Tuesday Night is Film Night rounds off September with a film from 2014. This week it's a romantic drama, with a touch of music, as we watch;
If I Stay
Starring Chloë Grace Moretz as Mia Hall and Jamie Blackley as her boyfriend Adam, If I Stay is a romantic drama, with it's basis firmly grounded in music. Mia is from a musical family, her dad; Denny (Joshua Leonard) was a drummer in an up and coming band, her mum; Kim (Liana Liberato) was a bit of a groupie. However, their offspring decided at an early age that the cello was going to be her instrument of choice and she becomes a proficient player destined for great things. Adam is slightly older than Mia and is in a band, but music brings them together. Adam is keen to pursue his blossoming music career, as is Mia and she applies to Julliard to further her musical education and is awaiting the results of her audition. All is going along so well, until as Mia puts it;
"Isn't it amazing how life is one thing and then, in an instant it becomes something else. Like here I am, Mia, the girl who thinks about the cello and Adam, and whether I get a stupid letter or not, and just like that..."
Just like that everything is turned up side down. Mia, hey younger brother Teddy, mum and dad are involved in a car accident and Mia "awakes" to find herself following her own life via an out of body experience. The film thus progresses, switching between the current storyline and then drifting back to previous scenes where the current emotions are retold via the flashbacks.
As a story, If I Stay is really quite good. We like the thoughtful way the tragedy is played out, how close it is to the novel of the same name by Gayle Forman, we don't know, having not read the book, but it may well be worthy of a read, as the screenplay for If I Stay was really quite moving.
At the end of the day If I Stay is a bit of a teen romance, geared to a younger audience, but the it pulls no punches with the tragedies, we won't say too much here, but if you get drawn into the story then prepare for some tears. We didn't necessarily think that the story was played out with enough gravitas to pull you in to the midst of the film, some of the scenes were a tad cheesey, but only slightly. This film could go either way, in the respect of whether you like it or not. That's not to detract from the quality of talents on screen, Chloë Grace Moretz is particularly good to watch, but not in the cello scenes where the CGI lets the filmmakers down somewhat, as you could see the join! There's a great performance from Stacey Keach who plays Mia's grandfather.
All in all a good story, but geared to a younger audience, as witnessed by the higher scores from the younger end of the sofa. The acting was good, but some of the flashbacks could lose you if you didn't maintain concentration. Perhaps some jeopardy would help and a few more tears just to draw the audience closer, not bad, but not brilliant either.
TNiFN Rating 68%
IMDB Link
Tuesday, 29 September 2015
Tuesday, 22 September 2015
The Breakfast Club - 22nd September 2015
We are stepping back in time this week at Tuesday Night is Film Night, way back to 1985, a whole 30 years, to sample the delights of;
The Breakfast Club
Although some of us at TNiFN Towers would have been around and would have been the right age at the time of this film's original release (cough, cough, that'll be me!!), nobody actually saw it back then. Therefore it's classic status was unknown to us, clearly we've led a sheltered life. However, we were encouraged by reviews and were keen to get it off the Sky+ box. Anyway back to the film synopsis, we know it's a cheat, but indulge us for a few minutes, the following paragraph was stolen from Wikipedia, purely for the fact that it sums up the characters and their reasons for being thrown together succinctly, so forgive the laziness for one moment;
"On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five students report at 7:00 a.m. for all-day detention at Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois. While not complete strangers, each of them comes from a different clique, and they seem to have nothing in common. The beautiful and pampered Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), the state champion wrestler Andrew Clarke (Emilio Estevez), the bookish Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall); the reclusive outcast Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), and the rebellious John Bender (Judd Nelson)."
Anyway, back to us. We would describe this film from the pen of, and under the directorship of John Hughes, as a coming of age high school story, some would say the best in this genre, it certainly was compelling, we think that sums the plot line up quite nicely; compelling. These five teenage characters thrust together with their multiple lives juxtaposed against each other and examined under the microscope of their own making. Each character has their own traits, their own story, their own reasons for being there and their own outlook on teenage life, take all of these variables and you are presented with a compelling (there's that word again) comedic drama, with a multiplicity of story threads interwoven with each other, where they are examined and cross examined via the internal machinations of the self acclaimed Breakfast Club. (This name is revealed at the end).
