'About a Boy' is is based on the novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, which I read about six months ago and enjoyed very much.
Hugh Grant is excellent - as ever - in the starring role as the non-working, rather shallow, but immensely likeable Will. Nicholas Hoult is his 12-year-old co-star, as the all-too-responsible Marcus who is loved but rather neglected by his strangely flaky mother.
Marcus is decidedly uncool and gets bullied at school. Will - who is something of a womaniser - comes into his life after inventing a two-year-old son, a ploy that allows him to meet single mothers...
As with the book, this movie is an interesting mixture of pathos and humour. Near tragedy in places combines with some highly amusing moments. Towards the end, the film did rather veer away from the plot of the book (unless I have entirely forgotten some parts of it, which is entirely possible) but as a story, it works well.
'About a boy' is rather more thought-provoking than a lot of modern films of this genre, and very well done.
Recommended.
Unusually, I even watched the extras that came with the DVD. The deleted scenes gave more that was in the book, although we could see that they were not necessary for the film. The 'making of' was reasonably interesting, but nothing special.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
I'm not sure why we acquired the Disney movie 'The Princess Diaries'. Probably it was an Amazon recommendation, or perhaps some friends told us we would enjoy it. It sat for some time on our shelves before we decided to spend an evening watching it.
It's fairly typical and somewhat schmaltzy Disney on a Cinderella theme, but very enjoyable nonetheless. The plot is probably well-known: Mia (Anne Hathaway) is a gauche, somewhat clumsy teenage American girl who tries hard to be invisible at school.
Out of the blue, Mia learns that her paternal grandmother is Queen of a small European country. Since her father (whom she never knew) recently died, Mia is heir apparent to the throne of this country.
She is appalled at first, but agrees to some ‘princess lessons’ and a makeover, and is gradually transformed... whether for better or worse is open to question.
Julie Andrews is perfect as the royal grandmother, and Anne Hathaway as Mia is excellent too. She manages both the awkward clumsy stage and the increasing elegancy of the transformation with panache. There are some delightful scenes with the two of them together; the chemistry between them is excellent despite the age difference. There are even a few low-key ethical issues such as the shallowness of high school cheerleaders and sports stars, and the need for people to stand up for what they believe in.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film, and my husband did too, rather to his surprise. I particularly appreciated seeing the mature Julie Andrews in her excellent role.
There are a few extras on the DVD; we enjoyed the behind-the-scenes shots and descriptions of how the cast gelled together, and how the film was put together.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
Browsing DVDs on Amazon, wanting to add a few to my wishlist for potential Christmas presents, I came across 'My Best Friend's Wedding'. Probably recommended to me because of the genres I tend to like - low-key romantic films with a light, perhaps humorous side - and also the cast.
Sure enough, I enjoyed it very much.
The story features Julianne (Julia Roberts), who has been ‘best friends’ with Michael (Dermot Mulroney) for nine years. She is invited to his wedding... and suddenly realises she’s in love with him.
His fiancée (Cameron Diaz) is bright, enthusiastic, and also very much in love with Michael, but Julianne determines to do all she can to break them up, figuring that all is fair in love, and that Michael and she will never be really happy without each other.
The pace is good, the script well done, although it becomes rather surreal at times. For instance there's a scene almost reminiscent of a 1960s musical when a table full of guests break into song at one point. Or there's the time when Julianne’s gay boss drops everything and flies to her rescue after a frantic phone call. There is even a spoof Bond-style car chase.
But this DVD was exactly what I needed for an evening’s relaxation with my husband. Decidedly a ‘girly’ film, but he liked it too. Julia Roberts is believable, if a little over the top at times, and the outcome was never entirely certain until the end. Recommended.
Rated 12 in the UK, PG-13 in the USA, probably due to one or two instances of bad language, and a little sexual humour.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
I resisted acquiring or watching 'Calendar Girls' for quite some time. I really did not think that we would be interested in the story – based on a true one – of twelve middle-aged Women's Institute members who posed nude for a calendar.
And yet, several people whose tastes I trusted recommended it highly to me. So eventually I put it on my wishlist, and received it for Christmas.
It’s an absolutely delightful film. The nude posing is very tastefully done, and while the making and selling of the calendar is obviously a significant part of the film, it's only one thread. There are many other sub-plots intertwined, some of them quite moving.
We meet the various characters at the beginning of the film, in particular the feisty Chris (Helen Mirren) and her close friend Annie (Julie Walters). Both are excellent in the roles, as are the fairly large supporting cast. I didn't manage to keep all the women clear in my mind, but it really didn't matter.
