Solitaire

I watched this with Sarah at the Kendal mountain film festival. It is a ski-ing film shot in various locations in South America, based around Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. I have to say I haven't read the book but I am pretty sure there wasn't much ski-ing going on in the African jungle. Overall it was about 50 minutes too long and would have benefited from some form of storyline.

The three idiots

This is a near three hour long Bollywood film about three student friends studying at the Indian college of engineering. One of them is an enigmatic genius whilst the other two are more towards the bottom of the class. The film sends up the uber competitive nature of the indian education system in a gentle but goofy way, and there are plenty of pleasing melodies to keep your toes tapping. I didn't even really notice it was nearly three hours long.

Abel

I rented this from Lovefilm. It is set in Mexico and is the story of a nine year old boy who has spent an unspecified amount of time in psychiatric care, during which he was practically mute. He is then released into the care of his single mother, who at first struggles to work out how best to care for him. Abel adapts by adopting the role of the father of the family, to his five year old brother and fifteen year old sister. All is going swimmingly until his real father turns up. All in all, an interesting film, but not a brilliant one.

Water for elephants

I rented this from iTunes and watched it whilst staying in Casa della Sensa. It is the heartwarming story, set in America during the depression of the 1930s, of a young Polish immigrant man Jakob, whose parents die in a car crash just as he is about to sit his vet exams at Cornell university. He leaves home to roam the country, and ends up joining a travelling circus, as you do. In addition to falling in love with the animals, including the delightful Rosie the elephant (who handily understands Polish instructions!), Jakob also falls for the boss' wife, Marlena, played by Reece Witherspoon. Suffice to say that the boss is not the most free- thinking of men. All good clean fun, but not the most intellectually demanding film in the world. It is based on a novel written by Sarah Gruen, allegedly during National Novel Writing Month (commonly known as NaNoWriMo!). I think Catriona has taken part in that.

Last night

I rented this from ITunes and watched it in Venice. It is a clever, quite sensitive portrayal of a young married couple in New York, with Keira Knightley playing the wife. Both the husband and the wife are tempted to be unfaithful - he with a colleague whilst on a business trip; she with an ex boyfriend who turns up out of the blue. There is plenty of intelligent discussion and exchange of views, without making it dull.

The descendants

I went to see this film as part of the London film festival, at the Odeon Leicester Square (nice comfy seats, but a wopping £25 per ticket, which is a lot for a film, even with an introduction from the great Sandra Hebron), with Spodo, who was particualrly impressed with seeing George Clooney in the lobby, and also appreciated the free bar of chocolate with each seat.  The film is the story of a Hawaian man, played by Clooney, whose wife is lying in hospital in a coma, after a powerboat accident.  His two daughters are fairly uncontrolled, but he has to pull together some semblance of normal life.  At the same time, he discovers that his wife has been having an affair, and he is also head of an extended family whose land is up for sale for a gazillion dollars.  All in all I found the film very synthetic and the acting wooden.  Despite a potentially interesting story, I just didn't feel any empathy with the characters and the film didn't really make the most of the scenery of Hawaii.

Confessions

I rented this DVD from Lovefilm, having had it recommended by a new Zealand friend, Brad. It is japanese, and is set around a female secondary school teacher whose young daughter dies from drowning in a pool. The mother believes that two of her pupils are to blame for the death, and she then goes about exacting her revenge. It is a bit gory in parts, and a touch surreal in others, but I generally found it pretty engaging.

How I ended this summer

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is set in a remote Russian polar station in the arctic, where the only inhabitants are old hand Sergei and new graduate Pavel. They are getting along fine and dandy, making regular reports back to base by radio - watch out for all those Russian numbers! However, then comes some bad news over the radio, and suffice to say it is always best to deal with bad news straight away, and not let things fester! Nice arctic scenery, and watch out for the educational bit about how to gut an arctic trout, and the nice radioactive isotope beacon!?!

The Waves

I watched this as part of the London film festival, with Steve. It is a Spanish film, set around the theme of the Spanish civil war. The person introducing it said that it had won three prizes at the Moscow film festival and that it used a totally new way of looking at the civil war, which sounded intriguing. However having watched it all I can say is that the Russian jury must have been off their heads. This was essentially the watching paint dry version of the civil war - next to nothing happened. Just about the only saving graces were that there was an interesting classic Renault in it, and also they switched between spanish, Catalan and French, which was good for my languages!

