Movie Round Up

28 Days Later (2002 / UK)
Full of good ideas and intentions but let down by its pace that diminishes during the middle act. The film badly loses direction as it doesn’t seem to know what it wants to be. Lacks the focus and intensity of its superior sequel.

A Bittersweet Life (2005 / Korea)
A stylish and beautifully shot, mafia-revenge story that’s full of exciting action sequences. Whilst the plot is hardly original its deep enough to lend meaning to the violence but shallow enough not to get in the way.

War (2007 / USA)
Disappointingly lacking in action, considering the “pedigree” of the two leads, for the first hour or so. Thankfully things pick up from there but the inevitable, final showdown is a bit of an anti-climax. There are a few twists in the tale to keep it interesting but overall it’s quite average compared to Li and Statham at their best.

Spiderman (2002 / USA)
Bar going down a darker route (ala Batman Begins) it’s hard to imagine how a superhero movie could be done much better. Thoroughly entertaining.

Wedding Crashers (2005 / USA)
Definitely (and surprisingly) more rom than com. With laugh-out-loud moments so thin on the ground and the creeping, and extremely predictable, plot (is there actually a rom-com that isn’t predictable? Or is that part of the bargain?) it’s tough going to make it through the 2 hours. (Thankfully Will Ferrell cameos for a stint at the end) Overall: Dull.