Valentine's Day (the movie)

This morning, I thought it'd be a good idea to watch Valentine's Day at the cinema tonight.

Tonight, I'm thinking I should have gone to the pub and had a couple of drinks instead. Or stayed at home and watched a DVD.

OK, it wasn't awful. Most of it was quite bearable. But it was 30 minutes too long, messy, lackluster and nowhere near as funny or heart-warming as Love Actually.

Credit where credit is due, the acting was good. Taylor Swift was painful to watch, but she was an exception. Anne Hathaway was amazing, as were Queen Latifah and Jamie Foxx. Emma Roberts was cute. Kathy Bates was brilliant in a tiny role. Bradley Cooper and Patrick Dempsey didn't disappoint.

Shame that Ashton - the babe - Kutcher and Jennifer Garner have too little on-screen chemistry to be convincing as a romantic couple on the brink of falling in love.

Shame also that the pacing was so poor. There were certainly plenty of entertaining scenes throughout the film, but there were too many boring, indifferent scenes in between, all syrupy sweet and extra sugar-coated to ensure the audience feels the luuuurve. Sadly, you can have too much of a good thing. Not to mention too many Hollywood A-listers, all demanding their fair share of screen time.

If you're in two minds about whether to watch this on the big screen or wait until it comes out on DVD, I have two words for you: no rush.

By the way, can someone explain to me why all American actors have perfect tans and glowing white teeth? Surely it's not natural for all your teeth to be the exact same shade of whitest white? Creepy.

Watched in 2009

This was an interesting exercise, as there isn't one place where I've recorded all the films I've seen in 2009. I had to look through notebooks, diaries and Excel spreadsheets, hunt for ticket stubs in pockets and handbags, and when all else failed, use my memory. This is the list I've come up with:

Watched on the big screen:

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Informant!
The Ugly Truth
Eden is West
Twilight
New Moon
The Proposal
Slumdog Millionnaire
The Reader
Confessions of a Shopaholic
In the Loop
Star Trek
Angels and Demons
My Life in Ruins
State of Play

Watched on DVD for the first time:

The Darjeeling Limited
Reservation Road
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Breakfast at Tiffany's
The Thomas Crown Affair (original)
Changeling
Arizona Dream
Grand Torino
The Painted Veil
The Good Shepherd
Night at the Museum
Easy Virtue
Taken
Firelight
Run, Fat Boy, Run
WALL-E
The Shawshank Redemption
Rosetta
Jersey Girl
Yes Man

My favourite new movie was without doubt The Reader, closely followed by Twilight, Eden is West and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Of the chick flicks, The Proposal gets my thumbs up.

As for the films I watched on DVD, I liked Reservation Road, Changeling, The Painted Veil, The Shawshank Redemption and Easy Virtue.

The wooden spoons go to My Life in Ruins, which was laughably bad, and The Darjeeling Limited, which was unbearable. In fact, The Darjeeling Limited deserves special mention as the only film that I've not managed to watch to the end. As someone easily mesmerised by the moving image, this is quite an achievement.

In 2010, I'm looking forward to watching The Girl Who Played with Fire, Eclipse and Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part I (sequels, respectively, to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the Twilight saga and the HP series), as well as Remember Me, for no other reason than I happened to see the trailer and liked it. The fact that Pierce Brosnan and Lena Olin are in it, is totally coincidental :-)



I'm looking for the movie equivalent of librarything.com or goodreads.com. If you know of any such websites, please leave a comment!

Another New Moon trailer

Last June I showed you the first-cut trailer for New Moon, which I thought was pretty good. A new trailer has just come out and this one is amazing! Obviously you can never know what the film will be like from watching the trailer, but to me it looks as if they've done an excellent job of bringing the book to life.



Roll on, November 27th (November 20th if you're lucky enough to live in the States - humff)!

P.S. I've just found out that a Death Cab for Cutie track will be the lead single for the New Moon movie. The song is called Meet Me On The Equinox and captures the mood of the book beautifully. You can listen to it here. I like it almost as much as I liked Full Moon, the Black Ghosts track from the Twilight movie - and I liked that a lot.