50/50

I saw this at the London film festival, with Wizzy. It is the story of a 20 something guy, played by the excellent Joseph Gordon-Levitt who has cancer. Other strong characters are his best friend, played by Seth Rogen, and his inexperienced but enthusiastic counsellor, played by Anna Kendrick. I just really liked the delicate mix of emotions, including a liberal dollop of humour, but also some very moving scenes. Angelica Huston plays the main character's mother, in an inimitable way - I have always enjoyed seeing her, after watching her in the Royal Tenenbaums.

Weekend

I went to see this as part of the London film festival, at the BFI. It is set around two gay men who fall in love after a one night stand. The guy who introduced it said that it had been the single film that spoke to him the most in the whole festival, very personal, etc, etc. I found it interesting but a bit slow, and too many single shot ten minute long scenes.

City Island

I rented this from Lovefilm.  It stars Andy Garcia as a prison officer who comes across in prison a son he he abandoned before he was born.  Garcia lives on City Island, an ex fishing village that is part of the Bronx, and as part of his son's bail conditions he comes to live in his father's house (though he doesn't know the full story).  The rest of the family (wife, daughter, son) also don't know the story, and all have secrets of their own.  Quite an amusing comedy, but not 100% absorbing.  Emily Mortimer stars as a friend from an acting class attended on the sly by Garcia.

Pa negre

I went to see this film with lovely Clare at the Cine Lumiere, which is part of the French Institute in South Kensington.  Very spacious seats in the cinema, with lots of legroom and a lovely curving marble staircase in the lobby.  Well worth a visit.  The film was being shown as part of the London Spanish film festival, and had won none Goya awards, including best film, best director (Agusti Villaronga) and best adapted screenplay.  As you no doubt know, Pa negre is catalan for black bread.  The film is set around Andreu, an 11 year old boy, growing up in a Catalan village in 1944, after the Spanish civil war.  There is a major nastiness at the beginning of the film (any horse lovers look away), with Andreu's father's business partner and his son being murdered.  There then follows a complicated story involving a mysterious ghost, Andreu's extended family (including a beautiful cousin Nuria who loast a hand when she was playing with a grenade) , neighbours, etc, as you try and keep up with who might have done the nasty deed, and why.  Andreu's father Farriol, was a republican, and faces various acts of persecution during the film.  All in all, it was a bit too complicated for me to enjoy fully - too many characters and sub stories, with not enough character development.  Watch out for the scene involving pig castration wire (any males look away).

Mad dogs

I rented this from Lovefilm, and boy is it tedious.  I think it must have been shown as a four or five part TV drama and frankly I didn't get into it at all. It is the story of four former schoolfriends summoned to visit a fifth friend at his villa on Mallorca.  Said friend is up to no good, and a tale of drug dealing, killings, police corruption, etc unfolds.  However it just all feels either predictable or you just don't care about the characters in the slightest.  Just about the only redeeming feature is the villa and surrounding countryside, which looked lovely.

Life as we know it

I rented this from Lovefilm, and watched it on my portable DVD player in Venice.  Its the pretty slushy but still entertaining story of two singletons bringing up their baby goddaughter, Sophie, after her parents die in a car crash.  Add in that the two singletons, Messer (crazy guy, crazy name, huh?!) and Holly dislike each other, having gone on a disastrous blind date a few years back.  A supporting part (Dr Sam) is played by Josh Lucas, who also starred in one of my favourite films of 2011 so far, Red Dog.

The disappearance of Alice Creed

I rented this on iTunes and watched it on my iPad in Venice.  It's a British kidnap story; with domineering Vic and malleable Danny being two ex-cons who meticulously plan the kidnap of the daughter of a rich man, and demand a £2m ransom.  I liked the Britishness of it, having seen too many US thrillers over the years, and it has a sufficient number of twists and turns, crossing and double crossing, to keep you guessing.  Danny is played by Greenock born Martin Compston, who I remember watching in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen - in which the F word is used a remarkable 313 times.  The kidnapee is played by Gemma Arterton, a former Bond girl, and lead actress in Tamara Drewe.

Lou

I rented this from iTunes and watched it on my iPad in Venice.  It is set in rural New South Wales, surrounded by sugar cane, and is the story of a single mother struggling to fend off debt collectors whilst raising her three daughters.  Partly as a source of income, she takes in her father in law (played by John Hurt), who is in the early stages of Alzheimers.  The eldest daughter, Lou, is initially cold, angry and distant, but gradullay warms to her grandfather (who she has never previously met), with his tales of exploring the South Pacific during his time in the merchant navy.  He in turn imagines that Lou is his long lost wife, Annie.  All in all, a nice thought provoking story.

