Monika’s Pensieve

{FILM DIARY}

The Girlfriend Experience (USA, 2009)

Seen: Saturday, 17th October 2009 (cinema, WFF)
Runtime: 77′
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Cast: Sasha Grey
Production House: 2929 Productions, Extension 765, HDNet Films
Plot: The story of a sophisticated escort, who gives men a “girlfriend experience” - as in an evening out during which she behaves exactly like their girlfriend rather than a girl they hired to have sex with. Despite her career choice, she still seems to manage to maintain a stable relationship with her boyfriend.

Trailer

Impressions In Short
A bit blah. Didn’t evoke any strong feelings in me. It had a very improvised kind of feel to it and didn’t seem to have much of a structure (as in it didn’t have a clear beginning, ending, culmination points etc.).

More About the Film
The main interest factor for me was Sasha Grey. This wasn’t really the kind of film where the actors could put in striking, dramatic performances or anything like that. The characters just weren’t written with that in mind. So I didn’t find out all that much about Sasha Grey as an actress. She was fine for what the film needed her to be, but how much more she can or cannot do as an actress is as much a mystery to me as it was before *sigh* The one cool thing that I found out is that she can actually be vulnerable on screen. She comes across as a very strong and fierce sort of personality in interviews, so I was wondering - thought she might have more trouble with that.
As for the film, it was a bit disappointing in just how purposeless it felt. Nothing much happens during the course of the film. It’s more like a set of random scenes with this very improvised feel to them (even the soundtrack is jazzy which just increased that feeling of improvisation for me). I suppose it captured the atmosphere of New York pretty well thanks to this, but it also left me rather confused. I mean once the film finished it felt like nothing had happened. She was just back to meeting up with clients again.
Some time later I figured that maybe Chelsea had changed tactics by the end of the film and I just hadn’t noticed ;) Throughout the film she keeps repeating that clients don’t want the real her. If they did they wouldn’t be paying her. She thinks she has to create a sort of charade for them. But then at the end when she breaks down in front of a client (Sasha Grey was pretty good in that scene - I thought that was the most tricky bit of acting she had to do), it actually does change things. In the last scene of the film we see her with another client and she does something very uncharacteristic. The client tries to talk her into voting for McCain and she humorously answers something along the lines of “no way”. Not something she would have done before I think. So I suppose that means she changed tactics - she found that her clients didn’t want as much of a charade as she originally thought (as in she doesn’t have to pretend her political views are different than they really are). On the other hand maybe I’m reading too much into that scene :] I might be looking for meaning where there isn’t any, just because I can’t quite accept that the narrative structure really was that random.

Recommended?
Nope, not really. Not that you have to avoid this at any cost, it’s not that bad. But unless someone has a very particular reason to see it then I don’t think they’re likely to enjoy themselves much.

Before I get to the spotting part of the post, I wanted to recommend Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired. It’s coming in on the 13th of November 2009. I saw it at the Planete Doc Review and reviewed it here. It’s even more poignant now after Polanski’s arrest in Switzerland.

{FILM SPOTTING}

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life (Canada, 1994)

Release Date (Poland): 6th November 2009
Director: Barrie McLean
Production House: Mistral Films, NHK, National Film Board of Canada (NFB)
Plot: A documentary about well… the Tibetan Book of the Dead ;) I presume this means a lot of information about Buddhism and Tibetan culture.

Scene From The Film
A clip from the film can be seen here.

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
I’m not sure the Tibet and Buddhist angle is enough to keep my attention really. I mean I like finding out more about their culture, but I’ve never been attracted to the topic in the way I have to Afghanistan for example.

The excited part of me thinks that…
The fact that they were filming in Ladakh, India kind of intrigues me. It’s a pretty politically sensitive region. And Canada tends to have very good TV productions (this was originally meant for TV AFAIK), so the standard of the film may be quite high.

(500) Days of Summer (USA, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 13th November 2009
Release Date (worldwide): 17th January 2009
Runtime: 95′
Director: Marc Webb
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Production House: Sneak Preview Entertainment, Watermark
Plot: (from imdb)

An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
This could be just another romantic comedy. Maybe slightly more stylish, but still with not much more to offer.

