And so, the new Doctor is finally here, and somehow it seems as though I've forgotten David Tennant already. Strange that, considering up until about a month ago I was dreading all things New New Who. Now, I loved David Tennant in the role, don't get me wrong, but this new chap is simply brilliant from the off. David Tennants first real epsiode (The Christmas Invasion doesn't really count) was a bit rubbish really, wasn't it? New Earth and all that body switching gubbins. Anyway, on to the episode proper; a stunning pre titles sequence with great (for British TV) CGI; a great frenetic story which didn't really hold mustard if you thought about it for too long; a fantastic, and different, introduction to the new companion; and hints at this series' arc plot - The Pandronica/"Silence will fall." All very very interesting.
The bad: The new theme. Awful in my own humble opinion. Sounds like you're listening to it under water. But the score during the episode itself was fine.
All in all, stupidly excited for the next 12 epsiodes. Home Guard daleks, Weeping Angels, and River Song. Allons-y.
Onto Clash of the Titans.
I could just review this by saying Big, Dumb Fun. But I won't.
It was big dumb fun, and completely throwaway, but for a hour and 40 minutes entertainment, you do do much worse. Sam Worthington is a solid enough lead after playing second fiddle to the 3D in Avatar, which was the real reason everyone and their dog went to see it anyway. He has a sort of easy charm and I find it impossible not to like him even though he not really a great actor. The "anguished scream" after his family are killed at the start of the movie (Oh, spoilers) is woeful. Like watching Darth Vader's "Noooooooooooooooooooo" again. The movie itself is a road journey with various monsters chucked in along the way; the best of which is a giant scorpion attack which is very Harryhausen-esque. The bit in the Medusa's lair however is a missed opportunity and over with far too quickly. The same of which could be said for the film istelf. Oddly, I would complain about a film being too long, but this could have benefited from another 20 or 30 minutes. Overall, a not bad 5 and a half out of 10.
Oh, and however decided to put Liam Neeson in shiny armour needs fired. He looked about as threatening as a teapot.
"That's right, we're superheroes. You love us."
Now, here's where I get controversial. Everyone (critics and the general public) is saying Kick Ass is pretty much perfect. I have to disagree. I liked it, but I didn't think it was as good as everyone is saying. It's certainly the most original comic book based movie there's ever been, mainly as it's set in the real world. When you're watching Spiderman or X Men you know despite the fact that it's meant to be 'our world,' it isn't. It's always still a fantasy one. This is rooted in relaity and is better for it. That's not to say it's not fun, exciting, funny and brutal. It's all of those things. And then some. For me, Nicolas Cage stole the show with his Adam West-a-like Big Daddy. The action was great with a favourite for me being Big Daddy's ambush on the lumber warehouse set to a great piece of music, previously heard in 28 Days Later (during another ambush actually. Hmmm.) as well as Hit Girl's attack on the place where...well, I don't want to spoil it. The internet bit, let's say. Hit Girl was obviosuly the most controversy courting character but throughout the whole movie, I actuallty found her to be quite sweet and her 'origin story' was so twisted and brilliant it reminded me of O-Ren origin story from Kill Bill. Overall, 8 out of 10.
"No. I promised you I wasn't going to buy a Ouija board. I didn't buy a Ouija board. I borrowed a Ouija board."
Kind of a funny quote there from an altogether uncomfortable to watch movie. We've all seen the trailers in which we're shown reaction shots of the audience. And yes, while there are certain parts of the movie that will make you jump, they're few and far between. However, the point of the movie for me was not the jumpy parts but the torturous build up before them. Seriously, you could be watching something like the above picture for a good minuite while nothing happens and you'd still be bricking it. It's the knowing that Something Is Going To Happen that really freaks you out.
The ending though was a bit of a cop out I reckon. Of the two endings on the dvd I watched the alternate unused one was better. SPOILERS The one actually in the movie has the female lead possessed, she kills her boyfriend, throws him into the bedroom then lunges at the camera with her face all deformed and demony. The alternate ending has her kill him downstairs, her slowly walk back to the bedroom, stand in front of the camera and kill herself. I found it to be a far better ending. END SPOILERS
Recommended if you want a scare, but you'll never watch it more than once.
Anyway, those are my reviews. There'll be more soon. Hopefully.
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