Neil's Stuff

Poppy is a happy go lucky primary school teacher and the film centres around her simple day to day life, as is traditional in a Mike Leigh film. The film starts off with Poppy having her bicycle stolen, she is just sorry she did not have a chance to say goodbye! So she decides that she should have some driving lessons, the instructor turns out to be an very angry person, and the relationship between the two is hilarious, as they are at the extreme ends of the happy spectrum.

The film carries on you meet her sisters and family , and the friend also a teacher who she lives with. During the course of the film normal everyday things happen, she goes to dance classes, meets a bloke, has difficult situations to deal with in the class rooms etc etc.

The film is a typical Mike Leigh film, it is about normal people, in normal lives, (although this one is far more happy), but somehow he manages to keep your attention, proabbly because you want to know what is goint o happen next, and a lot of the scenes are visually stunning, in an understated way, when is a Tesco express service station in front of a Gasometer make a great shot!

I give the film 5 out of 5, and would recommend everyone what it, it is just a lovely film with a nice story.

This is a film from a book of the same title. Apparently the film follows the book but leaves out some details, but does clarify some of the more confusing parts of the book.

The film is set in the 70’s and centres around a girl who lives in Norristown Pennsylvania, who want to grow up and become a wildlife photographer. She is murdered by a neighbour, and then things get complicated because she goes somewhere that is not the after life it is a bit of a “waiting land” where she meets other girls. Anyway there film jumps between her family and never never land as they all come to terms with loss and separation.

Susan Sarrendon plays her drunk grand mother who at one point comes to stay.

There are some surreal scenes set in New Zealand, probably because the film is directed by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame.

I give the film 3 stars worth a watch but if other films had been available to watch I might well have chosen another.

This is a French film about a the editor of a women’s fashion magazine Bauby who suffers a stroke and and ends up a prisoner in his own body. The condition is called locked in syndrome. He could only move his eye but thanks the patience of his speech therapist he was able to communicate and eventually write the book that the film is based on.

The story shows the relationship between Bauby and the speech therapist, his wife, three kids, ex colleagues, mistress etc. It is very thought provoking.

At the start of the film the shots were a bit wacky but it was an attempt to see the world through is eye’s and we soon got used to it.
Despite the depressing subject matter, the film is a great attempt to see a world we could never imagine, and is actually really well filmed.
I give it 4 stars.

A family. Rose and Norah, in Albuquerque, lost their mother when they were young. Rose is responsible – a housecleaner, raising her seven-year-old son Oscar. She’s also having an affair with Mac, a married cop, her high-school sweetheart. Norah can’t hold a job. Their dad, Joe, is quirky. When Oscar is expelled for odd behavior, Rose wants to earn enough to send him to private school. Mac suggests she clean up after crime scenes, suicides, and deaths that go undiscovered for awhile. Rose enlists Norah, and Sunshine Cleaners is born. Norah bonds with the dead, Rose finds out that it’s a regulated business, and complications arise. Can a family marked by tragedy sort things out?

I really enjoyed this film and would recommend it.

The film is set in the future where us earthlings are seeking new frontiers in space. The planet that the creatures live on contains a rare and expensive substance called unobtainium. The humans are evil and want to get rid of the locals from an area of the planet important to the locals but which contains the substance. The humans send in Avatars of the locals by some strange technology, and try to infiltrate them, one of the Avatars go native and the whole thing kicks off.

I have read on the internet that the film seems to be very simalr to the Pocahontas (See http://www.geeksaresexy.net/2010/01/03/james-camerons-pocahontas-avatar/)  but who cares it is a good story.

I was rather sceptical that the film would not be all it was cracked up to be. There was a lot of hype and a lot of technology, so I kind of figured it would be like all those other films that are all flash but no substance.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.

The ultimate disaster movie get three stars but only because the effects are great.

Filma about the end of the world as we know it.

Very dark film beautifully filmed. My guess is that it was filed around North London.

Michael Caine plays an OAP (ex marine) who get revenge on from youths who are running  riot in the local area.

The latest Pixar offering, never sure whether to go to an animated film as you have to trawl through quite a few before you get one that is work while. The Independent cored the film 5 out of 5 so I had to take a look.

The film starts with the story of two childhood sweet hearts, Ellie and Carl Fredricksen who have a dream to live by Angel Falls in South America. Sadly this never happens and Ellie passes away. Then Carl teams up with a wilderness explorer (scout), and ends up in South America. The film has some great moments and is well made.

We saw the film in 3D which these days is getting better as the film happens to be in 3D rather than being made specifically in 3D.

I give it 4 out of 5.

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as “The Basterds” are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.
Tarrentino films are normally violent and this one is too. There is plenty of dark humour and it is worth seeing. Helen thought it was perhaps a bit gratuitous. (3/5)

Anglo/French film about a troubled divorcee who wished things were different, and has even considered suicide. Things start to change when Eric Cantona (his hero) enters his life, in the form of hallucinations and one of his sons gets into a bit of bother with a local thug. The film is well acted and there is much swearing to good effect. Eric Cantona is hard to hear but has some great lines. 4/5