We travel though at a high pace, but a slow speed, which is a contradiction in terms, but that is what it feels like, the mood of the film and that of the story is in a constant state of flux as the intermingled storylines ebb and flow in and out of focus. Each character in turn taking a leading position, then falling back as another takes over. Each story is from their own different background and their own perspective, sometimes they agree, sometimes they agree to disagree, sometimes they argue, sometimes they console each other, but all the time these five, disparate, separate, unconnected, unrelated, different and distinct individuals are drawn together. That is one of the fascinating threads to the whole film; how a disjointed and remote group can come together in such a way and if you haven't seen the film, we're not going to delve into the detailed minutiae of how this is achieved.
The film is funny and sad, it is depressing yet uplifting, it is buoyant and quirky and all the while the Eighties soundtrack is not that far away. Maybe the music and the fashions are dated now (we loved the music though!), but the story and issues examined are still relevant today. Although it is definitely aimed at the teen market, we don't think it matters if you're not a teenager anymore, as long as you were a teen once, then this film will certainly strike some chords. Hopefully.
It split the panel here at TNiFN Towers, not everyone thought it was as good as the other, but it was a slow burner, getting better and better as the film and the story progressed. As a result the ratings are fairly mediocre for the great film that it is classed to be.
Editors note; what can you do? I only write this stuff, the others vote!
TNiFN Rating 76%
IMDB Link
The Breakfast Club
Although some of us at TNiFN Towers would have been around and would have been the right age at the time of this film's original release (cough, cough, that'll be me!!), nobody actually saw it back then. Therefore it's classic status was unknown to us, clearly we've led a sheltered life. However, we were encouraged by reviews and were keen to get it off the Sky+ box. Anyway back to the film synopsis, we know it's a cheat, but indulge us for a few minutes, the following paragraph was stolen from Wikipedia, purely for the fact that it sums up the characters and their reasons for being thrown together succinctly, so forgive the laziness for one moment;
"On Saturday, March 24, 1984, five students report at 7:00 a.m. for all-day detention at Shermer High School in Shermer, Illinois. While not complete strangers, each of them comes from a different clique, and they seem to have nothing in common. The beautiful and pampered Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald), the state champion wrestler Andrew Clarke (Emilio Estevez), the bookish Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall); the reclusive outcast Allison Reynolds (Ally Sheedy), and the rebellious John Bender (Judd Nelson)."
Anyway, back to us. We would describe this film from the pen of, and under the directorship of John Hughes, as a coming of age high school story, some would say the best in this genre, it certainly was compelling, we think that sums the plot line up quite nicely; compelling. These five teenage characters thrust together with their multiple lives juxtaposed against each other and examined under the microscope of their own making. Each character has their own traits, their own story, their own reasons for being there and their own outlook on teenage life, take all of these variables and you are presented with a compelling (there's that word again) comedic drama, with a multiplicity of story threads interwoven with each other, where they are examined and cross examined via the internal machinations of the self acclaimed Breakfast Club. (This name is revealed at the end).
We travel though at a high pace, but a slow speed, which is a contradiction in terms, but that is what it feels like, the mood of the film and that of the story is in a constant state of flux as the intermingled storylines ebb and flow in and out of focus. Each character in turn taking a leading position, then falling back as another takes over. Each story is from their own different background and their own perspective, sometimes they agree, sometimes they agree to disagree, sometimes they argue, sometimes they console each other, but all the time these five, disparate, separate, unconnected, unrelated, different and distinct individuals are drawn together. That is one of the fascinating threads to the whole film; how a disjointed and remote group can come together in such a way and if you haven't seen the film, we're not going to delve into the detailed minutiae of how this is achieved.
The film is funny and sad, it is depressing yet uplifting, it is buoyant and quirky and all the while the Eighties soundtrack is not that far away. Maybe the music and the fashions are dated now (we loved the music though!), but the story and issues examined are still relevant today. Although it is definitely aimed at the teen market, we don't think it matters if you're not a teenager anymore, as long as you were a teen once, then this film will certainly strike some chords. Hopefully.
It split the panel here at TNiFN Towers, not everyone thought it was as good as the other, but it was a slow burner, getting better and better as the film and the story progressed. As a result the ratings are fairly mediocre for the great film that it is classed to be.
Editors note; what can you do? I only write this stuff, the others vote!
TNiFN Rating 76%
IMDB Link
Tuesday, 15 September 2015
Dallas Buyers Club - 15th September 2015
Tuesday Night is Film Night returns this week with a highly recommended movie, but will it be a thumbs up for the 6 times Academy Award nominated film? Let's find out, as we watch;
Dallas Buyers Club
The film opens with a scene at a rodeo, where vehemently heterosexual Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is proving that fact quite aggressively. Unfortunately, Ron is also keen on drink and drugs along with the debauched unprotected sex with the trailer trash that hang around the rodeo and as a result the opening scene concludes with Ron collapsing on the floor of his 1980's Dallas home.
