The Last Jedi a couple more times

Still no spoilers so it is safe to read on... Sam and I trekked out to the Cineworld at The O2 in Greenwich for another showing of The Last Jedi. We went there so that we could try out their DBOX experience for the first time. It was also a 3D version of the film.

The DBOX experience was interesting. The seat moves and vibrates along with the film. It was quite enjoyable although I wouldn't want to do it for every film I saw. Definitely one to add to the list for future Star Wars releases.

By now you are all well aware of my view of 3D films and that has never really changed. Dr. Strange and Dredd being the only notable cases where I thought 3D was well used. See The Last Jedi in 3D hasn't change my view but it did work very well in 3D. There were some very nice touches that worked well in 3D.

Having seen The Last Jedi twice now I have to say I love it even more. We decided not to go quite as mad as we did for The Force Awakens but planned one more today. We got in touch with Aaron and then headed back to Bexleyheath Cineworld for another viewing in 2D.

The Last Jedi is rapidly working it's way up my favourite Star Wars movie list to the point that I am now struggling to put together a top 3 LOL. As I said in my initial reaction blog post, I would highly recommend going to see this film!

Blade Runner 2049

After the noms we went to Cineworld to see Blade Runner 2049.

This was one of those films where you dread them making a sequel in case they make a real pigs ear of it and mess up the legacy. Thankfully this was NOT the case here.

Here's a quick synopsis: Thirty years after the events of the first film, a new blade runner, LAPD Officer K, unearths a long-buried secret that has the potential to plunge what’s left of society into chaos. K’s discovery leads him on a quest to find Rick Deckard, a former LAPD blade runner who has been missing for 30 years.

Stylistically Blade Runner 2049 sticks close to Blade Runner and doesn't rely on naff CGI to paint the picture. We also have another superb soundtrack from Vangelis provided the perfect audio backdrop to the story.

It is a fantastic film, well worth going to see and a very worthy sequel to a classic.

I won't post any spoilers but there are questions left unanswered at the end of this (as with the first one) which leaves the whole thing beautifully enigmatic and cryptic.

Here's the trailer

The Dark Tower

We went out for breakfast this morning to Delicio in Eltham and Sam came up with the fantastic idea of going to the cinema as we hadn't been for a while. We decided to go and see The Dark Tower which is based on Stephen King's novels of the same name.

It wasn't a bad film at all. We hadn't read the books so had no preconceived ideas. The ending seemed a little bit rushed but overall it was a good story with some great concepts.

The plot was simple:
The last Gunslinger, Roland Deschain, has been locked in an eternal battle with Walter O'Dim, also known as the Man in Black, determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the ultimate battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.

Not sure if you should see it if you've read the books but I'd certainly recommend it if you haven't. It's even been done in such a way that they could move into sequel territory should they so desire.  

After the film we went to Bella Italia for a nice meal.

Zizzi and Captain America: Civil War

Today was one of those rare days where Toni and I actually got to go out and spend some time together. We started off with a lovely meal at Zizzi.

 Non-alcoholic cocktail to start!

Melted cheese and bread

Pulled beef

Chocolate and banana calzone

After the noms we hit Cineworld to go and see Captain America: Civil War. Whilst I there had been doubts about this film I left very impressed. There were some very interesting character developments that I enjoyed and the action sequences were superb. I won't give anything away though. Here's a trailer if you haven't already decided to go and see it.


Oh yeah, there was Spider-Man, did I mention Spider-Man? Spider-Man was good and I am very very excited about the new Spider-Man films now!

Pixels 3D

Cinema time again for Toni, Sam and I as e continue to thrash our Cineworld Unlimited cards. Today was an advance screening of Adam Sandler's new movie Pixels.

When aliens intercept video feeds of classic arcade games and misinterpret them as a declaration of war, they attack Earth, using the games as models. Knowing that he must employ a similar strategy, President Will Cooper (Kevin James) recruits his childhood pal, former video-game champ and home-theater installer Sam Brenner (Adam Sandler), to lead a team of old-school arcade players (Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad) and a military specialist (Michelle Monaghan) to save the planet.

We chose to ignore the bad reviews and were delighted to find a very funny film. I guess it made a big difference coming from a generation were arcades were where we went for entertainment and shovelling coins into classic machines was the best fun you could have. Well, Sam wasn't but he had good exposure to all that stuff. All the icons were there with some great one liners. The film is worth going to see for Peter Dinklage alone but it is so much more than that.

An added bonus was that despite this being in 3D it was actually done pretty well and fitted in perfectly with the pixelated storyline.

Frankie & Benny's and Dracula Untold

To not celebrate Sam's creation day Toni, Sam, Aaron and I went to Bexleyheath for a meal at Frankie & Benny's and then went to Cineworld to see Dracula Untold.

Really enjoyed this re-imaging of the Dracula story and it's nice to see an inventive origins tale too. It would be far too easy to drop spoilers in so I'll just say that the script is string, some of the effects are stunning and if you like vampire stories or have an affinity with Dracula then you are probably going to like this film. The ending is done in such a way that there is potential for a sequel but it wouldn't be a problem if there wasn't. I'm hopeful that there will be one.

The trailer:

The Equalizer

Cineworld bound again this time to see The Equalizer

McCall is a former black ops commando who has faked his death to live a quiet life in Boston. When he comes out of his self-imposed retirement to rescue a young girl, Teri, he finds himself face to face with ultra-violent Russian gangsters. As he serves vengeance against those who brutalize the helpless, McCall's desire for justice is reawakened. If someone has a problem, the odds are stacked against them, and they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.

It wasn't a bad film. Good clean mindless violent fun. Yes it was based on the old Edward Woodward TV series continuing Hollywood's penchant for rehashing old ideas but it had a fresh edge and Denzil Washington plays the lead role very well.

The Guest

We were Bexleyheath bound again tonight for dinner at Frankie & Benny's followed by a trip to Cineworld. Toni was absolutely delighted to be given this:

After the noms it was off to see The Guest. It's a reasonable plot. David is the perfect guest. Friendly and helpful, this young soldier arrives on the doorstep of the Peterson family, claiming to be a good friend of their beloved son who died in action. The Petersons welcome David into their home and into their lives, but when people start mysteriously dying in town, their teenage daughter Anna starts wondering if David is responsible.

The film itself wasn't bad at all. It moved along at a reasonable pace and the story built well. It felt like a  no frills movie but it was good. There was one part that was a bit silly but it did settle down again after that. The ending leaves it open for a sequel although I am hoping that they'll leave it as it is as it works. I guess that decision is down to how much it makes. It's not a "must see" but is definitely worth checking out on DVD or from your preferred choice of streaming company.  

Lucy

Cineworld Unlimited time again and our film of choice was Lucy.

It was supposed to be a simple job. All Lucy had to do was deliver a mysterious briefcase to Mr. Jang. But immediately Lucy is caught up in a nightmarish deal where she is captured and turned into a drug mule for a new and powerful synthetic drug. When the bag she is carrying inside of her stomach leaks, Lucy's body undergoes unimaginable changes that unlocks her mind's full potential 100%.

Scarlett Johansson was well cast as Lucy and played the role well. The film was quite surreal in places and occasionally seemed a little disjointed but overall it wasn't bad. The ending is strange but if you think about it hard enough it does make sense (sort of). Certainly worth a look but it won't be for everyone.

Trailer time