P2 was the perfect movie to watch on Christmas Day. A woman works late on Christmas Eve and gets trapped in her work car park with a psychotic security guard called Thomas.

I don’t watch horror movies very often, but the publicity pics showing a gorgeous blonde running around with an axe sparked my interest.

Both of the main characters were very convincing in their roles. Some of the difficulties with movies with a very narrow scope like this is maintaining the interest without the use of sub-plotting, but this film interspersed the intense chases with bizarre moments like Thomas’ Elvis dance (complete with hip thrusts)…

Invariably in these kind of films there are always moments when you think, ’she could have escaped just then’, but of course that wouldn’t have given us the glorious finale scene. And it was glorious. And gory.

Urban Recluse Rating:

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Life Support is about a HIV-positive woman called Ana (Latifah) who overcomes her drug addiction and focuses her life on providing AIDS outreach in her local community in Brooklyn. Her daughter’s HIV-infected friend goes missing, and Ana becomes involved in the desperate search to find him.

This film felt very real, and in fact some of the cast members were actual people from the HIVS/AIDS community. Queen Latifah was magnificent as the mother who’d wanted to make up for her past mistakes and keep her family together.

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Premonition was an interesting movie, which raised compelling questions for the viewer. In many movies, awareness of the future doesn’t give us the power to change it. Through her premonitions, Linda Quinn Hanson (Bullock) is given an opportunity to reassess her marriage, and examine her feelings for her husband. We are taken on a journey with her, and become immersed in the possible outcomes.

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Perfect Stranger was your average thriller, with an above average ending. Halle was sexy as ever, and I liked Bruce Willis’ brooding menace, but my favourite performance was that of Giovanni Ribisi, who became creepier and creepier as the film went on.

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Beautiful Boxer was inspired by the true story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muay Thai champion who had a sex-change operation to become a woman. I enjoyed the opening credits, with its juxtaposing of her boxing preparation vs her dressing up in female garb.

The first scenes of the movie were amazing; a journalist searching for Parinya gets attacked by a gang of men and is saved by a graceful woman in high heels, who uses incredible Muay Thai moves to fend off the attackers. Later they sit down in a restaurant so that the softly spoken lady can tell her story. She describes her childhood, when she struggled to align her innate femininity with the masculine attributes of her culture. A chance encounter in a boxing match, and the financial rewards that it brings allows her to help her impoverished family and gain the respect that she always deserved. The film was shot beautifully, and in a respectful and understanding way.

The lead actor, Asanee Suwan, a professional kickboxer who had never been in front of the camera before, was a superb choice for this role. He showed a vast range of emotions, bringing a feminine tenderness to a violent sport. Imagine a boxer who kisses his competitor before knocking him out! The makeup he wore became a powerful symbol of Parinya’s integration of the male and the female.

Urban Recluse Rating:

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The Next Best Thing was your average rom-com. A SATC-esque Madonna has a drunken shag with her gay best friend, and gets pregnant. All is well until she falls in love with a guy (the gorgeous Benjamin Bratt) a few years later. Unfortunately her baby’s daddy is surplus to requirements, and he’s not happy about that! Madonna was okay, but I’m not sure why Rupert Everett bothered with this one.

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Spirited Away was fantastic. Now I understand what all the fuss was about! If you haven’t already seen it, do it now.

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I enjoyed watching The Golden Compass, but then I haven’t read the Pullman novels, so I had no real frame of reference with which to compare it. I loved Lyra’s indomitable spirit, and Nicole Kidman’s mysterious character (and her monkey daemon). Daniel Craig didn’t have a major part in the movie, so I hope that there’s compensation for that in the subsequent movies.

I took Monty with me when I saw this movie, but he was really upset by all the talk of daemons. He asked me if he was my daemon, and wondered whether the daemon issue was somehow linked to the theory that animals don’t have souls. I told him not to worry, it was just a silly movie. However, the issue did make me wonder about how the soul could be separated from the body in such a way. It fascinated me that children’s daemons were unfixed, and that the Magisterium thought that removing the daemon could help to control a person’s behaviour. I also found it interesting that Lyra referred to herself and her daemon as “us”.

Too cool for mere words was the brief appearance of Christopher Lee. I also loved the Texan aeronaut, Lee Scoresby, and his lovely hare daemon. Eva Green made a beguiling and kick-ass witch.

You know, until I saw the movie credits at the end, I’d thought that Patrick Stewart had voiced Iorek Byrnison, the armoured bear. Instead it was Ian McKellen, who’s also very cool. The bear fight scene was quite brutal; my friend had asked me whether I’d recommend the film for a 10 year old, and that single scene made me say no. I don’t think I’d recommend it to a 14 year old either…

All in all, it was a good movie. Next time, more Daniel Craig please!

Urban Recluse Rating:

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I normally wouldn’t have gone to see Enchanted at the cinema, but my friend asked me along. It was a sweet film, and didn’t leave a sickly aftertaste. Amy Adams was charming and beautiful as Gisele, and Patrick Dempsey was perfect as the sceptical lawyer. You could tell that Susan Sarandon enjoyed her turn as the evil witch, but I would have preferred the finale to have been a bit longer. It seems rather quick and easy. I know that love conquers all, but still.

Urban Recluse Rating:

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Superbad was a great teen comedy. Totally unbelievable, but lots of fun. Just call me McLovin’.

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Peaceful Warrior is based on the story of a college gymnast whose Olympic hopes are dashed after a car accident, but with the help of a mysterious mentor (played by Nick Nolte) he regains his physical prowess against all the odds.

Nolte was great, but I was really impressed by Scott Mechlowicz, who played the protagonist Dan Millman.

Urban Recluse Rating:

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AVERT YOUR EYES - SPOILERS AHEAD

Beowulf: Yes I saw Beowulf for a second time at the IMAX, and it was even better the second time around. This time I wasn’t as overwhelmed by the fight scenes, nudity or Angelina Jolie, and could focus on some of the other aspects of this visual feast.

I found the use of mythological and religious motifs interesting. At the beginning of the film after the first massacre the King Hrothgar (Anthony Hopkins) is asked by Unferth (John Malkovich) whether the people should pray to the “Christ God”, the king replied: no, they could deal with their own problems. Later on, Beowulf says, “The time of heroes is dead: the Christ God has killed it, leaving nothing but weeping martyrs and fear and shame.” When the dragon goes on a killing spree, he sends an explicit message to Beowulf about “the sins of the father”. The dragon also destroyed a Christian church (we see the cross burning), was that perhaps its mockery of the holy trinity of father, son and holy spirit?

This film appears to be occurring on the cusp of the heroic age and the mythological “iron age“. Beowulf himself shows the vitality of heroism in his youth, and its toil on his humanity as he ages and carries the burden of his sins. The scene where he confronts a member of the enemy forces and admits the weight of the curse on him, which does not permit him to be killed by man, was poignant and revealing.

I’ve been thinking about the actual plotline of Beowulf’s story too. When he discusses his epic swimming race and the sea monsters he encounters, he fails to mention the mermaid who seduces him. The way that his weapon slips out of his hand as he embraces her foreshadows the lust and greed that allows Grendel’s mother to seduce him and ultimately destroy him.

The use of sons destroying fathers brings to my mind the story of Kronos, the Titian god who castrated and killed his tyrannous father, Uranus, and was later overthrown by his son Zeus. The sins of the father, indeed.

I was also reminded of the perils of believing the promises of supernatural beings. There’s always a loophole…

Urban Recluse Rating:

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Written by PJ | Posted in movies

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