The Help (Emma Stone)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s eleven years since we saw the film ‘The Help’, which was based on the excellent novel of the same name by Kathryn Stockett. I recalled most of the plot - it’s a very powerful, thought-provoking one - but had forgotten most of the details. We decided to watch it last night despite it being quite a long film by today’s standards: it’s almost two and a half hours long. 

Although we knew it was set in the 1960s, it still felt shocking to us that racial segregation was still legal - and popular with white people - in Mississippi. It all takes place in a small town, where there are a lot of socialite white women who all have black ‘maids’ - known collectively as ‘the help’. 

We get to know just a few of the households concerned. Aibileen (Viola Davies) works for a woman called Elizabeth (Ahna O’Reilly), looking after her young daughter Mae Mobley, who must be about two and a half or three. Elizabeth had post-natal depression and does almost nothing for her daughter, who adores ‘Aibie’. Apparently Mae Mobley, who is delightful, was played by identical twins. 

We bought a zoo (Matt Damon)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s over ten years since we watched ‘We bought a zoo’, a 2011 film which we assumed, at first, was a children’s film. In more than a decade I had forgotten everything other than the overall story: a family who knew nothing about zoos decided to buy one. But I could not recall why, or the circumstances leading up to the purchase.

It turns out that the film was based on a true story. Benjamin (brilliantly portrayed by Matt Damon) has been recently widowed. He had lived quite an adventurous life as a reporter, but, as the introduction tells us, nothing prepared him for being a single father, not just grieving himself but having to deal with both the practical and emotional ramifications for his teenage son Dylan (Colin Ford) and his seven-year-old daughter Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones). 

Dylan is going through a rough patch at school and after three incidents, triggered by his anger and depression, he is expelled. Benjamin decides they need to make a new start, in a house that doesn’t remind them all of his late wife. So he goes house-hunting with Rosie in quite an amusing sequence. None of the houses feel right to them at all, until they find out way out in the countryside, which they both feel is perfect.

The doctor, the widow and the wardrobe (Matt Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

Most of the Doctor Who series start with a Christmas special. It's usually broadcast as a kind of starter to the series, sometimes a month or more before the rest of the series gets going. In general, they don’t have much to do with the rest of the series; they also tend to be a bit longer (perhaps an hour rather than forty minutes). And usually they’re included in the DVD sets. 

However, series seven does not include the 2011 Christmas special - I don’t know why. When we realised this, the first time we were viewing the ‘new’ Doctor Who DVDs, I ordered it specially. And I am extremely glad that I did. We first watched it in January 2014, and loved it. 

It doesn’t add anything much to the ongoing story arcs, but it’s my absolute favourite Christmas special. We watched it as a standalone with one of our sons in December 2021, but I was eager to see it again after we finished watching series six at the end of March.

Doctor Who series 6 (Matt Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

We finished watching Doctor Who series 5 at the end of last year. We had become familiar with Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, and with Amy Pond, portrayed by Karen Gillen, as his companion. At the end of the fifth series, Amy married Rory (Arthur Darvill), and both had decided to keep travelling with the Doctor. 

Series 6 opens with a Christmas special entitled ‘A Christmas carol’. It was a good one to see towards the end of the Christmas period; it was first broadcast on Christmas Day 2010. We first saw it in September 2013 and had entirely forgotten the story. It features a very Scrooge-like character, brilliantly portrayed by Michael Gambon, who refuses to allow a spaceship to arrive. Rory and Amy are in it, on their honeymoon, and send out an SOS to the Doctor. 

The writing is clever, with more than a nod to Dickens; and we liked the resulting softening of the character. There are several Christmas carols featured in the background, too, and some amazing singing. It’s all very well done, we thought, with some tension and mildly scary effects - but overall, an excellent Christmas special. It’s an hour long, and then there’s an ‘extra’ on the same DVD, a Doctor Who ‘confidential’, which gives a lot of background to the episode. There are also a couple of brief ‘extra’ episodes filmed for Comic Relief. 

New Year's Eve (2011 film)

(Amazon UK link)

We had not heard of the 2011 film ‘New Year’s Eve’; but when I spotted it on special offer (two DVDs for a pound) in a UK charity shop earlier in the year, it wasn’t a difficult decision to buy it. There are some faces and names which even I recognised on the front, and it was directed by Garry Marshall. I don’t usually have any clue who directed a film, but his name has come up on several we have seen in the past few years, often in conjunction with ‘extras’. 

We decided we would watch the film around New Year, to make it somewhat seasonal - and since we had a free evening on December 30th, that’s when we saw it. I had seen some reviews suggesting that it was considered rambling with not much plot. I also saw that it had was considered the worst film of the year by some critics… so we weren’t expecting a whole lot. But a light ‘rom-com’, even if not particularly well-made or amusing, was what we were looking for. 

There’s no ‘main’ character (or characters) in this film, and it’s true that there’s no real plot. It has a large cast and several concurrent storylines, all taking place on New Year’s Eve at the end of 2011. It’s set in New York, and sees a lot of people converging on Times Square. I had heard of the ‘ball drop’ ceremony but had never been sure what it involves. I’m still not sure why it’s such a big deal in New York, but evidently it’s traditional. I also learned that midnight is considered a time for first kisses. 

A Christmas Wish (Kristy Swanson)

(Amazon UK link)

New Year has passed, but we decided to watch one more Christmas film before putting them away again until the end of November. We hadn’t previously seen ‘A Christmas Wish’, which I had found at a charity shop a year or so ago. So we saw it last night. 

