2008 at the Movies (No10-1)

So here is the second post about 2008 at the Movies. As the post was verging towards 2000 words I decided I’d split it in half. 

Here is 10 down to 1.

10. Sex and the City – I used to watch the TV series but as I was getting into it, the final series was coming to an end. (Remember how Fraiser and SATC were killed off in the same week!) I went to see this with my friend Phil. We hadn’t decided what we wanted to see but we stood in the foyer of the cinema and he decided he wanted to see this over anything else that was listed! At the very sad bit of the film both Phil and me were in tears! 

A New York writer on sex and love is finally getting married to her Mr. Big. But her three best girlfriends must console her after one of them inadvertently leads Mr. Big to jilt her.

9. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian – I haven’t seen this yet – I was meant to go and see it with the Twenties Group but I had to go to band practice rather than skive off for the evening. So I keep meaning to see it but I haven’t seen it yet. When it was decided that The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was going to be remade (there was a TV adaptation back in the 80s/early 90s) I wasn’t too entralled. The chronicles of Narnia were okay but never particularly captured my attention as a book. I was bought the box set of the books and have never actually read the whole set. Ben Barnes who plays the title role, starred in Stardust (one of my faves!) and is about to take the role of Dorian Grey in the film of the same title (which should be out later in 2009 – according to IMDB it’s in post-production now).

The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia, where they are enlisted to once again help ward off an evil king and restore the rightful heir to the land’s throne, Prince Caspian.

8. Wall-E: I ADORE THIS FILM!!!!! There are a couple of famous voices knocking about through out the film but the clever thing about the film is that other than incidental music, there is very little noise. Both Wall-E and Eve just bleep or make a tiny about of dialogue but between them it’s mainly physical actions. I saw this at the cinema and can’t wait to get it on DVD. 

In the distant future, a small waste collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind. 

7. Quantum of Solace – This is Daniel Craig’s second outing as James Bond. It’s sounds really old but since Daniel Craig took over James Bond it’s not been the same. I tried to explain what I think of it to  CJ but he never gets what I mean. I was dragged up on the old style of Bond. So Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton amongst others were the Bonds that I watched on TV with my Mum and Dad. I get that some stories need to be changed and developed for the future and stuff like that but James Bond has become about the violence and stuff like that rather than the girls, gadgets and saving the day.

Seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country’s valuable resource.

6. Mamma Mia! – I could actually probably write a whole post about how much I loved this film but then you would be bored and would stop reading! I ended up seeing it three times at the cinema with different friends. All of whom loved it and would have probably seen it again. I even have the soundtrack on my iPod and on CD so that I have it on in the car lots. 

The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular ’70s group ABBA.

5. Iron Man – On the day that my Grandparents ended up moving house my brother had also bought this on DVD so we ended up watched bits of it when we had set the TV up (after all you need something to test these things!)

When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil. 

4. Hancock – I saw Hancock at the cinema. It was good and I enjoyed it but it did seem like the story was building to somewhere but never quite got there. 

A hard-living superhero who has fallen out of favor with the public enters into a questionable relationship with the wife of the public relations professional who’s trying to repair his image.

3. Kung Fu Panda – I wanted to see Kung Fu Panda as it was by DreamWorks and also because it had Jack Black in it unfortunately I never ended up seeing it as I was meant to go with my friend who adores pandas but for one reason or another we never seemed to be free at the same time!

Po the Panda is the laziest of all the animals in the Valley of Peace, but unwittingly becomes the chosen one when enemies threaten their way of life. 

2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystall Skull – I went to see this at the cinema and I did enjoy it however it wasn’t clear when it was set until Indy started talking about the McCarthy Witch Hunts. The story was written by George Lucas and it was directed by Steven Spielberg – which should have made it awesome! (Useless piece of information I thought Steven Spielberg was a lot younger than George Lucas – actually theres only two years between them)

Famed archaeologist/adventurer Dr. Henry “Indiana” Jones is called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls.

1. The Dark Knight – This was the next film in the Batman series. It was directed by Christopher Nolan who also directed Batman Begins back in 2005. Heath Ledger took the role of The Joker, and unlike previous roles where the Joker has been played as more of a trickster, Ledger’s portrayal of The Joker was more that of a Sociopath who commits the crimes and murders for his own kicks. Ledger has been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor category at the Oscars. I liked the film but I think Maggie Gylleenhaal could have been stronger in her role. 

Batman, Gordon and Harvey Dent are forced to deal with the chaos unleashed by an anarchist mastermind known only as the Joker, as it drives each of them to their limits.

All the synopsis/summaries come from the relevant pages on the IMDB website.