Crime

Batman Forever (1995) screened on Channel 4 last night. Having not seen it in many years and having The Dark Knight still relatively fresh in my mind, it was very interesting watching it again and comparing the tone of the two movie series.

[5/5]
This is a truly excellent movie, and a fitting sequel to 2005's Batman Begins. It is much darker, more raw and more visceral than the first four Batman films, as we have come to expect from Christopher Nolan, and you will be reflecting on the movie for days afterwards. The superhero movie has this year come of age, and The Dark Knight is the best example yet of how a superhero movie can be a damn good piece of cinema too.

[4/5]
2002's Chicago, directed by Bob Marshall, is an excellent and faithful adaptation of Kander and Ebb's musical, and seemingly kick-started a small, slow revival in musical cinema (such as 2005's The Producers and 2007's Sweeney Tood).

Set in 1920's Chicago, the plot follows the lives of Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) and Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) after they are charged with murder, Velma for a double homicide after finding her husband in bed with her sister (with whom she performed in a Vaudeville act) and Roxie for the murder of her lover (after she discovers that he wasn't going to make her the Vaudeville star he'd promised).