David Yates does it again

Tonight we saw Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It was just as I'd expected, a very good, dark film that followed the book in the essence, but not the excruciating detail - and just as well as the book was long and tiresome, whereas the film was much easier to follow. If you've seen and liked Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, this one won't disappoint you either. David Yates, once again, comes up trumps.


These are some of my favourite quotes from the movie (compliments of writer Steve Kloves):


Harry Potter: How do I look?
Luna Lovegood: Exceptionally ordinary.


Minerva McGonagall: Mr. Davis! Mr. Davis, that is the girls' lavatory.

Minerva McGonagall: Potter, take Weasley with you. He looks far too happy over there.

Minerva McGonagall: Why is it that whenever something happens, you three are always involved?
Ron Weasley: Believe me, professor, I've been asking myself that for the last six years.


Luna Lovegood: I've never been to this part of the castle. Well, not awake. I sleepwalk, you see. That's why I wear shoes to bed.


Horace Slughorn: Exactly how did you get out of the castle, Harry?
Harry Potter: Through the front door, sir.


Ron Weasley: I'm in love with her!
Harry Potter: Alright. Fine. You're in love with her. Have you ever actually met her?
Ron Weasley: No. Can you introduce me?


Ron Weasley: So, did you and Ginny do it?

However, none of these is as good as my favourite Snape quote from the Order of the Phoenix. This one still makes me laugh today:

Unless you wish to poison Potter - and I assure you I would have the greatest sympathy with you if you did - I cannot help you.

Classic Snape. Heh.

Harry Potter weekend

Last Saturday the weather was, well let's say worse that you would expect in the middle of summer, even by English standards. As a result, we managed very little other than a quick visit to the supermarket, mainly to buy all the food I need to eat to lose weight. By Saturday evening, having given up on a last-minute respite from the wind and rain, we decided to bite the bullet and stay in with a DVD and a glass of wine.

Rather than just one DVD, we went all out and watched Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, followed by the rest of the Harry Potter movies. We did this two years ago, before Order of the Phoenix came out, so we thought it was time for another revision. It's always fun to watch sequels in one go, especially ones where the characters grow up with each movie and the story continues to unfold.

The only thing we hadn't thought of was that these movies are really long, well over 2 hours each, so in the end we did little else all weekend but watch Harry, Ron, Hermione and Co. get into scrapes - we drank cups of tea, cups of coffee, glasses of (very nice Merlot) wine, ate lunch, dinner and snacks, and all the time Hogwarts was there on the big screen. In the end we only managed to see four of the five films, leaving Order of the Phoenix, which is my favourite so far even though Sirius dies (sniff), to watch tonight.


Now that's something to look forward to.

10 rules that only apply on screen

1. It's possible to have sex in the swimming pool, cry or have a cocktail thrown in your face without your make up bulging an inch.

2. If your lift breaks down, a hot, shirtless man will climb in through the roof and hand you a cold drink before rescuing you.

3. The smaller the town, the greater the number of cute men. At some point, two of them will have a fight over you in the street.


4. All weddings involve someone swooping in to halt the ceremony, one of the guests finding their soulmate and/or a punch up.

5. Even if you're a waitress on minimum wage, you go shopping mid-afternoon and can still afford a huge luxury flat.

6. It's impossible to decorate without a paint smudge on one cheek, a play fight with a sexy neighbour and an indoor picnic.

7. If you break up with a guy, you can spend weeks scoffing tubs of ice cream and huge pizzas - and still fit into your clothes.

8. Your mobile will only ever run out of battery if you happen to be kidnapped and are desperately trying to call for help.

9. Boring chores such as dusting, vacuuming, washing-up and cleaning the oven strangely don't exist.

10. The male friend you've never fancied but who's always there for you - and not gay - is really the love of your life.

This list was published in July's Cosmopolitan magazine.

New Moon

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON trailer in HD


Can't wait for November 27th (UK viewers will have to wait an extra week, which is REALLY CRUEL. Bah!)

The Reader out on DVD

You may remember that I told you about The Reader last February, when I watched it. Yesterday I saw this poster advertising the DVD and thought I'd post it as a reminder. If you didn't watch The Reader on the big screen, do pick up the DVD. Oscars wins and nominations aside, this was one of the best films of last year and it's well worth seeing. And yes, there's lots more to it than seeing Kate Winslett naked, irrespective of what the promo shots might have you think.

