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Feb. 1st, 2012 12:08 amWhile I've only had a very slight interest in new-to-me-TV recently (I think about 2/3-3/4 of my viewing the last month-and-a-half has been rewatching movies and BBC & ITV miniseries in my DVD collection) I apparently watched over 20 movies this month. Here are some of the ones I remember better:
The Advocate: This movie was so weird! Netflix recced it to me in that "if you liked this you might like..." box you get when you add a DVD to your queue and I had been adding some light-sounding period dramas and the description basically said it was about a medieval lawyer (Colin Firth) who moves to a small village and CULTURE SHOCK and the villagers think he's weird. Instead it was kinda...creepy and strange and did get the mindset of the times when it comes to witchcraft right, but about halfway through, the lawyer learns he's been living in a brothel the whole movie and was all "but...I never paid the maid for all the times we had very loud sex and no one commented on it..." and his assistant said it was part of the regular bill. I understood his "but...what?" perfectly. (I'm not saying it was bad, it was just...too much for me.)
Angelique: This is a gloriously melodramatic 60s French movie set in the 17th century about a young woman who enters into a marriage of convenience and then falls in love with her husband and then has to save him from execution. It strays a bit too close to Bertrice Small territory with "All men want her! Will do anything to have her!" but is largely great fun. There are 4 more movies in the series and I intend to watch every single one of them.
The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down a Mountain: This movie was so ridiculously charming that I almost didn't notice the near-total lack of women inthe first half. Set in Wales in WWI, a pair of English surveyors arrive in a small town to measure the local mountain and conclude that it's less than 20 feet too short to qualify as a mountain. Rather than have their beloved mountain be designated a "hill" on maps, thr locals strand the surveyors so they can make the top higher and force the surveyors to remeasure the hill. it's kind of odd, but rather adorable.
Hairspray: This is such an amazingly hypnotic movie! I kept watching it thinking I should be having issues with things but the analytical part of my brain kept being lulled into submission by all the bright and peppy people and the musoc and the whole cast having almost unhealthy amounts of fun. Especially John Travolta. Also, with John Travolta and Michelle Pfieffer starring in a nostalgic musical, I kept expecting Grease refernces the whole time. (After I finished, I kinda raided youtube for all the songs from those movies.)
The Mistress of Spices: This is a movie in which the visuals and acting really outclass the script. Having read the book I kept getting thrown by Tilo being young and conventionally gorgeous, instead of old. I guess I subconsciously expected them to use makeup to age Aishwarya Rai? Still, I really like the concept, and it was entertaining.
Raavan: Not the only or even first Bollywood I watched in January, but the only really memorable one. This is a contemporary reimanining of Sita's abduction by Ravana in the Ramayana, through Raavan's POV. Based on the way others had discussed it, I had expected a much heavier focus on Ragini (Sita) than there was, but did really like her parts, despite not being very interested in Dev or Beera (Rama and Ravana respectively). I think the plot worked with the cops/outlaws reimagining, but heaved a really sad sigh when it kinda went to the "but he didn't rape her, so he isn't all bad" place. He still meant to kill her! Though, it wasn't "have sex with me or I'll kill you" like in the myth. Still, I could have done without the romantic element. But it was interesting and visually fascinating, and worth watching.
Robin Hood (1922): I'd really like to see a modern remake using this particular plot. While it takes a good while to get to the actual Robin Hood-ing, this is the closest version I've seen to traditional Medieval Romances. (I also watched Douglas Fairbank's Zorro movie, but don't really remember iyt well.)
I also watched the Swan Princess sequels despite every feedback ever on them. The first sequel was almost unspeakably dull and bad (also, the description promised Derek is abducted! Odette goes on a mission to rescue him!" and there were about 5 seconds of that) and I'm not surprised at rumors the creators try to pretend it doesn't exist. The other was better but still rather bad, though there were entertaining bits.
The Advocate: This movie was so weird! Netflix recced it to me in that "if you liked this you might like..." box you get when you add a DVD to your queue and I had been adding some light-sounding period dramas and the description basically said it was about a medieval lawyer (Colin Firth) who moves to a small village and CULTURE SHOCK and the villagers think he's weird. Instead it was kinda...creepy and strange and did get the mindset of the times when it comes to witchcraft right, but about halfway through, the lawyer learns he's been living in a brothel the whole movie and was all "but...I never paid the maid for all the times we had very loud sex and no one commented on it..." and his assistant said it was part of the regular bill. I understood his "but...what?" perfectly. (I'm not saying it was bad, it was just...too much for me.)
Angelique: This is a gloriously melodramatic 60s French movie set in the 17th century about a young woman who enters into a marriage of convenience and then falls in love with her husband and then has to save him from execution. It strays a bit too close to Bertrice Small territory with "All men want her! Will do anything to have her!" but is largely great fun. There are 4 more movies in the series and I intend to watch every single one of them.
The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down a Mountain: This movie was so ridiculously charming that I almost didn't notice the near-total lack of women inthe first half. Set in Wales in WWI, a pair of English surveyors arrive in a small town to measure the local mountain and conclude that it's less than 20 feet too short to qualify as a mountain. Rather than have their beloved mountain be designated a "hill" on maps, thr locals strand the surveyors so they can make the top higher and force the surveyors to remeasure the hill. it's kind of odd, but rather adorable.
Hairspray: This is such an amazingly hypnotic movie! I kept watching it thinking I should be having issues with things but the analytical part of my brain kept being lulled into submission by all the bright and peppy people and the musoc and the whole cast having almost unhealthy amounts of fun. Especially John Travolta. Also, with John Travolta and Michelle Pfieffer starring in a nostalgic musical, I kept expecting Grease refernces the whole time. (After I finished, I kinda raided youtube for all the songs from those movies.)
The Mistress of Spices: This is a movie in which the visuals and acting really outclass the script. Having read the book I kept getting thrown by Tilo being young and conventionally gorgeous, instead of old. I guess I subconsciously expected them to use makeup to age Aishwarya Rai? Still, I really like the concept, and it was entertaining.
Raavan: Not the only or even first Bollywood I watched in January, but the only really memorable one. This is a contemporary reimanining of Sita's abduction by Ravana in the Ramayana, through Raavan's POV. Based on the way others had discussed it, I had expected a much heavier focus on Ragini (Sita) than there was, but did really like her parts, despite not being very interested in Dev or Beera (Rama and Ravana respectively). I think the plot worked with the cops/outlaws reimagining, but heaved a really sad sigh when it kinda went to the "but he didn't rape her, so he isn't all bad" place. He still meant to kill her! Though, it wasn't "have sex with me or I'll kill you" like in the myth. Still, I could have done without the romantic element. But it was interesting and visually fascinating, and worth watching.
Robin Hood (1922): I'd really like to see a modern remake using this particular plot. While it takes a good while to get to the actual Robin Hood-ing, this is the closest version I've seen to traditional Medieval Romances. (I also watched Douglas Fairbank's Zorro movie, but don't really remember iyt well.)
I also watched the Swan Princess sequels despite every feedback ever on them. The first sequel was almost unspeakably dull and bad (also, the description promised Derek is abducted! Odette goes on a mission to rescue him!" and there were about 5 seconds of that) and I'm not surprised at rumors the creators try to pretend it doesn't exist. The other was better but still rather bad, though there were entertaining bits.
