Tuesday cinema: The lookalike

This one is an old movie with Melissa Gilbert who is one of my favorite actress. 

The story: Gina is grieving the death of her child in a car accident. She moved in with her parents but has problems with her possessive mother. She also has problems with her husband, they don't seem to be on the same wave length. She just started a new job in mall when she sees a little girl who looks exactly like her daughter. With the help of her boss Nikos using Greek folklore and of her psychiatrist, she tries to entangle the meaning of the repeated apparitions. 

My feelings: I watched this movie a long time ago and I didn't get the relationship with Stuart, the husband. It was a lot less scary this time around. I think Nikos is a bit crazy and I wonder if he doesn't have other motives to keep Gina vulnerable. The relationship with the mother is also terrible. I wonder how Gina managed to grew up with her all these years and never really think more about it until the car accident. It's still a really good movie and I like the 80ties feeling that it has.

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Tuesday Cinema: Anna Karenina

There are a lot of movie adapted from Anna Karenina, today I'll talk about the 2012 version.

The story: Anna Karenina is invited to Moscow to help her brother to solve problems in his marriage. There, she meets Count Vronsky and falls in love with him. But she is married. She flew back home to St. Petersburg but Vronsky follows her. Anna elope with him but she can't pursue her social life because of the adultery. Vronsky however has no problems to show himself. Anna becomes increasingly paranoid.

At the same time, Konstantin Levin wants to marry Princess Kitty who was once in love with Vronsky. 

My feelings: I like this story. One of my goals is to be able to read it one day in Russian. But I think that movie wasn't really good. It jumps from scene to scene without properly linking them and if you don't the story in advance and who are the character it must be really difficult to follow. It is made in a very artistic way so that it starts in a sort of theater and the decors always shifts back to it. The background actors also tend to disappear to leave the protagonists alone. I think it's supposed to represent the passion but it tends to be confusing as we never really know where we are at and what is really happening. Though Keira Knightley is as amazing as ever. I wish she could be Anna Karenina in a more ordered movie.

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Tuesday Cinema: Sherlock: The abominable bride

This movie is part of the TV series: Sherlock which tells the adventures of Sherlock Holmes in modern times. 

The story: After the end of Season 3, Sherlock is on his way to exile when he kills Magnussen but is called back directly when the face of Moriarty appears all over London asking: "Did you miss me?"

This movie special happens while Sherlock is in the plane. He travels to 1890 to solve the unsolved case of the Abominable Bride. A bride came back from the dead to kill her husband and a lot of men. This helps Sherlock understand why Moriarty isn't dead.

My feelings: This movie was really interesting. The first reason because it transported not only Sherlock's fancy for the Moriarty case but because it places a new enemy in Moriarty's shoes: the bride. This bride carries the revenge on men of all females. This was before female could vote but in Sherlock's dream, men still behave in the same way to female in 2015 than they did in 1890, with all the unfairness and sexism. This movie told Sherlock of his and Watson's own sexist behaviour. Now that he is aware of it, I wonder if he is going to act on it or just concentrate on Moriarty.

The second reason is the mistrust Sherlock is confronted to with his brother. In the mind palace, we see a very fat Mycroft, betting with Sherlock on the time of his death due to food consumption. Mycroft appears a lot more ridicule in Sherlock's mind than he does in reality while the other characters remain unchanged. This shows that even the great Sherlock can be biased. I wonder if he realised it too or if it was meant only for the viewers. I didn't like the part when Mycroft insisted that Sherlock was using cocaine when there was no evidence lying around.

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Tuesday Cinema: Star Wars episode VII: The Force awakens

I went to see this one at the cinema for Christmas. It will contain spoiler so if you don't want to read spoiler don't read this review.

The story: After the fall of the empire, a new evil arise called the First order. They send soldier to get the mad to Luke Skywalker. General Leia also send her best pilot to get the map on a desert planet. The map is then send in keep of a BB8 unit who met Rei, a scavenger. A defector of the first order named Finn help the pilot escape and crash land on the desert planet where he also met Rei. Together they decide to bring BB8 back home. 

My feelings: This wasn't as great as expected. I think the maker based the movie more on nostalgia than on a great story line. Basically every thing is just enhanced. The use of the force by Kylo Ren is enhanced, he is stronger than every Jedy ever. He can take memory out of people's mind, which nobody tried on Leia before, he can freeze laser shots in mid air, while they used to be at best deflected. He is awesome, but he is still beaten in the end by an untrained girl who just discovered that she had the force. Damn, that sucks for him! 