Beginners

I think I was missing something here. I went to see this with johnny at the curzon soho. Before I start, I have to say that the sausage rolls in the cafe are delicious - I had two for my pre-film dinner! But maybe that contributed to the problem with the film - within minutes of it starting I was so bored that I fell asleep. Story of a 70 plus widower who comes out as gay(played by Christopher Plummer) and his son, played by Ewan mcgregor, and the son's French girlfriend. All living in LA but I just didn't engage with them at all, not one iota.

The Tourist

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is a pretty poor James Bond type thriller, starring Johnny Depp, with the only redeeming feature being that most of the film is shot in Venice. Skip it or watch it with the sound turned down!

Conviction

I rented this film from iTunes and watched it in Venice. It stars Hilary Swank as a single mother putting herself through law school to try and prove the innocence of her brother Kenny who is in jail for murder. Minnie Driver stars as a fellow lawyer. I found it a pretty compelling story, mainly due to the acting skill of Ms Swank, and the fact that it is based on a true story.

An Englishman in new York

I rented this on Lovefilm. It stars John Hurt as renowned homosexualist Quentin Crisp post his publication of the naked civil servant. He goes on tour to the U.S. aged eighty plus and loves it so much that he ends up staying, as a resident alien. He does a lot of monologues on stage, which are pretty interesting, and it also fun watching him explore all the fun of the big apple!

Senna

I saw this at the Barbican, cinema 1, where it was very chilly with the air conditioning but then they turned it the other way and it was nice and toasty. I thought of my friend Mark as I was watching this, as he is such a Formula One fan - getting up in the middle of the night to watch the Japanese grand prix, etc. Anyway, suffice to say that I am not a massive fan of the sport, and I didn't find the film particularly enthralling. Although there were clearly plenty of strong characters involved in the sport in the eighties, I didn't feel we got under many of their skins, with the possible exception of Senna himself. But even with him, you have to wait until close to the end of the film before he is actually asked an interesting question - which driver past or present he most enjoyed driving against. Having been unengaged with most of the film, I have to say I was quite surprised how moved I was by the last ten minutes.

Flawless

I rented this DVD on Lovefilm.  It is the story of a retired New York cop, played by Robert de Niro, who suffers a stroke and as part of his rehabilitation treatment he gets singing lessons from a drag queen, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman, who lives across the hallway.  There is a background story of gangsters and money, but the real interest is in the unlikely friendship that builds between these two quite different characters.  I found the film entertaining but not absorbing.

Rabbit proof fence

I watched this on Jonathan's ipad.  It is the story of three young aboriginal girls who are forcibly removed from their families in the 1930s, and sent to live in a childrens home run by nuns, thousands of miles from their home.  They strive to run away and find their way home, by following the fence.  Although it is a shameful part of history, I just didn't really engage with the story very much as it was portrayed in the film. Some of the scenery on the journey was pretty stunning.

Nativity

I rented this film on Lovefilm.  It's quite a cute story of a primary school teacher, played by Martin Freeman, who has lost the love of his life to Hollywood.  He is asked by the retiring headteacher to put on the nativity play, alongside a pretty bizarre classroom assistant he has been given, which he sees as a bit of a poisoned chalice.  Many of the children are pretty amusing - I suspect cast from real primary school classes.

My dog Tulip

I went to see this film at the Richmond Odeon Studio - one of my new local cinemas now that I have moved house.  There were two other people watching the film, so it wasn't exactly a sell-out.  It is an animated film that is based on a book by JR Ackerley, a man who died in the 1950s or 1960s, and lived a relatively solitary life.  In his 50s he built up a very strong relationship with his dog, an Alsatian called Tulip - who reminded me a little bit of the late lamented Sheba (who used to nip your ankles just to let you know she was there).  I read the book about five years ago, but had forgotten how much of the material is about Tulip's toilet habits, and Ackerley's attempt to breed her.  The associated stories are entertaining and endearing, but suffice to say that you don't want to watch this film whilst you are having a meal, or if you have a bit of a "jippy" tummy!

Africa United

I rented this film on DVD. It is the story of three youngsters from Rwanda who decide to travel to the 2010 football world cup in South Africa, walking, by bus, hitching lifts, etc. They pick up two other interesting characters en route. Not a particularly deep and meaningful film, but quite a nice feel good movie, with some nice African scenery and some entertaining animation.

