Watched a fabulous French psychological thriller this weekend. La tourneuse de pages" (The Page Turner) about the vengeance of a very talented girl who's refused for the conservatory due to the fact that one of the committee members (a famous female pianist) distracts her and she starts missing notes. Amazing how a director can make a movie in which there's very little dialogue but the (permanent) suspense is essentially created by gestures and vague facial expressions. I was totally fascinated, and as in awe as when I watched "Il y a longtemps que je t'aime".

I'm reading Marcel Prousts "A la recherche du temps perdu" at the moment and loving it. It's been a while but my love for French literature is completely back. These passed years I've "traded" it somewhat for English literature, but thanks to Proust I'm totally enchanted again. La plus belle langue du monde! :) The French Proust uses is so beautiful, so perfect and refined and at the same time very transparent. The descriptions are amazing and the dialogues delightful. I can sense the atmosphere so well, see every space and its objects, hear the voices, smell the scents even. Just amazing, and I wonder why I waited so long.

Wish I had more time to review the books I read and movies I watch but I haven't, not at the moment. Too much work. :(

This is a movie to look forward to!

Cemetery Junction, Ricky Gervais first movie.

The teaser alone is hilarious!

Two of my idols, Ralph Fiennes and Ricky Gervais, together in a movie, what a treat. :)

I'm terribly sorry, dearest daughter of mine, I know you enjoyed this movie, but I couldn't get into it at all. I can only give it two stars out of ten. Generation gap, perhaps? ;) I thought it boring, hardly ever funny and not at all romantic... I mean, we're talking romantic comedy here, right? The predictability of the plot, the lack of chemistry between the main characters, the expressionless, boring Steve Carell... Amazing that a fine, interesting actress such as Juliette Binoche accepted this part.

The story? Well, it's about widower Dan, a columnist and father of three daughters between 12 and 17, who meets the (second) woman of his dreams in a bookshop in the village where his parents live, and where the entire family is assembled for their yearly get together. Unfortunately the woman appears to be the new girlfriend of his brother... How does one deal with that...? I guess you can guess... ;)

No reviews, just stars...

Confessions of a Shopaholic **** out of ten.
An occasional laugh and gorgeous fashion, but all in all a perfect example of over-acting and copying of older but much better romantic comedies such as Sex & The City and The Devil Wears Prada. Most original idea: the winking and gesticulating mannequins in the shop windows to induce our heroine to buy...





Rachel Getting Married ******* out of ten
Very good story, perfect acting, but awful camera work. The use of shoulder camera is intentional to make the family gathering look more natural, but I hate it. Makes me feel dizzy. Anne Hathaway is a great acting talent.

Religulous **********
Very interesting documentary by American talk show host and comedian Bill Maher about religion in which he shows the arrogance, intolerance and contempt of smaller and larger groups of believers (for whom belief is synonymous with fact) towards those who think differently, and who feel the need to impose their often hate mongering ideas upon others. I was as amused as I was appalled.

On my 'to see' list:

- Happy Go Lucky
- Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona
- Sunshine Cleaning

Robin Kaye - Too Hot to Handle ********
For the lovers of romance a wonderful new novel - and sequel to "Romeo, Romeo" that recently won an award - by a dear friend from across the Atlantic Ocean. Good plot, great characters and lovely humor set in the greatest city of the US, New York. I can't wait for the next sequel featuring Becca and Ritch. I wholeheartedly recommend it, but watch out... it's hot, almost too hot to handle. ;)

Currently reading (yes, all at the same time LOL):

Doris Lessing - The Golden Notebook
Anna Enquist - Contrapunt
Marcel Proust - Du côté de chez Swann

Yesterday evening after a fun dinner at Vapiano we spontaneously checked to see if there was a movie worth going to in the cinema at the other end of the square (the one where I watched P&P with fiorelina). We already went to "The Reader" (it pleased me that it was still on!), and didn't feel like going to "Duplicity" since I'm one of those few people who isn't particularly fond of Clive Owens and is not that keen on Julia Roberts either nowadays, so we chose "Coco avant Chanel" with Audrey Tautou. Hm... a bit disappointing actually. Bernard was bored, the man at my other side was sleeping and I had to yawn an awful lot... The movie is about Chanel's earlier years before she became one of France's fashion icons. In fact she wasn't much more than a courtesan, being kept by a rich chatelain. I'm not judging that, it's perfectly understandable. Her sister and she were orphans and they had nowhere to go when grown up. They sang (badly) in cafés and during the day they worked as seamstresses. In the end she manages to start her own hat atelier with borrowed money from her lover Arthur Capel, "Boy", who will later die in a car accident.

