Author: jamesclay

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Movie Advent Calendar #12 – Love Actually

” There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus?”

Love Actually

In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

Love Actually is a 2003 romantic comedy film that follows the interconnected lives of a group of people in London during the weeks leading up to Christmas. The film has an impressive cast that includes Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, and many others.

I don’t recall watching this film at the cinema, my eldest son was just over a year old at the time, so we weren’t really going to the cinema at that time. So I suspect I got it as a present in 2004. At the time I did enjoy it. Though it never got into our list of regular Christmas films, as there are sections of the film which are not age appropriate.

One of the strengths of the film is its large and interesting cast of characters. Each character has their own unique story and relationships, and the film does a good job of exploring these in a way that is both funny and poignant. 

The film also has a great sense of fun and joy, thanks in part to its festive setting and upbeat soundtrack. I really like the opening and closing sections at the airport, which features real people meeting and not actors. Another strength of the film is its clever writing, which is both funny and emotionally resonant. The dialogue is sharp and the characters are well-developed, making it easy to care about what happens to them. Of course if you are not a fan of Richard Curtis’ writing, then this probably isn’t the film for you.

While Love Actually is a popular and beloved film, it has faced its fair share of criticism for its portrayal of love, relationships, and its lack of diversity and its treatment of female characters. One common criticism of Love Actually is that it portrays a very idealised and unrealistic view of love and relationships. Many of the film’s characters are shown to have perfect, happy endings, which some viewers may find unrealistic and overly simplistic. 

The film has also been criticised for its lack of diversity, as all of the main characters are white and many of the supporting characters are also white.

The film also portrays its female characters in a stereotypical and objectifying way. Many of the female characters are shown to be in need of a man to complete them, and their primary purpose in the film is to serve as romantic interests for the male characters. This portrayal of women has been criticised as being outdated and offensive.

Overall, Love Actually is a charming and entertaining film that is great for getting into the holiday spirit. It may not be the deepest or most original film, and you can see its flaws, but it is sure to put a smile on your face and warm your heart.

Get Love Actually at Amazon.

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Movie Advent Calendar #11 – The Mummy

“Let me get this straight. They ripped out your guts and they stuffed them in jars?”

The Mummy
Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah

In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

This remake of a classic 1932 horror film actually is nothing of the sort. This is not a horror film, this is much more an action adventure film with both comedic and horror aspects thrown into the mix. It is a great pieces of escapism.

I actually do like the film, and I take it at face value, as an action adventure comedy. I think Brendan Fraser does a good performance in the lead role playing the character of  Rick O’Connell. Likewise Rachel Weisz’s character Evelyn Carnahan is not the simplistic female characters of the 1930s film. However my favourite character is the bumbling Jonathan Carnahan played by the excellent John Hannah.

The cinematography is really nice and the effects (for 1999) are rather good. One of the standout elements of the film is its sense of fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and there are plenty of laughs to be had along the way.

I never watched the 1932 film, but I suspect the 1999 version is nothing like the original.

Overall, The Mummy is a fun and thrilling ride that fans of the genre will definitely enjoy. It may not be a masterpiece, but it’s a great way to spend a couple of hours.

Get The Mummy at Amazon.

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Movie Advent Calendar #10 – Contagion

But right now, our best defense has been social distancing. No hand-shaking, staying home when you’re sick washing your hands frequently.

Contagion

In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

Contagion was released in 2011, this medical thriller had a large cast including Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Elliott Gould, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Ehle, Sanaa Lathan, and Marion Cotillard. 

The film’s plot concerns the spread of a highly contagious virus transmitted by respiratory droplets. It described the various attempts by medical researchers and public health officials to identify and contain the disease. There is the loss of social order as the virus turns into a worldwide pandemic. The film concludes with the introduction of a vaccine to halt its spread. 

Contagion

I bought Contagion on iTunes back in 2012 and watched it on my iPad. At the time I did compare the film to the 1995 film Outbreak, but did feel Contagion, with it’s global story was better and more realistic. I think I did watch it again later as well.

Of course in 2020 we saw the coronavirus pandemic hit the world. In March 2020 I scared myself silly by watching Contagion again. The film is about a much more lethal virus with a shorter incubation period than coronavirus. So in the interests of accuracy I checked the trivia and goofs sections of IMDB only to read this section in the goofs. 

The disease in the film is highly lethal, affects a very large number of people and has a short incubation period. In reality an infectious disease must have a long incubation period and less lethality than in the film to facilitate a sustained transmission. The real case makes tracking much more difficult, which is a central part of the film, therefore the filmmakers had to bend the facts a bit.

Oh…

I still think the film is worth watching. Luckily we didn’t see the breakdown in social order that was seen in the film. However in the film we didn’t see people dismissing the vaccine as some did with the coronavirus vaccine.

I still think this is a powerful film and one that is worth watching and is still relevant. 

