Movie Moments

You know how some movies start with darkness? You are left looking at a black screen but listening to a moment or scene and imagining it is you lying with your eyes closed.   I love these movie starts because usually we find ourselves in a summer scene with summer sounds like birds, children singing, a fly buzzing or someone humming or gentle lilting songs.  Then as the scene is revealed it can be veiled and romantic or surprising and confronting.

I had a movie moment the other day.  I was lying on the beach at Birdlings Flat on an unusually calm day.  The surf was not crashing and sucking up all the other sounds, instead the wind was king and it sounded great, dramatic but not frigid.  The hot stones set off a smell of the ocean and warm rock wear.  There was a fly buzzing past and in the distance I could hear the chatting or rather yelling of fisher folk camped up on the stony beach.

When I opened my eyes I was dazzled by the bright sun and bright white clouds.  Then the quiet conversation of my companion.  I was warm and relaxed and drinking in the movie moment.  This movie rolled out over the weekend with many other moments to remember and relish.  More on those another time.

On the Road

Read the book, got the tee shirt, now seen the movie

I loved the book, wrote essays about it at uni.  Loved its madness and I am not sure I understood it all.  My dear friend Karen bought me the t-shirt and I still own it.  The classic Penguin books version still sits in my drawers 20 years down the track.  I do believe  I was wearing it on the day we got engaged.  So, when the movie wound up on the International Film Festival programme I had to get a ticket.

I loved the film.  It was true to the book and did explain some stuff.  I loved that the theatre was full of old people who obviously lived a little during the time and felt some connection to the material.  At the end of the film most people just sat still for some time.  It was so intense and indulgent.   Jonty and i have continued to discuss the themes in the film all week so it has provided us with some ongoing enjoyment.  Not for everyone I guess but perfect for me.

Two sweeties

I love the movies and when I am retired I am going to go to EVERYTHING I want to. I am going to go to cheap sessions and take my own snacks, maybe some carrot sticks and an apple combo or vegemite sandwiches.  In the meantime I get to go to the movies with my lovely friend Alex, usually on a Saturday night and often indulge in a Kapiti ice cream to boot.

For the last two films we have probably been the youngest in the theatre but what the hay.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen was another book group book that I just couldn't bring myself to read.  To my shame I am often admitting that I do get put off by the cover and the supposed location.  Bad bad bad.  This film was so sweet and quietly funny and I know I have deprived myself of yet another good read.  Ewan McGregor, Dr Alfred is called in to help a rich sheik establish salmon fishing in Yemen, an indulgence but done with a kind heart.  Acting on the Sheik's behalf Emily Blunt - Harriet - has to encourage Fred to get on board with the project.  Their characters are just fantastic.  Both quiet and very proper but quietly funny and compassionate.  Although the inevitable does happen, it is never a done deal and actually not really what you expect.  Kristen Scott Thomas is bloody fantastic and says all the things I would love to say and lives life not giving a toss what anyone thinks or says.  Ruthless and hilarious.  There are lots of lovely government 'in jokes' and pokes at the Englishness of England...all just very very nice.  Beautiful scenery in Scotland and "Yemen' adds another layer of warmth and atmosphere.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel as I am sure everyone already knows is just gorgeous.  Great acting, superb location, a little bit scruffy and just perfect.  Dame Judy as always is a delight to watch, Bill Nighy so himself but just that tiny bit held in, Dame Maggie superb....all of it and all of them were just very very good.  I did have a sense of foreboding thinking about how fucking horrible it is going to be to be old, however, like the characters I soon discovered that age can set you free and that is all there is to it.  It makes me want to go to India more than ever.  Definitely worth seeing. 

