Sunday 24th June. 2012
A Royal Affair
Another brilliant historical Royal drama set in Denmark in 1766 amidst its tumultuous period of change in the period of Enlightenment. I noted parallels with the film The Duchess in an unhappy arranged marriage which leads to an adulterous affair and an illegitimate child, a would be heir (spare) to the throne. What we do see, which was common in British history is the possible taking over of the throne by the second family of the deceased King. These unfortunate Royals seem to be oblivious to the possible coup and removal of the rightful King and Queen to the throne because they are engrossed in their own personal dramas. The casting of Queen Caroline Mathilde played by Alicia Vikander, childish, imbecilic and eccentric King Christian VII played by Mikkel Boe Folsgaard and German physician Johann Friedrich Struensee played by Mads Mikkelsen, who in the end is beheaded for treason, is outstanding. After the removal of King Christian from the throne, the country is plunged back into Medieval politics (compared to the rest of Europe) and it takes the King’s son young Frederick, after reading his dead mother’s letters and King Christian to plan another siege to regain rightful control of the country. This film uses picturesque European countryside/ city settings, which is exquisitely filmed with stunning views and cinematography including sumptuous palace scenes and costumes.
Rock Of Ages
Photo: David James/Warner Bros. Pictures
Brilliantly directed by Hairspray’s Adam Shankman,
Rock of Ages is pop culture story of ‘a small town girl and a city boy who meet
on the Sunset Strip, while pursuing their Hollywood dreams’. It’s a tale of
‘Rock and Roll’ with iconic 80’s rock tunes which are performed by an all
singing and all dancing cast who not only look great but sound like the real
thing. Tom Cruise dons leather trousers and an encrusted rhinestone codpiece
for the accurate and authentic part of Staycee Jaxx. He only spent 4-5 months
learning to sing and play guitar (convincingly), which is absolutely
incredible. He also perfected the look, swagger and demeanor of the real Axel
Rose but in a complete turnaround from his usual action hero parts, portrays a
real rock hero phenomenon with credibility. What can’t this man do? Talk about
self-determination and a drive to perfect the part?
Sherrie Christian [Julianne Hough] is an aspiring young teen-age Mid
Western singer who comes to Hollywood to seek her fortune and fame and
eventually hooks up with also young teen-ager Drew Boley [Diego Boneta] who is
equally as handsome and a perfect match for Sherrie. They are wonderful singers
and performers and obviously ones to watch out for in the future because the
truth in their performances was entrancing. Whilst people were wary of this
movie I for one enjoyed it despite the slim plot because it is a movie musical
and it’s all about the music.
Sunday 17th June. 2012
Attended a preview screening of 'Your Sister's Sister' which is a lovely movie with an unexpected ending. Made me feel uncomfortable on so many levels. I like the
line: 'I love you but I don't like you'.
Cosmopolis
COSMOPOLIS flick with Rpattz as leading man. This is his most challenging role to date and puts him in the big league but the man who steals the movie is Paul Giamatti. It's a psychoanalytical, futuristic oddity with characters hell bent on a path of self destruction. Not my cup of tea and peeps left throughout. A flick for peeps who like quirky, intelligent theoretical dialogue.