My main problem with him though is "what's his excuse?" I mean Anakin had a reason to turn bad, but what's Ben's excuse? Leia and Han Solo must have truly suck as parents for their kid to turn THAT bad.

Then there is Rei, everything about her is good. She is nice and righteous and a freaking genius at everything she does. That was too much. She is like a super best version of all the nice characters. She speaks all the languages, knows all the mechanics, can use the force and kiss ass with a light saber... Ben's ass.

When I said that everything was enhanced, even the weapon is enhanced, the death star.... it's BIGGER. I would have never thought of that! 

Everything goes really fast and it seems super easy all the way from getting the BB8 to finding Luke. Just think about Rei's escape. Ben knows that she can use the force but he leaves her alone in the room with only one guard. She is their key to the map but only just one guard! What?! 

Ok, I guess that's about enough. It was a nice movie, it had all the Starwars ingredient but that's maybe the problem with it. It was as if they had taken that history repeat itself too literally. What are the odd that the grand-child of Darth Vader would be the one on the wrong side of the force again, making the same mistakes, hasn't he been warned?

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Tuesday cinema: Turist

Today, for Tuesday cinema, we have a Swedish movie: Turist also known as Force Majeur.

The story: A Swedish family is having a holiday in the Alps. One day, while they are sitting at the restaurant, there is a controlled avalanche that soon takes on larger proportion. The mother stay looking for her kids and making sure they are ok. The father panics and run for his life. When the calm comes back, his wife blames him for his action. 

My feelings: This was a crazy sort of psychological movie. There were all the steps of panic and trauma and denials.. It was really easy to agree with the wife. Like what the hell, you ran and then pretend you didn't and that it's all alright. I wanted to kick the dad. Then at the end I wanted to kick the mother. I hope she never gets to Peru because the bus driving is a lot worse than in France. I'm not a big fan of hysterical people. I mean I understand that you can be scared but I am a silent type of fear person so I don't get the purpose of the screaming, it's not like it's going to help anyone.

I think that the movie was really well done. It totally explains the dynamic and causes of familial breakdown. The thing is I watched this movie because I was looking for Swedish comedies but this one was not really funny.

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Tuesday Cinema: The little prince

I went to see this movie at the cinema the day it came out in Japan (November 21st)

The story: A little girl living in a very ground-up world meet by accident the aviator. At first she decides to go with her mother's life plan for her but soon she is drawn in by the fantastic story the aviator is telling with drawing, the story of the little prince, same as the book, the little prince get away from his planet and on the way down to earth meet with a bunch of crazy adults and a fox and finally the aviator himself. The aviator hasn't been able to find anyone to tell his story because everyone turned up too adult and business and productivity oriented. Then when things turn bad, the little girl decide to go look for the little prince.

My feeling: I think it was a nice movie, pretty funny. It might have been better with more of the little prince in it. It taught a lot of the wisdom from the book but also missed a lot. I like how the fox comes to life in it and I also liked the use of two different sort of animation to differentiate real life and the life inside the book.

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Tuesday cinema: Blueprint

Blueprint is a German movie from 2003.

The story: Iris Sellin is a brilliant piano player. When she learns that she has multiple sclerosis, she decides to have a child, a clone of herself in order to preserve her art and herself beyond death. Siri is a virtual double on her mother in every way including, as planned, her music hability.When Siri discovers that she is her mother's clone, made to replace her and the first clone of humanity, she decides to rebel. 

My feelings: I think that this movie was really good. There was none of the craziness of last week's movie. Siri was just another human being with her mother's genetic at 100%. There was no scientific mysteries either. The movie just showed the feeling of a person when she turns out to be something she didn't want to be and the struggle to go against that. In a way Siri didn't even need to be a clone, she could be just anothr one of those many kids parents try to control on every aspect of their life. the difference though was that Siri couldn't escape what she looked like and her piano's skills even if that reminded her of her controlling mother. I think it is important to consider the feelings of the clones before making them because they will still be 100% human and who they are is not 100% DNA but also part experience in life.

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Tuesday cinema: A ton image

A ton image is a French movie from 2004 that I meant to watch for a long time and only now got a chance too.

The story: Mathilde never really recovered from the death of her 5 year old son. When she meets Thomas they decided that they want a baby but an early menopause prevent Mathilde from conceiving a child. Thomas then, without Mathilde's knowledge takes a chance with therapeutic cloning. Then Manon is born but she is not like any other child.

