I went to see Valentine's Day on Friday. It's basically an American version of Love Actually, with several stories going on at once, which all eventually overlap in some way. It takes place in LA on Valentine's Day (what a suprise!) and follows the story of several couples and a few token singletons. It explores different types of relationships, and is a pretty stereotypical chick flick. Most of the plot is fairly cliched (as expected really) and you can generally guess where most of the storylines are headed, but there are a couple of minor unexpected bits too towards the end. It's generally entertaining, with a couple of absolutely hilarious moments thrown in for good measure. I enjoyed it (and the boyfriend found it to be just about acceptable!) and would defo reccommend it if you like chick flicks. None of it is too cringe-worthy, and it's full of big names (Julia Roberts, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Anne Hathaway, Jamie Foxx, and lots of other v famous people). In a nutshell, it's a nice story about love and stuff, with lots of very attractive famous people. (up)

Heading up to Glasgow tomorrow to conduct some more of my data collection - the clinimetric phase of my questionnaire's construction...meh

Anyway, not a totally irrelevant post for this thread because tonight I am watching The Wolfman (new one). Expect my thorough and balanced review when I have finished watching it. There's a hairy man, there's blood and there's guts - but is it enough to satisfy the sensibilities of this aficionado - aka me? We'll see...

Oh I saw Pretty Woman at the weekend, on DVD with Pizza, chocolate and lots of red wine. We saw two other films too, but Pretty Woman really made me think, and maybe it would be a good one to write about later on.

20 years ago I hated it, but saw it many time because two members of my posse loved it - many Sunday afternoons/nights were spent waiting for it to end. But this time I quite liked it, I am trying to decide how I feel about Robert's character and how she conducts herself - her insistance on sexual agency at all times. She is adamant about who she sleeps with and when - and seems only to haves sex with men she fancies, when she wants to, not just when her clients want to. And I started to see her as being almost the opposite of what her character seems, superficially, to be. Yes, her character is part of a collective of sex workers, but she still finds clients on the streets, getting into unchecked cars, and going to unknown destinations - she is no belle de jour. But this doesn't add up with her attitude towards clients and potential clients, as my friend said to me on Saturday 'what's the difference between what Robert's character does and what Carry from sex and the city does? Not that much really, she sleeps with men she fancies, when she wants to, the only difference being that Robert's character gets paid. It's making me think that perhaps prostitution was used as a way to frame sexual liberation and agency in this film. True sexual freedom and agency in female characters was rare at this time, as I remember - for me, Bassinger in 91/2 weeks, was not her own woman, but more a spectacle for her partner and the audience. Perhaps that's why women like PW so much, because Robert's character makes such a song and dance about her own agency, her autonomous control over her sexuality - she gets very passionate about that, and she's clearly very into Gere's character. I think I will see it again one day.

Interesting thoughts Eska! I hadn't given pretty woman much thought (not since my dad let me watch it age 9 or 10) but through my night-fuddled brain I suspect that what you say is very true.

My most recent viewing was Invictus, the film about Mandela's use of the SA rugby team in uniting the country. Over-simplified and glory-heavy, but still enjoyable and humbling for all it's Hollywood. I would have enjoyed it more but for the moronic bumpkin behind me, who decided (as they always do) that everyone in the cinema had in fact paid to hear HER reciting the title poem at key moments - quite.

I fancy a bit of light relief this weekend though, I may re-watch Juno for some quirky happiness I think.

Right, Teek and Eska, I see that I'm going to have to have very serious words with you both about your taste in movies! Juno? Pretty Woman? Pffffff!
There's a new Sylvester Stallone movie coming out, not to mention a Rocky 7, The A Team, there's going to be a Bourne Identity 4...I hope you can see what I'm getting at - there's better things to watch. A new Version of Clash of the Titans, yes - in 3d, is coming out as well.

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hhmmmm, Wal, yes, I agree abouut Juno, terrible. I think I really dis-like it because it's been sold as independent, cool or intelligent - a social issues movie, and it just scratches the surface in a really annoying way, although Juno's relationship with the mid-life crisis bloke is very interestingly put together. I really dis-like little miss sunshine for the similar reasons.

Don't worry, we'll let your review Rocky 3 million when the time comes, Wal. I've never seen a Rocky movie - although maybe I did once, at school during one of those school end of term jollies, but I was probably annoying and disruptive all the way through it, in protest.

Teek, I feel for you, the know it all sing a long types are even worse than plain old rowdy kids.

