Summative Statement

These films represent only a small portion of the industry, and only a very small part of their respective genres. I've seen quite many movies, as several members of my family have worked in a video store, and I really enjoy film as a visual medium that's capable of conveying so much more than the written word, though I enjoy that, too.

I've found, though, with these movies, that while often very good, many of them were in my opinion a little disappointing. It's interesting how the impression that you get from a well-done movie trailer can be so very different from the actual film.

These movies represent for me the best of the recent ones that I've seen in acting, art direction, set design, and overall effect - because there's a lot of bad ones out there.

Film Review: 'State Of Play'

'State Of Play' is a political murder-mystery thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald. The screenplay was written by Matthew Michael Carnahan and Tony Gilroy (writer of The Bourne Identity), and is based on the 2003 British mini-series of the same name that starred John Simm, Bill Nighy, James McAvoy and David Morrissey.

A small-time thief is found dead in the street, a pizza boy is found nearby with a critical gunshot wound, and the aide to Congressman Stephen Collins falls in front of a subway train and dies. Three completely unrelated incidents. Or are they? Cal McAffrey, a reporter for the Washington Globe with past ties to the congressman, has information which suggests that everything is not as it seems. With the help of fellow reporter Della Frye, Cal goes where the clues lead him, and uncovers a startling conspiracy involving the private sector security firm that Congressman Collins is currently investigating. But as he digs deeper into the role the private company might play in the deaths, Cal also realises that they may have all been played for fools from the beginning ...

While the characters aren't too complex, the plot more than makes up for that with it's twist ending that really throws you for a loop. All in all, it's a solid mystery thriller that I'd recommend watching.

Film Review: 'Julie & Julia'

Julie & Julia is a new movie written and directed by Nora Ephron, and based on the blog and book by Julie Powell. It stars Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina.

This movie tells the story of Julie Powell (Amy Adams), a cubicle worker who decides to attempt to cook her way through all of the recipes in Julia Child's first book and write a blog about it. Julie's story is interspersed with the story of Julia's beginnings in the cooking business and her life in Paris with her husband Paul (played by Stanley Tucci). This mixing of the two stories is a really well-used storytelling device, as it helps to illustrate the how different these two women actually are.

Before watching this movie, I had never heard of Julia Child, but I've since seen a video of her on the Internet, and would say from watching it that Meryl Streep's performance was absolutely perfectly in character. Stanley Tucci was also very good as Julia's husband Paul, showcasing his great versatility as an actor in a completely different role from his recent turn as murderer George Harvey in Peter Jackson's 'The Lovely Bones'.

'Julie & Julia' is a good movie, like one would expect from Nora Ephron, but with something of a surprise for Julie (and the audience) near the end when she discovers through a reporter that Julia has not only heard of what she's doing, but has an opinion on it. I had been wondering throughout the film whether the two women's paths would actually cross, and it would have an interesting end to the movie, but since it was based on a true story (or two true stories), that may have been bending the facts a bit too much.

The overall message I got from this movie was that your heroes aren't always what you build them up to be.

Just in case anyone's interested, here are some related links:

• Julie & Julia on IMDB
• and the true story behind Julia Child's reaction to Julie's blog, from the reporter who rang Julie and told her about it - Russ Parsons of the Los Angeles Times. Beware: if you haven't seen the movie, this will probably ruin the ending for you. You have been warned.

Film Review: 'Alice In Wonderland'

'Alice In Wonderland' is a new live action Disney film directed by Tim Burton, and starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Anne Hathaway, Lindsay Duncan, Marton Csokas, Stephen Fry and Michael Sheen.

Tim Burton is one of my favourite directors for his darker take on storytelling. I really enjoyed his earlier films like Sleepy Hollow, Big Fish, Edward Scissorhands, Corpse Bride, and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street. However, when I heard that he was doing Alice In Wonderland, I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I figured I'd be disappointed somehow.

I've been reading some online reviews and it would seem that many people don't like this movie ... but I don't agree. As with most things Burton, I really enjoyed it.

This version of Alice In Wonderland was children's fairy tale, done in Tim Burton's inimitable style: bright, stylised, fun, colourful, and entertaining. The plot may not have been the most complex ever invented, but I don't think it needed to be - the simple 'heroic destiny' plot was enough story for the movie's run time, and if you cram too much in there, people begin to lose track. And no, it wasn't Alice as we know her - it was Alice revisited. I'll own that it had its darker moments, but I liked that about it. Probably my only real problem with this movie (besides the simple plot) was the obviousness of each character's allegiance - they were either red (bad) or white (good?).

I particularly enjoyed Johnny Depp's take on the Mad Hatter (though, from reading reviews, I may be the only one who did) - who was, indeed, quite mad, but had his moments of almost clarity, making him slightly more believable; and also Stephen Fry, who was brilliant as the Cheshire Cat. I thought Helena Bonham Carter was very good as the petulant Red Queen, along with Michael Sheen as the White Rabbit, Crispin Glover as the Knave of Hearts, Alan Rickman (who practically guarantees quality) as the Caterpillar, and even Anne Hathaway as the White Queen, who managed to pull off her ethereal queen with the faintest undercurrent of nastiness.

I only saw the movie in 2D, not 3D, but I don't think that it detracted from the experience at all.