Hugo - The Movie

I have not read The Invention of Hugo Cabret but I remember seeing it in bookshops when it was first released and thinking was a clever, gorgeous looking book it was. Now that I have seen the movie I may have to go back and make a purchase I think so that I can experience it all over again..
The Martin Scorsese film has been nominated for a raft of Academy Awards including best picture, best director and best score and after seeing the movie for myself over the weekend I can see why.
The story centres around a boy named Hugo Cabret who is living in the walls of a Paris train station after the death of his family. Hugo survives by stealing bits of food from the shops within the station but his driving force is the repair of an automaton machine that his father discovered before his death and was helping to restore. In order to find the parts to complete the machine Hugo steals from the owner of the small mechanical toy shop in the station and is eventually caught leading to all sorts of ramifications and adventures.
This is a really simplistic telling of the plot which is slow to get going at first (although the opening scenes where the camera sweeps over Paris and into the train station are simply gorgeous) but then erupts with action, romance, friendship, heartbreak and twists and turns. The film is visually stunning - it would be interesting to hear what lovers of the book think of the way in which the scenes have been interpreted - and the musical score adds to the magic of the story and the characters.
Absolutely loved it!

Black Swan

As part of our "holiday at home" my partner and I have been enjoying lovely meals at home and out as well as catching up on our movie watching. Last night it was the turn of Black Swan starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis.

One of the many rave reviews for this movie describes it as a "psycho-sexual thriller" and it is certainly that! The word running through my head at the end of the movie was "intense".

The film is set in a New York ballet company and its new season is about to begin with a showing of Swan Lake. The principle role of the Swan Queen has been won by Nina Sayers (played by Natalie Portman) but a new dancer in the company, Lily (played by Mila Kunis) shows promise and Nina becomes convinced that she is trying to wrestle the role from her. The stress of taking on the role and being able to access the darker side of her personality in order to be able to portray the role of the Black Swan convincingly takes its toll on Nina and she begins to sink into a world of paranoia and hallucination - or does she?

This was an amazing, if at times difficult, movie to watch. The costumes, sets, music and dancing were magical (I have gone out and bought the soundtrack to the movie today!) and the performances by the two main female characters were incredible - Natalie Portman in particular deserves the praise and accolades she is receiving for this role.

A movie that will stay with me for a while...

The King's Speech

We went to our first movie of 2011 last night, The King's Speech, one I have been waiting to see ever since I first heard about it several months ago.

The movie focuses on the story of King George VI (played wonderfully by Colin Firth) from the time before he becomes King after the abdication of his brother Edward up until the start of World War 2. King George, or Bertie as he is known affectionately by his family, has a significant stutter which greatly impacts on his ability to perform his public duties and make important speeches. The impediment is of great embarrassment to him and his family and once he begins speech therapy with the unconventional Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush) we begin to see the origins of the problem and why it is has been so difficult for him to overcome.

It sounds like such a simple premise to take up the length of a whole movie but it is done brilliantly - there is tension galore and the suspense leading up to the King's first speech after the announcement of World War 2 is immense. The real focus of the movie is on the relationships formed by the King with those around him, including his wife Elizabeth played by Helena Bonham Carter (the real start performance for me) and that of his speech therapist, Lionel.

It is a beautifully made and performed movie - highly recommended!

Marie Antoinette

Paris In July is giving me the opportunity to re-visit some of my most favourite movies, one of which is definitely Sofia Coppola's version of Marie Antoinette. The doomed Queen of France has always been an interesting and beloved historical legend for me - the accuracy of my knowledge is probably not great but I love, love, love the story of her personality, actions, thoughts, fashion and life.
This movie version of Marie Antoinette is one you either love or hate I think - and I am definitely in the former category. The movie is visually stunning - from the location of Versailles to the costumes, food, drink and locations consumed by Marie Antoinette and her entourage in vast quantities.