I have now also read the book by Bernhard Schlink that the film is based on. According to Wikipedia (fountain of all knowledge on the internet) The Reader became the first German novel to top the New York Times bestseller list, and Oprah Winfrey made it a selection of her book club in 1999. All I'll say is, I'm not surprised - it's one of the best books I've ever read. Highly recommended.

Confessions of a Shopaholic

All she ever wanted was a little credit...

Tonight I saw Confessions of a Shopaholic, a film (loosely) based on Sophie Kinsella's hilarious novel The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic. If you've read the book and worry because the story's been given a Hollywood facelift, don't. You won't notice, and if you notice, you probably won't care. Provided you read it when it first came out, it's unlikely you'll remember the detail anyway. If you've seen the trailer and thought the film looks awful, don't let that stop you from watching it. It's really much more enjoyable and considerably funnier than the trailer lets on.

Isla Fisher is adorable as Becky Bloomwood and Hugh Dancy makes a convincing Luke Brandon (apart from not being blonde). Not so sure about Joan Cusack as Becky's mother - she just doesn't look old enough.

All in all, a perfect film for a Friday evening - entertaining, easy to follow and with enough laughing out loud moments to ensure you leave the cinema on a high. Can't ask for more from a chick flick :-)

The Reader

How far would you go to protect a secret?

Today I went to the cinema to watch The Reader, knowing nothing about the film other than that Kate Winslett won a BAFTA, Golden Globe and Oscar for her performance. The Reader was released in the UK in early January, more or less at the same time as Slumdog Millionaire, which understandably did a lot better (not least because it's a British film with a happy ending) effectively overshadowing every other film that hit the big screen at the same time. My local cinema had long given up on The Reader, but possibly due to Kate Winslett's successive wins, it re-introduced early afternoon screenings this week, so I thought I'd go watch it and see what all the fuss is about.

My verdict? I loved it. Dare I say it, I thought it was better, more moving and more poignant than Slumdog Millionaire - and that says a lot, because I liked Slumdog Millionaire very much indeed. Slumdog Millionaire was entertaining, it was a feast for the senses (great cinematography and a fab score by A.R. Rahman contributed to this) and it left me feeling warm and fuzzy. The Reader, on the other hand, made me think, it made me cry and the story stayed with me for hours after I left the cinema. I was so captivated by it, that I walked straight into a bookshop and bought the book. I don't think I've enjoyed a film as much since The Kite Runner this time last year.

I watched The Reader without knowing what it was about, and found it very easy to get into. Therefore I won't talk about the storyline, or the performances, but if you'd like to know more about it, this is the best review I've found on the internet.

Mamma Mia - take 2

Having watched it once already, I went back to see Mamma Mia, this time the sing-along version. It's like a massive karaoke - whenever there's a song in the film, the words appear at the bottom of the screen and you can sing along to them.

This time I knew exactly what to expect and wasn't distracted by the little details, like place names and the age difference between Meryl Streep and Colin Firth. Instead, I took in the beautiful scenery (and I don't mean just Pierce Brosnan & Stellan Skarsgård) and let the music carry me away. And it did. I had a really good time and loved being able to sing along without fear of being hushed.

The only drawback is that the tunes are so catchy they're still in my head! Mamma Mia, here I go again, my my, how can I resist you?

Sex And The City - the movie

Get Carried Away

After seeing Mamma Mia I also watched the other big girly movie of the summer. Now I've never been a big fan of SATC when it was shown on TV, I only watched it if it was on when I happened to be sitting on the sofa with the remote in my hand. I used to spend a lot of time on the living room sofa before I got into blogging, so I've seen quite a few episodes and always found it quite amusing but not brilliant enough that I'd go out of my way to not miss another episode. However, I do like the idea of a TV show making it to the big screen, and I'd heard some very positive comments from those who'd watched it when it first came out, so I figured it was a good way to pass a couple of hours.

