Watching - June 2024

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

Better than the original? I prefer it, I think. Great modern blockbuster film-making.

Bullet Train (2022)

Preposterous but broadly amusing action comedy. Z suggested it and so we watched it together, and it was a nice evening to spend together, you know, with people being violently killed and stuff. The characters are good and overall it was very watchable, despite the inherent ridiculousness of the plot. Z later showed me this explainer video about it, which draws comparisons with Guy Ritchie films and may be why it reminded me of ...

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)

The great britpop/lad/geezah film, in my uninformed opinion. Tightly plotted, well acted (mostly - Vinnie Jones and Sting are passable for non-actors but still a bit wooden) and very cool, in a slightly disturbing way. Watched with Z, since given he liked the previous film, I thought he might like this (which he did).

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017)

Easy watching with plenty of funny moments and a couple of touching ones too.

Wimbledon (2004)

Look, I just like it, OK?

Tenet (2020)

Predictably mind-bending stuff from Christopher Nolan, very entertaining and mostly followable if you concentrate, which is good because I came close to losing the thread and hence my enjoyment - usually when Kenneth Branagh appeared, because he made the casting unbalanced; he's so recognisable it pulled me out my immersion in the film. Of course, like all time travel plots, it doesn't really bear too much analysis but that's OK.

Elemental (2023)

Time was when any Pixar film was a must-watch with the family, but it's taken almost exactly a year since its release for us to watch this together - and I didn't even know about it until a couple of months ago. Despite being visually as enticing as always, I found this a little lacklustre. Much as I enjoy a romcom, I couldn't get into this attraction of opposites story because of the heavy-handedness of the symbolism.