My feelings: This was a nice movie. Not a great movie. First, the dialogue was a bit stiff. Second, there were too many unexplained scientific bizzare for my taste: First, how can she bear a clone and not another baby? It's still the same act from an embryo to term of the pregnancy. Second, why does Manon have her mother's memories? As far as know, memories are not part of your DNA, it's constructed from your surrounding. Even if you want to say that her cells all come from her mothers and then carry a part of her mother memories, that should be minimal and disappear with cell renewal. Then why does she mature faster than a normal child? This could be explain if her initial genetic code came with a date, so that she started from the age of her mother, but once again your age isn't programmed in your genetic code. All that was really disturbing while watching the movie. Then Manon's behaviour was a bit erratic as if her action where always based on emotional reaction to her mother struggles with a lack of understanding of them. I seemed that all clone turned out murderous, I wonder however if that would be the case if they were raised always from the original. 

Then again, I should have read the book first.

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Tuesday Cinema: Insurgent

Last week I talked about divergent so this week I'm going to talk about part 2: Insurgent. (Part 3 will come when the movie is out next year!)

Story: Tris, Tobias and a bunch of other people managed to escape from the Erudite compound and get to Amity for safety but after a while, Jeanine comes back looking for them. She is trying to open a box she stole from Abnegation and needs a divergent to do that, forcing Tris and Tobias to take their weapon again to save the city.

My Feelings: That the hell is that box? It's nowhere in the book but wait before that, what the hell is that machine that reads if a person is divergent or not and gives a percentage of divergence just by pointing at people, really? That makes no sense. I think they went a bit overboard in the technology section an totally skipped over the political aspect of the book. It wasn't really bad but it wasn't to good either and that was a bit frustrating. 

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Cinema Special Pirate Week: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

Let's continue the pirate frenzy, Yo Ho, Yo Ho! 

Today the 4th episodes of Pirates of the Caribbean to feed my Pirate week obsession! 

Story: Captain Jack Sparrow is in London recruiting a crew for a new expedition... wait... what? Captain Jack Sparrow himself was not aware of that. 

After escaping from Death in the previous episode, Jack has obtained the map to go to the fountain of youth, but alone he wasn't able to do anything there. It's time to go look for the fountain of youth again. The British want it for their king who hired Barbossa now on one leg to go get it. The Spaniards want it too leaded by a Jack Sparrow's girlfriend who has a tooth against him for abandoning her and is the daughter of the infamous Blackbeard. Of course, every single character in the story has their own agenda and someone wants his revenge as usual!

My Feelings: I loved the mermaid side of the story, but I hated the destruction of the fountain of youth in the name of god. Then this movie wasn't as good as the first three. I liked it when Elizabeth was part of the pirates and this time she doesn't even appear. The new love interest for Jack was not as convincing and didn't really have a major role. I know piracy is a men world but I missed having a stronger female character.

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Cinema Special Pirate Week: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Following Yesterday's post about Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, we continue today with At World's End which somehow concludes the preceding episode.

Story: Elizabeth is feeling guilty for letting Jack die on his boat. At the same time, Will keeps his distance from her after seeing her good bye forever kiss to the pirate. When Tia Dalma proposes to go get Jack back from the dead, they all jump on the occasion and embark for the unknown world of death led by Captain Barbossa who Tia has brought back from the dead already.

But every one of them has a particular reason to want to bring the pirate back to life. 

During this time, Lord Cutler Beckett, who controls the Davy Jones by detaining his heart, kills everyone related to piracy with the help of the Flying Dutch Man.

My Feelings: This one really conclude the previous pretty well, but the betrayal after betrayal after betrayal was really strange and a bit hard to follow from a character's point of view. They all had something they really wanted, but I didn't see how it fell into their relationship. For example, I thought Elizabeth might have been better with Jack as he and Will kept apart from most of the movie. Already in the previous one he ignored her quite a bit while going for the chest. Then everything really goes crazy and I wondered where lay their sense of honor they seemed to be so proud of in the previous episodes. 

On the other side, the story of the Captain of the Flying Dutch man and Callisto and how the heart works was really well done.

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Cinema Special Pirate Week: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Let's continue our Pirate Week Special with the second of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie: Dead Man's Chest. 

Story: After their Adventure with Jack Sparrow, Elizabeth and Will are ready to get married, however, the East India Trading Company's manager, Lord Cutler Beckett decides to arrest them both for helping Jack to escape. They are sentenced to death, Will makes a bargain with Lord Cutler Beckett: he will bring to him the compass of Jack Sparrow in exchange for their lives. 

At the same time, Jack is running out of time, Captain Davy Jones has sent the Kracken after him to reclaim his soul. Jack needs to find the key and the chest containing the heart of Davy Jones before being eaten.