As an opening scene it is intriguing, puzzling and has the promise of a good story. That story unravels fairly rapidly for Ron when he is admitted to hospital after his collapse and after some routine blood tests show up more than was anticipated, the doctors discover that he is HIV positive. Something that Ron is quite clearly shocked by and which he explicitly denies, as he isn't some lousy faggot!
However, like it or not Ron is diagnosed correctly as having AIDS and is given approximately 30 days to live, not something easily absorbed by the red-necked Ron, although as his health deteriorates it is clear that something needs to be done, so he starts to look for some drug therapy, but the hospital can only offer a randomised drug trial where there is a chance that the drugs may be placebos. Initially he manages to get drugs smuggled out of the hospital, but when that supply runs out he ends up going to Mexico to source some more drugs. Here we actually get to the crux of the story, Ron's health begins to improve when he takes the vitamins and peptides prescribed by the doctor in Mexico, who was actually a struck off American doctor, now working the other side of the border. Ron sees an opportunity to make some money selling the same drugs that has helped him, to other AIDS victims. This is where he strikes up an unusual relationship with Rayon a homosexual played superbly by Jared Leto and they form a business liaison selling drugs. This is clearly illegal, so they soon turn into a Buyers Club, where people subscribe to a club and get the drugs free, thus circumventing any legislation.
Ron also strikes up a friendship with hospital doctor Eve, played by the lovely Jennifer Garner as she is sympathetic to Ron's cause and understands how the large pharmaceutical companies are manipulating the doctors into using their drugs for clinical trials, by offering large cash incentives. So the story turns again with Ron being a HIV champion, taking on the drugs companies and the FDA (U S Food and Drug Administration) and trying to beat them at their own game.
It is a fascinating story and the film clearly had potential, but we were a little let down by what we perceived to be a lack of pulling power, we didn't feel drawn into the film. McConaughey clearly pulled out all the stops for the role, and was a very convincing character, but we got bored quite easily with the lack of gravitas that could have improved the storyline. Certainly a serious subject, but the McConaughey character didn't do it for us. Jared Leto was much better and more convincing and Jennifer Garner was a saving grace, pulling us back in with some great dialogue. McConaughey as an actor is very talented and he was definitely the right person for the role and prepared for the role by losing a massive 21kg.
All in all Dallas Buyers Club should be a film that is enjoyed and judging by the other reviews and the Oscar nominations it was clearly well received, it just didn't float our respective boats. Whether that says more about us and our choice of film or the film itself, we'll let you decide. We wanted to like it, but we weren't sold. Great story though.
TNiFN Rating 57%
IMDB Link
Dallas Buyers Club
The film opens with a scene at a rodeo, where vehemently heterosexual Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey) is proving that fact quite aggressively. Unfortunately, Ron is also keen on drink and drugs along with the debauched unprotected sex with the trailer trash that hang around the rodeo and as a result the opening scene concludes with Ron collapsing on the floor of his 1980's Dallas home.
As an opening scene it is intriguing, puzzling and has the promise of a good story. That story unravels fairly rapidly for Ron when he is admitted to hospital after his collapse and after some routine blood tests show up more than was anticipated, the doctors discover that he is HIV positive. Something that Ron is quite clearly shocked by and which he explicitly denies, as he isn't some lousy faggot!
However, like it or not Ron is diagnosed correctly as having AIDS and is given approximately 30 days to live, not something easily absorbed by the red-necked Ron, although as his health deteriorates it is clear that something needs to be done, so he starts to look for some drug therapy, but the hospital can only offer a randomised drug trial where there is a chance that the drugs may be placebos. Initially he manages to get drugs smuggled out of the hospital, but when that supply runs out he ends up going to Mexico to source some more drugs. Here we actually get to the crux of the story, Ron's health begins to improve when he takes the vitamins and peptides prescribed by the doctor in Mexico, who was actually a struck off American doctor, now working the other side of the border. Ron sees an opportunity to make some money selling the same drugs that has helped him, to other AIDS victims. This is where he strikes up an unusual relationship with Rayon a homosexual played superbly by Jared Leto and they form a business liaison selling drugs. This is clearly illegal, so they soon turn into a Buyers Club, where people subscribe to a club and get the drugs free, thus circumventing any legislation.
