Miss you already

I saw this film at the beautiful Orpheum cinema in Cremorne, on a cold blustery evening. I treated myself to a salted caramel choc top - yummy!  The film stars Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore as Milly and Jess, two women in their 30s who have been friends since childhood.  Inseparable, they've shared everything - all of life's ups and downs.  The film portrays a period when both of them are dealing with life changing news.

I thought that the film was going to be a bit cliché ridden but I have to say I was very moved by it.  It deals with challenging issues in an upfront but gentle and perceptive way, and it has the added bonus of being set in London and Yorkshire, so I was feeling all homesick by the end of the film.  Some strong supporting performances by Dominic Cooper (husband of one of the women), Jacqueline Bisset (mother of one of the women) and Frances de la Tour.

The film is based on a radio play by Morwenna Banks, and is directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

I would definitely recommend the film, though prepare to weep!

Still Alice

I watched this film at the Dendy Opera Quays cinema in Sydney.

It tells the story of Alice, a professor of linguistics at Columbia University, who at around 50 is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers.  The film movingly portrays the impact on both Alice and her family (husband played by Alec Baldwin, plus three grown up children) as she moves through the years after her diagnosis.

Unbroken

I watched this film at the Dendy Opera Quays cinema in Sydney.

It is the story of Louie Zamperini, an american prisoner of war survivor in World War 2, and an Olympic runner (he competed at the Olympics in Berlin in 1936).

Lou was part of an aircrew that ditched into the Pacific during the war, leading to him and two colleagues being adrift at sea for over six weeks.  They were eventually captured by the Japanese and interned in a camp.  The film portrays the brutality of the camps very well, and Lou's strength of character in pulling through.  However, I felt there was something missing in making this a great film - hard to out my finger on why.

Felony

I watched this film on my iPad.  It is an Australian crime thriller focused on a police detective (played by Joel Edgerton) who on his way home from a police drinks do, knocks over a young boy on his bike.  He calls an ambulance but then denies that he knows anything about the accident.  The film unpicks the impact of this lie, mainly via interaction with his cynical boss (played by Tom Wilkinson) and an honest young fellow cop (Jai Courtney).

The film is played out at a pleasingly leisurely pace, carefully portraying the moral and psychological pressures of being in such a situation.

Red, White, Black and Blue

I watched this film on an Emirates flights between Dubai and Sydney.  It is a documentary, following a rugby team as they tour New Zealand.  The group comprises a boys team and a girls team, and they are from central Los Angeles.  Stuart Krohn, a teacher and former rugby player himself, leads the group, and is an engagingly gruff character.

The members of the squad are amazingly disciplined and focused on their rugby and their studies, with the aim of getting into the most prestigious colleges in the USA.  You get some glimpses of their family situations, which add colour to the film.

Overall, an endearing and thought provoking documentary

Boyhood

I watched this film on an Emirates flight between Venice and Dubai.  It tells the story of the joys and pitfalls of growing up over a 12 year period - the film was shot between 2002 and 2013.  It is shot through the eyes of a boy called Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke) and his sister (Lorelei Linklater).  As each year passes, you get to share different experiences with the family:  family meals, road trips, birthday parties.

I found it an endearing and thought provoking film - all the actors' performances are good.

Before midnight

I saw this as a preview in NFT1 with Hilary (no popcorn!).  It is the third in a series of films, telling the story of the relationship between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.  The films are spaced roughly ten years apart, and there is a comfortable familiarity of style between them all, as they are essentially based on the relationship between the two main characters - there are very few other people in the films.  It is quite a tribute to the film-makers that the film includes several long 20 minutes scenes where Julie and Ethan are basically just talking to each other, or arguing with each other, and yet it remains captivating. I wonder if there will be one in ten years time....

Behind the candelabra

I saw this film at the nice new Barbican cinema near my office in London - comfy seats, nice range of bar snacks.  It tells the story of Liberace (= Michael Douglas), the bejewelled and fabulously costumed pianist performer of the 70s and 80s, and his young lover Scott Thuron, played by Matt Damon.  Liberace was so infatuated with Scott that he insisted Scott get plastic surgery, to look like Liberace (like you do!) - I liked the fact that Scott at least had the guts to ask the surgeon to give him a little dimple in his chin.  Very versatile performances by both Douglas and Damon.

Incendies

I rented this film by French Canadian director Denis Villeneuve on Lovefilm. It is the story of a middle eastern woman who has died in Canada and in her will has left instructions to her twin children to find the father they thought was dead and a brother they never knew they had. The girl twin sets off to what I assume is Lebanon, to try and piece together her mother's life, which was filled with tragedy and drama to say the least. As the viewer you are left guessing at several junctures, and I found it a powerful and engaging tale, with quite a twist at the end. Supposedly it was nominated for a best oreign film Oscar.

