B R I D E S M A I D S

"I had a dream last night that we went down... you were in it."

Okay so I'm not the kind of person to see a movie at the cinema more than once, mainly because I can see them for free when they come out on D.V.D. (perks of working at a video store). I have only ever done it with Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (I saw it three times, I kid you not) and now the hilarious film Bridesmaids, which I saw twice last week!

I honestly don't think I have laughed so hard throughout a movie. There are hardly any moments in this film where you're not smiling or crying with laughter. I can't stop quoting it... "What kind of a name is Stove? Are you an appliance?" (If you have seen it, you totally just laughed then.)

So what is Bridesmaids about, I hear you ask. It follows Annie (Kristen Wiig) who is asked by her best friend to be her maid of honour. It is after this we meet the bride's bridal party consisting of some amazing characters but the best is definitely the groom's sister, Megan played by the hilarious Melissa McCarthy. Her character is brilliant and provides for some super hilarious moments i.e. when she takes a whole bunch of labrador puppies (party favours) from the bridal shower. Amazing stuff!

What I love about Bridesmaids is that the characters are very relatable. The conversations that are shared between Annie and her best friend remind me a lot of my conversations with my best girl friends. It's also a female take on the male driven films that we love like The 40-Year-Old Virgin & Superbad. Paul Feig has done a great job with Bridesmaids, it's super hilarious and still kind of keeps that chick flick feel without being overly lame. I could not say a bad thing about it. Go and see it!

Rating: 4.5/5

R A B B I T H O L E

Kidman and Eckhart in a scene from the film

Okay, unlike a lot of people out there, I am not a Nicole Kidman hater. She doesn't shit me. I can see why some get irritated by her, but fortunately I can still watch films starring her and not want to throw myself off a bridge by the end of it. So with that being said, I was really looking forward to seeing Rabbit Hole starring Kidman of course and the awesome Aaron Eckhart (awesome because he was awesome in Thank You for Smoking... enough said). The film tells the story of Becca and Howie who are coping with the fact that their son died eight months ago. It's a hard topic to handle for Shortbus director John Cameron Mitchell, (yes I couldn't quite believe it either... from Shortbus to Rabbit Hole, very interesting indeed) but he does it well.

Visually this film is shot beautifully. I really appreciate it when a film captures the small things and takes pleasure in them. Such as the simple moment of Kidman planting a flower in the beginning of the film where we see Kidman in focus and then the camera focuses on the flower. Simple. Beautiful. Mmmm yeah.

I also really liked Miles Teller in the film, a bit of a newcomer and someone I think we'll be seeing a lot of in the future. I won't go into detail who his character is but what I loved about his character was in the beginning we didn't see his face but rather these drawings he was creating for his comic book, 'Rabbit Hole.' (ahhh link to the title of the film!) The illustrations are so amazing to look at and are quite original in style. Whoever they got to draw those in the film is seriously talented.

I truly enjoyed this film. I was completely engrossed in the characters' lives from beginning to end and even got a little teary! (Always a good sign for me)

So I highly recommend to check it out unless you are one of those Nicole Kidman haters... shame on you! She was totally awesome in Moulin Rouge! Yep, I said it.

Rating: 4/5

U N M A D E B E D S

Vera and the babe aka my new obsession...

I literally just finished watching Unmade Beds. Yes I can't hold back the excitement, I have to type this now, that's how freaking amazing this film was. I'm sure this review will be poorly written but alas I am way to antsy, fingers must type away now.

So why did I see this film? One of my favourite customers happened to return it this evening & upon returning it informed me that she Loved this film. Without hesitation I returned it in the system & then immediately brought up my name & scanned that baby!

The film is set in London where foreigners, Vera & Axl are living/visiting. They both live in the same warehouse but they don't come acquainted til two thirds into the film. Axl is sweet & all but Vera totally stole it for me. Her story is such an intriguing one. It seems she has just broken up with her boyfriend and in amongst getting over him, she meets a strange man in a bar. They spend a night together in a motel where they just sleep & nothing more. Then as fate has it they run into each other again and after that encounter they decide to keep seeing each other but never exchange numbers or tell each other their names; just set a date and place and meet up. This relationship they share is so exciting and the way it's shown is done so beautifully. For example, one time when they meet we are shown clips of them catching a train, walking along a beach, smoking cigarettes and overhead we hear a conversation between them where they reveal a secret about themselves. Visually it is so beautiful but we never see them have this conversation we just hear it. So good!