There’s some humour in this movie, and there are moments of deep sadness, yet neither extreme is overdone.
All in all, we both thought it a wonderful film, and look forward to seeing it again some day.
Rated PG-13 in the USA, 12 in the UK, probably due to the nudity (albeit tasteful and only top half) and some language.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
I can remember watching this film on television, many years ago. It was probably in the 1970s, when I was a teenager. It struck quite a chord with me, and so I was pleased to be able to find it inexpensively on DVD.
'The Inn of the Sixth Happiness', made in 1958, is based on the true story of Gladys Aylward. She was a determined young woman who felt called to be a missionary in China in 1930. She applied to the China Missionary Society, but was not considered suitable. So, sure of her calling, she worked for several months as a parlour-maid until she could afford the train ticket to take her to China.
The journey was a nightmare, but eventually Gladys arrived at her destination - untrained, uncertain, but full of enthusiasm. At first, she was treated with suspicion, but she learned the language, and began to dress and live like a Chinese woman. She showed tremendous courage in the face of great adversity.
Having also read a biography of Gladys Aylward's life, I'm aware that poetic license was taken in several places, with the Christian element quite down-played in the film. Then there are a few totally fictional romantic moments added in the movie, presumably a requirement for popularity on the big screen in the 1950s. However, on the whole the whole it gives a good overview of her dramatic life story, which is well documented in many places.
The acting is excellent, even if some of the accents are a little awry at times. The photography is stunning in places, and the many Chinese children are utterly delightful. It’s a fairly long film – about two and a half hours – but I found it enthralling, despite knowing the overall storyline.
Unsurprisingly, given its vintage, the opening sequence and titles look very dated. But we both thought that the bulk of the film was extremely well made.
Recommended.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
While not a fan of Dickens in general, I have always liked the story of ‘A Christmas Carol’. So I was pleased to be given this movie version of the story some time ago. We decided to keep it for December, and watched it a couple of days before Christmas.
This version of 'A Christmas Carol' stars Patrick Stewart, who is probably best-known for his role as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. It’s a tribute to his acting that he made an extremely good Scrooge, but I did rather wish he had been given a wig.
I could easily believe in him as the ultimate miser in the scenes in his hat, or even his night-cap. But when his head was bare - and bald - he somehow looked more like the captain of the Enterprise (and I’m no Trekkie) than Dickens’ character.
Still, it’s a minor gripe. My only other criticism is that some of the special effects looked extremely dated; I would have guessed that it had been made in the 1980s. Still, the film is ten years old and computer graphic effects have improved enormously since 1999.
I haven’t read the book for some years, but from what I recall this film version was pretty true to the book. We both thought that it worked well; it certainly kept our interest, and on the whole we enjoyed it. A nice start to Christmas!
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
'The Snow Queen' is one of many DVDs that were offered free with a weekend newspaper, collected by a relative, and passed on to us. It's not one I am ever likely to have bought, nor would we necessarily have got around to watching it, but for the billing 'Christmas Magic and Fantasy' on the back. Ideal, we thought, for light viewing in the week before Christmas.
I hadn’t realised until part-way through that this movie is an adaptation of the classic fairytale of the same name. Had I thought about it, I should have done. There is indeed plenty of snow and ice, not to mention magic and fantasy, but it’s not at all connected with Christmas... and parts of it are quite suspenseful.
The story is about the evil Snow Queen (Bridget Fonda) who manages to send a sliver of ice into the heart of Kai (Jeremy Guilbaut). He is a young man who works in a hotel and is in love with the owner’s daughter Gerda (Chelsea Hobbs). He changes character dramatically, then vanishes… and she decides to follow him.
The second half of the film sees Gerda travelling through the fantasy realms related to the different seasons. She encounters many strange people and creatures, including some talking animals, before she finally reaches the Snow Queen’s castle, where Kai is held captive.
The film is quite sad in places, a bit frightening in others, and even slightly amusing at times in some of the caricatured characters. There are lovely ice skating scenes, and some dramatic special effects. Gerda and Kai are excellently cast, and the whole works very well despite being quite a long movie. It was originally shown on TV in two parts, as it’s nearly three hours long.
Once I had realised that it was a slightly bizarre and surreal story, I enjoyed ‘The Snow Queen’. Recommended for older children or adults. But probably not for sensitive small children. The UK rating is PG, which is reasonable enough, so long as parents do use their guidance. In the USA it is not rated at all.
'The Snow Queen' has also been released with the title, 'The Winter Witch'.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