Tell no one

I rented this french DVD, which was directed by Guillaume Canet, on Lovefilm. It is a pretty tense thriller that stars Francois Cluzet as a paediatrician whose wife is mysteriously murdered and then eight years later he is anonymously sent a video clip via the Internet that seems to show her as being alive. In the meantime he is implicated in a connected double murder hunt, and has various scrapes with the police and others. All in all a very gripping but not too gruesome film that had me guessing throughout.

The eagle

I went to see this film in Peckham with my friend Sean, who had chosen it specially, as he likes Roman stuff. It's billed as an historical epic film, set in the year 140 AD ( remember that one?). I have to say that Roman history is not really my cup of tea, but I did find it pretty engaging, mainly because about half of the film is set in Scotland (aka Caledonia) and it's set around the relationship between a roman commander (Channing Tatum - crazy name, crazy guy!!) and his slave (Jamie Bell). Indeed I gather from wikipedia that some of the filming took place in Achiltibuie, a small village in Wester Ross, near Ullapool. My parents spent their honeymoon in Achiltibuie and have returned there practically every year for 48 years. It's a beautiful, peaceful part of the world that I get to all too rarely.

Red Dog

I went to see this film at the Barbican with Hilary. It was being shown as part of the London Australian film festival, and yes it was about a red dog. The dog, which is a kelpie (native to Australia) unites a disparate mining community in remote western Australia, where lots of the scenery is also red. Watch out for the bit part played by Louis de Bernieres, the author whose book the film is based upon (and who was at the screening). The story is told as a series of episodes in the past, and is an endearing film overall. Some nice views of the dry dusty scenery, and massive mining equipment. Also watch out for red cat, an impressively fearsome feline.

Mugabe and the White African

I rented this film on Lovefilm. It was made in 2009 and is a documentary charting the legal case taken by two White Zimbabwean farmers to challenge Mugabe's attempts to seize their farm. They are Mike Campbell and his son-in-law Ben Freeth, and they went to the SADC tribunal, which is essentially an international court, presided over by judges from countries in Southern Africa, and which was sitting in Windhoek, Namibia. In addition to court scenes, there is plenty of footage back on the farm. Many neighbours' farms have been taken over under Mugabe's land redistribution policy, and Mike, Ben and their families struggle to maintain security on their property. All in all a very interesting but deeply shocking portrait of what was once a beautiful country to visit. Am off to read up more on what is going on in Zimbabwe now.

The secret in their eyes

This is an Argentinian film directed by Juan Jose Campanella that won the best foreign film Oscar in 2009. It is the story of a retired criminal prosecutor who is writing a novel about one of his murder cases. It has a few twists and turns that keep you thinking about various issues around crime and retribution, but I wouldn't say it was an edge of your seat thriller. I rented it on Lovefilm.

The Browning Version

I saw this film in NFT2 at the BFI in London. It is an adaptation by director Anthony Asquith of Terence Rattigan's play of the same name. The film was made in 1951 and stars Michael Redgrave as an unloved and unsympathetic schoolmaster who is retiring on grounds of I'll health. Overall there is a deep sense of disappointment within him, both relating to his professional life and his marriage to a fairly unforgiving wife played by Jean Kent. Some of the phraseology seems quite dated - plenty of spiffing and topper, but it is still a well crafted and meaningful film for modern times.

Under the Tuscan sun

Based on the book by Francesca Maye, but fictionalised, whatever that means! The film's about a recently divorced American writer, acted by Diane Lane, who buys a villa in Tuscany on a whim. It is a diverting romantic comedy, with good support actors - Polish builders who refurbish the villa, a heavily pregnant friend from the US, played by Sandra Oh, and an eccentric very stylish English lady, played by Lindsay Duncan. Although it isnt the most sophisticated film I have ever seen, it is a warm story, and I just enjoyed a lot of the Italian settings and personalities.

The four-faced liar

I saw this on the closing night of the London lesbian & gay film festival, at the BFI. It is an appealing film about the relationships between two generation Y couples and one of their lesbian flatmates in New York, whose social life rotates around their local bar, the four faced liar. The script hangs together well, and seems pretty believable. The screening was introduced by the ever impressive Sandra Hebron, head of festivals at the BFI, and the ever nattily dressed programmer Brian Robinson - tonight he was wearing an orange suit.