Priceless

As part of Paris In July I decided to take the opportunity to watch one of my favourite French films with my favourite French Actress, Audrey Tautou - Priceless.
I just adore this movie! I know it is not one of the "classics" of French cinema but it makes me laugh and smile every time I watch it.
Audrey Tautou plays the role of Iréne, a young, attractive, sassy gold digger on the hunt for a permanent rich older man to play the part of provider so that she can continue to live in the manner to which she has become accustomed. At an exclusive hotel on the French Riviera Iréne meets Jean - a hotel employee who she mistakes for rich prey. The confusion leads to the start of a very funny relationship as Jean is forced to take on an unfamiliar, and not entirely comfortable role, in order to woo Iréne.
The film is gorgeous to watch - beautiful sets, locations, clothes and people and the two lead roles have a wonderful chemistry together. Pure French fun!

Chéri

I recently watched the film version of Chéri starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend. This was another movie that I meant to go and see at the cinema but I just missed it so I have had to wait for it to be released on DVD.

Visually this movie is stunning - the costumes and the sets and locations especially so. But I have to say the visuals were the best thing about the movie for me. I thought Pfeiffer and Friend were great in their roles as the courtesan Léa and young Chéri but something about the whole thing together just didn't gel for me.

I did love the story though and I am now very keen to read Colette's novel which the movie was based on. Luckily I have a gorgeous Vintage Classics Edition of the book waiting on my shelves.

Has anyone read this, or any other Colette books that they would recommend?

An Education - Movie

After reading, and loving, Lynn Barber's memoir An Education a little while ago so many of you recommended watching the movie that was born from the book.

I finally got myself into gear last weekend and purchased a copy of the DVD - and I am so glad that I did because this is a movie that I will be wanting to watch over and over again.

There are so many things to love and enjoy about this movie. From reading the book first I felt that the movie stayed so close to the spirit of the author and her move from naivety and childhood into an aspect of adulthood. Carey Mulligan was divine as the young author (whose name has been changed to Jenny in the film). I thought she had an amazing ability to portray youth and innocence as well as maturity - often within the space of a single scene.

All of the supporting actors fit into their roles as well but it is clear that this is Carey's film - she is stunning in every scene she appears in.

A gorgeous film - one that takes you back to that time of adolescence when all you want to do is fly the nest!

An Education - Lynn Barber

I have wanted to see the movie version of An Education ever since I read about it and saw a preview - the glamorous life of a teenage London girl in the 1960's seeking to escape her working/middle class upbringing through an affair with a much older and more experienced man - sounds just like the dreams I had as a teenager growing up in rural Australia in the 1990's!

But before seeing the movie (which is now out on DVD in Australia) I did want to read the autobiography/memoir it is based on by English journalist, Lynn Barber.

My assumption is that the movie version focuses only on chapter two of the book where Barber re-tells the story of her affair/relationship/dalliance with a much older man when she is a 16 year old school girl in London. The book describes Barber's parents reactions to the relationship - surprisingly accepting - and her own doubts about the man who turns out to have one or two significant secrets. While I was initially disappointed to find that the book didn't focus on this period in Barber's life for longer - my reflective teenage self would have liked to hear more descriptions and tales from the weekend jaunts to Paris and Bruges - my disappointment was only short lived as I realised that this section of her life was only one interesting instance - many more followed in her life as an Oxford student and journalist.

I especially like the sections where Barber reflects on her work as a newspaper journalist where she discovered her passion for interviewing - a skill she clearly mastered if her several British Press Awards are anything to go by. My father is a journalist and I have always loved being a part of that world of newspaper production so this part of the book did bring back many fond memories for me.

This was an interesting and moving read for me - Barber is extremely open and honest in her writing and her reflections of her life - I really felt as though I was being let into her personal diaries - I only wished she had kept on writing.

Alice in Wonderland - Movie

My partner and I spent an afternoon in a jam packed cinema this weekend watching the new Alice In Wonderland movie. I have to firstly confess that I don't think I have actually read the books all the way through - I am certainly familiar with the stories but as for having sat down and read the book - that is something I am going to have to go back and do now!

The movie was certainly an adventure but I can't say that it met all of my expectations - not that this is necessarily a bad thing. I was thinking the movie's PG rating would mean it was a bit of a let down content wise but I actually think a lot of the movie would have been lost on younger children and thinking of the primary school aged children in my life my main thoughts were that they would have been bored through a lot of it. We saw the movie in all of it's 3D glory (this is only the second feature film I have seen in this way - the first being Avatar) and I do think this format adds some magic to the experience (if also an awful headache from wearing those ghastly glasses!).

