The Sapphires [2012] - A Review

If you're looking for an easy, feel-good movie on a Friday night, this movie is for you. It's a musical romantic-comedy set during the Vietnam war. 

Dave Lovelace (played by one of my favourite actors ever Chris O'Dowd) and four super-talented Aborigine girls; Gail (Deborah Mailman), Kay (Shari Sebens), Cynthia (Miranda Tapsell) and Julie (Jessica Mauboy) tour around Vietnam singing for the US troops.

The girls originally sing Country music, and Lovelace has to convince them that Soul music would be better suited to their... skin tone. It's quite a blunt suggestion, but one that I certainly feel would have been pressed upon any man or woman of colour wanting to succeed in music during that time (in fact, not that much has changed even now).

Unfortunately Lovelace is right, and they ace the audition singing Motown. The Sapphires are then promptly recruited as entertainment for the US soldiers and are catapulted out of their small town and out in to a war zone. 

Be aware that this film is certainly not an original one, but it is easy to forgive it its trespasses because there is enough sass, jokes, sarcasm and joy to make you forget that you've seen this type of movie before.

The story has its ups and downs, and gives a sensitive focus to the much marginalised Aboriginal community. The film not only discusses race, but also dips in to the way the Australian government, quite literally, used to go in to Aborigine villages and steal their children. The children would end up adopted by white families. This piece of history is explored very well indeed, and the implications are exposed very gently to the audience without preaching. The film is loosely based upon a true story, and you're shown a photograph of the four ladies now as older women.

The film has had terrific reviews over on Rotten Tomatoes, but has not done so well on IMDB (no surprise right? lol).

I really recommend this movie. It was refreshing! Get hold of it, invite your friends round, and enjoy something light and charming! Oh, and please, once you watch it, let me know what you thought! I'd love to know!!

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How to be a Woman - Caitlin Moran

“I’m going to lie this one right on the line, right here, right now: I’m pro big pants. Strident feminism NEEDS big pants. Really big. I’m currently wearing a pair that could have been used as a fire blanket to put out the Great Fire of London at any point during the first 48 hours or so. They extend from the top of my thigh to my belly button, and effectively double up as a second property that I can escape to at weekends. If I were going to run for parliament, it would be solely on a platform of ‘Get Women In Massive Grundie’s’.” Caitlin Moran, How to Be a Woman

I read English at university. Feminist essays, theory, history and literature were mandatory and I gorged on them until I'd have mental heartburn. Some were easy reads, others were so dense in academia I would spend so much time reading and re-reading paragraphs that I would eventually cast aside whole essays and theory. The literature side was a little easier, but I had never really been of the opinion that all men are out to penetrate, rape, violate, oppress and destroy women-kind and so although I respected the arguments and would cite them regularly, I kept finding that I needed something a little level headed; a writer who was angry at the same things as me. A feminist of the common-folk... 

Cue Caitlin Moran.

How to be a Woman is an interesting memoir. It is a selection of memories, collated as a sort of scrap-book of her womanhood. Okay, that sounds a little complicated, it's like, scenes from her life that lead to her being a woman, does that sound a little easier? She discusses this in both a biological and psychological sense. 

She is aware that feminism has stagnated, and that it needs to be wrestled back from the academics, the university debates and PHD theses. She is also calling for women, all types of women, from all sorts of backgrounds, educations, classes, races, cultures, religions and nationalities to actually start TALKING about feminism and the role of women in our society. It shouldn't be left to just the academics, it should include all women, and men can join in too! This isn't feminism as it is shown to be by the media... man-hating and all that jazz, it is how it should be, a movement that allows a platform for all types of women to be represented.


Caitlin Moran has been writing for the Times since she was in her teens. Her articles are known for their sarcastic and comedic tones. What makes Moran so good is that she talks about things that we have all thought about or commented on, things we have complained about or laughed at, and discusses it openly, without shame or modesty and says things in ways we probably wouldn't have the guts to. 

How to be a Woman though is not for everybody. I readily admit that. I enjoyed it so much because I found her writing witty... I may not have agreed with everything that she said but I still enjoyed the insight into her experiences. There are stories in this book that are just so funny. I mean, I actually laughed out loud because they were so brilliant (her wedding, for example, the episode of her and her sister dumping her then, musician boyfriend) and there are stories which are uncomfortable (her abortion and childbirth experiences, eating disorders, and sexism in the workplace). She tells her stories openly, and then sprinkles a little feminist theory over it... by sprinkle I do mean like a few grains here and there - I promise, you won't even know it's happening. 

