Movie of the Week

Set in London in 1961, this film follows the life of 16-year old Jenny, played by Carey Mulligan. She leads a run of the mill existence for her age and has aspirations to go to Oxford University, until she meets David. David, played by Peter Sarsgaard, seems cultured and open-minded and Jenny is swept off her feet as he introduces her to shows, pubs and weekends away in Paris. She is completely deluded and decides against all dreams of further study.

Scenes depicting David speaking in a child-like manner to Jenny are slightly Lolita-like, as she falls for his devilish charm. The screenplay was adapted from a true story written by Lynn Barber, by Nick Hornby, who manages to add some slightly amusing events to this film.

A movie I really enjoyed and would recommend.
7/10

LMM

xoxo


P.S: News from Rome to come later this week

Movie of the Week

Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, has been tipped to be one of this year's Oscar Nominations. I love watching Oscar movies, but this one was not only a terrible disappointment, it was also very strange.

The film is directed by Terrence Malik, who also directed Days of Heaven and The Thin Red Line. The story takes place in Texas in the 1950s, with Brad Pitt starring as the authoritarian father. Sean Penn, who plays the grown-up oldest son, features for a total of 10 minutes in the whole screenplay. I struggled with the actual theme of the movie. Is there a religious angle? The one pro was the beautiful images of children running outside in the sun, but that is where it ends. I actually had to fast forward through a gruelling 17 minutes, in which there were no people, no speaking, only Discovery Channel-esque images of volcanos, ice and even dinosaurs. Seriously? If I wanted to watch Planet Earth, I would.

I am not the only one who was totally unimpressed. Read here and here.

2/10

LMM

xoxo

Movie of the Week

I recently watched this film on DVD. Directed by Rodrigo Cortes, Buried, is a story of a single man, Paul Conroy, who is buried underground in a coffin. The only character we see in this movie, is played by Ryan Reynolds. I had always thought of him as the comedian in movies such as Van Wilder, but in this film he really bring his acting A-game.

Paul Conroy is an American truck driver working in Iraq. His convoy is attacked and he wakes up to find himself in a wooden coffin with only a cellphone and a Zippo lighter. As he races against time, we watch him hopelessly makes calls to his loved ones and the authorities in America trying aid his rescue.

I didn't think the idea of an entire feature film in a box with one actor would work, but this ingenious idea definitely paid off and is a masterpiece.

8/10

LMM

xoxo