Exciting 'Vantage Point'

We watched Vantage Point last night and we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

It tells the story of an assassination attempt on the President by terrorists at a peace summit abroad. The story is told from the different vantage points of the lead characters, played by Dennis Quaid, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Forest Whittaker and Matthew Fox.

Initially we were concerned it would be confusing but it was easy to follow, full of suspense, action and plot twists. The handheld filming style really added to the feel of seeing the story through each characters eyes. The story developed well and moved along at a pace that kept you gripped to the end.

There were some nice touches that you think at the time are insignificant, like the encounter with the little girl, that later turn out to be key to the story.

If you are a fan of thrillers or in particular the show '24' as we are, then you will love this movie. But to be honest anyone who enjoys a good plot with twists, action and great actors will enjoy this movie - we highly recommend it.

Mamma Mia! Breakout the blue eyeshadow and shiny leggings once again....

Because the movie I have been anticipating the most after SATC opens next week, and I am about to be sucked into ABBA mania once again in my lifetime!

I was 7 years old when ABBA burst into my life with their win at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with Waterloo, and my life was never the same again. Suddenly I 'got' the power of music on your soul, without doubt those glamorous girls set my course as a lifelong lover of all things blinging and sparkly. I wanted to be Anni-Frid the brunette and spent the next few years into my teens trying to get her auburn hair and my legs skinny enough for white satin leggings. Thanks to the wonders of Henna the first I achieved, the second I have given up as a bad job!

I knew the words to every song, played their music incessantly and rushed off to see ABBA - The Movie as soon as it was released. The tunes were just so darned catchy, the lyrics simple and easy to remember and the costumes were pure glam-pop! I had ABBA posters, pins, records (remember those!), clothing and of course all the dance moves.

I was so sad the day they announced their retirement, especially as I had never got to achieve my dream at the time of seeing them in concert. Fast forward 20 years and I did get to see Bjorn Again the best of the many ABBA tribute groups and had a very memorable night in Watford Town Hall with my friends. We all glammed up, I even had sparkly pink hair gel all through my 'do', platforms and no voice left the next day! In fact if you roll down to my 'guestbook' Lizzie has posted a piccie of us on this infamous night mid-concert.

A few years later I got to see Mamma Mia the musical in London's West End and spent the whole night up singing and dancing along. So when I heard they were making it into a movie I was thrilled. It's a fabulous musical anyway, then they cast Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth in the lead roles and ever since I have been counting down the days! If only they could have squeezed Brad Pitt in there too ;-)

We are really hoping it gets to our area before my mum leaves so we can go together, she remembers my ABBA mania only too well. Even now I still can't resist a dose of Dancing Queen, Fernando and my fave - Mamma Mia!

I am more than over ready for the fast approaching ABBA revival, now I just need to get a new copy of ABBA Gold, as I wore my previous CD out long ago!

US thing I have always wanted to do

Ever since I fell in love with 'Grease' I have always wanted to see a movie in my car at a Drive-In movie theatre. We only ever got to see it in the movies and it seemed like such a cool thing to be able to do!

We just do not have the weather in the UK for such a thing and it has always seemed like such a fun thing to do. The Hubster thinks there is still one open in OK somewhere and we know there is not too far away in Texas. So maybe one day I will get to achieve this ambition.

Have any of you ever done this and if so, what did you think, I would love to hear firsthand experiences?

The Other Boleyn Girl

So this is adapted from one of my all time favourite books by Philippa Gregory and I was very keen to buy the DVD. Then I read the very average reviews on Netflix and decided to rent it first, as I was expecting to be disappointed.

Well I wasn't and thoroughly enjoyed this movie from start to finish. The book was over 600 pages and there is no way the film could go into as much detail, but I thought they took all the main parts of the plot and made it work. Both the Boleyn girls were played by excellent young actresses in Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson, and Eric Bana was good as a brooding Henry VIII.

It tells the story from the point of view of Mary Boleyn, someone who was just a footnote in Tudor history but was very much a part of Henry's life. Anne Boleyn's story is a well documented part of English history and she influenced some major turning points in our history, as well as mothering Elizabeth 1st. The Tudor and Elizabethan periods have always been a pet love of mine and Philippa Gregory has done her research well and it is an accurate portrayal of the time.

