Vicky Cristina Barcelona Saturday, Jun 27 2009

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]

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Twilight Monday, Jun 15 2009

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]

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Happy Go Lucky Thursday, May 14 2009

Happy Go Lucky follows Poppy Cross, a Primary School Teacher (Elementary School) living in London with her best friend and flatmate Zoe.

Poppy has an active life, great friends, good job and positive outlook.

The film follows Poppy’s journey as out for a stroll one day, her bicycle is stolen. She resolves to get driving lessons, and meets her driving instructor Scott. Scott is angry, violent, ignorant, prejudiced and just plain mean. Poppy tries her best to get through to him by being cheerful and cheeky, which winds him up even more, leading to a harrowing showdown.

Along the way she helps a pupil who is bullying others in her class and meets a social worker with who we assume she starts a relationship after she has a one night stand with him.

Poppy has two sisters, one is in uni doing Law and the other is married, a teacher and expecting her first child with her husband, but is insecure about her life and feels Poppy is rubbing it in when she mentions how happy she is with her carefree life.

Poppy’s cheerful attitude can be grating, in fact it loses all novelty after five minutes, but you can’t help but watch to see what happens next and how she deals with her driving instructor and the various people in her life.

I’m perplexed by this film. I’m not sure if I like it or not, but its one of those films I think which I’ll have to watch a few times just to get. Its a very different offering from Mike Leigh’s previous film, Vera Drake which I watched and enjoyed.

Overall, a good film if you’re looking for something different to watch.

4 out of 5 stars.

Happy-Go-Lucky [DVD] [2008]

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Infamous Friday, May 1 2009

Infamous is the story behind the Truman Capote non-fiction book, In Cold Blood.

In rural Kansas, a family is brutally murdered in their home. This article catches the eye of author Truman Capote. He convinces his best friend Nelle, better known as author Harper Lee, to accompany him on the trip so he can write an article for the New Yorker about how the murder has affected the community.

At first he meets resistance from the townsfolk as he tries to gauge their feelings on the murder, but eventually he gets through when he’s invited by the lead prosecutor’s wife for Christmas dinner. Truman’s stories of Hollywood royalty such as Humphrey Bogart, Frank Sinatra and Lauren Bacall captivate his audience, and he gets more invitations around the community.

He gets inside information about the family that was murdered, and when the killers are apprehended, gets to speak to them personally.

He forms a close bond with one of the killers, Perry. Perry is an intellectual to whom life dealt a bad hand. He and Truman bond over shared childhood stories and form a close relationship over four years. The killers are eventually hanged, but its the journey to the hanging that is both touching, eye opening, scary and intriguing.

Toby Jones is amazing as he totally inhabits Truman Capote’s world of art and social gossip. Sandra Bullock is wonderful as Harper Lee and a fantastic performance by Daniel Craig as Perry.

In fact, I think Daniel and Toby’s scenes together are electric. Well worth watching the movie, just for their amazing chemistry together.

5 out of 5 stars.

Infamous [DVD] [2006]

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Lars and the Real Girl Thursday, Apr 9 2009

This has to be one of the most intriguing films I’ve seen in a while.

Lars is a withdrawn young man living in a small town in the garage of his brother’s house along with his pregnant wife. They practically have to scare him into coming to dinner or breakfast.

Lars is lonely so he orders a Real Doll from the internet. He pretends she is his girlfriend, Bianca from Brazil who’s a Missionary. At first his brother and sister-in-law don’t know what to make of his silent girlfriend who Lars manages to have whole conversations with. They take him to the doctor who advises them to go along with his delusion until he no longer needs Bianca.

Eventually the whole town embraces Bianca. She gets a job, volunteers to read to kids and even gets elected to the school board. She has a full schedule despite being inanimate. Lars also starts developing an interest in one of his co-workers who has shyly made advances to him before.

Eventually, Lars realises he’s going to have to let go of Bianca to start having a real relationship which he does in the most extraordinary of ways.

What struck me about this film was that it was very funny. I laughed out loud at the absurdity of some of the situations, but Lars is such an endearing character, that it was painful laughter. He makes you want to wrap your arms around him, but he abhors touch so it would make it impossible.

Standout praise to Ryan Gosling for a powerhouse performance as the withdrawn, socially awkward Lars who is just trying to make a connection. Emily Watson is fantastic as Lars’ endearing sister-in-law Karin and special praise must go to Bianca who made this film possible.

Fantastic film to watch to understand mental health issues, to understand companionship and just if you’re looking for a quirky film about an important social issue.

5 out of 5 stars.

Lars And The Real Girl [DVD]

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Mean Girls Wednesday, Mar 25 2009

Mean Girls stars Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron, a student from Africa who has been home schooled by her research zoologist parents all her life. For the first time, she is going to experience a real school, and the experience changes her life.

At first Cady makes faux paux’s as she tries to navigate high school in America. She dresses differently, wears no makeup and tries to fit in. Then she makes friends with Janis and Damien, who talk her through the intricacies of the school and the different social groups. Cady catches the eyes of Regina George, the Queen Bee of the school who along with her co-horts, Gretchen and Karen make Cady one of the Plastics, Teen Royalty.

At first, Cady tries to sabotage the Plastics to expose Regina for what she really is, a lying mean girl. But then she slowly morphs into one of the Plastics, complete with dress sense, vocabulary and attitude, and loses her identity completely.

Its based on a real book, but the movie is a very good social lesson on how we socialise girls to think that dressing and acting a certain way is socially acceptable. And being mean to each other is also acceptable, when its clearly not. Its a good character study on the intricacies of teenagers and the fickle alliances of girls.

A fun teen movie, with a social message behind it.

