37 posts tagged “movie”

I guess some movies don't set out to tell a story, some movies just aim to show an experience from the point of view of someone who never gets to understand it. There is no enough information, answers and details given, there is just what happened... and what the consequences were.
I waited a long time to find myself in the right place to watch this movie, because I read about it and I knew it was going to be difficult, so I made sure I was in the right mood (it took me months). And now after having watched it... I'm not sure what to say.
It's not a bad movie, at all. I couldn't possibly find a flaw in it, besides, as I'd already mentioned, the fact that there was no clear resolution, no answers were explained, and that is not wrong... it's just odd, and for someone like me... is never enough. However, it was quite a story... even though it seemed to have no target to hit, you felt compelled to continue to watch, to find out what would happen next. And I found some of the situations that developed to be extremely interesting.
Also, it was really something to find a story where someone that was accused of a number of horrible crimes has a feel of just being someone who did what she had to do, because although it is clear that she knew what she was doing and doesn't really seem to feel enough regret, she still gave signs of simply being like anyone else... there was no monster hiding behind her face.
Kate is AMAZING... really really great. It is really outstanding when a actor manages to work their facial features to the point that they look like they were someone else, although they still look like themselves (I know that sounds odd and I'm not even sure if it makes sense... you'd have to watch the movie to get it, and no... it's not the make up. She really managed to pull it off). It's really no wonder she won the Oscar, she deserved it without a second thought.
Watch it, it's really a very interesting story

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You know what...? I'm starting to think that reading a book before watching the movie SUXS... =P just because, there are so little surprises left. You can see what's coming as soon as a scene starts, not every scene but enough of them not to feel excited enough. I was obsessed with getting to watch this movie, after reading the novel I knew I just had to. I heard great things about it, and it was good... but after reading the book it kinda fell short (to me). It felt like a preview for the novel, with a different ending. The novel was brutal for me... it really was. It took so much from me emotionally... that I was kinda expecting the movie to do the same, and it didn't. It wasn't bad, it WAS emotional, I believe it was really well done... but yeah, I guess as they always say... book is better. But it's OK cos it's almost inevitable, there's so much more space and time to play with when you write something.
It is though the first time I see a movie that allows for different points of view to be explored. There's usually just a storyline, and you follow it... this time, every character lets you know what they're thinking and feeling... it felt strange but very original.
The changes from the novel to the movie also felt weird. Of course the most shocking one is the ending, that although is definitely more peaceful and bittersweet... it was a bit predictable. The changes in the dynamics of the family were, however, quite nice. It all felt easier to take in and not as dramatic.
Overall, it is a good movie... VERY sad though, make sure you don't watch if when you're feeling a bit down.

Stories don't always have a happy ending... but that doesn't mean it won't be OK.

 

"Daddy did God made for you to be like this or was it an accident?"
"OK, what do you mean?"
"I mean you're different."
"But what do you mean?"
"You're not like other daddies."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Yeah, I'm sorry."
"It's OK daddy. It's OK. Don't be sorry. I'm lucky. No one else's daddy ever comes to the park."
- Lucy and Sam

I waited a LONG time to finally watch this. I'm glad I finally did. I always thought it was gonna be good, and thankfully it was even more than I expected. It's funny that I watch this right as I'm going through my 'Family Law' class and after having written a paper on 'Children's best interest'. Because to me it just felt really ironic... very 'slap in the face'. Because, without getting into a legal argument lol, when it comes to children it is always about what will be best for THEM, the parent (the adult, the person) doesn't really matter. The problem is that now things are always pushed to be so 'politcally correct' so 'as it should be' that so many other things, that are possibly more important, are ignored and dismissed. Usually when you have a 'normal' parent a child will have a 'normal' life, but let's face it... that's ridiculusly overrated cos we all know by now that being 'normal' doesn't in no way guarantee happiness or well being. There are a lot of good and functional families out there, but it takes a lot more than just having things be the way they should be. So here you have a father who, precisely because he's not normal, has the chance to give a child something most parents are not capable of giving. An adult lives a different world, there are so many factors that come together and can easily crowd their mind. But when you see the world through simple innocent eyes... then you are just a grown up who was 'lucky' enough to remain true at heart. And I'm not saying being a 'retard' (as they call Sam) is a 'good' thing, but every situation of adversity is a chance... and I'm glad this movie shows that.