Sherlock and Hugo

Three movies in one week.  Heaven.  Firstly Sherlock Holmes: A game of shadows was another slick film at the hand of Guy Ritchie.  Basically taking a formula that worked well in the first film and applying it to the second was the plan.  I loved the first one and thought the second ok and interesting and visually rich but not quite the exciting event that the first one was.  However, the action was thrilling and Robert Downey just charming and gorgeous.  Definitely a fun Saturday night film

Nic and I read the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret and loved it so much.  It is a stunning book with amazing hand drawn pictures and a great story.  The film was as beautiful and was interpreted beautifully.  Lovely Johnny Depp had a little cameo which is always a treat and later I realised he was also the producer.  Set in Paris in about 1925  it captured the love of a child, the development of machinery and some real sadness.  It was delicious and as many adults as children were in the audience.  Well worth a look.

The Descendents

Love George Clooney for his ability to act and his choice of films.  This film is about a family in a bit of a crisis.  The mother is in a coma and as she lies there secrets are revealed and dealing with these as well as another string of family related issues in the extended whanau are played out through George's character Matt.  I loved the setting of Hawaii, the real Hawaii, the lack of bright sun, the relaxed shirts, sandals and messy hair.  Of course there is more to it than the look but it all added to the feel of the film.  I learned some stuff from the characters and loved the writing.   Loved the characters and the understatement of the direction and acting.  Go and see it, it is a good film.

The adventures of Tin Tin

Saw the movie, never read one of the books.  We went as a family...as an aside I must say I am loving the films of an 8 year old MUCH more than some of the shit I have had to watch over the years. 

Gorgeously crafted with all the charm of the books (I understand from Jonty), I really enjoyed the experience and had little jokes to laugh at and just could not get my head around the animation. Sooo clever.  Didnt see it in 3D.  3D is over rated after the first few minutes I think.  Not much to say other than it was a good film.  Here is a link to a blog post on Christchurch City Libraries Kids Blog written by our very talented and knowledgable Zac.  You can get a much better idea of the film from this, rather than 'nice film' from me.

Verdicts

Iron Lady, good film, great acting.  Makes me want to do the research.  I like it when a film does that.  Meryl Streep is stunning as always.  I can't imagine how she does what she does.

I am sorry to mention this but it has been rather and extraordinary morning of earthquakes.  We had a big 5.5 at 5.45am and have had about 20 since NYE.  Very not nice.  Interestingly, and I am sure this is the coping mechanism of people but people thinking that just because we humans think it is a new year and are keen to see the shit of 2011 behind us does not mean the EQ activity is going to change one bit.,  The earth does not work on the Julian calendar.  Sad but true.

Autumn

I composed this post in my head yesterday and it was going to go something like...'when did Autumn arrive?  Where did March disappear to?' and so on.  It came to me as I drove along the western boarder of Hagley Park (my new oasis in the broken city)  as glowing orange leaves fluttered down on the road, rugby children played off in the distant foggy sports grounds and I was heading for Hornby (yes Hornby) to buy some much needed clothing supplies.  It was a bit of a dreamy post about life going on and how the seasons still roll on and how lovely that all is. 

Well, two things shattered my reverie - the first being shopping at DressMart on a wet (it had started raining by the time I got there) grey day with a bunch of glum looking bored people, driving home in a traffic jam on a Saturday in the pouring rain and knowing I wasn't coming home to a cosy house.  The second was sitting in Hollywood Movie Theatre eating my delicious Kapiti ice cream at 5.54pm when the fucking 5.3 earthquake hit.  The look of terror in Alex's eyes and my cowering on the floor of the theatre was enough for us to get the hell out of there.   However, after some calls home and abit of shaking and some brave talk we re-entered the theatre to watch our movie (ice cream intact).

'Sarah's Key' has accolades and good press but in my dogged fashion, I don't read reviews before I go to films as I like my own path of discovery to be pure, so sitting in post quake terror watching the horrors of parents being ripped from their children, guilt, and other Holocaust bits and bobs added another layer of terror to my thumping heart.  I would have to say the film was awesome and I love Kristei Scott Thomas in everything so it really is worth seeing.  Here is someone elses review of the movie which I think is pretty right if you want to read it.

As Alex dropped me off in my bumpy, puddled street I glanced at the car clock - it was only 8.20pm.  It felt like 2 o'clock in the morning and I felt exhausted and bashed about.  However, I snuggled down on the sofa under the winter white fluffy blanket and drifted off into la la land in peace.  A bit of an up and down day I would have to say.