Steep

Just watched an amazing documentary about extreme ski-ing, rented on Lovefilm. It is a must for those who love the mountains, and also gives some interesting insights into some of the personalities involved. There is plenty of incredible footage of people ski-ing down unfeasibly steep slopes and leaping off impossibly tall cliffs, in various locations such as Chamonix, Alaska and Iceland. It took me back to a trip that my friend Jon and I did to La Grave about six years ago - it is a small village in the French alps at the foot of the seriously scary looking Meije mountain, which features in the film. As one interviewee put it, you can be sipping your coffee in a bar one moment and five minutes later you can be at risk of death if you take the wrong turn on the slope. The stories of first descents made by various extreme skiers is pretty captivating, including the first descent of Grand Teton by Bill Briggs in 1971 - just google it to get a sense of his craziness and sense of adventure! Another interesting scene is three ski mountaineers getting caught in a mini avalanche on camera in Iceland.

The night watch

I went to see this film as part of the London Lesbian & Gay film festival, at the BFI on the South Bank (NFT1).  Nice comfy seats, and I had a bit of an intermittent snooze during the first 30 minutes (I always find myself quite warm in NFT1).  The film is an adaptation of a novel by Sarah Waters (who subsequently took part in an interview and Q&A session).  The film / book is set during and after the second world war, and is about four main characters, three of whom are in a triangular lesbian relationship.  The fourth is a young man who is in prison.  Somewhat confusingly, but intriguingly,the plot goes backwards - i.e. we start in 1947, and then go back to 1944 and then 1941 - so you have to pay attention!  I have to say that I didn't warm to the film as much as I was expecting to - I usually enjoy period pieces very much, but this one seemed a bit flimsy to me - e.g. it was shot in Bristol, but was meant to be London during the blitz, with silhouettes of St Pauls cathedral, etc.  I also just didn't really click with the characters.  In the interview Sarah came across as a very interesting, eloquent person, who spoke widely about writing Tipping the velvet and all her other work. 

El camino

I went to watch this film with my friends Alan and Alex, at the Cine Lumiere, the cinema which is part of the Alliance Francaise in South Kensington.  It is a beautiful building, with a wonderful marble staircase, and the cinema seats are super comfy with loads of leg room.  The film was being shown as part of a Spring weekend Spanish film festival.  It stars Martin Sheen as an american opthalmologist whose son dies at the beginning of walking the Camino de Santiago, the 900km pilgrims walk from the French / Spanish border to Santiago de Compostela in North Western Spain.  The father decides to continue the journey on the son's behalf.  Having done a small part of the Camino about three years ago (in a group which included Alex and Alan) I was intrigued to see a film about it.  However, I found the film quite disappointing - the plot was pretty simplistic at times (e.g. gypsies are bad people; oh no they aren't really), and they didn't seem to make the most of the wonderful scenery in northern Spain.  It was still kind of nice for me to re-immerse myself in the experience of walking el camino - the character encounters quite a few wierd and wonderful people on the trip.  However, overall I would probably only give the film a five out of ten.  The film is directed by one of Sheen's sons, Emilio Estevez (Sheen's original surname is Estevez - his Spanish parents moved to the US).  Emilio also stars as the son in the film, who comes back as an apparition to his father occasionally.  Watch out for the scene with the amazing flying incense burner in the cathedral at Santiago - the priests do an amazing job with ropes and pulleys to get it swiging at great speed along the length of the cathedral.  One useful piece of information for me is that there is a two week long Spanish film festival in London in September.

Cemetery junction

At last, a film about life assurance! According to Wikipedia this film was meant to be called "The man from the Pru" until Prudential read the script and decided it didn't paint life assurance in the right light! I rented this film on Lovefilm, and enjoyed it a lot. It was written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant - Gervais also has a supporting role in the cast. It is set in 1973 in a Reading suburb, and the period settings are all perfect - the music, the clothes, the hairstyles, even the wallpaper! It is the story of three mates in their early twenties finding their way in life. Freddie has secured a job at a life assurance company, to save him from working in the factory, and give him the chance to have a Rolls Royce in 20 years. Bruce works in the said factory and is an angry young man, with a poor relationship with his out of work Dad and a tendency to get involved in fights. Snork is a likeable misfit with some "interesting" self-designed tattoos and a deft way of turning off the girls, and works at the railway station. The three together have a close bond and the story is altogether very uplifting, and there is some grooovy dancing too! There are some amusing one liners such as "Freddie, stop listening to all this music by poofs. Put some Elton John on!" Ralph Fiennes and Emily Watson are very good as Mr & Mrs Life Assurance boss. Fiennes is remarkably like an unfunny Leonard Rossiter.

