Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Safe House and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

I guess we were all looking forward to the next Steven Daldry movie after his excellent Billy Elliot, The Hours and The Reader. So I joined the howls of disappointment at his adaptation of Jonathon Safron Foer's novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It could have been so much better, and the fault lies entirely with the director. The story has an interesting premise, a boy searches New York for the owner of a key he finds in his dead father's cupboard that is in an envelope with the label "Black". So what could have been an enjoyable mystery drama giving the chance for some great cameo roles, turns into a heavy handed, repetitive rumination on 9/11. OK, the book had this at it's core, but Daldry keeps rubbing our noses in the tragedy, rather than concentrating on Oskar's journey. He is played adequately by Haley Joel Osmant, but any good acting is overwhelmed by what is a painful experience.

Safe House is a predictable but enjoyable action thriller, a genre that is now a specialist Denzel Washington vehicle. You knew what you were in for when they chose Oliver Wood as cinematographer, he having shot all three Bourne movies. The same gritty, jerky camera which, on this occasion, can be quite tiresome at times. Director Daniel Espinosa had made the best of the South African location ( we will soon run out of countries for rooftop chases). Ryan Reynolds is adequate as the inexperienced CIA operative (think Training Day).

When I visit the Aylesbury cinema in the afternoon, normally there are maybe a dozen people in the audience. But I was not surprised to find a packed auditorium for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. It is wholly geared to the older filmgoer, being about a retirement hotel for the elderly, in INDIA! The story is again predictable, and the script is just OK. But what makes the movie is the fabulous cast. Judy Dench, Maggie Smith, Celia Imrie, Penelope Wilton, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson and Ronald Pickup are all brilliantly cast, and give it all the've got. John Madden directs with some warmth, although the promised feelgood moments fall a little flat. Especially when the most emotional scene involves the cast's  meeting at the airport before they set off. The movie is now number one at the UK Box Office. Will that mean we are in for more films for us seniors?