Sunday 4 August 2013

Steampunk goodness and The Heat

We've been catching up with quite a few movies that are classed as steampunk of late. Some of them are kind of borderline and some fit very well.

The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello is a short animated adventure that is all cogs and steam and beautifully imagined. Set in a world of iron dirigibles and steam powered computers, this gothic horror mystery tells the story of Jasper Morello, a disgraced aerial navigator who flees his plague-ridden home on a desperate voyage to redeem himself.



Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events was less of a "true" steampunk film but is a good old yarn with some wonderful gadgets and devices. One of the few Jim Carrey films where he isn't a carbon copy of The Mask. When a massive fire kills their parents, three children are delivered to the custody of cousin and stage actor Count Olaf, who is secretly plotting to steal their parents' vast fortune.



The Secret Adventures Of Jules Vernes is an old TV series that is well immersed in all things steampunk and Victoriana. We watched the first couple of episodes and it is very good. In this series, we see the adventures of the young Father of Science Fiction and his friends, Phileas and Rebecca Fogg and their servant, Passepartout. In an alternative Victorian era, which has taken that era's technology to fantastic levels, this intrepid quartet battles villians wherever they find them.



We took a break from the steam and cogs to go to Cineworld in Bexleyheath to see The Heat. We saw the trailer for this a while back and it looked very silly. It is but it is also well written and full of laughs, action and a little emotion at the end. Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy were brilliantly cast and complement each other very well. The plot is simple: An uptight FBI Special Agent is paired with a foul-mouthed Boston cop to take down a ruthless drug lord. This film is definitely worth a watch!

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