A Year Unlimited

If Beale Street Could Talk ......it would say "meh". This post is going to be a really hard write as we found the filming, the script and the delivery really slow and we're struggling to come up with many positives. It was Romeo & Juliet meets paint drying. It started with an explanation that Beale Street is representative of any street, and that its an area of music, loud music, and then it became one of the quietest movies we have seen. It felt like a great opportunity to showcase some of that music, in fact it would have made a great musical. Its the story of a young black couple, who are clearly very in love, and those loving moments are tender. The lighting and the intense close-ups were interesting at first but wore thin by the end. The characters spoke so slowly and poetically that they never developed fully and it was difficult to engage with them. Characters were introduced that never went anywhere, and the ending felt  unsatisfactory. We felt like we ...

Schindler's List was our final film of the day. It was celebrating its 25th Anniversary and uncoincidentally it was being shown on International Holocaust Day and had a fairly good turn out. It was introduced by Steven Spielberg, who talked about the importance of the movie and how he had felt at the time that it was a story that needed to be told. He also spoke about the USC Shoah Foundation established in 1994 to honour and remember the survivors of the Holocaust. It was the first time in many years that we had watched the film, but we had both seen it before so knew what was coming, however it brought back all of the shock and outrage of the first times we had seen the film, and it is still a brutal reminder of how hatred can be instilled, grown, nurtured and channeled when left un-challenged. It still evokes tears but probably for different reasons now than 25 years ago but it remains relevant, and feels like a film that should be shown to everyone, as a warning of just ...

Colette is a really enjoyable watch. Neither of us are big Keira Knightley fans but decided to take a leap of faith.....and we're glad we did. Knightley plays the naive country bumpkin who marries the worldly egotistical Willy and portrays their married life together in the bohemian City of Paris. According to this film they had a relationship full of contradiction and power struggles, but that seemed to have its foundations in genuine love for each other. It centres around literary arts in the 1800s and, whilst Willy is already established in his world, Gabrielle is thrust into the middle of it and eventually encouraged to write her own memoirs. The outstanding presence onscreen was Dominic West who presented a character driven by lust and a desire for wealth with few scruples, however, despite this he wasn't a difficult character to like, and his charm won us over. We will give each film we see a score out of 10 for overall enjoyment. Colette  =  7  ...

Film number 2 should have been a stallion but was in fact The Mule, in every sense of the word. You kind of know what to expect with an Eastwood movie, and you definitely got it with this one....but, for us there was something missing. Beautifully shot and skillfully directed, of course. The cast were superb, the story was of interest, although it felt like some opportunities weren't taken, and it seemed to have too many inconsistencies to ever flow believably. Andy Garcia and Bradley Cooper do fine work and Clint Eastwood, at any age is a master of his craft. Family rifts, disappointment and regret are some of the central themes and, unlike at the end of Can You Ever Forgive Me?  when Melissa McCarthy says it may have been the best time of her life, there seems no such pay off for Eastwoods' Earl. No great pleasure or enjoyment, although he does share his wealth with friends and family, and none of the usual Clint Eastwood attitude. Because the story kept fairly true ...

Another all dayer for us starting with Vice . It's the story of Dick Cheney, boozer, petty criminal, political nobody and eventual puppet master  Vice President of the U.S. of A. The film makers are obviously approaching the telling of the story from an angle, but are doing it with humour and pathos, and some interesting filmic twists.  It was highly entertaining and well acted, by a barely recognisable Christian Bale and supporting cast alike, but we felt slightly removed from it all, given that it was American politics and we are unfamiliar with the whole circus. It was of little reassurance to know that whatever your political persuasion, government stinks. This was our third Steve Carell movie of the year, and of course he didn't disappoint, playing Donald Rumsfeld. It feels like Sam Rockwell also deserves a special mention at this point, for his mad skills. There are a few big names listed in the production credits too. All in all, despite no knowledge abo...

We had really low expectations of Glass , because we hadn't enjoyed Split, although we both thought Unbreakable was a masterpiece. The fear was, where would M. Night Shyamalan take it, but where he took it was to comic book land and it worked beautifully. There were unexpected twists and turns but the core characters stayed true to their comic book personae, and new characters were introduced who helped the plot to build into the ultimate stand off. Visually it was very interesting, and colour was used to add to the fibre and atmosphere of the film, from the stark white hospital rooms and the vast pink room where they meet, to the silver metropolis seen from the parking lot. The characters were played brilliantly and Samuel L. Jackson was enigmatic in the title role. It was difficult not to feel empathy for Bruce Willis, as his intent was pure from the start, albeit vigilante. James McAvoy plays the part that is most difficult to sympathise with, and although he continues to b...

Film number four and probably the one we were most looking forward to,  Mary Queen of Scots is splendid in every way. Visually, and musically, it was sharp and vibrant and it tells the story of a difficult period of British history, but from a slightly different angle. It contradicts some of what we were taught about Queen Elizabeth I, and depicts Mary as the braver, stronger and more mentally astute of the two. The lead role was played by Saoirse Ronan who seems to be unable to put a foot wrong at the moment, and Queen Elizabeth I was portrayed by Margot Robbie who plays a queen riddled with uncertainty and other afflictions. We did note that we were once again watching a film with strong women in positions of power. #teammary All of the supporting cast were great, including Guy Pearce and David Tennant, although the acting was top notch some of the characters actions were barbaric. The costumes and scenery were incredible, and even the advertising leading up to the films r...

