Date watched- 30th October 2010
Genre; Children’s, Animated, Fairy Tale, Disney
Year; 1992
Running Time; 1 hour 30 minutes
Directed and written by; Ron Clements & John Musker
Actors; Scott Weinger, Robin Williams, Linda Larkin, Jonathan Freeman, Frank Welker, Gilbert Gottfried, Douglas Seale.
Animation 3/5 (but a 5 back in the day before all this “modern” animation)
Keeping my attention 3.5/4
Disney Songs 4/5
Story/Plot 3.5/6
Total 14.5/20
Plot
The Disney Classic, Aladdin. Aladdin, a street urchin, finds himself falling in love with Princess Jasmine, but she can only marry a prince. Aladdin finds himself as a pawn in the evil plot of Jafar (Jasmine’s father’s advisor) which leads Aladdin to a magic lamp, could the Genie inside be his way of becoming a Prince and living happily ever after with Jasmine or will Aladdin be seen for what he really is?
My Personal Views
I love this movie and I don’t care who knows. I watched this movie in bed this week, I’ve been a bit ill, and it was all I needed to help cheer me up.
I originally was bought this movie on VHS (remember those?) by my Dad. He bought it from Tescos when I was with him pretty much when it was first out. I think I might have badgered him a bit too much but because he is a great Dad he bought it for me. I would never have screamed or cried if he didn’t buy it so I guess he just thought it must be worth it to make me happy, one of the few benefits of having a parent away a lot when you’re growing up because they are in the armed forces! I seem to remember that I had watched the VHS so much that even the auto tracking function on the video recorder was having no effect on the ever increasing number of squiggly lines on the recording, oh those were the days. It certainly makes you marvel at the ‘modern’ technology of DVD and Blu-ray.
This movie is full of memorable songs which even days after watching the movie I am still singing along to in my head, and from time to time out loud. “On our magic carpet ride, a whole new world...” sorry excuse me for that!
So from an actor side of things, this is one of my first encounters with Robin Williams, who until not very long ago I only knew from Aladdin, Mrs Doubtfire and a various smattering of other family favourites. It was always a disappointment whenever I watched Return of Jafar as a kid (we got that on VHS from Asda some years after it came out because it was £3 and didn’t have the original box) that Robin Williams wasn’t reprising his voice role as the Genie.
As a child I also had the Aladdin and Princess Jasmine dolls, to be honest I still have them lurking around somewhere and so growing up the experience of Aladdin came from much more than just the VHS.
Confession: for some reason (other than Genie) my favourite character is the Magic Carpet!
Outcome
Already back on the shelf and staying firmly put where it is.
Monday, 1 November 2010
A Knight's Tale
“You have been weighed, you have been measures and you have been found wanting”
Date watched- 24th October 2010
Genre; Comedy, Period, Romantic,Action
Year; 2001
Running Time; 2 hour 12 mins
Director; Brian Helgeland
Written By; Brian Helgeland
Actors; Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, James Purefoy et al.
Acting 3.5/5
Keeping my attention 3.5/4
Visuals/Direction 4.5/5
Story/Plot 4.5/6
Total 16/20
Plot
When a Knight dies at a jousting tournament one of his servants (William Thatcher- Ledger) takes his place to complete the tournament, much to the annoyance of the Knight’s other two servants (Addy and Tudyk). This then gives William an idea, continue to joust as a lord. With the help of his companions which later include Geoffrey Chaucer (Bettany) and a female blacksmith (Fraser), Thacher (now as Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein, of Gelderland) competes around Europe. Will he be able to defeat the evil Count Adhemar(Sewell) and win the heart of Lady Jocelyn (Sossamon), all without being found out for the ‘fake’ he is?
My Personal Views
So this is the first time that I have watched a Heath Ledger movie since his death in January 2008, and I wonder why, most of his movies (that I’ve seen) are great as demonstrated by this one and he was a very talented actor. I think it’s something to do with loss, even if it’s someone that you have never met. For instance it took me at least 6 months after Michael Jackson’s death to listen to one of his songs, and I still haven’t listened to a Boyzone song all the way through since the death of Stephen Gately. Anyway this isn’t telling you anything about this movie.
All in all this movie is great, apart from one thing, and I hate being mean but... Shannyn Sossamon. I know that she was discovered while she was DJ-ing at a party and didn’t have much acting experience at this time but it does sound a little like she could just be reading her lines off the paper they are written on (I’m sure I wouldn’t be any better though), she is very pretty though and I’m sure her acting skills must have improved over the years as (according to IMDB) she is still acting now.
This movie is well constructed and uses modern musical hits well, to the stage where (if you aren’t too picky) you don’t notice the fact that Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and other classics are played throughout. In fact now whenever I hear David Bowie’s ‘Golden Years’ I can see Ledger and Sossamon dancing around at the ball.
There are a few continuity errors that even I could see (watch out for Chaucer’s miraculously changing sides bloody nose etc) but all in all this movie is a gem amongst period type movies. And it’s not too violent for younger audiences either. This isn’t the most historically accurate movie you will ever see but surely we can all forget about that for an hour and 40 minutes and just enjoy. Surely?
P.S. Will someone please put Rufus Sewell in a big budget movie where he isn’t playing the bad guy? On behalf of women everywhere, thank you.
Outcome
Staying well put in the DVD collection.
Date watched- 24th October 2010
Genre; Comedy, Period, Romantic,Action
Year; 2001
Running Time; 2 hour 12 mins
Director; Brian Helgeland
Written By; Brian Helgeland
Actors; Heath Ledger, Rufus Sewell, Shannyn Sossamon, Paul Bettany, Laura Fraser, Mark Addy, Alan Tudyk, James Purefoy et al.
Acting 3.5/5
Keeping my attention 3.5/4
Visuals/Direction 4.5/5
Story/Plot 4.5/6
Total 16/20
Plot
When a Knight dies at a jousting tournament one of his servants (William Thatcher- Ledger) takes his place to complete the tournament, much to the annoyance of the Knight’s other two servants (Addy and Tudyk). This then gives William an idea, continue to joust as a lord. With the help of his companions which later include Geoffrey Chaucer (Bettany) and a female blacksmith (Fraser), Thacher (now as Sir Ulrich von Liechtenstein, of Gelderland) competes around Europe. Will he be able to defeat the evil Count Adhemar(Sewell) and win the heart of Lady Jocelyn (Sossamon), all without being found out for the ‘fake’ he is?
My Personal Views
So this is the first time that I have watched a Heath Ledger movie since his death in January 2008, and I wonder why, most of his movies (that I’ve seen) are great as demonstrated by this one and he was a very talented actor. I think it’s something to do with loss, even if it’s someone that you have never met. For instance it took me at least 6 months after Michael Jackson’s death to listen to one of his songs, and I still haven’t listened to a Boyzone song all the way through since the death of Stephen Gately. Anyway this isn’t telling you anything about this movie.
All in all this movie is great, apart from one thing, and I hate being mean but... Shannyn Sossamon. I know that she was discovered while she was DJ-ing at a party and didn’t have much acting experience at this time but it does sound a little like she could just be reading her lines off the paper they are written on (I’m sure I wouldn’t be any better though), she is very pretty though and I’m sure her acting skills must have improved over the years as (according to IMDB) she is still acting now.
This movie is well constructed and uses modern musical hits well, to the stage where (if you aren’t too picky) you don’t notice the fact that Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’ and other classics are played throughout. In fact now whenever I hear David Bowie’s ‘Golden Years’ I can see Ledger and Sossamon dancing around at the ball.
There are a few continuity errors that even I could see (watch out for Chaucer’s miraculously changing sides bloody nose etc) but all in all this movie is a gem amongst period type movies. And it’s not too violent for younger audiences either. This isn’t the most historically accurate movie you will ever see but surely we can all forget about that for an hour and 40 minutes and just enjoy. Surely?
P.S. Will someone please put Rufus Sewell in a big budget movie where he isn’t playing the bad guy? On behalf of women everywhere, thank you.
Outcome
Staying well put in the DVD collection.
