It’s movie time! When I was sick a few months ago I watched and rewatched quite a few movies. Some of these I had sitting on a shelf for too long, others I bought just recently. There’s a few I liked, a few I liked less. Curious to see what I watched and what I thought? Then keep on reading!
Animal Kingdom:
Directed by David Michôd, this action filled drama movie tells the tale of 17-year-old Joshua Cody. When his mother dies of an overdose he finds shelter with the only family he’s got left: his grandma. Sounds boring right? Well, what if, gran happens to be the head of the family run criminal business? Together with her three sons who are armed robbers and drug dealers, she shows Josh the life his mother never wanted him to see. Slowly but surely Josh is introduced to life as a criminal, has a few brushes with the law who are after his uncles, and just tries to keep his head above water. One of the police officers he encounters takes a liking to him and tries to save Josh for all it’s worth.
Full of plot changes, eerie atmospheres (one of the uncles is an absolute maniac) and great dialogue, this movie keeps you on the edge of your seat and on the tip of your toes the entire time.
IMDB: 7.3. Me, myself & I: 8.5
NINE:
One of my guilty pleasures is watching dance and musical movies. That’s why I really thought I would enjoy this movie, but alas it was not meant to be. Starring some Hollywood hotshots, such as Daniel Day Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Fergie, Kate Hudson and Marion Cotillard, this movie tells the story of Guido Contini, famous film director who is stuck with writer’s block. A womanizer in the worst sense of the word, Contini has a wife and a bunch of mistresses. As he slides further and further away from reality, each woman pays him a visit to teach him a lesson while he searches for a script and a purpose in life. All in musical form of course.
The movie is set up in a grand way, but I found the story jumbled, not interesting and only 2 songs in the movie really stuck with me: the dance scene performed by Kate Hudson and Be Italian by Fergie. You could simply watch those two clips and skip the rest of the movie, and let that be that.
IMDB: 5.8. Me, Myself & I: 5.
Motorcycle Diaries:
Ultimate road trip movie about how Che Guevara found his calling. In the early 50s Ernesto & Alberto, also known as Fuser & Mial set off for a trip of a life time: travelling 8000 kilometers from Buenes Aires to Venezuela on a motorcycle and completing said trip before Alberto’s 30th birthday. The goal of the trip is to explore the South American continent and trying to gain life experience so they can get jobs. Ernesto, later known as Che Guevara, is a medical student and his friend studies biochemistry. The road trip starts out alright, but soon the motorcycle breaks down and eventually ends up on the scrapheap. They lack money, food and other amenities and so the fellows lie and steal to get what they need. On the way, they find that not everything is as grand as most books tell them it is and it is on this trip, especially in the leper colony they visit, that Ernesto decides that he will right the wrongs of the needy and the poor.
Splendid movie, with great views of South American landmarks such as Machu Pichu and an interesting insight into what made Che Guevara do what he did. Inspirational movie!
IMDB: 7.8. Me, Myself & I: 8.
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein:
I bought this movie as part of a box set which included Francis Ford Coppola’s version of Dracula. This movie is from that same era: the early 90s and features Robert DeNiro (as the monster), Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Branagh (as Victor Frankenstein) and was directed by the latter. The story is well-known and the movie is fairly accurately based on the original novel, be it for the last part. Victor Frankenstein creates a man out of dead body parts using electricity from a lightning bolt and rejects it. The monster then comes to haunt him to take revenge because he never asked to be made
The fact that the film is so close to the book is definitely a plus, but I am still a bit undecided on what to think of this movie. It has it’s good moments: Robert DeNiro is brilliant as the Monster, but also a lot of bad ones. The music for one is very melodramatic and often ill-suited to carry the mood of the images. The story is also very slow-paced at the beginning of the story and some of the plot changes don’t make any sense and are simply ridiculous.
IMDB: 6.3. Me, Myself & I: 5.5.
Pride & Prejudice:
I have only seen this 2005 version of the story with Keira Knightley and I have to say: I really enjoyed it. Again, the plot may be a familiar one, but just in case: Pride & Prejudice entails the story of Elizabeth Bennett and her sisters who are all trying to find a good (and preferably rich) husband. In the 18th century that was all a woman could hope for and Elizabeth’s mother is obsessed by getting her girls to marry as soon as possible. When Mr. Bingley, a wealthy young man, moves into a house close to theirs, they are all ecstatic. Mr. Bingley also brings a friend: Mr. Darcy which the girls find unpleasant and distant straight away. However, Elizabeth takes a liking to him which even takes her aback.
I’m not one for girly movies, but this movie definitely is much more than that. Elizabeth is clearly ahead of her time, so despite the endless scenes with lots of girly giggles, there is a good balance to set the mood of the time.
IMDB: 7.7 Me, Myself & I: 7.5