Recommendations from Rebecca

I recently saw 'Wolk Creek' (R), which was excellent. Spooky and gruesome, but great. It's about some English Backpackers who were murdered. It's based on a true story. (***)

I also saw 'Perfume,' which was beautiful in a sick way. Very graphic and beautifully filmed. You'd understand if you saw it. It's about a man who murders women in an attempt to capture their scent and thus create the perfect perfume. Weird, very French. (***)

Recently I watched 'Tim Burton's Corpse Bride,' and I really liked it. I loved the animation, plot and overal atmosphere of the whole thing. It's about a dude who is about to get married. On practising his vows in the woods, he accidentally marries a corpse. Heartbreakingly sweet. (***)

My favourite recently seen film at present is 'De Ja Vu,' starring Denzel Washington. It is a great Mystery/Sci Fi film. Denzel's voice is like honey. The film is about a detective who needs to solve the crime of a ferry boad explosion. He realises that to do that, he must solve the mystery of a woman's murder. Great ending! (****)

Four good viewings.

Blood Diamond

This movie is set in the 1990s during the civil war in Sierra Leone. Danny Archers (Leonardo Dicaprio) and Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) lives are brought together by a need to find a "blood diamond" which was buried in the jungle by Solomon whilst he was working in the diamond fields. Both have different agendas but both need to find the diamond to save what is most important to them, for Solomon its his family and Danny its himself. This is a powerful movie full of adrenaline and emotion. The part of the movie which affect you the most is the maipulation of young boys to become soldiers and to believe in a cause that in the end will not help or save them. This is much better than the departed and should have won best movie at the latest academy awards. A must see even for the people who do not like war or 'gun' movies.

Rating: 5/5

10 items or less

I couldn't finish this movie which is really rare. So do not waste your time. Even Morgan Freeman couldnt save it.

Rating : 1/5

Stranger than Fiction

Stranger than fiction is certainly strange. Harold played by Will Ferrell is a boring guy without any aspirations who lives a very lonely and unaspiring life. Karen Effiel is a great novelist who has writers block. Harold and Karen lives are connected as Karen becomes the narrator of Harolds life. If you can rid your mind of the fact that this is totally absurd and enjoy the picture for what it is, then it is an enjoyable bizarre movie. Will finds out early in the narration that his death is imminent. He befriends a literary proffessor played by Dustin Hoffmann and together they try and work out what genre is determining Harolds life and death.

Rating: 4/5

Babel

Its been a few weeks since I saw this movie but thought I would review it because I enjoyed it.
Babel is split into 4 different stories. Each different story is the result of an event that occurs in one of the other stories. There is one story that involves a deaf, mute Japanese teenager. The connection between the other stories is easy to tell but the japanese girl relevance is more difficult. The movie is slow and there are some unrealistic scenes such as when Cate Blanchett and Bratt pitt kiss while she is sitting on a bedpan. When watching I heard from the background "yeah right" from my husband who also found this bit unbelievable. The movie is set in Morrocco and following this film you wonder why anyone would holiday there, especially the amount of elderly that were shown in the film. I felt sorry for the baby sitter. Despite the couple of unrealistic scenes I really enjoyed the movie.

Rating: 4/5

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The title of this popular film reminds me of "Finding Nemo," when Bloat asks little Nemo to swim through "the ring of Fire!"

I confess I am no Harry Potter fan, so I found this film rather tedious and dark. I'm not even sure why I watched it. I think it's too scary for young children; Voldemort is so gross (but not gross enough). I felt utterly ripped off that I did not get to see the Quidditch World Cup, as the game itself is more interesting to me than the story. I thought the boys' hairstyles were way too long and annoying looking. Hermione wasn't as annoying as usual, which is a plus. The story line: no film ever beats the book, I'd say, and this one leaves out a few bits, obviously. The plot always felt like it was missing something. You couldn't watch it and understand it unless you have been reading/watcing the earlier titles in the series. I think it's sad that the boy, Cedrick, dies. Why can't he just be paralysed or something? Why does it have to be so evil and scary?

Anyway, as far as sfx go, this film has some good ones, like the flying horses and the dragons.
Rating: 2 1/2 (can I do halves, Michele? The half is for the adolescents at whom the film is aimed).

Notes on a Scandal

My review on Notes on a Scandal may be a little off as I watched it over 5 hours on a plane on a little screen with 3 children and plane activities interupting my viewing. Basically the movie is about a young attractive teacher who is new to the school, who is befriended by an older female teacher. Cate Blanchett, the younger teacher, has an affair with a student and is found out by her "friend". The relationship between the two friends is a little creepy which is exactly how you are meant to feel. The movie was watchable, the acting was good and I would only recommend it to someone who really wanted to see it.

Rating : 3/5

Georgia Rule

In Georgia Rule, Rachael ( Lindsay Lohan) is being sent to her grandmother, Georgia (Jane Fonda) by her mother Lily( Felicity Huffmann) because she has become uncontrollable. It is hoped that Georgia with her definite set of rules will be able to tame her granddaughter. What noone expects is the revealation made by Rachael, and how it affects her family. I went to see this movie with no preconceived ideas. These type of movies where the daughter is sent to the grandmother to be sorted out, can be a bid dodgy and predictable. The movie is both a comedy and a drama. In this instance, the issue the movie deals with, is very emotional and the humour relieved some of the uncomfortableness some viewers may feel when watching. I did enjoy it and it certainly got better as the movie went along. I wouldn't take a male to watch, it definately won't be their thing.
Only read below if you are happy to know the 'issue' I've been writing about.

Rating : 4/5

POST MOVIE DISCUSSION
I found this movie very clever. The way Rachael was behaving was initially uncomfortable to watch and unbelievable. As the movie progresses and you understood that she really was a child with no partental structure with the only regular attention being sexual abuse. I loved the relationship she had with the vet and how he would not lower his morals despite all her attempts to seduce him. She also learned that you can have a relationship with a man without it being sexual. Felicity Huffmann was fantastic in her role as Rachaels mother. The confusion and guilt she felt was portrayed excellently and of course she had the difficult question all mothers would be faced with "Who do you believe? " I would say that I would always believe my daughter but if she continually lied I guess you would be in a dilemma. Many more issues could be discussed and I would love to discuss them with someone.