I got to tell you I am so in love with this man that Vera shares this unusual relationship with. He got me giddy from the get go. This may lead to me watching every film he has ever been in... Yes once I see a babe in a film I am all over that (I am a creep).

This film was told and shot so beautifully. It makes me really appreciate being young and makes me want to make the most of my youth whilst it's still around... I kind of just want to party now and meet a boy. Yep.

Rating: 4.5/5

W I L D A T H E A R T

Some still shots from the film. Bobby Peru pictured third from the top... oh so creepy!

David Lynch. Painter. Filmmaker. Musician. Iconic. Genius. Unique. So damn cool. (oh & babe.)

Just some words that come to mind when I think of David Lynch. Just in case you didn't notice... I am a fan of the man that is David Lynch. I have been obsessed with him ever since viewing Mulholland Drive. I may have caught on late but after seeing some of his other gems like Blue Velvet & the best TV show ever created: Twin Peaks!!! I have gone crazy over this guy, grabbing as many books as I can on the guy and reading as much as I can about him. It was after reading Lynch on Lynch that I became interested in his film Wild At Heart. I finally saw this film a week ago and let me tell you, my feelings for Lynch have not changed, the film made me love him even more. (Yes in my fantasy world I am madly in love with Lynch).

Wild At Heart is so Lynch-esque. It's dark, hilarious in parts, totally whack and inspiringly creative. I loved his use of close-up shots of something as simple as lighting a match and then the smoking of a cigarette. The sound effects used in this re-occurring shot are also amazing. I love Lynch's use of sound in his film, it's so creative and intense. The story follows young lovers Lula and Sailor on the run from Lula's overprotective mother, Marietta (who is a total nut by the way and covers her entire face in red lipstick at one point in the film - amazing scene!). In amongst this long road trip we are encountered with some strange characters, Bobby Peru being a noteworthy mention (boy is he a scary looking man). Another noteworthy mention is a scene where Lula is talking about her crazy cousin Dell. It is completely unrelated to the storyline but it's such a great moment in the film where we see a little moment of Dell's mannerisms and for that short moment you are left in hysterics. I have re-watched it on YouTube so many times and laugh every time.

I really could go on and on about this film. It is high up there now with my favourite films of all time. I could not get enough of it. I am a biased Lynch fan but fuck it, I'm giving this a very high rating.

Rating: 5/5

S O M E W H E R E

Playing Ping Pong in the Chateau Marmont's 'backyard.'

I have been a huge fan of Sofia Coppola's films ever since I saw her feature film debut, The Virgin Suicides. I quite literally obsessed over her when I was eighteen, watching her films on repeat and even made a film inspired by her work where I filmed mainly nature and the characters were probably only featured for a quarter of the film. So of course I got extremely excited when I heard of her new film Somewhere. When I was overseas I went to so many cinemas in search of her new film but it wasn't showing anywhere. I have had to wait all this time for it to be released on DVD and boy did it kill me! Fortunately it did not disappoint (this could probably be because I am obsessed with Coppola's style so in my eyes she can't do no wrong, but regardless it's a damn good film).

Somewhere has a basic storyline, there is a very minimal soundtrack and the characters have little dialogue. It is mostly a visual experience. Coppola's films could be compared to a meditation class, you are completely relaxed throughout and come out feeling calm and at ease. Coppola describes it beautifully in the Making of Somewhere, '...I wanted to do something that was more like a poem, just a little portrait. I'm not really interested in an elaborate storyline and narrative, but more of a mood and a portrait of a person. Just kind of a moment in our life.' When she says this she is comparing it to her last film Marie Antoinette where she had a lot of obligation to historical facts and the storyline was therefore a little more complex. With Somewhere she had more freedom and was able to focus on things away from the storyline. She could basically be an artist.

I absolutely adore this film! Elle Fanning is just adorable as Cleo and Stephen Dorff is perfect as the actor who is stuck in this world of sex and alcohol. Really pleased to see Coppola sticking with her style in her fourth feature film.

Rating: 4.5/5

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures

Kubrick on the set of A Clockwork Orange (by far one of the best photos I have ever seen of this man)

I'm doing something a little different today, instead of reviewing a film, I'm reviewing a documentary about a filmmaker instead. The filmmaker is none other than Stanley Kubrick.

