A comedy crime thriller, The Bank Job is entertaining without any pretence of being more than that. The hectic pace saves having to listen too hard to the pretty basic dialogue, even though the screenplay is by Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais. Jason Statham plays himself, Saffron Burrows plays who knows and it is left to cameos from David Suchet and Keeley Hawes to provide some proper acting. As Lonnie sang "It helps to pass the time".
Vantage Point is a superior political thriller with an original twist. The same 23 minutes repeated eight times, each from one of a different point of view. But the characters all overlapping and a cliff hanger at the end of each segment keeps us guessing and waiting in anticipation for the resolution in a cracking finale. I love the technical originality of such films. From Groundhog Day to Memento, even Back to the Future, The Prestige and Inside Man all have a novel time twist.
There had been mixed reviews for The Other Boleyn Girl and I can see why. Easy on the eye, the adequate screenplay by Peter (The Queen) Morgan was interrupted by too many silent sequences. The casting was mixed. Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson were fairly convincing but David Morrissey as the Duke of Norfolk almost ruined the whole movie. Luckily it was saved by the brilliant Kristin Scott Thomas as the mother. Must be in the running for the next Oscar for best supporting actress. A fairly turgid first hour slowly gathered momentum as Anne gains the favour of Henry and all hell is set loose. Ultimately a reasonable film, but the final frames capturing the young Elizabeth showed how emotional the film could have been.
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