5 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: This movie is based upon the book “Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence” by Rosalind Wiseman, even though it is a non-fiction parental self-help guide with no narrative at all.

Mean Girls (Special Collector’s Edition) [2004] [DVD]

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Suburban Girl Thursday, Mar 5 2009

Brett Eisenberg is an Associate Editor at a publishing house. Her boss is replaced by a younger, prettier and meaner version of her. Brett is now assigned drudge work but meets an older, charming publishing legend in Archie Knoxx when she attends a book signing.

Brett makes many faux pas’ with Archie, like offering him candy when he’s diabetic.

But she slowly falls in love with him, and becomes a better version of herself. However, Archie ruins it all and cheats on her. This betrayal causes Brett to move out and on a visit to her parents, learn her father has cancer. She’s angry that her family didn’t tell her as they thought she couldn’t handle it.

Meanwhile, Archie meets her parents finally and they address the issue that he is 7 years younger than her father. And then Archie is taken into hospital and Brett must deal with this as well.

I’m probably not explaining this as well as I could, but my original summary got eaten by WordPress.

Its a good movie though, something Sarah Michelle Gellar should do more often to break out of the teen/comedy genre she seems to typecast in. Alec Baldwin is fantastic as the savvy, sexy and sophisticated Archie who offers her advice to make her way in publishing.

All in all, a really good film I enjoyed.

Random fact: Based on the Melissa Banks book, The girls guide to hunting and fishing. This is a short story in the collection.

4 out of 5 stars.

Suburban Girl [DVD] [2007]

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The Other Boleyn Girl Friday, Feb 27 2009

Anne and Mary Boleyn are sent to court to entice the young King after the Queen falls out of favour, when she delivers another dead child.

The Boleyn’s Uncle, the Duke of Norfolk hatches a plan so that Anne can attract the King and become his mistress to allow the family to prosper. Unfortunately, during a riding incident the King is hurt and Anne is sent away to France.

But Mary, although married, captures the King’s attention and becomes the Royal Mistress. At first the King is infatuated and the Boleyn’s prosper, but when Mary becomes pregnant, she must begin her lying in to allow the baby to grow.

This leaves the Boleyn’s vulnerable and so Anne is called back for. Where once she was an impetuous youth, she is now a calculating lady who has her eyes on the King and the power that comes with it.

She refuses to bed him and will only agree once she is Queen. The King is infatuated and so begins a separation from Rome, dividing the country and changing the face of English religion forever.

I found this to be an enjoyable film despite all the main leads being non-British actors and sometimes their accents did slip. Natalie Portman who played Anne was the best at keeping hers and told the story well. Scarlett Johannson while beautiful is fantastic at emoting through her body language.

Eric Bana as the King Henry, was only in it for a bit but he owned the screen whenever he was given some screen time. Fantastic version of the book this is based on.

4 out of 5 stars.

Random fact: Natalie Portman (Anne) and Scarlett Johansson (Mary) say that their costumes were the biggest contribution to them knowing their character. Their dresses gave them good posture and the colors helped represent their personality. With Anne, her bold and simple colors show that she wants a main goal. Mary’s softer and much more complicated dress design shows that she is a more modest person and tries to be herself.

The Other Boleyn Girl [DVD] [2008]

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Waitress Tuesday, Feb 10 2009

Waitress is a bizarre movie. Like, truly bizarre. But its also very realistic and funny.

Jenna Hunterson is stuck in a loveless marriage to her controlling husband Earl. Jenna finds out she’s pregnant and resents the baby as it’ll keep her tied to Earl forever. Jenna’s been hiding money all over the house to try and get away from Earl, but with the news of her pregnancy, her plans are waylaid.

Jenna’s gynaecologist, Dr Pottamer treats Jenna like a human being and brings a smile to her face. He and Jenna begin an affair, despite the both of them being married. At first Jenna is excited by the thrill of the affair, but soon realises, that its not going to solver her problems and she must make a stand on her own.

Jenna is also a genius at making pies which have unusal names like, I hate my husband pie and Falling in Love pie. She wants to go to the bake off to win the grand prize and get away from Earl, but her forbids her to enter the contest.

I don’t know how I feel about this movie, I think it needs 2 or 3 views to fully get it, but it was really good and very funny. Keri Russel is very funny as is Nathan Fillion. The supporting cast, and writer/director and co-star Adrienne Shelley’s last film is a testament to small town life and strong women.

Fantastic story and well recommended.

Random fact: The toddler who plays Lulu in the movie’s final scenes is Adrienne Shelley’s daughter, Sophie Ostroy.

5 out of 5 stars.

Waitress [2007]

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Sweeney Todd Monday, Jan 19 2009

Johnny Depp delivers a masterful performance as Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street. Benjamin Barker is a barber who has his whole life and family ripped away from him because a Judge desires his beautiful wife. He’s accused of a crime and sent away whilst the judge defiles his wife and brings up his daughter as his own. Barker comes back as the vengeful Sweeney Todd who wants to kill the judge for what he does to him. What follows is a musical tale of blood, revenge and blades.

I enjoyed this film, Johnny’s cockney accent was perfect. And scary. The gothic setting for which Tim Burton is known was present, and his partner Helena Bonham Carter was perfect as the proprietor of the meat pie shop, Mrs Lovett who secretly loves Sweeney Todd.

Overall, the songs were excellent and fit the storyline very well.

A fantastic offering from Tim Burton!

Random fact: To prepare for the role of Adolfo Pirelli, Sacha Baron Cohen hired his personal barber as a consultant on shaving techniques, and took up to 16 hours to learn how to handle a razor.

5 out of 5 stars.

Sweeney Todd – The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2 Disc) [2007]

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