Recently Watched Films

I miss writing book blog posts but I feel horrible guilty if I read anything that's not related to my uni modules during the academic year. My friend described it as 'cheating on my degree' and I think this pretty much sums it up. I still read lots and lots, but you're probably not too interested in my review of a journal article on Mao or a book on Capetian France, so I let the book posts dry up. I'll be getting back into them after exams, but I thought that film reviews may be a nice way to fill the void. Let's give the books' pixely friends some loving too, they sure do deserve it. 

I've watched some good films recently, and you've probably already seen all of them, because I've been super rubbish at keeping up with new releases, and excuses, excuses, excuses. But I'm slowly catching up, and these films were good. If a few of them have slipped you by too then I recommend giving them a go :) I can't be the only person that hadn't already seen these... 

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan is probably my all time favorite director. Inception is still up there on my list of all time favorite films (it came out five whole years ago, FIVE!) and I have a lot of love for Batman. So why has it taken me this long to watch Interstellar? I honestly have no excuse. It's a little slow to get to the action, but the build up didn't bore me, I enjoyed it. It's very very well done, top acting, and makes you think Inception style, but without the torturing cliff hanger of an end. I was worried it would be like Gravity, a visually impressive space film but quite long feeling, and well just more of the same. I didn't not like Gravity, but this is just a long winded way to let you know that I preferred Interstellar. 

11/13 wormholes.

The Fault in our Stars 

I'm a fan of John Green (I enjoy watching the odd vlog brothers video) and I've read the book. But I didn't love the book. This made me feel like a shitty person so I'd been avoiding the film. I think I went into it with too many expectations, and read it too quickly and didn't let myself have all the feels. But well, the film changed my mind a bit. I liked knowing what was going to happen, and was able to appreciate all the moments, and I may have shed a few tears. Normally I'm a 'I like the film but the book is still my favorite' type of person, but this time it was different. I'm tempted to reread the book, but even if I don't I definitely appreciate it more than I did. 

Sidenote: look out for the awkward John Green cameo, you can't miss it.  

5.5/8 stars.

The Imitation Game 

I'll give any film with with Benedict Cumberbatch a go (and he didn't disappoint), but there are many more reasons to give this one a watch. For starters it also has Keira Knightley and Charles Dance. It's also a cracking watch. (Pun intended, sorry) It's about Alan Turing, the pioneering computer scientist, and it focuses on his top secret work at Bletchley Park during the Second World War. Here he led a team that cracked the German Enigma machine used for enciphering and deciphering secret messages. The work at Bletchley is considered to have shortened the war by two years, saving millions of life and I find it all really interesting. It also touches upon Alan Turing's personal life and while it may not be 100% accurate its still a very very good film, and a good starting point for finding out some information. 

8.5/10 algorithms.

The Theory of Everything 

While The Imitation Game was about Alan Turing's life I'd say that it presented it by focusing on his work. In The Theory of Everything it's the other way round. Stephen Hawking's work is there, but it focuses on his personal life. Again, not 100% accurate, but 123 mins is never going to 

perfectly capture anyone's life. Eddie Redmayne was amazing and truly deserves all of the awards he's got for the role. 

10/16 theories. 

Paddington

Funny, entertaining, a little bit ridiculous in places but its about a talking bear with a love for marmalade sandwiches, it works. It keeps the character that I loved as a child, and adapts it for 2015, and well, it works. Its also a positive presentation of immigration, and if we get everyone to watch it, then maybe, just maybe, we can  prevent any UKIP votes in the general election. Here's hoping. 

15/20 marmalade sandwiches. 

Big Hero 6 

Disney have only gone and done it again. You haven't been living in a cave and missed Big Hero 1,2,3,4 and 5, its a standalone film and no prior knowledge is needed, but it is another Disney success. Great animation, good story line and likable characters. It doesn't have Frozen's catchy tunes, which could be music to your ears or a massive disappointment, but it does have a good soundtrack to accompany the classic Disney montages that we all know and love.  

4.5/6 robots.

You can follow all my film watching on letterboxd (this is my profile), which is basically goodreads for films. It fulfills my need to catalogue everything and gives me another place where I can make lists, and you can never have too many lists. You can also laugh at my embarrassing 'watchlist'. One day I'll get round to watching the Matrix, one day...  

Have you seen any good films lately? If you have any recommendations let me know in the comments, or twitter, or email, or smoke signals. Okay, maybe not smoke signals. 

(Film posters all sourced from IMDb)