I’ve spent a lot of this week wondering what the heck I’m watching. Five movies I’ve seen this past week have had a distinctive “What the fuck is happening?” feel to them, and only two of them in a good way. Also, after a weekend of DIY, I am the proud owner of alcove shelving for part of my DVD collection. Hurrah! Also, I clawed back a green mark on one of my aims! Double hurrah! Here’s what I watched this week (I think):
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Not a lot to report this week. The weekend was spend doing DIY – soon the majority of my DVD collection will emerge from the attic and take residence in the lounge’s new alcove shelving, as soon as I finish putting it up next weekend – but I have been making some ground in terms of my movie goals. Still no green ticks yet, but I’m not far off on a couple of lists. Also, a quick shout out to French Toast Sunday, which turned five years old a couple of days ago. I’ve only been writing for the site for less than two years (my first post was in August 2013, a review of The World’s End), but I’ve made some great friends through the site, some of whom I’m expecting to meet later this year. We’re doing a bunch of posts to celebrate the birthday over at FTS, so make sure you head over there to check them out. There’s some links lower down for such an activity. Here’s what I’ve watched this week:
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Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is a teenager in college (high school), dealing with the regular problems a teenage girl faces – crushes from boys, pressure from friends etc. – but with the added issue of not fitting in to her pre-ordained position in society, because Adèle doesn’t feel the same way about the boys who want to date her as they do to her. This comes to a head when Adèle meets Emma (Lea Seydoux), an older girl with vibrant blue hair. The two spend a great deal of time together, with Adèle all but shunning her friends and adopting Emma’s more artistic way of life as they fall in love and begin a relationship. 
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It’s New York in the mid-80s. Bud Fox (Charlie Sheen) is a young stockbroker on a permanent high from having the coolest name ever, or at least he would be if he weren’t up to his armpits in debt and trying to make it big whilst stuck cold-calling on a low rung in an average firm. Bud, however, is determined, persistent and ambitious, and he ceaselessly badgers the secretary of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas), one of the big names amongst the stockbroker game. Bud’s determination pays off, eventually meeting Gekko and, with the help of some tips provided by his airplane mechanic father (Martin Sheen), Bud impresses, and is brought into the fold. But at what cost? This film was recommended for me to watch by Dylan Fields, creator of Man I Love Films, the LAMB and my predecessor as host of the Lambcast.
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John, Paul, George and Ringo, otherwise known as The Rutles, spend their lives fleeing from screaming fans, aggravating their tour manager and generally larking about without a care in the world in this weekend-in-the-life snapshot as they prepare for a live show whilst looking after Paul’s grandfather (Wilfrid Brambell) along the way. 
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This week has had a shadow looming over it for me, in the form of the passing of Terry Pratchett, my favourite author. His death on Thursday wasn’t a shock, considering he’s been very public with his health issues for the past few years, but it left me in a kind of fugue state for a good while. Also, Mother’s Day ate into my weekend quite a bit this year (love you Mum, so I don’t mind that much) so I didn’t watch/write as much as I’d have liked. Hence, last week’s mission to get at least one green mark on the tally below wasn’t overly successful. I’m also going to change one of my aims for the year. I’d initially aimed to see 25 movies in the cinema this year, averaging a little less than one a fortnight. For reasons of both availability and finance, I’m going to change that to watching a quantity of 2015 movies, but not necessarily in theatres. Last year I saw 58 movies from 2014, so this year I’m aiming to watch at least 59 movies from 2015. This actually puts me even further behind than I was, but is somehow a more manageable target, or at least it will be once movies from this year start hitting DVD and I can rent them through LoveFilm. Anyway. here’s what I watched this week:
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This review was originally written as part of my USA Road Trip series over at French Toast Sunday. It was also a suggestion for something I should watch from the 1001 Movies list from fellow French Toast Sunday member Nick “The Rehak” Rehak.
Josey Wales (Eastwood) is a small time farmer with his wife and young son, living a peaceful existence in their Missouri home. That is until one day when, whilst Josey is out ploughing the field, he hears a ruckus at his house and arrives to find a gang of hoodlums attacking the place. Josey is knocked out in the fray, and awakes to a destroyed home, a pair of bodies in need of burying and a mighty case of desired vengeance, prompting him to learn how to shoot and head off in search of the red-booted gang who took everything he loved in the world. Continue reading
Please allow me to take a moment to mark the passing of someone who has had a tremendous impact upon my life.
First off, hurrah I survived skiing. I didn’t die, so yay for me. I also had a pretty great time in Switzerland, so extra bonus. Also, somewhat surprisingly, I watched a fair few films this past week, courtesy of the modest selection of DVDs in the Swiss apartment, and being too tired most evenings to do anything other than collapse in front of either the television or a deck of cards. That being said, very few of the films watched were from any actual list, so whilst I’ve got a bit to write about tonight, I didn’t make a lot of progress on any of my goals. So, basically, this is a momentous week in that I’m now behind on every single one of my goals. Bad times. My aim is to claw my way back one goal at a time, so hopefully this time next week I’ll have one glowing green YES! down there somewhere. Anyway, lets get on with business shall we? Here’s what I watched this week:
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This review was originally written for Blueprint: Review.
A girl is rushed to hospital in Vienna after an apparent suicide attempt. Accompanying her is a man whose relationship with her is unclear, and is unaided by his standoffish demeanour towards the police. Through flashbacks, it becomes clear that the man, named Alex (Art Garfunkel) is in a relationship with the woman, Milena (Theresa Russell), but that their relationship is strained by her marriage to an older man (Denholm Elliott) who may be a spy Alex is investigating. It is up to Inspector Netusil (Harvey Keitel) to try and sort the whole mess out, and ascertain whether Alex had a hand in Milena’s predicament.
Life Vs Film 