The Deer Hunter

This movie did make Empire’s Top 500 but it was #468 so why am I watching it in between #35 and #8? Because I’ve been in a Robert De Niro/Meryl Streep/Christopher Walken mood for days! I’m going to have to keep this review short as I’m very quickly running out of time to watch these movies! I’m going to try another two tonight but it may only be 1 as I’m already quite tired!

It’s a beautiful movie that I think everyone should watch, I’d definitely put it on my ‘films to watch before you die’ list, if I ever had that list. Its about a group of men, their friendship and the terrible mental and physical effects of war. People say that the wedding scene [where one of the friends, Steve, marries his girlfriend before he, Nick and Michael go to war in Vietnam] is far too long but I disagree. I don’t think that I could of felt as much as I did if I didn’t witness the friendship they have which is shown during the wedding scene. The group of them made me think of my group of friends back home and therefore gave me that connection. You need to know the characters and their friendship to get involved in the movie. Also, it was incredibly important that the actors who play the friends have that friendship vibe and they do! My God, if they didn’t it would of a been a boring, average, another-Vietnam movie. But they do, especially De Niro and Walken which is probably one of the most important friendships in the whole thing.

The other aspect of the movie, other than friendship, is war. We’ve all seen a Vietnam movie but this is the only one where less than 30 minutes of it is in actual Vietnam. This movie, in my opinion, is probably running tie with Schindler’s List, on showing just how unbelievably cruel humans can be. In this one, its all about how people take pleasure in gambling other people’s lives. Literally. I kind of don’t want to say more because I think there are a lot of people out there who haven’t seen this movie and I don‘t want to really ruin it… I know, I’ll end it here for those who haven’t seen it and want to. Click below if you have seen it and just want to know what I thought!

Doubt

Harsh, almost-cruel nun [played wonderfully by Meryl Streep] and a sweet, innocent nun [played beautifully by Amy Adams]. It’s a good comparison to see two sides of not only nunnery but also religious people.

The Priest teaches basketball and I found that incredibly funny. However, he does have incredibly nice nails…

The Priests or whatever they are, are having a nice, fun, relaxing dinner and the nuns are having a quiet dinner that is done under so many rules.

Streep Nun and Adams Nun are suspicious of the Priest [they think he’s ‘done stuff’ with one of the male students] and not once did I feel like he had. I don’t know whether I’m meant to think he’s done something or not but not once during the whole film did I think he was guilty. And Philip Seymour Hoffman is fantastic as the Priest.

The nun clothes are the nicest I’ve ever seen! The bonnet thing is so cute!

The family story of the boy is so heartbreaking. I wanted to jump into the film and take him away and hug him. I hate dads like that. You’ll understand if you watch it.

It’s a good film, I can see why it had Oscar nominations but it wasn’t something that made me go “OMG everyone HAS to see this!” Its good, and if you have an evening free then I’d recommend it.

141/212

Kate
xoxo

Julie & Julia

7.24pm – I go on Netflix and what do I find? The movie that inspired me to do this film challenge is avaliable on demand!! Seems only fair to review the film that gave me the idea to expand my knowledge of other films!

10.10pm – So here it is. The movie that started this all for me. This is the reason I’ve now watched 92 films in over 3 months. So, I warn you, if you are going to watch this movie, be prepared to be influenced into doing something mental. Now, onto the review!

I’m a teenage girl so forgive me for saying that I’ve loved Meryl Streep since I saw The Devil Wears Prada [must watch that film again, actually…]. Every performance that she gives is absolutely amazing and her as Julia Child is no exception. Its because of Streep that I completely fell in love with Julia. She’s just do happy about everything and so in love with her husband and food. There are only 2 moments of pure sadness that we see with Julia and my heart bled for her, it really did.

I love Amy Adams, she’s perfect in this movie and I think she’s slowly making her way into my top list of actresses.

The movie is a perfect blend of the two characters and their intertwining lives [even if Julia didn’t know it]. Very cleverly written and worked wonderfully. I loved the comparison between old love and modern love. However, I’m reading the book [Julie & Julia by Julie Powell] now and its rather different to the film, the Julie story, that is. I now know that the movie is a super-condensed version of the book. So everyone, if you’ve watched the movie already, read the book, it’s a great extension to the already wonderful story. And its actually a lot funnier!

