What movies have you seen recently?

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Riddick (2013) - I liked it.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Robert Rodriguez's stylish and slick thriller starring George Clooney and Quentin Taratino as a pair of brothers and notorious criminals that take Harvey Keitel's pastor and his two teenagers (including Juliette Lewis) hostage and abscond to Mexico. They stop off at a local strip club, which is secretly a haven for vampires. Now they must survive a very long night.

Featuring one of the sexiest movie scenes EVER (Salma Hayek gyrating with a python) and lots of gory wanton destruction up to the finale, FDTD is a cult classic.

Gunga Din

3 British Sergeants and a waterbearer wanting to be a soldier face the revival of the Thuggee cult in 19th Century India.

Iron Man 2, the only installment in the Iron Man series which I had not seen yet (having seen Iron Man on DVD when it first came out, and part 3 at the cinema earlier this year).

I liked it a lot, but I felt that the movie's pacing suffered a bit in the second half after a very strong beginning. Specifically, I thought it was lacking in action. After Iron Man's first fight with Whiplash, there's a succession of scenes that mostly consist of people sitting around talking. I absolutely don't mind action/superhero movies that invest much time in character development and inter-character relationships that help drive the plot along, but it seemed to be going from talks between Fury and Tony, Vanko and Hammer, to Tony and Pepper, to Hammer and Rhodey, with no true action scene to change the pace. The fight between Iron Man and War Machine in the middle, while visually impressive, did not carry enough weight to break this up. The final battle at the end is great, but at the same time it's mostly for the part that the drones play in it, and not so much the final confrontation with Whiplash, who gets disposed of rather quickly.

That being said, I did think the dialogues in general were excellent, continuing in the 'improv' style that was established in the first movie and would carry on mostly intact in the third movie, though under a different director. All in all, I think the Iron Man films make a very strong superhero series which I enjoy a fair bit more than Nolan's Batman trilogy, controversial though that may sound.

Downey, Paltrow, and Cheadle were all on top of their game here. Rourke was fabulous as Vanko/Whiplash, and it's a pity that he was not featured in more scenes with Downey.

White House Down

A Capitol policeman goes on tour at the White House with his daughter when paramilitary invaders suddenly attack. Similiar in plot to Olympus Has Fallen only with more domestic terrorists instead of foreign ones.

Thor: The Dark Would

Sequel to the 2011 outing. This time, Thor has returned to Asgard following the events of the Avengers and his scheming brother, Loki, has been imprisoned for his crimes. With the Nine Realms almost at peace and an alignment called the Convergence close at hand, a new threat comes from the evil Malekith and his race of dark elves. They are after an ancient weapon called the Aether, which will grant them enough power to destroy the universe.

Highly entertaining, but less elves and more Loki would of been better. The ending is so predictable though.....

I started watching Color of Night with Bruce Willis, and I've got to say that what I've seen so far is hysterical. It's like if Tommy Wiseau made a big-budget erotic thriller.

Ender's Game. It was mehhh...

Thor: The Dark World.

Very enjoyable movie, where Thor and Odin have to free Loki to aid them in fighting their ancient and (wrongly) presumed dead enemies, the Dark Elves. The scene where Loki switches forms while trying to get a rise out of Thor, then takes on the likeness of Captain America, is priceless!

The Trouble with Harry

Hitckcock movie taking place in New England. Harry Worp is dead. While nobody really minds, a few people believe they are responsible for his death and have different ideas on what to do with the body. Shirley MacLaine's first film.

Solomon Kane

It was an above average adaptation of one of Robert E. Howard's b-team (not Conan) characters, the puritan avenger, Solomon Kane.

I thought it was better than the last attempt at a Conan revival.

I'd like to see one of Howard's characters really gain traction and establish a good movie franchise.

Personally, I'd rather see Solomon Kane II than Arnold Schwarzenegger's next attempt to revive Conan... but that's just me.