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...the 1985 adaptation. Read the book again recently, and watched both movie adaptations. Can't help it, I can't get enough of this sweet little gem of English literature about coming of age of a girl from a bourgeois fin de siècle English background...

Actually I like both adaptations very much. they're both fairly true to the book - at least they catch the spirit of it well, except for the ridiculous end of the 2007 adaptation in which IMHO Andrew Davies took too many, highly unnecessary liberties. When I watch it, I don't watch the end. Of course, Andrew Davies always makes sure his adaptations get sexed up as well... *rolls eyes*

As far as the cast is concerned I liked both Lucy's (Helena Bonham-Carter in 1985 and Elaine Cassidy in 2007) equally much, they were adorable, but thought Maggie Smith a much better Charlotte than Sophie Thompson, Judi Dench a better Ms. Lavish and, surprise, surprise (perhaps)... Laurence Fox a much better Cecil Vyse than Daniel Day-Lewis (of whom I'm a great fan normally) in the 1985 adaptation. Unfortunately he had too much stage-like mannerisms, that annoyed me somewhat. Fox played his part of a supercilious dandy in a more natural, easy going way. As for George Emerson, they were both lovely, but Rafe Spell is visually less appealing than Julian Sands in the 1985 adaptation. As for the fathers Emerson, both were wonderful, but I prefer Denholm Elliott to Timoth Spall, in reality Rafe's father, which shows actually. :) The other characters we're equally fine (particularly Rupert Graves as Freddy) although I had a slight preference for the 1985 Misses Alan. :) Last but not least... a lot more frontal male nudity in the 1985 adaptation... ;)

Anyway, I made numerous stills for your and my own enjoyment. :) ( Read more... )

Just lovely! Ok, perhaps the movie didn't have great depth, here and there there were historical inaccuracies, the score wasn't altogether to my taste, and sometimes there's too much fast forwarding particularly during the last minutes of the movie that are filled with somewhat annoying inter-titles. But nothing could spoil my enjoyment: the story about Victoria's adolescence and the early years of her marriage with Prince Albert was enchanting, the acting wonderful - what a great cast! -, the cinematography fabulous, the decor and costumes amazing... Since the movie finishes after the birth of their first child, and they had nine together, I already crave for a sequel. :)

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Since I hardly slept last night due to thunder, rain and storm I took it easy today and only worked this morning. In the afternoon I watched the 1939 version of WH with Laurence Olivier. Worthwhile watching only for LO, the script sucks as badly as the 2009 version. So, to feel good again, I watched the 1992 adaptation with Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes - my favourite - immediately after... LOL

Pic spam behind the cut ( Read more... )

Since Wuthering Heights is one of the most interesting novels of the Romantic Movement I've ever read, I'm obviously very curious when a new movie adaptation sees the light. So, I was all eyes and ears when the first episode of two was on Belgian TV last Saturday (or was it Friday?) Anyway, I watched it...

I was disappointed. The shots of the landscape were beautiful, certainly, the interiors were fine, the music too, as well as the cast (although...). No, it's the script! It sucks. I really don't mind it when script writers take liberties. That's normal and most of the time necessary, but in this case this powerful story about an extraordinary, intense and passionate, life transgressing love between two young persons - wild and untamed as the landscape in which the story takes place - becomes a sloppy hard to follow mess in which the story bounces back and forth all the time. Apart from that, important scenes from the book are simply left out, such as Cathy's death bed, and the visitor to whom Ellen tells the story. Such a shame. When I read it, I am that visitor, I want to be him and... shiver... :))

This poor script reminded me of Andrew Davies utterly absurd script (at least partly) for the 2007 adaptation of "A Room With a View". Unnecessary changes which do not improve the story in any way. As far as the cast is concerned, Tom Hardy as Heathcliff is too beautiful; his face, his mouth are too soft. He simply doesn't come across as the bitter revengeful cruel man he's supposed to be. And Cathy, played by the beautiful Charlotte Riley, is too sweet, too kind. She lacks this wildness and ruthlessness of the Cathy in the book.

Pity, the makers turned this little disturbing mystery of world literature into a rather cheap simple historical romance that's easy on the 21st century eye. But perhaps that's exactly what the viewer wants, who knows?

I'll probably won't skip the second episode, I'm curious enough, but I already long to re-watch the 1992 adaptation with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche and the fabulous 1998 one with Robert Cavanah and Orla Brady.

