I Sat Through Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Gather round ladies and gentleman, it’s story time. I come from a movie-loving family, as you well know by now. I grew up watching National Lampoon’s Vacation every Bank Holiday. Nowadays, every Sunday the talk over the dinner table is usually themed around what movies we’ve seen that week, and once every couple of months we all get together on a Friday night for a family movie night which involves take out, and far too many pause breaks.

Our Whatsapp group will ping like crazy before these nights, with suggestions thrown in for which movie we should see. Our audience ranges from very young (under 10) to very old (sorry Grampy) with all ages in between, so finding the perfect choice is difficult. But you can guarantee every time, my Dad will suggest Lawrence of Arabia. Why? It’s his favourite movie, apparently! For years we’ve put up with this, and in turn he’s had to put up with us laughing at him. It was his birthday on 1st November though, and I suggested that we all give in and watch it together for his birthday. So we did!

Suddenly, one part of the family were ‘busy’ so our numbers were diminished. This might have had something to do with the fact my Dad announced he had a remastered version on DVD which included an interlude, bringing the runtime to just under 4 hours. Good Lord! Nonetheless, pizza was ordered, and we started the movie. Well, we started Disc 1 of the movie, because the thing is so big it won’t fit onto one disc.

Oh, were you expecting an actual movie review here? No, sorry, that’s literally impossible for me. I don't know how to review this I’m afraid. I will announce a spoiler alert from here on out however, because I truly don’t know what can be considered a spoiler in the tale of Lawrence of Arabia.

We start out with a message from the composer, who said something about his music being so bloody fantastic that any visuals would distract us, so we were greeted with a black screen and almost 10 minutes of music before we even started. Following that, confusion as we see Lawrence get his motorcycle gear on and go out for a ride. We were fairly sure a desert was involved in this movie. After that? Um. Well. He died! I mean, spoiler alert movie, GAWD.

To begin with, we all got quite invested in the story. Lawrence was a bit of a full of himself guy, but we liked his spirit and we look a liking to the guide that was with him in the desert. I think we were gearing ourselves up for a road-trip-buddy kind of movie, but then the guide got killed and we all felt a bit sad for him for a while. Who knew wells were so important in the desert? We mourned the guide collectively until we came across the two young lads that eventually worked for Lawrence. Our favourite moment was when one pompous guy shooed the pair away, and they retaliated by shoving their stick up his camel’s butt. That moment killed me!

So, some more things happened, lots of talking, some war, and the oldest of my two little brothers announced we were well over half way though the movie. Great, we thought! This hasn’t seemed so long after all. Then approximately thirty minutes later, the screen went black and asked us to insert Disc 2 to commence the interlude and the second half. WHAT. At this point our enthusiasm was shattered, my youngest brother fell asleep, and we sat quietly through the rest of the story. Even the dog had enough at that point. Let me tell you, much rejoicing was done when the credits finally rolled.

On a more serious note, the story of Lawrence of Arabia is quite fascinating, as we learnt that the whole time he was just being used by both sides, his passion taken full advantage of. The music was beautiful, and fit the moods perfectly. The visuals were a sight to behold (my youngest brother shouted out ‘hashtag silhouette goals’ so you know these visuals are on point). It was just at least 2 hours too long for me, for any of us, other than my Dad of course.

Our next family movie night is in 2 weeks time, and my Dad has stayed unusually quiet in the Whatsapp group. We’re all on the edge of our seats waiting to find out what his next suggestion might be.

So, to finally finish, I do recommend Lawrence of Arabia, but watch it over a couple of days.

Review: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016)

UPDATED with Jenna's review: Tina Fey is my spirit animal. I absolutely love her. Currently, I’m binge watching 30 Rock like there’s no tomorrow, knowing the end is in sight and not wanting it all to be over whilst saying to myself ‘just one more episode’. So I knew as soon as Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) came out, I was going to have to see it asap. I’d just come back off honeymoon and knew I needed something funny to pick me up, so this was perfect.  I am not such a Tina Fey fan, I don't dislike her at all (loved her in Sisters) but I don't actively watch things because she is in it, I can find her irritating so I have to limit my intake.

The movie is based on memoir of real-life reporter Kim Barker, titled ‘The Taliban Shuffle’, recounting her experiences with reporting on the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kim, played by Tina Fey, had no experience in this field what-so-ever, but being unmarried without children was enough.

