THE GOOD FATHER (1985)
★★★
The Good Father is a film about a man called Bill Hooper who has just come out of a divorce and lost the custody of his son, he then meets someone called Roger in a similar situation so Bill decides to take up Roger's cause as his own and agrees to pay all the legal fees. However, Bill tries to reconnect with his ex-wife and begins to regret what he and Roger have done.
When I read the synopsis of this film on the back of the DVD I didn't think I would like it as it just seemed like an anti-feminist film, and I wasn't sure whether it was going to be anti-feminist in a funny way (y'know like those meninist parody accounts on Twitter) but the whole film was basically making a mockery of misandry, which is what a lot of anti-feminists interpret feminism to be, so it didn't bug me too much. The film was interesting although I think it definitely showed its age. This was actually Stephen Fry's first film appearance which I thought was pretty cool because I love Stephen Fry and I don't think I'd ever seen him so young, I don't think this film was a must-see film or anything but it wasn't too long and it had interesting moments in it.
CHICAGO (2002)
★★★★
Chicago is about women who have killed people but the focus is on Roxie Hart who dreams of being famous, and she cheats on her husband in order to try and get into the whole famous lifestyle, but she's deceived and long story short she kills someone. In prison, she meets Velma Kelly, who she previously looked up to, and Velma shows an immediate dislike to Roxie. Velma used to make all the headlines before Roxie comes along and steals the spotlight, then they find each other fighting for the attention of the press as well as the attention of their shared lawyer.
I actually watched this film over a couple of days because I started watching it with my friends when I was holidaying in Lytham but we didn't finish it so I decided to finish it at home. I wanted to watch this for ages because I knew the songs in it and I love musicals so so much, and this didn't disappoint. I quite liked how the film was a bit girl-power (in an albeit twisted way) and the story was entertaining with a lot of good songs - definitely worth a watch if you like musicals, imagine Spice Girls meets . . murder (probably not the best way to suggest a film but hey)
THE CAT RETURNS (2002)
★★★
The Cat Returns is about a high school student called Haru and she one day saves a cat from being run over. The cat turns out to be a prince called Lune, and as a thank you Lune's Father asks Haru to marry Lune. Haru is then taken to the cat kingdom and she starts to develop cat-like features, she's also then prevented from leaving. So, the Baron and Toto, who are statues who have been given life, help her to regain her freedom.
I watched this because I love a good Ghibli film and I recorded a bunch of them when Ghibli season was on e4 (although I was revising for exams so I'm only just being able to watch them now) and I had seen a snippet of this when it was on before. It was a bit of fun, I did like it and I would watch it again but I didn't think it was a particularly outstanding movie, it was just a bit of film fluff if you will. Storyline wise it was quite weak in comparison to other Ghibli films like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, but it was enjoyable and I did get a few laughs out of this. Plus it was quite short, so if you want a laugh then this is pretty decent but it felt a bit kiddy for me. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, kids need films too, it's unfair for me to criticise this for being appropriate for an audience I don't fit into anymore. So essentially, this is a funny children's film, not a must-see film, but definitely not a bad film.
AN INSPECTOR CALLS (1954)
★★★★
An Inspector Calls starts off with the Birling family sitting down to a meal and they celebrate the engagement of the daughter, Sheila, to Gerald Croft. Then, they are interrupted by an Inspector who informs them that a girl called Eva Smith is suspected to have committed suicide, and they may have more to do with it than they initially think.
I studied An Inspector Calls for my English GCSE a couple of years ago (got an A in it too) and I did watch a different version of the film at the time, but I revisited it because my brother, who is currently studying for his GCSEs, chose it for his movie choice and I hadn't seen this version of the film so I was interested to see how they did it. I think the story is really great and having studied it for English made it more interesting just because I could still remember the analytical points and I think in general it's a very good play. I have to say I didn't think this version of the film was great in the respects that it wasn't the best interpretation of the play, they changed the Inspector's name from Goole to Poole which, while it's only a small change, eradicates one of the deeper points on it about how the Inspector may or may not exist (y'know like Goole as in ghoul like ghosty stuff). Plus, the way they addressed the flashbacks I thought wasn't the best approach because in the play you don't really know Eva Smith or how she really acted, what we know is what the Inspector and the other characters tell us, and I felt like the way they did the flashbacks didn't include that somewhat biased telling of the story which is necessary for the way the story is told. However, comparisons to the play aside, as a stand alone film, it was pretty good. Quite fast moving and still leaves you in confusion at the end. The only thing that really upset me that they missed out was the Inspector's final speech near the end of the play which essentially focused on our responsibility to each other and communal values and all that jazz, which is the heart of the play so by missing that out you're misunderstanding what An Inspector Calls is about. Again, with a book-to-film situation you have to judge the film as a single piece of work, but I just feel like missing that out was a poor decision. Overall, pretty good, but the BBC adaptation is much closer to the book and if you're studying I'd definitely recommend that one (and you can find the full version on YouTube here)
A VERY BRITISH COUP (1988)
★★★★
A Very British Coup is the story of a trade unionist and steelworker from Sheffield called Harry Perkins who becomes leader of the Labour Party and then Prime Minister at the end of the 1980s. However, the right-wing establishment and American allies plot Perkins' downfall from the day he gets into power. The film shows how politics gets dirty, and where Perkins can stick to his socialist roots and what can come of that.
My Mum chose this for her movie choice (although it's more of a mini-series, it comes up on Letterboxd as a film so I'm assuming it's a TV movie situation - anyone who was around at the time, perhaps you can fill me in?) because in the Oates household, we've been talking about Jeremy Corbyn a lot, y'know the socialist who's running for Labour leader. In fact, we've all joined the Labour party (well I'm still in the process of doing it because I procrastinate) in order to vote for him, but Mum told us that Harry Perkins was essentially Jeremy Corbyn. Although the film leaves you thinking that a socialist leader wouldn't work for Prime Minister (and I remain hopeful that Corbyn would be an amazing Prime Minister), I thought it was a really entertaining watch. It's quite anti-establishment because it shows how the people from the inside will do what they can to stop a left-wing government succeeding, definitely worth a watch!
What films have you watched recently?
No comments:
Post a Comment