This movie very much bought a much loved book to life for me, the Hubster enjoyed it but found it harder to follow not knowing the background history as I do. If you loved this book then I doubt you'll be disappointed, if you love these historical period pieces you'll enjoy it too.

Fool's Gold - utter foolishness!

So generally you'd expect that a movie with Matthew McC', Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland would be reasonably good and somewhat funny. Well don't be 'fooled', this movie will probably be up for a number of those 'Raspberry Awards' they give out every year.

It is just utter rubbish, sleep-inducingly boring and the acting is so OTT and forced it's painful. The only funny parts or action come in the last 20 minutes and were all in the trailers - it's by far the worst movie we have seen in a year. If it was me I wouldn't waste 2 hours on this, even if Matt is half naked for the whole movie, but I even thought he looked too skinny and short!

Not good people, not good at all.

'Good Luck Chuck'

Be warned - this movie is rude, crude, nude (alot of topless women) but also laugh out loud funny at times! It was a surprise as we really didn't know anything about it and we were entertained, despite the slightly ludicrous storyline.

Jessica Alba lends it a modicum of mainstream appeal as the desperately clumsy Penguin keeper. Dane Cook is very funny playing the man who is every womans desire, as all his ex-girlfriends end up married to the next man they date! It's basically a romantic comedy done 'a la American Pie' with some slapstick and alot of sexuality thrown in.

If you loved '40 Year Old Virgin' or the 'American Pie' series, then you'll find this funny. If they aren't your scene then avoid at all costs, as you'll probably be shocked. Not the greatest movie ever, but also not that bad if you can live with the 'in your face' adult humour.

Charlie Wilson's War

We thoroughly enjoyed this factually based movie with a big star studded cast. It tells the true story of Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson's single handed effort to arm the Afghans against the might of the Russians during the 1980's.

As we all know now, the implications of this have had some serious ramifications years later, but at the time it seemed like the right thing to do. Interestingly the ending gives more than a nod to the problems this later caused the USA, but Charlie Wilson is depicted as predicting this would happen if we didn't 'finish the job'. We only have the filmakers angle on whether this was actually what he believed.

Tom Hanks is very believable in this role and gives it great credibility, Julia Roberts is also good and Philip Seymour Hoffman is great as usual. There were alot of 'laugh out loud' moments as Charlie was far from 'whiter than white', but I suspect this depiction is probably pretty close to the mark for quite a alot of politicians!

If you are sensitive to nudity or language, then this not the movie for you. But if you have an interest in politics, recent history and like the actors then I would definitely recommend it.

The 'BIG' review (without spoilers)

Well let me first of all say I am a Sex and the City utter devotee/afficianado and we re-watched all six series this year ready for this movie and so the Hubster could see it for the first time. I have been waiting for this movie for years and I was worried it might be a disappointment.

It's fabulous! In fact that's all I thought I was going to write as I walked out of the theatre, because that's all I needed to say. But then I read your comments and knew you needed more! LOL

So as a #1 fan of the series let me assure you, if you loved it on TV this will not disappoint. The Hubster and I both agreed they did a great job on getting the same feel, and a good storyline. They moved it along quicker being a movie, but not too fast and unlike some of the reviewers, we did not feel it was overlong but just right. All the original actors have returned which makes it seamless from the TV show. Obviously having to squeeze so much into a movie, means some of the ancillary characters like Anthony, Stedman & Harry have small parts though.

Although the story mainly revolves around Carrie's life, it also brings you right back into the other girls lives too and the various issues they are dealing with. They are all older and allowed to be, which is wonderful; all a bit more hardened by life and less frivoulous....but then aren't we all as we hit our forties.

We thought Samantha despite being the oldest looked the best and to be honest she just about steals the movie with the funniest lines and scenes. Jennifer Hudson does great as the only addition to the cast and Big is just a softer even more lovable version of himself.

The old laugh out loud humour is a big part of the movie and at one point the audience in our theatre even applauded with the characters on screen! It's funny, realistic, heartbreaking, affirming, it made me cry twice (the Hubster only caught me once though) and it made us all rock with laughter alot.

