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.