I've had the last week off, and I've had a thoroughly lovely time. I've been eating lots, socialising a bit and watching loads of films (and some Mad Men and some ER, but I won't get started on those again). Below is a list of what I've seen, and I think it shows that I am an equal opportunities viewer: I don't just limit myself to great films - I also watch (nay, enjoy) quite a lot of crap. And on that note...
1. Just Like Heaven - I'm going to grasp the nettle and boldly confess something: I hired this from LoveFilm. Yes that's right, I paid to watch a movie in which Reese Witherspoon goes into a coma, becomes a ghost, and haunts the man who's subletting her apartment until they - unpredictably! - fall in love. I did it because I needed a quick hit of Mark Ruffalo (who Sandeep has dubbed 'Ruffers'), and I'd do it again, I tell you.
2. Vicky Cristina Barcelona - I've already rattled on about this in a previous post, but I went to see it again last week. That's because (a) I quite like seeing things twice, (b) it was showing at a convenient time and I really wanted to go to the cinema, and (c) Woody Allen films feel like comfy pyjamas to me. Always nice to get into.
3. The Devil Wears Prada - apparently most of Britain watched this on Channel 4 last week, because I got a lot of messages afterwards saying that I look a bit like Anne Hathaway, or as I like to call her, Ol' Big Mouth.
4. Two Lovers - I went to a preview screening of this but I really, really recommend you see it when it's released next month. It's moving and thought-provoking, and Joaquin Phoenix is just an exceptional actor. Even Goop Paltrow is good, and Vinessa Shaw is so beautiful. Here's the trailer (sorry it's too wide for the blog. Not sure what I can do about that):
5. Friends With Money - Yeah, that indie film that Jennifer Aniston did, that nobody went to see. I actually caught the beginning of this one afternoon on TV, and was gripped enough to record the rest, so that says something I think. The cast are very good - Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand and Catherine Keener are all favourites of mine - and although the film wasn't very successful, I found it quite a sensitive, thoughtful examination of married life. And not much happened, and I like those sorts of films.
6. Revolutionary Road - I was warned that it was crap before I went, but I didn't agree at all. It's so, so bleak, but very powerful. It made me think about the choices we make, and the extent to which we control our own happiness. Definitely worth seeing, although maybe not if you're feeling trapped in your life. Don't lean too close to the abyss.
7. Frost/Nixon - Again, wonderful. I've never seen Michael Sheen in anything before, and I found him so watchable. He's capable of making you laugh with the subtlest facial expression or mannerism - and he's just as good at expressing anxiety, inadequacy, disappointment. Frank Langella was amazing as well - so determined and so sad as Richard Nixon. If you could measure entertainment, I think Frost/Nixon would work out as excellent value for money. Go and see it.
8. Sex and the City: The Movie - I can't think of anything to say about this. I'm a girl and I reserve the right to enjoy Sex and the City, even if a lot of it is ludicrous.
So there you go. I have to say it's been a really happy week, and I'm going to try to watch lots of movies this year. Let me know what you've seen recently, and what you thought of the above.
21 Jump
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Your 21 year old son looks just like you. Too bad you will never know that.
You missed a great human being.
5 hours ago
14 readers just couldn't let me have the last word:
Hattie. Out of the 8 films you've listed there, we've only watched 1 of them together. What's become of us?? I thought we really had something. We're drifting Hattie... We need to turn it around before this thing is ruined.
It's not my fault you insist on going to 'work' every day, leaving me home alone with nothing but the DVD player for company. Shame on you.
Did you even ask Belle and Sebastian if they cared to watch? DID YOU??
I'm guessing those are the guinea pigs. Either that or you live in the hippest flat in London.. I bought 'Friends With Money' earlier on in the week. I thought it was very well made, but I utterly struggled to like any of the characters apart from the metrosexual Englishman.
Anyway, you've made me want to see Frost/Nixon. Michael Sheen is excellent in 'The Queen' as Tony Blair. Still, he has to answer for 'Underworld' somehow.
I watched Vicky Christina Barcelona and I am in love with both Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem (in a man crush, non gay kinda way) and now wish I could speak Spanish. I also love the phrase "chronic dissatisfaction" and aim to use it more. x
So with you on the Woody Allen pyjamas. Man I'd love a pair of those. They'd have mooses and lobsters and some black rimmed glasses on. And Diane Keaton.
Sandeep: To be honest, Belle and Sebastian have been out a lot lately. They come in at all hours, whistling drunkenly and waking me up. I think you need to have a word.
JamesT: I liked the metrosexual Englishman too. Not sure I've seen him in anything else. IMDB says he's called Simon McBurney and was in The Vicar of Dibley.
And Siminister - totally agree with you. I have two giant Spanish crushes too.
Watched Slumdog (liked it). Funny Games (absorbing but ultimately too nihilistic). And The Devil Wears Prada, of course (Anne Hathaway is a good look).
Thanks for these reviews. Two Lovers and Frost/Nixon def on the list.
I'm now completely distracted by the idea of Diane Keaton pyjamas. I can't think of anything better. Not anything.
Ferrets. Ferrets are better.
I MUST see Frost/Nixon. And Milk. and The Wrestler. And its clear I need to go to the cinema more...
I'm also unashamed to say that I can't wait for the next Transformers film. I'm a boy. What can I say..?
Right off to love films to add some to the list.
Ooh I LOVED Transformers, Sweens, so it's not just the boys. I've seen it about six times. Is that wrong? Because it feels so right.
Hats, you must see The Wrestler, it's amazing. Possibly the saddest film I've ever seen but also one of the best. I couldn't stop thinking about it for days after I saw it, which I think is one of the best compliments you can give a film. It's brilliant.
I really enjoyed Vicky Christina Barcelona, too. Thanks for taking me to see it because I don't think I would have done otherwise.
Simon McBurney is one of the leading directors in a theatre company called Complicite - if you liked him as a metrosexual Englishman than I recommend catching the group whenever you can.
Frost/Nixon - excellent, excellent, excellent. I saw it at a screening where the writer - his name escapes me, but one of the guys involved in the Queen, not the Stephen one, anyway... - interesting to hear which bits had been changed for dramatic purpose etc.
I've remembered your Bourne trilogy tweets, and was thinking about Doug Liman; I know you've seen 'Swingers', did you ever see 'Go'? Watched it again after a long break and had forgotten how good it is. William fichtner's turn as a creepy cop is just excellent.
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