In the end it was 148 minutes very heavily focussed on Carrie and Big's relationship, shoes, bags, brand names (Vivienne Westwood, Jimmy Choo, Louis Vuitton and even British sandwich retailer Pret-A-Manger) and lots of extravagant outfits for Sarah J-P. The film is most definitely aimed at the girls: our 60-seat theatre was fully booked and only 10 or so of the audience were male - all escorted by girlfriends, as you might expect.

On the plus side, there were enough laughing out loud moments to keep you entertained to the end - this wasn't one of those films where you get bored senseless after the first 15 minutes and fall asleep by half time. Even when the storyline got a bit too predictable and cliched, it was still pleasant viewing.

On the minus side, the editing was a bit agressive, as if the director had way too much material for one movie and was desperately trying to squeeze it all in. And I found the ending more than a tad lame (but I won't tell you why, as I don't want to spoil it for those of you who've not seen it yet). Let's just say it left me feeling I'd been watching total froth for the last 2.5 hours. Which I guess I had.

Still, there is hope. According to (totally unreliable) sources, the director's cut is scheduled to come out on DVD and this will include extended scenes and deleted storylines, which could just make it a real treat for a girly night in. The ending may not change but at least there will be more than Carrie Bradshaw's love woes to keep us entertained!

Mamma Mia

Typical - you wait 20 years for a father and then three show up at once.

Seeing as the weather has taken a turn for the worse, I thought I'd stay out of the rain and catch a film at my local cinema. Surprisingly enough, considering I've not been to the movies in ages, there weren't that many films that I liked the sound of, so I opted for a touch of summer and booked a ticket to see Mamma Mia.

Overall, it was quite enjoyable, although there were a number of things that bugged me, for example:

* The stupid name for the island ("Kalokairi", which is Greek for "summer" - oh purleeze);
* Everyone seems to commute to the mainland in fishing boats, carrying their belongings & shopping in baskets;
* The taxis look like they came straight out of the 60's although the locals drink beer that first came out in the 90's;
* The villagers are picking olives in the middle of summer;
* The insides of all the houses are painted a turquoisey blue;
* Knowing Me, Knowing You has been cut out of the film in favour of dialogue (boooo);
* Meryl Streep is way too old to have ever dated Colin Firth;
* Pearce Brosnan's voice is awful.

Other than that, it's a decent feel-good film with quite a few laughing-out-loud moments and a happy ending, and I left the cinema with a big smile on my face. Not sure you can ask for more from 2 hours in a dark room (or maybe you can - ahem). The island scenery is stunning (just like Skopelos and Skiathos in real life), the singing is quite good, the dancing is better, and I'm now in love with both Pierce Brosnan (who cares that he can't sing, he's still hot-hot-hot) and Stellan Skarsgård. Awwwww.

Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?

P.S. You can read Indie's review of the West End show here.

Go Carrie!

Should we get you a diamond?
No, just get me a *really big* closet.

What can I say, Carrie Bradshaw is a girl after my own heart :-)

I can't wait for Sex and the City: The Movie to come out. Anyone else looking forward to it?

The Kite Runner

There is a way to be good again

I bought Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner a long time ago but haven't yet got round to reading it. Tonight Loops and I watched the movie. What can I say - it's probably the most beautiful and moving film I've seen in a long time.

The next book I get a chance to read will be The Kite Runner. If it's half as good as the film, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

Black, black humor

Earlier in the week Loops and I went to the movies to see Death at a Funeral, a black comedy starring, among others, Matthew Macfadyen (of Spooks fame), Rupert Graves (V for Vendetta), Alan Tudyk, Andy Nyman and Peter Dinklage. It tells the story of two sons who come together with their family to bury their father, but are also joined by a man who claims to be the dead guy's gay lover. When the stranger attempts to blackmail them, they go to extreme measures to keep his mouth shut.

OK, it's not the best (black) comedy I've ever seen, but the acting is very good and there are several laugh-out-loud moments. Shame the whole thing doesn't quite come together, although we'd probably have enjoyed it more if the theatre hadn't been so boiling hot and the leather seats so uncomfortable. I might rent it out at some point to watch in the comfort of my living room and see if I like it better. Actually, I suspect it's just the film to rent when you've got friends round for drinks - the alcohol would make it appear funnier. As a reviewer very eloquently put it over on Rotten Tomatoes: "Death at a Funeral has enough slapstick silliness to overcome its faults".