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
A Good Year
A Good Year
Date watched- 19th October 2010
Genre; Drama/Comedy/Romance
Year; 2006
Running Time; 1hour 52 minutes
Director; Ridley Scott
Written By; Marc Klein (Screenplay) Peter Mayle (Novel)
Actors; Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Freddie Highmore, Tom Hollander, Marion Cotillard, Abbie Cornish et al.
Acting 4/5
Keeping my attention 4/4
Visuals/Direction 4.5/5
Story/Plot 5/6
Total 17.5/20
Plot
Max Skinner (Crowe) is a successful stock broker in London, cue convincing English accent from Crowe. Max’s Uncle Henry (Finney) dies in France where he owns and runs a vineyard, a place Max had visited during the summers as a young boy, leaving no will. Max as his closest living relative inherits the château and vineyard. Intending to sell the property as soon as possible and return within a day to the ‘rat race’ Max goes to France to arrange things, but a dubious deal before his departure, which leads to a brief suspension, and a missed flight home give him the opportunity to slow things down and remember the summers he spent there. Will Max sell his Uncle’s beloved home or not? And where does the mysterious and expensive wine come from that everyone in the area reveres so much?
My Personal Views
Originally I bought this DVD for my mum for Mothers’ day a few years ago. But I loved it so much it managed to winkle its way up to my bedroom and has remained in my collection ever since. She did give me permission by the way; I actually don’t think she enjoyed it as much as I did. I have only watched it a few times since, but each time I do watch it I think ‘what a gem’. I know that this movie doesn’t have very good ratings on the internet but I genuinely think it deserves a second chance. Russell Crowe was an actor I only knew from Gladiator (we got to watch it in RE at school for some reason), when I watched this first I have to say I was surprised at how different he is in this role. He isn’t moody (or wearing gladiator gear, instead he’s in a suit), or trying to revenge the murders of his family. This movie is truly heart warming in places, with flashbacks of Max’s childhood summers, as present day Max stays at his Uncle’s home. You find that Uncle Henry taught Max life’s lessons “It’s inevitable that you lose sometimes”, some Max has taken on board and some he has forgotten until his time back in Provence.
Russell Crowe does a pretty convincing English accent (I still can’t quite believe he is Australian) and his performance is superbly supported by the rest of the cast, including Tom Hollander (who I originally knew from the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Wives and Daughters) and the future (well back then) Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (2008 Best Actress- Le vie en rose). All in all a witty and heart felt story and portrayal well by all concerned. Added in to this the factor of “ oh look isn’t that Rafe Spall?” (son of Timothy Spall) and “oow it’s that nasty fella off of Ashes to Ashes” (Daniel Mays- who I’m sure is lovely in real life). Also the stunning views of rural France help to keep your gaze fixed firmly on the screen, if they weren’t already.
Outcome
This is not going to move an inch off my shelves, unless I’m about to watch it.
Additional
So the day I watched this movie this week (Tuesday 19th October) the world seemed like a pretty jolly place, despite the typical English Autumn weather. But on Wednesday it felt like the bottom of the world fell out and took my whole family with it. A few weeks ago we found out that my grandparents’ next door neighbour (she and her family have really helped them out over the years seeing as most of my family live quite a way away)had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Pretty advanced according to the doctors. So she went for a scan and on Wednesday she got the results, not only is the cancer in her breasts but it has spread pretty much to the whole of her body, through my mum’s tears, I caught ‘spine’ as being one of the areas affected and there is little that any Doctor can do for her. So we cried and hugged it out and kept saying how horrible it is to happen to such a lovely person, she’s only in her 40s. So we were managing to overcome this blow in our own English stiff upper lip way when on Friday my mum delivered more bad news, it turns out that my Grandpa might also have cancer, in his lung. But on the positive side (and according to my very senior nurse aunt) it isn’t as bad as it first sounds, it is not likely that he will need treatment and it is most likely that he will be taken from this world by something else rather than this, he is 87 after all. So ‘how does this all fit in with this movie? ‘, you might ask. Well looking at A Good Year I can only help but wonder how the world will be without these two people in it (As Max’s world is without his Uncle) and how everyone who knows them will remember them when they too are gone. I can only hope that in some way we will all remember the lessons they have taught us of happiness, compassion, kindness and the true meaning of being in a loving family. But while they are still with us all of thoughts are with them, particularly with my grandparent’s lovely neighbour. I can not even imagine what they are going through at the moment. With all my love xx
Date watched- 19th October 2010
Genre; Drama/Comedy/Romance
Year; 2006
Running Time; 1hour 52 minutes
Director; Ridley Scott
Written By; Marc Klein (Screenplay) Peter Mayle (Novel)
Actors; Russell Crowe, Albert Finney, Freddie Highmore, Tom Hollander, Marion Cotillard, Abbie Cornish et al.
Acting 4/5
Keeping my attention 4/4
Visuals/Direction 4.5/5
Story/Plot 5/6
Total 17.5/20
Plot
Max Skinner (Crowe) is a successful stock broker in London, cue convincing English accent from Crowe. Max’s Uncle Henry (Finney) dies in France where he owns and runs a vineyard, a place Max had visited during the summers as a young boy, leaving no will. Max as his closest living relative inherits the château and vineyard. Intending to sell the property as soon as possible and return within a day to the ‘rat race’ Max goes to France to arrange things, but a dubious deal before his departure, which leads to a brief suspension, and a missed flight home give him the opportunity to slow things down and remember the summers he spent there. Will Max sell his Uncle’s beloved home or not? And where does the mysterious and expensive wine come from that everyone in the area reveres so much?
My Personal Views
Originally I bought this DVD for my mum for Mothers’ day a few years ago. But I loved it so much it managed to winkle its way up to my bedroom and has remained in my collection ever since. She did give me permission by the way; I actually don’t think she enjoyed it as much as I did. I have only watched it a few times since, but each time I do watch it I think ‘what a gem’. I know that this movie doesn’t have very good ratings on the internet but I genuinely think it deserves a second chance. Russell Crowe was an actor I only knew from Gladiator (we got to watch it in RE at school for some reason), when I watched this first I have to say I was surprised at how different he is in this role. He isn’t moody (or wearing gladiator gear, instead he’s in a suit), or trying to revenge the murders of his family. This movie is truly heart warming in places, with flashbacks of Max’s childhood summers, as present day Max stays at his Uncle’s home. You find that Uncle Henry taught Max life’s lessons “It’s inevitable that you lose sometimes”, some Max has taken on board and some he has forgotten until his time back in Provence.
Russell Crowe does a pretty convincing English accent (I still can’t quite believe he is Australian) and his performance is superbly supported by the rest of the cast, including Tom Hollander (who I originally knew from the BBC adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel Wives and Daughters) and the future (well back then) Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (2008 Best Actress- Le vie en rose). All in all a witty and heart felt story and portrayal well by all concerned. Added in to this the factor of “ oh look isn’t that Rafe Spall?” (son of Timothy Spall) and “oow it’s that nasty fella off of Ashes to Ashes” (Daniel Mays- who I’m sure is lovely in real life). Also the stunning views of rural France help to keep your gaze fixed firmly on the screen, if they weren’t already.
Outcome
This is not going to move an inch off my shelves, unless I’m about to watch it.
