Rachel Getting Married
Anne Hathaway is great in this movie where she played Kym, a recovering drug addict. Kym went home that weekend to attend her sister Rachel’s wedding. Conflict and family tension followed. Did you know that recovering addicts usually want to be away from family right after getting out of rehab? So you can imagine the drama that went along with it. Rosemarie DeWitt, who played Rachel, is also great in it. So is Ms. Debra Winger, who played a small part as their distant mother.
I like the way they played the wedding march, very untraditional, played with drums and the electric guitar. I probably wouldn’t use it for my own wedding, but I like it. It’s different.
Memorable quote:
Kym: I am Shiva the destroyer, your harbinger of doom this evening.
Revolutionary Road
Here’s another movie in which I have a problem with the characters. But that just goes to show you how good the actors are because they were very convincing in playing their parts. (Is it just a coincidence that it also starts Kate Winslet? See my review of The Reader here.)
Leonardo di Caprio and Kate Winslet played a 1950s couple, Frank and April Wheeler. They bought a house in the suburban after they got married. Later on, Frank got bored with his job and April was also bored being a stay-at-home mom and wife. She resented giving up her acting career. They were both unhappy not just with their own personal lives but also with their relationship. Then this big idea hit April. What if they move to Paris and she gets a secretarial job and Frank stays home until he finally realizes what his passion is? Like their friends, I think it was a very immature plan. And then something came up that made the plan more impractical. And I didn’t like the way one of the characters handled the situation. I wouldn’t have handled it the same way. And the ending – It was kind of disturbing for me.
I watched the deleted scenes in the Special Features of the Menu and I was just wondering why the director didn’t include the part where Leo was curled up in a fetal position on the sofa crying. I think that was a very powerful scene. That was my favourite part, and it didn’t make it to the final cut.
Memorable quotes:
April Wheeler: It takes backbone to lead the life you want, Frank.
—-
Frank Wheeler: Well I support you, don’t I? I work ten hours a day at a job I can’t stand!
April Wheeler: You don’t have to!
Frank Wheeler: But I have the backbone not to run away from my responsibilities!
Doubt
“Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty. When you are lost, you are not alone,” says Father Flynn in his sermon.
That night, Sister Aloysius asks the other nuns at supper “Is Father Flynn in doubt? Is he concerned that someone else is in doubt?”
Have you ever doubted someone so much that you would go the extra length to try to prove that they’re guilty? Have you tried to convince people that someone did something inappropriate? But what if you’re wrong? How can you take back the gossip that you have spread? I like the way Father Flynn explained how gossips work in one of his sermons. It involves feathers from a pillow flying in the air and how one can’t gather up every last feather that flew up into the wind. That’s gossip, he says.
I like the story and what powerful acting from the cast. I especially enjoyed the confrontations between Father Flynn, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Sister Aloysius, played by Meryl Streep.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
“Did you like it?” I asked my 11-year old son after we watched Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
“Yeah, it was okay,” he said.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I didn’t like some of the changes they made. I mean, I still like the movie.”
Yeah, it took me a while to decide whether I like it or not. Oh, no, don’t get me wrong. It’s always a treat to watch a Harry Potter novel come to life. But you see, I’ve just finished re-reading the book the day before we watched it. I actually read the entire book in only five days, quite a record for me. So the story was still very fresh in my mind. Although much of the movie stayed pretty close to the story, I noticed right away the differences, what wasn’t included and what was added that wasn’t there in the book. The new scenes, I didn’t care so much about them at first, but now that I’d have a bit of time to think about it, I think they give the viewers a sort of a different experience. So, yes, I like the movie.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is one of my favourite books in the HP Series. It is has a darker theme, just like the later instalments in the series, but it has some of the funniest moments of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and their friends. And that brought a balance of comedy and darkness, and I like that.
Spoilers Alert!