Just watched an absolutely brilliant black comedy/thriller about abuse of power, and revolution eating its own children. It comes down to this: being idealistic and remaining true to one's self does NOT pay, quite on the contrary, you're bound to taste defeat in a country where one dictatorial regime is overthrown but the revolutionaries are no better, and where all means to remain in power are justified.
In such a country there's no place for idealists. Brilliantly played by Donald Sutherland as the revolutionary play wright, Ralph Fiennes as his idealistic prison guard who in the end chooses for him, and, last but not least, Tom Hollander as the neurotic sexually aberrant cruel dictator who produces B films. The story is set in an imaginary country, in an imaginary era - could be the fifties, sixties or even eighties... it's irrelevant to the story, which is of all eras. The subsequent regimes are all a mixture of dictatorships I've experienced in my life time (not up close, I'm happy to say) such as papa Doc's Haiti, Pol Pot's Cambodia, Pinochet's Chili, Ceauscescu's Romania, Khomeiny's Iran, and even the Red Terror of the French Revolution (hm... the latter not in my lifetime, obviously). It's a perfect mosaic of all that is and was wrong in so many parts of the world on a macro and micro political level.
I'm impressed. :)

Anyway, here are the promised pictures: ( Read more... )

OMG, did I ever watch a sillier movie than this one? I think not. LOL St. Trinian's a movie for teens, most definitely, but since I heard so many positive reactions amongst Colin Firth fans I gave it a chance. It's apparently a re-make of an older movie about a girls' boarding school where various groups of girls are in charge, and who instead of learning, undertake all sorts of illegal activities with the headmistress (a drag queen part for Rupert everett) as driving force. They need to deal with the bad financial situation of the school. But then, the minister of education, who likes to present himself as a hard line politician, wants to renew and improve the education of his country. So, he starts his crusade to put things right with the school that has the worst reputation in the country: St. Trinian's. And makes a media spectacle of it... A thing he shouldn't have done. ( Read more... )

Just watched this delightful adaptation of the famous story. No review for now, but some delicious - essentially Jeremy Northam - picspam. Enjoy! :) ( Read more... )

Spider is set in the East End London in the 1960s and '80's. A deeply disturbed boy, Spider (Bradley Hall), 'sees' his father brutally murder his mother and replace her with a prostitute, Yvonne (Miranda Richardson). Convinced they plan to murder him next, Spider hatches an insane plan, which he carries through to tragic effect. Years later, Spider (Ralph Fiennes) is released into a halfway house, where he receives little care or attention from the landlady Mrs. Wilkinson (Lynn Redgrave). Unsupervised, Spider stops taking his medication and starts revisiting his childhood haunts. His attempts to sustain his delusional account of his past begin to unravel and Spider spirals into fresh madness. (from www.spiderthemovie.com) ( Read more... )

I'd never heard of this collection released by Sony, but yesterday I received two of it I ordered at Ebay: Polanski's MacBeth and The Winslow Boy. When ordering I had no idea the entire play was included as a little pocketbook! And all that for but a few euros. Gosh, I was so excited when I'd unwrapped the package. :) Will definitely be on the look out for more of this collection. For as far as I can see, they're all adaptations of classics of English literature.

As a (former fanatic) fan of Jane Austen fanfiction I couldn't resist buying the DVD of "Lost in Austen" when I saw an advantageous offer on Ebay. I didn't expect much of it, hadn't really read about it, nor do I remember whether my friends wrote about it. Lost in Austen is an ITV mini-series in which a contemporary girl (who's crazy about Pride and Prejudice and the elegant era in which it takes place, and dislikes the non-romantic ways of modern men) meets Elizabeth Bennet in her bathroom... Indeed, it's a time traveling story where the two girls swap places and eras. Elizabeth stays, and our modern day girl, Amanda Price, enters into the world of Jane Austen, amongst the Bennet family at Longbourn to be precise. Now, the confusing thing for this girl is that the story she knows so well gets all mixed up because of her. Situations do not work out at all as they are meant to. Jane marries Mr Collins, Charlotte leaves for Africa to do missionary work... Plus, some of the key characters are different from those we know. There are all sorts of allusions to the BBC 1995 mini-series also, and Colin Firth is mentioned a couple of times. The makers even used the theme of the mini-series score. That was funny. ( Read more... )

I've had the book on my bedside table for a very long time. Tried to read it but never really got into it. Today I watched the movie I bought for a euro or two on Ebay. Despite the fact that the plot is ultra thin and highly predictable, I was rather entertained. It's a sweet comedy - a little too sweet for my taste - with some for the movie appropriate quotes and superficial - and again predictable - analogies with Austen heroines. Let's hope it encourages young people who haven't read Jane Austen (yet) to pick up her books. If you need to relax, and just don't want to think at all but get entertained, pick it up, it won't disappoint. Just do not expect too much. I particularly liked Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) and Hugh Dancy (almost Darcy) is cute.