Additional
So the day I watched this movie this week (Tuesday 19th October) the world seemed like a pretty jolly place, despite the typical English Autumn weather. But on Wednesday it felt like the bottom of the world fell out and took my whole family with it. A few weeks ago we found out that my grandparents’ next door neighbour (she and her family have really helped them out over the years seeing as most of my family live quite a way away)had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Pretty advanced according to the doctors. So she went for a scan and on Wednesday she got the results, not only is the cancer in her breasts but it has spread pretty much to the whole of her body, through my mum’s tears, I caught ‘spine’ as being one of the areas affected and there is little that any Doctor can do for her. So we cried and hugged it out and kept saying how horrible it is to happen to such a lovely person, she’s only in her 40s. So we were managing to overcome this blow in our own English stiff upper lip way when on Friday my mum delivered more bad news, it turns out that my Grandpa might also have cancer, in his lung. But on the positive side (and according to my very senior nurse aunt) it isn’t as bad as it first sounds, it is not likely that he will need treatment and it is most likely that he will be taken from this world by something else rather than this, he is 87 after all. So ‘how does this all fit in with this movie? ‘, you might ask. Well looking at A Good Year I can only help but wonder how the world will be without these two people in it (As Max’s world is without his Uncle) and how everyone who knows them will remember them when they too are gone. I can only hope that in some way we will all remember the lessons they have taught us of happiness, compassion, kindness and the true meaning of being in a loving family. But while they are still with us all of thoughts are with them, particularly with my grandparent’s lovely neighbour. I can not even imagine what they are going through at the moment. With all my love xx
Sunday, 17 October 2010
Addicted To Love
Addicted To Love
Date watched- 17th October
Genre; Romantic, Comedy
Year; 1997
Running Time; 1hour 35 minutes
Director; Griffin Dunne
Written By; Robert Gordon
Actors; Meg Ryan, Matthew Broderick, Kelly Preston and Tcheky Karyo
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 2/4
Visuals/Direction 3/5
Story/Plot 4/6
Total 12
Plot
Sam (Matthew Broderick) is happy in his small town and very much in love with his teacher girlfriend, Linda (Kelly Preston). But when Linda moves to New York to do a teaching sabbatical a Dear John letter comes through Sam’s door (and read to him by Linda’s father). Determined to get Linda back Sam travels to New York only to find that she is now living with a French chef called Anton (Tcheky Karyo). So determined to find a small crack in this fledgling romance Sam takes up residence in a derelict property opposite the love birds’ apartment and watches their interactions. A unexpected visit to Sam’s new home by a leather clad biker called Maggie (Meg Ryan), who also happens to be Anton’s ex leads to the pair teaming up to find any small way to break Anton and Linda up, the outcome being that they will each get their respective loved one back for themselves when they succeed in their mission. But are Anton and Linda the unbreakable couple and are Sam and Maggie more compatible with each other than they think?
My Personal Views
Meg Ryan stars in many of my all time favourite girlie movies, You’ve Got Mail being one of my favourites, and as such she can do no wrong in my eyes in this movie. Although I have to admit that even I can see some of the wooden acting on display throughout this movie! I watched this movie originally with my childhood best friend on one of our many sleepovers and maybe that’s why this movie has a special place in my heart, along with the fact that this friend is the person who helped me on my road to loving movies/DVD and back in the day VHS. We seemed to watch more and more movies as we got older and we seemed to run out of things to say, I think this movie we watched when we still have a fair few things to say to each other. I bought this DVD in a triple set with the already mentioned You’ve Got Mail and City of Angels, the later being given to a friend of mine many years later as I found it too sad and the former replacing my very worn out VHS copy.
This movie also has been there for a more recent memory of mine, when I was going to originally watch this movie to add to the blog back in July I found my first white hair, ahhh. ‘So what?’ some of you might be saying, well to put it in to perspective I am 24, and this was no small white hair it was the entire length of my hair, which is well past my shoulders. Added to the fact that my mum was 16 when her hair started going white (and in my 24 years on this earth it has pretty much been entirely white), so this momentarily freaked me out but now I am back on track, well it was only one hair and I’ve had a good 8 years on my mum’s age when her hair changed colour.
So anyway back to the film, this has a small cast and it works well, maybe not as fast paced as some but has a good ‘trot’ to it. Like so many romcoms out there it is predictable but what good ones aren’t?
Outcome
Just for the simple facts that this movie holds very special ‘girlie sleepover’ memories for me and that if I could be any movie star in the world it would probably be Meg Ryan this DVD is staying put on my shelf for the foreseeable future.
Date watched- 17th October
Genre; Romantic, Comedy
Year; 1997
Running Time; 1hour 35 minutes
Director; Griffin Dunne
Written By; Robert Gordon
Actors; Meg Ryan, Matthew Broderick, Kelly Preston and Tcheky Karyo
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 2/4
Visuals/Direction 3/5
Story/Plot 4/6
Total 12
Plot
Sam (Matthew Broderick) is happy in his small town and very much in love with his teacher girlfriend, Linda (Kelly Preston). But when Linda moves to New York to do a teaching sabbatical a Dear John letter comes through Sam’s door (and read to him by Linda’s father). Determined to get Linda back Sam travels to New York only to find that she is now living with a French chef called Anton (Tcheky Karyo). So determined to find a small crack in this fledgling romance Sam takes up residence in a derelict property opposite the love birds’ apartment and watches their interactions. A unexpected visit to Sam’s new home by a leather clad biker called Maggie (Meg Ryan), who also happens to be Anton’s ex leads to the pair teaming up to find any small way to break Anton and Linda up, the outcome being that they will each get their respective loved one back for themselves when they succeed in their mission. But are Anton and Linda the unbreakable couple and are Sam and Maggie more compatible with each other than they think?
My Personal Views
Meg Ryan stars in many of my all time favourite girlie movies, You’ve Got Mail being one of my favourites, and as such she can do no wrong in my eyes in this movie. Although I have to admit that even I can see some of the wooden acting on display throughout this movie! I watched this movie originally with my childhood best friend on one of our many sleepovers and maybe that’s why this movie has a special place in my heart, along with the fact that this friend is the person who helped me on my road to loving movies/DVD and back in the day VHS. We seemed to watch more and more movies as we got older and we seemed to run out of things to say, I think this movie we watched when we still have a fair few things to say to each other. I bought this DVD in a triple set with the already mentioned You’ve Got Mail and City of Angels, the later being given to a friend of mine many years later as I found it too sad and the former replacing my very worn out VHS copy.
This movie also has been there for a more recent memory of mine, when I was going to originally watch this movie to add to the blog back in July I found my first white hair, ahhh. ‘So what?’ some of you might be saying, well to put it in to perspective I am 24, and this was no small white hair it was the entire length of my hair, which is well past my shoulders. Added to the fact that my mum was 16 when her hair started going white (and in my 24 years on this earth it has pretty much been entirely white), so this momentarily freaked me out but now I am back on track, well it was only one hair and I’ve had a good 8 years on my mum’s age when her hair changed colour.
So anyway back to the film, this has a small cast and it works well, maybe not as fast paced as some but has a good ‘trot’ to it. Like so many romcoms out there it is predictable but what good ones aren’t?
Outcome
Just for the simple facts that this movie holds very special ‘girlie sleepover’ memories for me and that if I could be any movie star in the world it would probably be Meg Ryan this DVD is staying put on my shelf for the foreseeable future.
A Child Is Waiting
A Child Is Waiting
Date watched- 18th July 2010 and 17th October
Genre; Drama
Year; 1963 (Black and white)
Running Time; 1hour 40 minutes
Director; John Cassavetes
Written By; Abby Mann
Actors; Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland
Acting 5/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 4/5
Story/Plot 4/6
Total 16
Plot
Judy Garland plays a new teacher, Jean Hansen, in a school for disabled children. While she is there she bonds with an autistic boy named Reuben, whose parents felt there was no option but to send Reuben there and have not seen him since. Despite this every Wednesday (visiting day) Reuben sits waiting for his mother. As a result of what she sees Jean tries to convince the ‘head’ of the school, played by Burt Lancaster, to get in touch with Reuben’s parents so that they will come to see him. The head is not impressed. Will Jean get her way, will Reuben ever come out of his shell and will his parents ever see beyond his disability?
My Personal Views
I have never seen a John Cassavetes movie before in my life; however when I was perusing the titles in my local HMV when I started this blog this title caught my eye. Not only did it star Judy Garland, who I have long admired since watching a whole host of her movies on TCM some years ago, but also I am a huge fan of the movie ‘The Wendall Baker Story’ (written and co-directed by Luke Wilson), which I own on DVD and during the special features Cassavetes is mentioned on numerous occasions. So I thought ‘why not?’ and I do not regret this decision. Judy Garland (in her penultimate role) delivers what I can only describe as an Oscar worthy performance. Garland looks withdrawn and pale but still has a warmth and smile to light a room (this movie was released in 1963 and Garland died on 22nd June 1969). This is an unglamorous performance for Garland but an honest one. Even with a difficult subject matter all of the cast manage to produce a convincing and touching interpretation. The way in which this is shot is also beautiful and flattering to the subject matter.