Some of her theories, assumptions and conclusions I sometimes find a little floppy but I can overlook it because she writes with such pizazz, because writing is really what she does best. There are a few paragraphs in this book that I'm just awed by. She is a word smith extraordinaire and if Moran is to be celebrated for anything it should be that!

In effect, Moran has managed to write a feminist manifesto... and it kinda feels like she didn't really mean to! I enjoyed it greatly, and by greatly, I mean... GREATLY. I hope you enjoy it too. There is crass and vulgar language throughout and some detailed scenes that may make you laugh, cry or queasy, but I'll tell you something, the fact that it is coming from a woman kind of makes it refreshing. I promise, although the book is distinctly British, it is not alienating in the least. Also, men may like this too (hint, hint)... I'm just saying!

Let me know what you thought if you've read it, or what you think once you do.  
I imagine I'll be re-reading this in the near future.

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Warm Bodies - A Review

This movie was on my Upcoming Movies that Have Tickled my Fancy post. I had written... and I quote 

"I'm terrified that this movie is going to be some sort of crazy Twilight type of thing - but I'm hoping it will definitely be on par with Zombieland (which I enjoyed immensely). The premise is simple. The world is now full of, and run by zombies, there are few people who are actually alive. Strangely, a zombie and a real-life girl, fall in love and put in to motion a series of events that may just save humanity!"

and I was right... painfully so. It really is some strange rendition of Twilight. I find it quite bizarre that we're watching so many movies these days, that when we get down to it, are about necrophilia. 

So anyway, Warm Bodies. It's Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet gone wrong. R (he can't remember his real name) is a zombie who seems to be a little different. He has an internal monologue that is witty and hopeless but he is unable to express himself verbally and even finds it hard to do it physically. He's living in a world of zombies, but there are pockets of survivors around who are delicious and sometimes come out of hiding for food, medicine etc etc. Julie (the daughter of the president/leader of a group of survivors) ventures out with a group to find medicine. Unfortunately her boyfriend is eaten by R, and R falls in love with Julie through the memories he acquires from eating her boyfriend's brain. Love starts to change him and eventually it begins to touch the other zombies too. Suddenly a revolution has started that will change the future of the earth.

I found this movie a little uneven, and sometimes even a mess. There were some parts that were funny, and I did giggle, but ultimately it was slow, the CGI was... bleurgh, and unfortunately it really did border on boring a few times. The audience in the theatre seemed to really enjoy it. They laughed at all the right places (of course as we were coming out I realised that we were in a theatre with a bunch of teens).

Unfortunately the zombies just did not do it for me. In the movie there are zombies and there are  'bonies'. Bonies are what zombies turn in to when they give up... they kind of just rip their faces off and just become a bunch of skeletons who walk around eating everyone. It was all a little... confused. Y'see, at the beginning of the film we are told that zombies are slow, and take a long time to get anywhere, but then, if there is brain about they're suddenly sprinting and are super-beings. The bonies, they're fast too. Well, I don't know, the concept of the zombie had rules that they didn't follow and so as an audience member I didn't find them credible.

Although I had my reservations going to see the movie (originally we had been going to go watch Django Unchained again), it was interesting to see how this film kind of pandered to the necrophiliac swoonings of present YA books and culture. It seemed to be a movie created to cash-in on this buzz but at the same time try to be clever and Indie-ish. Unfortunately it failed. A sell-out is always going to be a sell-out no matter how you dress it up.

Nicholas Hoult seems to do as best as he can playing a corpse with little to no dialogue (although we do have the internal monologue playing over key scenes), but there are times that even he forgot what it was he was doing (maybe he was bored too). It's my opinion that Teresa Palmer is the star of the show, and that she really showed a brilliant range of emotion and carried the dialogue well. It's not her fault that the story didn't really make much sense. 

The soundtrack was actually one of its most redeeming features and that is something worth listening to again I think, for all of you guys who are inclined that way.

So my conclusion? Well, the best way to describe how I feel is disappointment. This really could have been awesome, but it wasn't. They even had a Shakespearean balcony scene which was an awesome nod in the right direction but otherwise it just didn't deliver. The action scenes sucked, and there just was not enough gore for a zombie movie. Strangely, although it was a love story - it was kind of uncomfortable and was far from believable  It is being commended as being something new - but really, truly, I did not find anything new in it at all. Sad, but true.

You may completely hate my review, maybe I'm being a little harsh? I don't know - but let me know what you think! Did you dislike it too? Did you LOVE it? If you did, I wanna hear why!