Hmm, sorry Wal, but the Bourne stuff just doesn't do it for me. Will he escape? Who is after him? Who indeed is he himself? ...... More to the point, do I actually care? Erm, not really. Rocky however, is retro gold. ADRIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!

And I'm going to stick up for Juno, not as a massively insightful piece of social commentary, but just a nice offbeat film that I can enjoy. It fits a niche between worthy independent cinema and obvious Hollywood trash and I need that. Plus I LOVE Brenda in it, as a wicked stepmother myself it just eases my soul to see a decent character in that role. God bless that woman and her scrap book of dog photos.

Hi all, I went to see Avatar in 3D this evening, and am very pleased with my semi-funky 3D specs. Loved the film, it was beautiful, escapist, and completely non offensive and non demanding. Although I think most of the naitive 'people' were of some kind of African descent and the 'sky men' were almost all white. A bit odd that. But I enjoyed the movie loads, defo worth seeing and the 3D was worth the extra few quid too. Can't wait for Burton's Alice now.

hi eska! watcha doing :-) I am streaming The Book of Eli now! but this page takes a long time to load.
So I will be working on my paper while letting it load!!! And I'm going to watch it tonight!!!
:-) satchi

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Hey Satchi, am watching snog marry avoid, and thinking I should go to bed so I'm fresh for more work tomorrow. I have deadlines for a lecture, job application and a PhD outline tomorrow night... Had dinner with friends, but we went to this really isolated place that barely had a pulse, they'd even cancelled the dinner menu and we had to order from the bar food. Then they threw us out at 11pm - not for bad behaviour, just because we were the only customers - Gordon ramsay would have a field day. So, here I am. I even missed my folk festival gig due to a timing mis-understanding, so it seems that even when I go out of my way to live it up in a social whirl, I'm being halted these days... I ended up writing all day.

I hope the book of Eli is still good even though it's on the small screen. Let us know what ya think. :-)

I watched Capitalism: A Love Story (CALS) earlier tonight. Those flippin' bankers - ooohhhhh! It's a film that is guaranteed to make you feel all self-righteous and want to take on all those rich and dishonourable people in the world. Suffice it to say that if I wasn't chained to my hefty laptop and 50 page long verbal probing protocol, I'd be down to my local Natwest and having harsh words about how they're spending my stipend they're supposed to be looking after.
CALS documents how the big guy frequently sticks it to the little guy (to use American terminology). Did you know for instance, that airline pilots are so poorly paid, in America, that they have to use food stamps? They're on about £12, 000 in our money. Or that big corporate companies take out life insurance on their employees in the hope that they will die and they can claim a rather large payout? Shocking revelations abound in this eye-opening film about the evils of capitalism. But, it's nothing that couldn't be written about in a Newspaper article far more succinctly - and that's my problem with this film.
The problem with Michael Moore productions, I find, is that they consist of a lot of very pertinent facts wrapped up in a series of silly stunts and very poor delivery. He's also a hypocrite (but I'm reviewing a film here). It goes on for over 2 hours and frequently meanders, pandering to the vanity and self-interest of Michael Moore in places. He also emphasises the obvious too much; Wall Street is evil and self-interested. Of course, those of us who have watched Wall Street (starring Michael Douglas) already know this.
In conclusion, an informative but bloated film, that would have been better suited to a half hour documentary on Channel 4.

I'm watching Annie Hall: IT'S AMAZING, hilarious...

Okay, I've had a couple of beers, but Eska, if you're going to revive this thread, I insist you watch Rambo 4 - it's on Youtube. I've just finished watching it and it's really good, deserves a Bafta, at least. It highlights geopolitical problems in the world, puts the atrocities taking place in the spotlight and really allows Sylvester Stallone to highlight his acting skills. Expect a full review in the next few days.

my husband has been kind enough to make me sit through all the rocky films about 20 times (especailly the third one :-s ) and all the rambo movies - he's taken me to the cinema to see the most recent one, which was dire. He also is fond of alien vs predator which was the worst film I've ever seen!

I've come to detest these arty films that seem to have the first half an hour in silence as the main character makes some tea or something e.g. there will be blood, no country for old men, the wrestler - all extremely boring in my mind!

Last film I saw at the cinema was clash of the titans. I'm not a film buff, so I thought it was pretty good (film buffs always seem to think entertaining films are rubbish). Husband wouldn't let me watch it in 3d because apparently "post production 3d is rubbish". So the 2d version it was - I liked it all (especially scantily clad ancient greek men) ooh and I liked one of the dresses that gemma arterton wears. I thought the special effects for medusa were rubbish though - looked like something off 'chuggington' - you may have to google that.