I can only wonder if the children while singing with Judy Garland ever understood the enormity of this, it isn’t everyone in the world who can say they have sung with Judy Garland now can they?
This movie as a whole is moving but not too in your face about it, I have to admit it did bring a small tear to my eye.
I have an uncle who has brain damage and I can only wonder what would have happened to him in his life if he had been taken to a school like the one in this film, would it have helped him in any way or would closing him off from the world have stopped him from achieving the things he has. Maybe that’s why I felt the story more than most might, but I’m sure that anyone would get the sentiment of this story as a whole.
Outcome
So despite this movie being poignant and filled with genuinely moving performances I don’t know if I would sit down to watch this movie on a wet Sunday. This sort of movie is one you would watch if you felt melancholy and I do not know if this could really be a permanent fixture in my collection. I applaud Cassavetes for taking on such a tough subject and I only wish that this movie had gained more attention over the years, until I saw it in a shop shelf I had never heard of it before. So by all means give it a go. I had to watch this twice to get the full affect and I am glad I did so as I may have let it drag me down a little too much the first time. This movie has however defiantly made me want to see more of Cassavetes work and I will see if I can add it in anywhere else in this a-z project.
I felt sad after watching this and it made me think a lot about the world and how even though it has come a long way in forty years locking away disability is still an option many would prefer. I remember children at my own school that had learning difficulties and how much harassment they received from other pupils. Despite us being in the 21st century diversity and disability are still issues that need addressing, at the end of the day we are all people no matter what we look like, where we come from or how we look at the world.
Date watched- 18th July 2010 and 17th October
Genre; Drama
Year; 1963 (Black and white)
Running Time; 1hour 40 minutes
Director; John Cassavetes
Written By; Abby Mann
Actors; Burt Lancaster and Judy Garland
Acting 5/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 4/5
Story/Plot 4/6
Total 16
Plot
Judy Garland plays a new teacher, Jean Hansen, in a school for disabled children. While she is there she bonds with an autistic boy named Reuben, whose parents felt there was no option but to send Reuben there and have not seen him since. Despite this every Wednesday (visiting day) Reuben sits waiting for his mother. As a result of what she sees Jean tries to convince the ‘head’ of the school, played by Burt Lancaster, to get in touch with Reuben’s parents so that they will come to see him. The head is not impressed. Will Jean get her way, will Reuben ever come out of his shell and will his parents ever see beyond his disability?
My Personal Views
I have never seen a John Cassavetes movie before in my life; however when I was perusing the titles in my local HMV when I started this blog this title caught my eye. Not only did it star Judy Garland, who I have long admired since watching a whole host of her movies on TCM some years ago, but also I am a huge fan of the movie ‘The Wendall Baker Story’ (written and co-directed by Luke Wilson), which I own on DVD and during the special features Cassavetes is mentioned on numerous occasions. So I thought ‘why not?’ and I do not regret this decision. Judy Garland (in her penultimate role) delivers what I can only describe as an Oscar worthy performance. Garland looks withdrawn and pale but still has a warmth and smile to light a room (this movie was released in 1963 and Garland died on 22nd June 1969). This is an unglamorous performance for Garland but an honest one. Even with a difficult subject matter all of the cast manage to produce a convincing and touching interpretation. The way in which this is shot is also beautiful and flattering to the subject matter.
I can only wonder if the children while singing with Judy Garland ever understood the enormity of this, it isn’t everyone in the world who can say they have sung with Judy Garland now can they?
This movie as a whole is moving but not too in your face about it, I have to admit it did bring a small tear to my eye.
I have an uncle who has brain damage and I can only wonder what would have happened to him in his life if he had been taken to a school like the one in this film, would it have helped him in any way or would closing him off from the world have stopped him from achieving the things he has. Maybe that’s why I felt the story more than most might, but I’m sure that anyone would get the sentiment of this story as a whole.
Outcome
So despite this movie being poignant and filled with genuinely moving performances I don’t know if I would sit down to watch this movie on a wet Sunday. This sort of movie is one you would watch if you felt melancholy and I do not know if this could really be a permanent fixture in my collection. I applaud Cassavetes for taking on such a tough subject and I only wish that this movie had gained more attention over the years, until I saw it in a shop shelf I had never heard of it before. So by all means give it a go. I had to watch this twice to get the full affect and I am glad I did so as I may have let it drag me down a little too much the first time. This movie has however defiantly made me want to see more of Cassavetes work and I will see if I can add it in anywhere else in this a-z project.
I felt sad after watching this and it made me think a lot about the world and how even though it has come a long way in forty years locking away disability is still an option many would prefer. I remember children at my own school that had learning difficulties and how much harassment they received from other pupils. Despite us being in the 21st century diversity and disability are still issues that need addressing, at the end of the day we are all people no matter what we look like, where we come from or how we look at the world.
Monday, 4 October 2010
I am so sorry (not a movie title)
Apologies
I am so sorry that I haven't been a good blogger. I have made a mid year resolution (well October resolution) that from now on I will watch at least TWO of the movies on the list every week, and write about them here. So watch this space. I will turn over a new leaf, as of tomorrow.
E.T
I am so sorry that I haven't been a good blogger. I have made a mid year resolution (well October resolution) that from now on I will watch at least TWO of the movies on the list every week, and write about them here. So watch this space. I will turn over a new leaf, as of tomorrow.
E.T
Sunday, 5 September 2010
The Accidental Husband
I have a back log of write ups to do so her is the next one.
The Accidental Husband
Date watched- 17th July 2010
Genre; Romantic, Comedy (is that maybe also known as a “Chick-Flick”?
Year; 2008
Running Time; 86 mins
Director; Griffin Dunne
Written By; Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor and Bonnie Sikowitz
Actors; Uma Thurman, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Colin Firth and Sam Shepard
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 4/5 (anything that shows New York is a winner with me!)
Story/Plot 5/6
Total 15/20
Plot
Dr Emma Lloyd (Uma Thurman) is a successful and influential radio talk show host (aka The Love Doctor) who seems to have everything, a handsome and successful fiancé (Firth) and a potential best selling book to launch. But one day she gives advice to a caller to her show that turns her world and fireman Patrick Sullivan’s worlds upside down. On the advice of Dr Lloyd Sullivan’s fiancé breaks up with him, just before their wedding. In an act of revenge (and with the help of a young friend) Sullivan files an online marriage certificate between himself and Emma Lloyd. This sends the world of Dr Lloyd and her fiancé (and husband) into a spiral, will she manage to sort things out and get her life back on track, marry her perfect fiancé (Firth) or maybe even find something new out about herself?
My Personal Views
I wanted to see this movie at the cinema but in the end didn’t, I think it had something to do with being a poor student and worrying about my final exams and my dissertation. So when I bought this movie on DVD with a 2:1 BSc (Hons) degree in hand there was a certain amount of triumph to be had, “look at me I resisted the urge to go to see this at the Odeon in the Printworks (Manchester) and I got a degree”. Nothing to do with 4 years hard work at all!
Call me mad if you will but I think Uma Thurman is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and if I were ever to meet her I think I might wobble over in an instant, it’s not a sexual thing (I’m not a lesbian) but just her tallness, blondeness and thoughtfulness in all her roles that gets me I think. But I will never meet here so there’s nothing to fear there.
Add into the equation that I’ve been madly in love with Colin Firth since I was nine (when he played Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice) this movie is the perfect movie to curl up with to pass away some time and enjoy myself. Jeffery Dean Morgan also adds something as the rough around the edges (and also sexy) fireman, and I’m sure all Grey’s Anatomy fans will be happy to see him alive and well and breaking hearts (like I was).
Add into the equation the beautiful city of New York and this is certainly a movie to love. Unless you hate rom-coms which I know many people do. I’ve always wanted to visit New York so I can quite happily watch this and drift off into the city when watching this, every time I watch this (or anything in fact set in New York showing the great sights to be had) it takes all my efforts not to drive done the M40 to Heathrow and jump on the first plane to JFK.
I love this movie and everything about it, including the very sweet ending and I hope any of you who venture to watch this do too.
