Men In Black 3

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Films

Well we’ve seen it, and we’ve seen it in 3D.  You wont miss anything seeing it in normal D, the 3D was poor and without the same amount of aliens and ectoplasam around the need for it wasn’t really there.

This is the clever cousin to Men in Black and Men in Black 2 – okay it wouldn’t be hard to be the clever cousin of MiB2 which in my book is the weakest of the three.  The story is more grown up, maybe because the writer and main characters are now 15 years older, in fact the film relies much more on the story than pervious ones.  The story, well the quick version is Boris the animal – don’t call me an animal – escapes from prison on the moon and goes back in time to kill a young Agent K before Agent K shoots off Boris’ arm and sends him to prison. The comedy is still there although on the whole it is far subtler, some of the jokes you will only get if you know the previous two films, however it is still a stand alone film too.  Josh Brolin makes a fine young Agent K and Emmy Thompson steals the camera when she makes her rare appearances as Agent O, while the Andy Warhol twist made surprising sense, which is worrying.  Neither Hubby nor I saw the twist at the end sneaking up on us, it is a classic masterpiece coming up and slapping you in the face for sleeping and not realising it all along.

Would I recommend it, well, if you like Will Smith yes, if you like MiB yes, if you have a couple of hours to kill then there is certainly worse things to do with it.  However, unless you are a die-hard MiB fan I would say wait until it comes to a TV set near you, probably at Christmas time.

Elisha

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1 Kings, 2 Kings, Films, Prophets

Yesterday, 14th June, was the day that the Lutherans, the Jews, the Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox and Muslims joined united in remembering the prophet Elisha.  Doesn’t it strike you that there must be something quite special about Elisha that such a cross-section remember him all these centuries on?

However we are not among them, in fact the SEC doesn’t mark any Old Testament figures in our calendar.  Last week at St Andrew’s I preached on Queen Ester, yes I know she wasn’t in the lectionary, but the Sunday School had been learning about her and it came apparent that the adults in the congregation either didn’t know anything about her or had forgotten what they once did know.

I wonder if they know about Elisha and I wonder if they would know more about him if we marked his day along with all those other people of faith.

You can read about him starting at the 1 Kings chapter 19, when he became Elijah’s assistant and on into 2 Kings.  I can never read the bit about the bottle of oil without remembering the film ‘The Bishop’s Wife’.

Go To Sleep Little Baby

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Books, Films, Music

Hubby and I sat down to watch ‘O Brother, where art thou’ on Sunday.  Bassed on The Oddesy it is a great way to remind oneself of the book without having to plough through it again, plus it has the added advantage of some great songs.

The Artist

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Films

I think this is going to turn out being one of those Marmite films, you will either love it or hate it.

In case you haven’t yet heard about ‘The Artist’ is a silent black and white film – apart from a couple of very clever uses of sound.  The critics love it and I can see why, it is a film lovers film whose wit comes in no small part from knowledge of other films – but you don’t need to be a major film buff to see echos of Singin’ in the Rain and possibly others of the many more films that are hinted.  The story line isn’t new, but it is a new take on that tale that will probably always be told, for change is a constant travelling companion with Homo sapiens regardless of the era they reside in.

The film is done a dis-service if it is simply seen as a silent black and white film, it is novel and smart for it would have been so easy to do it differently, to make it less silent add a touch of colour to attempt to make it more clever, and in doing so it would have both lost some of the films power and made it seem a little clichéd.  The sound is a tremendous part of the film as is the cinematography, which may seem a very strange thing to be saying about a silent black and white film.

So the critics love it and so do I (Hubby enjoyed it too), I think it will be one of the films that will be much talked about during this year, but would I recommend you going to see it?  Well, I think it is one of those films that benefits from being seen on the big screen so I would say don’t wait for it to appear on the TV for firstly I think that there is a chance – that even if it wins the Oscars it deserves – the TV channels won’t touch it and secondly I don’t think it will work anywhere near as well on the small screen – even if they do and you have a 55″ screen.  So if you have an inclination to see it then yes I would recommend you went to see it on the big screen.  If you don’t yet have the inclination then maybe this trailer will give it to you.

Double Feature

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Films

Well we couldn’t quite agree on which film to see, there were four on the short list, so we decided to revisit our childhoods and go for a Friday double feature of our own making.  Whatever happened to double features?

The Help – My choice, but Hubby enjoyed it more than he thought he was going to.  While in many ways it was beautifully shot there was something about the shooting which also made it seem too modern.  The costumes were fab, but the hairstyles again were too modern, maybe I am being picky or maybe there was some subtle and clever cinematography and production to underline what for me was one of the most powerful things about the film which I hadn’t been expecting.

The racism – I knew it was a major part of the film – but I wasn’t expecting it to shock and bring me up time and time again, especially with the realisation that such attitudes not only existed but also were seen as acceptable even main stream in my life time.  It wasn’t until the credits were running – which I always like to stay for – that I started to wonder if there was also mind games being played with the music.

I rejoice at how far things have come while shuddering that bigotry is still alive and well today, however I’m not sure if there was some clever stuff being done in the production department to make that very point or it was more simply the films topic bringing to the foreground of my mind the fact that justice and equality is still far from complete and is still alive and well in my children’s lifetime in a whole host of guises.