The King's Speech

I have been away in Dunedin this week on a very fantastic communication course for which I am very grateful.  I went down earlier on Sunday so I could hang out with Jasmine and we went to the movies.  It was a dull afternoon so there was no summer day movie guilt.    I am a big fan of Colin's and for me it wasn't Mr Darcy that did it, rather everything else he has ever been in.  He is prodigious, taking risks and obviously flexing his acting muscles all over the place. A Single Man was my favourite film last year, and the King's Speech is right up there too.  It was a gorgeous film that was as much about a family as anything.  Loved everything about it.  All the actors were superb and I loved the 'workroom' scenes and the walls of that room were delicious.  After we went I remembered that Jonty and I were going to go together, so I guess I will have to go again.  No hardship there.

it has been noted...

...and quite rightly too, that there has been very little activity on the blog of late.  Life is pretty unmotivating at the moment.  I am blaming the earthquake and those bloody aftershocks.  The whole thing just sucks the joy out of everything.  This is not to say that I am not happy in my day to day life and feel blessed not to have a beloved son in hospital waiting for his new kidney to start working...Louisa, you are my mother hero of all time.  I am happily ensconced at my lovely friend Karen's haven of tranquility in Warkworth with not a care and still the muse is not there.  I am just going to have to find a way to get that loving life feeling back.  You would think sunshine, fresh strawberries, stunning beach days etc would be enough to keep you going but it just isn't right now. Let's hope a week under canvas in stunning Tasman Bay will do the trick.  Bloody better had.  How ungrateful I sound. 

Some little gems of escape I have enjoyed since Christmas.
Love and other drugs - I never really thought about Jake Gyllenhaal before this film and almost chocked on my potato chips in the opening scenes of the film.  How hot is that guy???  Ann Hathaway, also extremely hot, just mesmerised me in a escape from reality moment.  In saying that, the film is about Parkinson's Disease and the impact on the lives of family and friends.  Lots of sex...might be gratuitous but it just looked like all kinds of good fun to me.  The perfect holiday film.

Another hotty I have only just been introduced to is Jack Reacher....the all man testosterone charmer penned by Lee Child, international superstar writer of the decade.  How did I miss that guy?  Hopeless.  Anyway, I read the Hard Way in three days and loved it for all the reasons everyone else in the world loves Lee Child and very nice expressed by someone who reads and writes for a living.

This is escapist literature at its best with action that rivets and images that stay burned in the mind's eye long afterward."

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

So all is not lost. The moral of this story (post) is, look out there for different things to see and do....just step out of the routine.  Let's see how this goes.

colour my world

I feel great this week after a days of fun, friends and sun.  Heading to the Your Home and Garden/Dulux event on a 31 degree night was just gorgeous.  Alex and I went to Hinton's vineyard and enjoyed a glass or two of wine and lovely nibbly things.  On top of that we got to meet the Dulux chic and the lovely Sarah Kerr interior designer and very excitingly Denise L'Estrange-Corbett from World fashion label.  It was just great indulging in fashion, interior fabrics, design and colour.  Very uplifting.

Today I had the very great pleasure of joining Nic and his class on a visit to the beautiful Issac Theatre Royal to see Royal NZ Ballet's latest Christmas ballet, The Nutcracker.  It was baking hot and I did have parental bus duties to perform but I was as mesmerized as the children with their interpretation of the ballet.  Stunning and beautiful with some real originality especially in the set and lighting.  The kids from Nic's class were fantastic.

Continuing the theme of colour and creativity Karen and I indulged ourselves in a repeat viewing of 'The September Issue'  It was great sitting there with a chic talking about the clothes and the people and just indulging in all that fashion.  Grace Coddington is my new hero and Anna Wintour is just plain fascinating.

Add this to a double episode of Project Runway AND a stunning new resin bracelet I bought at my hair dressers on Wednesday night and I have had a great visual delight of a week.  I wish every week was this rich with colour.

