Film roundup

A quick update on the films I saw at the weekend, in order.

Reign of Fire: A wonderfully silly film. I assumed that it would be dodgy at best so I was pleasently surprised at an entertaining 100 minutes. We didn’t get to see much of the dragons, which I think was a good decision, with the film relying on the threat rather than the actuality of them to provide the tension. Christian Bale was his usual self, solid if unspectacular, while Matthew McConaughey was actually good as the over the top Van Zan.
Bulletproof Monk: This just goes to show that a bad trailer can kill a film at the cinema. I love Chow Yun Fat, he’s a fantastic actor, who has unfortunately been in some so-so US produced films. When I saw the trailer for Bulletproof Monk I thought it looked awful. It looked like a really bad action film. It’s possible that the director was making an action film, if so he failed. He did however create a decent comedy. Silly plot, good fun, with Chow playing it for laughs.
Lost in Translation: Magnificent! Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are fantastic. Sofia Coppola’s direction is amazing and unrushed and makes me forgive anything I may have held against her in the past. At times it’s funny, at times sad. Nothing much happens and it’s great because of that. I wholeheartedly recommend this and will be surprised if I see anything better all year.