State of Play

Some time ago, I bought State of Play, the BBC mini-series, on DVD for just Ł2 incl. shipping, so I decided to watch it again. Well, the bits and pieces with James McAvoy who has always been the main draw for me here. Also, a) when you know what's going on, all the twists and turns of the series, it loses a bit of its intrigue and b) I'm still put off by the main hero's affair with the suspect's/his best friend's wife - as his editor in chief said, it was unprofessional and simply wrong - and Della whining all the time. And that's why, James McAvoy's scenes re-watch it was!

He's amazing, so, so amazing as Dan Foster! Dan had all the funny scenes in the series, lending it a much needed levity. Loved his banter with his father, that was awesome. And there were so many actors who starred in other movies with James McAvoy later on! Like Bill Nighy, playing his father here, then later on his grandfather in Arthur Christmas! Or David Morrissey, playing their object of interest here, later on starring in Welcome to the Punch with him.

If you haven't seen it yet, do. It's really good! The surprise twist at the end was quite shocking.

Jeremy Renner to play Al Pacino's son?

It looks like Jeremy Renner will be playing Al Pacino's illegitimate son in the family drama Imagine.

Al Pacino signed on last year to play a Bruce Springsteen-type rocker who discovers a long-unopened letter addressed to him from John Lennon; after reading it, he’s shocked to learn that he actually fathered a son and decides to track him down.

Source

Sounds interesting. Not something I would necessarily have to see in the cinema, but I would like to see it, that's true.

Merlin 505 synopsis

Sounds really good! \o/

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X-Men 1

I decided to watch all the X-Men movies in one row, one movie an evening, to see if my love for XMFC holds compared to the rest of the bunch. IMHO, XMFC is the best movie in the series but I might be blinded by my love for Charles and Erik in the film. We will see how it goes...

You know, I don't get the fans' obsession with Logan. Sure, he's an interesting character but why is he the focus of 4 out of the 5 movies so far? *hands* I don't get it. Hugh Jackman is great in the part - and so young here! - but... Nope, still don't get it.

I love Scott and Jean as a couple but they were more like a brother and a sister here. The movie showed more tension between Jean and Logan than between Jean and Scott. They were an established couple, there should've been something that would prove it, show it! But Scott had as much interaction with Jean as he had with Storm or Logan. I wanted to feel it, feel them - but I didn't.

I loved, loved this Charles. Patrick Stewart was incredible here. I love it when Charles is written that way in fics, as someone who never gives up hope, never gives up on Erik even though he's constantly rejected and hurt by him. Can you even imagine such a big heart? It's amazing that he didn't grow as bitter as Erik.

And Erik. I didn't like that they basically told us he was a coward, that he used Marie to do his dirty work. Erik might be many things but he isn't a coward. That's what's so awesome about the whole Charles vs. Erik thing, they are both right and wrong at the same time and they are willing to die for what they think is right. Ian McKellen was amazing as Erik but I didn't like his portrayal here.

Watching this movie, you realize just how close James McAvoy's and Michael Fassbender's portrayal of these characters is despite the fact that they didn't try to copy the previous actors. They picked up their characters' main traits - Charles' gentleness and Erik's conviction - and ran with it. Yet they still managed to be this Charles and this Erik. Amazing.