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
Tuesday, 26 October 2010
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)