Ron also strikes up a friendship with hospital doctor Eve, played by the lovely Jennifer Garner as she is sympathetic to Ron's cause and understands how the large pharmaceutical companies are manipulating the doctors into using their drugs for clinical trials, by offering large cash incentives. So the story turns again with Ron being a HIV champion, taking on the drugs companies and the FDA (U S Food and Drug Administration) and trying to beat them at their own game.
It is a fascinating story and the film clearly had potential, but we were a little let down by what we perceived to be a lack of pulling power, we didn't feel drawn into the film. McConaughey clearly pulled out all the stops for the role, and was a very convincing character, but we got bored quite easily with the lack of gravitas that could have improved the storyline. Certainly a serious subject, but the McConaughey character didn't do it for us. Jared Leto was much better and more convincing and Jennifer Garner was a saving grace, pulling us back in with some great dialogue. McConaughey as an actor is very talented and he was definitely the right person for the role and prepared for the role by losing a massive 21kg.
All in all Dallas Buyers Club should be a film that is enjoyed and judging by the other reviews and the Oscar nominations it was clearly well received, it just didn't float our respective boats. Whether that says more about us and our choice of film or the film itself, we'll let you decide. We wanted to like it, but we weren't sold. Great story though.
TNiFN Rating 57%
IMDB Link
Tuesday, 8 September 2015
We Bought a Zoo - 8th September 2015
Tuesday Night is Film Night is back after missing a week last week, busy busy! This week we settle down to watch;
We Bought a Zoo
Tonight's film is based on the true story of Benjamin Mee, who did in actual fact buy a zoo. The one fact, that we've just found out, that is not portrayed in the film is the real zoo is based in England.
Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a recently widowed husband, left with two kids to bring up. When things start to go wrong with his eldest child; Dylan, who gets expelled from school, Benjamin looks to how they can improve their life and maybe even have a fresh start. To achieve this, he starts to look for a new house, to get away from the constant reminders of his loved, but late wife. He finds nothing suitable on the list of available properties, until he discovers the perfect house that, according to the Estate Agent; ".... has complications". The complications being it comes with a zoo attached and the clause in the purchase states that any new owner must take on the zoo, even though it is rundown and not up to specification.
Clearly Benjamin likes a challenge, as he buys the zoo, thinking that it will help his son Dylan. His daughter Rosie needs no encouragement and she loves the new life. The film then follows the real struggles that Benjamin and his family have to face getting the zoo up together, luckily when he took on the zoo, he also took on the staff and Head Keeper Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) is keen to revitalise the zoo and ensure that it passes the necessary inspections to be open to the public again. Kelly is also a love interest for Benjamin, although he is still mourning the death of his wife Katherine and really cannot let her go.
It is a brilliant story, made that little bit more special by the mere fact that is based upon a true story. Clearly it has been given the Hollywood treatment and certain aspects have been changed, not least the location! Matt Damon is great as Benjamin, although sometimes upstaged by Maggie Elizabeth Jones who played his daughter Rosie, a very confident young (7 years old) actress. Scarlett Johansson is also worth mentioning, she plays the character of Kelly really well, being forceful and driven to save the zoo, but clearly with a growing crush on Benjamin, giving that underlying thread of romance to the story. This is also true with Dylan too (Colin Ford) who also sparks a flame of love into the heart of Lily, a teenager that works at the zoo. So there's a multi-faceted thread to the story which easily fills the two hour running time.
All in all We Bought a Zoo maintains a sweet innocence to the story, with the zoo playing the underdog as it were and everyone loves to see an underdog win. There's a fair amount of jeopardy thrown in to add tension, along with a modicum of zoological comedy to raise a few laughs. Certainly a fun family film and one to look out for.
TNiFN Rating 77%
IMDB Link
We Bought a Zoo
Tonight's film is based on the true story of Benjamin Mee, who did in actual fact buy a zoo. The one fact, that we've just found out, that is not portrayed in the film is the real zoo is based in England.
Matt Damon stars as Benjamin Mee, a recently widowed husband, left with two kids to bring up. When things start to go wrong with his eldest child; Dylan, who gets expelled from school, Benjamin looks to how they can improve their life and maybe even have a fresh start. To achieve this, he starts to look for a new house, to get away from the constant reminders of his loved, but late wife. He finds nothing suitable on the list of available properties, until he discovers the perfect house that, according to the Estate Agent; ".... has complications". The complications being it comes with a zoo attached and the clause in the purchase states that any new owner must take on the zoo, even though it is rundown and not up to specification.