Maybe I should have worked this out on my own, but from the trailer I was expecting a bit of a parody, something to keep me laughing throughout. Don’t get me wrong, some moments are absolutely hilarious, for example, when Kim first arrived in Afghanistan a lady shouts abuse at her for not having her hair covered, and Kim’s local guide and translator Fahim (Christopher Abbott) tells her she is simply welcoming her to the country. Then there’s a moment where Kim describes the local women as ‘walking Ikea bags’ or something like that, which had me in tears!  Yeah I completely suprised by this, I was expected and full on 'Tina Fey' comedy and got nothing of the sort.  It had funny moments as Allie said but nothing that would make it a comedy, it is much more of a drama.  Luckily, as a drama it was very good so I didn't feel entirely cheated by the trailer.

Mostly though, the movie is a drama that hit me harder than I thought it would. I don’t watch a lot of war movies anyway, but the ones I have seen have focussed on the action, and the soldiers fighting these wars. They’re exciting, and fuelled with adrenaline. This is much different from that. Maybe it’s because I was seeing the war through the eyes of someone inexperienced to it all, someone who reacts the way I imagine I might have done.  It terrified me, I kept imagining what I would have done if I was in Kim's shoes and I just got all sweaty and anxious.  It really does show a whole new side to the war in Afghanistan!

There’s a great cast here. I’ve already mentioned Fahim, whose politeness when translating gets a lot of laughs, but I liked Tanya (Margot Robbie) more than I thought I would too. She’s a reporter too, and has been out there longer than Kim, but shows her the ropes and explains concepts such as ‘being an American 4 makes you a 10 out here’, making Tanya herself a 15. Obviously. General Hollanek’s (Billy Bob Thornton) bluntness caught me off guard several times. And then we have Martin Freeman as Iain, doing a brilliant Scottish accent, although the last time I saw him he was trying an American one in Civil War which was awful, so maybe my radar is off-balance. Honestly, it’s worth watching just to hear Martin Freeman drop the ‘c-bomb’ so frequently!  Not sure I was as impressed with Freeman's Scottish accent but maybe I'm still reeling from Captain America: Civil War. but yes the C-bomb ultimately made his character for me - you know I love a good swear!!

I’m realising now that I actually enjoyed this more than I thought I did. It was definitely mis-marketed, and the tone shifts quite sharply every now and again which throws you off balance, but it’s a war movie that I’m recommending left, right and centre, and I don’t think that’s happened before. Give it a try!

I can't even explain how I felt about this film, one minute I was laughing, the next I was hugging a cushion, thankful that I was in the safety of my little house.  That being said, I was completely hooked!!

Review: Beasts of No Nation (2015)

Since when did Netflix become so powerful?! They’re certainly trying to change the game, for sure. They’ve gone from a simple entertainment streaming service to a huge TV and film production company. Beasts of No Nation (2015) was scheduled for a Netflix release on the same day as the cinema release, which angered a lot of big cinema chains who then boycotted the movie altogether, leaving it as a limited release. I don’t think it got a release in any of the chains near us in the UK!

On the face of it, Beasts of No Nation is major Oscar bait. A drama set in war-torn Africa; the story of a young boy torn from his family and trained by rebels to be a deadly soldier. Yes, it’s easy to be cynical, but there is so much more to this movie.

Abraham Attah plays Agu, a young and charismatic boy who comes up with innovative new ways to make money for his family. We get to see him showing off his ‘imagination TV’ with his friends, which is something I’m sure we all liked to do when we were younger. When the village Agu lives in is under threat, there is no room (or money) for him to flee with his Mother and so he is forced to stay with the men of the village in an attempt to defend their homes.

Poor Agu is forced to watch his family slaughtered in front of him, and barely escapes himself, before he is found by the Commandant of a group of rebels, played by Idris Elba, and this is where his training begins.

There’s something extremely unsettling about a young child taught how to carry a gun, how to camouflage himself, follow the older rebels and act as a squire for them, and eventually, kill a man in cold blood. The whole movie in fact was engaging from start to finish, but uncomfortable and upsetting at the same time. I think the run-time was a little excessive (137 min), but I struggle with long movies regardless.

Idris Elba was really impressive in this movie, and I saw a side of him I’d never witnessed before. His accent and mannerisms were absolutely fantastic, but he really was out-shined time and time again by Abraham Attah. Can children even win Oscars? Because this kid deserves them all! I hope he continues to act, because he’s going to be incredible.

