Recent Viewings....

The Awakening (2011)
Atmospherically this film reminded me a lot of The Orphanage,  suffice to say I really enjoyed it.  Nothing like a good ghost story to keep you entertained on a chilly winters evening!  Having also recently watched the latest Hammer Horror rendition of The Woman in Black with Harry Potter, I was glad to actually get a ghost story that had its wits about it and did not rely on cheap gimmicks and loud noises for its thrills.  Whilst the ending may have been little obvious, and not quite as shocking as The Orphanage, I still found it most enjoyable and will definitely be adding it to my collection in the near future.

Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
Went in to this one with pretty low expectations and must say I was pleasantly surprised.  It certainly borrows a lot from other movies (Princess Mononoke I am looking at you) and the ending is possibly one of the worst I have seen in recent memory, but the journey to that clunky ending was quite entertaining and the film is quite the visual feast!  I was a bit weireded out by the "dwarfs" though.

Brave (2012)
Pixar brings us a stunnigly beuatiful film to behold and were it not for the overly apparent moral tale running through the story this would certainly have been one of the best films of the year.  Sadly the story brings it down as it is too confusing and the constant hammering of the themes gets old fast.  Having said that, I would pay to watch a movie of just Merida's hair!!

Prometheus (2012)
Biggest disappointment of the year so far I am afraid....2 and a half hours and basically I came out with far more questions than answers... I am beginning to lose faith in Ridley Scott as he hasn't really made a decent film since Gladiator (though I did enjoy Matchstick Men).  The film certainly looked great, Fassbender was awesome, not sure what Charlize was doing there, it did have a few moments of interest, but I would rather have watched Alien 3 to be honest!

Piranha 3DD (2012)
Well, what can I say.... I really enjoyed the original (well, the original remake anyway) and I had fairly moderate hopes for this instalment and whilst it did have a few inspired moments, for the most part it was a D-Grade tits and gore fest with nothing original added to the foray....should have been way funnier than it was!

The Cabin in the Woods (2012)
Thoroughly enjoyed this take on the "teens go camping and end up in peril" film, much like Tucker and Dale before it we are treated to all the cliches, but with a nice twist thrown in for good measure... will be interested to see if it gets a sequel, given the material is now ripe for the picking!

Dumbo (1941)
Disney Australia did what I consider to be a fantastic thing over the school holiday period! They brought back a number of their classic titles to the big screen in brand spanking new digital transfers! I was lucky enough to see two of these screenings, Dumbo and The Aristocats. I cannot even remember the last time I had actually seen Dumbo, so to be given the opportunity to see it on the big screen was a huge bonus for me! In a testament to how long it has been, I had totally forgotten that Dumbo does not utter a single word in this film!

The Aristocats (1970)
Having just ordered The Aristocats on Blu-ray, it seemed a little silly to be paying to see it on the big screen, but as this is quite possibly my favourite Disney film of all time, I could not resist and boy what an experience!  I cannot remember the last time I actually got to see a hand drawn animated feature film, but this was fantastic. Disney have done a wonderful job of cleaning up the film without taking away any of fine detail, if the Blu-ray looks even half as good as this version did, then I will be very impressed!

God Bless America (2011)
A modern day Bonnie & Clyde that had way too many scenes that I could relate to in it! I must admit I really did enjoy the film despite some predictable plot moments and a few overly dramatic scenes, definitely another of my favourite movies of the year so far!

Hick (2011)
Gun-toting teens seemed to be a prevalent theme in my movie watching habits last month!  Chloe Moretz stars in this interesting little drama about a daughter abandoned by her Mother and neglected by her Father who sets out to find a new life amongst the glitz and glamor of Las Vegas.  She does this by hitching, so you could basically argue that this is a road movie.  I give it full points for not being predictable in anyway, but just something about this film stopped me from enjoying it fully....