Look out! He's got a knife!

Some Movies

Just saw Bright Young Things, which was Stephen Fry's directorial debut; he also adapted the screenplay from Evelyn Waugh's book Vile Bodies.

I thought that the script lacked focus. Worse, so did the cinematography; there were lots of flashy whirling shots where the focus puller seemed to be asleep. The whole movie was over-directed, as you'd expect from an actor & writer making his debut. Some of the acting was pretty good but a lot of it was overdone, especially Simon Callow and the usually-great Jim Broadbent.

Sir John Mills was hilarious in a silent cameo, and the ever-brilliant Peter O'Toole was delightful in his one scene. All in all, a trifle slightly over-cooked.

Much more worthwhile was X-Men 2, which I finally caught on DVD. I really wish I'd seen it at the movies now. I'll say it in bold italics: X-Men 2 is the best action movie I've seen in at least a decade.

Quite frankly this was a better movie than most "serious" movies. It tells a cracking good yarn; it's generally well acted and visually splendid; it tackles serious issues - ranging from racism and homophobia to America's foreign policy post-September 11 - without seeming preachy. If there was one criticism I could level at it it's that it expects you to have seen the first movie, but you should see the first movie too so that's no biggie.

It also features an awesome scene where a guy with claws kills heaps of people. Which is always a plus, especially when the guy in question is doing it to defend children. Hooray for Hollywood!