I wanted to see Beowulf in 3D and Milton Keynes Cineworld was using the Real D format for the first time. (Real D uses a single projector and an LCD screen. Images are projected alternately left and right to create the 3D effect). I thought the technology was better than the film. There was little story and the dialogue was disappointing. There were too many occasions where a scene had been deliberately staged for a 3D effect, and it showed.
Hitman was far better than the reviews. The film had pace and the action was fast and furious. Similar to the Bourne movies with the hero hunted by ex-employers. The characters were a little wooden, Timothy Olyphant and Dougray Scott not well cast (might have been better in opposite roles) and submerged by the action. But the direction was first rate, especially the action set pieces.
Having read only the first book, Northern Lights, of the Philip Pullman trilogy, I went to see The Golden Compass expecting it to be dominated by CGI typical of Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. Instead I was very surprised to find a beautiful and ultimately highly emotional film. The casting was perfect. Apart from the obvious leads, the highlights are Eva Green as Seraphina Pekkala, Tom Courtenay as Farder Coram and Sam Elliott as Lee Scoresby. The early part of the film in Oxford is just long enough to set the story before heading north for Lara's search and rescue mission. I probably read the book four or five years ago, which might have been why I found the film so successful. It had been long enough to be reminded about what happens, but familiar enough to understand the plot. Lara's first meetings with Seraphina , Lee and Iorek Byrnison, the armoured polar bear, were brilliant and that's where, for me, the emotion started and stayed to the end. Fantastic.
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