What I've Seen Lately, Part 2.

Okay here's some more films:

Die Hard 4- Entertaining thriller, let down by silliness of the stunts. In the first Die Hard film, which remains a classic, Bruce Willis was a cop who happened to find himself in the midst of a siege and has to go beyond his limits to save the day. It was implausible but not to the extent that you couldn't suspend your disbelief. In the following three films he has become almost a super hero who can bring down criminal masterminds capable of taking over the entire United States and it's hard to see it as anything other than a series of explosions. 3/5

300- With several hundred greased up men wearing practically nothing this is the gayest film since Brokeback Mountain. Because the film was denounced for being anti-Persian and militaristic I really wanted to like it just to offend those sanctimonious prigs but I just couldn't. As with all the Frank Miller adaptions it is overly stylised and lacking in any subtlety whatsoever. None of the characters are anything other than one dimensional heroes or villains. 2/5

Perfume, The Story of a Murderer- Ridiculous beyond belief. Well acted and good at evoking the period though. It's just that having imbued the story with a degree of plausibility it then ends up with the most absurd finale possible. This might be my fault for not appreciating the sense of the absurd. 3/5

Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix- Competently executed but obviously trying to cram a long book into a movie. I can understand why, if the director tampered with a cash cow like the Harry Potter series and it failed he could sink not only that film but the entire series. See the fate of the movie version of the Dark Materials Trilogy for an example of how to wreck a lucrative franchise. 3/5

A Tale of 2 Sisters - Very confusing South Korean film, so by the time of the big Sixth Sense style reveal I simply didn't care. 2/5

American Gigalo- Stylish but vacuous fluff. Essentially a cheesy period piece but reasonably fun. 3/5

Transformers- As long as you remember that it's a Transformers movie about big robots hitting each other, then it is surprisingly enjoyable, especially for a Michael Bay film. Characterisation is perfunctory but Duh of course it is. Fun fact, the original Transformers movie, in the 1980s, was the last film that Orson Welles appeared in. 3/5

Two Moon Junction- Morally dubious film about a Southern belle due to marry her wealthy fiance. Then along comes a carnie and she has lots of sex with him before going back to get married to the rich guy, who is none the wiser. On the plus side there is plenty of entirely gratuitous nudity. 2/5