This is a guest post from Sarah, reviewing up-to-date films, just realised on DVD and blu-ray.
As part of our mortgage deal with Halifax, we got free weekly rentals from Blockbuster for an entire year. Now, this is perfect for us both as we are both huge film fans, and saves us huge amounts of money that would otherwise be spent on amazon.com, or at HMV.
As we have completely different taste in films, we decided to alternate weeks to choose which rental to get. Although we haven’t followed this religiously, you will be able to tell who’s choice was whos. Below are the first 15 films; from 14 weeks.
Week 1 – Due Date
As I am not a fan of the Hangover and other very male orientated films, I was not expecting to like this film. It was better than I thought it would be, as it did have some funny moments but I don’t think I could watch it again anytime soon.
Week 2 – Toy Story 3
I had heard great things about this film, but I was unsure as I did not really enjoy Toy Story 2. However, this was a great film, and holds up well against the fantastic first one.
Week 3 – Little Fockers
This had some funny (and cringeworthy) moments, but it wasn’t great and nowhere near as good as the first two films. It is, however, easy viewing and worth a watch.
Week 4 – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Now I absolutely loved the first film and book of the series (Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe), and thought the second (Prince Caspian) was good, not quite the same but enjoyable. However this film, the third in the series (and admittedly I haven’t read the book which may be better), I found really difficult to watch and coming out the other side I have no recollection of what happened. I was very disappointed with this film, I’m afraid to say.
Week 5 – Morning Glory
I am a huge fan of Rachel McAdams and love many of her films, including The Notebook, Mean Girls and Wedding Crashers. Now there are some films she has been in that I’m not such a fan of (due to the film itself and not Rachel’s performance or course, which is as always brilliant), like Sherlock Holmes and The Lucky Ones, but Morning Glory is definitely in the first list. It was very funny and endearing, and one of only a couple of films (that we have rented so far) that I would purchase at a later date.
Blockbuster
Week 6 – The King’s Speech
This is the first film we rented that we both wanted to see; and neither of us were disappointed – the hype was well deserved for once. I found this film very enjoyable and a lot funnier than I thought it was going to be (as it is so highly regarded I thought that meant dark and mysterious). Plus, we also got a free tub of Ice Cream when we rented it, so that gives it extra bonus points. This is another of the films I would recommend to everyone, and that I would buy in the future.
Week 7 – Grown Ups
Actually a really funny film, if you don’t take it too seriously. The old woman bits are a bit creepy, but otherwise it is just a nice, easy-watching film.
Week 8 – The Fighter
I was very impressed by Amy Adams’ performance, as she plays a completely different role to everything else I have seen her in, but that is the only positive thing I can take away having watched this film. I’m sure you can guess who’s choice this was…
Week 9 – The Karate Kid
As I haven’t ever seen the original version, I was watching this film with fresh eyes, which most people could not say. This allowed me to not compare and criticize, but also meant I didn’t get many of the references back – however this didn’t hinder my viewing, and I ended up really enjoying the film, which I was very surprised by. Charlie was also impressed by the moves Will Smith’s kid was pulling.
Week 10 – How do you know?
I thought this film was going to be funny, and I guess it was in parts, but it really wasn’t a great film, which is surprising when looking at the cast. The 3 main actors I really like (Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Owen Wilson) and I share a birthday with the fourth (Jack Nicholson); however I didn’t think the film did justice to the cast. It was OK but I don’t think I could watch it again.
Week 11 – 127 Hours
I wasn’t properly paying attention to the film while it was on, which means I can’t really give any useful view on the film; but from what I can tell it was an alright film, with some horrible gory bits.
Week 12 – No Strings Attached
There is something very appealing about Ashton Kutcher in my opinion, and although I am not a fan of Natalie Portman I really enjoyed her performance in this film. It was not quite as girlie and romantic as many of the chick-flicks I love (which is probably why Charlie found it more watchable) but I’m glad I chose this film for a rainy day to cheer us up. Plus, Ashton bringing a bunch of carrots on their date was brilliant, although I would still prefer flowers!
Week 13 – Sanctum
In my opinion this film was pretty bad, and reminded me of a children’s film trying to be a grown-up film, like Teen Wolf (with some awful gruesome bits added in). Charlie seemed to enjoy it, but I was not a fan.
Week 14.1 – The Lincoln Lawyer
This is a bonus rental, as we were given a loyalty card and had collected enough stamps for an additional film. I’m not really sure what to say about it… it was OK, fairly easy watching, but nothing special.
Week 14.2 – Black Swan
I did ballet throughout my childhood and although this wasn’t exactly how it was for me, it did take me back at times. I’d heard it was quite a dark film, which is why I haven’t seen it before now, but I’m glad I did eventually even if it is to say that I wouldn’t again.