Ten Memorable Images – January, February, March 2013

(All films release in the UK in January, February, March 2013)

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Movie of the Month: February 2013

Sep: A Polish police/serial killer movie. Enjoyable but dated and unoriginal.

Hyde Park on Hudson: Telling the story of the love affair between FDR Margaret “Daisy” Suckley (a distant cousin) set against the backdrop of the historic visit of the King and Queen. A great cast do the best they can with an uninspired script.

Hitchcock: The story of the making of Psycho centring on the relashionship between Alfred Hitchcock and wife and collaborator Alma Reville. Helen Mirren is fantastic Anthony Hopkins isn’t !

Lincoln: In the last days of the American Civil War and the last days of his life, American president Abraham Lincoln fights to get the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution (the abolition of slavery) passed by the House of Representatives. 150 minutes of old men arguing over politics makes for a surprisingly enjoyable and riveting movie, not to mention Daniel Day-Lewis’ sensational lead performance.

Flight: Hailed as a hero after crash-landing a plane and saving the passengers, its soon revealed that an airline pilot has drug and alcohol problems. The plane crash is brilliantly shot but the success of the film rests on Denzel Washington’s sensational performance.

Beautiful Creatures: A supernatural love story based on a young adult novel. An attempt to cash in the gap left by Twilight, it is funnier and more cynical that Twilight but a little too knowing. Not terrible but also not that memorable. Emma Thompson and Jeremy Irons are clearly having great fun with their parts.

Bullet to the Head: A hitman and a cop team up to seek revenge and justice respectively. It offers nothing that hasn’t been seen many times before but is still fun in a dumb and predictable way. Stallone gets away with playing an action star despite his age.

A Good Day to Die Hard: Bruce Willis is back as John McClane for a fifth time. Unfortunately he, and everyone else involved has forgotten what made the original movie great.

Warm Bodies: A zombie love story with echoes of Romeo and Juliet. A great concept with a likeable young cast and just enough comedy.

Amour: The story of an octogenarian couples struggle after one of them suffers a stroke. With and Oscar, two more nominations and universal praise it is possibly Michael Haneke’s most accessible movie.

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters: A good concept, with decent production design and a strong cast. Sadly it has a terrible script and lacklustre direction.

Amour would have been in contention for movie of the month, but I saw it in a one-off screening after its (very limited) UK release. Lincoln is a better film, but my movie of the month id the one I am most looking forward to seeing again, The movie of the month is:

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