invoke a turbulent sense of fraught community, The Shield is essentially a masterpiece in television drama. Whilst being vastly different to Six Feet Under in content, dialogue, characters and meaning, these two shows are absolute must-watches, and I can't say that about too many programmes.