In the Half-Blood Prince, Harry and his friends are now 16 years old. Their hormones are raging. And they’re showing more of their rebelliousness towards Snape, especially, Harry and Ron, and I like the smart-ass answers they would throw at their most hated professor, which unfortunately didn’t make it to the movie. Also, their friendships are now developing into budding romance and you could tell who’s going to end up with whom in the end. Of course, the love potions make the story interesting and funny, too. 🙂
There were two match-ups that didn’t make to the movie though, that of Bill and Fleur, and Lupin and Tonks. The last two were seen together in the movie, but there was nothing much about them. I hope to see Bill and Fleur’s wedding in the final movie, not because I love the couple, but because there were a lot of important things that happened at that event. But where will the wedding take place now that the Burrows is gone?
“What’s your favourite part of the movie?” I asked my 11-year old son again.
“When Ron won the Quidditch. He saw that in the mirror of desire in the first movie,” he said.
“Oh, you mean the Mirror of Erised,” I said. I was surprised that he remembers that.
I have three favourite parts in the book and they were the ones I was looking forward to seeing in the movie.
First. Harry and Ginny’s first kiss. This is my most favourite part of the story. I’m sorry, maybe it’s because I’m a girl or it’s just the kind of thing that I like in stories the best. This is the part that I was looking forward to seeing the most. I really like the way it happened in the book. Harry wasn’t able to play in the Quidditch match against Ravenclaw because he was in detention with Snape. So he replaced himself with Ginny as Seeker. When he came back to the Gryffindor common room, he heard them celebrating for they have won. Ginny came running to him and she hugged him and he kissed her, there, in front of everybody. It was so spontaneous. And I like it. And then he sought Ron’s eyes and saw his best friend’s approval. I like that, too.
Sometimes I don’t mind when they make changes in the movie. But this is the one part which I wish they had not changed. The way it happened in the movie, it just seems that Ginny had it all planned. And I like it better to happen spontaneously. But that’s just me.
Second. The trip to the black lake and the cave. This is one of the parts that I vividly recall. I like the way it was interpreted in the movie. Although, the potion in the basin was supposed to be emerald liquid. It was a clear liquid in the movie. And even though I knew it was coming, I still jumped on my seat when the Inferius grabbed Harry’s arm. It was like watching a horror movie. Great special effects on the ring of fire.
Third. The scene at the Astronomy Tower. Harry was under Dumbledore’s orders to follow the professor’s instructions, not to question them and to just trust what he tells him to do. When they reached the tower, Dumbledore told Harry to fetch Snape. And then Draco showed up. In the book, Dumbledore Immobilised Harry while he was under the Invisibility Cloak. And that’s why when Snape came to do the deed that was tasked to Draco, Harry wasn’t able to save Dumbledore because he was powerless. Yes, in the movie, he was hiding and wasn’t immobilised, but it happened all so fast that he didn’t get a chance to save Dumbledore anyway. But I just thought, that with Dumbledore immobilising Harry, it would give the viewers something to think about. Because it was all part of the plan, wasn’t it?
Well, that was my initial reaction, until I read a blog that discussed this deviation from the book. Do fans like it better that Harry was powerless to save Dumbledore (book) or that he made the conscious choice to follow Dumbledore’s instructions (movie)? And then I thought about it. Snape was supposed to kill Dumbledore. Harry was to witness this and not be able to do anything about it. He now hates Snape more than he did before. Same thing as the book. In the movie, Harry didn’t feel guilty that he wasn’t able to save Dumbledore, he shouldn’t anyway, since he didn’t know Snape would do it and as I said, it happened all so fast. So the change didn’t really bother me that much. It just gave me a different experience of the scene.
The movie was two and a half hours long. As much as I’ve always enjoyed watching a Harry Potter movie, I think it was quite long. That’s probably why they decided to make the final movie into two parts. I’m sure they would want to include as much as possible there to please the fans, but yet not bore them by having to sit for more than two hours.
