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 ...
Lee is a movie about the combat photographer Elizabeth Lee Miller a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. It's a fascinating journey told in flashback as she is interviewed by someone about her career and her times in Europe. It's an extremely interesting journey and one that you'll find fascinating. How Lee dealt with sexism, and being a women n a male dominated profession. The film is shot as though it were shot during the late 40's in color using the stocks they had in the 40"s. The Germans shot in Agfa color while the American's shot in Kodachrome, but in the film Lee is shooting Black and white stills since that was the prevalent stock of the day. Yet the photography of the film feels like post war Agfa film stock The film was directed by Ellen Kuras who is a cinematographer of some noted films such as "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind", my favorite "Summer of Sam", ...
So after hearing about the making of this film last year I was intrigued. Full confession I'm a Kevin Smith fan. I saw Clerks in 1994 three times and back in 1992 Robert Rodriguez's film El Mariachi set my brain on fire, so when Mr. Smith's film "The 4:30 Movie" was released I had to see it. In the NYC area there was a show called the 4:30 Movie, which would host an assortment of different movies. It was on channel 7 WABC NYC. There would be Planet of the Apes week, or monster week, and a favorite of mine was Godzilla week. Everything a young boy could imagine and hope for, so I was intrigued by Mr. Smith's film and why he called it "The 4:30 Movie". What the film is about is sort of a autobiography of Kevin Smith growing up in New Jersey in the Atlantic Highlands neighborhood, and how he became obsessed with movies. It is a cute story about friends and first loves, which takes us back to 1986. Kevin does a great job at recreating t...
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