The trailer is below for those of you who are scratching your head wondering what movie I'm talking about!

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Tucker & Dale Vs Evil - A Review

Oh me, oh my! This is another film from our most recent movie nights; and what a movie night it was! I've had this on my to-watch pile for quite a while but I could never seem to get around to it, but finally, I did - and this is what I thought...

This. Was. So. Refreshing.

I really enjoyed it. It features the classic horror line up... college kids, off to West Virginia to go camping in hillbilly territory, to have a good time. Oddly, two guys (Tucker and Dale... who are hillbillies) have bought a cabin in the woods as a holiday home, and are also travelling up to the forest to relax. Unfortunately, there is miscommunication when one of the college girls falls off a rock in to a pond, and Tucker and Dale rescue her; but the college kids believe them to be kidnapping their friend. What ensues is a comedy of errors where both parties believe the other to be stalking, threatening and killing the other. 

It is awesome.

I really enjoyed this. It was in the same vein as Sean of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, although it is a Canadian/American film. It made fun of the horror genre without being as blasé as the Scary Movie franchise - and not so obscure that you don't really get it. It was nice to watch something from the other perspective... instead of crazy hillbillies hunting college kids, it was pretty much the other way round. According to Tucker and Dale, the college kids just surrounded their cabin and started killing themselves (it is very funny!). The great thing is, is that the film has also tried to inject a mystery in the plot that Dale (the not so smart one) unravels with the college girl he was thought to have kidnapped.

I believe we see crazy hillbillies in Wrong Turn, CSI and even in Criminal Minds. It seems to be a recurring theme that pops up in American films and so seems to be a part of the public consciousness. The film won four awards in a variety of categories. 

It stars the pirate guy from Dodgeball... if you remember him at all? He was also in Knocked Up - he was the boss I think! 

Anywho, I recommend this film for those getting together with their friends. For those who believe that hillbillies are just plain misunderstood, and of course for those who like to see college kids die in horrific ways. It's all very awesome.

The trailer is below - enjoy!

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams

“But the plans were on display …”
“On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them.”
“That’s the display department.”
“With a flashlight.”
“Ah, well, the lights had probably gone.”
“So had the stairs.”
“But look, you found the notice, didn’t you?”
“Yes,” said Arthur, “yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.” Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The first time I had ever heard of this book, I believe I was about thirteen years old. I was at my then best-friend's house and she'd made a comment in the effect of 
    'My dad is reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
    'Oh?' I had replied,
    'He said it is really funny'
    'Oh, so it's fictional?' Said I. She peered at me over her magazine with a quizzical look upon her face and that's all I really recall.

So, after I finished Macbeth: A Novel recently - I honestly felt emotionally drained and slightly uncomfortable, and couldn't bear the thought of going straight on to something that could be as intense, or serious as Macbeth had been. Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy popped in to my head, and I downloaded it from Audible and got to listening. 

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy was written by Douglas Adams and originally had been a comedic radio show on one of the BBC stations. It begins with poor, old, average Arthur Dent when he wakes up one morning forgetting that his house is supposed to be knocked down that day to make room for a bypass. What transpires is something much bigger - his best friend, Ford Prefect, suddenly turns up, spouting that the world is about to end, and that he is saving Arthur Dent. Poor old earth is being vaporised to make room for an intergalactic bypass. Well, that's pretty much it really. He and Ford just kind of spend the rest of the book hitch-hiking around until Arthur finds out the very odd truth about our humble blue planet. 

The Audiobook
One of my favourite narrators is the reader of this short book; the one, the only Stephen Fry of course. I'd previously listened to Fry reading his book The Fry Chronicles, which was simply brilliant. I've been, and still am a mahoosive Fry fan, I can't help it, I love the guy - and after listening to this book, there really could have been no other narrator who would have been able to do it justice as Fry did. He was brilliant, well paced, with great articulation (am I fawning too much?), haha, too bad I'm not a big fan of the book itself - but truly, if it wasn't for Stephen Fry's narration I wouldn't have persevered with the book.

The Story
As I mentioned earlier I read this for ... well... comic relief! I'd left Macbeth feeling a little disturbed, and well, needed a palate cleanser, and well, a long came this one.

