Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky and Cristina are two Americans who are spending their summer in Barcelona. Vicky is pursuing her Masters degree in Catalan Identity and Vicky is along for the ride. They stay with some distant relatives of Vicky’s. As they explore the city of Barcelona they come across a local artist, Juan Antonio who tells them he’s attracted to both of them and invites them to join him in one hour for a trip to his home town of Oviedo.

Vicky is unimpressed but Cristina’s game for adventure. After Vicky unsuccessfully persuades her not to go, they eventually end up on a plane, piloted by Juan Antonio. He’s a good host, taking them to see all the sights and just when things are developing between him and Cristina she gets ill with an ulcer and is in bed for the entire weekend.

This leaves Vicky and Juan Antonio to see the sights and an attraction develops leading to a one night stand. This leaves Vicky feeling guilty as she is engaged to be married to Doug and now she is confused about what she wants, as she knows Cristina is trying to persue a relationship with Juan Antonio.

Along the way, stories about Juan Antonio’s ex-wife Marie Elena surface and their volatile relationship which has clearly left a mark on the artist. Out of the blue, Marie Elena materialises and throws Cristina and Juan Antonio’s relationship in question.

Its a complex film and i think you need to watch it a few times to really get it, but it tries to be more clever than it is. For example, the narrator didn’t add anything to the story. I just found him intrusive. Also, the twisted storyline was good but I couldn’t sympathise with any of the characters and I think that’s a good thing.

People aren’t black and white, theirs always a shade of grey especially when it comes to relationships so I think this film is worth a look. Also Barcelona plays a fantastic role in the film and make you want to go see this beautiful city for yourself.

4 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: For his brief driving scene in this movie, Javier Bardem underwent hours of driving instruction and still didn’t have a driver’s license to show for his efforts when the movie wrapped.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona [DVD] [2008]

Wild Child

Wild Child follows Poppy Moore an angry young American girl who’s annoyed when her father moves his girlfriend into his house. Poppy decides to trash the girlfriends furniture which pushes her father too far and he sends her to boarding school in England. There Poppy does her best to try and get expelled whilst contending with the evil Head Girl for the Headmistress’s son’s affections.

Along the way she makes friends and learns who she really is as well as making a profound discovery about her deceased mother.

I didn’t like this film to be honest. It doesn’t have the heart or the bite that Mean Girls has, but its a cute film if you want to drool over Alex Pettyfer who provides the eye candy as Freddie, the Headmistress’s son.

I like Emma Roberts better in Nancy Drew to be honest, this role didn’t really suit her.

3 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: Actress Daisy Donovan, who also appeared in the film, contributed some additional dialogue to the screenplay, mainly consisting of contemporary phrases or sayings. She said one of the ways she did this was to go to the library and listen to teenagers talking to their friends whilst revising their A levels.

Wild Child [DVD] [2008]

The Colour of Magic

If you’ve never picked up a Terry Pratchett book but wondered what all the fuss was about then try this wonderful film out.

The Colour of Magic is about the world’s worst wizard, Rincewind and a tourist, Twoflower who find themselves embroiled in a strange and funny adventure. Its basically like every fantasy film that you’ve ever seen and pokes fun at it.

You also get to see Terry Pratchett’s amazing world visually, the great Discworld which is on a huge turtle which houses 4 elephants and the discworld which is a flat world.

Rincewind has been at the Unseen University for decades but is still a student as he can never remember any spells. When he was young, on a bet he opened the Ocatvo, the world’s great spellbook which houses the 8 great spells. But one escaped into his brain and ever since then he can remember no other spell.

He finally gets expelled and meets Twoflower, the Discworld’s first tourist who he’s charged with protecting and making sure gets to see all the sights and sounds of the Capital City. Twoflower is a cheerful soul who sees the world through rose tinted spectacles, but who is also funny and compassionate.

Together they encounter Trolls, Dragons, Wizards and the end of the Discworld and also Death which follows Rincewind impatiently as he refuses to die.

I laughed, I cried and I wondered at this fantastically funny series which is split into two episodes.

Sean Astin of Lord of the Rings is hilarious as the clueless Twoflower and David Jason is just genius as Rincewind. But the star of the series is the Luggage which follows its Master Twoflower wherever he is and travels on legs!

5 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: Both Sean Astin (Twoflower) and Sir David Jason (Rincewind) are long-term Pratchett fans. Jason named The Colour of Magic as his choice of favourite book of all time in the BBC’s Big Read survey.

The Colour Of Magic [DVD] [2008]

Alias Season 3

If you haven’t checked out Alias, then you’re missing out. Every episode is like a mini-James Bond movie but with a bad ass female CIA agent who’s trying to save the world.