My feelings: This movie was filled with a lot of special effects. I really enjoyed the folklore and the different sea creatures. The crow of Davy Jones is very diversified and I wonder how did the pirates changed into being partially fish. Looking at Will's father, it seems to be a slow process. I wonder a bit what was going on between Elizabeth and Jack, is she really going to marry Will? Or did she start developing feelings for her favorite captain? 

This story runs a lot more around greed than the previous one and I think it really fits pirates. I also enjoyed the fact that there was more diversity in location and awesome scenes at sea, especially with the Kraken, which reminded me of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.

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Cinema Special Pirate Week: Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Welcome to this Cinema special Pirate Week!

The Pirate Week is a Cayman Island festival that last for 11 days in November. It was first created in 1977 by Jim Bodden, not to actually celebrate piracy, but to boost the tourism in the region by instigating festivities and the discovery of the culture of every district.

Still, I'm going to review Pirates movies, starting with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.

Story: Elizabeth is fascinated by piracy. When she was a little girl, her ship came across another ship destroyed by pirates, they rescued a boy and to protect him, Elizabeth stole his pirate pendant. 8 years later, captain Jack Sparrow is trying to get a new ship after a mutiny got him stranded on a deserted island. His former crew needs to recover a certain pendant to get away from a Mayan curse. 

My feeling: I like this movie. It's at the same time exciting with adventure and rather funny. The characters are believable and there is a choice to be made between right and wrong despite of the law. I also like the fact that the two main characters, Elizabeth and Will have known each other for eight years before the event because it makes their relationship more believable. It's a nice movie with creepy cursed pirates.

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Tuesday Cinema: Divergent

As I just finished to read the divergent series, I might as well talk about the movie, which I watched after reading the book and I have a really weird feeling about them. First: Divergent.

Story: Beatrice Prior is now sixteen and it's time for her to choose who she really is. She can stay with her parents in the Abnegation faction or choose another option like Erudite, Candor, Dauntless or Amity. Each faction has a purpose and you can enter only with a certain personality trait. Against all odd, Beatrice chooses Dauntless, the factor of the brave were she has to face her fears on a daily basis. But it turns out that Beatrice now called Tris is not really a Dauntless, she is Divergent which is like having super power over the serum used to control the population.

My Feeling: I liked the book and I liked the movie but I think some part of the movie don't make much sense.  Especially the last scene with Jeanine, I mean I don't think that they would have so little security if Jeanine is there. There was also a lot more initiate at the beginning but the relationship didn't really develop much. It was not really like the book and that was bothering me a little.

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Tuesday cinema: Practical Magic

Welcome to a Tuesday Cinema special Halloween! This time around, it's all about a witch movie and love. 

Story: Sally and Gillian are witches, a curse runs in their family so that any man who falls in love with any of the women in their family would die. Gillian can't wait to fall in love, but Sally doesn't want to die from a broken heart like their mother. At times goes by, they both live very different lives with different takes on love. Gillian loves her magic which Sally the most gifted one opted for a normal life until fate comes along...

My feeling: This was a rather funny movie between magic spells and family fights. Sally and Gillian, despite there different take on life were never really apart from each other. I love the moment when the telephone rings and Sally already knows it's about Gillian. Sally was definitely my favorite characters because even though she seems to refuse her magic, it's always in use around the corner. 

Favorite Quote:

Gary Hallet: Did you or your sister kill James Angelov?
Sally Owens: Yeah, a couple of times.

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Tuesday Cinema: Pride and Prejudice

This week we are having a comparison between Pride and Prejudice the TV series from 1995 and Pride and Prejudice the movie from 2005, taken from the Novel of the same name by Jane Austin. 

The story: The Bennets have five daughters to marry. Finding husbands for her daughters is the main occupation of Mrs. Bennet and she would like them to be rich as, with no male heir, her husband fortune is to go to his nephew. Charles Bingley, an wealthy bachelor arrives in the neighborhood by renting Netherfield accompanied by his even wealthier friend Mr. Darcy. On one hand, Mr. Bingley is very pleasing and favors greatly Jane, the elder daughter. On the other hand, Mr. Darcy seemed very proud and distant. Then arrives the cousin Mr. Collins, ready to marry any of the Benet girls, and a Wickham who seems very happy to count his ill fortune to any one willing to listen. 

Comparison: Of course both the TV series and the movie are great adaptation very faithful to novel. 

The movie as the advantage to summarize the story really well by using a lot of body language to transmit the emotion between the characters. I especially like Keira Knighley in it, she is extremely convincing and passionate in her role as Elizabeth.

The movie also uses places very beautifully and efficiently. However, the Bingley family is simplified as well as Bingley's sister character. 

