Local hero

A classic this week. Always good when right prevails, and I don't mean that in a political sense.



Erin Brockovich


As you know, I don't think people's names make good titles for movies, but in this case I will make an exception. Hinkley, California - residents are getting sick even though officials from the nearby PG & E plant have explained that alleged contamination of ground water by chromium-3 is a good thing with lots of health benefits. Shame it is chromium-6 then. Solo mum Erin hires a lawyer on an unrelated matter, they lose the case, she demands a job at his law firm and stumbles across the chromium contamination thing. Thanks to her tireless efforts, justice is served. That's the story in a nutshell.

Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich, and this movie is an excellent vehicle for showing off her great legs and, well, she has a nice figure. That's a bit of a theme through the movie. Another thing about Julia Roberts - does she have a portrait in the attic because she is just not looking any older. Remember I sort of watched "Eat, Pray, Love". The real Erin Brockovich (did I mention this is a true story?) has a brief cameo as a waitress and she is a good looking woman too. Lots of down-home commonsense feistiness in this movie, not compromised too much by the ... trashy but enhancing outfits. There is a man, and some children, the baby is adorable, the lawyer has a heart of gold, and there are some other familiar faces. The housekeeper from "Two and a half men" (speaking of trashy - Charlie Sheen in that show, and maybe in real life too) is the secretary, and I have an idea that the first emissary from PG & E, the meek one, may be in "Bones" now.

This is a good story, moves along at a smart pace and Roberts is believable. Money talks, but not loud enough, and justice prevails. I'm sure this sort of thing goes on all over the place, with big business literally getting away with murder (or at least stupidity, incompetence and an inflated sense of their own importance and invulnerability if we are talking about GM, the big banks, Lehman brothers, Freddie Mac etc - which the public paid for). Anyways ... in the last few weeks I have seen in the news that the hexavalent chromium plume is spreading again, Hinkley is back in the spotlight and Erin Brockovich is on the case again. Thank goodness for concerned citizens and real people. Keep up the fantastic work Erin.

One thing people remember about this movie - Julia Roberts won an Oscar for her performance and famously omitted to mention the real Erin Brockovich in her acceptance speech.




One week ago we had snow and storms and roads were closed. This week it is t-shirt and shorts weather. Bizarre.

English actors

A good movie for a change. Actors who can act, and not many men. Hmmm ...



Crush


A great chick flick. Also a great cheapie from the thrift store where I purchased (drum roll please) a KATE SPADE bag for next to nothing. How cool is that! Shame I have no friends to share that info with. Anyway, back to the movie. Not just your standard silly chick flick, this one has some class actors. Imelda Staunton - anything she is in is going to be good. She is one of the wonderful pack of English actors who make English movies so good. Anna Chancellor - Duckface in Four Weddings and a Funeral, also that girl from the Boddington's ad, if you are old enough and English enough to remember that. She teams up again with Andie Macdowell for this movie.

Macdowell is Kate, a prim headmistress, Staunton a copper, actually I think she is the Chief Inspector, and Chancellor is a doctor. They get together and see who has the most disastrous man story. Macdowell meets up with an ex-pupil (read: toyboy) and they hit it off. Oh yes, warning for the easily shocked - there is a fair bit of sex in this movie, but nothing graphic. Macdowell has great legs. Chancellor and Staunton try to break up the romance to prevent Macdowell's character from heartbreak and it all goes horribly wrong, but there is kind of a happy ending.

A good movie, well constructed. Great lighting as usual, and wonderful music. The clothes are interesting ... There is a lot of humour, a lot of which went straight over BH's head, as it is very English. For example, Staunton (the policewoman) says she has met a man, his name is Bill, and Chancellor immediately says"Old Bill?" For the uninitiated let me explain that in England, the police are often referred to as the Old Bill. I don't know why. Google it. A cheap laugh but realistic.

This is a female dominated movie, and all the better for that. I like a movie with real people (I know, contradiction in terms) with real situations in real places. James Cameron tried that once, with "Titanic" but things have gone downhill for him since than. Maybe if he hired a real writer ...




Lots of snow forecast, but very little arrived here. That's probably a good thing, although snow does make everything look pretty (and let's face it, "here" could do with the help).

Jaded viewer

I chose most of these movies. I have only myself to blame.



Eat, Pray, Love


Too much of a chick flick even for me. I watched the Italy bit then fast-forwarded to the end. I did not enjoy seeing Julia Roberts slurping spaghetti, but she did make a nice antipasto plate. Please note - American antipasto is NOT the same as Italian antipasto. I'm not a big Julia Roberts fan. This movie didn't do it for me. although I may have missed the point by not actually watching it at normal speed. I could make some comment about self indulgence, but who cares. Dolce far niente.



Snow is forecast for the next ten days.

Bitter end

You can't call me a quitter. Masochist maybe.



The American


Watching the rest of The American. It's not getting any better. It amazes me that not one character in this movie is developed to the point of being even vaguely interesting. George Clooney has a face made of cement and his acting is so subtle as to be not there. This movie is a non-event like "Up in the Air". That was a waste of time. So what's the story George? Does someone else read the scripts and commit you to these dogs? You realise it is only a matter of time before you find yourself doing a James Cameron movie. Why not just do that now and skip the other disasters on this downward spiral in your career and your taste. I won't be bothering with movies just because they star George Clooney. Seems like he specialises in the dull and inexplicable. Time to retire?

Action men

Five movies for five days, expect some blog action.



