Thor: The Dark World

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Thor the Dark World!

Original image located here. Accessed 8th July 2016

So why did I fall behind with the MCU? Well, I saw this list online of how to watch the entire MCU (that being the movies, TV series and the rest) in chronological order. I made it my goal to watch this in order but then there was the wait to get everything. Sure that may seem a bizarre reason considering this digital age in which we live in has made everything readily available but I've always maintained that things are better off discovered in your own time.

As for the movie, I do agree with the consensus that this is indeed one of, if not the, weakest link in the MCU chain. Sure it looks fantastic but everything moves at such a hurried pace that one gets the feeling there's a sizable chunk of the movie missing and what we're seeing is two thirds of a complete movie. I did like the first movie a lot but this sequel seems a let down by comparison.
And then there's Thor himself: he's the star of his own movie but he still ends up being upstaged by Loki.

Iron Man 3

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Iron Man 3!

Original image located here Accessed 14th July 2023 

I feel ashamed to admit this but I've been dreadfully slack with keeping up to date with the MCU. I've missed half of the 2nd phase! Nevertheless, time is on my side so I can still rectify this situation. 

As for the movie itself, I feel that every Iron Man movie (and to a lesser extent, the Avengers movies), is doomed to remain in the shadow of the first Iron Man movie. Still, this movie was an improvement on No.2 and it's pleasing that Tony Stark has significant character development. Furthermore, it's always great to see more 'Genius' Tony Stark as opposed to 'Jerk' Tony Stark. Also Ben Kingsley looked like he was having fun

21 Jump Street

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....21 Jump Street!

Original image located here. Accessed 24th June 2012 

I've heard lots of stories on how difficult it is to get movies made, with the likes of projects being trapped in development hell and studio execs interfering. That being said, I'm baffled as to how this movie got made: It took the IP of some TV show and made something out of it, let along something great! This movie isn't a reboot, it is it;s own thing and is all the better for it. I reiterate: how did something so great get made? (Mind you I had the same reaction with Deadpool). 

 So yeah, I really liked this one

Ghostbusters

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Ghostbusters!

Original image located here. Accessed 17th June 2016 

This may seem strange to some of you (particularly my fellow children of the eighties) but I've never actually seen Ghostbusters all the way through. Sure I saw, when i was a kid, Ghostbusters 2 and the cartoon. Sure I know of the franchise and the so-eighties-its-cringeworthy theme song but it's kinda weird to come to the point where it all started. This, in turn, raises a level of expectation that is pretty much astronomical (never a good sign). 

 But I'm pleased to say that this movie was actually pretty good. There's certainly some good laughs and the practical effects hold up really well. In fact. get past the whole 'franchise starts here' and it's clear that Ghostbusters is solid proof that comedy and big-budget-sfx are not only compatible but they work really well together. So yeah, looks like we got a winner here

The Shawshank Redemption

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....The Shawshank Redemption!

 Original image located here. Accessed 10th June 2016

It seems strange to admit that I'd never seen this movie before: It wasn't a big deal with it's initial run at the cinema but it's popularity grew largely through word of mouth and rentals - to the point where so many people have seen the movie and rank it quite highly.

And whom am i to argue? This movie was compelling enough to engage with me all the way through and indeed, says a lot about redemption (funnily enough), keeping a straight head in a hopeless situation and finding a breakthrough in amongst bleakness.
I think we can all learn something from that

Schindler's List

Last week i was asked about my habitual Friday night movies and what happened to them. Well, I stopped doing them as I tied down elsewhere. But seeing as I enjoyed my Friday night movie, and talking about it, I see no reason to give it up completely. So, here is what will be, hopefully, a return to regularity:

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Schindler's List!

 Original image located here. Accessed 3rd June 2016

Much has been written about this film: The powerful resonance, the acting, the cinematography and the directing. But I won't talk about any of that. No: You see, i remember, back in the nineties, that this movie was a big deal. And I feel coming to it, from a distance of twenty years, has allowed me to approach with a fresh perspective.
And it is still, very much as powerful as ever.

Star Wars: the Force Awakens

And this week's Friday Night movie has been... Star Wars: the Force Awakens!

Original image located here. Accessed 18th December 2015

I admit it: I have no attachment to Star Wars. It seems that the people, who make up the Star Wars fanbase are those who saw it as kids - whereas i saw the original trilogy when I was in my teens. Besides, if we go by the logic of 'fandom based around the movie you saw the most times as a kid' then we'll have to start talking about Spaceballs. XD

As for Force Awakens itself, Well it is an improvement over the prequel trilogy and I enjoy the use of the formula of: 'interesting characters and witty dialogue'. Needless to say, if Force awakens was an attempt win back interest then i'm interested to see what happens next....

......oh wait, Mel Brooks wants to make a new Spaceballs movie?! Hell yes!!!

Star Wars: the Empire Begins

And this week's Friday night movie has been: Star Wars The Empire Begins!

For the uninitiated, this one is the fan edit where someone edited all three of the prequel movies into the one feature.

So what i can I say? I really enjoyed it. Its quite impressive that someone took three movies and reworked it completely. It's even more impressive that the three movies in question are reviled and refashioned into something that's actually quite a good movie.

However this edit is just one of many of the Star Wars prequel trilogy - and somehow I can't get the feeling that in the attempt to salvage a good film from the lousy source, what's resulting is a copy of a copy.

Over the Hedge

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Over the Hedge!

Original image located here. Accessed 20th March 2015

Not a bad movie. There are some decent jokes and some good ideas but one gets the feeling they aren't taken to their full potential. And it does seem something of a waste that we have this really great voice cast that come across as being restricted. Could have, and should have, been better....

Blade 2

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Blade 2!

Original image located here. Accessed 13th March 2015

Well if you're going to see the first one then you may as well watch the second. 

I'm not going to say something like 'not as good as the first' so what I will say is that this was pretty damn good on it's own merits. And hey, you can't go wrong with Guillermo del Toro. And Ron Perlman. And The Cat from Red Dwarf

Blade

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Blade!

Original image located here. Accessed 30th June 2015

I admit it: I've never seen this movie before. I knew it originally came out when I was in college but I don't recall it being that big a hit. Sure people who saw it talked it up and the movie has gained something of a cult following in the years since but I never have gotten around to seeing it.

So what do i think of it? Well as an action movie it's great. And I certainly came away entertained 🙂 Furthermore one can't deny the influence Blade has in resurrecting comic book movies. Mind you, I could be cynical and say it may have cashing in on the success of Buffy but then again Buffy doesn't have a big-arse shotgun XD

Xmen First Class

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Xmen First Class!

 Original image located here. Accessed 20th February 2015

Well seeing I've watched the Animated series all the way through it was somewhat natural to go to this. So my thoughts? This is difficult to assess because it's a prequel and like any prequel we all know what's going to happen but the real strength in the movie is daring us, the audience, that it won't. And to that end the movie is a success. The action is exciting, the James Bond-inspirations are great and there's some solid moments of character development.  Plus we have Charles Xavier as a womanizer and I find that utterly hilarious XD

Oh we also have President Michael Dugan in it too (a cookie if you get that reference)

Tropic Thunder

And this weeks Friday night movie has been....Tropic Thunder!

Original image located here. Accessed 13th February 2015

In a way this movie surprised me: I thought it was going to be completely stupid but as it turned out, it was a riot. Okay so it may have been stupid in places but there's some moments of pure gold in here - chief among them being the acting turns done by Robert Downey Jr (!) and Tom Cruise (!!!!).