The excited part of me thinks that…
I have this odd feeling about it, which is based on nothing in particular. It took me a lot of time to decide whether I want to spot this or not cause on the surface it doesn’t look like there should be anything about it that attracts me.
But clearly there is something in the trailer that appeals to me or I wouldn’t be struggling with making up my mind about whether I want to see it or not ;)

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (USA, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 20th November 2009
Release Date (worldwide): 16th November 2009
This is one of my most awaited films this year, so I’ve already spotted it here. Since then, they’ve released a slightly less crappy looking trailer, which is here. I’ve also read the book recently and IMO it’s by far the best book of the series, so I’m quite excited for that :)

Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (Austria/Germany/France/Italy, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 20th November 2009
Release Date (worldwide): 21st May 2009
Runtime: 144′
Director: Michael Haneke
Production House: Wega Film, X-Filme Creative Pool, Les Films du Losange, Lucky Red, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung (MDM), German Federal Film Board, Mini-Traité Franco-Canadien, Deutsche Filmförderfonds (DFFF), Austrian Film Institute, Vienna Film Financing Fund, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication, Eurimages
Plot: (from imdb)

Strange events happen in a small village in the north of Germany during the years just before World War I, which seem to be ritual punishment. The abused and suppressed children of the villagers seem to be at the heart of this mystery.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
This may be one hell of a pretentious art film :] There’s been a little bit of controversy surrounding its win in Cannes AFAIK.

The excited part of me thinks that…
It’s Michael Haneke with a film that has turned some heads, so it should be worth a look…

The Yes Men Fix the World (France/UK/USA, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 20th November 2009
Release Date (worldwide): 18th January 2009
Runtime: 87′
Directors: Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum
Production House: Arte France, Article Z, Renegade Pictures, Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation
Plot: (from imdb)

Troublemaking duo Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, posing as their industrious alter-egos, expose the people profiting from Hurricane Katrina, the faces behind the environmental disaster in Bhopal, and other shocking events.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
It might be a bit like Michael Moore’s films. Not that they’re bad, but he so tries to manipulate the viewer into his own point of view that it can get a bit annoying.

The excited part of me thinks that…
Well, it just looks pretty amusing *grin* Also, this got some good reviews when it was shown at the Planete Doc Review festival.

{FILM DIARY}

Mammoth (Sweden/Denmark/Germany, 2009)

Seen: Friday, 16th October 2009 (cinema, WFF)
Runtime: 125′
Director: Lukas Moodysson
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Marife Necesito, Jan David G. Nicdao, Sophie Nyweide, Martin Delos Santos, Natthamonkarn Srinikornchot, Michelle Williams
Production House: Memfis Film, Film i Väst, Pain Unlimited GmbH Filmproduktion, Sveriges Television (SVT), TV2 Danmark, Zentropa Entertainments, Zentropa International Berlin
Plot: (from imdb)

While on a trip to Thailand, a successful American businessman tries to radically change his life. Back in New York, his wife and daughter find their relationship with their live-in Filipino maid changing around them. At the same time, in the Philippines, the maid’s family struggles to deal with her absence.

Trailer

Impressions In Short
Rather heavy and depressing. It’s one of those films which is missing something that would make it really great, though there’s loads of good things about it all the same. The kids in the film were exceptional :)

