![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Spotted North of Victoria Park:
Mar. 9th, 2008 12:43 pmAn eight-year-old boy on a micro scooter, wearing a fake black moustache and a Super Mario Brothers hat.
Mar. 9th, 2008
Three Movies This Weekend
Mar. 9th, 2008 05:59 pmNotting Hill, dir. Roger Michell, 1999
It's really no surprise that this film was written by the same guy who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral. It's a basic barefaced attempt to cash in on the previous film's success by following the winning formula: awkward guy, American chic, kookie set of friends, and "exotic" Britain as a location. There's a great film buried in here somewhere, in which the two main characters' lack of personality and charisma is explored indepth - especially the film actress' hollowness and past abusive relationships. But I don't think the makers of the film knew this. Was also surprised at the casting decision when considering the complete lack of chemistry between Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. The pain Julia feels sharing a scene with Hugh is almost palpable.
Black Snake Moan, dir. Craig Brewer, 2006
The first half of this movie is brilliant - a combination of interesting characters, good acting, blues soundtrack and a powerful story (town fluzy gets raped, beaten up and dumped on the door steps of broken-hearted Christian black man, who proceeds to chain her to his radiator until she learns to respect herself). It all goes slightly wrong when Justin Timberlake's character returns from Iraq (I never realized how whiny he sounds; it would be a PR disaster to film him side-by-side with David Beckham) and all the plot strands get tied with predictable happy endings. It's not that I'm against happy endings, but I think this movie could have been a lot stronger and moving if the core relationship was further explored.
Gosford Park, dir. Robert Altman, 2001
Unlike Agatha Christie's novels, this film is still enjoyable after repeated viewings. There are dozens of characters to follow and a constant stream of delicious one-liners (especially the putdowns by Lady Trentham). Anyone who grew up with murder mysteries will get a kick out of the constant references to the genre's golden age, and the depth added to the story by exploring the lives of the servants as well as the masters. The only problem is that with so many characters, it's sometimes hard to follow who the characters are talking about.
It's really no surprise that this film was written by the same guy who wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral. It's a basic barefaced attempt to cash in on the previous film's success by following the winning formula: awkward guy, American chic, kookie set of friends, and "exotic" Britain as a location. There's a great film buried in here somewhere, in which the two main characters' lack of personality and charisma is explored indepth - especially the film actress' hollowness and past abusive relationships. But I don't think the makers of the film knew this. Was also surprised at the casting decision when considering the complete lack of chemistry between Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant. The pain Julia feels sharing a scene with Hugh is almost palpable.
Black Snake Moan, dir. Craig Brewer, 2006
The first half of this movie is brilliant - a combination of interesting characters, good acting, blues soundtrack and a powerful story (town fluzy gets raped, beaten up and dumped on the door steps of broken-hearted Christian black man, who proceeds to chain her to his radiator until she learns to respect herself). It all goes slightly wrong when Justin Timberlake's character returns from Iraq (I never realized how whiny he sounds; it would be a PR disaster to film him side-by-side with David Beckham) and all the plot strands get tied with predictable happy endings. It's not that I'm against happy endings, but I think this movie could have been a lot stronger and moving if the core relationship was further explored.
Gosford Park, dir. Robert Altman, 2001
Unlike Agatha Christie's novels, this film is still enjoyable after repeated viewings. There are dozens of characters to follow and a constant stream of delicious one-liners (especially the putdowns by Lady Trentham). Anyone who grew up with murder mysteries will get a kick out of the constant references to the genre's golden age, and the depth added to the story by exploring the lives of the servants as well as the masters. The only problem is that with so many characters, it's sometimes hard to follow who the characters are talking about.
