Monday 31 January 2011

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.

Friday 28 January 2011

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.

Thursday 27 January 2011

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.

Saturday 15 January 2011

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.