X-Men: First Class

Well… not bad. If you had to make a movie like this, I don’t think you could do it much better. In-between all the crazy effects & action, there’s some character development, even something to think about. I still don’t quite get why the mutants have special powers. (I mean, if there are going to be mutants, isn’t it more likely they’d feature debilitating gross deformities?) But, without that, there is no movie. So, go for it!

Footloose – 1984

Looking back, it’s amazing how ridiculous and yet moving this movie was. I mean, if someone tells you the plot, you have to laugh – really??? But, then when you watch John Lithgow’s transformation at the end of the movie, you have to think… well, I guess so. Kind of makes you see the Taliban in a whole other light – they’re in the USA too.

Stir of Echoes

Few movies creep me out. This one almost did, and I think that was due to the directing more than anything. Some of the scenes were quite well filmed. As for the plot? It was your typical “everyday man becomes obsessed with something he can’t understand”. It reminded me of ‘Close Encounters….” actually. I wish they had alluded to the climax of the movie a little more. I guessed the ending anyway, but I think it would have been better if Kevin Bacon’s friends had more of a dark side & if we got subtle glimpses into that side of their characters. After all, those characters were crucial to the outcome of the movie, and we barely got to know them.