This was our third film of the day, and our first experience of an Unlimited screening. We were surprised and encouraged to see it so busy as we suspected that this might not be a very popular film. Based on an autobiography by Lee Israel, the film tells the story of Ms Israels foray into the world of deception, in an attempt to make money, having fallen on hard times. Melissa McCarthy embodies the role perfectly and presents a woman who is bitter and negative, but so lacking in insight that she fails to understand why the world doesn't appreciate her talents. As with all her character portrayals she does it with such finesse that you feel like you know the person. In this film she creates within the viewer a feeling of empathy for a character who isn't that pleasant. Add to this the obvious chemistry between McCarthys' character and the aging queen played by the delightful Richard E. Grant and the whole caper is an absolute joy to watch. It was tonally muted with an...

Bohemian Rhapsody refers to the song of the same name but doesn't get a full play throughout the film.That's the negative stuff out of the way. It's a biopic of the late, great, Queen front man Freddie Mercury. With so many surviving witnesses to his life it seems fair to assume that a lot of the film is based in fact and there has been talk of parts of his history being glossed over for the sake of the movie. Fine by us! There really was no need for any greater detail than was shown, with the focus being his music and his relationships. The sing-a-long version didn't detract from the film (Mum saw it a few months ago) but didn't appear to add much, as there aren't many times that a song is played all the way through, so there is little opportunity to throw yourself into it. Rami Malek was born to play Freddie Mercury and it is impossible to review this film without talking about his impeccable performance. It is clear that he had spent many hours watchi...

Film number two; Stan & Ollie had such great potential but we don't feel it was reached. The whole film felt sadly underwhelming. The positives however, were Steve Coogan and John C. Reily who were masterful in their portrayal of the lead characters, and Shirley Henderson and Nina Arianda who ironically provided the humour in an otherwise fairly dull film.  In our opinion because the film started at the end of their career it almost assumed an existing knowledge and relationship between us the viewer and the characters, and therefore never attempted to develop them further leaving them a little two dimensional. It is definitely worth mentioning that there was a noticeably older audience watching this film, many of whom were laughing throughout, and there were indeed moments where it really felt like watching Laurel and Hardy. We will give each film we see a score out of 10 for overall enjoyment. Stan & Ollie  =  6  One thing we did discove...

This film marks the start of a quadruple bill (although we did manage to take the kids to see Mary Poppins last night......still a solid 9). Film number one, Beau tiful Boy (our second Steve Carell film of the year) tells the familiar story of a young man who appears to have it all, but finds himself battling his demons. While his devoted Father struggles to understand 'everything'.  Beautifully acted and sensitively handled on screen, but a painful watch as it exposes the helplessness you experience when seeing those closest to you being dragged further and further away. The film jumps between the past and the present which makes it confusing but it doesn't alter the flow.  Despite the familiarities of the story, we felt it was told in a unique way and it was refreshing to see family genuinely supporting and attempting to understand, without blatant judgement. It was an emotional journey that we would be unlikely to see again, but it had a killer soundtra...

So this is film number 3 in our triple bill, and let us start by saying that this film highlights the beauty of the Unlimited card, because we wouldn't have seen it at all in normal circumstances. Aquaman is epic, colourful and full of special effects. However, it was also tiresome, predictable and boring. To be fair, we only went to see it because of Jason Momoa, but even he couldn't save it for us. The acting was wooden, the plot was weak and the underwater kingdoms many....and Nicole Kidman. The main difficulty for us was that we didn't really care, about the story or the characters, and two hours later we still didn't care. It seemed to go on forever. We had a brief moment when we sort of discussed walking out of the cinema but felt like we owed it to the film to see it through to the end. Mistake...Big Mistake. Lesson learned. Whilst there is a benefit to being able to see 'any' film, it is still worth filtering to some extent. When you're not...

Film number two in a New Years Day triple feature. Abandon reality and give yourself over to fantasy in  Welcome to Marwen . A world constructed both mentally and physically by Mark Hogancamp, who is played with absolute sympathy and beautiful sensitivity by Steve Carell. Another film that oozes female strength but never implies male weakness. Our leading man isn't a pitiful character although its hard not to feel sorry for him as he has retreated into a fantasy world following a severe trauma. We felt that there were touches of The Fisher King given the storyline. Flipping between the harsh demands of the real world and war torn Marwen with its constant threats, its difficult to believe that peace reigns in either world for Hogancamp. The real star of  Welcome to Marwen  is motion-capture animation which, love it or hate it, provides an incredible look to the film and director Robert Zemeckis certainly has form with special effects.....Back to the Future, Forrest...

The second, third and fourth attempt to flex our Unlimited Card proved much more straight forward. With the excitement of the car once again back to her old self we decided to make a day of it. A New Years day of it and watch three back to back films. This was where we started. The Favourite is a rich, sumptuous and decadent experience that is visually stunning and audibly challenging. Oscar worthy performances delivered via obscure and often too wide camera angles with echoes of Peter Greenaway. A period piece set in the 18th Century billed as tragicomedy but more tragic than comic, it focuses on Queen Anne and the people closest to her. Its brilliance was clear from the opening scene and we were instantly hooked. Olivia Colman knocks it out of the park but the supporting cast of Rachel Weisz, Emma Stone, Nicholas Hoult and Mark Gatiss support the lead with equally strong performances. The closing scene was a talking point for us, as although we were happy with where the sto...