Charming festive fare

With the silly season upon us there are plenty of Xmas flicks out there and any number of lists you can refer to (including one on this blog). But when I need a bit of a lift during the rest of the year I tend to reach for The Holiday. Sometimes you just really need a Hollywood ending!

It has that British Romcom charm but the less than sly self referential humour that can only be American writing.

Now my adoration and respect for Kate Winslet is well documented and Cameron Diaz has comic timing rarely found in Hollywood starlets anymore. I don't really get the whole Jude Law thing but I liked him in spite of myself here. But it was delightful to see Jack Black given a proper romantic lead that doesn't involve Gwyneth in a fat suit. And who doesn't love Rufus Sewell as a villain!

Ps - This movie is also responsible for my adoration of the plummy kid accents in Peppa Pig "you don't like tents?"

The Holiday

Plot: two women, one Brit one Yank, looking to escape from their own personal dramas by swapping houses for the festive season end up finding out things about themselves instead.

Cast: Kate Winslet (The Reader), Cameron Diaz (Knight & Day), Jude Law (Gattaca), Jack Black (School of Rock)

Like this? Check out

Tara Road

While you were sleeping

Notting Hill

Love Actually

To market

Despite my keen adoration for all things film, I still have to bring in some dough to pay for things like, well bread. I am a marketer day to day. Now there are hundreds of films about cops, even more about lawyers and spies. There aren't too many about filmmakers but there's even less about marketing and those that there are are hardly complimentary your Highness ;)

But when I first saw this week's flick I was entranced for I know, and have worked with, kings and queens of spin. They're not optimists, nor pessimists. They don't see the glass half empty or full. They just want to make sure you buy more glasses and fill it with more of their product, edible or not, carcinogenic or not!

Yet this film takes that characteristic and flogs the shit out of it, with so much tongue in cheek it may choke. It's witty, vivacious and wry. And it has a terrific cast lead incontrovertibly by the excellent Aaron Eckhart and is helmed by the director of acclaimed film including Juno and Up in the Air.

Check out...

THANK YOU FOR SMOKING

Plot: Nick Naylor is the king of spin and his client is big tobacco.  Can he spin his own moral responsibilities when his own son questions them?

Cast: Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight), JK Simmons (Juno), Cameron Bright (Birth), William H Macy (The Lincoln Lawyer), Robert Duvall (Gone in 60 Seconds), Mario Bello (A History of Violence), David Koechner (Anchorman), Rob Lowe (The West Wing)

Watch the trailer

Doppelgängers - part deux

A new addition to the doppelgänger list

Original post:

People often confuse actors with other actors and it's not hard to see why, even without the makeup, prostheses and camera tricks and lighting! Here are some common mistaken identities... Can you think of others?

Here fishy fishy fishy

Rarely does a film that revolves around Britain's relationship with the Middle East completely lack any connotations or references to war or terror or the impact of these things.

Ladies and gentlemen I give you the beacon for fresh ideas, ie not from the freezer section ;)

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Plot: A Fisheries expert reluctantly agrees to assist a Sheik and his liaison with an unusual project after the prime minister's pushy press secretary insists it offers positive PR potential.

Cast: Ewan McGregor (Star Wars Ep I), Emily Blunt (Young Victoria), Kristen Scott Thomas (Easy Virtue), Tom Mison (Sleepy Hollow)

Money money money

Ok so finance ain't exactly my bag. Thank goodness for excel spreadsheets or my savings account would bleed red like a Tarantino film.

But I just had to add my voice to the many many many strong reviews of this week's film. A superb screenplay brought to life with Excellent performances and crisp direction. Really this should be in the horror section when you consider the terrifying consequences for everyone at the end of this story. For your consideration...

Margin Call

Plot: 24 hrs before what would become the GFC, three investment bankers predicted the fall. What did their employer do with that information?

Cast: Stanley Tucci (Easy A), Zacchary Quinto (Star Trek), Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Kevin Spacey (American Beauty), Demi Moore (Charlie's Angels Full Throttle), Paul Bettany (Wimbledon), Jeremy Irons (Die Hard w a Vengeance)

Watch the trailer

Legal stock n trade

I have a confession... I don't always get popular films. I simply do not understand a need for applause lauded for the Appatows and Farrelys Bros of the modern movie experience. I guess half the problem is these movies are often oversold by friends to such a degree that my expectations are simply too high when I see them - not that they were that high to begin with ;) 

Hopefully I didn't just lose half my followers!? The Coen Bros are another pair whose style is pretty hit and miss with me. I either LOVE their flicks or am bored within minutes of openings credits. However since working for a law firm, my appreciation for one of my favourite Coen Bros has only intensified. 

Plus you can see Clooney at his best, before he started flogging coffee capsules. I encourage you to revisit....

Intolerable Cruelty

Plot: Miles, the best divorce attorney in well, ever has met his match in 'wronged wife' Marylin.

Cast: Catherine Zeta Jones (No Reservations), George Clooney (3 Kings), Paul Adelstein (Prison Break), Geoffrey Rush (Elizabeth), Billy Bob Thornton (love actually)


Watch the trailer

Serendipity?

Before Ironman and Kiss Kuss Bang Bang resurrected Robert Downey Jnr he got stuck in schmaltz. And who better to be stuck there with than the lovely Marisa Tomei. For some reason this film has always stuck in my head and after introducing a friend to it today, I just had to share it with you too.

Only You

Plot: As a girl a Ouija board reveals to Faith the name of her future beloved. Just days before her wedding, she discovers her fiancée has a friend with that very name! She impulsively follows him to Italy with her sensible sister in law to find the man she is meant to be with... And find him she does... Or does she?

Cast: Marisa Tomei (Crazy Stupid Love), Robert Downey Jnr (The Avengers), Bonnie (Cheaper by the Dozen), Fisher Stevens (Short Circuit)

Watch the trailer

http://youtu.be/zLrqyfkXt_A

Like this? See

Wimbledon

One Fine Day

While You Were Sleeping