I reckon if you liked Borat and Shaun of the Dead, you'll like this too. If not, well, best not to bother.

Anyone for luuuuurve?

A couple of hours ago, hubby was settling down to watch CSI and as I didn't fancy lots of blood and gore, I thought I'd go to bed with a DVD instead. I looked for something that was likely to entertain me for half an hour or so, and deliberately chose Wimbledon from my list of unwatched DVDs (which is almost, but not quite, the same size as my list of unread books, but that's a different story).

I'm no fan of tennis, having never watched a whole game (I know, shock horror) and I only bought the DVD because it was £3 in the sales - barely more than rental price. I never for a moment thought that I'd watch it all tonight, but there I was, 98 mins later, hubbie long asleep next to me, watching it to the very end and finding myself enjoying every minute of it.

I was going to write a review, but I found this on Amazon which is spot on, and I'm shamelessly copying it:

This is a film with no hidden depths. Tennis purists are unlikely to find the matches all that convincing and this may irritate. Yet I've given it four stars. I went to see this film wanting to be cheered up and to relax, not having to think too hard. It is a light-hearted romantic comedy which delivers exactly what you would expect from its genre. It is predictable and it is fun. If you want to be challenged then this is not for you. Paul Bettany and Kirsten Dunst are engaging with the backing of a supporting cast of quirky characters. Some of these work better than others. Overall however it is a film which presses all of the buttons you expect such a comedy to press. If you liked Love Actually or Bridget Jones or Notting Hill I'd expect you to like this. If romantic comedy isn't your thing then this isn't going to change your mind.

Just one more thing to add - as the film's shot in London, it will appeal to the Capital lovers amongst you (you know who you are ;-)

Nancy Drew & Ratatouille

As the autumn nights are drawing in, this seems to be the perfect time to start watching movies again. I'd not been to the cinema for some time, and I'm rather pleased that I've managed to watch not one, but two films over the last week. As it's mid term there are several kiddie movies out at the moment (as well as a load of depressing adult flicks) and I could hardly avoid Ratatouille, so Ratatouille and Nancy Drew were the two I watched.

Dare I say it, I enjoyed Nancy Drew way more than Ratatouille. Aesthetically-speaking I'm not a big fan of Pixar's movies (I much prefer the classic Disney style of animation) and Ratatouille, albeit pleasant, didn't have a terribly engaging storyline. I guess if I was more susceptible to marketing tactics, I might have appreciated it a lot more. It was heart-warming and funny in places, but definitely over-hyped. Not the kind of film I'd go out of my way to watch again, enjoyable though it was first time round.

On the other hand, I was quite taken with Emma Roberts' Nancy Drew. I thought it'd be a silly film for kids, but far from it. It was engaging, witty, fast-paced, well-acted and well-directed, and certainly kept my interest throughout. As kiddy movies go, I really couldn't fault it. I loved Tate Donovan (the OC's Jimmy Cooper) as Nancy's dad, Josh Flitter was hysterical and Max Thieriot would be hot-hot-hot if only I was 20 years younger. Adam Goldberg and Bruce Willis in cameo roles were a nice touch, too.

All in all, Nancy Drew is a great all-rounder and I highly recommend it to anyone over 10 years. I'll probably buy it on DVD as I'd love to watch it again. If your kids are younger and/or you're particularly keen on cartoons, then Rataouille is the one for you, but don't expect to be amazed by the storyline, or you might just be disappointed.


Now I'm looking forward to watching Enchanted.

Tick tock one day to go!

I've just watched the trailer for the new Harry Potter firm, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which is being released in the UK tomorrow. It looks really good, much more exciting than the previous films, and I can't wait!

You can watch the trailer here.

Any more Harry Potter fans out there?

Pop! Goes My Heart

I found the video clip from Pop! Goes My Heart on YouTube. Check out those hip movements ;-)

The clip is the opening sequence of the film Music & Lyrics. The rest of the film is set in the present day.