At The Flix with @Timmy666
Muster your mutant powers for this week’s supercharged slab of celluloid goodness otherwise known as At The Flix.
X-Men: Days Of Future Past (3D) (12A)
Rewind back 15 years and the X-Men were the first on the scene in terms of Marvel’s rise as a cinematic superpower (no pun intended).
Bryan Singer‘s X-Men series brings together both X Men universes for an action-packed new adventure to the franchise. Frankly, what an exciting place to be if you’re looking a film blockbuster. The X-Men send Wolverine to the past, as you do, in a last ditch effort to change history and prevent an event that results in doom for both humans and mutants.
This is pure popcorn entertainment with Messrs McKellen, Stewart, Jackman, McAvoy, Fassbender, Lawrence et al providing equal parts thesp and brawn to this big mainstream film with even bigger ideas.
Who knew that when our post hero adorned our small screens (when many of us were small people) that Pat and his cat Jess would come back, but to the big screen. It’s also very British.
The plot finds Pat finding himself entering a TV talent show competition and the challenges that this provides to his life and work. With a cast ranging from Stephen Mangan at Pat through to the likes of David Tennant, Jim Broadbent, Rupert Grint and curiously Ronan Keating as Pat when singing, let’s hope that it is worthy of the legend of Pat and not something twee or overly televisual.
Blended (12A)
This week’s dubious comedy offering comes from the pairing of Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. The setup sounds like familiar fare. After a bad blind date, a man (Sandler) and woman (Barrymore) find themselves stuck together at a resort for families, where their attraction grows as their respective kids benefit from the burgeoning relationship.
With Sandler, for every Punch Drunk Love, there are many more films in the critical vein of Jack and Jill. The former proved that Sandler can deliver when given the right material. Yet, my expectation for this is one of diminishing returns and I’m not sure who this appeals to but there might be one or two.
An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker (12A)
Winner of the Silver Bear at last year’s Berlin Film Festival, the mac are showing Danis Tanovic‘s latest film for a few days next week. This film follows a Roma family in rural Bosnia-herzegovina. The father salvages metal from old cars that he sells to a scrap‐dealer. The mother keeps the house tidy, cooks, bakes and cares for their two small daughters. A third baby is on the way. One day, she feels a sharp pain in her abdomen.
At the hospital, she is told that there is something wrong with the baby she is carrying. She is at risk of septicemia and must undergo surgery immediately. Yet as she does not have a state‐provided health insurance card, the hospital requests that Senada pay 980 Bosnian marks (500 euros), which a fortune for Nazif. Senada is denied the crucial surgery and forced to return home to their village.
For the next 10 days, the father does everything he can to try and save Senada’s life. It’s a race against time together with a mounting sense of hopelessness, played by a cast of non‐professional actors re‐enacting an episode from their own lives.
Finally, fans of Studio Ghibli, please note that the Electric are showing showings of Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke. Go discover Miyazaki’s genius on the big screen again!
Ok, that’s it from me. As always, any comments, please sent them my way to @timmy666 or to @BrumFaves on twitter. Until next week, keep your local cinemas rocking!