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PS.- Sean Penn is an AMAZING actor. Michelle is now on my list of faves, and Dakota Fanning... WOWWW... never before had I seen a child show so much QUALITY.
 

This has to be the most unusual film I have ever seen, and not only because it barely felt like a movie but because of the inevitable strong taste of reality it has. There was no basic plot with a beginning, middle and end. The movie begins after it has all happened, the middle is a coming and going of different issues and moments that run from one to the other, and the end is not really an ending... since there is sense of resolution. So it was not a story, there's no good v evil, no good defeating evil, no main character overcoming obstacles and finding happiness moment. This is just like something that could happen to anyone you knew... because it just keeps going and there's no real 'end', there's just one moment developing into the next one.
As a film I have to say it was difficult for me to appreciate it, I guess because now I'm so used to a film being shot the 'typical' way with all the 'profesional shots' that a 'documentary' type of movie that seems to could have been shot by anyone... it was odd (though now I'm beginning to understand it was all part of the idea of making everything as natural as possible). The most striking part of the film though is definitely Kym's story, and not just because it has a strong and deep level of drama (because that's something that's been seen many times before) but because it's not just about a drug addict who doesn't want to forgive herself (and when you know why... you can barely blame her) it's about her family and how they all have coped and continue to cope with her. The issues and arguments are so difficult and pointless you know this has happened before and is happening right now, it's all very familiar. I think it takes a lot to makesomething like this work, and although I wouldn't say WONDERS about the movie I think that being what it is... it's refreshing, and makes a strong impact.

"Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone."
-Father Brendan Flynn

"You haven't the slightest proof of anything!"
"But I have my certainty!"
-Father Brendan Flynn and Sister Aloysius

I don't think I have EVER found a better and more suited title for a film. Doubt... that is all that it is, doubt, all the way through... and to the very end. I'm usually the kind of person who loves to KNOW what happened after I have watched a film, if I didn't... I feel something in the film failed, somehow the message was not delivered. After I watched this... all I felt was... doubt, precisely, and now I'm starting to think that may have just been the point. Once the storyline begins to unfold the movie becomes an intense flow that pulls you from one side to the other, and back again. And JUST when you think you got it all figured out... at the very end, doubt welcomes you again. And I have to say... I loved that, though at first I was SO unsettled cos I wanted to know 'the truth', but now I guess the point was... there is rarely such a thing, doubt is the one thing we all have in common.
There were some AMAZING powerful and intense moments in this movie, I don't think I may have EVER stared at a screen so hard... the tension rises in a matter of seconds and you're caught there with them, just barely breathing.
And well about Meryl... as the official and devoted fan I have announced myself to be, I have to say that I've realised that... she has a way of making me feel like she's not an actress. You know when you see someone perform in a movie and you're in AWE of their work? She takes me to the next level, it is so real and valid it doesn't feel like a performance at all. I don't see characters when I see her, I see people... like Karen said, she's a shape-shifter.

This is BY FAR my fave Australian movie EVER. I adore Moulin Rouge but this one takes place here in Oz and you can see Sydney! Plus the people, the places and the accents... is all too familiar. Anyway, besides that I really like it, I think it's a good and original take on the same old 'ugly ducky' fairytale. A young unattractive fat girl who wants to be popular but is rejected by everyone except for that one person she never looked for. Then after a lot of good and bad decisions she gets what she's always wanted, a marriage, not a real one but she gets to wear the dress and be a bride... which is really the only thing some women want and dream of... if we're gonna be totally honest. Anyway :P so it's not the usual 'happy ending' but it's a good movie that makes you smile and I think everyone can relate to and understand. It's a girl movie yeah... but I still think it's great, and not cheesy which is even better. All of that AND and an ABBA soundtrack... <3 Mmm :D.  And one last little thing... David Lapaine... Aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!

I remember feeling fascinated by Meryl Streep before, telling people I thought she was one of the best and most anazing actresses EVER. I didn't see this coming though... I knew she was brilliant but the truth is I have realised... she's so much more than that. I know that probably sounds strange and odd but see.. the thing is, I think it takes more than just skill to do what she does, it takes more than just talent. I think she is the best example to show why sometimes people go beyond anything that's normal and expected, why some people just stand out more than others. Now exactly HOW she does that I'm not sure and funnily enough she isn't either... but then again, that's exactly why it's so brilliant. It's magical, that's the whole point. I have seen many GREAT actors and actresses work before, and it's beautiful... but I had NEVER seen someone BE someone else in body AND soul and be so natural about it, to the point where you don't even recognise them anymore. It takes A LOT of courage to do what she does, because she doesn't hesitate, and that's why it all looks so amazing... and real. I know for certain now that she is, and will always be, the most captivating thing I will EVER see on a screen.
OK so this entry was supposed to be about the movie, not just her! :P hehe. But well I had heard about this story before, and when I found out she played Sophie in the movie I RUSHED to find it (thank you youtube ;P). It's a great movie, very difficult... very sad story, but very very worth it.