Clearly Benjamin likes a challenge, as he buys the zoo, thinking that it will help his son Dylan. His daughter Rosie needs no encouragement and she loves the new life. The film then follows the real struggles that Benjamin and his family have to face getting the zoo up together, luckily when he took on the zoo, he also took on the staff and Head Keeper Kelly (Scarlett Johansson) is keen to revitalise the zoo and ensure that it passes the necessary inspections to be open to the public again. Kelly is also a love interest for Benjamin, although he is still mourning the death of his wife Katherine and really cannot let her go.
It is a brilliant story, made that little bit more special by the mere fact that is based upon a true story. Clearly it has been given the Hollywood treatment and certain aspects have been changed, not least the location! Matt Damon is great as Benjamin, although sometimes upstaged by Maggie Elizabeth Jones who played his daughter Rosie, a very confident young (7 years old) actress. Scarlett Johansson is also worth mentioning, she plays the character of Kelly really well, being forceful and driven to save the zoo, but clearly with a growing crush on Benjamin, giving that underlying thread of romance to the story. This is also true with Dylan too (Colin Ford) who also sparks a flame of love into the heart of Lily, a teenager that works at the zoo. So there's a multi-faceted thread to the story which easily fills the two hour running time.
All in all We Bought a Zoo maintains a sweet innocence to the story, with the zoo playing the underdog as it were and everyone loves to see an underdog win. There's a fair amount of jeopardy thrown in to add tension, along with a modicum of zoological comedy to raise a few laughs. Certainly a fun family film and one to look out for.
TNiFN Rating 77%
IMDB Link
Tuesday, 25 August 2015
Cuban Fury - 25th August 2015
Tuesday Night is Film Night is here yet again and this week it's off with the slippers and on with the dancing shoes as we get down to some sizzling Salsa action with;
Cuban Fury
There we are then, another film ticked off the list and it was a very good film indeed. So what is all about we hear you ask? (There's no need to shout, we can't really hear you).
Cuban Fury stars Nick Frost as Bruce Garrett who, at the start of the film is a childhood star on the Salsa circuit, dancing in all the competitions under the watchful eye of his tutor and mentor Ron Parfitt played by the aging disgracefully Ian McShane. Then just as the UK Junior Salsa Championship beckons and nationwide Salsa stardom is jsut around the corner, Bruce is confronted by some mean street kids who force feed him sequins and turn Bruce against the one thing he loves, fast forward 20 odd years and you have the start of a fun feelgood movie.
It's nice to see Nick Frost appear in a film without the ubiquitous Simon Pegg hogging the limelight, although Pegg manages to snatch a veritably brief cameo in this film. Frost alone is quite funny, plus the original idea for Cuban Fury was from Frost himself, so it's good see him Pegg-lessly driving a film forward. Anyway, back to the plot.
Bruce is now working for an engineering firm, alongside the boorish and arrogant Drew played very convincingly by Chris O'Dowd, clearly this character trait immediately places Bruce in the underdog position and therefore aligns the story in to feelgood mode. Ally this with the arrival of a new boss into the firm; Julia played by the lovely Rashida Jones and our feelgood film has a love interest as both Bruce and Drew are immediately taken by the new boss's looks. The story rumbles on with some suitably funny filling, supplied by a really good if somewhat unknown supporting cast and we reach the point where we find that boss Julia is into Salsa dancing. Shock! Horror! What will happen next?
Obviously, this is the queue for Bruce to don the heels of fire again and get back into the dancing, in the vain attempt to woo the boss. However, Drew has other ideas and sets out to subvert the attentions of Bruce and bag the boss for himself. Bruce is coerced by his sister Samantha played by the ever-so lovely Olivia Coleman and Bejan played by Kayvan Novak, whose constant middle-eastern and almost incomprehensible chatter pushes the bashful Bruce back to the dance floor. We did notice that it was either that Olivia Coleman got all the best lines, or at least her faultless delivery of those lines was extremely funny, we like her.
Obviously, being a feelgood comedy, the outcome is going to fairly predictable, but that's the whole point, you know where the finish line is, it's how you get there that's important and Cuban Fury does not fail to deliver in that regard. The humour is simple, but funny. The dancing is quick and rhythmic, most importantly the editing is superb, so you don't see where Nick Frost's feet finish and the professional dancers feet start, assuming that they must have cut in between professional dancers and the cast. Unless Frost did all his own dancing. Must check that.