I LOVED IT :-) and will be first in line to buy it when it comes out on DVD, I may also go and see it again when it reaches our local town - it was that good!

I asked the Hubster for his thoughts; he thoroughly enjoyed it too but he had one complaint and I quote him here "not enough titties from Samantha"!

Girls just go see it and escape for awhile :-)

Today's the day....

We're off to Dodge City today to pick up a spare key for the new car and it just so happens that there is a matinee of Sex and the City at 1pm :-)

It's not on around here yet so lucky for the Hubster we were going there anyway today! After the movie we'll also have a little tour around the infamous Dodge City, although we have Brit's visiting later who want to the tourist stuff.

Have a good Saturday y'all ;-)

Indiana Jones Texas style!

Why Texas style, well we went to Canadian in Texas to see this at the beautiful restored old movie theatre. Seeing as we can't seem to get through a night without yet another tornado watch, a matinee seemed a safer bet and sure enough we are again tonight! Canadian itself is an old historic town about 50 miles from home and the cinema is just wonderful and full of authentic features, like the ticket kiosk below.

So onto the long awaited Indiana Jones fourth adventure, directed and produced by Spielberg and Lucas after a 19 year break. I know alot of people haven't seen it yet so I am not going to give any specific details or spoilers. Firstly let me say we both found it highly entertaining and I didn't want to have to miss a moment to visit the loo, always a good barometer of a movie!

Harrison Ford is as good as ever, I love that they have let him age and it shows, but he has lost none of his charisma and humour as Dr Jones. He is also surrounded by a strong cast and a one new character in particular, that the ending suggested may represent the possible future of this franchise? The action sequences and special effects are as good as they ever were, there are 2 chase scenes in the movie that have you on the edge of your seat. The enemy is played by Cate Blanchett and she made a good rival, although slightly OTT for my taste. It was good to see three great British actors in leading roles with John Hurt, Ray Winstone and Jim Broadbent all acting their socks off.

My disappointment though was in the underlying plot, which for me was just too far fetched. I came out feeling like Spielberg/Lucas had tried to combine their two most successful franchise 'themes' but they just don't work together! As a result the movie ends like a fantasy adventure and Indiana Jones basic plots were always at least somewhat believable in the past. I am not going to say anymore than this as it will give too much away, but I will be interested to know if others felt the same way?

But I can't deny we were entertained and enjoyed it, I just came away feeling letdown by the plot. Over dinner we discussed it and agreed we want to get the boxed set of the original movies, but this one we will pass on probably. We both feel that when the original movies were made they were different for their time, but the 'National Treasure' franchise has successfully stolen the style of Indiana Jones. We both preferred National Treasure 2, but we'd still highly recommend this if you enjoyed the originals, as it's undeniably good entertainment.

Da dada daaa Daaa dadaaaa....

Yep that's what I'll be singing along to just after 7pm tonight when we get to see the new 'Indie' movie, that's assuming the storms stay away from our area!

Back with a review tomorrow, can't wait as we loved the originals :-) Anybody else planning a trip to see it this weekend?

**5:31pm TORNADO WATCH again, so we are under advisement at the moment and may decide to do this Sunday instead!

Dan in Real Life

This movie is quite a departure from the usual Steve Carell movie and not what we were anticipating, but it was a good and we both enjoyed it alot.

Steve plays a widowed Dad of three girls touchingly and realistically, showing a depth of acting ability we didn't realise he had. Juliette Binoche was very believable as the woman he falls for almost at first sight and the supporting cast was full of stellar actors. It really feels like an 'ensemble' type movie, as the large cast are in most of the scenes and the story is centred around family relationships.

This is a charming movie, slightly quirky with alot of heart and not your usual Steve vehicle at all, although we still laughed out loud alot. The humour is just not as obvious or coarse as you would expect from him, but a winner just the same and one that will probably be a pleasant surprise.

Miss Potter (or me as a weeping wreck!)

Wow - what can I say about this little gem of a movie to possibly do it the justice it so richly deserves?

Well it made me emotional and very tearful, it just brought my whole childhood flooding back in a really good way. I loved the Beatrix Potter books as a child, had the whole set and was enchanted by them like many children around the world for over 100 years. I grew up loving Peter Rabbit and Mrs Tiggywinkle from a very young age.