Be prepared to get hungry. I watched this movie today after dinner and a chocolate Easter nest with chocolate/sugar coated eggs that I made a couple of days ago, and I was just so hungry even though I was full! In fact, as I’m sitting here typing up this review, I’m eating crackers. Obviously, crackers is nothing compared to the gorgeous food in the movie but I’m hungry, dammit!

2002, its opening up a fresh wound for Americans but this is the first time I’ve seen the September 11 attacks mentioned and it not being the main storyline. It’s a breath of fresh air and yet is also to remind us all of what happened and to help move on. I guess?

I love the costumes for both Julia’s time and Julie’s. Well, Julie’s costumes are normal clothing but they are ACTUAL normal clothing! Some of the outfits don’t suit Julie but everyone wears outfits that we think look good but actually really don’t. I loved that, made Julie feel so much more relatable. And Julia’s costumes were fantastic because they made her look so tall! I remember watching the behind-the-scenes segment on the DVD when I rented it the first time from the Redbox and they spoke about how they made Streep appear over 6ft; high waistband make legs look longer and VERY high heels!

Food is a comfort. To others it’s a comfort for feelings and sadness, to others [like Julie] it’s a comfort because it will always stay the same [except if you burn it or get the ingredients wrong… I did that once with shortbread, too much flour, had to but jam/jelly on to make it edible!].

Julie talks about how Julia is in the room as she cooks, like her ‘imaginary friend’ and I oddly know completely what she means. Even when Julia is not on screen, you can totally feel her presence! She’s just such a wonderful character! Streep should of won the Oscar for this, not bloody Sandra Bullock who didn’t bloody deserve it because she just became a bit meaner whereas Streep totally transformed.

I mentioned it above but I do love the two typed of romance. You have the old fashioned romance where Julia’s Paul is just so in love with her, he completely worships the ground she walks on and she’s so in love with him and they never fight and they’re made for each other and “you are the bread to my butter, the breath to my life, I love you my darling girl” and its just so sweet! Then you have the modern love with Julie and Eric who are clearly very in love too but its more love-friendship rather than love-love. They tease each other and are so comfortable around each other… that’s the kind of ‘love’ I wat. Teasing-love.

I LOVED Julia and her sister, Dorothy! Streep and Jane Lynch have such fantastic sisterly-chemistry together! They clearly spoke to each other for great lengths of time to get all the mannerisms the same because just by the way they talk and walk, you can totally tell they’re sisters! They’re just perfect! I loved them!

OOOO when the desert Julie made falls out of the paper bag… oh my God, I probably would of cried.

I don’t understand why everyone thinks that Julie is a bitch and self absorbed. I don’t see that at all. Maybe because I’m a blogger too, I’m oblivious to it!
15 days till the end of her challenge and she gets over 65 messages from publishers and agents and stuff. I highly doubt that would happen to me as I don’t think anyone other than my mum [LOVE YOU] is reading this but I’m a daydreamer and spend a lot of my spare time laying in bed, listening to my iPod and imagining what I’ll be saying when I go on Oprah.

Julie mentions needing to make a pear tart and I remember my mum, the first time we watched it, go “ooo pear tart! I should make one!” She never did, though…However, since I watch the movie the 2nd time, I had been doing some baking of my own too, as well as this blog. Now I want to bake again! Though I shouldn’t until the chocolate egg nests are all eaten up. Don’t want to give dad too much choice on what to chow-down on!

I love the final scene where the model of Julia’s kitchen turns into her real kitchen and then she gets her book and she’s so happy! Perfect little ending.

Then the ending gets a final laugh as some writing comes up about the Child’s deaths and then about Julie and that she’s a writer “and her book has been made into a movie.”

I will either regret watching this movie in 119 days [I think] when I finish this challenge or I’ll be forever grateful. We’ll see. Either way, I do believe this movie has changed my life. Well, maybe not changed… altered it slightly…

92/212

Kate
xoxo

Sophie’s Choice

It could have been made soooo much better! Me and mum decided that the beginning and end needed to be a lot shorter but keep the middle where she’s in the camp the same. I know this movie is supposed to be a classic but I was just begging for it to end. The pink house was pretty, Meryl Streep is still awesome, the make-up in the camp scenes was fantastic, the little girl playing Streep’s daughter did some brilliant acting and 2hrs 20min is too long to find out what Sophie’s big choice was. There, that’s my review. I’m sorry, but I’ll never watch it again, its just too damn boring.

84/212

Kate
xoxo