I mostly went to Murder on the Orient Express on the basis of the trailer, which showed a big cast of luvvie actors who seemed to be having an infectiously fun time together. Some of the names in the credits: Michelle Pfeiffer, Derek Jacobi, Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Daisy Ridley and Penélope Cruz.… Read the rest
The first Kingsman movie, based on a graphic novel by Mark Millar, posited a stereotypical English organisation of crime-fighting operatives with a wide slew of Batman-worthy, yet gentlemanly gadgets. The emotional through-line was an experienced Kingsman (Colin Firth) helping a streetwise noob (Taron Egerton) reach his full potential.… Read the rest
Logan is a pleasant surprise after the last X-Men related movie, the overblown and messy X-Men – Apocalpyse. Logan’s story is more intimate and small-scale. And really depressing. The dark and mature tone as well as the future setting – it takes place in 2029, although not much seems different apart from self-driving cars – set it far apart from the other movies in the X-Men franchise.… Read the rest
Can we all just agree that Magneto is beyond redemption? Sure, it’s all very ironic that someone who survived the Holocaust is now a big believer in “Übermenschen”. And admittedly, his main philosphical argument with Xavier is interesting. If an oppressed minority has enough power to seize control, should they do so?… Read the rest
Deadpool started out as a fairly generic mercenary in the Marvel comic book universe during the nineties. I am not sure at what point he picked up the moniker ‘the merc with a mouth’, but he ended up changing into a morally dubious smart-ass who was always looking out for number one.… Read the rest
Gone Girl director David Fincher is no stranger to twisty tales that are heavy on the moral ambiguity. (Also see: Se7en, The Game and Fight Club.) His latest movie is two-thirds of a thriller that is successfully tense, though you are likely to figure out where the story is headed before it arrives there.… Read the rest
Watching a botanist try to survive on Mars against all odds is funnier than one would suspect. When Mark Watney (Matt Damon) gets left for dead by his team during a mission gone wrong, things seems hopeless. A lesser man would possibly just give up and expire, but not this guy.… Read the rest
Going into this sequel, I didn’t remember much about the first How to Train Your Dragon. I remembered that it mas well-made, engaging and that it had a very cute dragon in it. I also remembered it getting wrapped up at the end and not needing a sequel.… Read the rest
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes continues the reboot of the franchise started in 2011 with Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Thankfully, the sequel ditches the never-not-smug James Franco – barring a quick ‘cameo’ – and makes the slightly bland but likeable Jason Clarke (as Malcolm) its main human instead.… Read the rest