Season 3 picks up where we left Sydney. Its two years later, she’s in Hong Kong and has lost her memory of the two years after her fight with Alison Doren. She learns that Vaughn left the agency and married Lauren Reed. Whilst dealing with all this, a new threat, The Covenant is terrorist organisation which kidnapped Sydney and which she sets to bring down.

Along the way we learn that there is a mole in the CIA. Someone who is working with The Covenant to sabotage the activities of the CIA. And that mole is the most unexpected person ever. What leads to a gripping finale is nothing short of spectacular.

I felt JJ Abrams lost his way in this series. Sydney’s too angsty and angry for me. I found myself getting annoyed but as much as I hated Lauren Reed for coming between Syd and Vaughn, I loved her as well. And my favourite character the charming but lethal Mr Sark is back in this series.

All in all, a good series but this season wasn’t their best.

3 out of 5 stars.

Alias – Complete Season 3 [DVD]

Twilight

Twilight as a book has already had a review, but I resisted for so long seeing the movie because every time I see a book to movie adaptation I am not happy.

This was one of the few times the film was better than the book, or better than I had anticipated at least!

Twilight follows Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her police Chief father, Charlie. When she goes to the High School, she is instantly attracted to Edward Cullen of the mysterious Cullen family. Along with his foster brothers and sisters, they keep themselves to themselves.

When Edwards saves Bella from a van which almost kills her, Bella starts getting suspicious and after pestering Edward and through her own research, she finds out he and his family are vampires. However, there’s a threat in Forks as people keep mysteriously dying through supposed animal attacks and it all points to the work of a vampire.

OK, speaking objectively of the film, I loved it! Bella is not as sappy and annoying as in the book. Yeah she’s sappy and can’t seem to save herself, but Kristen Stewart does something amazing with Bella’s character, she makes her likeable which I had a hard time doing in the books.

And Edward is as always amazingly played by Robert Pattinson, his American accent is flawless, only slipping once or twice into British.

And I even liked Taylor Lautner’s character of Jacob. NOW I see why there are so many Jacob fans, he’s mesmerising even more so than Edward at times.

They even made Charlie more 3D than he is in the books, which makes it more interesting.

My favourite scenes were with the Cullen family, they should have done more with them because I find them fascinating. The vampire baseball scene was even more than I imagined it was THAT good!

LOVED the film!

5 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: When Carlisle bit Edward, he whispered something into his ear. The first time it was “I’m sorry” then “My son”. On about the fifth take he said, “You’re sexy”.

Twilight – 2 Disc Special Edition [DVD] [2008]

Very Valentine – Adriana Trigiani

Valentine Roncalli is a shoemaker working and living in Greenwich Village in New York. She lives with her grandmother, Grams who’s 80 years old and still going strong. But the family business, is under threat when Valentine finds out their financial situation is not as rosy as she expected.

Suddenly Valentine must face up to being financially ruined and homeless! Along the way, Valentine finds love and discovers more about herself and her grandmother on a trip to Italy which leads her to change her perspective on lots of important things.

I love Adriana Trigiani books, you all know how I feel about the Big Stone Gap series. This book is set in modern day New York, and it even has a cheeky reference to Lucia, Lucia one of Trigiani’s other books which is being made into a movie.

This book didn’t have that same magic for me. Yes it had the warmth of her earlier efforts, but I couldn’t identify with Valentine. She was a flake to me and buried her head in the sand. But I did love Grams who makes this such a fun book to read. And also loved Valentine’s family who are crazy and funny and who provide a good backdrop to the story.

Overall, not too impressed with this book.

3 out of 5 stars.

Very Valentine

New Trailer Feature

I’ve added trailers to practically every DVD post.

This feature will hopefully give you a flavour of the film I’m reviewing and get you to watch!

Only in instances where there are no trailers available have I not included them like for most TV series’s.

Let me know what you think!

Terminator: The Sarah Connors Chronicles – Season 1

Judgement Day was averted at the end of the second Terminator film, but in the beginning of this series John and Sarah Connor find out, it was only delayed until 2011.

Beginning in 1999, Sarah Connor is in a healthy relationship, her John is safe and pursuing a normal life. But soon, the past catches up with them as a Terminator from the future is sent to kill them and another, sent by John from the future, is sent to protect them. This new Terminator is in the form of a teenage girl, Cameron Phillips who becomes John’s sister/protector for the purposes of the show.

John and Sarah flee and move to a new town with new identities, but its not long before the Terminator that was following them is on their trail. Along the way they meet a new ally, someone who has a very close connection with mother and son, and whose loyalties are unclear.