More About the Film
I walked out of the cinema with mixed feelings. It felt like there was something missing, something that would give the film that extra I don’t what. I’m still not sure what it was that it lacked…
But I was totally wowed by the kids in the film. They were all fantastic performances and I’m judging the same way I would judge adult actors here. The characters were supposed to be in the 7-11 years old range and I presume the child actors were around that too. And yet these were truly mature performances.
In fact the thing I probably liked about the film the most is that it never patronized the child characters. I’ve never seen another film quite like it I think. It treated the child characters in the same way it treated adult characters. Their motivations were perfectly clear and understandable, their world and way of thinking explained. There was never for a moment the assumption that a character would think that because he or she was a kid. They would think that because their experiences and feelings led them that way.
Perhaps that’s why the performances were so good. Kids hardly ever get to play characters written that well. The girl that plays Jackie was awesome. The conversations she has with Gloria (her nanny) are great - like when they talk about astronomy (that’s something Jackie has a particular fondness for) or when Jackie becomes interested in the Philippines, Gloria’s homeland. My favourite one was when Jackie starts telling Gloria about the Big Bang (and btw, Jackie may be around 8 years old, but she knows way more about astronomy than I do and way more than the general population does!). Gloria tells Jackie that she doesn’t believe in the Big Bang because she believes the world is God’s creation. And Jackie takes that as challenge to try and convince Gloria of the scientific facts (and that God may have been behind the Big Bang). It’s both sweet and real - a conversation like that could easily have happened *grin*
In some ways the most dramatic character amongst the kids is Salvador, Gloria’s older son. Gloria has had to leave both her sons in the Philippines when she made the decision to earn money abroad. Salvador is 11 and he’s a very strong and determined kid. He deals with his mother’s absence well, but it becomes more and more taxing on him with time. He has to try to keep his younger brother (who is dealing with it much worse) happy, which is exceedingly difficult as many of his younger brother’s doubts are his own. When he speaks to his mother on the phone he can never get a straight answer about when she will be back. He assumes the only answer that makes sense - until he himself is old and strong enough to make a living, his mother will have to stay abroad and earn money there. The boy who plays Salvador was great. It’s quite an intense and dramatic performance.
Then there is Manuel, Gloria’s younger son. He has less of a part in the film, but again a flawless performance.
The lady playing Gloria was great too :) She reminded me a lot of people I’ve come across in real life. It was a very real sort of performance and there was a beautiful warmth about her as well.
Michelle Williams was great as Jackie’s mother.
The one performance I didn’t like that much was Gael unfortunately. Not that he was bad. It’s probably just that I don’t like him in those kinds of roles. It was an “adult who is still a kid on the inside” kind of part.
I almost forgot to mention the Thai lady who played Cookie - she was great as well *grin*
It was definitely a very well acted film (I’m yet to see a Lukas Moodysson film where that wasn’t the case). But for me that wasn’t quite enough… It’s a little annoying that I don’t understand my own reasons for feeling like the film lacked something. The best explanation I’ve been able to come up with (and I’m not entirely sure it’s a true one ;-P) is that the film sometimes seemed to be more about the problems it was talking about than about the actual plot and characters. Still, it did paint a picture that is very much worth thinking about. At it’s core Mammoth is a story about loneliness. It’s about families that have a huge amount of love in them, but because of their lifestyle choices they’re very lonely and isolated. The freaky thing is that the lifestyle choices are ones that most of us choose.
It was actually fascinating to observe the whole marital cheating thing on screen. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen it portrayed like that. It’s a marriage that has a huge amount of love and which is actually working. The cheating just happens because of circumstances and loneliness. Usually when you have a theme like that shown on screen then the cheating happens because there’s something wrong with the marriage, but in this case there isn’t and yet the situation is so very real.
It doesn’t sound like I’m reviewing a film I had mixed feelings about, does it? ;) And yet, even though there’s so much I can compliment, the film as a whole just didn’t quite work for me *sigh*

Recommended?
Ugh… this is a tough one. I would definitely recommend it for the performances of the kids. If anyone knows of another film which has kids of this sort of age performing on this kind of level then please let me know - I don’t think I do!
It’s also a good film for anyone who likes to have something to think about after they leave the cinema. This does leave you with plenty to chew on.
However, it also is pretty heavy and depressing. Stay away if that’s not your thing.
Stay away also if you’re not into art house films. This isn’t very radical, but if you’re not into art house you’re very unlikely to like it I think.

{FILM DIARY}

Love Actually (UK/USA, 2003)

Seen: Tuesday, 13th October 2009 (VHS, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 135′
Director: Richard Curtis
Cast: Bill Nighy, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Emma Thompson, Keira Knightley, Hugh Grant, Laura Linney, Thomas Sangster, Alan Rickman, Lúcia Moniz, Billy Bob Thornton, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Olson
Production House: Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Working Title Films, DNA Films
Plot: (from imdb)

Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

Trailer
What is it with Working Title Film and trailers having shots that were missing from the final edit? They’ve done it again! lol

Impressions In Short
Another fun, romantic film (that’s the genre one ends up watching the most of on a Colin Firth phase ;) ). Though when I watch this one I always feel that a script and cast this strong should make the films much better than it is. It somehow doesn’t quite fulfil its potential.

