Yikes! What happened with my monthly movies posts??? I love writing these! I just wasn't really inspired this summer... not much worth writing about other than Inception which deserved its own "Movie Madness" post but was too busy to write (I thought I had, just realised while looking for it for a link that I hadn't!). And the fact that I didn't see a single movie in October (shocking!) is proof that having a lot of work to do and needing a bus to go to the movies... well it ain't easy! :p
I could just drop it for now and start up again in 2011 (Feb, since I doubt I'll see anything in January), and you've probably seen most of them by now, but still... My movie obsession won't let me drop it and I'm interested in hearing what you thought of those of these films that you've seen. So this post is just a combo of the Fall, not as complete as usual because some of them I only jotted down a few notes after seeing them and that was a while ago... but I don't want to leave them out 'cause there were some little (French) gems I want you to keep your eyes open for if you happen upon them!
L'Age de Raison (English title: With Love From the Age of Reason)DE-lightful!!! Imagine your adult self receiving letters from your 7 year-old self? "Dear myself, today I'm 7 years old and I'm writing this letter to help you remember the promesses I make upon reaching the age of reason and also to remind you what I want to be when I grow up..." Of course fabulous business woman Sophie Marceau has completely left that childhood self behind (to the point of changing the spelling of her name!) and doesn't appreciate these reminders of a life she'd rather forget... hijinks ensue! Lots of laughs, lots of tender moments... LOVED it!!! :D
Grown-ups, this one's not just for the kiddies, you'll love it as much as they will! And the 3D is very worth it. :o)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1
No need to add anything to this post. Other than I wish I'd had time to see it again before leaving Belgium. When does the dvd come out? Oh, and bring on part 2!!! :p
Inception Was the first movie I saw when I got to Liège, since it was playing in English at the independant cinema and was on its way out! I had previously seen it in Spanish, so the second viewing gave me a chance to appreciate its intricacies more, and as usual enjoy the original voices of the actors and appreciate their acting even more!
I thought the movie was brilliant! I kept me on my toes the whole time trying to figure things out, and DiCaprio had me feeling for him and the tragic story of his wife interpreted by a fabulous Marion Cotillard! Chapeau to the rest of the cast as well. As for the famous final scene... bravo to Christopher Nolan for cutting it right there, definitely leaves one pondering the meaning of it all. I'm thinking positive: he sees the faces for the first time, so I'm sure that it will stop spinning! ;o)
La Princesse de Montpensier French period film, one of my favourite genres! Anyone who is a fan of the costume department will definitely love this one! Also digs into History, novel, love, honour and forced marriages... I enjoyed it immensly, although wasn't 100% convinced by the title Princess herself.
The Tree (L'Arbre)A French-Australian production, located in Australia (gorgeous!) with a radiant Charlotte Gainsbourg as a mother of four young children who all struggle to make it past a tragic event in their lives. Beautiful and bittersweet tale. A MUST SEE!
Very american! What's with this high school obsession one sees in American movies? Even with one foot in that cultural milieu, I just don't get it! But it sure makes for some very funny awkward scenes! I only went to see it 'cause was with my sister in London and since she works in a movie theatre we got in for free. Plus with actresses like Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Bell and Jamie Lee Curtis it couldn't actually be bad, right? Right! What a lot of laughs!!! Why don't see these ladies in more movies? Someone do something about that, stat!!! :D
I had originally intended to write a complete Movie Magic post about this movie since I expected it to be truly magical (is my 2nd favourite book in the series) and I've been looking forward to it for 3 years. Sadly I couldn't bring myself to do it, I need to see it a second time to judge the movie fairly, but I was just too disappointed at the way they deviated from the book! Why on earth go and mix things up like that?!?! And where was the need to add that green mist / disappearing people plot (and add 2 useless characters)?! The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is supposed to be about a VOYAGE, where the important thing is the trip, not the destination or the reason for it. What counts is how you grow as a person by facing and overcoming challenges as they present themselves.
They had some of the key moments, but all mixed up. I would have loved to see the Lone Islands sequence done properly; and although I can understand the combination for budgetary purposes, Deathwater and Dragon Island are 2 different places! And there's no explanation for the WHY of the dragon! grrrr.... The comedic possibilities of the Duffelpods were completely wasted, and Lucy never actually performed that beauty spell! (although I must admit to enjoying it giving us a chance to peek in on Peter and Susan). Finding Rhoop before Ramandu's Island, whaaaaaaat??? Plus we never get to meet Ramandu, just his daughter, and there is absolutely no chemistry between her and Caspian and she's supposed to be the love of his life!
Not everything was bad... although not in the book the fight between the dragon and sea monster was fabulous, as were any moments involving Reepicheep and Eustace! Indeed, another great casting move with Eustace! I hope they go forward with The Silver Chair so we get to see more of him. And the Dawntreader herself was beautiful! :o) And of course the special effects were magical.
*sigh* I really wish they had respected the book more! What did you think?
Here's an idea of how psyched I was to see this (picture taken 2 weeks earlier when going to see Harry Potter):
So, have you seen any of these? What did you think?
I've only seen The American, which I enjoyed. Clooney is so easy to look at, too! I will wait to see the Harry Potter movie when the second part is out.
ReplyDeleteDJan, I had trouble waiting for the weekend, let alone 6 months to see the HP movie! I'll see it again when the other one comes out! ;o)
ReplyDeleteAnd George definitely makes a case for watching any movie he's in... :p