The film opens with a small American family setting out by car, with little idea where they’re going. Martha (Kristy Swanson) has been abandoned by her husband. He not only ran off with another woman, he emptied their bank accounts and has left her pretty much destitute. She can’t stay there (although it wasn’t entirely clear why) so she packs her daughters Mel and Lilee into the back of the car, her stepson Miles in the front, and they set off. She has some cash to buy fuel and food, but urgently needs work.

They drive north, stopping at various locations with no luck. They eventually stop at a tiny hamlet; Martha knows she needs to sleep, and the children need to have somewhere to stay. They manage to find a temporary apartment to rent, and she even finds some waitressing work, but then there’s the problem of who will look after the children…

It was obvious from the start that this is something of a Cinderella story; but the acting and the pace of the film are excellent. We were particularly impressed by the three children.  Miles (Kevin Herring III) has a complex role; he’s devastated that his father left, and adamant that Martha is NOT his mother, even though she has looked after him for the past four years since their families were blended. He is certain his father will return for him, but his life isn’t easy. He wears glasses and has a stutter that becomes worse when he is stressed, and he has to deal with constant teasing and bullying at whatever school he attends. 

Mel (Kirstin Dorn) is an absolute delight. She’s loving, responsible, and also has a strong belief in the power of prayer. Ages aren’t mentioned, but we gathered that Miles is about ten or eleven, Mel perhaps a year younger, although they’re around the same height. The two of them get along very well, on the whole. 

Then there’s Lilee (Lilee Clyde). Martha says she’s three, but she looks and behaves more like a child of two-and-a-half. I don’t know how old the actress was, but she was excellent, providing quite a bit of humour - Lilee is independent and curious, and doesn’t make life easy for the rest of her family.

If it hadn’t been for the children, the story would have been predictable and possibly schmalzy. But the antics of the youngsters pull it out of the ordinary; their chemistry with their screen mother is strong, their conversations believable. I could empathise strongly with Martha, attempting to be a good, loving mother while urgently needing to provide some kind of home and stability for the children. 

I found it a bit hard to keep track of the different people who came into the diner where Martha finds work; perhaps it doesn’t much matter.  Some are a bit grumpy but she’s charming to them all, and even attracts the attention of someone who has taken little interest in women since he was jilted the day before his wedding. But the directors didn’t make the mistake of turning this into a romance; Martha is still legally married, and her family are her priority. 

The local residents are mostly sorry for Martha, and although she only works for about ten days before Christmas, I wasn’t surprised that she’s tipped well, and even that people give advice and gifts to the children. But the last ten minutes or so of the film do rather require a suspension of belief… however it works well. The ending turns it into a feel-good story with a Christian emphasis that’s done very well (in my view) without any preaching. 

It’s light-weight, and suitable for all the family so long as they’re comfortable with the theme of a broken home and destitution. I can’t find a UK rating and since it was made for TV in the United States, it doesn’t seem to be rated there either. I assume it would have been G, or PG at most. 

Recommended if you want a light-weight well-made Christmas film and don’t mind the predictability (and rapidity) of the ending. 

A Christmas Wish is quite expensive to buy new, perhaps because it's imported (and over ten years old) but if you can find it inexpensively in a charity shop or elsewhere second-hand, it's a nice addition to a Christmas film collection. 

Review copyright 2024 Sue's DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 2 (Daniel Radcliffe)

(Amazon UK link)

So we came to the end of our two-month re-watching of the eight Harry Potter films. We saw the first part of ‘..Deathly Hallows’ last week, and the second part this week.  We hadn’t seen it since 2018, although I re-read the book a year later. I was, of course, familiar with the story and knew what the outcome would be. But it was still quite a tense film.

The action starts where the first part left off: Lord Voldemort has found the legendary ‘elder wand’, known to be the most powerful wand in existence. So he thinks he is invincible. He knows he will have to fight Harry Potter but with this wand he is certain that the outcome will be in his favour. 

Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione, in the meantime, are still on their quest to destroy horcruxes - the pieces into which Voldemort split his soul, to give him the highest chance of survival. Harry is certain that at least one of them is at Hogwarts, so they make the very risky journey to the school. They are greeted with delight by their former friends and classmates, who are under a new, harsh regime without Dumbledore as head, and are longing for freedom. 

There are a lot of special effects in this film, as the staff cast spells to protect the school, and are later involved in serious magical battles. It’s not quite as rapid action as the earlier film and I didn’t shut my eyes quite so often, but the eventual - inevitable - battle of Hogwarts is full of destruction, with people running, hiding, casting hexes, and often falling.  There are some sad losses though not as many as might be expected.

And then Harry is summoned to his doom. As a person of integrity, he has no option but to face Voldemort, in the expectation of losing his life to save others. It’s a strongly Christological metaphor in a series which has more than a few Christian allusions.  Not that it’s pushed at all: the author of the books professes faith, and belongs to a church, but in a fairly low-key way. 

Most viewers of the film will know how it ends, but I won’t give spoilers. The first time I read the book, I knew what I hoped would happen, but really wasn’t certain that it would. And, for a while, it seemed as if I was going to be disappointed.  

This final film is - in my opinion - an excellent production, the story close to that of the book, albeit with some parts missed out, and a lot of the subtleties lost. It’s not appropriate for younger children with the amount of violence and tension, and the rating of 12 is reasonable. Not that there’s any but the mildest of bad language, and no hint of nudity or sexuality beyond a few passionate kisses. 

