cul's comfy corner

scores eleventy out of ten for a hilariously funny movie.

thing is, it *only* works because of simon pegg.  

anyone else and it just wouldn't have been funny. 

go see it.

now. 

yesterday's filmage was the academy award nominated 'Dreamgirls'

i went in with a flippant attitude towards it as i usually do when a film has been so mega-hyped.  what i actually found was that i really enjoyed the film. it was fast-paced and exciting (for me at least) and i absolutely adored the music.  there were funny moments and extremely sad moments but i didn't for one moment notice that the film was over 2 hours long.

the story of dreamgirls was a very obvious semi-biography of the supremes, there are too many parallels to deny it. a blind man could see the comparison between 'deena jones and the dreams' and 'diana ross and the supremes'.

the thing that stunned me about this film is the amount of talent gracing the screen. names like jamie foxx, danny glover and the magnificent eddie murphy feature alongside the beautiful beyonce who is a very believable deena.

more than anyone else though, the person who truly fascinated me was effie white, played by jennifer hudson.  jennifer's previous claim to fame, and probable contributing factor to securing the part, was that she was a finalist of american idol, reaching 6th place in 2002.   thankfully she has finally made a name for herself in this film rather than slipping into obscurity which would have been a tragedy. i am most definitely a fan!

one thing worthy of note is that it very quickly becomes obvious that this film was adapted from a musical.  the strength of emotion displayed by the characters during arguments was excellently portrayed in song in some instances. this wasn't a film full of everyone singing every line, it was just one that took the opportunity to represent some scenes in a different way, and it worked.

obviously, not everyone in the cinema was as appreciative of the culture presented to them. the philistines behind me found the singing arguments hilarious and guffawed every time someone burst into song *grin*

if you want to have a listen to the rip-roaring soundtrack, go visit dreamgirls website

as for a score? i think 3½ out of 5 for the first viewing. not bad. not bad at all.

friday i went to see 'the pursuit of happyness'

now, i *love* will smith. i love his crazy stupidness and funny face. i love the fresh prince, i loved 'getting jiggy with it' and i loved men in black.  i hadn't read anything about this film so i went in expecting some hitch-esque romantic comedy.

oh, how wrong could i be? there was barely a titter in sight.

instead, i found myself drawn into a tender story about pursuing one's dreams, overcoming adversity and self-belief. i laughed at this film. i cried at this film. but most of all, i loved this film.

will's portrayal of chris gardner, the guy who wants to provide for his family despite being a man of very little means, really touched my heart.

like watching 'rocky' the first time round, i found myself willing 'chris' to make it, almost yelling at the screen "come on chris!" at each twist and turn. Each disappointment for him was a disappointment for me.

this was the first film in a long time that has deserved a round of applause at the end. i was choked and have made this my number one film of the year so far. it's going to take something pretty amazing to beat this. five out of five!

triumph over adversity. power of positive thinking.

there's a few lessons for everyone there...

been to see a few films of late that have received a range of reviews.

firstly, i must mention happy feet. 

failure to do so wll result in me being slapped by jj tomorrow. 

i saw this  before christmas and it warmed the cockles of my heart.  jj and i sat there oohing and aahing all the way through.  there were tender moments and funny moments.  we laughed, we cried.  i'd love to see it again, a brilliant watch, hence 3.5 out of 5.

last week i went to see 'miss potter'

in all honesty, i don't know what i was expecting but this certainly wasn't it.  this was insightful and sweet and it really tugged at my heartstrings.  i've never liked any of the beatrix potter stories and so have avoided them at all costs but this film has inspired me to read them.  i'm off to see this film again on sunday, i liked it so much!  tough call on the score, probably 4 out of 5.

tonight's film was 'babel'

having read the synopsis, i was taken by the fragmented storyline and the opportunity to see something a little different.  in my head this film was going to be like 'crash', fragmented, emotional but ultimately satisfying.

instead, it was fragmented to the point of confusion.  the main characters (brad pitt and cate blanchett) were utterly unlikeable, brad pitt mumbling  like the incomprehensible antonio banderas.  the timeline was adventurous and achieved it's aim to make one think carefully but not to piece parts together, just to keep up with the story. 

stories where seemingly seperate lives become entangled are not a new concept, but this one was different.  it was like a small child doing a jigsaw.  three quarters of it was beautifully crafted and fitted together.  the remainder, although still beautiful, doesn't actually fit where it's being shoehorned in.  i can see how the mexican nanny, the american tourists and the moroccan goatherds all fit in together.  the deaf and naked japanese schoolgirl?  tenuous to say the least.  i found her story fascinating, but it was a film in it's own right rather than an unnecessary glimmer in this one.

i suppose that rather than telling any definite story, it provided a small insight into different worlds and cultures, something i'm always interested to find out about. with this in mind, i left the cinema unsure if this was the worst film i'd ever seen or the  most brilliant.  for that, i'll give it 2½ out of 5 with a note to see it again at least once.

film schedule: tomorrow - pursuit of happyness.  sunday - miss potter

i haven't blogged about any films in a while so i thought i'd do a little catch up of what i've seen in the last few weeks.

it's a very easy blog post then, because all i have seen is this:

not once, not twice but three times!

i saw it with a friend the first time and enjoyed it, i saw it a second time because another friend wanted to see it and i had enjoyed it the first time.  i saw it with a different friend the third time because by then i had given in to my mentally insane crush on jack black :D

it's such a great film though.  obviously all the guys out there are groaning about it being a chick flick, and maybe it is, but it's the sort of film that warms the cockles of every girl's heart and i need a bit of that right now.

one thing that surprised me about the film is how much i liked jude law.  i don't like jude law, so that was the main indication of my surprise.  i found him quite charming in this film, even vulnerable and that was quite attractive given his usual arrogant persona on-screen.

so, all in all i'd give the film 4 out of five (and i'd give jack black the other one!)