Thandie Newton

I just came back from the movies, where I watched “2012“. Initially, when I heard about this film, it sounded awesome. I even posted the trailer in the blog, when I first saw it. But then, it came to the cinemas and pretty much everyone I know went to see it, and I haven’t heard any exciting reviews yet. Yes, the special effects are awesome. Yes, they destroy the US and even pretty much all current Earth population. Yes, it’s breath-taking at times. But there was no excitement in those comments. No thrill. No sparks. It almost felt like the movie was boring. So, I wasn’t hurrying to see it. But today I finally did. First, because I had to. Second, because all the other movies I’ve either seen or they suck.

So, I went to see “2012” with lower expectations than I initially set. And maybe that was exactly what I needed. Because I quite enjoyed the film. There were, of course, a few tongue-in-cheek moments, such as mobile telephony working when everything was falling under ground or a doctor with 2 hours of practice flying planes or a computer simulation being able to predict wave impacts up to the second during the time when nothing was certain. But that doesn’t matter. You get these in pretty much every movie these days.

What’s important is that the movie had something to show that you haven’t seen before. Yes, everyone saw the end of the world movies. But not at this scale. Ground was falling, building were collapsing, giant waves were playing ping pong with huge ships, trains were flying over airplanes, and on, and on, and on. Some of the scenes were so realistic, that I was grabbing my armchair’s handles. And that happens rarely.

If you are not into huge scale special effects films, then this one still has some drama, romance, and comedy to offer. Comedy especially. I think it actually made the film so much better. If everything that happened in the movie would have been given with the serious attitude, it would be way too boring and unrealistic. But an occasional joke here and funny face there brought this film to life. As did some of the acting.

Overall, I’d recommend this film to anyone who expects entertainment from a movie. 4 stars.

P.S.: If I still haven’t convinced you to see this film on a big screen, consider this: it was directed by Roland Emmerich, who also directed movies like “10,000 B.C.”, “The Day After Tomorrow”, “The Patriot”, “Godzilla”, “Independence Day”, “Universal Soldier” and a few others.

I went to see a totally other movie today, but somehow the schedules got all messed up and I ended up watching “W.“. I haven’t seen any trailers or posters for the film, except at the time of buing the ticket. And to tell you the truth, I wasn’t very pleased with the thought of watching more about George W. Bush – one man who has been on the screens way more than he deserves. However, the alternative was a really bad remake of a really bad sci-fi movie of the 1950s, so I went for it.

And that turned out to be a good decision. “W.” is one of those movies with the coolest cast, however very under-promoted due to not so popular ideas or angles. “W.” was directed by Oliver Stone – one of the best directors to bring a controversial and unpopular discussion to the table. Roles were played by Josh Brolin, James Cromwell, Scott Glenn, Jeffrey Wright, and a few other people that you will no doubt recognize.

What I liked the most about the movie was how the good and the bad were shown. There was a whole range of characters, some of who were shown good with a few bad mistakes behind their belts, and some of who were bad with some good deeds done. And while the film was mostly about George W. Bush, each and every character was given enough time and development. Overall, it’s a really nice look at good and bad, morale and ethics, tough decisions, historical judgements, and rewards.

One other thing that I liked was how similar were the characters in the movie to their real prototypes. Not being an American, not living in the USA, not following the political scene closely, and havinga really bad memory for names, I was amazed with how fast I could recognize the characters. Often I even had to look closer to see if the character was played by the actor or if any real documentary footage was used. That, of course, is a combination of actors’ work with make-up, costume design, and camera operators. In the end – an excellent result.

I’d rate this film as 7 out of 10. Recommended to anyone who is interested in today’s world and an alternative look on how and why things ended up being as they are.