The young Australian actress playing Alice, Mia Wasikowska, was divine - I thought she brought the right combination of innocence, confusion and fiestyness to the role and I also thought she helped to create a real feminist message to the role, and the movie in a way. Johnny Depp was, as expected, clever and wacky as The Hatter and he has made me want to throw a tea party in the not too distant future! The costuming (always one of the highlights to a movie for me) was gorgeous and innovative. All in all a satisfying movie experience - now to move on to the book.

Up In The Air

One of the things I have been trying to do more of lately is go to the movies and generally watch movies/DVD's that I want to see. I always seem to be saying "Oh, I really wanted to see that" but by the time I have gotten around to it the movie has moved on from the cinema and I then have to wait what feels like forever for it to come out on DVD.

So, my partner and I went on the weekend to see the new movie starring, among others, George Clooney - Up In The Air. I should probably first admit my bias for anything that involves Clooney - I am a huge fan of his work (and his looks!) so I was destined to like this movie anyway but I have to say I thought it was a great piece of work overall. I found the whole cast brilliant - of course Clooney stood out for me but I also thought he was outshone at times in particular by his co-star Anna Kendrick.

The movie centres around the experiences of Clooney's character Ryan Bingham, an American business executive whose job it is to fly around the country firing people. Bingham loves his lifestyle - he spends over 300 days a year in the air and away from his "home" and he has what many people would view as superficial and transitory relationships with anyone who has entered his life. I loved the scenes where Bingham is shown preparing for his trips and moving through the airport processes - I must admit I could kind of like that lifestyle too I think!

The company that Bingham works for has just hired Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) straight from college and she has some pretty radical ideas about how the company can change it's work practices and save money by moving to firing people via video link up. Needless to say Bingham is not happy about these proposed changes and sets about showing Keener just how his world operates - and why it needs to operate in the way it does - both for the employees who are receiving the news but also for himself.

The movie touches on some very real and topical issues for workers in the current climate and I thought this material was handled really well and in a way that makes the audience think about the real human and community effects evolving from economic problems. The personal lives of the characters were blended strongly with their working persona's to create complete, holistic and real characters with strengths and flaws. Totally watchable - and not just for Clooney!

Bright Star

My partner and I went with some friends last night to see Bright Star the movie about poet John Keats and the love of his life Fanny Brawne.

I am not generally a fan of poetry - I would love to be able to read a poem and understand and appreciate it but I am afraid my reading material needs to be much more literal for me to take it on board. Add to that some very bad memories of studying poetry at university and it's no wonder I really did not know all that much about John Keats - the man or his poetry.

Bright Star has changed all that for me and I may just have found a medium for me to appreciate poetry through.

This movie is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever watched - the scenery, costumes, lighting and camera work are all divine but the thing that really made the movie for me was Australian actress Abbie Cornish in the role as Fanny. I thought Cornish played this role to perfection and was simply stunning as Fanny.

The movie follows the relationship of Keats and Brawne from the beginning and it paces the story really well - staying true to the time in which they lived and clearly showing the impediments that were in the way of them continuing their relationship and marrying.

Such a beautiful story - can't wait to see this one again.

Sherlock Holmes - Movie

Tonight my partner and I went to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. It certainly was an action packed adventure!

I thought Robert Downey Jnr and Jude Law played wonderful parts but my favourite actor had to be Rachel McAdams - she was just great as Holmes' "muse". It would have been great to see more of her - but I guess this would not have supported the Holmes/Watson storyline.

Having never read any of the Sherlock Holmes book I had no literary reference to compare the movie too - so while I enjoyed the movie as a stand alone action adventure through the streets of London I'm not sure that I have been shown the "true" Sherlock Holmes?? The action itself was fast paced but I felt the plot was a little lacking in substance - I did find myself feeling a little bored when the upteenth action scene came on screen. Is this how it is in the books?

I would really love to move onto the literary Holmes from here - can anyone offer any suggestions on good places to start?

Persuasion

As my fifth item (only one to go!) for the Everything Austen Challenge I chose to re-watch one of my favourite movie adaptations of Austen's novel Persuasion (my absolute favourite Austen novel). The version is the 2007 ITV production starring Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot and Rupert Penry -Jones as Captain Frederick Wentworth (how handsome is this man??!!).

