Friday 9 January 2009

A very merry movie marathon Christmas

We spent the holidays up north with my sister's family. As soon as the kids had gone to bed we got a fire going in the fireplace, snacks dished up on the table and got seated in the lounge in front of the telly to watch a movie. :-)

Thoroughbred wholesome adult relaxation time, perfect for tired parents in varying stages of colds. :-)

We watched:
  • Casino Royale (imdb link) - it gets 8.0/10 on imdb and I have to agree with that, it's the best Bond movie since Sean Connery.

  • Quantum of Solace (imdb link) - also this one of the best Bond movies in years. I like it for the sense of closure, and it's a twist that you actually learn about Bond's "junior years" in these two films. Daniel Craig is not as "smooth" as some (all?) of the previous Bond's, he doesn't have a very expressive acting style but he wins on the blue eyes, the rough edges and the very realistic action scenes (that may be thanks to the director off course but still).

  • Seven Pounds (imdb link) - oh what a film!! It gets ten out of ten from me. It surprised me, it had me crying (just a little) and it had me aww'ing and it's almost too much for a weakened mother's heart to handle. It's awesome and very very different.

  • Hancock (imdb link) - Ha ha! I like this film! It was many different films in one and you go from corny "redemption" type film via love story to a sudden hit of sci-fi to end up with a lot of feel-good. :-)

  • Constant Gardener (imdb link) - Serious stuff this one. I'm not going to theorise about whether or not this is the way it is out there in reality. But it's a frickin scary movie and it makes me want to be a better person. Apart from that I just LOVE the actual filming technique, it's the first time I've actively noticed a technical aspect like that (in a positive way). It's blurry and unsharp at times, but the flow of movement and people, colours and sound is just awesome. And Ralph Fiennes made it again, another beautifully set slightly dry love story under his belt (note: The English Patient being the other).

  • Days of Thunder (imdb link) - a rather sweet and simple minded early 90's film. So close to the eighties that I get the same "embarrassment vibes" as I always get when watching clothes and acting from that time... :-D I'm guessing this is when Tom and Nicole met for the first time.

I also watched short bits of "Tropic Thunder" (the guys watched the whole of it and absolutely loved it for unknown reasons) but it's so bad I'm not even going to use words to start describing it...