PREFACE
This is the sporadically updated blog of reviews by Harriet, author of In the Aquarium: a londoner's life.
I have kept the reviews separate to enable them to be indexed and therefore more easily accessible (see listing below).
FAVE FILMS DEAD MAN What an idea, the man is dying for almost the entire length of the film, the music is fantastic, its black and white, ideology, mythology, funny, sad, Johnny Depp sex god...
THE DRAFTMAN'S CONTRACT The first Peter Greenaway film I saw and possibly the most accessible. Beautiful set, costumes, direction. Fantastic soundtrack.
MULHOLLAND DRIVE I knew exactly what was going on right up until the last 15 minutes and damn it but then I lost it.
NIGHT ON EARTH Jim Jarmusch made the only film with Winona Ryder worth watching and it had Beatrice Dalle (say no more)
O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? Roar out loud with laughter and tunes that make you love country music. My sister had to sneak out of the cinema ahead of our dad and me cos she was so embarrassed at our laughing.
ORLANDO Quiet, passionate, time travel.
PITCH BLACK Bails and I watched this with its bleached scenery and its whoar factor star. We LOVED him, Mr Diesel take a bow.
RESERVOIR DOGS Tight Tarantino gang heist gone wrong. Great soundtrack. And there's something about Michael Madson, dancing just before cutting off the cop's ear...
ROMUALD ET JULIETTE Truely lovely romance comedy.
THREE COLOURS TRILOGY Blue, White and Red. I liked them all. Quiet stories, beautifully shot.
THE USUAL SUSPECTS Its a story told. And the first time I saw it I didn't get the twist until just before it happened.
Seen The Reviews
28 July 2004 A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum National Theatre (Olivier)
Pops was taking me to the theatre again. I hadn't looked at the ticket until I was on my way out of the office and then when I did I had visions of Frankie Howard, Up Pompeii, Barbara Windsor with a yellow bikini flying off and my heart sank and my heels dragged. I just never really got the carry-on films.
Anyway it was bright jaunty music, lots and lots of innuendo (and the audience loved it) and a shaky cardboardy set and cheap tacky looking costumes - all, I believe, purposefully so.
The audience was much fuller than usual of elderly people and all-male groups. The man in front kept breaking wind in the silent but violent vain (vane - which vain is it?). Lots of thick plastic framed glasses of the sort popular in the 70s with thick bottle bottom lenses (like my grandad used to wear). In the interval a couple had brought sandwiches wrapped up in a tea towel that they ate while sitting on a bench on the balcony outside. And the sunset was marvelous.
Can't say I loved it but it wasn't boring either. If you like that kind of thing it appeared to be very good - the audience clapped enthusiastically.