The TV series is more of a step by step adaptation and has the best Mrs. Bennet. Alison Steadman makes the character particularly loud and insufferable and hilarious. This version also include a lot more on Jane and Lydia's part than the movie and it's really interesting to see something else than Elizabeth. The emotions are also down played and translated into more words than body language and actions, only Mrs Bennet gets extreme.

You surely wouldn't waste your time watching both.

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Tuesday Cinema: Song of the Sea

Today's movie is an Irish animation movie: Song of the Sea

The story: Ben wanted his baby sister so badly but on the day she was born his mother disappeared and he is feeling resentful toward the little girl who can't speak and not being the fantastic brother he promised to be. When they grand-mother took them away, Ben discover that Saoirse is a selkie and tries to get her back to her coat before it's too late.

My feelings: This animation was very beautiful. First, the characters were very realistic, each with their own grief and their own agenda. Then there was the fact that adults never listen to children and what the children say they want even when it's in their best interest. Then the animation was creative and showing in different sort of graphical art. Also the Irish music was really beautiful. If you have a chance to see it, don't miss it.

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Tuesday Cinema: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

I wanted to watch this movie so much and that's never a good idea.

The story: Young Abraham Lincoln sees his mother being murdered by a vampire without realising what the vampire really is. After the death of his father he goes after his mother murderer to get his revenge. Instead, he is trained by a vampire hunter to kill vampires. He decides however to get into politics and stop slavery instead of going after the vampires, at least for a while.

My feelings: I find this movie very disappointing. I was hoping for something a little bit closer to reality with at twist of fantasy but instead Abraham Lincoln is depicted as a character with super human strength. I think the movie would have been so much powerful if the super strength was left to the vampires and Abraham had a team to go after the vampire. I think the worse part was the pursuit on the horses. It was totally unrealistic and out of place. I was also hoping for something more about slavery and the politics around it, maybe in the style of "Amazing Grace" instead it's just Abraham becoming president and going on with the war. It was also disappointing to see the vampire walking out in day light and be killed by silver (I thought that was the description of werewolves). That's why I say it's never a good idea for me to really want to see a movie because I always have my hopes too high up.

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Tuesday Cinema: Mockingjay (part 1)

This week in Tuesday Cinema, we continue with The Hunger Games movie. The last book has been separated into two movies. Today, I'll talk about the first one and we'll have to wait until November to see the second one.

The story: Katniss has been rescued from The Hunger Games arena, together with Beetee and Finnick by disctrict 13 but Peeta has been taken by the capitol. After hesitating, Katniss decides to be the Mockingjay, the symbol of the revolution. On the other side of the game, president snow is using Peeta to calm down the revolution. Bombs are falling, people are killed...

My Feelings: I think the movie really follows the book closely on this one except for the prep team part which seemed like a key point in the book to me. I tend to like Coin a bit more in the movie than in the book and Gale a bit less. I think the way he doesn't seem to understand Katniss's feelings at any time is quite unnerving. I think the degradation in Peeta was well played but on the other hand I didn't like the part where Katniss videocamed with Snow to kill time, I found it a bit necessary except for the "Miss Everdeen, it is the things we love most that destroy us." But I guess that helps translate the first person point of view in the book to Snow giving her Peeta as a present. I also liked the little parts in the different district when we can actually see them rebelling and winning. And the part when Snow's girl decides to unbraid her hair because it's a nice contrast with her feelings in the previous movie.

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Tuesday Cinema: Catching Fire

Catching Fire is the second movie in the Hunger Game series and since I have now read all the book, I could continue with watching the movies.

The storie: President Snow is not convinced that Katniss really loves Peeta. He frightens her into showing that she is not rebelling against the Capitol during the victor's tour in the disctrict. It turns out that the disctrict are not convinced by cards reading Katniss and continue to raise against the Capitol. Snow they has and idea, for the 75th Hunger Game, called a Quarter Quell, the tributes are going to be taken in the poll of victors. Katniss and Peeta are back in the game.

My feelings: I think the movie was really well done, taking key elements from the book even if simplifying the relationship between Katniss and Plutarch. I liked the ending more in the movie than when I read the book. I thought that in the book there was a lot about the beginning and less about the Hunger Game itself. I mean the hunger game only start at chapter 19 while before that it's only preparation and anxiety building up in Katniss. I also think that the victor die a little bit too quickly, they are supposed to know the game and be the best of them all as they already won but we don't see them die, we don't know how most of them died and soon there is only 8 of them left. Then they are all fighting with the gamemaster more than with each other. I think that if they really wanted to team up, it would have been a lot easier to keep the feeling they had when they were all holding hands and grow from there, all against the game.

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