Tweve Monkeys And A Panda Crossing A Bridge

I bet you were expecting a convoluted joke after that heading, but no I'm afraid it's another of my opinionated blogs on films, all of them good but not of the top notch.

I really enjoyed Kung Fu Panda (I think I watched it one Christmas although I don't seem to have reviewed it on here) but it is the sequel Kung Fu Panda 2 that is now under the OG microscope. As with almost all modern CGI, the animation is breathtaking whilst lacking the romance of the early hand-drawn cartoons - I still regard Snow White as arrrestingly brilliant and somehow satisfying, perhaps a recognition of the intense labour involved in its production. Well KFP2 lacks that appeal but it is vibrant and funny. 65/100.  

And now for something completely different. Twelve Monkeys is a Terry Gilliam film, craftily directed and gripping as its plot veers about in the protagonist's time travel. That the protagonist is played by Bruce Willis is a help - always watchable and particularly well-suited to a role that has him dripping with sweat and lurching from one beating to another. Good but not great. 68/100.

Let's take it to the bridge. The Bridge on the River Kwai to be exact. I had somehow managed to avoid sitting through the entirety of this film until last week. I had caught multiple snatches of it over the years (so much so that I think I had taken in the whole thing in a cut and paste manner). The wait was worth it. This is a compelling and beautifully realised piece of cinema. However when you come to it armed with the knowledge that it is directed by David Lean and that Lean was responsible for the truly great Lawrence of Arabia, there is a risk of mild disappointment. So I have no hesitation in calling it a very fine film but not quite a very great one. 79/100.