July 2008 Archives

NICE of several national newspapers to follow up my Mail exclusive about the Odeon New St installing CCTV cameras to keep tabs on its audiences.

Posh people's paper The Daily Telegraph even had the story on its front page today. Fancy that!

The main aim, of course, is to improve security but one side effect might be that newly-arrived customers could end up watching unsuspecting couples behaving as if they are in a trailer, not watching one.

And that's before they've even got to their relevant screen.

Hey ho. There's enough warning in the foyer to make everyone aware of what's happening now.

Thinking about it, I don't think the Birmingham Mail has as much fun with the story as we could have done, especially given the time it takes to do a story like this properly.

But that's simply a consequence of our daily battle for space and we all have to take it on the chin.

So, for the first time, here's my original story in full... complete with my own reworking of a famous hit.

Maybe you could come up with something even better!

HE WAS once known as The Man With Two Brains.

And, when he was, back in 1983, Steve Martin was funny.

Today, you'd have to go back to David Mamet's The Spanish Prisoner (1997) to find his last decent film, except that wasn't funny ha-ha.

It's pretty distressing to see that he's already written and starred in The Pink Panther 2 for 2009, as if one wasn't enough.

Here's a guy who has already seen fit to inflict two Father of the Bride films upon us and two doses of Cheaper by the Dozen, not forgetting tortuous movies like Sgt Bilko and Bringing Down the House.

Yet, for all that, I did laugh a few times at Steve Martin's antics during the new surrogate mother comedy Baby Mama, in which you can see him playing a guru called Barry. It opens on Friday when I'll be reviewing it in the Birmingham Mail.

If you look at the above dates, you'll notice Eddie Murphy has had a similar career path.

Shrek aside, by my reckoning he's hardly made anything of note since launching his career in spectacular style with 48 Hrs (1982), Trading Places (1983) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984).

He's also doubled up on The Nutty Professor and Dr Dolittle movies, as well as giving us his own prize turkeys like Life and Holy Man and the diabolical Norbit - just about everyone's choice for the worst film of 2007.

Martin and Murphy even starred in Bowfinger together in 1999 and couldn't make it better than average.

So, between them, they've given us half-a-century of butt-aching mediocrity.

Thanks a lot fellas. Nice work if you can get it.

I'VE now seen The Dark Knight twice in the last 20 hours - and it was just as good the second time around.

I tried it in a normal cinema today and, while it didn't blow me away like the IMAX version, was still more than good enough to test box office records when it opens on Thursday.

From a technical point of view, I also considered it essential to be able to compare and contrast the two versions. For my money, IMAX gives it a 20 per cent boost.

There's a sold-out premiere at the IMAX at Millennium Point tomorrow (WED) so there's next to no chance of getting a ticket.

And, with 4,000 tickets sold to date, demand is going to be red hot there for days.

But you might still be able to sneak a look at some modes of Bat transport at the prem tomorrow, depending on where they are parked.

If you can't get there, look out for our planned video report on Thursday.

And don't forget my full review in Friday's Birmingham Mail on Friday.

In the meantime, I think I feel even more depressed now that I've seen Heath Ledger as The Joker than when news originally broke of his death in January from what proved to be an accidental drugs overdose.

True, the lines given to his character The Joker would have been a gift for any actor, but his performance is extra special all the same. We've lost a star with unlimited potential.

Today's news that Christian Bale has been interviewed by police for 'allegedly lashing out at his own mother and sister' is truly bizarre.

With Terminator Salvation to make - he's playing John Connor ready for release on June 5 next year - we need Bale back in front of the cameras. ASAP.

IT'S 23.26 and, almost 17 hours after I started work today, I'm just back from seeing new Batman film The Dark Knight.

But who cares. The great news is that it's sensational - and both (the late) Heath Ledger and Christian Bale are dynamite.

If you only see one film at the brilliant IMAX cinema at Millennium Point this year, make sure it's this one.

Two warnings, though. Some 4,000 IMAX tickets have already been sold so if you want to see it there this weekend after it opens on Thursday, get visiting www.imax.ac or telephone 0121 202 2222 ASAP.

The film has also been awarded a 12A certificate which is ludicrous.

With a running time of more than 150 minutes and lots of dark violence, it should be at least a 15 and, not so long ago, would have rated an 18. Do not take children. It would not be fair on them.

Don't miss Friday's Birmingham Mail for our full review / Batman package.

HOW could I resist it!

Yes, I went back for second helpings of the hot new movie Mamma Mia! today - and again loved every minute of the film.

What better way of spending a cold, wet Saturday afternoon in Brum than by jetting off to the Greek islands to spend just over 90 minutes in pure sunshine with the fabulous Meryl Streep.

