May Movie Month- Part One

For reasons I can’t really remember, I set myself the challenge of watching 31 movies in the month of May. That’s one a day though it probably won’t work out like that. For the next few Sundays I shall be sharing with you my thoughts on the movies I’ve seen that week. It should work out to be something pretty cool.

1) The Hangover Part II

The wolf pack end up drugged with no idea what the hell they got up to once for a second time. This time in Bangkok. They have to retrace their steps through tattoo parlours, strip clubs and deal with a drug dealing monkey. The plot is nothing particularly special, it’s essentially just the first movie rewritten. It’s still very funny though and that’s what makes it brilliant. The Hangover Part II is in no way ground-breaking but it’s still a fun way to spend a few hours. ★★★☆☆

2) Bruce Almighty

I’ve seen this one a few times but I still love it. Bruce Nolan complains how badly God is treating him so God lets Bruce take over. It is pretty funny but I love the message it gives, despite the fact I’m in no way religious- it’s up you to find your own way in life. Bruce uses his new-found powers in a way most people would to begin with, and that’s what makes this movie great. Bruce is fairly ordinary and normal and so we can all relate to him. Plus Morgan Freeman as God is a stroke of genius. If God does turn to exist, I really hope he takes the form of Morgan Freeman! ★★★★☆

3) Hot Fuzz

The second in the “Cornetto” trilogy, this is a great British film starring Simon Pegg as hot-shot cop Nicholas Angel who is posted in a tiny village. Except it soon turns out all is not what it seems when a spate of gruesome murders occur. It is really funny and on this latest watch I noticed a few one-line gags that I hadn’t got before which are very funny. Plus it displays all the best British actors including Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman, Steve Coogan, Olivia Coleman, Jim Broadbent and Timothy Dalton. What a list that is. The cast work together brilliantly making the film both hilarious and actually pretty exciting. It’s so brilliant! ★★★★☆

4) The Incredible Hulk

Due to not being able to get to the cinema very easily, I’ve not actually seen any of the Avengers movies yet. Until now as I’ve bought them all off ebay. Ed Norton is Bruce Banner who is on the run from the a crazy general who wants to use the Hulk technology as a weapon. Frustratingly, apart from a few chases and one brief scene with the Hulk, the first three quarters of the movie are pretty dull.  Not much happens and there’s not much Hulk. The plot becomes predictable pretty quickly but it’s ok as the last quarter of the film is pretty immense. Inevitably Bruce is captured but then allowed to turn into the Hulk to fight off the newly created Abomination. You can probably guess who wins that battle. Robert Downey-Jr pops up at the end as Tony Stark harking on about putting a team together. Cue the Avengers. I can see why this movie has a negative reputation but it’s not awful. For me Norton isn’t a great Bruce Banner and there’s too much time of nothing really happening but I still really enjoyed it. ★★★☆☆

5) Iron Man

I messed up and this is in fact the earliest Avengers movie so I sort of watched them in the wrong order. Not that it matters too much. Unlike Hulk this is an origins movie, seeing billionaire weapons manufacturer Tony Stark (Downey-Jr) change his way of life and build an incredibly powerful metal suit. His father’s partner is up  to no good and when he gets his hands on the suit technology bad things happen. Cue major battle which Iron Man wins. Of course. It’s much better than Hulk, largely because when we’re watching someone interesting who has interesting other people to interact with. Pepper Potts is lovely.  A great movie and looking forward to getting to the sequel! ★★★★★

You may have noticed that I am one movie behind. It’s the 6th May and I’ve only watched 5 movies so far. Don’t panic (ok, you probably weren’t), I’ll catch up some time this week. Tune in for the next set of movies next Sunday and whilst your waiting for that let me know your thoughts on these or suggest more movies for me to watch!