More About the Film
When I watch this, I feel that it’s almost a Bollywood film *grin* And before you say it doesn’t have any song and dance numbers - think again ;) It just incorporates them into the plot a lot more naturally than a Bollywood film would. But you do actually get quite a few, like for instance:

• The singing scene during the wedding
• Hugh Grant as the prime minister getting caught dancing when he thinks nobody is looking (you can see it here)
• All the bits of Bill Nighy and his music videos
• The company party with all the dancing

But for me one of the most powerful scenes in the film is little Olivia Olson singing in the school finale (apparently they actually tried to make her voice sound more like a child’s in the post-production cause it was just too good lol). Perhaps unlike the other music scenes, this one is very blatantly a song and dance number. Check it out - it’s quite something :)
Of course all of the music scenes are very much part of the story, which is unlike Bollywood. But the significance that music and dancing has in the film is very much like a Bollywood film IMO. And of course there’s the whole love message too *grin*
Bollywood comparisons aside, I love the script - I think that if you’re going to go whole hog on the love theme then this is totally the way to do it. It has a great cast also, but somehow, even though nobody puts in a bad performance, nobody is quite at their best either (although maybe I’m being a bit unfair on Rowan Atkinson and Emma Thompson *grin*). Some sort of excitement and oomph is missing from the film, though despite having watched the film quite a few times I still haven’t quite been able to put my finger on what’s wrong.

Recommended?
Any romance fans will almost certainly have a lot of fun with this. In romance standards this is great. I’m not sure how well it stands outside the genre though. It’s good enough I suppose, but I’m not sure how appealing somebody who isn’t into romance would find this.

My apologies for being so bad with updating this blog of late :-/
First, the BA project got in the way. We were very tight for time and we didn’t get it done yet again would you believe! But at least this time we’ve certainly gone forwards and the quality of work is pretty good… or at least was until we started rushing it.
Programming is an odd thing… the more you try to rush it the slower it goes. Ironically, if you allow yourself to ponder a problem and read a lot of documentation and blog posts about the technology you’re using (including a lot of texts that are completely irrelevant to your problem) it actually goes faster than when you just try to attack the problem. Not only faster, but the quality of work is higher too. Or at least this seems to apply to me and my partner as we discovered. Trying to rush it was not a good idea at all. We’d probably have had better chances of making the deadline if we’d gone slow (although I don’t think we’d have made it either). Still, we’ll try again *grin* This time at least we won’t be starting at the beginning (last year’s attempt was so poor that we couldn’t bare to work with that disgusting code again - seriously it was better to start over :]). We’re quite happy with the work we’ve done, we just need to do more of it ;)
After that I was in a slightly strange mood, plus I’ve got a mega Twilight phase at the moment. I’ve finally started reading the books and am really hooked (so hooked in fact that I’m spending most of my spare time reading the books rather than surfing the internet - very weird! lol). I’ve read the first three books rather fast and have now started on the fourth. I love both Edward and Jacob as characters and heartthrobs - they make for great reading. But honestly, if you look at it sanely then they’re two of the worst guys you could ever wish to end up in a relationship with ;)
Edward is a creepy stalker who likes girls 80 years younger than himself and is extremely possessive (though he does mature enough to start controlling his possessiveness in book three - I’ll give him that ;)). Furthermore, he keeps hiding things. Often he will not tell Bella the whole truth or even lie. And that’s not even taking into account the supernatural bits - I mean obviously everyone would love to have a boyfriend who enjoys drinking human blood and has skin cold as ice ;)
Jacob seemed to be a much more sensible choice in book two - very good material for a boyfriend in fact. But by book three I’d say that’s pretty questionable :] I’m not sure I can say why without spoiling… but I guess I’m still more on his side as far as boyfriend suitability goes ;) At least he’s always straight with her - no lies or half-truths, no pretending there isn’t more. And on the supernatural front - I think a boyfriend whose skin is ridiculously hot is way more practical than a boyfriend whose skin is ridiculously cold - at least certainly in the kind of climate the story happens in ;)
Anyway, I’m sure I’ll find many ridiculous ways to debate the Edward/Jacob thing in future posts. I suppose my Twilight phase will culminate when the film comes in on the 20th of November. For now, I’m going to try to get up to date with film diary - I don’t think I’ve ever been quite this behind before :-/ (though at least I haven’t had all that much time for film watching - so though I’m almost 4 weeks behind, it’s just 6 films ;) ).

