So what happens when it's late and you're flipping through channels. You sometimes get hooked on a film that you can't stop watching, and before you know it the film is finished, and you're smiling because there is good content on them there channels after all.
That's how I saw Pawel Pawlikowski's neat little film My Summer of Love. I was intrigued by the characters Mona played by Nathalie Press and Tamsin played beautifully by Emily Blunt. It is a simple tale of two young women spending the summer together and who happen to fall in love. Now before you say anything I like to point out the two great performances that Ms Press and Ms Blunt give. Pawlikowski doesn't go for the exploitable nuances of the story of two women falling in love. He instead shows how the two are drawn together by their similarities and differences in character. Mona is the village girl who lives with her brother who has become a born again Christian. She misses her old brother played nicely by Paddy Considine who can be seen now in theaters in the The Bourne Ultimatum. Tamsin is the wealthy girl who is carrying the guilt and love of her dead sister, and her dysfunctional family. I bought the relationship, and really enjoyed the photography of Ryszard Lenczewski. A lot of the film seems to be shot hand-held, and I liked that, but sometimes I wondered if putting a wide lens on would have been better and using a dolly. The close-ups are in your face, and what the actors do without uttering a word is an example of how a director can usefully use the frame to his or her advantage.
What ultimately sells this film is its performances. Blunt & Press are extremely well liked, and we want to see how this relationship is going to end. The story is based on the novel by Helen Cross, and the screenplay is written by Pawel Pawlikowski along with Michael Wynne as collaborating writer.
I'm now interested in more of Pawlikowski films, and have in mind to seek out his debut film "Last Resort". If you don't like character studies, and are not interested in good acting don't bother seeing the above, but I always like finding little gems like this film. It both restores my belief that good cinema can be made, and is being made by artists who care about their professions. See My Summer of Love, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
The film Megan is a sci-fi/horror film with a lot of dark humor, which makes the movie so interesting to watch. I had to say this was not on my radar to see. I thought maybe one day on cable or streaming, but my youngest wanted to see it and so I was game. I'm glad I did see this and I was pleasantly surprised how good it was. I should also say seeing this at he movies was a treat. The direction, the cinematography, and the whole feel of the film gave me an appreciation of this film that I would not have gotten otherwise. To label this a horror film would be a mistake. It has horror elements in it but it's science fiction more than anything else with a dash of horror. I do like that the film takes the old Frankenstein myth and updates it to the digital era. I think because of this the film is a better for it. The graphic violence is played off screen which works. If you're a gore hound you will be disappointed, but it does not ...
Okay you've heard by now this movie is doing fantastic business. The studio has passed the two billion mark worldwide, and it's still growing. I'm also sure you've heard all the spoilers now. Amazing now that we have to contend with "spoiler" alerts now. I mean what would Hitchcock of done with "Psycho"? I remember the campaign back then had people NOT to tell the ending to the people coming out of the theater. Now you're a tweet away from making that happen. But I digress. So how is the film? One word "FUN!" If you're a fan of Marvel, and you've seen most if not all the movies you'll love this film. I can only imagine the box-set coming out for this. It would be huge. Now if you're not a fan then this is not the movie for you. Clocking in over a little over 3 hours long it certainly does not feel like 3 hours, and that's a good thing. The filmmakers Anthony Russo , and Joe Russo do an extraor...
I just found out that Ms Laudrea Thomas died on August 9th of this year in Los Angeles California. It seems that she took her own life. She was 32 and she was way too young to leave this earth. I'm not going to say that I knew Ms Thomas very well. She was in my movie "Deadly Obsessions", and she was a pleasure to work with. I had hoped some how that someday we would work together again because it's so hard to find real good talent who have a passion for what they do. To say that I was taken a back by this news of Laundrea's death is an understatement. I can still remember Laundrea's first day of shooting Of "Deadly Obsessions" it seems that she had car problems and her car broke down on the PA Turnpike on the day she was suppose to check in to shoot her scenes. Her father managed to rescue her, and drive her to the hotel where I had some of the cast & crew staying. Laundrea still made it on time and even brought some props that she thought we cou...
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