The trailer for the movie SUXS so I'll just post a scene here that's just a little preview of what she does in it.

I don’t know why I wasn’t THAT impressed with this movie at first. I didn’t think it was bad but I guess ‘high expectations’ ruined the moment for me again. Anyway, I watched it again and thankfully this time I got it. I LOVE this movie, I really really do! It’s pretty much everything about what I love so much about musicals: Good music, good dancing and a great message. I am SOOOO getting the soundtrack for it! WATCH IT.

“You’ve been to Paris?”

“I’ve never really been anywhere.”

“Well maybe I’ll take you with me then. I’m going back the first chance I get, I tell you... people are alive there. Not like here.”

-Frank and April

 

“All I know April is... I wanna feel things, really... feel them. You know?... How’s that for an ambition?”

“Frank Wheeler...”
“Hmm?”

“I think you’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met.”

-Frank and April

 

“This is what’s unrealistic, it’s unrealistic for a man with a fine mind to go on working year after year at a job he can’t stand. Coming home to a place he can’t stand, to a wife who’s equally unable to stand the same things.”

-April

 

“Our whole existence here is based on this great premise that we’re special, and superior to the whole thing... but we’re not. We’re just like everyone else. Look at us, we’ve bought into the same ridiculous delusion. This idea that you have to resign from life and settle down the moment you have children. And we’ve been punishing each other for it.”

-April

 

“Now you’ve said it... plenty of people are onto the emptiness but... it takes real guts to see the hopelessness.”

-John Givings

 

“Tell me the truth Frank... remember that? We used to live by it. And you know what’s so good about the truth? Everyone knows what it is however long they’ve lived without it... no one forgets the truth Frank, they just get better at lying.”

-April

 

“You wanted out huh?”
“I wanted in... I just... I just wanted us to live again. For years I thought we shared this secret, that we would be wonderful in the world. I didn’t exactly know how but just... just the possibility kept me hoping. How pathetic is that? So stupid... to put all your hopes in a promise that was never made.”

-Shep and April.

 

“I saw a whole other future... I can’t stop seeing it.”

-April

 

“Can’t leave... can’t stay...”

-April

I usually find it difficult to enjoy movies that have no ‘happy ending’ (and with that I don’t mean any kind of CHEESY thing, like a romance or a marriage... just something that doesn’t let you lose hope) but when it’s something like this, that’s SO real and true, it’s all too familiar. You understand what’s going on.

Sometimes people are special, they cannot be fulfilled the way everyone else can. For too long now the whole ‘having a life’ thing has been about what everyone else does and keeps on doing. Get a good job, get married, have a nice house, have nice children... same old deal. The thing is... when people are dreamers, when they live for a vision, because they feel there’s something out there that’s waiting for them... there can be no boundaries, no routine, no lack of fulfilment. An ordinary life is just a way of giving up everything that made you dream in the first place, it’s a way of getting an unhappy ending. A dreamer without dreams is a person without a reason to live, it is unfortunately that simple. So the courage you need to live the way you were meant to will always be what decides everything.

The story of the Wheelers is what happens when people who were meant to break the rules just decide to keep following them. It’s awful, but the movie is great... and I really appreciated it.

What I loved most about it is how the director managed to set the entire mood in every shot, in the atmosphere, the sets, the props, in the dull and lifeless colours... ever since the beginning you feel ready for what’s coming. Also... GREAT script... GREAT GREAT words in this movie... AMAZING <3.

Kate Winslet... I officially announce here that I am a GREAT fan of hers. That woman can do anything, and I just cannot wait to enjoy the rest of her career, cos I know it’s gonna be SO great. And you know what? It saddens me how underrated Leo is... most people think he’s just a pretty face, but the guy is talented.

Watch it, if you wanna deal with a truth that I think we can all handle.