Julie and Julia is a film based on a book, which itself is a true story written by Julie Powell. Julie is a bored and rather flighty young American woman who needs some kind of focus to her life. She decides to cook her way through a French recipe book written by Julia Child a few decades earlier. She determines to cook every single recipe, and to complete them within the next year. Her husband persuades her to blog about the experience... and the blog takes off in unexpected ways.
I had never heard of Julia Child, but apparently her book - for Americans to learn how to cook in the French style, written some decades earlier - is quite well-known in the USA. The movie cleverly switches between Julie's story in the 1990s to that of Julia herself, as an American living in Paris trying to find ways to occupy herself.
Meryl Streep is brilliant in the role of Julia; she seems able to turn her abilities to just about any character, and I found her entirely believable - larger than life (both literally and metaphorically), a mixture of confidence and insecurity. Amy Adams as Julie was lovable, too, and quite believable if a bit annoying and over-emotional at times. Their husbands - played by Stanley Tucci and Chris Messina respectively - were likeable too, their interactions with their wives realistic and engaging.
As much as anything the film is about food, and the art of cooking, with some wonderful looking dishes being prepared. The amount of butter and cream used seems a little unreal in today's low-fat climate, and I did have to close my eyes at the scenes using live lobsters. But I was rooting for Julie to get through her challenge - and also for Julia, even while knowing that her book must have been published at some point!
The ending was perhaps a little sudden with no real explanation about what was going on; I wondered if it would be clearer in the book, but most of the reviews I have seen rate the film as rather better than the book. Having enjoyed the movie so much, I don't want to spoil it by having negative impressions of Julie, nor am I interested in a book full of bad language.
'Julie and Julia' is rated 12 in the UK, PG-13 in the USA, probably due to a few instances of bad language - however they were rare and mostly in context. There are several implied bedroom scenes but no nudity or anything unsuitable for children is actually shown.
Definitely recommended. There's an interesting 'extra' with the director and cast talking about the film and their roles in making it, which was enjoyable to watch afterwards.
review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews 4th September 2011
I've known of and liked the musical 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat', written by Andrew Lloyd-Webber, for many years. It was popular in the UK in the 1980s, often performed by schools or other choirs, and many of the songs are well-known. So when I first saw this adaptation for film starring Donny Osmond, some years ago, I was not quite sure what to expect.
I was very impressed.
I saw 'Joseph' again four years ago, with relatives, and enjoyed it again.
Seeing it again recently with friends, I enjoyed it once more. It's very unusual for me to be able to sit through any film more than once but the music is enjoyable, the acting and directing excellent, and the whole musical an extravaganza, so cleverly done that even people who don't generally like musicals would most likely enjoy this.
Donny Osmond in the title role is extremely good. He plays the young and rather arrogant Joseph in a believable way. The story follows that of the Biblical book of Genesis. Joseph is disliked by his brothers, sold as a slave in Egypt, and gradually rises to a foremost position under Pharaoh. The ending - which I won't mention, just in case anyone reading this does not know the true story - enables it to be an example of God's provision and plan, despite men's deviousness. It is also a happy-ever-after kind of story, ideal for family viewing.
The music is deliberately set in a wide variety of styles, from the well-known 'Any Dream Will Do', sung by Joseph, to the brilliantly executed song of Pharaoh which took our friends (who did not know the music) by surprise!
What I particularly like is the way that the whole is tied in with a school. The narrator begins as headmistress, and there is a somewhat surreal integration of past and present. I was surprised how well it worked - and completely mesmerised the first time I saw it!
Suitable for all the family. Highly recommended.
review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews, August 22nd 2011
'Big' is the story of Josh, a twelve-year-old boy who is frustrated at being short, and really wishes he were bigger. At a fairground he makes the wish in a heartfelt way without expecting anything to happen... but the following morning, he discovers that his wish has been granted. Just not quite in the way he had hoped.
Josh is still twelve on the inside, but his body looks like that of an adult in his 20s. His mother, unsurprisingly, is terrified to find a young man in her house - more so when she cannot find Josh himself as a boy.
His best friend Billy is suspicious and rather dubious at first, but is eventually persuaded that the unthinkable has indeed happened. And while Josh is pretty frightened, Billy can see some possible advantages to hanging out with someone who looks like an adult.
Before long Josh finds himself in the city, landing an unlikely job and an even more unlikely girlfriend. The film becomes gradually more surreal, but does so cleverly so that it never seems to get silly. Tom Hanks is brilliant in the title role; he manages to remain child-like and naive without being irritating. He explores adult issues with a believable innocence and (sometimes) delight.
There’s a wonderful, iconic scene in a shop with giant-sized piano keyboards - the film is worth seeing for that alone. 'Big" was made in 1988, and thus does look a little dated in places. Billed as a comedy, we found it mildly amusing rather than hilarious, with one or two places that made us chuckle. However, we thought it very enjoyable for a light evening's viewing.
Mamma Mia! was perhaps quite a risky film to make, rather in the style of 1950s musicals with the cast breaking into song and dance at rather unlikely moments. Except that the songs were all originally by the group Abba, many of them very well known. And there was something of an all-star cast, headed by Meryl Streep, who was brilliant as ever in an energetic role that belies her years. She can sing, too.
I watched this DVD with friends, unsure what to expect. The setting is an idyllic Greek island, with a planned wedding for a beautiful daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). Meryl Streep plays her mother, but as we quickly learn, she has no idea who her daughter's father might be.