Le fate ignoranti

I saw this film a while ago at the cinema, but rented it again on Lovefilm.  However, the DVD was quite damaged, so it kept on stalling - grr!  Anyway, I still enjoyed seeing the film, directed by Turkish-Italian director Ferzan Ozpetek in 2001.  It is the story of Antonia (Margherita Buy), whose husband Massimo is killed in a car accident.  After the accident, Antonia discovers that Massimo has been having a seven year affair with a man, Michele (Stefano Accorsi).  Antonia is initially hostile towards Michele, and his circle of friends (who seem to spend a lot of their spare time hanging out at his lovely rooftop apartment in Rome!), but strong relationships soon develop.  It is an interesting and gentle film which I enjoyed a great deal.

Les Diaboliques

This 1955 French film, directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, got off to a good start as the opening scene features a nice citroen 2cv van, and I like French classic cars a great deal. The film is a suspenseful thriller about the wife and mistress of a bullying school headmaster planning to jointly kill him. The tension is nicely paced during the film, with a pleasing denouement. There is a very sweet little announcement at the end of the film asking the viewers not to reveal the twist in the tale, so I won't! I went to see the film at the Curzon Mayfair, which is probably my favourite cinema in London.

Limitless

I went to see this at the delightful Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue, where if you have a spare ten minutes before the film you can savour the ambience of the video games of the wonderful Trocadero centre. Anyway back to the film. Bradley Cooper stars as a thirtyish bloke in New York who is trying to be an author, without success, when he stumbles across some new illegal pills which make you hyper intelligent. His life unsurprisingly improves radically, but at some cost. Despite this slightly bizarre plot, the film had plenty of twists and turns and kept me interested throughout. Robert de Niro stars as a ruthless businessman.

Kendal Mountain Film Festival

I went to an evening of films from last year's Kendal Mountain Film Festival, being held in support of charity Porters Progress, held at the Royal Geographical Society.  Comfy seats, but no popcorn.  I am planning to go to the festival this year, and wanted to see what types of films are shown.  In total there were 11 films shown, varying from the six minute long MedeoZ to the 30 minute long Wild Water.  All of them had some elements of interest - mostly to do with the beauty / danger of the mountains, but I felt that some of them lacked real human interest.  For example, Wild Water had some stunnign footage of kayaking down some really extreme rivers, which to my eyes looked pretty death defying.  However, I didn't find the clips where the participants were talkign about their motivations to be particualrly interesting.  In contrast, I saw the film Blindsight at the London Film Festival a few years ago.  It profiled the attempt by blind American climber Erik Weihenmayer (who has summited Everst in addition to many other large mountains) to lead a group of blind and partially sighted Tibetan young people up a mountain beside Everest - to be fair it was a full length documentary and you really got to understand some of the the human stories, in addition to seeing some of the mountain beauty.

One highlight of the evening was seeing a film called The Swiss Machine (which won the award of Best Mountaineering Film at the festival last year) about Ueli Steck, who is a Swiss speed mountaineer, and has set the record for the ascent of the Eiger at 2hours 47 minutes.  Pretty awe inspiring but slightly mad too!  Another amusing one was "A short ski in the Hindu Kush" which profiled the attempt to go ski-ing in a remote part of Afghanistan - again quite zany, but inspiring as well - as the filmaker said herself, she is passionate about ski-ing, and it is importnat that people follow their passions!

Oranges and Sunshine

This is one of the most affecting films I have seen in many years.  It tells the true story of Nottingham social worker Margaret Humphreys who in the 1980s stumbled across the shameful deportation of up to 130,000 children from the UK to Australia in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. She starts by helping to reunite one woman with her mother and then goes on to set up the Child migrants trust, and essentially dedicate her career to this area.  The film is deeply moving at times, but is also gentle and restrained - for example there are very few portrayals of anger, despite the appalling way in which the children and their mothers had been treated (e.g. lots of children were told they were orphans when they weren't, and then were placed in childrens homes where they were essentially treated as slave labour).  There are several aspects of the story that are outrageous - e.g. it took 23 years for the British and Australian governments to apologise.  I saw the film at the BFI in London with my friend Hilary, and the screening was even further enhanced by a Q&A session hosted by the ever impressive Sandra Hebron of the BFI, and with the scriptwriter (Rona Munro), director (Jim Loach, son of Ken), lead actress (Emily Watson) and Margaret Humphreys herself.  I would very strongly recommend you go and see this film if you get the chance.  I know it features as part of the forthcoming Australian film festival at the Barbican centre in London, and then i guess it might come on general release.

