In-flight Movies (as always)

Well I'm back, but it's taken me two days to get my act together and get online for my regular in-flight movie report (the four other films I've seen since I'm back --! -- will have to wait).

On the outward flight I actually managed to view three movies in a pathetic attempt to keep my average up, since I almost never get to see any films whilst in New York.  Here goes -- although I shall keep this brief:

Night at the Museum (2006):  This is a perfectly adequate time-waster starring Ben Stiller who usually manages to carry his movies, although his appeal is something of a mystery.  Here he plays a loser who needs to re-establish his halo with his son and his divorced wife; he takes a job as a night watchman at the Natural History Museum where his wrinkly predecessors have not quite prepared him for the fact that all of the exhibits become alive at night.  The computer effects of animated dinosaurs, wild beasts and miniature warriors are fun, but the actual comedy is pretty non-existant, and personally I could do without the cameos from current comic flavours of the month Steve Coogan and Ricky Gervais.

Scoop (2006): This is the second of two movies that Woody Allen directed in Britain, both starring Scarlett Johansson, and neither has been granted a UK release, which is something of a shame.  I know that it is currently unfashionable to like Woody's films and to hark back on the early "funny" ones, but I still find them generally good value.  Here Woody plays a second-rate magician who befriends Johannsson's journalism student as she tries to unearth a serial killer who may or may not be Hugh Jackman.  I found it a bit of a lark, professionally made and certainly worth an hour and a half of anyone's time.

Happy Feet (2006): This animated movie is yet another penguin pic and tells the sad tale of a baby penguin who is unable to sing but who is a nifty dancer.  Frankly I hope I don't have to see any more penguin movies for the duration, as I personally find masses of these bobbing birds scary to say the least.  And when they are all dancing -- oh my God! 

The return trip was something of a wash-out since I was far too weary to watch all of my first choice "The Fountain" (2006).  Darren Aronofsky has been trying to get this made for some years now and the resultant film starring his current partner, Rachel Weisz, and Hugh Jackman as lovers in different time periods, as Jackman tries to find a cure for his dying wife, came across as ever so precious.  Perhaps were I more awake I might not have given up halfway through and I suspect that this will get its second chance in due course.

After a bit of a kip, there was only time to watch half of a second film and since I had seen a number of them and didn't particularly want to see many of the others, I chose "Man of the Year" (2006).  This choice was actually an odd one for me since I am no Robin Williams fan (plus this was his third role of this trip, since he played a Teddy Roosevelt mannequin in the museum movie and was one of the penguin voices).  Here he is a talk-show host who as a lark runs for President of the good old U S of A and, because of a computer glitch, actually wins.  I  must confess that I found Williams far more tolerable in this role than in other recent ones and I am actually eager to discover how the film finishes.  How about that then?

Hopefully I shall be back to abnormal in a few days.  See you soon...

Tags: Ben Stiller, Woody Allen, penguins, The Fountain, Robin Williams