This film tells not only the story of how Beatrix developed the stories and got them published, but it also tells you her own personal story.

Renee Zellweger is wonderful as Beatrix, although for the first five minutes it was like Bridget Jones again, as she only seems to have one British accent! But she just becomes Beatrix so believably that I think she epitomised the artist and person, her vision and joy in life. Ewan McGregor is also wonderful as her enthusiastic publisher and first love, playing the role with an inner vibrancy that you feel. Both Renee and Ewan have long been favourite actors of mine, for the uncanny ability they have to transform themselves so believably you forget they're acting.

For all the anglophiles who read my blog but may not be Beatrix Potter fans, then you should see this if for no other reason than the gorgeous locations in the Lake District. The attention to detail with the Victorian period costumes and sets is also very accurate.

I seem to have used alot of superlatives in this movie review and 'wonderful' has been the word that's popped into my mind persistently to describe it. I will definitely be adding this movie to my collection and watching it again many times. It takes a great movie to connect with you as deeply as this one did with me and it stirred up so many happy emotions and memories that I was a weeping wreck by the end!

So if you are a fan of these little books and loved them as a child, then beware. But whatever you do, just don't miss it.

'27 Dresses' and a whole lot of laughs

We watched this charming, funny, entertaining movie tonight and when I said to the Hubster at the end "ah but it was a chick-flick" he replied, "yeh but it was a really funny one".

So I am really not sure I need to add anything else. There you have it, a recognised chick-flick that won the approval of a 'real' Okie man! Just see this cute movie, you won't regret it :-)

There Will Be Blood

This was a good movie, we both enjoyed it and it was interesting to learn about the early days of oil prospecting. We did feel they could have told the story in less time, it runs at almost 3 hours. But having said that neither of us were checking the clock and it kept our interest throughout. There is no dialogue at all for at least the first 10 minutes of this movie, but just the images immediately draw you into the story.

However without doubt this movie owes everything to the mesmeric performance by Daniel Day Lewis, he truly deserved his second Oscar for this performance. It is one of those moments when you forget you're watching someone acting, he is utterly believable and he holds you attention completely. Paul Dano is also very good as the young Preacher he clashes with throughout the story until the last scene.

This is not a thrilling, gripping or fast moving movie, but it is pretty engrossing and it is a masterclass in great acting.

Charmed by 'Nessie' movie

As a Brit' it's hard not to have spent time in my life occasionally wondering whether there really is an undiscovered creature deep in Loch Ness. After all it's one of the great legends of the world we have all grown up hearing. Just recently I had a couple of 2nd graders tell me they want to be scientists so they can go to Scotland and find the Loch Ness monster!

There have been many Hollywood films about the legend of Loch Ness over the years, but few have been as charming as The Water Horse - Legend of the Deep

This is adapted from the famous book 'The Water Horse' by Dick King-Smith. It bases the story in 1930's Scotland against the backdrop of war, with the discovery of an egg by a young boy and his sister on a beach. The egg hatches and they raise the surprising offspring in their workshop and then the bath, until it rapidly outgrows both and has to be moved to the loch.

The movie actually focuses far more on the younger brother, making it his discovery and it explores his need for something to love as his own with his father away at war. The casting is excellent and includes some first rate British actors with Brian Cox, Ben Chaplin (a longtime Brit' Gal hottie!), Emily Watson and David Morrissey. Young Angus is played by newcomer child actor Alex Etel, who Brit's will recognise from the huge BBC TV hit Cranford.

This movie owes alot to CGI special effects and as a result 'Nessie' known as Crusoe in this version is very loveable, cute and believable. The locations in Scotland are also stunning and will be a wonderful boost for the Scottish Tourist Board. We don't have young children to watch this with, but we both really enjoyed it alot. It keeps you glued to the TV, makes you laugh out loud in parts and you can't help but bond with the boy and the Water Horse.

The Hubster commented that it was nice to watch a movie for once that had no violence, bloodshed, language, bad acting or inane humour. You could say well that's what you have on your Netflix list, but to be honest how many movies these days don't have one of these in them somewhere?