I wasn’t sure I would want to see these films a second time, but I’m glad I did. Seeing them all in the space of two months has made it easy to follow the whole story, and not worry over-much about the parts (some of them significant) which were omitted. 

The acting is superb, I was moved in particular by that of Professor Snape (Alan Rickman) and Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith).  All the characters are complex, and the chemistry between the principals flawless. The pace is just right, too, and the visual effects stunning. 

Definitely recommended if you’ve seen the rest of the series, particularly the first part of ‘Deathly Hallows’. Or if you’ve read the books. But don’t come to this on its own as it would make no sense without knowing the full story. 

While this DVD can be bought on its own, it's much better value to buy it with the first part, or in a box set of the entire series. 

Review copyright 2023 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Dev Patel)

(Amazon UK link)

We like re-watching films on DVD that we have not seen for at least six or seven years, since by that stage we have usually forgotten some of the storyline, and most of the details. It’s more than eight years since we watched ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’, but we recalled enjoying it. So it seemed like a good film to choose for a light evening’s viewing.

We remembered the outline - that a diverse group of people travel to India to stay in a hotel which turns out to be nowhere near as glamorous as it’s advertised. It’s still being refurbished, the rooms are not ready… and there have not even been any previous guests. We remembered, too, the young and enthusiastic Indian owner Sonny (Dev Patel) - but that was about the limit of our recollections.

The film opens with brief scenes in the lives of the people who are going to be travelling. And it’s quite an all-star cast. Judi Dench - excellent as always - plays the recently-widowed Evelyn. She’s spent all her married life trusting her husband, and doing almost nothing independently. Now she’s discovered that he had a lot of debt… and her home must be sold.

Maggie Smith also features in this - she, too, is superb as the elderly and extremely bigoted Muriel. She needs an operation but would have to wait many months with the NHS, so - somewhat under protest - she is sent to India. Muriel’s gradual healing and transformation - and the apparent shedding of a couple of decades - is one of the highlights of this film.

Then Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton play a not-very-happily-married couple, Douglas and Jean, who are looking at retirement homes. Douglas is very much in the style of Nighy’s other characters, but it works well. Jean is a complainer who doesn’t much like doing anything, but is quite outspoken.

Celia Imrie is Madge, who is fed up with continual childminding for her grandchildren, even though she loves them. I found her character the weakest, not really fitting in with anyone else. She’s a snob, on the lookout for a man (so long as he’s high class, preferably royalty). But I couldn’t quite believe in her.

Finally there are two single men: Norman (Ronald Pickup) who is on the lookout for some intimacy with women, and doesn’t think his age should prevent him, and Graham (Tom Wilkinson) who has just retired as a lawyer, and is the only member of the group who has actually lived in India.

These folk meet at the airport when their flight to the ‘Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’ is cancelled, and Graham is the one who organises their transport. It’s a stressful journey but they hope for a place of respite when they arrive… only to discover rooms that are full of dust (or worse), some without doors, none of them prepared. And the film is about the way that each of them, in different ways, adjusts - or doesn’t adjust - to the new environment, the sounds and colours in India, and the culture, which is quite alien to most of them.

With such an incredible cast, it’s not surprising that this film works extremely well, focussing on the friendships that gradually build up, and the ways that the people in the group change as their horizons are widened. There’s quite a bit of humour, and it manages to be amusing without being offensive; fun is poked not at Indian culture as such but at the foibles and biases of the English visitors. Dev Patel as Sonny is also extremely funny with excellent timing and expressions, as he works hard to persuade everyone around him to support his vision.

It’s not just a comedy, though - there’s a romantic thread that looks at the way Indian marriages happen, and there’s a great deal of pathos, as some of the people confront excessive poverty and learn to behave in ways that do not conflict with the values of their hosts.

All in all we thought it an excellent film, and were only disappointed that the one ‘extra’ is extremely short, saying very little. The rating of 12 (UK) or PG-13 (US) seems appropriate; there's nothing explicit, but many sexual references, and some mild violence as well as one or two potentially disturbing scenes. However, a film like this about retired people is unlikely to be of interest to children or younger teens anyway.

Review copyright 2020 Sue's DVD Reviews

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (Ewan McGregor)

(Amazon UK link)

Browsing a box of DVDs on a church bookstall, I spotted ‘Salmon Fishing in the Yemen’. Although it’s not a title that would naturally appeal to me, I had heard good things about the book and even better things about the film adaptation. I thought it well worth 50 cents, and we decided to watch it last night.

Ewan McGregor is the real star of this film, as the somewhat grumpy Alfred (Fred) Jones, an expert on fishing. We meet him almost in passing at first, responding in the negative to a proposal by a wealthy Sheikh (Amr Waked) who wants to introduce salmon fishing in his native country. The idea sounds ridiculous so Fred’s response is not unreasonable, pointing out that salmon need a cool, rainy climate rather than a hot, dry Middle Eastern one.

The project might have disappeared but for the government deciding they need a ‘good news’ story from the Middle East, promoting Anglo-Arab relations, to balance the many negative ones. The Prime Minister’s press secretary, Patricia Maxwell (Kristen Scott Thomas) is a pushy, assertive person who manipulates Fred’s boss into taking the project on. And Fred is inveigled into meeting Harriet (Emily Blunt), a financial consultant who has been employed by the Sheikh.