{FILM DIARY}

"Pride and Prejudice" (UK, 1995)

Seen: Tuesday, 6th October 2009 (DVD, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 300′ (6 episodes, around 50′ each)
Director: Simon Langton
Cast: Colin Firth, Jennifer Ehle, Susannah Harker, Julia Sawalha, Alison Steadman, Benjamin Whitrow, Crispin Bonham-Carter, Polly Maberly, Lucy Briers, Anna Chancellor, Adrian Lukis, David Bamber, Lucy Scott, Emilia Fox
Production House: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Chestermead
Plot: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, what else is there to say? *grin*

Scene from the series

Impressions In Short
This is one of my favourite film romances ever :) It bares rewatching very, very well. I’m surprised at how hooked I get every time (it’s never enough to watch just one episode ;)). The only problem is I hardly ever get access to it - my mum is holding on to my DVD almost permanently ;)

More About the Film
The casting and acting in this is exceptional. Even the very minor parts are just spot on. It’s so true to the book too. But, of course, the reason why everybody loves it so much (and the major reason why I like rewatching it quite so much *grin*) is Colin Firth. He is the perfect Mr Darcy really. I don’t think there’s another actor who gets the British gentleman stiffness out so naturally. He has a very particular way of doing it. Those kinds of performances tend to get too stiff - like that’s all there is to the character. In fact that’s exactly what happened to Mr Darcy in the version with Keira Knightley. What’s so lovely about Colin Firth’s interpretation is that there’s so much behind the stiffness. I guess it helps that he really embraces all the awkward bits. Mr Darcy is proud and arrogant and all that, but he also sucks at socializing which leads to some pretty awkward situations and Colin Firth is absolutely hilarious in them *grin* The scene in which Mr Darcy proposes to Elizabeth for the first time is a masterpiece - must be one of the most awkward “Will you marry me?” scenes in movie history ;) Both Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle are great in that.

Recommended?
Any Colin Firth fan absolutely should (and probably already has) seen this. For any fans of British costume dramas - again this is fab :) If you like a good romance this is also definitely a film for you.
And unless any of these recommendations put you off, I’d say it might be worth having a look even if you are none of the above :) It’s a very well made mini-series.

{FILM DIARY}

Bridget Jones's Diary (UK/France, 2001)

Seen: Tuesday, 29th September 2009 (VHS, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 97′
Director: Sharon Maguire
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Shirley Henderson
Production House: Little Bird, Studio Canal, Working Title Films
Plot: (from imdb)

A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.

Trailer
The trailer seems to include lots of shots which were not in the film. It’s the first time I’ve seen a trailer which had so many shots that weren’t included in the final product…

Impressions In Short
A really fun romantic comedy. It’s one of those films that I never thought was that great and yet I keep coming back to it… and I don’t think Colin Firth is the only reason ;)

More About the Film
I love Bridget Jones as a character. You very rarely get female leads like that in commercial movies. She totally doesn’t fit the mould of what a commercial heroine should be like. To state the obvious - she’s overweight and doesn’t look like what women in Hollywood are supposed to look like. But something else that always hits me when I rewatch the film is the kind of comedic treatment that the character gets. That sort of comedy is very rare for a female character - I guess women aren’t supposed to be that clumsy or something. I also love that she’s so warm, colourful and feminine. More heroines like her in commercial movies, please!
Renee Zellweger is awesome at portraying her, which helps a lot too of course. I love her in that part. Her British accent is perfect!
Colin Firth and Hugh Grant work so well as the other characters in the triangle. They really couldn’t have cast them better. It’s fun to see Hugh Grant as the “baddie”. I think his sense of humour actually works better that way than when he does the shy, polite and clumsy English guy. And Colin Firth with his ridiculous “stiffness” is wonderful *grin*
Something else that always gets me is how the scenes of sexual nature are set up. There is a certain way that commercial films usually do them and this is certainly not it ;) Rather than do a romantic “they’re in the throes of passion” thing, their focus is on making it look like fun. It’s sort of odd that hardly any movies go that route. I love it that this one does :)

