What movies have you watched this week?

The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971) Really enjoyed this, seeing as Macbeth is quite possibly my favourite Shakespeare and I wanted to see how it stacks up to Akira Kurosawa's take on the story. Jon Finch was superb as the title character (but having seen him in Hitchcock's Frenzy I was sceptical he'd be able to properly portray Macbeth). As always, Polanski excels at crafting the psychologically surreal in visually inventive ways (as was the case with Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby before this), with the scenes of Banquo's ghost at the dinner table and the witches' prophecies of Macbeth's fate sticking out to me.

One thing I particularly enjoyed was the Shakespearean monologues being conveyed as the characters' thought patterns, that was really interesting and quite an innovative way of retaining the prose. The scene when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill was really well done, with the sunset streaking out past the hills and being visually mesmerising to behold (it doesn't top Throne of Blood's scene though). King Duncan's murder was another key scene Polanski didn't hold back on. To be honest, while watching it I didn't think much of Francesca Annis as Lady Mac, but the nuances of her performance have grown on me, especially the vulnerability she conveys once the shit hits the fan with the "Out, damned spot" line. I still think Throne of Blood wins out for me as the better adaptation, though. (9/10)

Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015) - I really love Aardman Animation, but I'd not seen anything of Shaun the Sheep outside of his guest role in 'A Close Shave' as part of Wallace and Gromit. I found that this movie was really charming, and I was pleasantly surprised that there was no discernible dialogue throughout the film, which in my eyes made it reminiscent of classic silent films where the narrative is conveyed purely through visual cues and musical accompaniments. The animation was as always gorgeous. The plot between the farmer and Shaun was quite endearing too (if a little run of the mill and formulaic, but I'm a sucker for that sort of stuff), and had some very amusing in-jokes and film references, and I liked that you could keep track of the progression despite there being no dialogue. Christopher Nolan could really learn something from Shaun the Sheep. (8/10)

Spongebob Squarepants 2 (2015) Really ridiculous movie and premise, but for a fan of Spongebob I thought I'd enjoy it. And I did. The story was as bizarre as I 'd expected, having seen the first movie on many an occasion I knew what I was getting myself into as possibly the only adult paying to see it of his own volition. What made the film good enough for me, as did the first one through it being a coming of age story, was the applicable theme of this outing being teamwork. That and the numerous film references to Mad Max, 2001 and Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Probably exclusively for Spongebob fans, or anyone below the age of 10 really. (5/10)

Furious 7 (2015) Pretty awful entry in the franchise, but it gets points for the producers having to work around Paul Walker's death to achieve some semblance of story congruity. Jason Statham's first scene was good, but as his character archetype of a ghost suggests, he spends too much time off screen. Same goes for Dwayne Johnson. Vin Diesel is as charismatic as a brick wall, and he pretty much failed to carry the film without Walker backing him up. Whilst Fast 5 and 6 had a huge ensemble, Furious 7 felt comparatively small and thus the story's gaping holes became more apparent. Djimon Hounsou was utterly wasted in his role, as was Nathalie Walker. The only thing commendable about it was filming a scene post-Tokyo Drift with Lucas Black and making it not look like utter shit due to the age gap between 2006 and now. The denouement with Paul Walker was well done, but I felt it detracted from the story (given the whole plot started because of Han's death, and by the end they had virtually forgotten who he was) and was obviously just an homage to him by the filmmakers and for the audience. Too convoluted and an overly bland story, even by the standards of the franchise. I thought it was going to be like the Die Hard With A Vengeance of this series due to the plot similarities between them - brother avenging his brother's death at the hands of our protagonists - but boy was I wrong. (3/10)

/r/flicks Thread