All in all a very worthy film to watch, formulaic, funny and feelgood just what we like to watch here at TNiFN Towers.
TNiFN Rating 83%
IMDB Link
Cuban Fury
There we are then, another film ticked off the list and it was a very good film indeed. So what is all about we hear you ask? (There's no need to shout, we can't really hear you).
Cuban Fury stars Nick Frost as Bruce Garrett who, at the start of the film is a childhood star on the Salsa circuit, dancing in all the competitions under the watchful eye of his tutor and mentor Ron Parfitt played by the aging disgracefully Ian McShane. Then just as the UK Junior Salsa Championship beckons and nationwide Salsa stardom is jsut around the corner, Bruce is confronted by some mean street kids who force feed him sequins and turn Bruce against the one thing he loves, fast forward 20 odd years and you have the start of a fun feelgood movie.
It's nice to see Nick Frost appear in a film without the ubiquitous Simon Pegg hogging the limelight, although Pegg manages to snatch a veritably brief cameo in this film. Frost alone is quite funny, plus the original idea for Cuban Fury was from Frost himself, so it's good see him Pegg-lessly driving a film forward. Anyway, back to the plot.
Bruce is now working for an engineering firm, alongside the boorish and arrogant Drew played very convincingly by Chris O'Dowd, clearly this character trait immediately places Bruce in the underdog position and therefore aligns the story in to feelgood mode. Ally this with the arrival of a new boss into the firm; Julia played by the lovely Rashida Jones and our feelgood film has a love interest as both Bruce and Drew are immediately taken by the new boss's looks. The story rumbles on with some suitably funny filling, supplied by a really good if somewhat unknown supporting cast and we reach the point where we find that boss Julia is into Salsa dancing. Shock! Horror! What will happen next?
Obviously, this is the queue for Bruce to don the heels of fire again and get back into the dancing, in the vain attempt to woo the boss. However, Drew has other ideas and sets out to subvert the attentions of Bruce and bag the boss for himself. Bruce is coerced by his sister Samantha played by the ever-so lovely Olivia Coleman and Bejan played by Kayvan Novak, whose constant middle-eastern and almost incomprehensible chatter pushes the bashful Bruce back to the dance floor. We did notice that it was either that Olivia Coleman got all the best lines, or at least her faultless delivery of those lines was extremely funny, we like her.
Obviously, being a feelgood comedy, the outcome is going to fairly predictable, but that's the whole point, you know where the finish line is, it's how you get there that's important and Cuban Fury does not fail to deliver in that regard. The humour is simple, but funny. The dancing is quick and rhythmic, most importantly the editing is superb, so you don't see where Nick Frost's feet finish and the professional dancers feet start, assuming that they must have cut in between professional dancers and the cast. Unless Frost did all his own dancing. Must check that.
All in all a very worthy film to watch, formulaic, funny and feelgood just what we like to watch here at TNiFN Towers.
TNiFN Rating 83%
IMDB Link
Tuesday, 18 August 2015
The Five-Year Engagement - 18th August 2015
Hello Tuesday Night is Film Night fan! (Is there more than one of you?)
We're back after a mini holiday hiatus and it's back to the good old rom-com for us tonight as we relax in front of;
The Five-Year Engagement
Starring the tolerable Jason Segal and the gorgeous Emily Blunt, last seen here at TNiFN in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Five-Year Engagement follows this quaint and cute love story from a year after the time that Tom and Violet (Segal and Blunt) first met, right up to their wedding, if only they were to get married! You see and you may have gleaned this from the title, this relationship although loving and tender and destined for a trip up the aisle, is dogged by career moves and changes of mind. It is under this premise that the story unfolds. Ably supported by their requisite friends and relatives, they are encouraged and coerced to tie the knot. Unfortunately a career move for Violet, leads to a move from San Francisco to Michigan and Tom, a up and coming chef, has to swap a top job in a San Francisco restaurant, for making sandwiches in a Michigan diner.
So a fairly formulaic approach to the story, we have a quick build up and the relationship flourishes, but then as things change, the relationship spirals out of alignment and we witness, albeit with comedic moments and pathos, the dissolution of this very happy couple. This part of the film, does tend to drag on a bit and although the jovial nature of the story tries to encourage laughs, it falls short sometimes. Also if you're in psychology that's good, as Violet is at Michigan University studying psychology, with the man who puts a spoke into the relationship, but we have to put up with some cross over between storyline and character psychoanalysis which although it works to a degree, there are areas that could have been cut and you would not have lost the core of the story.