I found the number of people a tad confusing at first, until I had worked out who the main characters were. Fred’s wife Mary seems quite important at first, but it’s clear that their marriage has lost its sparkle, and they are drifting apart. Harriet embarks on a relationship with a soldier, too, but it’s fuelled by passion rather than anything deeper. And then he is sent to Afghanistan…

The film is shot in three main locations: London, parts of Scotland, and (rather than Yemen) Morocco. It’s very well done, paced exactly right for my tastes, and with a good balance of conversation and action. The Sheikh is a delightful man, probably around the same age as Fred, and their shared interest in fishing sparks an immediate rapport. His reason for wanting the fishing is not for selfish enjoyment, but to bring more life and leisure activities to an arid reason. Unfortunately, not all the locals agree with him, and the project brings some angry - and, eventually violent - protests.

Harriet is a great character too, overwhelmingly positive, determined to overcome all Fred’s possible objections to the project, and with an unexpected flair for languages. There are some interesting conversations about faith, alongside fishing; Fred insists he is a man of science, with no faith, but the Sheikh gently persuades him otherwise.

It’s billed as a comedy, whereas I would have called it a romantic drama; inevitably there’s a romantic thread, although that, too, is extremely well done, with a strong friendship developing before any talk of love. There are certainly some amusing conversations, but they made us smile rather than laughing, and they were interspersed with much more serious, sometimes tragic interludes.

But all in all, we thought it an excellent film, one I would highly recommend. The rating is 12 (PG-13 in the US) which I think is about right. There are instances of fairly mild bad language, with just one or two ‘strong’ words, and there is a fair amount of implied intimacy, but nothing explicit, and no nudity. The violent scenes are brief without gore or too much tension. But the political and sometimes satirical themes are unlikely to appeal to children anyway.

There are a couple of extras; we watched the ‘making of’ extra, with the cast and director explaining how it was made, why the cast were chosen, and how they dealt with some of the filming.

Highly recommended.

Review copyright 2019 Sue's DVD Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 (Daniel Radcliffe)

(Amazon UK link)

A week ago we finally watched part 1 of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. It was very well done, but I felt there was too much fast action filled with special effects, and too little of the storyline. However, having seen it, we decided to watch part 2 last night.

The action is less rapid in this film, and I only had to close my eyes a couple of times. Most of the story takes place in or near Hogwarts, where Harry is certain one of the final horcruxes must be hidden. He has little clue what it might be, what it is, or how he will destroy it.

Moreover, the school is now in the charge of Professor Snape, with new and harsh regimes. Dementors and death-eaters patrol outside, and the students must toe the line or be punished harshly. The students who support Harry are thrilled to see him Harry when he arrives with his friends Ron and Hermione. But he has no plan.

Events move towards the climax in dramatic ways, with a lot of magical violence, as well as some new revelations and discoveries. Other students play their part, some losing their lives as a result. But Harry alone has to face Voldemort in an encounter which has been inevitable since he started to discover his destiny in the first book.

This film was more thoughtful than the first, and I was almost mesmerised for much of it. There are some very moving scenes, and one or two surprises for those who have not read the book. The theme of good vs evil comes through very clearly, but this is no clichéd story. The series was meticulously plotted and written, with all the threads drawing together in this final part of the story.

I remembered much of the ending from the book - a magnificent ending, in my view - but had forgotten the details. I don’t know how true the film was to the novel, but I don’t recall any major omissions. The epilogue at the end gives the audience a chance to relax and see into the future, tying up some loose ends. It felt a tad out of place in the book, and similarly in the movie. Yet I’m glad it was there, providing closure as this incredible series comes to its end.

The acting is excellent, the pace exactly right, in my view. There are even one or two humorous moments, providing momentary relief in the tension of the story. This is a superb film to end the series, and while it doesn’t stand alone, I would recommend it highly to anyone who has seen the others, but has not yet seen this one.

The rating, as with part 1, is 12 (PG-13 in the US). I assume this is due to the magical and indeed physical violence, which is extreme. While the shots of violence are fairly brief and rapid, there are a lot of bodies, and a great deal of destruction and disaster. The point is made that this happens when evil holds sway, but it’s not appropriate for young children. There’s some minor bad language, too, but it’s almost unnoticeable alongside the wholesale destruction and violence.

Reviews of the other Harry Potter films:

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 1)

Review copyright 2018 Sue's DVD Reviews

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Thomas Horn)

(Amazon UK link)

I don’t remember how we acquired the DVD of ‘Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close’. It has been in our to-watch drawer for many months, perhaps a year or more. I had read some mixed reviews, and the premise, somehow, didn’t seem all that appealing.

However, we recently decided to watch it… and were captivated from the start. It’s a sad, tense opening as we meet young pre-teen Oskar (Thomas Horn) grieving the loss of his father. We soon learn that he died in the Twin Towers attack in September 2001. Oskar is a highly sensitive child, evidently on the autistic spectrum although, as he tells someone later, tests for Asperger’s Syndrome were inconclusive. He struggles to deal with loud noises and finds it difficult to understand strong emotion.

The early part of the film is a bit confusing chronologically. We see Oskar’s memories with his father (Tom Hanks), interspersed with the day everything changed, and his day-to-day life. His father and he do ‘quests’ or ‘challenges’ together, often based on unlikely stories. They give Oskar a chance to communicate with strangers.

Oskar and his mother (Sandra Bullock) have a difficult relationship. It is evidently made all the worse by their bereavement, and their reluctance to talk about it. But, a year after what Oskar calls ‘The Worst Day’, he goes into his father’s closet - unchanged, in a year - and by chance discovers a key. This leads him to what he believes is another vital ‘quest’, one that he hopes might help him make sense of what happened.

