Second Half Of 2015 Film Round-Up
Posted 6th January 2016
Category: Film Genres: N/A
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In any given year I seem to forget about the screen somewhere between June and July and that’s it until the next January. This time around I have Christmas to thank – we watched four films and as is often the case, there were some interesting ones on catch-up television.
Here are the films I watched for the first time during the second half of 2015.
About Time (UK, 2013) – Funny, poignant, and, hey, it’s by Richard Curtis. You do need to suspend reality as the time travel has a lot of holes but the message rings true. And that title is pretty meta.
The Book Thief (USA/Germany, 2013) – It’s not the same (it was never going to be, so much of the book’s success is in the writing itself) but it’s a great film nonetheless. Best viewed as it’s own creation.
Jurassic World (USA, 2015) – You have to suspend reality for more than the obvious reason but this is a good film.
Mockingjay Part I (USA, 2014) – Like the book, this film isn’t as good as the others in the series, but it’s a fair addition and I liked that they went against the books and kept Effie.
Paddington (UK, 2014) – I had my doubts when we started, but this is a great film and, like Disney, there’s a lot of adult humour, too. I’d never liked Sally Hawkins before this film; everything I’ve seen her in she’s been upset or angry or wicked, but here, well, I really don’t know why more films don’t have her in happy roles; she’s a delight to watch.
The Princess Bride (USA, 1987) – Finally saw this after hearing so many Americans talk about it. My expectations were a bit too high – take out those and I loved it. Yes, it’s dated, but if you’re expecting that it’s fine.
Romeo & Juliet (UK/Italy, 2013) – This was rated negatively, mostly due to the butchered dialogue, but I quite liked it. They made a point of showing it’s set in Verona and we actually got to see Rosaline.
So not bad in the end, though it could’ve done with more diversity in all senses of the word.
What films have you enjoyed recently?
January 7, 2016, 2:41 am
The Princess Briiiiide! I think it is best to go in with low expectations, as I did — I didn’t know anything about it apart from the title, which I thought was dumb, so the movie was a huge hit with me when I first saw it. And of course, I continue to love it always!
January 7, 2016, 5:41 pm
The only one I haven’t seen is Romeo and Juliet; I would really like too though. I enjoyed all of the others. About Time and Paddington were sweet and very funny. I adore The Princess Bride it is a childhood favourite of mine – I actually managed to wear out two videos of it! Also I enjoyed The Book Thief and Jurassic World last year so much so they made it onto my Top 10 adaptations post :-)
January 8, 2016, 11:55 am
Jessica: Pretty awesome you can relate to so many! It’s a nice adaptation though there is a lot of extra dialogue and changed words. Reading forums, not many seem to have appreciated that but in a way I reckon we’ve had so many adaptations already why not have one that shakes things up a bit? I never knrew of ‘Bride when younger but I can relate to wear out tapes; I used to limit my viewings once the tape started wearing out. You’ve taught me something – I didn’t know the Jurassic stories were books.
Jenny: It’s an odd title, definitely, though I liked the reasoning for it. I think if I’d been younger or not known about it beforehand I may have liked it more – then again I would probably never have seen it if not for having heard about it online because it doesn’t seem famous here. (Until Jessica’s post above I didn’t realise it had reached Britain back then.)
Literary Feline: If she’s into Doctor Who already that sounds about right :) Paddington’s a good one when you want a film for all ages; the balance is perfect.
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January 6, 2016, 9:57 pm
The Princess Bride is a favorite in our house–and you just made me realize it might be time soon to introduce it to my daughter! She’d love it. (She’s turned into quite the Doctor Who fan.)
I haven’t yet seen Paddington, but I want to. I really enjoyed Jurassic World also–definitely one to suspend disbelief for.