Eat Pray Love

Read the book, liked a lot of it, got sick of the indulgence after awhile, however the movie was a different story.  Really enjoyed the story, characters and locations a lot.  Also really enjoyed my raspberry and white chocolate ice cream and the company of my lovely friend Alex.   I am also a closet Julia Roberts fan and melt at the sight of Javier Bardem.  Nice. And I am still thinking about it and remembering some of the good wisdom and life observations. 

thanks to free to air tv in nz

...I have been able to catch up on some dvd watching on a Saturday nights because the pickings are very slim, in fact you could say it was SHIT!  Week after week after week of crap weekend tv. 
Loved 'In Bruges'.  I have been meaning to watch that for ages.  It was sold as a comedy with amazing chases and a whole range of other bullshit.  Always pays not to believe the hype.  It was much much better than that.  It is a very dark comedy with a lot of things to think about and some very funny dwarf gags.  Not because I think it is funny to be a dwarf, more that Ray is a total dick and that Jimmy is very assertive and a cool guy.  Loved Colin Farrell and the irony of being sent to Bruges.  Funny and alarming, well worth a look.  Loved it. 

'An Education'.   Nice little flick set in the 60s that tells a very telling tale of the times with the conflict I am sure young women of the era found them selves in. There really was a crossroads to navigate and I wonder which way I would have gone.  Anyway, enjoyable film with some lovely clothes.

At the movies

Winter really is the best time to go to the movies.  I love the way movies are like a pause in a conversation.  You chat chat chat all the way there, sit - watch - listen and then away you go again, chat chat chatting.  Some films percolate some disappear instantly,  poof.  Anyway, I have been to a few lately and seen a couple of dvds.

In brief

Toy Story 3 in 3D.  not a big fan of 3D but I didn't let it get in the way of having a ripper of a time with this and might I say a little tear or two...and not in the bits that everyone else seemed to.  Yay Woody.

All we managed to get to in the Film Festival was the kids animation.  Great as always but some of those eastern Europeans are a bit on the odd side.  However, The Lost Thing was fabulous.
The Lost ThingAndrew Ruhemann, Shaun Tan/Australia 2010/15 mins
Pure magic. An utterly enchanting big screen adaptation of Shaun Tan’s book of the same name. The story of a young man who happens upon a friendly creature who just isn’t quite in the place it should be in.

And with Alex I saw two flicks... My one and only with that funny little woman called Renee Zellweger...nice looking film and sweet.  Very nicely filmed and put together.  The gorgeous girl interest in the film plays Alexis on 'Castle'.  I know that because I am obsessive about things like that and use IMDB as my movie bible.  The clothes, jewellery, hats and cars were all just delicious...

Eden is West had something delicious about it too.  Sadly it was not the story which was actually quite sad. About a gorgeous  North African illegal immigrant who ends up washing ashore in an exclusive beach club.  Eager to get to Paris he has many misadventures and heartaches along the way.  There are lots of light moments and it is again a very nice looking film but the end was a little bit annoying.  It did make me think about all those Afircan street peddlers and beggars you see in Paris and how you might be a bit wary of them but they are just people, desperate and a bit sad.

Cemetery Junction

Exciting post title, eh?  Thanks to The Press' Jonty and I attended the preview screening of a Cemetery Junction last night.  It is written by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant and it is really sweet and funny. It is set in 1973 in a small town in reading and is about 3 guys on the verge of adulthood thinking about their futures.  There are a few cliches and some great 70's music and some really funny lines.  My favorite is 'there will be no jungle tits at the breakfast table'.  I did fall in love with Freddie, a little bit.  Not wanting to ruin things I wont tell you any more. 

A Single Man

Well, this was a treat on a cold Saturday evening.  Jonty and I dashed out for an early movie (home by 8.15) and drunk in the bloody gorgeousness of this film.  I am guessing it has not really been called gorgeous by many people but I thought it was.  Not gorgeous like a summer afternoon or a stunning rose bloom, more like a saturated intense visual delight.  I think I might be gushing.  What I love about films and life in general is that it really is a 'pick n mix'.  Whatever your soul requires is on the menu and you just need to pick the right thing for the right time.   You can read a synopsis anywhere so I wont bother.