A film to challenge and inspire, to tempt the tear ducts into action and laugh out loud, and while Hubby commented that he was one of only two males in the cinema it isn’t a chick flick.  I now need to read the book.

Johnny English Reborn – Okay it might have been a bit predictable but there was certainly never a dull moment and even a sprinkle of surprises.   If you want to while away 101 effortless minutes then this one might be for you.

Oh and one of the bonuses of being one of the saddos who likes to read and see the credits is that occasionally you get rewarded with a little extra and Johnny English Reborn is one such occasion.  I’m not going to tell you what it is, I will just say that if there is something not quite right about the take away scene to you either then it will all make sense if you stay to the end of the credits.

What I Have Been Watching

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Films

Having time off when Hubby is still working has allowed me to catch up on some films as well as books, some of these were new to me, some have long been favorites, so here goes with the reviews:

A Good Woman – someone, can’t remember who thank you if it was you, recommended this.  It is based on Lady Windermere’s Fan by Oscar Wilde and was a joy.  Helen Hunt is wonderful as Mrs Erlynne and Wilde outrageously funny lines stand the test of time.

Inglourious Bastards – This is in many ways a typical Quentin Tarantino film, lot of blood and guts, however the story is somewhat different for him and the ending weak.

Bright Young Things – Directed by Stephen Fry this is a passable adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s Vile Bodies.  Fenella Woolgar portrayal of Agatha is excellent, the rest of the cast and indeed story relied heavily for me on my interest in the 1930′s.  Not sure this is one I would recommend.

Hitch – a romcom with Will Smith as the ‘Date Doctor’ helping men get the women that they don’t have the courage to get themselves has all the right ingredients for the genre and while it will never win any prizes it will probably always find an audience, no complaints.

The Scarlet and The Black – never tire of this true story about monsignor O’Flaherty played by Gregory Peck (and a bad Irish accent) and his campaign to hide allied POW’s from the Nazis, who have sought the sanctuary of the Vatican.  His biggest opponent being the Gestapo officer Kappler played by Christopher Plummer (flipping his role in Sound of Music from hunted to hunter).

Dangerous Liaisons – I have had this in my collection for more years than I care to remember, so long in fact that there was no piracy ad at the start and just straight into the film without any need to press buttons.  I have also started watching it on more times than I care to remember and this time looked like being much like any other attempts to view it, but I decided to perceiver.  Despite its three Oscars however, I shouldn’t have bothered!

Breakfast at Tiffany’s – One of my all time favorites.  If you have never watched it, what have you been doing all your life?

An Education

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Films

Charming.

Nostalgic.

Funny.

It is no surprise to me that it has been nominated for 8 BAFTA’s.

Based on an autobiographical memoir of Lynn Barber it is one of the best films I have seen in a long time, even Hubby, to his surprise totally enjoyed it.  Don’t let this one pass you by.

Angels and Demons

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Films

Don’t pre-judge this film, for if you do you might decide to let it pass you by, and then you will miss out on a first class suspense thriller.

The main character might be the same, the setting roughly the same, the subject matter extremely similar and the author of the original book the same.  However ‘Angels and Demons’ is, from both Hubbys’ and my point of view, is on a far superior level to that of ‘The Da Vinci Code’.

Sing-Along

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Films

Okay I know it is Lent and some of you might be shocked?

Last night we sang, we danced, ate hot dogs and some of us even drank wine, while the hits of ABBA blasted out as we watched Mama-Mia.  A good night was had by all, even the couple of men who turned up, feather boas abounded as those aged 7 and 70 strutted their stuff.  Who said Lent had to be all sack cloth and ashes?

Young Victoria

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Films

This weeks trip to the cinema saw us seeing Young Victoria.

This story about Victoria before she became queen and her early years on the throne, her meeting Prince Albert and the politics that surrounded her, is one that is not well known.  The story, which is apparently pretty accurate, shows us a very different picture from the one which most of us tend to conjure up at the sound of her name, that of a small elderly lady dressed in black and not amused.  It also shows a very different kind of monarchy, to that which we have today.

The film itself is enjoyable and well done and in some ways is less about Victoria and more about the politics of the day.  Her early life will be a real eye opener to those who don’t already know of it and is, in my opinion, probably one of the factors which made her the formidable person that history tends to portray her as.  The story of her and Prince Albert was somewhat lacking, but this might have been due to the fact they didn’t want to make up things to fill the gaps, or presume other things for which there was no evidence.  But then on the other hand they seem to be happy enough to tinkle with the scandal that surrounded her and Lord Melbourne.  Paul Bettany who portrayed him hardly look a day over his 38 years, while Lord Melbourne had been 60 in what was to become known as ‘The Crisis of the Bedchamber’.

The costumes are wonderful, like me you might spend much of the film trying to decide what is really Royal Palaces, what is sets and what is cgi and the outstanding acting comes from Jim Broadbent as King William, Rupert Friend as Prince Albert, and Harriet Walter as Queen Adelade.  Certainly worth seeing but I doubt it will be any the worse for waiting for it to be released on DVD.