Win Win, Hereafter and X-Men First Class

A family drama about a boy's wrestling team hardly begins to describe this brilliant movie. In fact this description almost put me off going to see it. But the reviews for Win Win were very good and I can now understand why. Not only was the screenplay sublime, but each scene seemed perfect in their length and pace. For example, any scene that included some wrestling ( and there were not that many) was perfect in duration. The editing was so good and the direction by Tom McCarthy was superb. Paul Giamatti and Amy Ryan as the parents were outstanding and newcomer Alex Shaffer as teenager Kyle was too. I will never forget the scene when Amy Ryan shows Kyle her "JBJ" tattoo. And I have to mention the terrific soundtrack. It's a long time since I stayed in my seat for the whole of a song over the closing credits, but "Think You Can Wait" by The National had me pinned down from the first chord. It also credits the participation of Sharon Van Etten whose short CD "Epic" is a small treasure. All in all it's win win all round.

There are times when it is well worth it to disregard the critics, and Hereafter falls into that category. OK, I did find the inclusion of two recent disasters somewhat distasteful, and there was something slightly tacky about the portrayal of the afterlife. But there are few enough dramas that we can get sniffy about any silliness in the plot. So we have a good script by Peter Morgan, and an interesting story that alternates successfully between locations in France, London and San Francisco. Clint Eastwood does a good job as director and the acting, led by Matt Damon, is generally fine. But what stood out for me, and a reason to see the movie if no other, was the locations ( and the film was shot almost entirely on location) and their photography. There were three London locations that are now on my list to visit: Alexandra Palace (never been since it was restored), the Dickens Museum on Doughty Street and Leadenhall Market in the city ( also used as Diagon Ally in the HP movies). This was the third time recently that I have caught up with films I had missed by going to the cheap Senior Screen on Wednesday mornings. After True Grit and Never Let Me Go, I enjoyed Hereafter more than the other two.

I normally now steer well clear of superhero movies, but the reviews for X-Men First Class were encouraging. It was quiet amazing to see the British domination of this Hollywood blockbuster. Not only do we have Mathew Vaughn doing a great job as director, but the two leading characters are played by James McEvoy and the always excellent Michael Fassbender. (I think it was his inclusion that persuaded me to go). The script was pretty good and the back stories of Professor Charles Xavier and Eric Lehnsherr (Magneto) worked well. The action scenes in the early part of the movie were not too long, it was just a shame that the drawn out ending let down what was otherwise an enjoyable treat.