EDIT: I'm not going crazy here with this next paragraph, it's just that my review has been sat in our drafts list for a while! Kind of gutted it didn't get any nominations, actually. I would be thrilled to see Beasts of No Nation in the nominee list for Best Picture next year. It’s a movie I’ll probably never want to watch again, but I’ll also never forget it, and I think that’s what counts.

Review: American Sniper (2015)

One of my favourite things about going to the cinema is watching the trailers. Does that sound silly? I know I can easily watch as many as I like on IMDB, but it’s kind of a game trying to guess which trailers will have been picked for a particular audience. There’s one trailer from the end of last year that I’ll never forget, mainly because I genuinely forgot to breathe whilst watching it!

American Sniper is the real-life story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) who was a legendary sniper in the war in Iraq. Chris was nothing more than a ‘wannabe’ cowboy until he reached his thirties, when he decided he should do something to express his talent, and help his country which he loved so much. That’s when he joined the SEALs as a sniper and began his first tour in Iraq. Once home, he struggled with normal life and the weight of his conscious.

I hope I can do this film justice with this post, but I have to admit I’m completely out of my depth here. I recall Chris Kyle’s name being in the news and the reason why, but that’s as much as I know. War films have never interested me either, but as I said, the trailer took my breath away, and I’ve been dying to see more of Bradley Cooper since seeing him in Silver Linings Playbook.

American Sniper had me gripped from start to finish. I quickly realised the trailer I remembered so well was simply 2 minutes of footage from the start of the film, and so I was going in blind for the rest of the duration. Good lord, I could barely recognise Bradley Cooper at first, he really beefed up for that role! I just read he had to eat 8,000 calories a day (and work out of course) to prepare, and that made me feel a little ill. He really is on top form in this film, in every single way!

There were plenty more heart stopping moments, the sniping scenes especially, and I thought there was a perfect balance between the scenes at war and the scenes at home. Can I be ‘that guy’ for a minute though? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a faker baby in a film before, seriously! Although, I read that they used a real baby to begin with which was sick on someone, so I might just forgive it for that right there.

All in all, I’m so glad I watched American Sniper. It was a breathtaking and heartwarming film, and it’s opened my eyes to what really goes on behind the news reports I read.

Review: Incendies (2010)

We’re not doing too well with getting through the IMDB Top 250 list. It’s a blogging goal of ours, and it’s on Jenna’s 30 before 30 list, and well, she’s getting on a bit now! (I’m joking - I love you!) so we’ve both given ourselves a kick up the backside recently to get a move on. I had quite a few films recommended to me on the IMDB forums after a post I made about The Usual Suspects, and when I realised one of those suggested films was also on the Top 250 list, I knew it should be the next thing I saw!

Incendies is a fantastic Canadian film which was nominated for an Oscar in 2011 for ‘Best Foreign Language Film of the Year’. I would love to find out what won and watch it just to try and understand why Incendies didn't win. It tells the story of twins (Melissa Desormeaux-Poulin and Maxim Gaudette) who have just lost their mother (Lubna Azabal), visiting their mother’s colleague and friend to witness her will being read. Included in her will are multiple notes and envelopes instructing the twins to find their brother and father. Thing is, they were under the impression that their father was dead, and they didn’t even know they had a brother.

I wondered whether I might struggle with Incendies. It is with great shame that I confess this is the first foreign-speaking film I’ve ever seen, and I wasn’t sure if I would get the full emotional effect by reading subtitles for just under 2 hours. Although I would always prefer an English-speaking film, I have to say that the subtitles didn’t distract me at all and the emotions were still clearly evident. Incendies won’t be the first and last foreign-speaking film I see, that’s for sure.

Let me move on to the film itself though. Incendies is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, it tells a fascinating tale of this inspiring lady, the twins mother, through a series of flashbacks and I don’t think I’ve ever seen such graphic scenes without actual graphic content. I realise that may not make sense right now, but if you see the film you’ll understand. The themes certainly aren’t for the light hearted. The very mention of a war film makes me want to nod off to sleep usually, but Incendies has opened my eyes to a film genre I have always pushed aside and ignored.

As fascinating as the story was, I did the feel the time length quite heavily. However, just as I started to get fidgety, wondering how the issues could be resolved in the next half an hour without ending terribly, everything started to come together and I spent that time with my jaw hanging. As the entwining stories finally came to their conclusion, I was stunned and actually had to rewind just to be sure I’d read the subtitles correctly. Simply amazing, that’s the only way I can describe that ending.

