Film review – Page 7 – Neil Baldwin's blog : Warning contains walking, technology, photography, holidays.

Cemetery Junction (****)

New film directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Set in the 70’s and based around 3 friends who seem to be stuck in a rut of going to work during the day and getting drunk and fighting at night.

One of them is ambitious and gets a job with am insurance company but is disillusioned by the reality and dishonesty of selling insurance, the second works in a metal workshop and has a bad relationship with his father, the third is a bit socially inept, but has a heart of gold. The three of them eventually plan to leave cemertry junction and see the world, but there lives are complicated and things get even more complicated when the insurance sales falls in love with the bosses daughter, who is engaged to his immediate manager.

The film is fairly predictable, but the story is great, the music is superb and there are some great comic moments. I score it 4 or out 5.

The Informant (****)

“The Informant” is a true story that parallels a mixture of “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Insider” — where real life Ph.D.s had done something extraordinary. Based on Kurt Eichenwald’s 2000 book, “The Informant” is the tale of Mark Whitacre (played by Matt Damon), an Ivy League Ph.D. who was a rising star at Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) in the early 1990s. Executively produced by George Clooney who has a history of sponsoring interesting films in the tough mainstream environment. Saying no mopre to give nowt away 🙂

An Education (****)

A coming of age drama. after a youth orchestra practice Jenny Miller accepts a lift from a stranger, and a relationship develops. He truns out to be a bit of a gentleman rogue, but you get the impression his intentions are genuine.

There are lots of funny moments in the film and it is a great story. Many well know British actors.

The Hurt Locker (***)

Got this through LoveFilm, a great way to lazily see current films & good value too. It’s the story of a bomb disposal team in Iraq. Good cast & acting but the plot felt weak. We were a bit disappointed but may have been hoping for too much from the Oscar winner. 3 stars

In Bruges (****)

Not the the faint hearted, this film is full of swearing. Two Irish contract killers (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) are sent to Bruges by the boss (Ralph Fiennes) to keep out of the way. One is not glad to be there the other loves all the culture and old stuff there is to offer.

The plot gets thickens and twists and it is very funny.

Happy go lucky (*****)

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.

The lovely bones (***)

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.

The diving bell and the butterfly (****)

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.

Sunshine Cleaning (****)

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.

Avatar (****)

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.