The film might not be perfect on lots of levels, but it's the most fun movie I've seen all year.

I reckon I could watch it every night for weeks especially if I went to a different cinema for every screening.

Now there's a thought... if only I had the time.

Seriously, if you want some respite from the weather and the economic gloom this is the movie to see.

Be warned, though.

The second the main action finishes, the house lights are likely to go partly on.

This is daft. There's a couple of song sequences still to come, including one that's a real surprise so don't get up and walk out when you think it's all over.

There will still be extra time - and plenty more laughs - to come!

Debut director Phyllida Lloyd has a great future beyond her traditional theatre work in opera - if she can ever dream up a way of following up the film of the year to date.

Then again, she might neither need nor want to.

In the words of one song: 'Money, money, money... always sunny!'

THE FORBIDDEN KINGDOM will be reviewed in the Birmingham Mail on Friday, July 11when I'll be running the rule over stars Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

Who's the best?

Born in Beijing 45 years ago, Jet Li has made some 39 films since 1982, including Lethal Weapon 4 and Romeo Must Die.

Veteran star Jackie Chan is now 54, but the cheeky-faced star from Hong Kong has made some 94 films since 1962.

The Forbidden Kingdom finds an interesting way of effectively giving them both top billing when the credits roll at the beginning.

But, for my money, Jackie Chan is the No 1 star - by a mile!

I SAW WALL.E (U) today - Pixar's latest computer-generation movie.

It's been doing enormous business across the pond since it opened in the US, but is it any good?

Well, find out when I'll be reviewing it in the Birmingham Mail on Friday, July 18... the day it opens across the region.

What I will say is that I was astonished by how much of a film of two halves it is, almost as if one half had been made by Pixar and the other by DreamWorks.

Quite bizarre, really!

IN TODAY'S world we (ie the general public) often mistake movies.

And, to coin one of those daft phrases which sums up human behaviour perfectly, we seem to do it 'deliberately on purpose'.

People flock to see rubbish spoofs like Superhero and Meet the Spartans because they take absolutely no effort to watch.

In fact, perhaps their great appeal is that we can literally grow more obese while they are on.

Such is our appetite for stuffing our faces during the next big blockbuster that we'll also happily accept having the latest, unfinished special effects foisted upon us (instead of the filmmakers using tried-and-tested old ones).

It's as if we're being experimented on like rats in a cosmetics' laboratory who never get to see the real deal.

But, as long as there's a star in it like Will Smith (whose fee would probably have paid for the effects to be finished) we don't mind in the slightest.

See some or the early bits of Hancock for proof of this theory.

Meanwhile, other movies grow in stature over time as you can see on TV tonight...

IN TONIGHT'S Birmingham Mail I've given four stars to Hancock, Kung Fu Panda and The Mist.

That's probably more stars, across the board, than most critics who, from what I've seen of today's nationals, are only likely to give the first two films three stars.

But in my definitive explanation of star ratings, four stars means enjoyable and three watchable - a significant difference.

Having gone to press, I'm comfortable with my initial thoughts.

Apart from anything else, Hancock has a use of sound that's well above average.

Kung Fu Panda, though perhaps cliched for older viewers, is a useful introduction to youngsters of all things Chinese. And it looks really fabulous.

As for The Mist, going to your local supermarket won't be the same experience ever again.

So, they're all enjoyable in their own way.

And, in any case, I'm still getting a buzz from having seen Mamma Mia! earlier this week.

It's such a feelgood movie that maybe I'll be feeling generous enough to give every fllm four stars until the end of the year.

Or maybe not. There's bound to be another dud soon!

Enjoy the good stuff while you can.

ACTORS can only ever make one film at once but I've become used, over the years, to seeing them in two or three new movies during the intensive spells when we critics might see up to 18 movies in a three or four day spell.

This week, though, has added an even stranger twist to this phenomenon.

First, I saw Kung Fu Panda, starring Jackie Chan as 'Monkey'.

Then I watched The Forbidden Kingdom, a kung fu movie starring Jackie Chan alongside Jet Li who was playing 'The Monkey King'.

All this in a week when I read that the original Tarzan chimpanzee Cheeta is still alive! At the grand old age of... 76.

According to wenn.com, the Liberian-born ape has been signed up for a record and DVD deal with plans for a memoir to be published on his behalf.

Cheeta's last film was apparently Doctor Dolittle opposite Rex Harrison in 1967, and The Guinness Book of World Records reckons he's the world's oldest living ape.

Jackie Chan, still only 54, can keep monkeying around for a long time yet, then!

Read my review of Kung Fu Panda in the Birmingham Mail on Friday, July 4 - and Forbidden Kingdom on July 11. And don't forge to book early for Mamma Mia! It's going to be massive.