The Hurt Locker

In which… Jeremy Renner plays a crazy guy who enjoys putting his life in danger a lot when he diffuses bombs in Iraq.

…And that is all I managed to take from this. Other than, bombs go boom! Which I already kind of knew. I’m a fan of Renner, from his likable turns in such films as Assassination of Jesse James and 28 Weeks Later, but his character, along with the story, seem quite skeletal… not quite… fleshed out? There are some memorable scenes though – in particular where our bomb-dismantling protagonist realises that he’s not going to be able to free a man strapped to an explosive in time – panicking, he apologises and promptly runs off in his fetching Michelin Man gear.

District 9

In which… the fetchingly named Sharlto Copely plays a slightly simple government agent who, after being put in charge of removing the alien prawns from District 9, accidently sprays alien juice into his face, which slowly and disturbingly turns him into an alien prawn.

I was looking forward to this one, what with director Neill Blomkamp being the protégé of Sir Peter (I directed the Lord of the Rings) Jackson, and for the most part, other than the scenes which made me feel quite ill (which were a-plenty) the film was enjoyable. Most notably with the massive spaceship looming over Johannesburg’s skyline and the amazing alien weapons. I’m guessing if they make money, we’ll be seeing a District 10.

(500) Days of Summer

In which… Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a young man interested in The Smiths and finding his perfect girl… before finding her in a lift. Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn’t. As the film says: ‘This isn’t a love story’.

But, of course, this IS a love story. Just a more realistic one. The film’s charm is its purposeful aversion of tired and clichéd rom-com trappings and its intent to show both the highs and lows of a modern relationship. Both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are perfectly suited to their characters and I recommend this to anyone who’s been young, romantic and heartbroken… and finicky about their music.

Speaking of indie, you can do worse than take notice of what’s being thrown down at the Sundance festival. Two films who got the thumbs up at Sundance and will be hitting our screens pretty soon are 500 Days of Summer, starring the go-to couple for quirkiness, Zooey Deschanel & Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a romantic (or maybe not-so) comedy about boy meets girl, girl splits up with boy and boy cries about it. They both like The Smiths, obviously. Looks super!

Next up, is Moon – a film directed by the ridiculously monikered Duncan Jones – real name Zowie Bowie is much more palatable – about an astronaut (Sam Rockwell) who agrees to spend 3 years solitary on the moon in order to mine stuff with only the voice of Kevin Spacey as a companion. Obviously, things go a bit tits-up and Sam Rockwell’s character goes mental. Or does he? Oooh.

Reminds me a bit of Steven Soderbergh’s version of Solaris (which I really liked) and inevitably with the omnipotent robotic companion 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Anyhoo, they both look ace.

Check the trailers below:

(500) Days of Summer:

Moon: