How to Train Your Dragon

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....How to Train Your Dragon!

Original image located here. Accessed 25th January 2019

As some of you regular readers would know, with this series there is only one concrete rule: I must see a movie I haven't seen before. So what do you know, here's one that originally passed me by. But I have friends who think very highly of this and with a second sequel being released, I guess now is as good time as any to take a look....

Weeeeeeelllllllll......
eeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrmmmmm.....
......Oh who am I kidding? This was absolutely brilliant. It's Dreamworks striking gold and the rare picture that appeals to both children and adults without talking down to both parties. The flying sequences are a wonder to behold, the expressiveness of Toothless is a delight and truly a solid adventure flick. Throw in a subtext about a protagonist going against the grain of the norms and how working together is better than drawing battle lines and this is.... well..... a film where I can;t use enough positive words for without sounding like a broken record XD

Now about the sequels.....

Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse!

Original image located here. Accessed 18th January 2019

Calling it: Best Spiderman movie ever made. Better than Homecoming and better than the Sam Raimi Spiderman movies.

Not really much else i can say really: There's some great ideas, some amazing creativity, and a delight in seeing many art styles thrown together and interacting with each other. Its funny, action packed and astonishing in it's animation.
Mind you, watching this after Aquaman, one gets the feeling that the MCU set the bar high to a point where their rivals are rising to the challenge and lifting their game.
Needless to say, Far From Home has a serious challenge to face up to....

Aquaman

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....Aquaman!

Original image located here. Accessed 11th January 2019

So, can Jason Mamoa have enough clout as a leading man? Apparently so.

Well, this is indeed a step in the right direction for DC - and certainly counts as one of the hits after numerous misses.
One gets the impression that seeing Aquaman is a low tier DC hero (and in some cases a joke hero), the people behind this decided that they had a clean slate and they could do what they liked. So yes, there is a sense of fun - and Lord knows the DC movies needed it. There is some great action, some interesting villains, imaginative designs and a cast boasting members that are made unrecognizable.

I'll say it again: This is indeed a step in the right direction for DC. So it remains to be seen whether they can capitalize on this...

The Unknown Known

And this week's Friday night movie has been.....The Unknown Known!

Original image located here. Accessed 4th January 2019

Anyone heard of this? This is a documentary on Donald Rumsfeld, where he talks about his career, working for several presidents and his role in both the War on Terror and the mobilization into Iraq.

What i got the most from this documentary is that it feels....well.....empty. For a movie about Rumsfeld, i came away not knowing much about him - aside from that his speech is evasive. Watching him speak to camera, it becomes increasingly clear he is speaking a lot but not saying anything. He is intelligent no doubt but his ability to dodge matters is astonishing. He's a tough nut to crack and to find some objective truths about the Iraq War is a slog to be sure.
Perhaps the most telling thing comes at the end. When asked why he agreed to this documentary Rumsfeld replies with: "I'll be darned if I know"