First of all I am just going to inform you I am not a crazy-mad fan of Kubrick's. I have always admired his work and consider a few of his films my personal favourites. A Clockwork Orange was always considered for a long time to be my all time favourite film and I have always loved The Shining, Full Metal Jacket and Lolita. I am still yet to see a few of his films and there are also a couple which I dislike. After seeing this documentary though I have considered to re-visit these films again and hopefully change my mind.

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures is hugely insightful and inspiring. It takes you from his childhood to the inside of each of his films including interviews with his family, assistants, other great directors, actors from his films, etc. You learn how much of a perfectionist Kubrick was, spending long amounts of time working on films providing hard work for his actors and crew. His passion for classical music, and how well it was used in his films. Think of the use of Beethoven in A Clockwork Orange and Strauss in 2001: A Space Odyssey. It is used so perfectly in his films to create a mood to go with the scene.

The things I loved to find out about were things like the relationship that Malcolm McDowell and Kubrick had during the making of A Clockwork Orange. McDowell describes their relationship during that time as very close but McDowell held onto this relationship after the film was released. He was always calling Kubrick hoping to spend time with him with no response. McDowell said he was young & naive at the time but your heart kind of goes out to the poor guy! Then there is a behind the scenes look at just how tough Kubrick was with his actors when we see him getting frustrated with Shelley Duvall on the set of The Shining. He swears at her and tells her she's wasting their time with not getting the scene right. It's quite a shock to see but it makes you understand just how much of a perfectionist Kubrick was and Duvall says in the doco that she never regretted doing that film because it was a learning experience but would never want to go through it again. You can see the clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP5w0yE0r6Q

Most actors who worked with him praise Kubrick throughout the documentary. Jack Nicholson says at one point, 'Everyone pretty much acknowledges that he's the man, and I still feel that underrates him.'

It's astonishing to discover he only received one Oscar from the Academy and to hear critics were so harsh toward his films and often referred to him as a lunatic is such a shock because today we consider him to be a genius and one of the best filmmakers of all time.

I was highly impressed with this documentary. It made me want to watch all his films all over again and see the ones I haven't already viewed. Kubrick truly is one of the best filmmakers of all time and this documentary emphasises this.

Rating: 4.5/5

Happiness (1998)

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Lara Flynn Boyle in a scene from the film

I have finally seen Todd Solondz's film Happiness after months of dying to see it! I'm not sure if it started in 1990's America, but there seems to be a pattern of films from that time that were determined to destroy the 'American Dream' and show the reality of what happens to the typical American. A common typical American used in these films was the person living in suburbia with a husband/wife and kids whilst working in a dead-shit job. This is evident in such 90's films as American Beauty, Shortcuts, etc. I also think that Happiness is another great example of this.

Happiness, kind of tells the story of three sisters but also looks at the other people in their lives. The characters range from depressed to in denial to just being totally fucked up. And when I say fucked up I'm actually describing quite a few characters. For the most part I was quite impressed with the film; it raised some issues that perhaps haven't been covered so strongly in films that follow a similar theme. One issue that is looked at in particular is pedophilia. This is looked at through Dylan Baker's character, Bill Maplewood. His character, I found, was the most disturbing in the film and very hard to watch in scenes. I found it quite confronting when you would watch a scene where he discussed masturbation with his son so openly. It's these discussions that make you cringe and feel insanely uncomfortable. The final discussion he has with his son is the hardest to sit through.

Aside from the depressing and disturbing scenes in the film, it is often quite hilarious. An example of this is shown through a conversation between Philip Seymour Hoffman and Camryn Manheim in a diner. The story that Manheim tells Hoffman is told in such a funny way despite it's content and Hoffman's awkward reaction is genius! Solondz is an excellent filmmaker in that he manages to get a lot of emotions out of you and this film does it so well. It's a tough one to sit through but the performances from all actors are outstanding. Philip Seymour Hoffman is such a standout, I seriously don't think I have ever seen a film with him in it where I haven't been amazed by his acting.

In the end, despite being a little confronted and upset by some scenes, I was impressed overall. All stories are told brilliantly and even if it did get me a little down, it's always those films that linger and make an impact.

Rating: 4/5