I noticed that Daniel Radcliffe has bulked up a bit, much more macho, as Ginny would say. 🙂 He said in an interview in a magazine that he likes to play his role more seriously. This movie is lighter. So he didn’t have a lot of the more serious scenes like he did in The Order of the Phoenix. Harry was angry a lot of times in that movie and Daniel’s acting was more intense in The Phoenix. In The Half-Blood Prince, he just got to be his charming self. 🙂 On the other hand, Ron’s character is the funniest. And I agree with what they say that Rupert’s got that comedic timing, or whatever you call it. Well, anyway, I think J.K. Rowling made this story lighter because the final one is the darkest of all the books, and that will probably require a lot more from the actors.
Just one more thing that I noticed, and this is after my 15-year old son, who hasn’t read the book, asked me. What does the Half-Blood Prince mean? I guess they forgot to elaborate on that in the movie. Snape revealed to Harry that he was the Half-Blood Prince, but it wasn’t explained that he called himself so because his mother was Eileen Prince, a wizard, and his father was Tobias Snape, a Muggle-born, making Snape a half-blood. Since the title of the movie is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, isn’t it an important bit of information that should have been included in the movie?
The Reader – A movie and book review
Here’s another movie that I have seen before reading the book. After watching the Academy Awards earlier this year, I started making a list of must-see movies this summer and The Reader made my list. It received several nominations and won quite a few awards. And the plot of a teen-aged boy having an affair with an older woman and then she mysteriously disappears intrigued me.
I rented the movie a few weeks ago. The story begins in the late 1950s in Berlin and 15-year old Michael Berg (David Kross) starts an affair with Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a woman in her mid-30s. Whenever Michael goes to her apartment, she will ask him to read to her his literary books before they make love. And yes, you must have guessed by now, she’s nude in the movie. Sometimes I wonder if it’s really necessary to have these nude scenes. I’m pretty sure it’s not. A good director and good actors (and Kate is one, she won awards for her portrayal of Hanna in the movie, didn’t she?) can tell a romantic story by forgoing the nude scenes. It has been done. And I’ve read somewhere that the movie has been criticized for including child pornography. Well, David Kross was still a teenager when he did the movie, but I also read somewhere that they waited for him to turn 18 before shooting the nude scenes. But what really bothers me in the movie is how the character of Hanna refused to reveal her secret and would rather serve a lifetime sentence in prison. But of course, I knew better that there is more to the story than what was portrayed in the movie.
And that’s why I tried to get a copy of the book. I found one at another second-hand bookstore, The Book Fair, on Portage Avenue. And yes, I like the book better than the movie.
The book is an easy read even though the topic is quite heavy and emotional. This is another book that is beautifully written even in its simplicity. It was originally written in German by Bernhard Schlink and translated by Carol Brown Janeway. I think the translator did a very good job. So I wonder what made the book good, the author or the translator? Or maybe both. Anyway, it’s a very good novel.
After reading the first part of the book, I take back what I said earlier about the nude scenes. Yes, Michael talks about his physical relationship with Hanna, but I still think the nude scenes could have been limited and toned down a bit in the movie. Also, in the book, Michael explains to the reader how he is feeling at certain parts of the story. Yes, in the movie, I felt young Michael’s excitement as he starts his relationship with Hanna and later falls in love with her. And his pain when Hanna suddenly leaves and years later when he sees her again at the trial and he realizes that she committed a war crime. But I think the movie fails to let the audience understand (especially those who haven’t read the book) that Michael is in pain not just because Hanna, the woman he loved, committed a terrible crime, but that he’s also in pain because he feels guilty for falling in love with a woman who committed such crime even though she had committed the crime after their relationship was over.
Even in the later part of the movie, I didn’t feel the conflicts that Michael has within himself. I only understood them after reading the book. And Ralph Fiennes, who played the older Michael, is such a fine actor.
Could it be the director’s fault? Or maybe it’s just me. Maybe I just got distracted by the nude scenes and that nagging question after watching Hanna get sentenced for life. Is her secret really that shameful at that time that she would rather go to prison for life than reveal her secret? And unfortunately, the book didn’t answer that question either. But the title of the book is The Reader and it’s not really about Hanna, right?
