In an unusual bout of credit-crunch deliver-may-care, we treated ourselves to a few movies over the weekend:
In The Valley of Elah: great story, brilliantly acted, though the conclusion was marginally unsatisfying - like they realised they were running out of time, and had to wrap-up the plot quickly. Some smarter editing early-on would have helped, but still well worth a viewing.
American Gangster: class all round. Recommended.
Eastern Promises: Not sure whether I really liked this film or not. Viggo Mortensen very convincing as usual, but it seemed at times like they were making the plot-up on the hoof. Still, it had Naomi Watts in it, so how bad could it be?
Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium: The kids liked it, and it was a perfect vehicle for Dustbin Hoffman to ham it up all over the screen - and actually remain in context. It's one of those movies where you could probably just watch the trailer, and not bother with the film, but it had Natalie Portman in it, so how bad could it be? Also a good performance from Kid #1 (his name escapes me, but he's got jug ears you cannot miss, so you'll know who I'm talking about if you see him in anything else).