The Dark Knight Rises and other matters

Well my absence from the big screen ended last week. It wasn't a new release I chose to see, but The Dark Knight Rises which has been out for a while and which I'm sort of glad I waited to see. Negative reviews from Aint It Cool Readers and some critics I respected had dampened my enthusiasm. But last weekend It was the Dark Knight or Total Recall. Batman won.
And to be honest, I enjoyed it, it is the weaker of the series but not to such an extent that it spoiled the experience. To be honest I loved it, I'm not prissy and over protective about the treatment of comic book legends. By virtue of his being a comic book creation, his story , his origin has been revisited many times and so a re imagining is legitimate and just as this has been a successful franchise for Warner Brothers there have been at least two misfires.
Chaos has been the undercurrent of Nolans Trilogy and the more grounded interpretation of his more iconic foes has been a breath of fresh air. My only criticism with this third and final entry of the Nolan canon is his treatment of Bain. Come on, who decided that Tom Hardy (an excellent and watch-able actor) should voice his character like some poor Sean Connery imitator with cotton wool in his mouth. I didn't feel the menace, it diluted the threat for me to the point that in one or two moments I found myself stifling my desire to laugh.
Nolan's direction is stand-out, action scenes pop, set pieces shine. Hats off too the special effects guys because in this film I find it hard to differentiate between the practical and cgi.

Now who will reboot this franchise.

Lastly, tomorrow Fathers day, I'm off to Courtney Central to see Finding Nemo 3D with my boy. So a review will follow shortly after. I also will be looking at the Avengers blu ray and will post up what extra's are on the Australasia release of the film. But finally I have now in my possesion, Jaws!!!!. I have had a brief glimpse and the picture is stunning, my favourite film in a brilliant release. This is one viewing I am going to savour.

So back online soon, also might put up a post with films that I'm looking forward too.

Hunt for the Jaws Blu Ray

Jaws, just the thought of it takes me back to the day my brother and I persuaded our babysitter to detour from the line for The Man Who Would be King in favour of the line for the film with a Poster that promised big sharks with big teeth. I was about 7 and the introduced me to the magic of Mr Spielberg, Duel , Close Encounters and my first cinematic love, Raiders of the Lost Ark.
   So yesterday I spent my lunch hour treking through Wellington, in search of the blu ray that was my own personal holy grail. My efforts went by unrewarded. Websites told me that 22 August was the New Zealand day of release. But I just couldn't find  a copy of it for love or money. What happened, why can't I find it anywhere. Not even my beloved JB Hi-Fi had a copy.
  So last night, I was down, today I spent yet another lunch hour in a fruitless search for the object of my obsession and still no joy.

   So a big thank-you to my wife who came to the rescue, yes I could've ordered online from Amazon. But nah so she took the matter in her own hands and ordered from a local supplier. If all goes well I will have the silver platter in my hands tomorrow night and I will be revisiting my favourite movie but this time in all its high def glory.
    I just wish I knew why I couldn't find it in JB

Birthdays, the Lighthouse and Blu Rays

Well its been a wicked fortnight spent on the one hand celebrating birthdays and on the other battling the stomach bug from hell. Now I would be a lier if I even attempted to claim that this had curtailed my cinema going. It didn't, simple truth of the matter is Rock of Ages was the only new film in town, and to be quite honest it didn't really appeal. But last Saturday was spent celebrating my sons 4th birthday and Thursday my own 46th. 

   Well if you have been a follower of my blog you will know that Birthdays in our household mean a visit to Amazon.co. UK , a time when my wife unleashes the Visa card and sets me loose. As you well know when placed in this intolerable situation I tend towards a mix of the old and the new in the blu ray selection process. So this years official Mark's birthday selection is as follows.

1. The Yellow Submarine, if there is one other love outside of cinema, then it would be for the music of the Beatles. As a young kid in the 70's they were something I grew up with, and became a part of my make up. The Yellow Submarine to a kid brought up on Disney is like a shot of adrenaline , very much a product of its time, and yet timeless due to its wonderful stylistic choices. I already have the DVD but I now have the 4K blu ray restoration. It was the one film I did watch on my birthday and Its never looked better.
2. Transformers 3 The Dark side of the moon. Purchased to show off my 3D set up and because I actually enjoyed this third effort. 
3. X Men complete collection, it was on special and as it had X Men First class and for this reason it jumped to the top of my order along with
4. The Jurassic Park Collection, Spielberg, Dinosaurs, what more can I say. Its not Jaws but that Blu ray is out soon so this will help the wait.
5. Despicable Me 3D what can I say, I love this animated marvel, and its one I can share with my son.
6. The Italian Job, this is the original and in my eyes greatest version. Michael Caine, Benny Hill, Cool Britannia and a brilliant Quincy Jones soundtrack. I've yet to see the Blu Ray but its one I cant wait to hold in my hands and put into the player.

So although my blog has been quiet, my film watching hasn't been. I was even taken aback by the Blu Ray of Highlander which I had been led to believe was barely better than the DVD version. ( Its a lot better, it shows its age, but I was pleasantly surprised). 

    

     But normal service is about to resume, later today I will be taking the family to our local Lighthouse cinema to see Ice Age 4 and then tomorrow I will be taking my wife to see Brave. We would have taken my son but reviews have led me to believe that it might be for a slightly older audience. So watch this space. Also in the next week or so we will have Spiderman and the Darknight films to look forward too.

      But tonight I have something else to look forward too. Rialto film channel is showing Kill List the Ben Wheatly movie which I have been waiting to see for nearly 12 months to see. It didnt get distributed in Wellington so this is my first chance to see it and I'm pretty excited so I might expect my views in the next roundup I post.