Bully

Bully (2011)

This was another movie I managed to see at the Film Festival.  I was quite surprised that the theatre was only a quarter full, but I guess it was 10:30 in the morning.

Following a group of five students over a school year, it looks at both kids who are currently being bullied and the families of children, who after relentless bullying killed themselves.  It was shocking, and the level of hassle that these kids underwent, even when the bullies were being filmed was just horrible, with kids being picked on their whole time at school.

I think it is an important film for high school students and a lot of their families to see. Even if you know teenagers, it is worth a watch to have a discussion about it.   It concerned me that the teachers and school administrators seemed naive and ignorant in their understanding and approach.  Shame on them.  I hope that they were all embarrassed to watch the movie, and stepped up and did more to protect their students.

4/5

The Second Empress

The Second Empress - Michelle Moran (2012)

So, with a few days off and cold winter weather,  I managed to get a few books read.   I love Michelle Moran, she is a great historical author, whose writing flows and can take me away straight away to another place and time.

In this movie we get to hear about Austrian Princess Marie-Louise, who at age nineteen is chosen to become the second wife to Emperor Napoleon, who wants to have children.  Taken to Paris, she is now immersed in a new world with an emperor who becomes obsessed with spreading his Empire, causing unrest in France as hundreds of thousands of soldiers are killed.

I did enjoy the book, and was more taken with the Emperesses story,  but was a little distracted by the multiple narrators and by Napoleons letters to his first wife, that were printed throughout the book.

3/5

Dreams of a Life

Dreams of a Life (2011)

On the day I went to see this I ummed and aaaahed over going to see this movie.  I had read about it in two different magazines, and was intrigued.  I was so glad that I took the time to go and watch.

Joyce Vincent was in her late thirties, and one night after getting the shopping, and wrapping christmas presents, she died in  the living room of her bedsit with the television on.  Her body then wasn't discovered til three years later, when unpaid bills finally forced authorities to come and push the door in.

In this documentry,  the film maker advertises on city cabs, in newspapers and on social media to find out more about her life and the people who new her.  Several groups of people come forward, and it is their stories that tell us more about this woman who died alone.  I found it touching that all of the people that had known her, were sad about her dying alone, and all would have reached out to help her, if they only knew.

So thought provoking, especially since I live alone.  I guess work would quickly figure out something was wrong if I didn't turn up, and my friends would worry after a week or two.  It was sad that Joyce had three sisters and although they spoke with the film maker they did not want to appear in the film.

Great to have such interesting stories told on film, and I loved being able to see the real faces of actual people rather than Hollywood botoxed Ken and Barbies on screen.   Sometimes you think that you have seen or read  it all, and that there are no new stories in the world left to surprise you.

4/5 - just because for me this is a memorable story.

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green (2012)

I feel a bit spoiled lately, in getting to read so many new books that have featured heavily on many blogs and on goodreads.  Many of our local booksellers just promote the bigseller heavy hitters and I find Amazon the worst place for finding books, especially the Kindle section.

So this book then.  Well it is the story of teenage first love,  of  Hazel  who is tolerating being at her Cancer Survival group, when she gets to meet Augustus Waters.

So, we join them on a journey, and I had to admire the author for finding an original voice and making me believe that I was sitting in the room with them.

Sweet and sad, smart and heart breaking all at the same time.  4/5

Dear TV3

Dear TV3,

How dare you tease us middle aged ladies so?  You have been putting our secret boyfriend, Kevin McCloud on the tele two nights a week, with his great show Grand Designs.  Do they both have to be repeats?  Truly, we have already seen these episodes, once or twice before.   It is not a gold medal win, we don't need to see it over and over, we know how the show will end.

We tolerate your many excursions into yoof culture, we may even excuse your repetitive movie marathons of the morons (Adam Sandler, Will Farell, + anything directed by two brothers) - only because we got out on those nights.

If you can't find us any new shows with our boyfriend, surely there are other shows being pumped out somewhere in the world?  We're only asking for an hour or two a week - pleeease.