Much of the film is taken up with Oskar’s travels and interviews, which he records in detail in a scrapbook. It’s the story not just of the quest but of Oskar’s own growth in confidence, and his relationships with several other people, particularly family members. It’s beautifully done.

Despite a cast featuring famous names, young Thomas Horn is the real star of this film. We wondered why he was not better known. Apparently he had never acted before, and was chosen after a stunning performance on a TV quiz show. He is a natural for this role, showing emotion and fear in his expressions, and with excellent timing. His rapport with other characters is excellent, particularly with ‘The Renter’ (Max von Sydow) whose real relationship with Oskar is immediately apparent to the viewer.

Despite an unusual and essentially tragic plot, the film is mesmerising. The pace is perfect. The viewer sees Oskar’s confusion and need for some kind of closure, rooting for him to find it. The ending is perhaps a tad sudden, but I’m not sure how else it could have been done.

The rating is 12 in the UK, PG-13 in the US. I was a little surprised at this: there are no intimate or nude scenes, no overt violence, and bad language is only hinted at. I assume the rating is due to the overall emotion and the traumatic content of the start of the film. I certainly wouldn’t want an over-sensitive child to see it. But I would have expected the censors to rate it PG.

The only ‘extra’, other than language options, is one about finding Oskar. It has brief interviews with the director and some of the other actors, explaining how they worked with him as he knew nothing about films or acting beforehand.

Very highly recommended.

Review copyright 2017 Sue's DVD Reviews

Midnight in Paris (Owen Wilson)

(Amazon UK link)

I had never heard of this film, and it’s not one that would naturally have been recommended to me. However I happened to read a review of it on a consumer site, and my interest was piqued. It went on my wish-list and I was delighted to be given it for a recent birthday. We decided to watch it last night simply because it was the shortest of the ones remaining in our to-be-watched drawer.

‘Midnight in Paris’ starts with some very nice scenery and some rather too loud jazzy music. I quite like jazz in its place, and when I thought this was going to be the background to opening titles, I didn’t mind it at all. But no titles appeared, and the music became louder as the images of Paris continued for much longer than we’d have expected as an opening sequence. We had to turn the sound down at one point as the high notes were almost screechingly loud.

Then the story starts. We meet an American family who are visiting Paris. The parents - caricatured materialistic types - are there for business. Their daughter Inez (Rachel McAdams) decided to tag along, as did her fiancé Gil (Owen Wilson). Right from the start they seem like an ill-matched pair. He’s evidently a romantic, who loves the nostalgic feel of Paris, and the beauty of the buildings. He wonders if they could live there after they’re married. But Inez doesn’t want to live anywhere other than the United States.

Gil is a successful Hollywood scriptwriter, and Inez appears to care more for his success and wealth than for him as a person. She’s rather scathing about his current project of writing a novel, although he’s easy-going and seems to brush off her negativity. Still, when she decides to go dancing with some old friends, he says he’d rather go for a walk, as Paris is so romantic at night. He manages to get himself lost, and sits down for a rest just before the clock strikes midnight…

...at which point an old-fashioned car arrives and he’s persuaded to get inside. The situation gradually becomes surreal, as he finds himself amongst people whose novels he has admired… apparently he’s gone back in time to the 1920s, an era he believes reflects the glories of literature. I thought this was supposed to be a dream sequence at first, but he repeats the experience the following day, meeting famous artists as well as writers, and a very attractive girl…

I had to accept that, essentially, it’s a semi-fantasy plot, which includes time travel but without any worries about the potential problems. Whether or not these forays into the past were a dream, or a subconscious wish, or reality (so to speak) is left open. But the contrast is made between Gil’s romantic nature and Inez’s materialistic side. As he becomes more inspired to write, given advice by people who care, and begins to fall for the girl in the 1920s, his relationship with Inez deteriorates rapidly. And thank goodness for that. Right from the start I was hoping they would break up.

There’s an underlying message or theme to the film: being contented with one’s own era, taking life as it comes, going with one’s heart. There’s some humour, nicely mixed in with the story; once or twice we even chuckled aloud. The scenery and filming are gorgeous, the costumes stunning, and despite the oddness of the storyline, I was left feeling both nostalgic and uplifted.

Rated 12; basically due to several sexual references, although there’s nothing explicit, no violence, and no nudity. Mild language. Unlikely to be of interest to anyone under the age of about fifteen or sixteen anyway; it’s necessary to know the names of at least some of the best-known artists and writers from the 1920s in order to get the point of the forays into the past.

Recommended, if you like character-driven stories that are light, slow moving and somewhat thought-provoking. It's only 90 minutes long, but quite intense; the length felt exactly right.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's DVD Reviews

Monte Carlo (Selena Gomez)

(Amazon UK link)

This isn’t the kind of film I would naturally have thought of seeing. However, it was in a double-pack with another film I was interested in, and I found it inexpensively second-hand. Wanting something light and fluffy to watch last night, we decided to see what it was like.

The story is about three young women in the United States. Grace, who has just graduated from high school, has been working as a waitress and saving up for a long time to go on the trip of a lifetime to Paris. Her close friend Emma, who also works as a waitress, is going too. Emma is a few years older, but quite flighty and potentially irresponsible. So at the last minute, Grace’s stepfather announces that his daughter Meg, who is a contemporary of Emma’s will be accompanying them.

Grace and Meg don’t much like each other, and when they arrive in Paris they discover that the tour they booked is not at all what they expected. Their accommodation is dingy and uncomfortable, the tour guide rushes everyone from place to place with no time to pause or enjoy the landmarks.