Outcome
Firmly back on the shelf already and going to stay put, well at least until I watch it the next time.
The Accidental Husband
Date watched- 17th July 2010
Genre; Romantic, Comedy (is that maybe also known as a “Chick-Flick”?
Year; 2008
Running Time; 86 mins
Director; Griffin Dunne
Written By; Mimi Hare, Clare Naylor and Bonnie Sikowitz
Actors; Uma Thurman, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Colin Firth and Sam Shepard
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 4/5 (anything that shows New York is a winner with me!)
Story/Plot 5/6
Total 15/20
Plot
Dr Emma Lloyd (Uma Thurman) is a successful and influential radio talk show host (aka The Love Doctor) who seems to have everything, a handsome and successful fiancé (Firth) and a potential best selling book to launch. But one day she gives advice to a caller to her show that turns her world and fireman Patrick Sullivan’s worlds upside down. On the advice of Dr Lloyd Sullivan’s fiancé breaks up with him, just before their wedding. In an act of revenge (and with the help of a young friend) Sullivan files an online marriage certificate between himself and Emma Lloyd. This sends the world of Dr Lloyd and her fiancé (and husband) into a spiral, will she manage to sort things out and get her life back on track, marry her perfect fiancé (Firth) or maybe even find something new out about herself?
My Personal Views
I wanted to see this movie at the cinema but in the end didn’t, I think it had something to do with being a poor student and worrying about my final exams and my dissertation. So when I bought this movie on DVD with a 2:1 BSc (Hons) degree in hand there was a certain amount of triumph to be had, “look at me I resisted the urge to go to see this at the Odeon in the Printworks (Manchester) and I got a degree”. Nothing to do with 4 years hard work at all!
Call me mad if you will but I think Uma Thurman is one of the most beautiful women in the world, and if I were ever to meet her I think I might wobble over in an instant, it’s not a sexual thing (I’m not a lesbian) but just her tallness, blondeness and thoughtfulness in all her roles that gets me I think. But I will never meet here so there’s nothing to fear there.
Add into the equation that I’ve been madly in love with Colin Firth since I was nine (when he played Mr Darcy in Pride and Prejudice) this movie is the perfect movie to curl up with to pass away some time and enjoy myself. Jeffery Dean Morgan also adds something as the rough around the edges (and also sexy) fireman, and I’m sure all Grey’s Anatomy fans will be happy to see him alive and well and breaking hearts (like I was).
Add into the equation the beautiful city of New York and this is certainly a movie to love. Unless you hate rom-coms which I know many people do. I’ve always wanted to visit New York so I can quite happily watch this and drift off into the city when watching this, every time I watch this (or anything in fact set in New York showing the great sights to be had) it takes all my efforts not to drive done the M40 to Heathrow and jump on the first plane to JFK.
I love this movie and everything about it, including the very sweet ending and I hope any of you who venture to watch this do too.
Outcome
Firmly back on the shelf already and going to stay put, well at least until I watch it the next time.
A Bug's Life
1995 gave the World ‘Toy Story’, 1998 gave us ‘A Bug’s Life’;
A Bug’s Life
Date watched- 17th July 2010
Genre; Children’s, Animation
Year; 1998
Running Time; 93 Mins
Directors; John Lassester and Andrew Stanton (co-director)
Written By; John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft (Story), Andrew Stanton, Dan McEnery and Bob Shaw (Screenplay).
Actors; Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Ranft, Denis Leary, Bonnie Hunt….. The list goes on.
Music By; Randy Newman
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 3/5
Story/Plot 3/6
Total 12/20
Plot
Disney Pixar brings the life of ants to life. This movie follows the trials of a colony of ants following from the mishap of an ant called Flik where the entire offering of food for the menacing grasshoppers is destroyed. The grasshoppers (lead by ‘Hopper’- Kevin Spacey!) allow for a second offering to be gathered before the last leaf falls from the trees. Flik is then sent on a mission to find “warrior bugs” to help fight off the grasshoppers when they return, in his quest he mistakes some circus performer bugs for warriors and invites them but to the colony (the circus bugs believing it is for their performing abilities). Will the ants pull together to fight off the grasshoppers or will they be squished? Over dramatise that much did I?
My Personal Views
When Toy Story originally came out on VHS (remember those?) I watched it at my best friend’s house, I moved house (some 260 miles away) around the same time and I wonder if somewhere at the back of my mind that maybe I watch this also to cling on to a bit of that part of me (the 9 year old without a care in the world), where I was happy to be watching the amazing revolution of Pixar animation. Also my childhood best friend (who I still speak to and see whenever I can) was the one who gave me the love for films I have. We would watch so many whenever I went to her house (before and after the move). When I would sleep over we would watch films until we fell asleep, good times.
This movie is full of, “I know that voice”, including Kevin Spacey,
David Hyde Pierce (Niles in Frasier), Bonnie Hunt, Denis Leary
(CSI: Miami), a very young Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and John
Ratzenberger (who maybe many of you don’t know, but if you
watch Disney Pixar movies as much as I do you will, it actually
becomes a little bit of an obsession waiting to see where he ‘pops’
up in Pixar movies when you watch them for the first time).
Note; the end credits include a blooper reel, and even now this still brings a smile to my face, despite the fact of, “wait a minute how do they have bloopers for some computer animated insects?”
Outcome
So very staying in my collection until I grow up and no longer have the urge to watch children’s movies. I’m only 24 so you never know, it could happen any day now. I hope not though.
A Bug’s Life
Date watched- 17th July 2010
Genre; Children’s, Animation
Year; 1998
Running Time; 93 Mins
Directors; John Lassester and Andrew Stanton (co-director)
Written By; John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft (Story), Andrew Stanton, Dan McEnery and Bob Shaw (Screenplay).
Actors; Dave Foley, Kevin Spacey, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Hayden Panettiere, Phyllis Diller, Richard Kind, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Ranft, Denis Leary, Bonnie Hunt….. The list goes on.
Music By; Randy Newman
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 3/5
Story/Plot 3/6
Total 12/20
Plot
Disney Pixar brings the life of ants to life. This movie follows the trials of a colony of ants following from the mishap of an ant called Flik where the entire offering of food for the menacing grasshoppers is destroyed. The grasshoppers (lead by ‘Hopper’- Kevin Spacey!) allow for a second offering to be gathered before the last leaf falls from the trees. Flik is then sent on a mission to find “warrior bugs” to help fight off the grasshoppers when they return, in his quest he mistakes some circus performer bugs for warriors and invites them but to the colony (the circus bugs believing it is for their performing abilities). Will the ants pull together to fight off the grasshoppers or will they be squished? Over dramatise that much did I?
My Personal Views
When Toy Story originally came out on VHS (remember those?) I watched it at my best friend’s house, I moved house (some 260 miles away) around the same time and I wonder if somewhere at the back of my mind that maybe I watch this also to cling on to a bit of that part of me (the 9 year old without a care in the world), where I was happy to be watching the amazing revolution of Pixar animation. Also my childhood best friend (who I still speak to and see whenever I can) was the one who gave me the love for films I have. We would watch so many whenever I went to her house (before and after the move). When I would sleep over we would watch films until we fell asleep, good times.
This movie is full of, “I know that voice”, including Kevin Spacey,
David Hyde Pierce (Niles in Frasier), Bonnie Hunt, Denis Leary
(CSI: Miami), a very young Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and John
Ratzenberger (who maybe many of you don’t know, but if you
watch Disney Pixar movies as much as I do you will, it actually
becomes a little bit of an obsession waiting to see where he ‘pops’
up in Pixar movies when you watch them for the first time).
Note; the end credits include a blooper reel, and even now this still brings a smile to my face, despite the fact of, “wait a minute how do they have bloopers for some computer animated insects?”
Outcome
So very staying in my collection until I grow up and no longer have the urge to watch children’s movies. I’m only 24 so you never know, it could happen any day now. I hope not though.
Sunday, 18 July 2010
A Bridge Too Far
A visual masterpiece
A Bridge Too Far
Date watched- 17th July 2010
Genre; War, Drama
Year; 1977
Running Time; 175 minutes
Director; Richard Attenborough
Written By; William Goldman (Screenplay), Cornelius Ryan (Novel)
Actors; Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford and many, many more.
