A worldly woman

I stumbled across this one night screening on free to air tv and wondered why it didn't catch my attention earlier. Now there's every possibility I saw Nicole Kidman and simply dismissed it as I usually find her irritating. Yes, I know it's very unpatriotic of me but you must admit she was consistently annoying for awhile there! 

This however actually changed my mind about Kidman. To hold her own with the likes of Penn and Keener she'd have to have some substance on screen... Here she actually does a pretty good job though the accent waxes and wanes a bit. I found thus a thoroughly entertaining thriller with a few unexpected turns here and there along the way. Even if you have no interest in international relations you should check out...

The Interpreter

Plot: An interpreter at the UN inadvertently overhears someone plotting  an assassination but the secret service agent assigned to protect her believes there's more to her than meets the eye.

Cast: Nicole Kidman (The Hours), Sean Penn (Milk), Catherine Keener (Being John Malkovich)

Watch the trailer 

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uCuqGhfr5Ak&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DuCuqGhfr5Ak

Like this? See

The Game

The Machinist

Playin' around

Thrillers are a bit of a mixed bag since what thrills varies from person to person.  Some people consider horror to fit in the category while others are thrilled merely by the presence of a favourite actor.

But a thriller should be spine tingling but rely on twists and turns in the plot ie good writing to generate the thrill without being overly gory. Thrillers are an absolute favourite of mine but it's rare these days to get a truly decent one... Often the plot twists become so predictable they're basically straight lines!!

So cast your dvd net back to a time when John Grisham was peaking in popularity and you 'didn't see that coming'. Personally I'm not a big fan of Mr Douglas. Much like Jonathan Rhys Meyers, I feel he's best when his character leaches smarminess or sleaze. In this, he works. Sean Penn is another actor whom I greatly admire but don't really like. Here he is far from the perfect brother... or is he?

Check out...

THE GAME

Plot: What do you get the man who has everything? Wealthy financier Nicholas finds out when his brother unexpectedly gives him a unique birthday experience - live action gaming - which ultimately consumes his life!

Cast: Michael Douglas (A Perfect Murder), Sean Penn (Milk)

Dir: David Fincher (Se7en)

Watch the trailer

Like this? See

• Identity
• The Machinist

Bringing up baby

I like Samantha Mathis. She kind of dropped off the old radar but I rewatch older stuff with her in it and can't think why. Granted she's a bit frothy but still, charming. I remember this as being poorly marketed, the ugly British cousin of 3 Men & a Baby, and yet ultimately worth a watch. Perhaps I just enjoyed Grant's floundering first attempts at fatherhood! 

I particularly loved the concerned and ultimately brave grandparents in this including the irrepressible Dame Judi Dench. And Ian 'Gandalf' McKellan is delightful as the not so qualified butler lol!

Check out...

JACK & SARAH

CAST Richard E Grant (Withnail & I), Samantha Mathis (Broken Arrow)

PLOT A devastated man is left holding the baby when his wife dies in childbirth. Enter an easy going, American, waitress/nanny to breathe of new life into the situation.

No girls allowed

When it comes to Shakespeare, you can be a purist , a modernist or just a big fan. I can be all three! In fact my daughter is named for a vivacious young woman in Twelfth Night. I adore modern interpretations (when done well) but occasionally prefer original treatment. Indeed Luhrmann's R+J is about the only one of his films I can stomach. (I mean I get his style, I just don't like it!) 

But I have a caveat... Gwyneth. Now you all know my feelings about her stealing an Oscar from our Cate over a decade ago. (And if you don't I'll spare you... this time!)

Well, not too long after Shakespeare allegedly fell in love with a scamp of a lady, the actors famed for his female roles such as Desdemona and Juliet were ousted by their female counterparts. Stripped of all masculinity, these great men not only lost themselves in their roles but then themselves when that very livelihood was also stripped from them!!

This tells the tale of one such man and the woman who may yet take everything from him.

This has a superb cast and the sets and costumes are just gorgeous! Crudup is sensational, the very model of androgyny. And long before she was an Emmy winning Homeland analyst, Danes proved  she was more than just the girl who played Juliet. And Rupert Everett is, as ever, a rompy delight!

I highly recommend...

Stage Beauty

PLOT: When the first actresses begin to grace stages across London, the impact on 'female' actors is heavy. What will become of them and do the actresses who replaced them possess talent or mere shock factor?

CAST: Billy Crudup (Almost Famous), Claire Danes (Homeland), Rupert Everett (St Trinian's).

Watch the trailer

Like this? See

• Shakespeare in Love
• Twelfth Night
• O

Best laid plans

So the Ryans have become rather popular over the past decade.  Now I don't wanna toot my own horn but when everyone was raving about Ryan Reynolds I was backing the other one, a little known former child star, The Baby Goose.  I do adore a bit of Reynolds and anyone who can steal focus from my fave, Nathan Fillion, has got the goods, I think Gosling has the staying power - just look at the number of films he's been in this year alone!

Sandra Bullock stars and although she's a very good comedienne, I reckon she had dramatic chops way before The Blind Side.

And while The Notebook got everyone on my bandwagon re Gosling, here's where my respect for him began...

Murder By Numbers

PLOT: Two teenagers, both extremely bright but socially, commit the perfect crime just to prove they can.  But an equally intelligent detective with a unique insight and passion for justice may just be the perfect adversary.

CAST: Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Ryan Gosling (The Place Beyond The Pines), Michael Pitt (The Village), Ben Chaplin (Stage Beauty, The Thin Red Line)

Watch the trailer

Like this? See

• A Time To Kill
• The Gift
• A Perfect Murder

Stay on track

I recently saw Flight and it was terrific and yet not at all what I expected. This movie was much the same. It didn't get a lot of promo at the time but it has a stellar cast and is directed by the formidable Tony Scott. Trawling back over his career upon his passing last year, I was almost stunned by the number of films I just love!

Here's just a few:

Deja Vu

Man on Fire

The Last Boy Scout

Crimson Tide

Enemy of the State

SpyGame

Top Gun

Days of Thunder

This was his last film directing.

So if you missed it first time around, get back on track with...

Unstoppable 

PLOT A cargo train almost 1km long, carrying hazardous material is unmanned and speeding toward a densely populated city... Will two engineers, on the first day working together, be able to stop something so big travelling so fast?!

CAST Denzel Washington (Flight), Chris Pine (Star Trek, Bottle Shock), Rosario Dawson (Eagle Eye)

DIR the late, great Tony Scott (Deja vu, Top Gun)

Watch the trailer http://youtu.be/JM-0Ywc7wNY

Keep your childish innocence

I really don't know how to describe this except to say it was pleasantly surprising. Not your typical thirtysomethings NYC tale. Not a Romcom, not a drama but inciteful and charming. Check it out...

Fun fact: the film was written and directed by and stars Josh Radnor aka Ted Mosby from How I Met Your Mother!

Happythankyoumoreplease

PLOT Follows six young people each on the cusp of discovery as they navigate love and life.

CAST Josh Radnor (HIMYM), Malin Akerman (27 Dresses), Tony Hale (Arrested Development), Kate Mara (Brokeback Mountain, Entourage).

Watch the trailer

Like this? See

• No Reservations
• Midnight in Paris