Nor does the bus wait when the three are a couple of minutes late… and by a series of unlikely events, they find themselves in Monte Carlo. They are staying in a luxurious suite, with Grace being mistaken for a snooty celebrity called Cordelia who is booked for a charity ball and auction.

It’s not surprising that Grace is considered a look-alike of Cordelia’s, since both are played by Selena Gomez. She manages both in a believable way, although I found Meg (Leighton Meister) more believable and natural. Emily (Katie Cassidy) is mostly caricatured, although her character develops in the middle of the film, and she becomes more likeable.

Monte Carlo is probably intended for a young teenage audience, but on the whole we liked it. We particularly enjoyed the cameo role played by Catherine Tate, as Cordelia’s wealthy aunt. Having only seen Tate in her role as a Doctor Who assistant, we appreciated her very much in this part.

The story is light-hearted - frankly silly at times - and relies on a too many coincidences, particularly related to a young man who takes a liking to Meg. We didn’t laugh aloud, but there are places that were somewhat amusing, and it didn’t require any deep thought. I don’t know that it was uplifting, exactly, but the ending is entirely satisfactory, if rather predictable (and dogged by yet another coincidence).

The rating is PG, which we felt was entirely appropriate. There are lots of short skirts, but no nudity (unless we count a very brief appearance of someone up to his neck in soap). There’s a fair amount of kissing, but nothing more: we thought this quite refreshing in a film of this kind. There’s some mild profanity, but it would be easy to miss; nothing major, and nothing gratuitous. I doubt if anyone under the age of about 12 would be interested in this anyway.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Help (Emma Stone)

(Amazon UK link)

It’s three years since I read the excellent and thought-provoking book ‘The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett. It’s a story that’s stayed with me, as it was eye-opening in introducing me to the world of ‘maids’, treated often with disrespect (or worse) in the southern parts of the US, as recently as the 1960s.

So when I realised there was a film available, I quickly added it to my wishlist, and was given it for my birthday a year ago. We have quite a few DVDs in our ‘to be watched’ drawer, and it took us a while to decide to watch this. But last night we saw it with our younger son, and were captivated.

It’s perhaps a good thing that I waited three years after reading the book, as some critics claim that the film isn’t a particularly good portrayal. Whether or not that’s the case, it seemed like an excellent adaption to me. The overall message of the book was strong, the acting was superb, and the settings felt just right. Indeed, if I had not read the book, I might have missed parts of the story as the accents of some of the society ladies were very strong and difficult for me to understand, although I’m sure they were realistic for the era.

Skeeter (Emma Stone) is wonderful as the main character, and the catalyst for change. She returns to her small town after graduating from university, and is upset to find that her beloved - and elderly - maid Constantine is gone. Skeeter has several friends who try to match her with a suitable young man/ they invite her to supper parties and bridge games, but she wants something more than frivolity. As she realises how badly some of the black maids are treated, she decides to gather their stories together in a book, a move that’s potentially very dangerous in a way that's hard to grasp from the safety of the 21st century.

The other main star of the film is Aibilene (Viola Davis). She's a middle-aged maid who has raised several white children, and is currently looking after a young child whose mother cares very little about her. Aibilene continues working her hardest for the sake of the children, although she’s quite bitter after losing her own son in an accident. She is believable throughout. The thing that puzzled me most about this film (and, indeed, the book) was the irony that wealthy white women would refuse even to share a toilet with their maids, yet expected them to raise their children entirely.

For anyone wanting to know what society was like in Mississippi as recently as fifty years ago, or who wonders if people in the US can be as intolerant as they sometimes appear, or indeed anyone wanting a thoughtful and encouraging movie about how a writer can change society, I would recommend this highly. I don't know how accurate a portrayal it is - there have been many mixed opinions about this - but although I'm sure this kind of racism wasn't universally true, it felt authentic as a story.

The Help is rated 12A (PG-13 in the US) and I think that’s probably fair. There no nudity or intimacy, and the only bad language is fairly minor, other than instances of a word now considered highly offensive but commonly used in the era, There’s implied violence and one or two unpleasant scenes, though on the whole it’s tastefully done, giving impressions rather than details.

However, the subject matter is intensive and potentially disturbing, so I would suggest that this is best seen by teens and adults, rather than younger children.

It's a long film - two and a quarter hours - and we found it totally absorbing, if a bit draining at times. It's neither relaxing nor fluffy, and not one I'd like to see too often - nonetheless, very highly recommended indeed.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's DVD Reviews

We Bought a Zoo (Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Colin Ford, Maggie Elizabeth Jones)

(Amazon UK link)

We picked this film up, inexpensively, at a supermarket in the UK on a recent visit. We had not really heard of it, but it looked as if it could be rather different from others we’ve seen recently.

The story is about Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon), who has been recently widowed. He has a moody teenage son, Dylan (Colin Ford) who keeps getting into trouble at school, and a seven-year-old daughter, Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones) who is trying to take on some responsibility for the house already. I could feel for Benjamin’s growing frustration, trying to raise his children while still grieving himself. So it was no surprise when he decided to look for a new house, in a completely different area, to start afresh.

There are some amusing scenes as Benjamin and the delightful Rosie are taken around some entirely unsuitable houses by an enthusiastic agent who’s new to the job. Eventually they discover what seems like the perfect property: a bit run-down, but with several acres of land, and a wonderful view. There’s just one slight problem: it comes with a zoo.

