August already? Good grief, the year is going fast. Up to 169 films now. 200 this year seems very likely. That’s quite impressive going really. August is very much a popcorn blockbuster kind of month when it comes to film viewing.
2nd: Captain America (cinema) – I started July with the Green Lantern. It seems quite fitting to start August with a comic book film too. I had very low expectations for Captain America. Having no interest in the character previously (although I did see a film of it years ago) and being a little unsure after watching the trailer, I watched it mostly due to The Avengers next year. I’m glad I did, I really enjoyed it. It’s nothing overly taxing or anything, just good fun. An ideal film to start the laidback month of August!
4th: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Submarine – There’s going to be a lot of Harry Potter over the next few days. My Mum wanted to go see the new one at the cinema and it made sense to watch them beforehand so that I understood what was going on. I can’t really remember The Order of the Phoenix besides one very spoiler worthy bit at the end. Think it was OK though.
Submarine was very good although I suspect I’d have enjoyed it more if I’d been a teenage boy once upon a time! Great fun to spot bits and pieces of Swansea that featured in the film too.
8th: Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince – Another Potter film. Shock horror revelation at the end. Decent enough fun.
9th: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (cinema) – Ahh and the last one to watch. I saw the first part at the cinema so didn’t really need to see it again. This part is much better than the first one. A fitting end and all that. I can see why people would enjoy the films but admittedly I’ve got no urge to go back to them at any point!
13th: Serenity, Big, The American – My Mum treated us to a 2 for £10 deal in HMV so we ended up with Serenity (my choice) and The American (her choice). I’ve heard loads of positive things about Serenity and Firefly but never watched either before. I suspect I should have seen Firefly first as Serenity seemed pretty mediocre to me. Poorly acted and very shoddy special effects. Its main crime though was that I found myself getting bored as I wasn’t interested in any of the characters. Maybe I need to lose my geek credentials?
Big was next on the agenda on a rainy Saturday afternoon. It’s still as good as ever. Great 1980s classic!
The American was good too. Real slow burner and I’m not surprised it did badly commercially but I liked it. It felt like an European film rather than typically American which I reckon is why it did badly. People went in expecting something different. Well worth a watch though!
16th: The Devil’s Double (cinema) – Wow, what a surprise. I wasn’t sure about this after watching the trailer. Dominic Cooper is very likeable but that was the problem. I wasn’t convinced he could act (although he was great in The History Boys), especially not playing the role of such an evil man (and I don’t use the word evil lightly). Turns out he was fantastic in the film and my respect for his acting ability has grown enormously. Gripping film too and very much deserving of the 18 certificate. Not convinced how much of it is true and how much is hyperbole as annoyingly the book it’s based on is near impossible to find, but it made for a gripping film. Can’t use enjoyable or anything like that as that sounds very wrong for such a story.
17th: The Shadow – I watched this years ago as a kid and really liked it. It was very forgettable this time round. Boo. That and I kept thinking of Alec Baldwin as he is now!
20th: One Hour Photo – What a great film! Deeply sad and Robin Williams is brilliant in it. Won’t say much else as I suspect everyone else has already seen it bar me!
23rd: Due Date – Can’t resist a bit of Robert Downey Jr even when he’s grumpy and punching young children. Entertaining romp and good mindless fodder for when you know you’ve seen The Hangover enough times for a few months.
24th: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – Much like One Hour Photo, I’ve been wanting to see this for years. It didn’t disappoint. Very weird, from the writer of Being John Malkovich and Synedoche New York after all but excellent too. Another fine example of what a great actor Jim Carrey can be when he’s not doing slapstick.
26th: Blood Diamond – Disappointing. Very disjointed really. Sometimes it was quite good, other times it was quite naive. I’ve studied things to do with the subject matter as well as conflicts like Rwanda and this film deals with it badly. Yes, poetic license is fine but it goes too far at times and just feels dimwitted. If it was aiming to be a mindless blockbuster I’d forgive it more but it’s clearly a film trying to be intelligent. It fails. Oh and there’s one bit near the end that makes sod all sense and drags on for way too long!
27th: The Inbetweeners (cinema), Watchmen – I had no intention of watching The Inbetweeners, especially not at the cinema. I’ve watched the odd episode on TV and laughed but it just didn’t look my sort of thing. Then me and my Mum found ourselves standing outside the cinema one Saturday afternoon with an urge to see a film. Nothing else was on for a good two hours or so, so we went to see this. It was brilliant. Very funny film. We came home and started working our way through the TV series thanks to the Virgin On Demand service. I’m sad to say we’ve only got 5 episodes left now. 
Watchmen: Hmm. Too many characters, too complicated yet uninteresting, too long. Shame as I’ve owned the Blu-ray for two years!
29th: Three Kings, Most of Two Weeks Notice – Not seen Three Kings in years. Felt like watching a film with Mark Wahlberg in it (yeah, I don’t know why either). It was a fun heist film, nothing more to say really!
I’ve been having trouble sleeping lately so watched Two Weeks Notice late one night. Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock are both very watcheable. It’s decent enough.
30th: Cowboys & Aliens (cinema) – Oh dear. Love Daniel Craig, love Jon Favreau’s films. Did not like Cowboys & Aliens. It felt very long, didn’t like one character in it, it was boring and lifeless. What a shame.
31st: The Fighter – Asda had this for £5 and I really liked it at the cinema so it made sense. Excellent film. Christian Bale is amazing in it, mesmerising, every positive word you can think of. Mark Wahlberg is also rather good too. It’s an understated role because it needs to be and he does it just right. Really great tale.
Until another month then! Wonder what September will bring film wise?
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