First Half Of 2016 Film Round-Up
Posted 4th July 2016
Category: Film Genres: N/A
3 Comments
Not much going on here. I started well; I saw a new film on New Year’s Day and visited the cinema a couple more times that month but my watching petered out as spring started. Family events ensured I watch a few more films than I might have otherwise and I tried another of those ‘watch one every evening’ goals I first attempted a few years ago; at the end of the day I don’t think I’ll ever get over the ironic feeling I have that a couple of hours spent on a film isn’t worth much even though I can spend several hours on an average book and deem it very worth it. I guess film bloggers feel this in reverse!
Bridge of Spies (USA, 2015) – I didn’t catch as much of the humour as did those I saw it with but it wasn’t bad.
Cheerful Weather For The Wedding (UK, 2012) – Strictly okay. Sorely lacking in the humour that made the book so good and the poignant ending wasn’t well done.
Cinderella (UK, 2015) – Apart from the way the actors all seem cut out of another piece of film (I suspect too much green screen) this is an excellent production. Very, very funny, in an adult humour way, and in this case the sections that are overly romanticised and cute are clearly to placate the kids who want the princess fairytale. The step-family weren’t as awful as I’d been led to believe – they’re more bog-standard Cinderella – but the focus on that aspect of the story is given more time.
The Danish Girl (Multiple countries, 2015) – The actors were good and worked well together, the music was great, cinematography… I’m just a bit confused as to why they chose to adapt a fictionalisation rather than the true story.
Ella Enchanted (USA, 2004) – Very silly, perhaps too silly, but entertaining enough.
Joy (USA, 2015) – A good story but film was the wrong medium for it. Wait for the book (not that it’s on its way).
Man Of The Year (USA, 2006) – Eternally relevant.
Philomena (UK, 2013)– Hard hitting and whilst not quite true to life, very good.
Spectre (UK, 2015) – Not bad at all. Liked the characterisation of the Bond Girl.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (USA, 2015) – As a Star Wars film? Not so much. As a film in itself? Awesome. I am loving Rey so far though I could do without Darth Vader’s Anger-Management-Course-Required grandson. Bit too samey.
Goal for the next six months? Honestly, I think saying I’d like to have watched two films is a good idea. I have read a fair number of books – they’re making up for the slack.
Which films have you seen recently and would you recommend them?
July 5, 2016, 5:09 pm
I loved Spectre, Cinderella and The Force Awakens. The only other one I’ve seen is Ella Enchanted, a sweet tale but I don’t remember the book being that silly – oh well, Hugh Dancy made up for a lot of its faults :-D
July 5, 2016, 8:07 pm
I am not much of a movie-goer, as I prefer the older films of the 30s and 40s. Also, the whole experience of sitting in a theater with a bunch of cell-phone checking, talking patrons makes the experience so challenging for me. So I usually wait until something is available on Netflix….
Having said that, I did go see Suffragette and Brooklyn. The script and direction of Suffragette was so wonderfully intense. The acting really good. Very enjoyable (and on a Saturday late morning with only a few old people in the audience)!
I was fascinated by the story of Brooklyn and although my Irish ancestors came to the US much earlier, I thought the experience shown was realistic. But I felt the film was too narrow, telling just one story and I was bored. As I found later, I wasn’t the only person who thought the film would have been so much more interesting if they told the stories of the other Irish girls sitting around that dinner table. Julie Walters as the house mother was wonderful!
3 Comments
July 4, 2016, 5:09 pm
Funnily enough The Force Awakenings is one of the films to feature on my LoveFilm post today. Not sure about Rey yet but I loved BB8 and it was lovely to see the return of my favourite, Chewy.
http://pettywitter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/lovefilm-june-16.html
Of the other films you mention Philomena and Cinderella are currently on our list and I dare say Spectre which Mr T saw at the pictures may well be added along with (though I may watch it by myself) Ella Enchanted.