Determined to make it work, Benjamin puts money into better enclosures and renovating the zoo, only to find that it’s considerably more expensive than he imagined, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll pass the stringent inspection necessary to re-open…

This film, set in the US, is based on a true story about a real zoo in the UK, although many of the details have been changed. It makes for a very interesting couple of hours, and has a good balance of themes: the obvious one of renovating the zoo runs alongside Benjamin’s often stormy relationship with Dylan, who reminds him all too often of his late (and much-loved) wife. There are also a couple of low-key romance elements, nicely done in an entirely family-friendly way. There’s some humour, mixed with some mild suspense and some quite moving scenes too.

The rating is PG, which I think is probably right; there’s some bad language, although nothing that would warrant a 12 or 15 rating. However a strong word for ‘dung’ is used repeatedly, and there are other slang phrases that some parents might prefer their little ones not to hear. The suspense is mostly mild, but Dylan does produce some quite intense and potentially frightening pictures as he works through his anger. Parents should check before showing this to sensitive children.

We enjoyed this film very much, and would recommend it highly. I was particularly taken with little Maggie Elizabeth Jones' delightful and entirely believable performance as young Rosie, and will be looking out for other films in which she features.

There's just one extra: a documentary about the production, showing how some of the animals were trained (entirely humanely and lovingly). It was very interesting.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Decoy Bride (David Tennant, Kelly Macdonald, Alice Eve)

(Amazon UK link)

Browsing on Amazon last year, I spotted this DVD in my ‘recommendations’. I assume it was because David Tennant is in one of the main roles, as I knew nothing about either of the other two co-stars. The blurb made it sound interesting, in the light rom-com genre that we enjoy for a relaxing evening in, so it went on my wishlist. I was given it last Christmas, and we watched it last night with our son and a visiting friend.

The story starts with a society wedding that doesn’t go ahead, due to intrusive journalists and photographers. David Tennant is the hopeful groom: he plays the role of an English writer called James, who is engaged to Lara (Alice Eve). She is one of the world’s most desirable and well-known American movie stars.

Lara is quite hot-tempered and wants their wedding to be private, so the wedding planners decide to move the location to Hegg, a (fictional) little-known island in the Hebrides. James has written a long book, supposedly based on Hegg, which makes it sound a lot more appealing than it really is.

Meanwhile on Hegg, we meet Katie, the one unmarried young woman in a population of 75. She has suffered more than one disappointment in love, and has decided to give up on relationships. She has been living elsewhere but has returned to look after her terminally ill mother whose one wish is to travel the world…

Inevitably there are clashes of culture between the gentle Hebrideans and the wealthy, fast-moving wedding party. There are misunderstandings and mistakes which make this gently amusing in places, surprisingly poignant in others. The location is lovely. It's entirely believable as a cold Northern island, although apparently the filming was mainly done in the Isle of Man.

The plot itself becomes a bit unlikely, as Lara goes into hiding and the wedding planners decide to use a ‘decoy’ bride to fool the journalists. They, inevitably, learn about the wedding and arrive in their droves. However, the sequences that follow, without Lara involved, are thoughtfully done with quite a spark of chemistry becoming apparent.

It’s not deep or thought-provoking, other than, perhaps, the glimpse into the lives of the famous that shows how very intrusive and painful media interest can be. But it’s a good story and made an excellent light evening’s watching which we all enjoyed. The ending is, perhaps, a bit too abrupt, but overall we thought it a pleasant film.

It's rated 12 (12A in the US) which seems about right; there are some minor instances of bad language as well as references to ‘adult’ topics; however, there’s no nudity, only mild violence, and nothing explicit. It’s not a storyline that is likely to appeal to anyone under the age of about 14 or 15 in any case.

Recommended. There are no extras on our DVD at all.

Review copyright 2015 Sue's DVD Reviews

The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe: Doctor Who 2011 Christmas Special (Matt Smith)

(Amazon UK link)

Watching our way through the 'new season' Doctor Who DVDs, we reached the end of Series 6 at the end of last year. Aware that this was likely to happen, I had already placed Series 7 on my wishlist. In researching whether there were any extra 'specials', I discovered that this particular episode, the Christmas Special from 2011, was not included in the main DVDs. So I put it on my wishlist too, and was delighted to receive them all for Christmas.

Sometimes, it seems to me, the Doctor Who Christmas specials are rather bittersweet, or over-heavy for the festive season. If I'm sitting down to watch television after a large amount of food and a busy day, I want something light, preferably mildly amusing, and with a happy ending.

Although we only just watched the 2011 special, 'The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe' in the middle of January, as far as I'm concerned this is exactly what a Christmas special should be like. There's a Christmas surprise, some amazing visual effects, and a large nod to CS Lewis and Narnia (not just a snow-covered planet but at least one line quoted from the book). There's some humour, there are some unusual aliens, and, best of all there's a wonderful climax and a great ending.

Matt Smith is superb as the Doctor in the guise of a slightly weird caretaker. Maurice Cole and Holly Earl are excellent as the geeky child Cyril and his teenage sister Lily (who looked very like the Narnian Lucy at times) - and Claire Skinner was absolutely fabulous as their mother.

Admittedly it's not standard Doctor Who, and probably won't appeal to hard-line fans. It's only rated PG, and there's only mild suspense; there's a lot that's silly and the whole is somewhat twee. Credulity is always suspended in this series, but perhaps even more so in this.

And I loved it.

The episode stands alone - so for those who dislike this kind of thing, it can easily be ignored.