The story is about five women (each and every one of them having issues) and one man who read a Jane Austen novel each month and discuss it together. During these discussions they get to know more about themselves, their relationships and what's really important in life, thanks to Austen's universal themes such as (long lasting) love, family problems, friendship... :)

My husband has an advantage over me. Yesterday evening "Spider" was on, but very late in the evening and I had already gone to bed. However, he was so enthusiastic and impressed that he woke me in the middle of the night to tell me about it. Spider is one of the few Ralph Fiennes movies I haven't seen so far, but this morning I immediately browsed Ebay for the DVD. :)

It really feels good that for once my husband shares my admiration as far as actors are concerned. He thinks he's the best of his generation by far. And I couldn't agree more. Anyway, I ordered it and hope to review soon.

Googled a bit of course, and found this interview.

This is quite an impressive movie. Actually, I didn't know much about T.E. Lawrence, aka Lawrence of Arabia. In fact I've always thought of him like a person who existed once, but who had been terribly romanticized. Of course he is, but he definitely was a factor during the post World War I peace negotiations. This movie is about his role during these negotiations. And I've really learned about this important period in history. Not only a fascinating movie, but rather instructive as well. ( Read more... )

...for very little money at Ebay :)

- A Dangerous Man, Lawrence after Arabia (with Ralph Fiennes, 1991. Received it in the mail today)
- Lawrence of Arabia (with Peter O'Toole, 1962)
- A Room wit a View (TV, 2007)
- Chromophobia (2005)
- The Jane Austen Book Club (2007)
- Lost in Austen (2008)
- The Secret Garden (1994)
- The Winslow Boy (1999, with Jeremy Northam)
- MacBeth (Polanski, 1971... I'm not even sure if I have the courage to watch. The bleakest adaptation ever! :( )

Yet another Colin Firth movie I liked quite well, even though it was a bit slow.

What is Genova about? It's the story about a father, Joe (Colin Firth) and his two young daughters, who have to deal with the terrible loss of the mother who's killed in a car accident, and each of them cope with the situation his/her own way. They move to Genova, Italy, to try to pick up the pieces and make a fresh start. When they arrive in Genova, Joe has to start working immediately, while the children still have vacation, a complicating factor in view of supervision, an element which will be crucial by the end of the movie.

How do these people cope with their loss? Joe is grieving inwardly. He feels his responsibility towards his daughters very strongly and wants to give them a life as carefree as possible. He does his best to combine his work as a university teacher and the duties of a (single) parent. The latter isn't easy for him given the fact that the eldest daughter, Kelly (Willa Holland) is on the threshold of womanhood, pushing out her frontiers and discovering sex, drugs and going out late, and... having this, for that age, sort of indifference towards the feelings of others. So, for Joe, as a single parent, it's hard to maintain a certain authority. The youngest, Mary (beautifully played by Perla Haney-Jardine) is suffering from nightmares about her mother, she feels responsible for her death, which her eldest sister doesn't hesitate to rub in. She reproaches her younger sister that they had to give up their life in the US and have ended up in Europe, in a - for them - rather intimidating town like Genova with its narrow dark streets where a language is spoken they don't understand.

I think the movie shows us in a very subtle way the psychological effects of a family drama on all persons involved without becoming sentimental. For instance, despite the loss of his wife Joe isn't insensitive to the advances of one of his pretty students, which is more realistic than have him grief forever. His family definitely comes first though. Boy, Colin Firth expressed all fatherly emotions so well: fear, relieve, worry... Fantastic. As said, the eldest has an air of indifference, but under this pose she obviously hides her own grief. The youngest daughter - who draws amazingly well for her age - takes refuge in her imagination. She sees the ghost of her mother who comforts her, leads her the way... The latter in a quite literal way by the end leading to a climax which brings the family together again.

As I said in the beginning, the movie is quite slow, but I didn't really mind that. I think the story, which isn't exactly plot driven, just ripples on like calm water from one event to another with an occasional disturbance, just how daily life of most people look like. With this difference though that these three people have to come to terms with their terrible loss and their mutual feelings about it. So we see piano lessons, cooking, walking the streets of Genova, the first sexual experience of the eldest daughter, a father waiting for his daughter to finally come home late in the evening, a day at the beach etc. etc.

Actually, the movie reminded me a little of a movie directed - I believe - by Robert Redford of which I forgot the title, but is about a family dealing with the loss of a favourite son.

I liked it, I was moved by it, so I recommend it.

BTW, the name of the actor who played Kelly's boyfriend is Alessandro Giuggioli. I bet he's a relation of Colin Firth. ;)