FBI Agent James Ellison is also on the hunt for Sarah Connor, a wanted felon and throughout the course of his investigation he becomes more and more intrigued by the possibility of truth in Sarah’s predictions.

Honestly, I didn’t think I would like this series. I’d watched Terminator 2 and while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t sure how they could make this into a series. But all my friend were raving about it, and when I heard it got cancelled, I knew I had to see what all the fuss was about.

And am I glad I did. This is a fantastic, quirky and most importantly, humanising aspect to this franchise. In a film you have a beginning, middle and end, but in this series we get to explore the character of Sarah Connors more than in the films. In the in between time between John as a child and as the man who will become a leader, his mother is one who shaped his life and now we can see how.

Lena Headey is perfect for this role. She has the warrior look, compassion, humour and most of all the maternal survival skills to protect her son at all costs. She’s not perfect, but she’s making the best of a bad situation and that’s what I love about her. Thomas Dekker gives a fantastic performance as teenage John full of angst and scared for his life, but also wanting to be a normal teenager. But its Summer Glau who steals every scene as the Terminator Cameron sent to protect John from the future.

Overall, a fantastic series.

5 out of 5 stars.

Random trivia: The Character “Cameron” is a tribute to James Cameron, who came up with the idea of Terminator and directed the first two movies.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles – Season 1 [2008] [DVD]

Dexter – Season 1

A TV show about a serial killer is not something I expected to be a fan of, but Dexter is no ordinary serial killer. He’s a lovable serial killer.

Played by the ruggedly handsome, Michael C Hall, Dexter Morgan is a blood spatter analyst working for Miami PD along with his foster sister, Debra. He also has a girlfriend, a single mother of two kids, Rita who he’s been dating for 6 months. On the outside, Dexter is a working and normal member of society, but this is all a mask.

By night, Dexter kills people who have escaped the justice system and exacts revenge by taking out the trash. Throughout the course of the series, Dexter is on the trail of another serial killer, The Ice Truck Killer, who kills prostitutes and then chops them up into pieces, in artfully decorated places. He’s trying to communicate with Dexter who’s pleased with the notion of his new friend.

But in a twist near the end, we realise how close the serial killer is to Dexter and the ones he loves.

I’d read the Dexter book before I even heard of the series, and a more unlikely topic for a TV show I’d never seen. I knew who the killer was, having read the book, but for those who haven’t, it’ll come as a real shock.

Overall, Dexter has some good performances, lots of swearing and a dramatic storyline. My advice though, is you need to watch something light and fluffy as I couldn’t handle more than 2 or 3 episodes at a time without becoming severely disturbed.

But this is worth it in my opinion. Cannot wait to see Dexter Season 2.

5 out of 5 stars.

Random trivia: Dexter’s boat is named Slice of Life

Dexter : Complete Season 1 [DVD]

Bulletproof Monk

This is a story of a monk and a thief who work together to prevent an evil Nazi from taking over the world and committing mass genocide.

Sounds interesting right?

The story starts with the Bulletproof Monk who is entrusted to protect an ancient scroll, which can incite heaven or hell depending on whose hands its in. His Master dies in his arms and tells him to protect the scroll at all costs. Cue to present day, 60 years later and due to some major mojo, the monk has not aged at all.

He’s in modern day America and whilst on the run from the evil Nazi’s henchmen, manages to save a girl caught on a railroad track which is where he meets, Kar the thief who steals his scroll. After following Kar in order to retrieve the scroll, he notices Kar’s fighting abilities and Kar fulfils one of the conditions of the Ancient Prophecy to allow him to become the Next, the carrier of the scroll.

As Kar and the monk get to know each other and trust each other, into the fray comes Jade a girl who helps Kar get out of a tight spot and who hides a few secrets of her own. The evil Nazi’s granddaughter is after the scroll, so that he can regain his youth and destroy the world.

But will the Bulletproof Monk and his reluctant pupil manage to hold off the world’s destruction? OK, the answer is obviously Yes, but its the fun conclusion which you never see coming which makes it worth the while.

Good movie, not a fast paced action thriller, steady with some actiony bits, good storyline, humorous dialogue and great cast. This is not your typical martial arts movie. Its got something for  everyone and unlike the annoying Rush Hour Movies, Sean William Scott is not annoying or stupid. In fact he’s really good in a movie this serious!

Worth watching.

5 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: The actors who portray the monks in the movie are real martial artists from the Sunny Tang Martial Arts Centre located in Toronto, Canada.

Bulletproof Monk [DVD] [2003]