Love
Middle aged ladies across NZ.

The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker

The Age of Miracles - Karen Thompson Walker (2012)

On what seems like a normal Saturday, Julia and her parents wake to find that the earth has changed, it is slowing down and the day is longer by several minutes.  This gradual slowing down continues each day, affecting everybody and every living thing.

I was drawn in by this clever little novel, and raced to bed and finished it on the second night of reading and I thought about it all day.  The only thing that annoyed me was Julias age of eleven, I thought her voice and experiences seemed of a teenager,  slightly older than her in the story.

Certainly thought provoking, and memorable read  5/5

Rampart

Rampart (2011)

Oh Angst movie, I was waiting for you to arrive. There has been too much laughter lately, time to get serious again.

 We get to meet Dave Brown, a police officer in 1999 LA, who is wound up, and his old school ways aren't cutting it anymore.  He's one of those blokes who always thinks he is right,in his morals, in his job, his marriage, his children and all aspects of his life.

Things begin to unravel though, after he is taped beating a guy who crashes into his car, and he finds himself trying to hold his life together.

I did wonder if guys like Dave, watching this movie, could see themselves in this character and understand why others get annoyed with them.  Somehow I would think that he was weak, that he just got caught.

A bit of a challenge to watch.  3/5

The Angels' Share

The Angels' Share (2012)

As always director Ken Loach gives a taste of real UK life, one where people don't live in Georgian mansions, dress in Gucci and drive Bentleys.  We can tell that these folk live on Council Estates and eat beans on toast (yum -  me too).

A gaggle of folks find themselves in court on various charges and are sent to do community work.  Four of them form a friendship and bond after a visit to a whiskey distillery.  They then hatch a plan to make them some money and change their lives.

Enough said, I don't want to give it all away.  I was surprised when I downloaded the poster, as I don't think it is even close to the Full Monty.  The beginning of the movie is a bit realistic and grim, but it's charm came in the second half and the audience laughed and cheered.  They also commented a bit about the groups visit to Edinburgh, as I would think that maybe 80% of the New Zealand audience knew more about Edinburgh than one of the Glaswegian characters.

A worthy watch - 4/5

Cat Daddy - Jackson Galaxy

Cat Daddy - Jackson Galaxy (2012)

You get the gist, you've probably seen him on his tv series (I haven't, as I only have budget cheap tv).

 Jackson Galaxy had kind of lost his way in the world.  Addicted to pain relieving drugs, drinking and taking other drugs, suffering depression and living on the edge.  Taking a job at the shelter, after lying about previous experience, he finds himself drawn to the cats, and I admired his frank discussions about shelters and the euthanasia of so many cats and dogs who are abandoned, or unable to be rehomed.

After being fired from the shelter, he sets himself up as a cat therapists, and goes out to share his wisdom with people living with problem moggies.

Central to the story, is the tale of his own life with Benny, initially an injured foster cat who ends up living with him and ruling the roost.  I am a bit of a sucker for stories of living with elderly pets, and yes it did bring tears to my eyes at the end, so  bring your tissues.  4/5

The Woman Who Heard Color - Kelly Jones

The Woman Who Heard Color - Kelly Jones (2011)

I was impressed by the local Wellington Library.  I put this book in as a request to buy, and then within a month it was on the shelf waiting for me, and boy I do like me a brand new book to read.

I like a bit of historical second world war drama to read, and this was the basis of the story.  Lauren O'Farrell is an art detective, who is invited into the home of eighty two year old Isabella Fletcher to help find out about Isabellas mothers past.

Her mother as a teenager, leaves the family farm to go to Munich to see her sister.  Given a job in the household where her sister works, she becomes involved with the art world, and as her story unfolds we learn her secrets.

I did enjoy most of the story, but somehow in the middle I was left feeling like something was missing.  Maybe it was needing to know a bit more about Laurens story, or about other lost paintings.  For that I give it a 3/5