So, what did I think? I wasn't impressed if I am honest. There were parts that were brilliantly ironic, that were funny and that were just odd. And to be honest it all smelt and tasted quintessentially British - which I could appreciate (add to the fact that Stephen Fry was narrating it) greatly. But - there just seemed to be a lot missing. For instance... I just didn't really feel for the characters, I understand that it is a comedy, but still, I still want to care what happens to the characters. It was just all very random - which I am sure it is supposed to be, but I just couldn't suspend belief and just enjoy it... I was too busy thinking 'hold on.. what's going on now?'

I would also pause the book thinking 'am I just not posh enough for this?', 'is this just for upper-middle class people', 'am I not the right generation for this?', 'is my humour too low-brow for this nonsense?' - I kid you not, I really did ask myself every single one of those questions, and none of them were answered, and, in all honestly... I was relieved when I finished it. 

I believe, in my stunted way, that Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker series must have some sort of Marmite effect around the world... some people love it, and I am sure that some people are repelled by it. 

Sorry Mr. Adams. Forgive me. I'm sure you were awesome. And your work is still bringing joy and giggles to many people. But. Well. I just didn't get it. And you're a British treasure - I know. I just... couldn't connect. Sorry. 
P.s. I tried to watch the film and stopped about twenty minutes in. Sorry. I didn't get that either.

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Attack the Block - A Review

Put your hand up if you've seen this movie?
No? Well, you're missing out... big time!

This comes from the fabulous Joe Cornish and produced by the same company as Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead. I love it. I can't help it. I just do. A gem from 2011 as far as I'm concerned.

A council estate in London is suddenly invaded by a bunch of scary aliens - they're as black as black and have scary glow in the dark teeth. It comes down to a bunch of yobs to defend their council estate. It's full of scares, laughs, thrills and aliens.


We've all seen the endless films of aliens attacking America, and Americans defending the world against invasion. The film turned the genre on its head. Instead of super brave American heroes defending the planet, in this movie it is a gang of thieves that stand up to the aliens. This film was truly a breath of fresh air, and I enjoyed it not only because it was set in Britain but that the humour was quintessentially British. It didn't take itself seriously - and that is imperative. But don't get me wrong, it's not a Hollywood blockbuster, but as I said, it is refreshing, enjoyable and well thought out. 

It stars Nick Frost, y'know, that guy from Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, but the rest of the cast features relatively unknown actors, especially the boys in the gang. Apparently these boys were selected from drama schools around London and had to audition a number of times before even getting the role.

For those of you outside of the UK, the boys are using real London slang, so it may be necessary to maybe put on the subtitles if needed.

I also really enjoyed the soundtrack, it was pretty much just a load of electronic noises, over remixed music and it suited the whole feel of the movie (haha, that was a very smart way of describing music!)

So, if you're going to watch it, please let me know what you think, I'd love to know! You'll find the trailer below! I really enjoyed it, and in fact it'll probably be in my top 20 favourite movies. Enjoy!

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O Brother Where Art Thou? - A Review

The majority of my friends who have seen this film, were not particularly impressed. In fact, a few of them looked a little bewildered when I said that I quite liked it.

The movie is set during The Great Depression, in the late 1930s. We're introduced quite quickly to the three main characters (one of which is played by the dashing George Clooney), who have just escaped a chain-gang and are on their way to find McGill's (Clooney) $1.2 million that he'd stolen and hidden. The rest of the movie is quite literally a feast for the eyes as they cross the South and in 'Forest-Gump Style' bump in to figures that lived during that time.

The best part of this movie other than the sheer aesthetics? It's based on Homer's Odyssey, yes, you've heard me right! Maybe this is where I trip over my own geekdom, but for real, they meet a kind-of-Cyclops (John Goodman) and even some kind-of-Sirens (played by three lovely ladies)... this was just awesome! 

Some may not enjoy this movie, as it is not as fast as most Hollywood movies we see today; but to be honest, this was written, directed and produced by the Coen brothers, and so it follows their same quirky and witty style that not everybody will 'get'. It most certainly was fast enough for me.

I spent much of the movie researching who the historical figures were. This may bug somebody to no end, but I enjoy thinking while I watch something, so, I felt that I learnt quite a lot about that era and the people they were bumping in to whilst I watched it (the pause button is my friend). 

O Brother, Where Art Thou? was praised for its soundtrack, and I'm not surprised by that. The Coen brothers seem to have done their best to bring some of their wit, appreciation of the aesthetic, quirkiness and love of music all together in to awesomeness. [Click on the YouTube video below and enjoy a small snippet!]

But even though I enjoyed it quite thoroughly, I finished the movie feeling a little dissatisfied. It was full of action, laughs, and awkwardness, but there was something missing. Because of that, I could only truly give it a 7/10. 

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