The Expendables


This one purely because of the adorable Jason Statham, East End gangster. This is an all-action movie that appears to be written and directed by Sylvester Stallone, starring Sylvester Stallone. The dialogue is, of course, better than if it was written by James Cameron. It even has humour. Lots of blood, more than usual I would say, each shooting or slashing was punctuated by visible sprays of blood. You don't often get that. Lots of death and dismemberment, with the emphasis on dismemberment. Heads, hands, whatever, slice it off. So it's a fairly silly story of mercenaries, coups, coca and not much else. Star of the show is the seaplane. Not a must-see.




The American


George Clooney being taciturn. Very little dialogue, which in a James Cameron movie would be a plus, but here it just makes the plot even more obscure. Clooney kills people, I think it his job. Could be a hobby. It starts in Dalarna Sweden where those red wooden horses are made. That is the most interesting thing about this movie. It's slow, boring, the lighting is horrible, there may or may not be music, I don't recall. There is no character development, but there is a gratuitous and totally un-sexy sex scene. Leaving that out would have mercifully shortened the movie. At the end of the sex scene, Clooney is lying in the bed looking like a dead monkey. Maybe it was the scarlet lighting in the prostitute's room. Not flattering. George Clooney visiting a prostitute? Hardly likely.

Actually, I only watched up to minute 56, then went off to do something exciting. I washed the dishes. I probably won't watch the rest of it. Possibly I am missing the best bit, or the part that makes it all make sense. At one stage I wondered if it was a training film for the gun-smithing school at Lassen College. Seriously, give this one a miss, even if you are a Clooney fan.

I may re-review this if I watch the rest of it, but don't hold your breath for that.




Cats are fine. Life goes on.

Girl power

It's almost a month since my last post. Sorry about that. I've been a bit busy learning things.



The Blue Collar Comedy Tour


I think that was the title, I watched it at the gym with BH, who was able to translate some of the more incomprehensible parts for me. Four comedians with a bit of a redneck theme. Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy and a couple of others. What can I say? Two countries divided not only by a common language but by humour that just does NOT translate across the Atlantic. According to these guys, the definition of a redneck is somebody with no sophistication at all. Apparently that is something to be proud of. Give me Ricky Gervais any day.

The joke about shooting the horse was funny, kept me chuckling for days. I am not a horse hater, it was just so unexpected.




Thelma and Louise


Yay, girl power! I think BH was a little perturbed at my approving reaction to the murder and mayhem that Thelma and Louise dish out in this classic cult movie. Not sure if it is a widespread cult fave, but for me and my BFF (33 years, that's getting close to forever) who shall remain nameless, it's our ongoing fantasy. I have to admit, this is the first time I have actually seen the movie and I think we may have to tone our planned road trip down a little. Yes to the convertible, the scarves, Brad Pitt and lots of laughter. Yes to a scenic trip to the Grand Canyon. No to carrying guns, killing people or rapists however much they deserve it, holding up convenience stores and blowing up semis. We probably wouldn't do the cop in the trunk thing either. Definitely no to not stopping at the edge of the Grand Canyon.

I really liked this movie. There are some great recognisable and memorable moments, characters, actions and reactions going on. Thelma's husband, the look on Harlan's face, Thelma's grin whenever she thinks of JD, Thelma's husband's reaction to JD's taunts, the final encounter with the truck driver, Harvey Keitel's character's reasonableness. Perfect music, great scenery and a nice little car. Yep, a teal T-bird convertible - my kind of car. Brad Pitt is very young and has a very low body fat percentage. Worth a look.

So, nameless BFF, I am looking for a convertible, you bring the scarves, and let's do it!




Still winter. Had some snow. Drove through a lot of snow. When driving, I prefer the snow to be on the ground and not still falling. Kitties are doing well.

Staying warm

I woke up with a stiff neck so drove to the pleasantly warm gym, with difficulty, to stay warm and watch a movie. Otherwise it was stay in bed with the electric blanket on.



Couples Retreat

What a silly movie. When I tell you it stars Vince Vaughan you will know what I mean. Four couples go to a retreat where they are supposed to strengthen or save their marriages. It's pretty stupid, and not in a good way. I think it is safest to avoid Vince Vaughan movies. However ... there are some good people and one funny scene that my children would enjoy. I watched this on a big screen in Blu-ray and the visuals were pretty darn good. As one of the characters says "it's like a screensaver". I spent a while trying to work out if it was real or CGI. I think it was real. Impossibly blue sea. Blu-ray does make even the real look a bit unreal, a bit "better than life".

The good people? Jason Bateman from Arrested Development, as a similar character, and Chang from Community - as a therapist. And who was that other therapist, the guy with the glasses, I've seen him somewhere before, maybe Community? Just IMDb'd it and he is Professor Whitman from Community. Vernon Vaughan plays the grandad, and yes he is the father of Vince, Victoria and Valeri ??? Just the one set of nametags then, V Vaughan for the whole family. The wonderful French actor Jean Reno plays, surprise, a Frenchman, ably assisted by Dr Ropata, who is most definitely not in Guatemala but appears to be auditioning for Rank movies. Okay, it's Temuera Morrison who once was a warrior. I know what I'm talking about, even if nobody else does.

The funny scene - a kind of Duelling Banjos piece. Please pay attention to the dialogue after the duel. So funny, and all done with a straight face. Best bit of the whole movie, Sctanley's speech. That's not a typo.

If you watch this movie, skip the first bit before they get to the island, total waste of time.





No snow, blue skies, sunshine, shame I live in the back of beyond and so far from the beach, although there is plenty of sand.