As a crazy movie lovers, I watched a couple of movies within a month.
April 15, 2009 (Wednesday)
First IMAX movie @ Manchester – Watchman
Taking the advantage of the Orange promotion on Wednesday, I watched my first IMAX movie @ Manchester at Odeon.
The film takes place in 1985 in an alternate universe where Richard Nixon is in his fifth term as president, the U.S. and Soviet Union are one push of the button away from a nuclear holocaust, and costumed superheroes have been outlawed. That is, except for the sadistic mercenary known as The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) and the god-like Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup), both of whom now work for the government. When The Comedian is murdered, however, masked vigilante Rorschach (Jackie Earle Haley) begins investigating, fearing that this is only the first in a series of killings targeted towards ex-superheroes. But after teaming up with former partner, Nite Owl (Patrick Wilson), and second-generation crime fighter Silk Spectre (Malin Akerman), to further explore his theory, Rorschach discovers that it’s something much bigger.
As anyone who has read the graphic novel can tell you, there’s a lot more to the story than that, and Snyder does his best to cram as much into the film’s massive 163-minute runtime as he possibly can. In fact, with the exception of the brilliant opening detailing The Comedian’s murder, the first hour is dedicated almost exclusively to backstory, with more flashbacks than an episode of “Lost.”
The IMAX experience was awesome, but with the scenes of shocking violence, fragmented story, I will not recommend the movie to most of my friends.
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April 18, 2009 (Saturday)
The Haunting in Connecticut
In the movie, Virginia Madsen and Martin Donovan play struggling parents whose son (Kyle Gallner) is undergoing cancer treatment in 1987. They rent a place near the hospital which is on the market for peanuts. “Well, it does have a bit of a history,” mumbles the owner. It’s a former funeral home which really pushes the history boat out. Every five minutes we’re treated to a charred phantom in a dumb waiter or tinful of human eyelids.
As a “scary” movie.. it is not that scary, yet there’s a strong emotional core here, and a pretty good script!
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April 19, 2009 (Sunday)
Birthday celebration @ La Tasca, Deansgate
After watching a movie Race to Witch Mountain, we headed to La Tasca (the Spanish Restaurant) @ Deansgate to celebrate one of my classmates’ birthday. I had been to La Tasca in Bristol and Brighton, yet this was the first time I went to the one in Manchester. The atmosphere was awesome, with a good selection of food to choose from. Good tapas and regional Asturias dishes. Quality of food was average in U.K. standard. We had a great night out there!
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April 25, 2009 (Saturday)
BBQ @ Chorlton
On Saturday, we had a garden BBQ at one of my classmates’ house, near Alexander Park. It was not that far from city center. From our school, it only took 15 mins by bus to reach there.
This was the first time I toured around this area. Houses are mostly semi-detached, with a small garden at the back. I realized there are really lots of choices in housing in Manchester. We had a lovely evening, with a mild sunshine (well in Manchester standard, it was awesome already!). We had a crazy drinking party till 1a.m., farewelling a gang of friends who were heading to London in the coming week.
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May 9, 2009 (Saturday)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
The film begins in 1840s Canada, when a young James Logan (aka Wolverine) and his half-brother Victor Creed (aka Sabretooth) discover that their future paths are inextricably connected. Cue the film’s best sequence: a gallop through key military conflicts — the American Civil War, Dunkirk , the Vietnam War – until the pair of them are shown trussed before a firing squad and awaiting execution.
As such, I feel that the 100 minute movie is strongest during its first half. The start of the tale is more or less open territory for accomplished director Gavin Hood (Tsotsi, Rendition) to do what he does best – focus on characterisation, crafting an almost mythological take on the Wolverine/Sabretooth relationship, linking their childhood together and bonding them through shared tragedy. The casting of their fathers is exceptional – worth pointing out on its own.
I like X-men Origins better than the rest of the X-mens, even though the story is generally weaker than the other, yet this esposide is more down-to-earth. And of course, Huge Jackman is awesome!
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May 10, 2009 (Sunday)
Dinner @ Numero + Movie: Star Trek
The next day, we had another dinner + movie night, farewelling another classmate. We first stopped by an Italian Restaurant near the AMC in Manchester - Numero. This was the first time I went to this restaurant. Surprisingly it was awesome! Situated in the huge Manchester235 complex (eating, drinking, gaming), the restaurant was filled with classy decor. It was a pity that there were not many people inside, probably due to its remoted location. I particular like its fantastic set menus - 3 courses with drink for £12.50 or £15 only!
After dinner, we headed to AMC nearby to watch Star Trek. Although I was not a fan of Star Trek, I had to say the movie bursted back to life with a resplendence, charm and gusto that are thrilling to see! Compare with X-men Origin, the story was much stronger. One of the more surprising fonts of pleasure is the screenplay, by Transformers scribes Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman – there’s a lot of good, bickering camaraderie and just enough coarse one-liners (“Are you out of your Vulcan mind?”) to keep things buoyant!
Reference:
http://www.restaurantsofmanchester.com/italian/numero.htm
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