Krondas Ins Kino

Many people would complain that cinema has lost it's mind because films like Meet The Spartans reach Number 1 in the U.S box office. This is not cinemas fault, this is the fault of the sort of idiots that go to the cinema to see any old shite, this makes money, big studios realise they really can polish a turd, and a horrific never ending cycle of piss-poor spoofs continue. Thankfully, there have been some fantastic films in the opening months of 2008, and then there have been some interesting ideas that failed to truly entertain, such as:

Cloverfield
Or "How Mark realised that after 4 years of Lost he really should have learned his fucking lesson by now."

I was looking forward to Cloverfield, I knew Abrams penchant for disappointing the hell out of people and leaving them hanging, but that trailer was freakin' awesome. Of course, the scene from the trailer and the absolutely fantastic, slightly Half Lifey tunnel sequence are really the only stand out, balls to the wall enjoyable scenes. Much like Lost, the victims of this particular disaster are all terribly good looking and (barring one unexplained explosion) do not suffer any disfigurements in the course of the film. As for the shaky handheld camera action, it gets old...it gets old very very quickly, and then you start feeling genuinely sick. And I'm not convinced the monster is not explained because it's from the perspective of normal folk. I have a funny feeling such things were left open for the sequel. So yes, very disappointing, nauseatingly so.

Next up is the best film I've seen this year. (Alright it's early days yet but I see a lot of films right? Get off my case yeah?) No Country For Old Men

I'm going to attempt to talk about the brilliant No Country without using the phrase "Blistering Return to Form". After an ill-advised remake of the splendid Ladykillers and, in my opinion, under-rated screwball comedy in the form of Intolerable Cruelty it was clear the Coen's had fallen slightly, ever so slightly from favour. Good job then that their latest film is a mature, bloody and brilliant film which is about more than just a drug deal gone wrong and a man on the run with a lot of money. Tommy Lee Jones is the true star of the film and shines, especially in the surprisingly abrupt ending. Good old fashioned grown up entertainment.

Juno now and I have to admit, I was worried. The opening scene with our protagonist swigging Sunny D and looking at discarded lawn furniture, ("The most awesome discarded living room set I have ever seen" Oh yes, very quirky very "random") who promptly steps into one of those nauseating Orange ads, all crayon drawings and a quirky sugary soundtrack. I was very worried, dear reader. Thankfully, once this title sequence was over, and there's a wonderful cameo from the American Office's Rainn Wilson and I was in. And I thoroughly thoroughly enjoyed the film, great cast, wonderful script, and even a mildly creepy relationship between 16 year old Juno and the man adopting her child. (played by the amazing Jason Bateman.) Allison Janney and Michael Cera do wonderful jobs at playing slightly different versions of their well known roles CJ Cregg and George Michael Bluth. A lovely, sweet film, just a shame it has a soundtrack so sugary that it puts the film in serious danger of giving you toothace, or at the very least a stomach ache usually resulting from over-indulging on the Pick and Mix.

A final mention goes to Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman playing Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman (is it now a contractual obligation that Freeman has to narrate every film he's in?) in The Bucket List. It's a thoroughly enjoyable 90 minute film about how short life is, as the boys gets busy living (sorry) before the inevitable. For reasons that become clear at the end of the film, the voiceover is perhaps unneccesary and a tad heavy handed, but it's funny, and it is always good to see Jack in action.

So there you have it, I'm off to Cineworld to see any film in the hope of catching the Doctor Who Series 4 trailer. Juno what I mean? (Been dying to get that pun in here somewhere.)