I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four is about a young man who is from another planet who is being pursued on earth along with the other 8 of his kind - the last of his kind. The first three have already been killed so "John Smith" (Alex Pettyfer) needs to stay unnoticed. He lives with his protector (Timothy Olyphant) and doesn't know any of the others - of his people that is - on earth. He meets and falls for a girl in a new town they move to, she's played by Dianna Agron from Glee. It was a great action movie and well worth watching. Looks like there will be a sequel too!

True Grit and No Strings Attached

I saw True Grit on Monday with my husband. It stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Hailee Steinfeld and is a remake of the John Wayne film, which I haven't seen. It's about a girl whose father is killed and she's trying to find the man who killed him and bring him to justice. She hires Rooster Cogburn as she hears he's a man with 'true grit' and can get the job done. She ends up going along with him and La Boeuf (Damon) to find the man herself. Steinfeld is excellent and I can see why she's Oscar nominated and overall it was a good film if a little slow in places.

I just saw No Strings Attached which is an easy rom-com starring Ashton Kutcher as Adam and Natalie Portman as Emma. They meet as 14-year-olds and meet up a few times over the years until they become fuck buddies. Inevitably feelings eventually come into it and their 'agreement' becomes a problem. A fun film if a little predictable.

Paul

I just got back from seeing Paul, the latest Simon Pegg and Nick Frost film. I'll admit I wasn't sure about this and am not a huge fan of these two chaps although enjoyed Hot Fuzz. It's really, really good! Seth Rogen voices the foul mouthed titular alien who these two English nerds happen upon on a road trip across the USA after attending Comic-Con. Long story short - he's trying to get home and the guys drive him in their rented RV being chased by Agent Zoil (Jason Bateman) and a couple of other agents (one is played by Bill Hader, not sure about the other guy although he looked familiar). They also meet a Creationist played by Kristen Wiig who joins them. It was a little foul mouthed perhaps for some people, although it's probably not aimed at them! I loved it!!

Barney's Version and Black Swan

I saw Barney's Version last weekend and forgot to update this. It stars Paul Giamatti as Barney, a man whose life is charted throughout the film. He marries a rich woman played by Minnie Driver (English actress playing American) but at his own wedding meets a woman who he believes is the love of his life - talk about bad timing! He pursues this woman played by Rosamund Pike (another English actress playing American) and eventually marries her. It follows his story flashing back to his past as he was accused of murdering one of his friends and the detective from the case won't let it lie. The detective incidentally is played by Mark Addy, another English actor whose accent I found a slightly confusing Yorkshire/American cross!! The film was good if a little long.
Black Swan. Well, what to say about this. It's about a ballet dancer (played by Natalie Portman) who gets her break playing the Swan Queen in Swan Lake. It's very odd, as is to be expected from a Darren Aronofsky film, and I did enjoy it but it was slightly disturbing with a few gruesome bits. It also made lots of us watching jump a few of times. Not one I'd see again but I would recommend it and can see what all the awards fuss is over Natalie Portman as she was excellent in it.