Wednesday 2 October 2013

Seen & heard: September

Seen...
 

1. Filled with stock characters who never undergo much development and about whom we know very little, apart from that which is relevant to move the plot forward, I nevertheless really enjoyed I Give It A Year. Filled with crude, laugh-out-loud moments (three words, "tits or face," will haunt me for a while), it was a superior rom-com and perfect for a lazy Friday night in.  What on earth did they do to the gorgeous Anna Faris, though, to turn her into such a cliche of the frumpy girl-next-door?!

2. Silver Linings Playbook was the first film in a while that I've been unable to finish.  After about 40 minutes, we decided to switch it off and just read the wiki entry to find out how it ended! I'm hard-pressed to say exactly what left me cold about the film, except that I found the characters hard to sympathise with or connect with. Did you love this film; am I missing something?

3. About Time was really wonderful.  Just as Hollywood blockbusters don't present a realistic portrayal of American families and homes, I don't go to a Curtis film for social realism. I go for the posh-but-wacky characters, the bumbling heroes who win the girl, beautiful shots of London, and gorgeous bohemian upper class houses.  You get all of this with About Time, but also more.  What started as a classic 'girl-meets-time-travelling-boy' (btw, what is it with Rachel McAdams and time travellers?), becomes a love story about parents and children, about memory and loss.  Massively worth seeing, but take the tissues.


4. If you asked me what I was looking forward to most - The Boy coming back to Leicester, or us being able to start watching the Game Of Thrones boxset - I would have been hard-pressed to answer.  But, although having my boyfriend living in the same country has been nothing but wonderful, I'm slightly underwhelmed by GoT.  Is it because I know exactly what's going to happen at all times?  I've read the first book so recently, that I'm constantly being the irritating viewer who winces before something happens, or who pipes up, "that's not how it is in the book." 

5. I'm a long-time fan of Alan Partridge, and Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa did not disappoint. I thought it did a very good job of extending a half-hour TV show to a full-length film feature.

Heard...



1. Looking forward to seeing Midlake later in October, and to hearing their new album in November.
2. Hearing the rumours that Veruca Salt are recording new material - yay!
3. Listening to Wake Up, a collaboration between The Roots and John Legend.  Perfect music for chilling out with my boy.

6 comments:

  1. I was also a bit let down by Silver Linings Playbook and struggled to like Bradley Cooper's character. I did stick at it though after nearly giving up and enjoyed it more toward the end I think. Still never watched GoT but am quite intrigued to see if it's for me!

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    1. That's the thing, Cooper's character is just really unlikeable. We decided to watch New Girl instead, and were much happier for it!

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  2. I thought Silver Linings Playbook was funny! Every time he put that binliner on I just started chuckling! I'm so glad I decided to watch GoT before reading the books... when you don't know what's going to happen that show is just magnetic!

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    1. Yeah, The Boy is loving it and for once I'm kicking myself for my 'always read the book first' rule for TV and films.

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  3. I really want to watch GoT but I do worry it will be a let-down as I loved the books so much. The Harry Potter films peeved me off because they were different from the books, and I know I bored non-readers by lecturing them on the differences! I can see myself going the same way with GoT....

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  4. Me and D also massively struggle with Silver Linings Playbook - we started watching it months ago and still haven't quite mustered up the energy to finish it off (I hate leaving films halfway through... especially when other people rave about them!) Glad it's not just us!

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