MAY 2022 - FILMS (CINEMA) + SPORT

Not much happening at the old Odeon in the merry month of May with new releases a bit thin on the ground. Four outings at the time of collating this post and two days to go. A fifth visit seems unlikely.

Franklin Gardens

I did go to Franklin Gardens, Northampton - home of Northampton Saints - to cheer on a friend in a woman's amateur rugby cup final. (We lost!) 

Huddersfield vs Luton - Play Off Semi Final 2nd Leg

We did also have a family outing to a sports bar in town, to see if Luton could continue their journey upwards and get to the play off final. Sadly, we lost one-nil rather unluckily, but overall we had a fantastic season.

On the actual cinema front, three of the four films seen were a little bit (or a lot) detatched from reality. I suppose you could make the same argument for the 4th - Top Gun: Maverick.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Not really my thing, but on the plus side it was a night out. Benjamin Cumberbatch is pretty good and it wasn't as ridiculously long as several of these types of films I've suffered through. What's it all about? No idea.


From Google...

Dr Stephen Strange casts a forbidden spell that opens a portal to the multiverse. However, a threat emerges that may be too big for his team to handle.

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

Another film with a sci-fiction slant and the unexplainable, but here there was a lot more of a human story that I could relate to. Michelle Yeoh is wonderful. Family is everything.

From Google...

When an interdimensional rupture unravels reality, an unlikely hero must channel her newfound powers to fight bizarre and bewildering dangers from the multiverse as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Firestarter (2022)

Based on a Stephen King novel that I read years ago and have pretty much completely forgotten. I can't recall if I have seen the 1984 film version of this. Nevermind. I enjoyed it. Zac Efron is pretty good. It's another film that has family at its heart.

From Google....

A couple desperately try to hide their daughter, Charlie, from a shadowy federal agency that wants to harness her unprecedented gift for turning fire into a weapon of mass destruction. Her father taught her how to defuse her power, but as Charlie turns 11, the fire becomes harder and harder to control. When a mysterious operative finally finds the family, he tries to seize Charlie once and for all -- but she has other plans.

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

I'm old enough to remember enjoying the original when it came out in 1986. I do like Tom Cruise and have enjoyed seeing him in more than the odd film over the years. I wouldn't say he's a favourite actor and I don't rush to see everything he's in, but he's watchable.

I quite enjoyed this one, even if I did watch it as a Billy No Mates, while my Wife and Daughter #1 were otherwise engaged. I may have to sit through it again when they are free to go and see it and I'll probably enjoy it just as much second time around.

Good support cast - Jennifer Connelly, John Hamm, Val Kilmer (bless him) and the new kids on the block, Miles Teller, Monica Barbaro and Glen Powell.

Exciting, tense, enjoyable enough storyline. Good escapist fun.

From Google....

After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy's top aviators, Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is where he belongs, pushing the envelope as a courageous test pilot and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him. Training a detachment of graduates for a special assignment, Maverick must confront the ghosts of his past and his deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who choose to fly it.

Rankings....

1. Top Gun: Maverick

2. Everything Everywhere All At Once

3. Firestarter

4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness