Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

I may be biased in reviewing this movie because I've watched this film many times and it reminds me of when I was a little girl, sitting in the living room with my mum with this light hearted romantic comedy playing on the TV. So when I watch it again now it always brings back a fondness for the film as it is such a sweet story that provides a classic humour with a heart warming storyline.

Sweet Home Alabama is about a small town girl  Melanie who leaves her hometown Alabama to move to New York City where she plans on a bigger and better life which includes her becoming a fashion designer and marrying the mayor's son. After getting engaged to Andrew Hennings played by the dashing Patrick Dempsey, she realises she has things to sort out in the town she left behind and hasn't been back to in seven years like the divorce to her first (and only) childhood love Jake and seeing her parents once again. But when she returns, she reconnects with her past and finds she is at home there in Alabama. The film highlights the true meaning of community and friendship as the scenes when Melanie return are both welcoming and funny.

With her fiancee Andrew showing up whilst she is in the process of trying to get Jake to sign the divorcee papers, stuff gets more complicated and truths about her past life are revealed much to his surprise. With the wedding looking like it is going ahead after Jake signs the papers, everyone's futures look on track but when the big day comes it turns out Melanie is the one who has not signed the papers and cannot bring herself to do it as she realises she is still in love with Jake and always has been. With the wedding called off why waste a good reception! Melanie goes to find Jake who is out in a storm, and they kiss with the rain soaking them and him asking why he wants to mary her anyway? and her replying 'So I can kiss you anytime I want' mimicking the first scene of the film where they were children so that the words are echoed but in reverse. I hate to label a movie but this is a chick flick if there ever was one, with the romantic story of soul mates who found their way back to each other. Although it is a predictable ending, it is the ending we all want to see so you cannot complain.

Verdict - This film is far from the best romance story ever but it provides lovely tale that envelops you in the plot and makes you want to be a part of it.

Dorian Gray (2009)

 Dorian gray is a film adaption of a book so there are sure to be critics as soon as the film is shown but I have to agree with some of the negative comments made about the film. It begins with Gray played by Ben Barnes brutally murdering someone who is not yet revealed the tossing a trunk with blood leaking out into a river, this ellipsis of time scene is later shown to reveal who he has killed, why and how. The blood effect was badly done with it looking like the actor is being splashed with strawberry ribena so this representation could have been done better. We are then taken back into the past in order to inform us of Dorian's story and how he cam to be in the situation we saw him in right at the beginning of the film. With the setting being London in the 1930's we are treated to some nice establishing shots and beautiful scenery so that the mise en scene is truly invoking a sense of the past. Fades between shots I found were very effective and found to create a dreamy state. These were a few of the good points of the film.

 A dark atmosphere is created by building tension around what is in the attic and we are shown flashbacks of when Dorian was a child and how he was abused, I feel this was a way to make the character more appealing by making us sympathise with his past in order to forgive his actions in the present day but I found myself to feel he brought his fate upon himself with his own selfishness. Barnes  playing the main role may have been a bit of a ploy to draw in an audience as his handsome face is sure to capture your attention at certain points of the film and keep your interest for a while, I especially liked the close up shots of him intensely looking at the attic with worry.

 I feel that the plot was very slow developing and that in the beginning it is hard to figure out exactly where it is leading but once you figure out that Barnes is at first a pleasant gentlemen that has come to London then led astray by the conniving Lord Harry into the life of sin that London has to offer, at first he appears to worry for his soul but soon gives in to temptation. We find out that he makes a ambiguous deal with the devil to stay young and beautiful forever but he does not understand the full consequences of his agreement. We see the ugliness and evilness of his true soul that appears to lie beneath the innocent face through a painting that Basil painted of Dorian. The development of the painting is a creepy process that makes you look away at points as with see maggots moving around the face and sense the unnaturalness of the being through the low moaning sound that is a motif throughout.

A lot of things were so overdone that it made the film hard and tiresome to watch at points such as the over exaggeration of the corruption that Dorian Gray went through as the constant sex scene clips soon became dull and tedious. I almost screamed at the screen "I get it!" it is easy to understand he has given in to all that is seen as bad and dangerous so the point does not need rehashing over and over again. Along with this the film prolonged the suspense and intrigue to the point the it lost all suspense and intrigue because it became boring waiting for something to happen. It appears to turn full circle when we find ourselves back where we started with Dorian chucking the trunk with Basil's body into the river after brutally murdering him but the story does not end there. The plot thickens as Dorian falls in love with Harry's daughter and he suddenly wants to repent for his crimes in order to live a happy life with her but of course actions have consequences. The painting secretly hidden in the attic was bound to be revealed at some time and typically it is revealed at the point in his life where he finds somebody he cares about. Harry and Dorian have a showdown in the attic with Harry coming out on top as he sets fire to the hideous painting and looks Dorian in the attic with it. The sad moment being when his true love shows up attempting to save him but he doesn't want to escape he declares his love then goes back to the attic to help destroying himself. The film ends on a poignant note with Harry having the old painting of Dorian when he first arrived in London, we see what he was and what he could have been.

I would have to admit that it was merely Ben Barnes and Colin Firth's performances that kept the film alive and moving for me. Lord Harry Wotton was my favourite character as he was complex and somebody that you love to hate, he was everything what was wrong but stood for things that were also right. Although he was calculating and devious he was very upfront about the way he was with people and did not pretend to be something he wasn't.

Verdict: A film easily lost amongst others.

Film Quotes of the Week

The only way to get rid of temptation, is to yield to it. - Lord Henry Wotton in Dorian Gray

You are more beautiful than Cinderella! You smell like pine needles, and have a face like sunshine! -Becca in Bridesmaids

Nobody puts Baby in a corner. - Johnny in Dirty Dancing

Whatever happened to chivalry? Does it only exist in 80's movies? I want John Cusack holding a boombox outside my wndow. I wanna ride off on a lawnmower with Patrick Dempsey. I want Jake from Sixteen Candles waiting outside the church for me. I want Judd Nelson thrusting his fist into the air because he knows he got me. Just once I want my life to be like an 80's movie, preferably one with a really awesome musical number for no apparent reason. But no, no, John Hughes did not direct my life. - Olive Penderghast in Easy A

So now, all alone or not, you gotta walk ahead. Thing to remember is if we're all alone, then we're all together in that too. - Patricia in PS I Love You

Grease (1978)

Grease was recently shown on TV and I couldn't switch over the channel as I knew it would lighten my mood and while I was at it, I thought 'what the heck, may as well blog about it'. The famous musical tells the story of a high school romance between Sandy and Danny along with all their pals in a coming of age tale. Admittedly the dialogue is cheesy and the acting can sometimes make you snigger but this film is almost faultless in likability. Danny Zuko and Sandy first meet during their summer break n which they fall in 'love' but with her having to leave to go back home to Australia you could start thinking 'Oh well thats the end of that' but no, coincidently Sandy ends up transferring to Danny's school - Rydell High School. This is when the viewers get introduced to two of the cliques within the school which consist of the Pink Ladies and the T Birds making us girls wanting to don our own pink jacket and guys trying to rock the leather jacket.

Sandy joins the Pink Ladies consisting of Rizzo, Jan, Frenchy and Marty after befriending Frenchy, the aspiring beautician and she begins to tell them about her summer with the hit tune 'Summer Nights' with parallel editing we see Danny Zuko also telling the T Birds consisting of Kenickie, Sonny, Doody and Putzie about what happened on the beach. Humourously their stories differ with her telling a romantic version and him telling the typical lads story to try and earn some respect from his pals, and to add to the laughs neither one knows that the other is at the school. Soon the Pink Ladies find out about Sandy's mystery guy being Danny Zuko and decide to reunite them at a school football match much to Sandy's disappointment when she see's him acting up in order to maintain the image he's built. Then comes the longing look from Danny as Sandy storms off in a rage.

Rather than go on about everything that happens in detail, I'll do a quick synopsis - Pink Ladies have a sleepover, T Birds show up, Rizzo and Kenickie get it on in the back of his car (height of classiness), Leader of the Scorpians (hated by the T Birds) turns up and bumps into Kenickie's car. The T Birds repair the car and while imagining the outcome they begin singing 'Grease Lightning', the whole gang are at Frosty Palace and Danny tries to apologise to Sandy then decides to join the Jocks in order to win her affections and try to impress her. Danny and Sandy get back together and are intruded upon on their date by the rest and danny struggles to maintain his bravado in front of his friends. Danny takes Sandy to the dance and manages to upset her once again by dancing with Cha Cha, making us think either he is very insensitive or she is oversensitive. To make matters worse his next romantic endevour also goes wrong at the drive in, he goes to give her his ring but ends up elbowing her in the chest then sniggers, after becoming overcome with lust he tries it on but prim and proper Sandy is having none of that behaviour.  Rizzo thinks she is pregnant and news of this soon spreads.

Now for the action that each viewer was probably hoping for, with a race between the T birds versus the Scorpians, Danny manages to win with a little help from the car grease lightning. As Sandy watches on she decides it is about time she does some of the running for Danny and asks Frenchy for help. The school carnival begins and Sandy turns up wearing a lather jacket, skin tight pants, red high heel sandals and smoking a cigarette causing the men to drool over her and a new image revamp. Danny is utterly shocked and any viewers watching will not be able to not divulge in that moment when his mouth drops open in utter amazement. Danny and Sandy reconnect their romance singing the catchy song 'Your the One That I Want' that recharges the atmosphere of the film entirely, with the gang all coming back together for one last sing song of 'We Go Together' then Danny and Sandy flying off in his car into the sky highly unrealistic but a perfect ending to this musical. The chemistry between the cast really sets the film off making it appeal to everyone and also become relatable to viewers, so if you don't mind a old classic musical that contains overly acted roles that just make you smile then give this film a watch if you haven't already!

This old time classic is sure to get you singing along to whichever song that is thrown your way. The songs include - Grease, Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, Sandy, Beauty School Drop Out,  Look At Me I'm Sandra Dee, Grease Lightning, Blue Moon, There Are Worse Things I Could Do, We go Together, Your the One That I Want.

Verdict- A cheesy movie that you cannot help but love. You'll finish the film wanting to attend Rydell High School.

Trailer Alert

At the cinemas today I saw the trailer for 'How I Live Now' and I cannot wait to see it. I really believe this is a film to look out for this October, so keep your eyes peeled for marketing of this film and get down to see it when it is released then let me know your thoughts.

How I Live Now is a novel by Meg Rosoff and if that is not enough to tempt you the the lead character Daisy is being played by Saoirse Ronan the child star of the moving and emotional film 'The Lovely Bones' who has become a well known and powerful actress.

The Mortal Instruments: City Of Bones (2013)

I went to see this at the cinemas tonight as The Mortal Instruments seems to be the new promising movie sequel, and at first I thought 'Here comes another twilight saga with the love triangle and monsters' but the film has many variations from the other typical story lines with added twists and turns that will ensure a few gasps from viewers. As I have read all The Mortal Instrument books by Cassandra Clare, I'll admit I was keen to see the film and see how it compared. And thought I may as well take my mum to see it for some family film bonding. After asking for my mum's opinion after we saw it, this is what she had to say - "Had a good storyline with a fantastic twist at the end. I especially liked the special effects when the rottweiler turned into a demon with the sound effects *chuc a chuc a cucha*" and yes she actually made that noise when describing what she thought.

So this is the tale of a young girl called Clary Fray who thought she was just an ordinary human girl or Cassandra Clare names a 'mundane' but it turns out that she is anything but normal as she is in fact a shadowhunter. For those that do not know, a shadow hunter is a line of people created by the angel Raziel that protect the world from evil beings from demons to down worlders to shadow hunters gone astray to the dark side. Clary's mum had erased her memory's in order to protect her from seeing the things that us humans cannot see and inevitably being a shadow hunter. All Clary has is her mum, her mum's friend called Luke Garroway thats adopted the father role and her best friend Simon that is secretly in love with her. I say secretly but it is very plain and obvious, she is the only one who cannot see it. After going to a night club Clary see's shadow hunters killing a demon and begins to draw runes which turns out to be a special gift she has. This is where the story gets going with her life completely changes within a day.

After her mother is taken by Valentine's henchmen (Valentine is a shadow hunter turned bad), Clary is then introduced properly to Jace and the two lightwoods - Alec and Isabelle at the institute which is like a safe haven place for their race. In a mission to find the mortal cup which is one of the mortal instruments that created them and that Clary's mother hid in a bid to stop Valentine who she was one married to and turns out to be Clary's father, not a very caring one as he cares for nothing but power. Clary and Jace fall in love with each other much to Simon's dismay and you cannot help but feel sorry for him and his geeky ways, and the five of them: Alec, Isabelle, Clary, Jace and Simon go through different lots of distressing situations from Magnus Bane's party, to a vampire facedown at the Hotel Dumont, to facing a greater demon in the form of Clary's neighbour who has become posessed all these  life threatening adventures should potentially have you on the edge of your seat wondering if the'll come out alive but for me it was pretty clear they would all survive. Then comes the final showdown between werewolves, Valentine, Hodge, the group of five and a whole lot of demons at the institute where lots of stuff goes down. Valentine tells Jace and Clary that they are both his children and therefore brother and sister cue the heartbreak and impossible relationship between the two of them. It is  revealed in the film that this is actually a lie however the characters do not know this so begins the secrets and lies theme. This could potentially anger fans of the book as the film approached this plot twist in a different way than the book, another change from the book is that in the film Valentine is given a replica mortal cup whereas in the book he escapes with the real thing. This could make the next film more complex or more intriguing depending which way you want to look at it. You can't please them all!

