Will Hunting is a janitor in a school, but as it turns out, also a genius. Psychologist Sean is determined not to let Will’s hot temper get in the way of his future and tries to help Will find his focus in life.
Beautiful movie (unfortunately it’s a Harvey Weinstein movie which means I probably won’t watch it again) with an excellent cast. Very moving story and excellent acting by Damon and Williams. Minnie Driver was also brilliant in support.
In this romcom (actually it’s more of an unrom-com, in that it has the comedy but is not romantic!), struggling writer Josh (Rafe Spall) and high-flyer Nat (Rose Byrne) have a whirlwind romance and get married after seven months. Only then does reality set in and they begin to realise that they don’t know each other that well, and may not be at all compatible. Further complications arise in the shape of Josh’s ex-girlfriend Chloe (Anna Faris) who clearly still loves him, and American businessman Guy (Simon Baker) who has immediate chemistry with Rose when he hires her firm to do some work for him.
There are laughs-a-plenty in this film – and as a warning, if you don’t like crude humour then I’d recommend you avoid this, as there is a lot of crudeness and toilet humour – but as alluded to above, not a whole lot of romance, at least not between the two leads. I did think the main four actors all played their parts remarkably well, even if there was not much chemistry between Josh and Nat. Or maybe that was the point – they seemed to click with other people but not with each other.
Stephen Merchant plays Danny, Josh’s best friend and best man, whose speech at the wedding made me wince with embarrassment, and who always seemed to know exactly the wrong thing to say! Because of this, his scenes were amongst the funniest for me, although possibly amongst the most annoying for some viewers. It’s also worth mentioning Minnie Driver and Jason Flenyng as unhappily married – or are they? – friends of Nat. Minnie Driver has a real talent for comedy and it shows in her acerbic character here. Olivia Colman also shines in her small role as marriage counsellor who obviously has problems in her own relationship!
I won’t spoil the ending but I will say that it was unexpected, and I liked that. Overall, if you are looking for some good belly laughs and an undemanding storyline, then give this a try.
This review is for the 2004, Joel Schumacher directed film version of The Phantom of the Opera (adapted from the stage show with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which in itself was adapted from Gaston Leoux’s novel).
Gerard Butler plays the Phantom, the mysterious man/creature who haunts the opera house in Paris in 1870. The Phantom is in love with young singer Christine (Emmy Rossum), and manages to replace the usual opera singer Carlotta (Minnie Driver, in a fantastic comedic part) with Christine, in order to further the career of the woman he loves.
However, when Christine’s first love Raoul comes back to the opera house and Christine falls in love with him again, the Phantom becomes jealous and vengeful.
I enjoyed this movie very much – certainly a lot more than I thought I might. I watched it on a whim, and I’m very glad I did. The music is familiar to many, and it sounds fantastic here. My three favourite songs – and probably the most famous of the show – are the title track, Music of the Night and That’s All I Ask Of You – and they all come across well.
The cast are all great – even, as mentioned earlier, Gerard Butler, who I would not normally associate with or expect to see in such a part. Simon Callow is great and very funny in a supporting role, but the aforementioned Minnie Driver steals of her scenes and provides some terrific moments of light relief.
The story itself is quite sad, and I did actually want to cry at certain parts! If I was determined to find something to criticise, I probably could – it’s perhaps slightly overlong, and the inclusion of Jennifer Ellison in a supporting role was something of a surprise. But sometimes a whole film is worth more than the sum of its parts, and I think that that is the case here. I really enjoyed this film – a modern musical with a dark theme – and I definitely recommend it.
Year of release: 2004
Director: Joel Schumacher
Writers: Gaston Leoux (book), Andrew Lloyd Webber, Joel Schumacher
Main cast: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Miranda Richardson, Patrick Wilson
I guess I should put a disclaimer right at the beginning of this blog post – I was really tired when watching this movie, which means that I probably didn’t enjoy as much as I would have done had I been more awake. The film is about Martin Blank (John Cusack) who is a professional hitman, but he has become disillusioned with his way of life. He goes back to the town where he grew up for his High School reunion, with the hope that he will be able to rekindle his relationship with his former girlfriend Debi (Minnie Driver). Meanwhile, there are other people on his tail, including Dan Akroyd, who plays a rival hitman, trying to get Martin to join a ‘union’.
The film does have some very humorous moments, mainly due to John Cusack who is brilliant in his role. Minnie Driver is also great, and Dan Ackroyd is reliably solid in his role.
The school reunion itself is completely (and obviously intentionally on the behalf of the film-makers) cringeworthy, and served to remind me exactly why I would never want to go to any school reunion myself!
The humour in this movie is not in-your-face; it’s more subtle than that, which I think is a good thing.
Good supporting cast (including two of John Cusack’s sisters), and a great finale.
Year of release: 1997
Director: George Armitage
Writer: Tom Jankiewicz, D.V. DeVincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack
Main cast: John Cusack, Minnie Driver, Jeremy Piven, Dan Aykroyd
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