The Five-Year Engagement tries to be funny and the supporting cast does provide the necessary levity, it's just not quite enough to fully put the com into this rom-com. As for the rom part, that's just fine. Don't get us wrong, it was a delightful and funny movie, it's just it could have benefited from better and indeed funnier writing, rather than rely on a lot of strange characters and there are a few of those. As Jason Segal wrote the screenplay, along with Nicholas Stoller, then perhaps he should have written some more funny lines, rather than rely on physical comedy.
At the end of the day, it was a good film, it just could have been better. The story was really good and the way the two main characters drifted apart was handled really well and the finale was, although expected, just what the film needed to round off a feelgood romantic comedy.
All in all, a great story idea, with mediocre writing, brilliant acting and an enjoyable ending. Worth a watch if you are a fan of rom-coms.
TNiFN Rating 71%
IMDB Link
We're back after a mini holiday hiatus and it's back to the good old rom-com for us tonight as we relax in front of;
The Five-Year Engagement
Starring the tolerable Jason Segal and the gorgeous Emily Blunt, last seen here at TNiFN in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Five-Year Engagement follows this quaint and cute love story from a year after the time that Tom and Violet (Segal and Blunt) first met, right up to their wedding, if only they were to get married! You see and you may have gleaned this from the title, this relationship although loving and tender and destined for a trip up the aisle, is dogged by career moves and changes of mind. It is under this premise that the story unfolds. Ably supported by their requisite friends and relatives, they are encouraged and coerced to tie the knot. Unfortunately a career move for Violet, leads to a move from San Francisco to Michigan and Tom, a up and coming chef, has to swap a top job in a San Francisco restaurant, for making sandwiches in a Michigan diner.
So a fairly formulaic approach to the story, we have a quick build up and the relationship flourishes, but then as things change, the relationship spirals out of alignment and we witness, albeit with comedic moments and pathos, the dissolution of this very happy couple. This part of the film, does tend to drag on a bit and although the jovial nature of the story tries to encourage laughs, it falls short sometimes. Also if you're in psychology that's good, as Violet is at Michigan University studying psychology, with the man who puts a spoke into the relationship, but we have to put up with some cross over between storyline and character psychoanalysis which although it works to a degree, there are areas that could have been cut and you would not have lost the core of the story.
The Five-Year Engagement tries to be funny and the supporting cast does provide the necessary levity, it's just not quite enough to fully put the com into this rom-com. As for the rom part, that's just fine. Don't get us wrong, it was a delightful and funny movie, it's just it could have benefited from better and indeed funnier writing, rather than rely on a lot of strange characters and there are a few of those. As Jason Segal wrote the screenplay, along with Nicholas Stoller, then perhaps he should have written some more funny lines, rather than rely on physical comedy.
At the end of the day, it was a good film, it just could have been better. The story was really good and the way the two main characters drifted apart was handled really well and the finale was, although expected, just what the film needed to round off a feelgood romantic comedy.
All in all, a great story idea, with mediocre writing, brilliant acting and an enjoyable ending. Worth a watch if you are a fan of rom-coms.
TNiFN Rating 71%
IMDB Link
Tuesday, 28 July 2015
The Theory of Everything - 28th July 2015
Here we are again for our grand, spectacular, 252nd film! Did you miss the celebrations for the 250th? Yes, so did we!
Anyway this week it's a biopic, we do love a good biopic and hopefully this is one, sit back relax, put them feet up and wonder about;
The Theory of Everything
Where shall we start with the Theory of Everything? Well, it you didn't know already, it follows the early life of Stephen Hawking, from college days to just after A Brief History of Time is published and everything in between. It is based on Jane Hawking's book; "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" which we implore you to read, either before or after seeing this absolutely superb film!
The film traces quite brilliantly the personal battles of Stephen as he is diagnosed with Motor Neuron disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be exact. The diagnosis comes when his superb cosmologist mind is working through theories in his early period at Cambridge University and just when his relationship with Jane Wilde is starting to blossom. So we get a multi-layered story which not only focuses on the scientific facts and theories, but you have the romance from the relationship between Stephen and Jane, plus you have the over-arching story of Stephen and his remarkable, and it is truly remarkable, life.
There's really not much more to say about the story, it is fascinating, it is very real and it is totally inspiring. Yes, we like the Prof!