Grand canyon

I rented this film on lovefilm. It is a slightly surreal portrait of a group of adults in Los Angeles who are all coping with life crises of one sort or another. The group is centred around a man whose car breaks down in a rough area one night, and who is effectively rescued by a tow truck man. His indebtedness is then played out during the film. I found the film reasonably interesting in principle, but somehow I just didn't really warm to the characters. I would only give it about five out of ten.

A home at the end of the world

I saw this film a few years ago, and enjoyed it so decided to rent it again on lovefilm. I liked watching it second time around. It is based on the novel by Michael Cunningham (who won a Pulitzer prize for his novel the Hours). It tells the story of Bobby (Colin Farrell) and Jonathan (Dallas Roberts) who grow up together in suburban Cleveland; Bobby is straight and Jonathan is gay. Jonathan moves away after school, to live in New York, where Bobby goes and joins him some time later. The two of them share a flat with Clare (Robin Wright Penn), and the film is basically about the unconventional family they form. One aspect which I had forgotten about, but greatly enjoyed, was the music from the 80s that is played during the film, including the first ever time I have heard Steve Reich's music profiled - made me think of my good friend Jonathan who is a big fan! Bobby, Jonathan and Clare eventually settle in a rural location in New York state and set up a bakery / cafe.

True Grit

I saw this film with my friend Johnny at the Ritzy cinema in Brixton - where the seats in screen one are sagging a bit! It stars Jeff Bridges as a US Marshall on the trail of a dirty rotten murderer, at the behest of a 14 year old girl, whose father has been murdered. Jeff Bridges' accent is difficult to understand at times - it sounds like he has a sock stuffed in his mouth. However you get the general gist of things as he merrily waves his pistol in the air. The actress playing the 14 year old is very good - very confident and forthright. Matt Damon plays a Texas ranger who is also on the trail of the murderer. Although I enjoyed the film I didn't totally engage in it - maybe because westerns are not really my cup of tea.

Morning glory

I watched this on a plane between London and New York. The film stars Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton as the anchors on a US morning TV programme. The other main character is their young producer, who is ambitious and quirky. Both the Harrison and Diane characters are pretty hard bitten from their long careers and they rub each other up the wrong way - some of the banter between the two is pretty good! I would give it a seven out of ten.

Due date

I saw this film on a flight between London and New York. It stars Robert Downie Jr as an uptight architect whose wife is about to give birth to their first child, and an actor who looks like Paul Giacometti, playing an out of work actor with a small bulldog type dog in tow. They are both trying to fly from the east coast to Los Angeles, but get thrown off the plane and put on a no-fly list, so have no choice but to drive. The characters are pretty engaging, and as with all good road movies, you discover aspects of their personalities and lives bit by bit. I would give it a seven out of ten.

Paperclips

This was a documentary about a history project run by a school in Tennessee for eighth grade students to learn about the Holocaust. It was an interesting profile of how education can change people's views so strongly, and was good to see, if a bit sugary sweet at times. The schoolchildren got to meet some Holocaust survivors, and even some real modern day Germans - foreign correspondents working in Washington.

Matador

Being a big fan of Pedro Almodovar's work I feel it my duty to watch any film of his I come across. However I sometimes struggle with his earlier work. This film is set around two main characters who get their sexual kicks from death. One is an ex bullfighter and the other a lawyer. A young Antonio Banderas plays an apprentice of the matador who goes around confessing to various murders that have haphazardly occurred, although strangely he faints at the sight of blood (perhaps a small clue he didn't do them?!). Filmed in the 1980s.

Blue Valentine

I saw this film with my friend Wizzy at the Prince Charles Cinema in London - nice comfy seats!  Unfortunately I was quite tired, and I fell asleep after about twenty minutes.  However, I also think I was finding it all quite dull - a portrait of a marriage from two different time periods - essentially showing the couple first meeting and falling in love, and then years later when they are splitting up.  Partly due to my sleep induced interlude, I misunderstood a key part of the plot, which I won't give away.  Overall, I would only give this a four or five out of ten.