Music; John Addison
Acting 4.5/5
Keeping my attention 2/4
Visuals/Direction 5/5
Story/Plot 4/6
Total 15.5/20
Plot
This movie begins in September 1944, with a few minutes of montage of the events in the Second World War leading up to this time. This movie tells the story of Operation Market Garden. The Allies attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges, including the bridge in the occupied Arnhem, the Netherlands. But will this operation end in victory or disaster for the allied troops? (Those of you who know your history might well know, or if you have seen this movie yourself).
My Personal Views
So this is the first time I have ever watched this movie! I may have slightly borrowed it for this project from my Dad, the DVD was in his office, but I helped it escape for a while and it is now back on my Dad’s shelf safe and sound once more.
To me (being the age I am, which I’m not going to tell you right now), Richard Attenborough is Kris Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street, or Dr John Hammond from Jurassic Park and the brother of the greatest living Zoologist, David Attenborough. So I was excited to say the least to watch this movie, one that I would never really in my usual course of life have come across, and it was only by chance while writing a list of all the DVDs I could find in my parents’ house that I stumbled across this at all. There is only one word I can use to describe this movie, WOW. This is a visual masterpiece in my opinion and I only hope that my A-Z project will allow me the opportunity to watch more Richard Attenborough movies.
I studied the two world wars for GCSE history, so I know quite a bit about operations during this time, but up until this stage in my life my only war references through film and television have been a few segments of classic movies on TCM, Schindler’s List, Allo Allo and the season 4 double episode entitled ‘The Killing Game’ of Star Trek Voyager. We watched Schindler’s list for the ‘visual element’ of our second world war studies, that and the fact that Steven Spielberg provided every school a copy of the movie, and it is the most harrowing experience of my life, one I will never forget, and maybe that is best in order to stop another human atrocity like the Holocaust from happening. But after 15 minutes of watching A Bridge Too Far, I wondered why we had never watched a movie like this at school to get a feeling of what the war was really like for the soldiers on the ground at this time. The battle sequences in this movie are epic, no CGI, green screen or other jiggery pokey. Just telling it like it is without all the mumbo jumbo.
Throughout the whole movie, even though I saw the opening credits, I surprised when screen icons kept popping up, maybe these days some of these actors are more famous than they were back in 1977 but this is an excellent ensemble cast that shows great believability and depth throughout.
Actors like Gene Hackman, there’s something about his voice that I find so endearing with great depth and emotion in everything he says, I am only glad that the A-Z will allow me to watch other movies starring these great actors (including Mr Hackman who’s movies I have seen I could probably count on one hand).
It’s not a fast paced movie, hence the nearly three hour run time, but there is something to keep you occupied throughout, whether it is the actor spotting (“oow look it’s Elliot Gould/Ross and Monica’s Dad from Friends”), the great visuals and direction or the story itself.
At the end the use of the hymn ‘Abide with Me’ has personal significance for me. When I was 18 I went on tour with the youth String Orchestra I played with, and at the Menin Gate, a War Memorial in Ypres (Belgium) dedicated to the British and Commonwealth forces who were killed in Ypres and who’s graves are unknown, we played the national anthems of Britain and Belgium along with Abide with Me, and this till brings me to tears thinking of that place and its significance to the modern world. It’s hard to believe that the two world wars have both taken place within some people’s life times, my two surviving grandparents are both in their mid to late 80s, and I can only hope that nothing like these wars are seen in the near future.
However I do think I got a little lost in the middle somewhere in the middle of this movie as I had no idea at one point what was going on, and who was fighting and where, at one point I seem to have totally lost Robert Redford’s character. Speaking of Robert Redford; by watching this I have finally seen what my Mum saw in Mr Redford when she was younger. I don’t really know who my equivalent to this is in modern terms, I seem to flit between my ‘favourite actors’ so often, but maybe that is because there are so many these days, whether TV or film actors there are just so many where each is good at something different and all round actors (like Redford) seen to be a dying breed, though don’t get me wrong there are actors still like that around.
In conclusion you can’t really say that this is enjoyable to watch (purely because of the context of the movie) but it is most certainly an informative gem (though personally I don’t know all of the particular details of this operation to say if it is 100% accurate or not). But I would defiantly say that I would watch this again, even if it is just to make sure I have the plot firmly fixed in my mind so I might understand it better, you never know I might even have to change the total score rating of this review.
You might imagine my surprise then when I discovered that this film didn’t win any Oscars, so I looked up the contenders and winners of 1978. Ah that’s why, Annie Hall, Star Wars- A New Hope and Julia were the big winners of the year, but come on people why not even a mention, I don’t know.
And my opinion of David Attenborough now? A living legend. Give him more Oscars.
Outcome
This is definitely staying, amazing direction and an ensemble cast to die for. Also this is my Dad’s DVD so selling it isn’t really an option!!
A Bridge Too Far
Date watched- 17th July 2010
Genre; War, Drama
Year; 1977
Running Time; 175 minutes
Director; Richard Attenborough
Written By; William Goldman (Screenplay), Cornelius Ryan (Novel)
Actors; Dirk Bogarde, James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Anthony Hopkins, Gene Hackman, Laurence Olivier, Robert Redford and many, many more.
Music; John Addison
Acting 4.5/5
Keeping my attention 2/4
Visuals/Direction 5/5
Story/Plot 4/6
Total 15.5/20
Plot
This movie begins in September 1944, with a few minutes of montage of the events in the Second World War leading up to this time. This movie tells the story of Operation Market Garden. The Allies attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges, including the bridge in the occupied Arnhem, the Netherlands. But will this operation end in victory or disaster for the allied troops? (Those of you who know your history might well know, or if you have seen this movie yourself).
My Personal Views
So this is the first time I have ever watched this movie! I may have slightly borrowed it for this project from my Dad, the DVD was in his office, but I helped it escape for a while and it is now back on my Dad’s shelf safe and sound once more.
To me (being the age I am, which I’m not going to tell you right now), Richard Attenborough is Kris Kringle from Miracle on 34th Street, or Dr John Hammond from Jurassic Park and the brother of the greatest living Zoologist, David Attenborough. So I was excited to say the least to watch this movie, one that I would never really in my usual course of life have come across, and it was only by chance while writing a list of all the DVDs I could find in my parents’ house that I stumbled across this at all. There is only one word I can use to describe this movie, WOW. This is a visual masterpiece in my opinion and I only hope that my A-Z project will allow me the opportunity to watch more Richard Attenborough movies.
I studied the two world wars for GCSE history, so I know quite a bit about operations during this time, but up until this stage in my life my only war references through film and television have been a few segments of classic movies on TCM, Schindler’s List, Allo Allo and the season 4 double episode entitled ‘The Killing Game’ of Star Trek Voyager. We watched Schindler’s list for the ‘visual element’ of our second world war studies, that and the fact that Steven Spielberg provided every school a copy of the movie, and it is the most harrowing experience of my life, one I will never forget, and maybe that is best in order to stop another human atrocity like the Holocaust from happening. But after 15 minutes of watching A Bridge Too Far, I wondered why we had never watched a movie like this at school to get a feeling of what the war was really like for the soldiers on the ground at this time. The battle sequences in this movie are epic, no CGI, green screen or other jiggery pokey. Just telling it like it is without all the mumbo jumbo.
Throughout the whole movie, even though I saw the opening credits, I surprised when screen icons kept popping up, maybe these days some of these actors are more famous than they were back in 1977 but this is an excellent ensemble cast that shows great believability and depth throughout.
Actors like Gene Hackman, there’s something about his voice that I find so endearing with great depth and emotion in everything he says, I am only glad that the A-Z will allow me to watch other movies starring these great actors (including Mr Hackman who’s movies I have seen I could probably count on one hand).
It’s not a fast paced movie, hence the nearly three hour run time, but there is something to keep you occupied throughout, whether it is the actor spotting (“oow look it’s Elliot Gould/Ross and Monica’s Dad from Friends”), the great visuals and direction or the story itself.