I’ve already mentioned this, but Incendies is definitely not for everyone. I image many would be turned off at some of the adult themes, and others may give up just before I nearly did. Those who stick with it though are in for an amazing experience.

Blind Spot: Schindler's List (1993)

Just in the nick of time, again, is our Blind Spot post for February. I really need to not make a habit out of this, but Oscars season has just messed up my entire blogging schedule as well as film-viewing schedule! This month I watched Schindler’s List, over two viewings thanks to it’s eye watering 195 min runtime.

Schindler’s List is the kind of film I shy away from instantly, which is the main reason I made sure it was on the Blind Spot list. The second reason is that people keep telling me Liam Neeson never used to just play Liam Neeson! So anyway, the film itself largely focuses on Oskar Schindler (Neeson), who sets up a factory in Poland during World War II, creating hundreds of jobs and hope for the Jews that are seeking refuge there.

This is only the second black and white film I’ve ever seen, and just like before, it seemed odd at first but once the story kicked in I completely forgot about the lack of colour. Until a scene involving a huge table full of food - I couldn’t work out what was there and that felt a little weird*. Oh, and the little girl in the red coat of course, how can I forget her? Okay, so maybe this is my first black, white and red film.

Schindler's List was a real rollercoaster of emotions for me. I won't try and pretend that I understood everything that was going on, because similar to my last Blind Spot, there was just so much going on. I also know very little about World War II thanks to my absolute ignorance to History class back in school. Thankfully though I watched this with my fiance who let me pause every now and again so I could double check what was happening/

The ending was ruined a little for me by everyone telling me to be ready with a box of tissues. My mind had already geared myself up for the worst and as heartbreaking as the end was, I think it would have affected me more if I was clueless.

It was also really interesting to see a very young Ralph Fiennes, having recently seen him in the Oscar-winning Grand Budapest Hotel. He was chilling, and I look forward to seeing more of him.

All in all, despite it's length, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. Several scenes were extremely uncomfortable to watch, but they added to the story perfectly. It's one of those films I will never forget, but will probably never watch again either, if that makes any sense.

* I’m writing this whole post after two and a half hours sleep thanks to the Oscars, so you’ll have to forgive me for going completely off track.

Review: The Imitation Game (2014)

It’s taken me weeks to get around to writing up a review for The Imitation Game. In my defense, it’s Benedict Cumberbatch’s fault. I’m mad with him. First he gets engaged, then he’s going to be a father, and then I find out that although a date for the Sherlocked convention has finally been announced, it’ll cost at least £600 to stand a proper chance of meeting him. Pff! That picture of him though after the BAFTAs, giving his suit jacket to his fiancee to keep her warm? Swoon. Okay, all is forgiven. I can’t stay mad with that face.

The Imitation Game is the real life story of how Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) cracked the German enigma code during World War II with a team of fellow mathematicians. After paying virtually no attention in History class during school, I was particularly interested in watching this, and if you’ll excuse me making jokes in poor taste, you could say I walked into the cinema spoiler free.

After watching the trailers (multiple times) I was a little worried that Benedict would come across too ‘Sherlock-y’ and that he was at risk of being typecast, but that worry dissolved fairly quickly. Turing and Sherlock are two very different characters when you get a proper glimpse at them both. You tend to laugh at Sherlock, as he is completely oblivious to the world around him at times, whereas the rare funny moments that Turing has gets you laughing with him. His witty banter with his superiors was absolutely hilarious!

Another surprise for me was Keira Knightley. I love her unconditionally, but I understand the gripes of others about her always playing the same role and how she can come across. I thought she was delightful in this, and full of character. She bounces off Benedict really well and I’d love to see them both star together sometime in the near future.

I didn’t think a war drama could or would ever grip me the way The Imitation Game did. I was fully immersed during the first half and enjoyed the character developments, and then found myself on the edge of my seat during the second half. Perhaps not surprisingly, I was ugly sobbing at the very end, and I walked out of the screen in a thoughtful and heartbroken daze. It’s disgusting in a way, that this is part of my country’s history, the way that Alan Turing was treated.

All in all, I was blown away by The Imitation Game and enjoyed it even more than I thought I would. I hope it gets some Oscar wins later this month, because it really deserves some.