My most favourite part of the book is when Michael talked to the prison warden in person. It almost brought me to tears when she explained to him how proud and happy Hanna was when she overcame ‘her secret’ and how Michael has helped her in doing that. Somehow that part of the movie didn’t have the same impact on me. But I’m going to stop here now before I reveal the secret and spill any more spoilers. 🙂
Hounddog
I saw this movie Hounddog, which stars Dakota Fanning. I’ve heard about this movie where she had to do a rape scene, and it was controversial at that time. I think she was only 12 when she made the movie. I also wondered why her parents let her do the movie. But, hey, I don’t want to judge her parents. And it actually bothered me at first when I found out that she and her sister Elle were offered the roles of the sisters in the upcoming movie, My Sister’s Keeper. I’ve already mentioned this in my book review. Dakota declined the role when she learned that she would have to be bald. I just thought that she didn’t have a problem accepting a movie where she would be raped, but she didn’t want to do one where she would be bald. But hey, again, she must have her own reasons, good, valid reasons.
Well, anyway, there’s nothing vulgar in the way Hounddog was filmed. The rape scene wasn’t graphic. The actual act wasn’t shown but was just implied. There were close-ups on Dakota to show the expressions on her face. There were no nude scenes. I didn’t even find Dakota ‘s gyrating hips as she sang Hounddog sexy. But, I mean, I’m a mother who has kids about her age. Maybe a teen-aged boy would find it sexy. 🙂
Did you know that Hounddog was a blues song before Elvis Presley made it popular? In the movie, Lewellen, Dakota’s character, has a friend who helped her cope with her tragedy by teaching her how to sing the blues.
And kudos to Dakota, she did a fine job in the movie. I think she’s grown up to be a talented actress. She’s been acting since she was what, four years old? And did you know that she’s playing the bad vampire Jane in the upcoming sequel to Twilight, New Moon? This is her first role as a villain. I guess she must have become a versatile actress, too, huh? Can’t wait to see New Moon. But of course, looking forward first to seeing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince this summer. 🙂
Slumdog Millionaire
“He looks like that guy from American Idol,” my 11-year old son told me as we start to watch Slumdog Millionaire.
“Oh, you mean, Anoop,” I said.
I thought I’d convince the kids to watch the movie with me. Make it a movie night like last time. “It’s about this kid who was a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” I told them. We used to watch that game show.
My 19-year old wanted to watch the movie, but he has final exams next week and he needs to study and practice.
The 14-year old wasn’t interested or he probably just got annoyed with me for saying the word slumdog wrong. I said it like slamdog. 🙂 Of course I’m just kidding, he just wasn’t interested.
And after guilt-tripping my 11-year old son, “don’t you want to spend time with your mommy?,” I finally convinced him to watch it with me. Only to send him away after about 10 or 15 minutes into the movie. I’ve already asked him a couple of times to cover his eyes with the blanket when I told him, “I don’t think this is a good movie for you to watch. I’ll tell you whether he wins the million dollars or not. Sorry, Ryland.” I know, it was my bad. I thought, they’d show the main character play and win the game at the start of the movie or something, but the story was told in flashbacks of flashbacks. I know, it’s kind of complicated.
Well, it started with 18-year old Jamal Malik being tortured because they suspected him of cheating. He was from the slums of Mumbai, a slumdog, and here he was, one question away from winning 20 million rupees, which is equivalent to about US $400,000.00. But he didn’t cheat. (Ooops, sorry, if you consider that a spoiler.) He just happened to know all the answers, and that’s the reason for the flashbacks. His life story explains why he knew the answers.
The story of where he came from is really a sad one but it is filled with hope in the end. And on Jamal’s persistence to find his childhood love, Latika, again and again, I find it so inspiring and romantic at the same time. 🙂 Well, I’d spare you with anymore details. You might want to go rent the movie or buy your own copy because I highly recommend it.
My Movie Room 