I've dragged my feet on blogging this UK flick and I think it's because I found it pretty dull. It's fun to blog movies that are great and even movies that are terrible but this one is just MEH. Not worth the bother. It's based on a novel called 'Where Rainbows End' which I obviously won't be rushing out to read!
Starring Lily Collins (with distractingly large eyebrows) and Sam Claflin, it's one of those 'they're meant to be together but the stars never align but then they ultimately do for a happy ending' type of thing. We've seen that story a million times and we've seen it done a lot better.
Margaret and David both gave it 2.5 stars - read their reviews and more on the film here.
Trailer here.
This British/American flick never quite gets as good as I hoped it would.
Kevin Kline is great as Mathias, an American who travels to Paris to claim an apartment he has inherited from his deceased father. He arrives to find it occupied by Mathilde (Maggie Smith) and her daughter Chloe (Kristin Scott Thomas) under an unusual arrangement where Mathilde can stay living there until she dies regardless of who owns it.
A predictable ending does eventuate though only after a surprising diversion to throw you off the scent.
On Metacritic (a website that generates an average of all reviews of a film) it's sitting at 2.5 out of 5 which is exactly right for this I reckon. It's not bad but it's not great, it's just in the middle. Maggie Smith delivers a great performance as always but it's not enough to carry this into stronger territory.
Here's a 2.5 star review from the New York Times and a trailer if you want to know more.
Opens Thursday 13 November and runs for 107 minutes.
This arthouse release from Belgium has a gentle subtlety underlying a powerful story.
Marion Cotillard plays Sandra, a mother of two who has taken time off from her job in a factory due to depression. While away, the bosses make her 16 colleagues decide between receiving a €1,000 bonus each, or allowing Sandra to keep her job. They choose the bonus and Sandra hears about this and persuades the bosses to hold another vote, giving her two days and one night to persuade her colleagues to vote differently that she may keep her job. Her interactions with these colleagues make up this lovely film with an unexpected ending.
Cotilliard's performance is just wonderful. I was totally engrossed in Sandra's struggle.
If you are lucky enough to see a lot of films, I would certainly recommend you add this to the list but otherwise it's one you can file away for a movie night at home some time.
Trailer here and a five star review from The Guardian here. It goes for 95 minutes and is in French with English subtitles.