Apart from liking this movie in its own right it also has a special connection for me as when we were in Bath in 2007 I was able to see an exhibition of costumes and other items from the movie at The Jane Austen Centre.

I agree with some other reviewers in various locations around the web that this movie is not without its flaws - it certainly strays from Austen's original novel in many ways but even though this is my favourite book of hers I really don't have a problem with this movie changing some things around a little. I think the movie remains true to the essence of the story and the relationship of Anne and Captain Wentworth. I think Sally Hawkins is a delightful Anne - even if she does sob and gasp a little too much for my liking in places! She is delicate and strong at the same time (I particularly like the scene in Bath towards the end when she stands up to her snobby father!)and she captures and portrays the history of her relationship with Captain Wentworth in her mannerisms and words perfectly for me.

The Young Victoria

The Young Victoria was a DVD that I bought while we were in the UK and I was very excited to find it as it only just come out at the cinemas at the time we left Australia and I hadn't been able to get to see it before we left. I find with DVD's (unlike books!) I seem to wait ages after I have purchased them to actually sit down and watch them - so it was only last night that I finally broke open the packaging on this one.
The story of Queen Victoria is not one I am overly familiar with beyond the most well known facts but I have always been interested in the relationship she had with Prince Albert and the way she grieved his loss after his early death at the age of 42. I became more interested when we visited Muckross House in Killarney in Ireland on our recent trip - a beautiful house that Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had spent a few nights in not long before his death.

The Young Victoria is a stunning visual movie - gorgeous locations, costumes and people! I felt that Emily Blunt played a vibrant, feisty Victoria and while some of her mannerisms may have come across as quite modern (similar to the response I had to Miss Austen Regrets) who is to say that that is not how she would have responded in certain situations - particularly in regards to her relationship with Albert.
The movie focuses on the period in Victoria's life just before she turns 18 and then afterwards when she becomes Queen. We see her relationship with Albert develop from one of suspicion (this is the man that her manipulative mother wants her to marry after all) to one of respect and love. The movie also covers aspects of the political and social setting at the time which I found gave a good context for the relationship between Victoria and Albert.

With my lack of historical knowledge of this particular person and time in history I am not sure if the movie is accurate in all that it portrays but I know that I enjoyed watching it very much.

I have now brought out a copy of a book I have had on my shelves for a while and am now inspired to read - Becoming Queen by Kate Williams.

Has anyone else read any other books about Queen Victoria (fiction or non-fiction) that they would recommend?

The Time Traveler's Wife - Movie

The Time Traveler's Wife is being released at the movies in Australia tomorrow but I was really lucky to be able to see it on our recent trip while in Dublin (just one of the perks I love about travelling overseas - being able to see films months before they make it down under!).

I am a huge fan of the book by Audrey Niffenegger but it did take me two attempts to be able to read this book - I just couldn't get my mind past the concepts in order to focus on the relationships and the story itself. I did what I always did when I have trouble with books I am certain I should be liking - I give them to my best friend to read first - she always seems to be able to help me interpret books in new ways. Anyway, on my second attempt I couldn't put the book down and absolutely devoured it.

Jackie wrote a great reflection the film which I read before I went away - and it only made me want to see it more. Like Jackie I cried when reading the book - and more tears flowed during the movie. It actually takes a lot for me to cry at anything fictional so this is usually a sign (for me at least) that the emotional storyline is authentic and genuine. My partner came to see the movie with me and even though he had not read the book he said that he enjoyed the movie and could follow the concepts easily.

Seeing movies of my favourite books are often a hit and miss affair for me but I have to say that The Time Traveler's Wife was definitely a hit. There was certainly a lot about the movie that was missing (especially content wise) but I felt it captured the essence and feeling of the book perfectly. So much so that I think I will venture out this weekend to watch it all over again...

Coco Chanel

I do like living in the town/city where I live - it has many things going for it and many things that I enjoy about it. But there are also many things that frustrate me about it. In particular being able to see movies that I want to see without having to travel to Sydney! I have so been looking forward to seeing the Coco Chanel movie that comes out in Australia this week but of course - it is not showing in my home town. I am so disappointed. So, in order to see the movie I would need to travel to Sydney - which is ordinarily not a problem but our weekends are full for the next month at least so there will be no opportunities to travel there.

So I am going to have to live vicariously - have any of you seen this movie or heard anything about it?