However, this is a film blog and not a Stephen Hawking fan site, so to the film. First and foremost much kudos should go to Eddie Redmayne for his Oscar winning portrayal of Stephen Hawking. Redmayne clearly studied Hawking carefully, for he mimics with tender accuracy the body language, subtle nuances and facial expressions of Hawking. Taking a somewhat difficult subject matter and portraying it with such pathos and endearance is just sheer brilliance and a credit to Redmayne. That Oscar is well deserved.
Alongside Redmayne you have the delightful Felicity Jones, who we have seen in a few TNiFN films; Cheerful Weather for the Wedding and the more recently seen; Cemetery Junction. Jones is ideal as Jane Hawking, a seemingly weak and shy individual, but this outer view belies the inner strength of a determined woman, who has vowed to stick with Stephen to the bitter end, which in the early days was only going to be about two years, but how things changed? More details to be found in the book or the film.
Surrounding these two main characters you have a multitude of supporting cast members each of whom play their small or slightly larger parts to progress the story with energy, sympathy and humour. And that's what we keep coming back to; the story. Aside from the totally magnificent acting from Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones it is the exceptional story that delights the viewer of this film. Many people may have shunned the idea of a film about Stephen Hawking, thinking it may be too high brow, intellectual, steeped in science or not a biography that they would necessarily choose, but the thing is it is based on Jane Hawking's biography of her life with Stephen and this is where that twist comes in, it's not all about the wondrous and extraordinary life of Stephen, it is the sub stories, how his life has affected others. It's not just about the brilliant mind of one remarkable human being, but a touching, moving and endearing story of a genius and those that surround him.
We're running out of superlatives here! Just watch the film, you will not be disappointed. This review might not be brilliant, but the film is.
TNiFN Rating 95%
IMDB Link
Anyway this week it's a biopic, we do love a good biopic and hopefully this is one, sit back relax, put them feet up and wonder about;
The Theory of Everything
Where shall we start with the Theory of Everything? Well, it you didn't know already, it follows the early life of Stephen Hawking, from college days to just after A Brief History of Time is published and everything in between. It is based on Jane Hawking's book; "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen" which we implore you to read, either before or after seeing this absolutely superb film!
The film traces quite brilliantly the personal battles of Stephen as he is diagnosed with Motor Neuron disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to be exact. The diagnosis comes when his superb cosmologist mind is working through theories in his early period at Cambridge University and just when his relationship with Jane Wilde is starting to blossom. So we get a multi-layered story which not only focuses on the scientific facts and theories, but you have the romance from the relationship between Stephen and Jane, plus you have the over-arching story of Stephen and his remarkable, and it is truly remarkable, life.
There's really not much more to say about the story, it is fascinating, it is very real and it is totally inspiring. Yes, we like the Prof!
However, this is a film blog and not a Stephen Hawking fan site, so to the film. First and foremost much kudos should go to Eddie Redmayne for his Oscar winning portrayal of Stephen Hawking. Redmayne clearly studied Hawking carefully, for he mimics with tender accuracy the body language, subtle nuances and facial expressions of Hawking. Taking a somewhat difficult subject matter and portraying it with such pathos and endearance is just sheer brilliance and a credit to Redmayne. That Oscar is well deserved.
Alongside Redmayne you have the delightful Felicity Jones, who we have seen in a few TNiFN films; Cheerful Weather for the Wedding and the more recently seen; Cemetery Junction. Jones is ideal as Jane Hawking, a seemingly weak and shy individual, but this outer view belies the inner strength of a determined woman, who has vowed to stick with Stephen to the bitter end, which in the early days was only going to be about two years, but how things changed? More details to be found in the book or the film.
Surrounding these two main characters you have a multitude of supporting cast members each of whom play their small or slightly larger parts to progress the story with energy, sympathy and humour. And that's what we keep coming back to; the story. Aside from the totally magnificent acting from Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones it is the exceptional story that delights the viewer of this film. Many people may have shunned the idea of a film about Stephen Hawking, thinking it may be too high brow, intellectual, steeped in science or not a biography that they would necessarily choose, but the thing is it is based on Jane Hawking's biography of her life with Stephen and this is where that twist comes in, it's not all about the wondrous and extraordinary life of Stephen, it is the sub stories, how his life has affected others. It's not just about the brilliant mind of one remarkable human being, but a touching, moving and endearing story of a genius and those that surround him.
We're running out of superlatives here! Just watch the film, you will not be disappointed. This review might not be brilliant, but the film is.
TNiFN Rating 95%
IMDB Link
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