Not wanting to lower the tone too much, but just wanted to say I think Colin is much more gorgeous the older he gets.  Turns out he is 19 days older than Jonty and he is pretty cute.  All the actors were fantastic and were perfectly cast.

  Thought Charley's bedroom was a visual symphony of style, gorgeous.

Had a few of these kinds of conversations myself over the years.  Julianne Moore is an enigma to me but she does share exactly the same colour hair as me and more freckles.

Genova

Does this movie poster give you the impression you are going to a menacing and rather harrowing thriller? No, me neither. Having missed out on the film we were going to see, Alex and I made a split second decision to see this. Looked great on the poster. Little did we know -a) we were going to be in the front row of the cinema about 2m from the screen, b) there was a lot of hand held camera work, c) it was going to be so suspensful, especailly for mothers!! Even dreamy Colin Firth did not help, although, he did kind of. What is it about that man?

Other news...finished my first assignment.  The agony.  Will start the next one soon but have a few other bloggy things to do first.

Play

I know I have mentioned it before but again, being at home is such fun and I have so much more energy.  I have had a lovely week off with Nic.

We had a bus ride adventure retrieving the keys from Jonty who had them at work so we could go about our business.  Went to 'How to train your dragon' - in 2D.  Special request from Nic, and a very good choice I believe...the 2D that is.  No need for more, it was perfect just the way it was.  Great film, based on a book by Cressida Cowell.

Spent a superb morning in the McLeans Island park mountain biking with Ruth, Olivia and Ben which was such fun.  Did the groceries.  A rare treat and frankly one that should be limited considering the hammering I gave the bank account.

On Thursday night I went out for dinner and then on to the Carole King and James Taylor Troubadour reunion tour.  It was a work related outing and a great mix up of fun people.  Such a good night.  Dinner was at Edesia.  Stunning food, service a bit slow and prices special occasion level.

The concert was amazing.  real musicians and performers doing what they love.  Lots of wrinkles on stage (and in the audience).  I have always enjoyed Carole's music but probably didnt think much about her.  She was a fantastic performer with amazing energy and mana.  James Taylor was adorable and soooo funny.  Talented to the max with the voice of an angel.  It is great to enjoy music in a bubble and not be distracted.  I should do that more often.

In all a stunning week off work (although I did have to do a half day on Friday).  I love my boy even more than ever having had a week of hanging out.  He is such a cutie.

weekend away

What a great weekend Alex and I had in Dunedin.  In two short days...

Friday

• Zandra Rhodes lecture...what an amazing artist.  Learnt so much about why she is the doyen of fashion, designer, print maker and all round lovely person.
• Shopping down George Street and getting tangled in Fashion week stuff without even knowing it
• expansive and expensive night at the pub (Alibi) with Jasmine and Simon.  Soooo much fun, didn't want it to end.
• Bit of a drunken Japanese meal on the way home.

Photo courtesy of iD Fashion Week Facebook Page

Saturday

• Sleeeeeep in.
• Fantastic but very cold and windy Otago Farmers Market...best yet...mmmm spinach and feta pies

• Art galleries and NZ made shop
• Movie - Bright Star - beautiful!!!!

• Visit with the newest and MOST perfect angel on earth

• The SHOW...why we were there.  What fun.

• Cool bar - Pequeno

Sunday

• Perfect flight home over our lovely South Island
• Ellerslie flower show...man it was hot 30c and very lovely

at the movies

I got to see the very well reviewed and acclaimed film version of the 'Girl with the dragon tattoo'.  Swedish with sub-titles, the ONLY way this story can possibly be authentic.   No substitute would work.  I was interested to see how they made a very complex and intricate book into a watchable length movie. They focused on the main story of the book and the key handful of characters.  It is an interesting and very disturbing story that was well developed without including everything or missing the essence.  I found some scenes harrowing and the tension was there all the time.  I loved it.  Great story, chracters, location and interpretation of the book everyone is reading and loving.  Excellent.