Fancy a film?

Here's what I've seen recently...

1. Me, You and Everyone We Know

))<>(( "back and forth"

Debut film written and directed by Miranda July - superb! Like a throwback to the indie films of the early 90s! Really enjoyed this film; quirky, sexy, funny - I don't get all the bad reviews?! I mean, any movie that makes you laugh that much about shit has to be half decent?!

2. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Pains me to say this as I am a HUGE Tim Burton fan, having even enjoyed his lesser liked films, such as "Sleepy Hollow" (although "Planet of the Apes" was not his finest hour - perhaps he should stay away from remakes?!) BUT... this was a huge disappointment for me.

Disappointment #1: Oompa Loompas - I'm sure Deep Roy is a man of considerable talents, but in my opinion, the film fell flat every time he walked on screen. What the hell was Burton trying to do here? There was a rumour before the film was released that he wanted the Oompa Loompas to be completely different than the original, and was toying with the idea of having extra tall people play them - way cooler!

Disappointment #2: Character development of the children - the introduction to each of the kids was super exciting, and then nothing happened with any of them!

Disappointment #3: Johnny Depp's performance (again, very painful for me to say, because Johnny Depp is one of my many husbands) - I can *sort of* see what he was trying to achieve here - but for me at least, it fell flat. So, so disappointing.

3. Last Days

Again, I'm a huge fan of Gus Van Sant, and "Elephant" was one of the finest pieces of cinema I've seen released in recent years. Unfortunately, I think Mr Van Sant got a bit self indulgent with this one. The only way I can possibly describe it is as an exercise in tedium. With beautiful visuals.

4. Howl's Moving Castle

An apt end to my film critiques as; 1. a Japanese film to follow on from my Tokyo post and 2. a BLOODY FANTASTIC FILM.

Having *adored* "Spirited Away", I was hanging out to see Mr Miyazaki's latest offering - and in my opinion, he did not disappoint. The animation is pure joy, the characters are gorgeous and the direction is perfect. I LOVE THIS FILM.