However, Sophie has found some old diaries of her mother's which suggest three possible candidates... so she boldly gets in touch with them all, unknown to her mother, and invites them to the wedding. Chaos, as can be imagined, quickly ensues.
The plot was clearly written in order to feature the Abba songs. While some of them fitted in well, I felt that some were rather contrived - although quite amusing. The whole thing was light-hearted and great fun, with some excellent singing and dancing by the women although we were less impressed by some of the male voices.
Rated PG-13 in the USA, PG in the UK.
'Maid in Manhattan' was one of the films that Amazon 'recommended' to me a while ago - so I put it on my wishlist, and was given it at Christmas. We finally had an evening to ourselves where a light 'chick-flick' film seemed like a good plan.
Marisa - Jennifer Lopez - works as a maid in an up-market hotel in Manhattan, in the USA. She is motivated, and reasonably popular, and sometimes thinks of applying for a management role, but never quite dares to apply.
Marisa is a single mother, and manages to combine her two roles well. She has a delightful son, Ty (Tyler Posey) who loves history and politics but becomes nervous when speaking. In the course of her cleaning work, while trying on some posh clothes (which she should not have done), Marisa happens to meet a senatorial candidate. Chris Marshall (Ralph Fiennes) mistakes her for a wealthy visitor...
Marisa throws caution to the winds, and agrees to go for a walk with him. Her friends and colleagues encourage her... and one date leads to another. It's a classic case of a small initial deceit spiralling out of control, becoming increasingly complex… until the truth, painfully, comes out.
I felt that this film took a while to get going, and was a little heavy, politically speaking, in places. However, there were some humorous moments towards the end and it was a pleasant lightly romantic story. Jennifer Lopez is excellent, as is Tyler Posey, and their scenes alone made it well worth watching. Above average for the genre, though it wasn't going to win any awards.
Rated 12 in the UK, PG-13 in the USA, as there were some instances of bad language, and a few sexual references. Nothing explicit - hence parental guidance recommended for those under about twelve or thirteen.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
Living in Cyprus, 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' was a remarkably popular film when it first came out, nearly ten years ago. So many people told us that we 'must' see it, that we finally got hold of the DVD and I saw it perhaps seven or eight years ago. I remember it being amusing, and somewhat caricatured, but I was tired and didn't fully appreciate it.
This year, some other friends who moved to Cyprus more recently had been told that they 'should' see it. So we arranged to get together for an evening, and although it's not often that I watch films more than once, it was Valentine's Day and seemed like suitable light entertainment.
I appreciated the film a great deal more, having now lived for over thirteen years in Cyprus. Having been to a couple of local weddings and met more Cypriots helped us see just how realistic, if somewhat exaggerated, the film is. Folk from the Mediterranean area really do seem to be very family-orientated, produce huge amounts of food, and invite hundreds of friends and acquaintances to weddings.
The plot is not as such a new one - Toula (Nia Vardalos) is a much-loved and over-protected young Greek woman, who is a bit frumpish and still single. Her father (Michael Constantine) longs for her to find and marry a nice Greek boy... but Toula has ambitions that reach far beyond waitressing in her father's restaurant for her whole life. So she takes some classes, and improves her appearance... and falls in love with an American teacher.
What we all enjoyed is that the movie pokes gentle fun at both Greek and American culture, caricaturing the foibles of each. The Greek humour is more obvious, perhaps, but we loved the scenes with the 'bundt'... which have to be watched to be understood. In addition to the humour, the film showed rather well what can happen when two such different world views come into contact.
There were some great one-liners, such as the explanation of how even the word ‘kimono’ supposedly comes from Greek. The acting is good, the accents very Cypriot, and the characters excellent. Very enjoyable.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
From time to time I check to see what DVDs Amazon will 'recommend to me, and add a few of the ones that appeal to my wishlist. 'Mystic Pizza' was one such film which I was given recently. Evidently a light 'chick-flick', so ideal for curling up on the couch with my husband one chilly January evening.
It’s set in the 1980s. Jojo (Lili Taylor) has cold feet during her wedding, calling it off and devastating her fiancé. Jojo and her two friends Daisy (Julia Roberts) and Kat (Annabeth Gish) – who are sisters – work at the pizza parlour in a small town called Mystic in the USA. Jojo still loves her boyfriend, but is very scared of long-term commitment.
Despite being sisters, Daisy is wild and sexy while Kat is sensible and sweet…they could hardly be more different. Kat is hoping to go to university soon, so working very hour she can to earn money. She starts a babysitting job and, to her horror, finds herself falling in love with the (married) father. Daisy, meanwhile, wants to have as much fun as possible but falls for someone much wealthier than she is, and starts to question her own worth.
So, the story is about these three young women with their stories intertwined, learning about life and love, and gradually maturing as they reach decisions. All three girls, despite being so different superficially, find themselves wondering in similar ways about the future of relationships they’re in. Inevitably, too, they cherish their friendship.
Oh, and there's the pizza place, which apparently is a real shop in a real small town in the USA. There's also an ongoing thread about the pizzas produced, and the people who eat them, and the secret ingredients that make it what it is.
There’s not really a whole lot of plot, and in a way it's all rather predictable. However, the film was nicely done, with some amusing moments, and great rapport between the three friends. The rating is 15 in the UK, and R (18) in the more prudish USA. No violence or horror, but some sexual references and low-key scenes, and a bit of bad language here and there.
Not too deep, but enjoyable while it lasts; good for a Saturday evening in. Just like pizza, really.
Review copyright Sue's DVD Reviews