So if you enjoy watching a thoroughly charming bit of well acted escapism occasionally, or have a children of any age, we would highly recommend this movie.

Into the Wild

Emile Hirsch gives a brilliant performance as Christopher McCandless, in the true story of a troubled young man who gives away his life savings after graduation and hits the road to escape society, his parents and find 'the truth' in the world.

The film alternates between McCandless’ adventures in the Alaskan wilderness and the months long journey leading up to his arrival in Alaska. As the backstory unfolds, you learn more about McCandless, the pain of his childhood and slowly his motivations come into context. He is a charming, likeable young man, but he is also emotionally wounded, and like many young men he is confused and full of misguided idealism. Along the way you meet people whose lives he touched on his journey, many of whom were consultants on this movie.

Sean Penn did a great job on the screenplay and direction, and the cinematography is breathtaking at times. It is ultimately a brilliant and captivating telling of a true story and is one of the best films I've seen in a long time. It is 150 minutes long and not a fast moving movie but my eyes never left the screen, it was totally engrossing. There are excellent supporting performances by Hal Holbrook (nominated for Best Supporting Actor at 82 yrs old), Catherine Keener, William Hurt and Vince Vaughn. I was also interested to read that the character Rainey (the Hippie) was played by the film crews river guide, a man with no acting experience. Other roles were played by actual people known to Chris or who inhabited the same 'underbelly' of society, undoubtedly this contributes to the movies 'reality' feel.

This story is based on the famous book by Jon Krakauer who wrote it from Chris' own diaries and scribblings. We were unaware of the story or book beforehand and probably enjoyed the movie even more because of this, so I would not recommend 'Googling' beforehand!

Atonement

This was just okay and neither of us would want to watch it again, always the real test of a good movie.

I now understand why so many people struggle with the book, if it jumps around and has imagined sequences like the movie, it must be really hard to follow. Having said that the locations and sets were either beautiful or impressive. The acting was good, although I found Keira Knightley's speaking voice rather irritating!

I am glad we got to see it but was not overly impressed and am not sure why it got so many Oscar nominations. But then having seen some of the other nominee's, we think this was just a poor year for really great movies.

We gave it a Netflix rating of 'Liked It' but if they'd had a 'Just ok' it would have got that instead.

Enchanted!

Do you love Disney movies, especially the oldies?
Do you enjoy the odd musical number?
Are you a sucker for a romance?
Do you like to laugh out loud at the TV?
Do you think Patrick Dempsey really is McDreamy?

If you answered yes to 50% of the above, you will love Enchanted.



This was a BIG surprise to us. I can say 'yes' to all the above, the Hubster to maybe 2 of them and no he doesn't think Patrick is McDreamy!

But this movie is great, we both really enjoyed it, I loved it so much I will probably buy it. It was laugh out loud funny, deliberately corny in places, thoroughly charming and great entertainment. Disney have been very clever by pulling in many familiar classic Disney moments like the Italian restaurant from Lady & the Tramp, snippets of Snow White singing with animals and even a nod to King Kong at the end. But the real humour comes from Disney mocking it's own reputation and characters - in a good way.

Whoever came up with the idea of throwing a Disney Princess out of her animated fantasy world and into modern day New York, with hilarious consequences, had a moment of genius. Amy Adams is probably well on her way to superstardom after this and Patrick Dempsey was brave but inspired to take this leading role. We also loved Susan Sarandon in a surprising appearance as the evil Queen.

For 90 minutes of escapism with a twist, rent Enchanted and enjoy.

3:10 to Yuma

Well considering I am not a Western fan and ironically I now live in the 'Old Wild West', I actually really enjoyed this movie. It helps that it had two very easy on the eye male stars in Christian Bale & Russell Crowe, but the story was also excellent.


This movie keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, the relationship between the stars as Captor and Outlaw is well developed and the cinematography is wonderful. It tells the story of the capture of a reknowned Outlaw, the group of men who have to escort him to the 3:10 train to Yuma Prison, the relationships they develop and his gangs attempts to free him. By it's nature there's alot of shooting but I would not say it's especially gory or violent and I have low tolerance for both those things.

So surprising myself, I would highly recommend this movie!