Sadly the only 'extras' on the DVD are various compilations of 'best of' moments in the previous series, presumably intended to inspire viewers to buy more DVDs. And it's sometimes rather highly priced on Amazon, given that it's just an hour-long episode.

But still. Great stuff.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

Doctor Who, the complete series 6 (Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill)

(Amazon UK link)

It has taken us four months to watch the sixth season of the 21st century Doctor Who. Matt Smith is well established as the 11th incarnation of the Doctor, and Karen Gillan returns as his companion, Amy. She is now married to Rory (Arthur Darvill) who has a brilliantly comic touch at times. This adds some welcome lightness, but also shows amazing depth and loyalty.

The opening episode, ‘A Christmas Carol’, was shown in December 2010. It features a Scrooge-like character, who refuses to let Amy and Rory’s honeymoon spaceship arrive. The Doctor works some Dickens-like magic, and there’s a bittersweet ending; it’s nicely done, if a little twee.

Then the sixth season began properly in April 2011, with a very dramatic episode where the Doctor is shot by a lakeside, watched by Amy, Rory, and the mysterious River Song. Then they meet a younger version of the Doctor, who has no idea what’s going to happen…

It’s a confusing series in some ways, and I almost feel as if I should start watching it over again with the benefit of hindsight. While most episodes are complete in themselves, the idea of a ‘crack in the universe’ continues, as do the mysterious ‘Silence’ aliens, who disappear from memory as soon as someone stops looking at them. Amy announces that she is pregnant, then insists that she is not.. and the Doctor runs scans which are oddly inconclusive.

Other than the Silence, here are not so many evil aliens in this series; the Daleks and Weeping Angels make only brief appearances, as do the Cybermen. On the other hand, there’s a pirate ship complete with singing Sirens, an episode where Hitler appears, and some doppelgangers who impersonate their human counterparts. It was difficult trying to work out what parts of each episode were significant, and I often found my head buzzing… there’s a lot of fast action and tension, neither of which really appeal to me.

Yet Doctor Who is very engaging. Matt Smith has a lot of energy and projects a kind of alien feel to the show. The human - and human-alien - interactions are often revealing, sometimes moving. The heavier, darker episodes are interspersed with lighter ones; I particularly enjoyed the penultimate ‘Closing Time’, where the Doctor pops in to see his friend ‘Craig’, who featured in Season Five, and gets caught up with some very strange things going on in his neighbourhood.

The last episode sees time and eternity bizarrely mixed up, with the clocks and calendars stuck, all history happening at the same time. A paradox has been created, which the Doctor wants to break out of… we see flashbacks to the first episode of the season, and a dramatic finale.

There are plenty of short extras in this season, with prequels and mini-episodes as supplements, although it’s not necessary to watch them.

All in all, a season well worth owning and watching for anyone who is a fan of this long-running series. In the US it may be cheaper to buy in two parts, but note that the much less expensive UK release will only work with region two (or region-free) DVD players.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Dev Patel)

(Amazon UK link)

We weren’t quite sure what to expect from this, but it came highly recommended by various people - and since it featured both Judi Dench and Maggie Smith, as well as some other top names, we thought it would be worth seeing. All I knew was that several people set off for a retirement home in India, and found that it wasn’t quite what they were expecting...

The start of the film introduces us to the seven people who all end up travelling to the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Judi Dench plays Evelyn, who has recently been widowed and really doesn’t know what to do with her life, or how she can afford to keep going. Maggie Smith plays Muriel, a woman who urgently needs a hip transplant, but does not want to have to wait several months for the NHS. She is very bigoted, so is not at all impressed with the idea of travelling to India for a quicker operation, but reluctantly agrees to it.

Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilton play Douglas and Jean, a married couple who are just retired, and really don’t know what they want. Jean is discontented, not wanting to settle down in a small flat, but not remotely interested in anything in India either. Douglas seems endlessly patient, but gets frustrated by her constant negativity.

More forgettable are Madge (Celia Imrie), Norman (Ronald Pickup) and Graham (Tom Wilkinson). Madge wants a wealthy husband, Norman wants a woman - any woman, but probably not Madge - and Graham is returning to India to catch up with his past; he lived there for a while as a young man.

We get to know each of these characters briefly in their homes and work environments; each of them finds the advert for the hotel, purporting to be a new and wonderful retirement home. Not all their travel arrangements go smoothly, but they eventually arrive... to find a young and cheerful host called Sonny (brilliantly played by Dev Patel) who somehow finds a reason - or excuse - for every one of the hotel’s deficiencies. And there are many... it needs major renovation and upgrading, and is a far remove from the wonderful, up-to-date residence that was advertised...

There’s a lot of humour in this film, and also some very moving moments. One or two parts are unexpectedly poignant, and much is thought-provoking. Criticisms have been made that the story is demeaning to India... yet the country is displayed in its colourful, chaotic glory; it’s the stuck-in-a-rut lifestyles and expectations of the Brits that are more caricatured.

There isn’t a great deal of plot, but we enjoyed it very much. Not that one necessarily wants to think about retirement or growing old, but somehow that isn’t the main focus. Some of the hotel’s residents gain a new lease of life as they discover something - or someone - new.

Judi Dench is excellent, as always, but in my view Maggie Smith is the real star, transforming from an irritable old lady to someone observing everything that goes on, eventually taking on a very important role and looking twenty years younger. Dev Patel is also superb - and the whole was a great family movie.

Rated 12, probably because of a few instances of minor bad language and the racist inferences made in the early part of the film. Unlikely to be of much interest to anyone under the age of about 12 anyway.

Definitely recommended.

Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews