Inconceivable! Is it possible that I've only been to the movie theatre twice during the month of March?! I repeat, INCONCEIVABLE! And yet, as I leaf through my agenda, the proof is there before my eyes, written black on white: only 2 movies! I guess weddings, birthdays, translations and class preparations kept me busy most weekends... Dammit! There were so many great movies I wanted to catch (Doubt, The Reader, Milk...), and now they're gone!!! Will have to wait for the dvds to become available to rent. Oh well.So, what films DID I get to see?
I caught Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire at the beginning of the month... and a whole 30 days later it still resonates with me. Such a delightful film! Can't wait for the chance to see it in V.O. to get a better feel for it (am still miffed at the fact that they translated the whole thing to Spanish... if in English speaking countries they can accept almost 1/2 of it being in Hindi, why not in Spain?! I'm sure the film has a different rythm to it when they're switching between Hindi and English all the time). Anyhow, you can catch my impressions of it here, I couldn't help but writing about it the moment I came home from the cinema.
On March 19th I invited my Dad out for a father's day movie celebration, and he chose (out of the 3 options I gave him) Tony Gilroy's Duplicity: a "romantic" thriller set in world of corporate espionage. This was only Gilroy's second film as a director (after Michael Clayton, he also wrote all three Bourne movies) and in it he reunites the un-happily married couple from Closer: the gorgeous and charismatic Julia Roberts and the smouldering Clive Owen. I read frequent reports on the web comparing him to Cary Grant... well deserved comparisons! I don't think I've seen a single film with him in which I haven't enjoyed his performance! (and I still don't understand why he didn't get a nomination for Children of Men!)
I can't mention the plot too much without giving it away, plus there are so many twists and turns it would take too long. But basically it's about two ex-CIA/MI6 operatives who try their hand at corporate espionage. I got a bit dizzy with the continual "who is tricking who" deal, but I really enjoyed the verbal sparring and clear chemistry between the leads. And I for one could not have forseen the final twists, excellent!!!
Hmm... I've been so busy I actually have no idea what's currently playing at the movies! I'll have to try and correct that over the Easter holidays... There's a couple of new Spanish films I'd like to catch (not the least of which is Almodovar's latest), Keira Knightly's latest costume extravanganza The Duchess is finally out, and is that a thriller I see with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman?! MUST SEE!!! And as I gleen through the programme of the one cinema that treats us with the occasional (one a week) film in VO, I see so many yummy nuggets coming up! Milk, Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Les Ch'tis... I'll have to decide wether to try one last time to catch them on the big screen or just resign myself to dvds...
So many movies... so little time! ;o)
I love that you are screening movies - now we can use you to let us know what is worth seeing. We always end up watching them on Netflix because we're not sure a movie is worth going to see.
ReplyDeleteSpring pictures from where you live would be wonderful. I have never been to Spain, but have always wanted to go.
Hehehe, that's actually one of the reasons I started up this blog! For years I'd have friends asking me what was playing, which films were any good... I was their sounding board whenever it came to choosing a film. So I decided to start sharing here!
ReplyDeleteBy all means, if you ever get the chance you must visit Spain! Or at least a part of it (even though it's the size of Texas it would take a lifetime to truly visit it all...). It's a very diverse country with something for just about everybody's tastes, wether it's mountains and hiking, beaches and sunning, history (roman ruins, gothic churches and medieval castles galore!), gastronomy (food and wine are excellent and fresh!)... you name it, we've got it! :o)
And that's my "Spain is Different" tourism plug for the day! :p
I like it - blame your dad for the film choice. What were the other 2 options out of interest?
ReplyDeleteDid you read about the Fox news guy who was fired for reviewing an illegal copy of Wolverine? I don't know why he would choose to watch an incomplete movie when he probably gets free tickets to all movies as part of his job! He seemed to justify himself by saying he gave a good review...
Not blaming him for the movie choice!!! AT least not this time (cf last month, he dragged me to a horrible flick called "In the Name of the King" *shudder*). If I remember correctly one of the other choices was "Marley and Me" (looked cute, good for a father-daughter outing), don't remember the other. In any case I was pretty sure he'd choose Duplicity, he loves thrillers and is a sucker for rom-coms, so this combo was right up his alley! That and I mentioned it to him excitedly months ago... I mean, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen?! A must see! ;o)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I hear about the Fox journalist. I think his point (from comments I've read, his original article is no longer available so haven't seen it) was the ease with which films are available online for anyone to see. I'll admit to having seen stuff online myself, but in the case of movies it's usually only things I have a remote curiosity about but that it's not available in Spain. Otherwise I'd never watch a film on my computer screen when I have the choice to see it on the big screen! Legals matters aside, there's just no comparison! Films are made to be viewed big and large. Some more intimate pics translate well to the TV, but most of the big budget flics out there laden with special effects... you might as well be watching it on a cellphone as on a TV! (is why I actually make more of an effort to catch the "special effects" films that interest me on the big screen than the "serious" films, I know the latter don't lose as much when transfered to dvd).
And watching a big-budget, special effects film incomplete?! The only reason to do that would be if you're into film-making yourself and are curious as to how the picture looks before/after being completed. For anyone else it would be like reading the last chapter of a Sherlock Holmes story before the rest: you're ruining the story for YOURSELF! Totally masochistic.
Yes - I think your last point is the real issue. I don't understand why anyone would choose to see an incomplete movie - I mean, why? The quality will no doubt be questionable but the key word I believe is that the movie is 'incomplete'. It's like watching a bad trailer - you will inevitably waste an hour and not get the full effect of the movie.
ReplyDeleteand then when you do get around to seeing the complete product it won't have as big an impact on you as it would have originally. :o(
ReplyDelete