The Bucket List

I watched this film on DVD, on the recommendation of my friend Saul.  Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two terminally ill patients who basically leave their cancer ward to go on a road trip, to tick off a list of things they want to do before they die.  Although it is somewhat corny in parts, at other times I found it idly amusing.  I would give it a six out of ten - if I had been at the cinema I might have been tempted to go and get a small bucket of popcorn to jolly myself along.

Letters to Juliet

I rented this film on Lovefilm. It is unashamedly slushily romantic, being set in Tuscany and is based around a letter from an English 15 year old that was written 50 years ago and left at Juliet's house in Verona. It was hidden in a crack in the wall, and only found now by an American aspirant writer, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who replies to it. Needless to say, the 65 year old woman, Clare (Vanessa Redgrave), comes to Italy with her grandson Charlie (Chris Egan) in search of her love of 50 years ago, Lorenzo. There ensues a charming and very scenic road trip around Tuscany. Gael Garcia Bernal, one of my favourite actors, plays Sophie's fiancé, Victor.

Certainly not the deepest and most meaningful film I have ever seen, but I liked it.

Fermat's room

I rented this Spanish language film on Lovefilm. It is about four mathematicians who are summoned to a remote venue for a weekend retreat of problem solving. When they get there they discover they have been trapped in a room and are sent maths puzzles via a PDA. If they fail to solve them, the room starts to shrink. I found it quite an interesting thriller, as the four try and work out who might want to kill them. However, maybe I found it interesting partly because I like both maths and Spanish.

Sunshine Cleaning

I rented this on lovefilm on the recommendation of my friend Jacqui and I wasn't disappointed. It is the tale of two early thirties sisters in New Mexico who are both in fairly dead end situations but surrounded by contemporaries who appear to have achieved it all in life. Striking out they set up a company cleaning up houses after deaths, and the bond between them grows. All the supporting actors are very good, including the father of the sisters and the son of one of them.

A Portugese nun

I saw this film at the ICA in London.  I should have known not to go and see it - the Time Out review mentioned something about if you could suspend your pretentious-o-meter, you could enjoy this film.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to do so.  Just about the only interesting thing about the film is that it is set in Lisbon, and you therefore get to see a bit of the city.  However, the story - which is about a film being shot in Lisbon about - you guessed it - a Portugese nun - I found very tedious, and I just wasn't engaged in it in the slightest.  There was one particular scene towards the end where the actress playing the nun and a real nun have a conversation about all sorts of philospophical things such as enduring love that literally goes on for ten minutes, with the picture just shifting from one face to the other.  I really ought to have left after 15 minutes.

Neds

Went to see this film at the Odeon Panton St in London.  It is set in 1970s Glasgow and profiles the descent of a young boy into gangland culture through to his late teens.  It is quite gritty and violent in parts, and quite depressing.  In addition to being the director, Peter Mullan (Shallow Grave, Trainspotting, My name is Joe) also plays the drunken father of the family - I think some of it is almost autobiographical as according to his Wikipedia entry, his father was an alcoholic who became increasingly tyrannical and abusive.

London river

Watched this film on DVD at home. Stars Brenda Blethyn and Sotigui Kouyat as two separate parents who come to London in the wake of the July 7 bombings in 2005, only to discover that their children had been living together. A lot of the conversation is in French (I think the director Rachid Bouchareb is French) and it is quite weird listening to Brenda (one of my favourite actresses) speaking French. Quite a slow and gentle film, despite the unpleasant background, but not plodding.

127 Hours

I saw this film at the Cineworld Haymarket in London. It is based on a true story about a guy in his late 20s who goes hiking in a very remote canyon in Utah and in a freakish accident his arm is trapped by a falling boulder. I had read the book about two years ago so knew what was coming. After five days of hallucination and drinking his own urine he decides to cut off his own arm with a relatively small and blunt DIY type tool - just your regular hiking trip then! He had taken a video camera with him so he was able to record all sorts of messages for his family and friends. Key message for all of us planning trips, even to the local shops: tell someone where you are going! All in all an interesting film but I didn't enjoy it half as much as slum dog millionaire, another film by director Danny Boyle.

The boys are back

Really enjoyed watching this on my iPad on a flight between Australia and New Zealand. It stars Clive Owen as a sports writer in South Australia who is suddenly left to look after his seven year old son Arty after his wife dies. Having previously spent a lot of time away travellng wi his job, a lot of the film is about the bonding process between them, and also his son (aged about 15?) from a previous marriage, who lives in the uk but comes out for an extended period. I found it quite emotional at times, and the scenery was lovely - rolling but quite barren looking hillsides and some seascapes.