I think the chemistry between Jace and Clary played by Jamie Campbell Bower and Lily Collins was well done and very believable as they managed to portray the sexiness and mysterious nature of the characters complex relationship of not knowing how the other one feels but both longing for each other. The film's use of establishing shots was immense with the powerful settings creating just the right atmosphere and mood for the scenes to play out. The Mortal Instruments special effects were spot on with the huge range of demons they created that were so close to being realistic, if you saw these creatures in the flesh there is no doubt you would run away screaming. City of Bones contained the right amount of action, romance and fantasy setting to keep you watching and enjoying the film. I'll admit at some points I did find the plot to be slow moving but I understand the need to explain the storyline to viewers, as I had read the books I didn't need the extra background information so it felt unnecessary to rehash things over and over. Overall I think the casting was perfect with them doing the characters justice, the plot of a world within a world is one that may fascinate and draw in a large audience. So good luck to this new film franchise! I will be coming to see City of Ashes.

Film Quotes of the Week

In seven days, God created the world. And in seven seconds, I shattered mine. - Ben Thomas in Seven Pounds

You is kind. You is smart. You is important. - Aibileen Clark in The Help

To live would be an awfully big adventure. - Peter in Peter Pan

How many times in battle have we snatched victory from the jaws of defeat? Outnumbered, outflanked, but still we triumph? With you at my side, we can do so again. Lancelot, we are knights. What other  purpose do we serve if not for such a cause? - Arthur in King Arthur

We live, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and round. - Edward Cole in The Bucket List

Despicable Me 2 (2013)

I went to see this very loveable film with my friends at the cinemas a couple of weeks ago, after seeing the first film I had high expectations of this comedy animation sequel and it definitely lived up to them.  In Despicable Me 2 we see Gru has had a total character change from that of selfish and evil villain to a caring family man who has adopted the three crazy and absolutely fantastic orphans called Margo, Edith and Agnes. So as the film opens up with the scene of Agnes' birthday party and Gru playing fairy godmother (sure to get a laugh) you may ask yourself where this plot is going as everything seems to be perfect and  everyone happy, but as most of us know that state of peacefulness and content never lasts for long. Gru is then recruited by the Anti-Villain League after a laboratory in the Arctic is stolen by a mystery villain, and who better to help than the best ex villain of all who managed to steal the moon in the first film. The quirky AVL agent called Lucy Wilde is the one who recruits him, and at first I was unsure on her character and found her to be over the top but I soon warmed to her and found her to be funny in a peculiar annoying sense.

Gru suspects the supposed to be dead villain El Macho of this crime but his accusation is undermined as  being an overprotective dad as El Macho's son makes a move on his eldest daughter Margo. But with more and more of his minions going missing, the investigation is heating up and it is vital that the AVL find the criminal before the secret plan is carried out to take over the world. Gru is right to be uncertain about El Macho as it turns out to be him that is responsible for all the latest going ons. This is where the true transition kicks in as Gru changes from a villain to hero as he saves Lucy whom he has fell in love with and takes down fellow villain. The humour in this film comes from the witty script and characters that you cannot help but love, I think anyone who goes to see Despicable Me 2 will not come away disappointed and will be fond of the film by the end. The ending leaves you on a cheerful heart warming note as Lucy and Gru get married with Agnes finally getting a mother that she appeared to long for throughout and the minions dressed up and dancing to the YMCA.

The minions still play a huge part within the film and you'll find the tiny uniform clad yellow men have grown in numbers since the first film, they help to keep the plot moving forward and when there are moments that have no main characters in you'll find they are lingering in the seen carrying out little petty acts that provide miniature hilarious moments. I particularly like the range of voices used for the characters as they are diverse, upbeat and entertaining, that suit each person well, I special mention to Steve Carell and Kristen Wigg that do the voices of Gru and Lucy.

Verdict- A film that will plaster a smile on your face no matter how old you are.