Never judge a film by it's poster

There have been many films that have surprised me lately. I just love it when you settle down to watch a film and it exceeds all your expectations and you are left entertained and above all have enjoyed the experience of watching it, no matter what the type of film is. Recently 'Body of Lies' was just such a film. It appeared to be just another action movie but it was so much more. Conversely I feel cheated to my very core when I want so very much to enjoy a film, when it's pedigree, it's trailer and everything else lead me to expect it to be good and then the film falls far short of anything resembling what it promised.

I find this most often with so-called 'Blockbuster' films. The ones with the huge budgets, the 'A' list stars and all the CGI wizardry. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull left me cold as the film lurched from improbable event to improbable event, ending in a bizarre alien tornado that barely seemed to be credible and taking in angry jungle animals along the way. It wasn't just the over reliance on CGI effects at the expense of plot, but rather that each turn of the plot relied on something that seemd merely a lazy plot device to progress things. And we were being asked to not just suspend disbelief but to swallow it wholesale. Needless to say I choked.

I'm not just getting at poor old Indy here either. Other films that have had a similar effect on me are, the last two Pirates of the Caribbean films, and Quantum of Solace. As a sequel to the wonderful Casino Royale (IMHO) this was just a total let down. The baddie was weak, as was the Bond girl, the plot barely hung together, the characters were two dimensional and the action sequences were impossible to follow. Eugh. I could just imagine the Producers meeting, akin to the ones on the adverts for a well known mobile phone company:

"Bond is back and this time he has to be bigger and badder"
"I have the perfect idea. Let's have chases on land, sea and in the air! And this time we'll have all that close up shaky camera action too".
"But what about the plot? We don't seem to have much of one here."
"We'll throw in a few huge explosions, some pretty girls and lots of CGI. No-one will notice"

The Producers high five and 'do lunch' while for me at least, the new Bond is completely ruined.

I like films with a well written script and a well thought out plot that hangs together, even if it involves aliens, monsters or heroes. I like real stunts done by talented stunt men. I don't mind CGI when it is used as part of the film, and not almost as an actor itself. Most of all, I do not like to be decieved about what I am going to watch. I do not like to come away from having spent my £7.20 on a ticket feeling like the film makers think their audience are very stupid indeed. I do not appreciate it at all.

A Tale of Two Films

Once upon a time there was a woman who lived in the suburbs of a city. She worked hard all week and so jealously guarded her free time. She enjoyed doing many things but once of her favourite things was watching a good film, preferably with a glass of wine or something chocolately. One weekend she watched two films. The first film was something she wasn't expecting to enjoy, while the second film seemed to be just right.

The first film was 'Letters From Iwo Jima' and although it was not a happy film, she thoroughly enjoyed it. It had wonderful directing and was beautifully shot. The story was touching and yet never resorted to cheap emotional tugging of heart strings. It simply seemed to tell the story of the men who fought on that island. It exceeded her expectations.



The second film was 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'. This film had a great action pedigree and although Harrison Ford was as fantastic as ever she was thoroughly disappointed by it. It seemed to rely far too much on Green screen and CGI effects at the expense of the story, which was so far fetched that she simply wasn't buying it.



Isn't it funny how life hardly ever turns out the way you thought it would?

Still here

Well, it's been a hell of a week and I am not at all certain I haven't been short changed in days, I am pretty sure I haven't had my full quota as I have got to the end of the week far too quickly. Still here I am; and here you are. I think the reason for the apparent speeding up of time is that I have been exceptionally busy but also that my mind has been very much focused on 'what the hell is going on with my leg?"

Well, I got the test results back from the Doctors and I haven't got DVT. Phew. Thank Goodness. I mean, they had me worried with dire warnings of pulmonary embolisms if the clot became dislodged through excessive wiggling of the foot and such like. So, now I know what it isn't, so what is wrong with my leg? I am giving it a day or so to see if it heals and then it's back to the doctors again as it feels like permanent cramp and it is not comfortable. I would not recommend it.

Thanks to all of you who popped by to offer me supportive comments. I appreciated it! And because the only other news I have involves work, work and more work, I haven't got much else to tell, however I will leave you with the following video. It is the trailer for the film 'Charlie Wilson's War' that I watched recemtly. I must say that this film was a very pleasant surprise. It was well written with humour and wit and well acted. It will probably not be remembered as one of the greatest films ever made but I thoroughly enjoyed it and fully intend to watch it again sometime. It's subject matter is interesting too, given the current world context. If it looks like your cup of tea, I would recommend it.

The Green Mile

Sometimes you watch a film and you just have to tell someone about it. You want to share your discovery with them so that they can experience what you have experienced, see what you have seen and perhaps take something from it like you have.

I watched 'The Green Mile' on New Years Eve. It is something I have been meaning to get around to doing for some time and a whole evening, a comfy sofa and bottle of wine seemed a great time to break the seal on the plastic wrapping covering the DVD I had purchased some time before. I must admit that I had put off watching it, a film about inmates on death row seemed quite depressing, however, this film did not leave me feeling depressed. Don't get me wrong. I was not skipping around the house full of joy either but rather it left me with that dual feeling of happiness and sadness and a sense of wonder which is rare to experience outside childhood.

It is rare for a film to make me cry, and even rarer for the same film to manage it twice. It's not that I'm hard hearted, I just don't connect with the over sentimental greetings card type schmaltz you get in some films. This film however was truly touching and endearing. It took me on a roller coaster of emotion. It was thought provoking. It slowly draws you in and captivates you and horrifies you and once it is finished you are sorry it has had to end and somehow three hours of your life has passed.

It is set in a prison in America during the depression and features the lives (and deaths) of the inmates there and the guards. The story unfolds through the memories of one of the guards which centres on a particular inmate who has been convicted for killing two little girls. It soon transpires though that there is more to this inmate than we first perceive and soon strange things happen on the Green Mile, which is the strip of lime linoleum that the prisoners must walk to the chair.

The film is directed by Frank Darabont who also directed 'The Shawshank Redemption' (another favourite of mine) and he once again does a superb job of directing this story. The film allows us to explore mortality, question morality and allows us to draw our own conclusions about the human condition. The characters are sometimes likeable, sometimes, despised and sometimes a bit of both and bought to life through marvellous acting. The script, cinematography and the score were all wonderful. There is very little I would change about this film, (such as where the film ends) but in the end these things are personal. This film is a great film. If this all seems too good to be true then watch it for yourself if you haven't already. I defy anyone not to be moved even if it doesn't make your top ten all time favourites. It has made my list though.