Recommended?
On the whole, yes. I mean I guess it helps if you’re in the mood for a romantic comedy. And probably for those who don’t get the genre this is something they should avoid. But otherwise, go for it! IMO it’s quite a classic :)

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (UK/France/Germany/Ireland/USA, 2004)

Seen: Thursday, 1st October 2009 (VHS, repeat viewing)
Runtime: 108′
Director: Beeban Kidron
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Gemma Jones, Jim Broadbent, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Jacinda Barret
Production House: Working Title Films, Universal Pictures, Miramax Films, Atlantic Television, Little Bird, Studio Canal
Plot: (from imdb)

The story picks up four weeks after the first film, and already Bridget Jones is becoming uncomfortable in her relationship with Mark Darcy…

Trailer
This one has some shots which weren’t in the film as well, though not quite as many…

Impressions In Short
I actually think this one’s funnier *grin*

More About the Film
Perhaps a big reason why I like the second one better than the first is that this one has more Colin Firth ;) IMO the male lead in the first one is Hugh Grant even though it’s Colin Firth who gets the girl, but in the second one it’s definitely Colin Firth who is the leading man.
But I also think this one gets to much more absurd levels of humour, which again appeals to me more. Naturally, it has all the strengths of the first film too :)

Recommended?
Yep, I’d stipulate the same provisos as I did with the first movie though.

I think this is the first one I actually find relatively enticing, though the special effects still look appalling IMO :]
The nice thing about this trailer is that it’s not quite as choppy. The first Twilight film was as “unchoppy” as Hollywood editing gets these days and that was a lot of its charm for me - all those awkward silences and just how unrushed it felt. Part of the problem with the Twilight trailers is that they chop it all up into very short clips and that whole atmosphere is gone and since the acting is very restrained and the plot has the charm of fan fiction, it ends up looking incredibly stiff and ridiculous :] And then of course there’s the appalling special effects and fighting sequences which take up most of the trailers even though they’re hardly in the film ;)
Anyway, this one is still choppy, but the choppiness is toned down just enough to get a whiff of what the film might be like. There’s a few interesting moments and lines. Just giving that little bit more of the split up scene improves it greatly *grin* I hope it’s even better in the film. The way she keeps seeing him everywhere is sort of spooky as well. And Jacob really looks good on this one. I love the way he says “He left you Bella, he didn’t want you anymore.”.

{FILM SPOTTING}

The Accidental Husband (UK/USA, 2008)

Release Date (Poland): 2nd October 2009 (Kino Świat)
Release Date (worldwide): 13th February 2008
Runtime: 90′
Director: Griffin Dunne
Cast: Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Colin Firth, Isabella Rossellini
Production House: Blumhouse Productions, Team Todd, Yari Film Group (YFG)
Plot: (from imdb)

When talk radio host Emma Lloyd advises one of her listeners to break up with her boyfriend, the jilted ex sets about getting his revenge.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
This is going to be just another, relatively dull romantic comedy (not that I don’t like to watch romantic comedies, but there are good ones and bad ones - this sounds to me like the latter ;-P).

The excited part of me thinks that…
Colin Firth, especially at this time, is a very enticing factor ;) And generally speaking Uma Thurman and Colin Firth seem like a slightly odd pairing and I’m quite curious to see that (though it looks like Colin Firth is going to be the third person in the triangle rather than the main love interest).
The other thing that arouses my curiosity a little bit is that it’s not a studio pic - no major company in the credits there and we’re getting it 20 months after the worldwide premiere here in Poland, which also suggests that this is no Hollywood movie. So appearances might be deceiving (as in they might be promoting it as something slightly different than it is, though of course it might be exactly what it looks like ;) ).