At the end the use of the hymn ‘Abide with Me’ has personal significance for me. When I was 18 I went on tour with the youth String Orchestra I played with, and at the Menin Gate, a War Memorial in Ypres (Belgium) dedicated to the British and Commonwealth forces who were killed in Ypres and who’s graves are unknown, we played the national anthems of Britain and Belgium along with Abide with Me, and this till brings me to tears thinking of that place and its significance to the modern world. It’s hard to believe that the two world wars have both taken place within some people’s life times, my two surviving grandparents are both in their mid to late 80s, and I can only hope that nothing like these wars are seen in the near future.
However I do think I got a little lost in the middle somewhere in the middle of this movie as I had no idea at one point what was going on, and who was fighting and where, at one point I seem to have totally lost Robert Redford’s character. Speaking of Robert Redford; by watching this I have finally seen what my Mum saw in Mr Redford when she was younger. I don’t really know who my equivalent to this is in modern terms, I seem to flit between my ‘favourite actors’ so often, but maybe that is because there are so many these days, whether TV or film actors there are just so many where each is good at something different and all round actors (like Redford) seen to be a dying breed, though don’t get me wrong there are actors still like that around.
In conclusion you can’t really say that this is enjoyable to watch (purely because of the context of the movie) but it is most certainly an informative gem (though personally I don’t know all of the particular details of this operation to say if it is 100% accurate or not). But I would defiantly say that I would watch this again, even if it is just to make sure I have the plot firmly fixed in my mind so I might understand it better, you never know I might even have to change the total score rating of this review.
You might imagine my surprise then when I discovered that this film didn’t win any Oscars, so I looked up the contenders and winners of 1978. Ah that’s why, Annie Hall, Star Wars- A New Hope and Julia were the big winners of the year, but come on people why not even a mention, I don’t know.
And my opinion of David Attenborough now? A living legend. Give him more Oscars.
Outcome
This is definitely staying, amazing direction and an ensemble cast to die for. Also this is my Dad’s DVD so selling it isn’t really an option!!
Sunday, 11 July 2010
The Abduction Club
So here we go eventually, the beginning of A-Z of Film. The first movie in my collection alphabetically;
The Abduction Club
Date watched- 11th July 2010
Genre; Romantic, Period Drama
Year; 2002
Running Time; 92 minutes
Director; Stefan Schwartz
Written By; Bill Britton and Richard Crawford
Actors; Alice Evans, Daniel Lapaine, Sophia Myles and Matthew Rhys.
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 3/5
Story/Plot 3/6 Total 12/20
Plot
So the story goes something like this; Ireland 1780 where only the eldest sons of affluent families are entitled to their family fortunes while the younger brothers have to take up a profession in the church and earn their own living or marry a woman of fortune, the result, the Abduction Club where a band of younger sons join together to pursue these women of fortune and persuade them into marriage. This movie focuses on two best friends Byrne (Daniel Lapaine) and Strang (Matthew Rhys), both members of the same Abduction Club, romantically pursuing the Kennedy sisters (Alice Evans and Sophia Myles). The abduction takes place of the elder sister, Catherine Kennedy (Evans) where Byrne hopes to convince her to marry him, while Stang ‘accidentally’ abducts the younger sister Anne (Myles); however Catherine is not impressed and refuses Byrne, and the abduction club is forced to disband in order to save its members from imprisonment as the red coats are called to find them all after this abduction occurs. Byrne, Strang and the Kennedy sisters are pursued across Ireland by the rich, ruthless and power hungry Mr Power (who has intentions of his own to marry Anne Kennedy, though Anne can not even stand the sight of Mr Power). Will love blossom between the two couples or will money divide them even further? The ending is a little predictable, but why not?
My Personal Views
I think it’s fair to say by the fact that it’s taken this long to build up to watching this film that it’s not one of the greatest movies ever made. This is like a great cake that never was; all of the ingredients were there, the oven was set to the right temperature and the cake bake for the right amount of time, but somewhere in all of that it failed to rise. Don’t ask me exactly where but it just misses the spot somewhere.
I originally bought this because I couldn’t find ‘Plunkett and Macleane’ (I was going through a Robert Carlyle phase at the time) and to be honest I think I might have made the right choice; I saw a part of P&M a few months away and was completely lost whereas I know where I am with this.
Alice Evans and Sophia Myles seem to have both mastered the art of looking all doe eyed in many scenes but really bring great warmth to some of the more heart felt scenes, and Myles has the spoilt younger sister down to perfection. Both Lapaine (Australian) and Rhys (Welsh) are quite nice to look at and have the British accents perfected. The supporting actors also help to underpin these four’s performances and add something to this movie in some way; Liam Cunningham (Power) play the villain well.
So before watching this today I was almost certain that this film was destined to end up on EBay; but can I really do that to the film that promoted this whole A-Z venture? In addition I can’t really dislike it that much if I’ve watched it twice in the last 5 months, surely! (I’ve also said a lot of nice thins here, and mean them)
This movie is in some ways predictable, but the combination of the period drama and romance really does make this in some ways a good watch, also when you finish watching this movie you don’t quite believe that you’ve been watching it for an hour and a half, the story happens in a fast paced manner and makes it enjoyable in most places. The back drop of rolling hills adds to it also.
Outcome
For now this is going to stay firmly on my shelf.
The Abduction Club
Date watched- 11th July 2010
Genre; Romantic, Period Drama
Year; 2002
Running Time; 92 minutes
Director; Stefan Schwartz
Written By; Bill Britton and Richard Crawford
Actors; Alice Evans, Daniel Lapaine, Sophia Myles and Matthew Rhys.
Acting 3/5
Keeping my attention 3/4
Visuals/Direction 3/5
Story/Plot 3/6 Total 12/20
Plot
So the story goes something like this; Ireland 1780 where only the eldest sons of affluent families are entitled to their family fortunes while the younger brothers have to take up a profession in the church and earn their own living or marry a woman of fortune, the result, the Abduction Club where a band of younger sons join together to pursue these women of fortune and persuade them into marriage. This movie focuses on two best friends Byrne (Daniel Lapaine) and Strang (Matthew Rhys), both members of the same Abduction Club, romantically pursuing the Kennedy sisters (Alice Evans and Sophia Myles). The abduction takes place of the elder sister, Catherine Kennedy (Evans) where Byrne hopes to convince her to marry him, while Stang ‘accidentally’ abducts the younger sister Anne (Myles); however Catherine is not impressed and refuses Byrne, and the abduction club is forced to disband in order to save its members from imprisonment as the red coats are called to find them all after this abduction occurs. Byrne, Strang and the Kennedy sisters are pursued across Ireland by the rich, ruthless and power hungry Mr Power (who has intentions of his own to marry Anne Kennedy, though Anne can not even stand the sight of Mr Power). Will love blossom between the two couples or will money divide them even further? The ending is a little predictable, but why not?
My Personal Views
I think it’s fair to say by the fact that it’s taken this long to build up to watching this film that it’s not one of the greatest movies ever made. This is like a great cake that never was; all of the ingredients were there, the oven was set to the right temperature and the cake bake for the right amount of time, but somewhere in all of that it failed to rise. Don’t ask me exactly where but it just misses the spot somewhere.
I originally bought this because I couldn’t find ‘Plunkett and Macleane’ (I was going through a Robert Carlyle phase at the time) and to be honest I think I might have made the right choice; I saw a part of P&M a few months away and was completely lost whereas I know where I am with this.
Alice Evans and Sophia Myles seem to have both mastered the art of looking all doe eyed in many scenes but really bring great warmth to some of the more heart felt scenes, and Myles has the spoilt younger sister down to perfection. Both Lapaine (Australian) and Rhys (Welsh) are quite nice to look at and have the British accents perfected. The supporting actors also help to underpin these four’s performances and add something to this movie in some way; Liam Cunningham (Power) play the villain well.
So before watching this today I was almost certain that this film was destined to end up on EBay; but can I really do that to the film that promoted this whole A-Z venture? In addition I can’t really dislike it that much if I’ve watched it twice in the last 5 months, surely! (I’ve also said a lot of nice thins here, and mean them)
This movie is in some ways predictable, but the combination of the period drama and romance really does make this in some ways a good watch, also when you finish watching this movie you don’t quite believe that you’ve been watching it for an hour and a half, the story happens in a fast paced manner and makes it enjoyable in most places. The back drop of rolling hills adds to it also.