Running the Sahara

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It is a documentary about two americans and a taiwanese guy who ran across the Sahara, from West Africa to Egypt, taking around 100 days.  Needless to say there was a strong sense of madness behind their endeavour, given that it was very hot, there was lots of sand and sandstorms, and it was difficult to navigate.  More importantly was the question I kept asking myself:  why bother?  What will come next?  It is certainly not something that I will be putting top of my to do list for the future!

Into the abyss

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It is a documentary by the masterful Werner Herzog, about a murderer on death row in Texas, who had killed someone for the sake of a car (and not even a Citroen DS!).  The documentary profiles both the murderer and the victim, and their respective friends and family, in a slow but methodical and enthralling way, as is Herzog's style.  It has been said many times, but it is still powerful to see how people's upbringings affect the paths they take in life.

Undertow

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It is the story of a remote Peruvian fishing community, where one of the married locals, Miguel, falls in love with a visiting artist.  Said artist drowns in an accident, but comes back as a ghost, visible only to Miguel.  In order to allow the ghost to pass to the other side (?) successfully, Miguel must find his body and lay it to rest, openly admitting his love for the man in front of his deeply religious community and his pregnant wife.  Thought provoking stuff, and some nice conversation for those learning Spanish!

Indian doctor

I rented this on Lovefilm.  It was a six part TV series about an Indian doctor, Dr Sharma (played by Sanjeev Bhaskar) who moves with his wife to a sleepy Welsh village as the GP.  It is set in the 1950s, and I really like period pieces, and portraits of small communities, so it went down well with me.  The story telling is not super sophisticated, but there are some appealing local characters portrayed in it.

A love to hide

I rented this film from Lovefilm.  It is set in occupied Paris during the second world war, and tells the tale of a gay couple who take in a young jewish woman and protect her from Nazi persecution.  I found it a gentle film portraying some of the agonising decisions that had to be taken at the time, and the unforeseen consequences of actions.  The family of one of the men runs a successful local laundry, and there are various members of his family who are involved in the story, the main one being his brother.

Project Nim

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is the tale of an experiment run by a Columbia University professor in the 1970s to effectively humanise a chimpanzee - have him live with a family, teach him sign language, etc. I can't say I am drawn to the world of chimps but it was pretty interesting to see how many words he could master. Somewhat strangely few of the participants in the experiment seemed to have thought what Nim might be like when he had the strength of five adults and side teeth which one person described as fangs. I am no zoology professor but even I can tell you that! Look out for the slightly freaky scenes where Nim is cuddling a nice pussy cat and where he gives one of his teachers a friendly bite - think of it as a small nip in the ankle a la Sheba!

The skin I live in

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is directed by Alomodovar, whose films I have really enjoyed in the past. I found this one interesting but not captivating. It tells the story of a plastic surgeon, played by Antonio Banderas, whose wife was horrifically burned in a car crash. His dream is to develop a skin that is much tougher than human skin, and sets off on a mission to test his new invention on a human guinea pig - suffice to say that I think he broke all the medical rules re experimenting with new medical inventions. Elena Anaya, one of Almodovar's regular actors, plays the surgeon's housekeeper.

Autumn sun

I rented this on Lovefilm. It is set in Buenos Aires and is the story of two middle aged single people who find each other via the classified ads. I found it gentle and heartwarming.

Patiala house

I rented this film on Lovefilm. It is set in current day Southall and tells the story of an extended Sikh family, and mainly the oldest son. He was a successful cricketer at 18 but his father forbade him to play for England, because of the way Sikhs were treated by the British in the 1970s. He therefore abandoned his dream and settled down to be a shopkeeper. He gets a second chance to play cricket aged 34. Not the most deep and meaningful film, but enjoyed it's colour, fun and music.

Frontier blues

I rented this from Lovefilm. It is a rather bizarre film set around the Turkmenistan / Iran border and is anchored around half a dozen key characters and a donkey. Although not a great deal happens in the film, and it can be quite slow, I did find it quite strangely absorbing.

Sarah's key

I rented this film on Lovefilm. It is a story set in 1942 and the present day, in Paris. It tells the story of a young Jewish girl Sarah, who is rounded up along with her family by the French authorities, to ultimately be sent to the death camps. Before leaving their apartment in Paris Sarah locks her little brother in a cupboard, to hide him. Kristin Scott Thomas stars as an investigative journalist whose family is renovating the self same apartment. I found it a moving and thought provoking story about a shameful part of French history.