I’ve hit the cinema for the first time in 2011 and here’s what I’ve seen:

The Fighter (11/01/11)

A look at the early years of boxer “Irish” Micky Ward and his brother who helped train him before going pro in the mid 1980s.

Really good film. I wasn’t blown away by it. But I really enjoyed watching it. It’s your typical story of how someone at the bottom of the ladder gets to the top. There’s a broken family. There’s a very big broken family. There’s also some great performances from Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo, but mostly from Mark Wahlberg. He confuses me. He does movie drivel like Max Payne and then things like this and The Departed. Thankfully, despite the drivel he’s still seen as an actor who’s capable of these kinds of roles.

At the beginning of the film I was surprised to see Darren Aronofsky’s name pop up as the Executive Producer. Did not know he had, maybe not a hand but a finger, in this pie.

The film’s just under two hours long, but it never feels like you’re just waiting for something to happen. The pace skips along nicely, going through all the motions necessary before getting to the final fight which is brilliantly directed.

I can’t quite see this film winning any Best Film nominations in may eventually get nominated for. But if the likes of Wahlberg, Adams, Leo or Bale win for their performances, I’d be happy. It’s a good film with some great performances.
Rating: 4/5

127 Hours (14/01/11)

A mountain climber becomes trapped under a boulder while canyoning alone near Moab, Utah and resorts to desperate measures in order to survive.

Brilliant film. I don’t think there was much I could fault this film on. Loved how it was shot, the soundtrack by A.R. Rahman was brilliant. James Franco held the film from start to end. Thoroughly engrossing. Really inspirational film as well. Despite what happened to Aron Ralston, I really want to go to those canyons and see what he saw. Though, not feel what he felt. As for that arm hacking off scene? It was something pretty extreme to watch. I wouldn’t say it was gory, as that makes it sound like it could have been something in a horror film. It was intense to watch, but I’d say it was more clinical and realistic than I thought I was going to see. I could feel his pain. I can’t imagine doing what he did to get himself out of the situation, though I’m guessing if you want to live that badly, you’ll do anything you can do to live. I think I was more grossed out when he tried to drink his own urine to keep himself hydrated. That really made me squirm!

Think I want to go hunt the book out now and see how that compares.
Rating: 5/5

Read on to see the entire list of movies seen this year so far: