Coming soon!

I used to dance ballet, I love watching the ballet and this is my absolute favourite so I am really excited about this film.  Maybe it's time to take Isabella to the cinema...

Christopher Robin

I am crazy excited about this!

Coming soon...

Looking forward to this!

Crash

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I watched this film today. It's been in our collection for  while because I'm trying to watch all the films which have won a best film oscar.

Despite it's award, I hadn't heard much about this film but I soon saw why it had won.

It's a film that weaves lots of different stories and characters together around the topic of racism. It takes many points of view and looks at many aspects and types of racism, blowing the traditional black vs white idea out of the water.

It's full of twists and turns that keep surprising you. The characters are complex too - one minute you're totally on their side and the next, totally against them.

It's very thought provoking - I'd love to watch and discuss it with a class one day. It's one I'm going to be thinking about for a while.

East is East

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A while ago, we watched a great film called Almanya about a Turkish family who migrated to Germany. It had some really funny parts but also made some serious points and was quite moving.

It really reminded me of East is East about a Pakistani family in Manchester. At the time, I couldn't get hold of the DVD but recently I did.

It was every bit as funny as I remembered but also had some very serious scenes and there was also much more swearing than I remembered - I probably couldn't use it at school as I had planned.

If you haven't seen it, you're missing out!

The English Patient

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One of my personal goals is to own and watch all the films which have won the oscar for best film. A friend of mine is in a film club and recently reminded me of the English Patient, which belongs on that list.

We watched it last night and I remembered what a great film it was. It's a brilliant love story set in Africa and Italy during the second world war. I had forgotten how many familiar faces there were, especially such a young looking Colin Firth and even Lewis.

The acting is brilliant, especially from Ralph Fiennes. The film probably caters more to women but I really recommend it. I can see why it featured in my friend's film study club.

30 things - Watch One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest

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As part of my mission to watch all films which have won the best film Oscar, I had somehow let this one slip through the net for far too long so I made sure it was on my 30 things list and it's one of the first to be crossed off as we watched it on Friday.

I'm quite a fan of Jack Nicholson and he did not disappoint in this film. Actually there were more familiar faces than expected with Danny DeVito and Christopher Lloyd making brilliant comic appearances too.

The film starts kind of slowly, showing its age and I was worried I'd made a bad choice but without wanting to spoil the film for those who haven't seen it, I can tell you that it is indeed a fantastic film - a great mix of comedy with some tragedy. So glad I watched it. Next up on my Oscars list - the Artist.

Les Miserables

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Left to my own devices on Saturday evening, I finally got around to watching this film.  I bought it just after finishing the book which I really enjoyed and then forgot all about it until I was searching for something to watch that Nico wouldn't mind missing out on (I'm saving the SATC marathon for maternity leave).

I really enjoyed the film.  Enough time had passed between reading the novel and watching the musical for me to forgive the changes made to the plot.  Of course, I will always believe that the book is better than the film but this time I really felt that the film was a nice reminder of the story.

The only criticism I would have is that absolutely everything is done through song and it gets a little repetitive.  Of course, I expect a lot of music in a musical but I prefer the likes of Grease where the dialogue is still plain dialogue and the musical numbers generally fit to the story line.  By repetitive I mean that often it seemed the same music was used with different words rather than having a whole new song.  However, the numbers were so epic that I could overlook this.

On the positive side, I liked the acting and the singers were very powerful.  Russel Crowe's singing voice really reminded me of someone else and it is driving me a little crazy but I can't figure out where I have heard it before.  I've probably mentioned before that singing is my big no go so I have a huge level of respect for anyone who sings in public, especially when it's not directly how they learn their living.

P.S. I can't hear this song without remembering this.

The Matrix

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Just fourteen years late to the party, I finally got around to watching this film on Sunday, while Nico was working on a new computer project.

I believe I have seen at least part of this film before but I either was concentrating, got bored, or fell asleep.  This time, I managed the whole two hours plus and really enjoyed it.

The stars were great, I loved the concept and didn't even mind the overt religious connotations.  It popped up on a lot of the 'one to watch' film lists that I have browsed through and I can see why - highly recommended (if there is anyone else left out there who hasn't seen it).  I'm looking forward to the sequel.

The Angels' Share

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Lately Nico has been getting into all things whisk(e)y and recently this little gem of a film was recommended on German television.  It's a Scottish film set in Glasgow about a group of people doing community service, who get into whisk(e)y.  I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it, so I'll just say that it was interesting in itself (i.e. non-whisk(e)y lovers like me can enjoy it too) and showed Scotland's amazing scenery too.  I'd never heard of the film before but it just came out this year and is available on Amazon.  It was referred to as the new Trainspotting but I don't think it really compares - except that it is set in Scotland.  It's funny and has some familiar faces from British television.

One Day

Don't worry, I'm not going to start posting about every single book I read but I didn't feel like I could let this one go by without a few words.

Nico picked up this book in the airport on one of our trips to England and hasn't gotten around to reading it yet but I've heard so much about it, I decided to make it my modern book for May, polished it off in under three days and I have to say, I wasn't disappointed.

I don't want to spoil the book for anyone that hasn't read it yet but it totally blew me away.  It follows the lives of two friends by telling their story on a certain date every year for twenty years.  First it made me feel nostalgic about the university years, and then it made me feel lucky to be where I am now.  The writing is beautiful, at times funny and sometimes sad but really moving.  I'm not sure how I feel about the ending but I am looking forward to seeing the film version, which from what I've heard, doesn't seem to have strayed to far from the novel.

Get yourself a copy!

Robin Williams Season

It's been Robin Williams month in our flat for films this April.  When Nico discovered I have never seen the holy grail of films for teachers - Dead Poets Society, he bought me it with Good Morning Vietnam (another gap in my film education up until now) for my birthday.

I really enjoyed Dead Poets Society although I can't say that it is entirely realistic.  It reminded me of why I got into teaching, so maybe it will be one to watch on the bad days.  It was a great story and I really enjoyed it.

Last weekend we watched Good Morning Vietnam.  Thinking this was just another war film, from an era whose war films I haven't really enjoyed, it's never been high on my list of priorities.  Boy was I mistaken.  Not only is it possibly the first war film I've watched with at least some sympathy for the 'enemy', it also has an inordinate amount of comedy for its genre and brings teaching English as a foreign language into the picture and also reminded me why I do my job.  I think it may have made it to the number one spot on my list of favourite war films.

In considering the work of Robin Williams, I had to resort to imdb to remind myself of all of his films.  It's quite amazing the range of genres in which he has worked.  I always consider him a comic genius but he has also covered war, children's, crime, sci-fi, romance and television.  I think Good Morning Vietnam and Mrs Doubtfire may be my joint favourites from his repertoire but then I am told that 'Good Will Hunting' is another huge gap in my Robin Williams' film knowledge...

German Film Revival

Just lately we have been getting back into more German films in our flat.  I probably haven't watched that many since I was at uni.  We've also watched quite a range, from some of the old slapstick, to the more typical European cinema to this one which is my favourite so far.

For the record, I love European cinema and this one kind of breaks out of that box a little and goes more in the Hollywood direction but I loved it.  It's a bit like Big Daddy (my favourite Adam Sandler film) with more girl power!

Definitely worth a watch if you can get it.