My Winnipeg (Canada, 2007)

Release Date (Poland): 2nd October 2009 (Gutek Film)
Release Date (worldwide): 7th September 2007
Runtime: 80′
Director: Guy Maddin
Production House: Buffalo Gal Pictures, Documentary Channel, Everyday Pictures
Plot: (from imdb)

A personal portrait of filmmaker Guy Maddin’s hometown of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
Well, this is a film I’ve already seen ;) So lets say I’m a bit sceptical about going to see it again, especially when time is scarce. Then again I would like to :) (and it’s ages since I last saw it)

The excited part of me thinks that…
Well, I loved it the previous time and it’s a film that I think probably watches a lot better on the big screen. I think it would be odd seeing it on DVD (but then I haven’t tried).
It’s the first time any Guy Maddin film has been released in Poland in general distribution and I really recommend people check him out. This is a very good film to start with.
Actually, I just got an e-mail about it today - promotional material from the distributor. One of their lines to get people to see it is:

Filmu takiego jak “Moje Winnipeg” nie wymarzyliby sobie nawet w najśmielszych snach ani Tim Burton, ani Terry Gilliam.

The translation: Tim Burton or Terry Gilliam would not dream something like this up even in their boldest fantasies.
And it’s not a bad comparison ;) They do have a bit in common - Guy Maddin is also someone who delves very deeply into the world of fantasy. The difference is that indeed Guy Maddin is in some ways bolder and crazier. His films are true art house fare (forget about having a comprehensible plot), whereas Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam usually balance somewhere in between the art house stuff and the commercial stuff. But I think that for any fans of Tim Burton and/or Terry Gilliam, Guy Maddin is really worth checking out - just keep in mind that this is art house cinema at its most art house ;)

District 9 (USA/New Zealand, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): 9th October 2009 (ITI)
Release Date (worldwide): 13th August 2009
Runtime: 112′
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Production House: Key Creatives, QED International, WingNut Films
Plot: (from imdb)

An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.

Trailer
You can see it here.

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
I’m not into aliens and explosions and that sort of stuff…

The excited part of me thinks that…
It looks so weird :] Parts of the trailer seem stylized to look like a documentary. And just the idea that aliens come to Earth and then end up living in the slums and are treated like illegal emigrants is intriguing. Depending on how far they go down that route it could be quite interesting.

Séraphine (France/Belgium, 2008)

Release Date (Poland): 23rd October 2009 (Gutek Film)
Release Date (worldwide): 7th September 2008
Runtime: 125′
Director: Martin Provost
Production House: TS Productions
Plot: (from imdb)

Based on the life of French painter Séraphine de Senlis.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
It might just be your average costume drama…

The excited part of me thinks that…
I kind of like the trailer and it was chosen to close the ENH festival in July, so maybe it’s a bit more than average…

I announced that I’m going through a Colin Firth phase, so I need to provide some proof ;-P
I don’t go through Colin Firth phases often, so the last time I actually actively looked for Colin Firth interviews was ages ago and there wasn’t much up at the time. It’s a very different landscape now though *grin* Anyway, saw two really fun interviews…

This one is from the Daily Show at the time that he was doing publicity for Love Actually. “You might want to vomit once or twice.” has to be one of the most original ways of publicizing a romantic comedy lol

This one is Colin Firth and Meryl Streep on Rove. He got really into the “Who would you turn gay for?” question ;)

{FILM SPOTTING}

I’m trying to cut down as much as possible… In truth there’s a lot of great stuff being shown at the WFF this year *sigh* My two posts are just things that I find hard to say no to even when time is difficult :] (though I’m considering saying no to Świnki as that is very likely to get a Polish distributor)

Fixer: The Taking of Ajmal Naqshbandi (USA, 2009)

Release Date (Poland): Veeery unlikely that it’ll get regular distribution in Poland
Runtime: 84′
Director: Ian Olds
Plot: (from imdb)

In 2007, the Taliban kidnapped 24-year-old Ajmal Naqshbandi and an Italian journalist. Naqshbandi was one of Afghanistan’s best “fixers” — someone hired by foreign journalists to facilitate, translate, and gain access for their stories.

Trailer

The sceptical part of me thinks that…
I tend to throw myself at any film about Afghanistan regardless of it’s quality…

The excited part of me thinks that…
Even if it’s bad, it’s about Afghanistan, so I’ll get through it! And it’s an unusual angle on the whole Taliban thing, so it should be interesting. Besides, this one has good credentials - it won best documentary at the Tribeca festival.