Outcome
For now this is going to stay firmly on my shelf.
Saturday, 17 April 2010
The 'A' List Update
On my lunch break on Tuesday I wondered around the DVD section of HMV in Epsom (the town in England where I work). I hung around mainly where the DVDs starting with 'A' can be found. I saw so many films starting with A that I wanted to watch or I have watched in the past, loved and never bought for myself. For anyone unfamiliar with HMV it can tend to be more expensive than other retailers so I wrote a list of the films that inspired me the most for various reasons and did an Amazon shop on my return to my office. I bought the following to add to the list of films I will begin to watch next week, as I'm going to be on leave;
A Child is Waiting
An Affair to Remember
Annie Hall
Armageddon
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Coming to a grand total of £21.56, and under budget of £25 per letter of the alphabet, Annie Hall came in a Woody Allen box set of 6 films so I divided the total for the box set by 6. I will add the £3.44 to the budget for films starting with B. I was sorely tempted to buy many more films, including Annie, Annie Get Your Gun and all manner of other titles, however that is one of the main reasons for the budget and I intend to stick to it, well that's what I say now!!
A Child is Waiting
An Affair to Remember
Annie Hall
Armageddon
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
Coming to a grand total of £21.56, and under budget of £25 per letter of the alphabet, Annie Hall came in a Woody Allen box set of 6 films so I divided the total for the box set by 6. I will add the £3.44 to the budget for films starting with B. I was sorely tempted to buy many more films, including Annie, Annie Get Your Gun and all manner of other titles, however that is one of the main reasons for the budget and I intend to stick to it, well that's what I say now!!
Sunday, 11 April 2010
The Beginning
So as I promised here is the A List and also a brief description of how each ‘review’ will be laid out.
I will first of all watch the film then write a brief plot summary and also include my likes and dislikes for it. After this I will mark each film out of 20 which will be broken down as follows;
Acting; out of 5
Keeping my attention; out of 4
Overall Visuals/Directing: out of 5
Story/Plot; Out of 6
With each review I will try to include any personal titbits where these films may have impacted on my life in any way, where I bought them, who I’ve watched them with or personal episodes in my life that I link with them.
I will then give the film a verdict, such as keep, sell etc
So here it is the ‘A’ list, nothing too taxing to start off with I think!
P.S A quick note on the Alphabetisation, where there are series of films I have tried to put these in chronological or story order, such as Harry Potter and Dirty Harry, for others I have put them under one heading for the series, such as ‘James Bond’ with all the films I have in sequence. I hope you enjoy. X
A
The Abduction Club
A Bridge Too Far
A Bug’s Life
The Accidental Husband
Addicted to Love
A Good Year
A Knight’s Tale
Aladdin (Disney)
Alex and Emma
The Amazing Adventure
Amazing Grace
America’s Sweethearts
An American in Paris
Anchorman
Animal Attraction
A Prairie Home Companion
Are You Ready For Love?
Atonement
Austin Powers
Austin Powers; The Spy Who ******* Me
Austin Powers; Goldmember
I will first of all watch the film then write a brief plot summary and also include my likes and dislikes for it. After this I will mark each film out of 20 which will be broken down as follows;
Acting; out of 5
Keeping my attention; out of 4
Overall Visuals/Directing: out of 5
Story/Plot; Out of 6
With each review I will try to include any personal titbits where these films may have impacted on my life in any way, where I bought them, who I’ve watched them with or personal episodes in my life that I link with them.
I will then give the film a verdict, such as keep, sell etc
So here it is the ‘A’ list, nothing too taxing to start off with I think!
P.S A quick note on the Alphabetisation, where there are series of films I have tried to put these in chronological or story order, such as Harry Potter and Dirty Harry, for others I have put them under one heading for the series, such as ‘James Bond’ with all the films I have in sequence. I hope you enjoy. X
A
The Abduction Club
A Bridge Too Far
A Bug’s Life
The Accidental Husband
Addicted to Love
A Good Year
A Knight’s Tale
Aladdin (Disney)
Alex and Emma
The Amazing Adventure
Amazing Grace
America’s Sweethearts
An American in Paris
Anchorman
Animal Attraction
A Prairie Home Companion
Are You Ready For Love?
Atonement
Austin Powers
Austin Powers; The Spy Who ******* Me
Austin Powers; Goldmember
Tuesday, 6 April 2010
Why am I doing this?
I watch and own a lot of films, and I mean a lot!
This blog will endeavour to 'rummage' through my DVD collection alphabetically providing a short synopsis of the films I own and any personal feelings I have on them, as I have recently realised that films run through episodes from my personal life as well.
Maybe some of you out there might be able to recommend a few films to me (anything less than £5 on Amazon, and in total less than £25 per letter of the alphabet!).
I like 'Chick Flics', Sci fi, musicals... in fact pretty much everything, one of the many curses of being an only child, where I watched musicals with my mum one day and Star Trek with my dad on another and John Wayne films with my Grandma the next. I always have to know what a film is about before I watch it and if I don't like the sound of it I sometimes won't watch it, but for the purposes of this experiment I will try to keep an open mind. So please don't take offence if anything you recommend isn't put into the list, also there may be some films that I have seen in other ways (TV, cinema or just a long time ago) that I never thought to own myself for various reasons.
The main reason for this Blog is to vent the inner writer in me, that is currently being suppressed by a career I don't really see myself being in by the time I 'work' through to Z in this project, and maybe that should be a goal to work towards.
I have only included films in this blog as I don't think everyone else would be as interested as me in spending weeks watching George Clooney in ER (as I recently acquired the complete series for my birthday).
So other motives for this blog, to weed down the amount of DVDs in my collection maybe some of them will end up in local charity shops or on eBay so keep your eyes peeled for a bargain.
So how this will work; a week or so before each letter is due to start being reviewed I will post a list of the films being included and hope for some feedback from the population of Blogger. Any help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated on any other films in the selected letter that might be worth a look, I'll try to include as many as possible that are suggested.
So join me if you wish in watching some of the treasures, and maybe sometimes not, of cinema from the last few decades.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will. xx
P.s I will need about a week to compile the A list so watch this space for updates very soon
This blog will endeavour to 'rummage' through my DVD collection alphabetically providing a short synopsis of the films I own and any personal feelings I have on them, as I have recently realised that films run through episodes from my personal life as well.
Maybe some of you out there might be able to recommend a few films to me (anything less than £5 on Amazon, and in total less than £25 per letter of the alphabet!).
I like 'Chick Flics', Sci fi, musicals... in fact pretty much everything, one of the many curses of being an only child, where I watched musicals with my mum one day and Star Trek with my dad on another and John Wayne films with my Grandma the next. I always have to know what a film is about before I watch it and if I don't like the sound of it I sometimes won't watch it, but for the purposes of this experiment I will try to keep an open mind. So please don't take offence if anything you recommend isn't put into the list, also there may be some films that I have seen in other ways (TV, cinema or just a long time ago) that I never thought to own myself for various reasons.
The main reason for this Blog is to vent the inner writer in me, that is currently being suppressed by a career I don't really see myself being in by the time I 'work' through to Z in this project, and maybe that should be a goal to work towards.
I have only included films in this blog as I don't think everyone else would be as interested as me in spending weeks watching George Clooney in ER (as I recently acquired the complete series for my birthday).
So other motives for this blog, to weed down the amount of DVDs in my collection maybe some of them will end up in local charity shops or on eBay so keep your eyes peeled for a bargain.
So how this will work; a week or so before each letter is due to start being reviewed I will post a list of the films being included and hope for some feedback from the population of Blogger. Any help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated on any other films in the selected letter that might be worth a look, I'll try to include as many as possible that are suggested.
So join me if you wish in watching some of the treasures, and maybe sometimes not, of cinema from the last few decades.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I know I will. xx
P.s I will need about a week to compile the A list so watch this space for updates very soon
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