Get Contagion at Amazon.

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Movie Advent Calendar #09 – Fury

Fury

In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies. In my 2012 calendar I chose Saving Private Ryan as one of my twenty four choices. 

The first twenty minutes or so of Saving Private Ryan is a raw horrific introduction what “modern” warfare is all about. This is no glorified Hollywood war film, this is what, according to many veterans, war is really like. That opening sequence was brutal and extremely shocking. it is shocking as the violence is sudden, brutal and non-discriminating. You get to see not just the immediate impact of war, but also the brutal impact it has on individuals.

Fury, though I don’t think is in the same league as Saving Private Ryan is a brutal film that again demonstrates the horror of war and the horrendous impact that this has on the people who are forced to live through this.

Whereas Saving Private Ryan demonstrates the optimism of the Normandy landings, Fury though takes us to the brutal assault through Germany and you can see that the soldiers just want the war to be over. However the total war policy in 1945 Germany, shows that there was no respite, no way to let down your guard.

Like Saving Private Ryan there is an ensemble cast, these are the crew of the M4 Sherman tank named Fury.

I do think Brad Pitt provides an excellent performance of the grizzled, hardened tank commander. Logan Lerman as private Norman Ellison, a young clerk with no combat experience, reminded me of Jeremy Davies as Technician Fifth Grade Timothy Upham. The newcomer who no one likes and no one trusts.

Wardaddy (Brad Pitt) with Norman (Logan Lerman) in Columbia Pictures’ FURY.

Much of the battle sequences look unrealistic and fantastical, then you find out later they are based on things that actually happened. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

The brutality of some of the scenes makes Fury a film that can be difficult to watch, but you do care about the characters and that keeps you watching.

Fury wasn’t a film I saw at the cinema, but I think this is a cinematic film and one worth watching. I got it on Blu-Ray in the end.

Get Fury at Amazon.

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Movie Advent Calendar #08 – Tenet

Don’t try to understand it.

In 2012 I did a cinematic advent calendar of twenty four films. These were films that I really liked and have enjoyed at the cinema. This year on a similar theme I will be posting a movie advent calendar of twenty four movies.

I heard a lot about this film being unwatchable, or needed repeated viewings, so I didn’t make the effort to go and see it at the cinema.

The film follows a former CIA agent who learns how to manipulate the flow of time to prevent an attack from the future that threatens to annihilate the present world.

This is both a film about traveling through time and a film that isn’t about time travel.

I actually really enjoyed the film and did think it was relatively easy to follow. I did have to focus on the film, this is not a film you can multi-task with. The scenes which are “repeated” are clever and sometimes I did struggle to understand who was who and what was going on, but I think that was intentional by the writer and director. The film certainly also benefited from a repeat viewing.

Christopher Nolan does an excellent job in directing the film and the look and feel, and direction of Tenet, did remind me of another film Nolan directed, Inception in some ways.

I thought John David Washington was excellent in the lead role. How his character develops across the film is really engaging, you find out more about what is happening, just as his character does.

Overall I enjoyed this film, much more so than I thought I would. At one point I was going to not watch it after reading some of the reviews, but I am glad I did.

Get Tenet at Amazon.

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Then and Now – Cabot Circus

This is a regular series of blogs about photographs of the same place taken years apart. The first of the posts in this series was of a council building in Manchester. I always thought I should give then and now photographs a go. However what I have started to notice is that I have been doing Then and Now photographs unintentionally over the years and have been taking photographs of the same thing or place from the same view or perspective years apart. Now this has come to my attention I have started to intentionally take photographs of the same place.

In November I posted one in this series about Cabot Circus at Christmas time having taken a photograph in December 2019 and then intentionally took a similar photograph in November 2022.

What I hadn’t remembered was that I had taken identical or similar photographs before. Going through my collection and some old Flickr albums I found two more photographs.

This photograph was taken not long after Cabot Circus had opened. The shopping centre had opened on 25th September 2008, this photograph was taken on the 21st October 2008.

I took some more photographs and at the time I was then approached by security who told me that this was against their rules. I thought this was bizarre. Was I taking photographs of the shops?

No!

Was I using my big Canon 400D with 75-300mm lens?

No!

Was I using my nice 50mm lens which I keep meaning to use more?

No!

Was I using my point and shoot Sony W35?

No!

What was I using?

I was using a Nokia N95 phone!

I was surprised to be asked to stop. Weird policy. Of course once more people had more phones they stopped enforcing the policy.

Going through my collection I also had taken this similar photo on the 4th July 2016.

Three years later on December 8th 2019. I was on my way to do a pick up from the Vue Cinema, so I took a photograph of the festive Cabot Circus. Not realising I had taken similar photos before.

This photograph was taken on the 26th November 2022. I remembered I had taken a photograph in the same location, so took this one.

So I had unintentionally taken three photographs of roughly the same place over an eleven year period.