A Year Unlimited

We need to pay homage to the power of the trailer. We have seen the trailer for this movie, a lot, and with each viewing our desire to watch it has grown. Green Book was sensational! A race related road trip movie. Set in the early 60's, a wealthy African American jazz pianist hires an Italian American bouncer to be his driver and bodyguard for a music tour. It stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali in arguably the #filmofthemonth. The story touches on their very different cultural backgrounds and we watch as their relationship develops through their travelling experiences. We could discuss and write about this film all day but too much information would verge on a SPOILER ALERT as we feel its a #DMS. The acting from both lead actors was faultless and completely believable, as was the supporting cast.  For a movie where large chunks of it take place in a car, it certainly made the best of the surroundings. The scenery was ever changing and lush, and the music throughout w...

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 ...

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...

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...