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Once (DVD)
by GentleGenius
RELEASED: 2006, Cert. 15
RUNNING TIME: Approx. 85 mins
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: John Carney
PRODUCER: Marketa Irglova
MUSIC: Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
MAIN CAST:-
Glen Hansard as the guy
Marketa Irglova as the ... girl
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FILM ONLY REVIEW
The guy, whose name is never revealed, earns a few Euros/pence busking on the streets of what I assume is Dublin.
Out of the blue steps a Czech girl (also whose name is never revealed) who stops to listen to the guy. She chats to him and is rather persistent despite him not being very responsive. As the initially stilted conversation opens up, the guy learns that the girl, who is a single parent living in the city with her mother and child having left her husband, has a deep love of music, and plays the piano.
Both the guy and the girl are raw from their last romantic failures, gradually sharing their feelings via music. Before long, they develop a deep attraction towards one another, but.....where does this attraction lead? Watch the film to find out.
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The first thing which caught me about Once was the opening scene, of the guy busking, strumming his beaten-up old guitar whilst singing a Van Morrison song...and might I add, rather well. Once the girl appeared, I was intrigued to know how their liaison would develop, or otherwise.
I was quite impressed with Glen Hansard's acting, as he came across as totally natural and a thoroughly nice bloke with a sensitivity and depth to his personality. I saw the girl as a rather playful sort of character, with Marketa Irglova playing her part fairly well. Both actors bounced off and complemented one another beautifully at times, but it did take me a little while to get used to their accents, so missed some parts of their conversation early on in the film.
As the pair made music together, I found some of it extremely good, it being in the singer/songwriter genre, but there were for me a couple of dodgy offerings too.
Although music entwined with romance is the essence of Once, and bearing in mind that I'm a devout music lover especially when it comes to all things Irish, I surprised myself by finding that I would have preferred to see more emphasis placed upon the guy and the girl's relationship development, with the musical element being pushed into the background just a little more. Some of the music came across as extremely loud, and I found it especially so on the songs that I wasn't so keen on.
Once for me has more of the element of a play about it than a film, but such did come across as a refreshing change. I felt a great sense of honesty and down-to-earthness about the way the whole thing was constructed, it telling a story from ground level about ordinary people leading ordinary lives, with hopes and dreams that tumble around their heads which are seeking a way to evolve into reality. However, it is their talent which makes them extraordinary.
I also felt a huge warmth emanating from the whole atmosphere of Once, some of it being reminiscent of a section of my own youth, even though that was forty odd years ago. This warmth came from the guy's relationship with his father, the girl's with her daughter and mother, plus the general ambience oozing forth from an Irish working-class domestic lifestyle. Although the film is set in modern times, I felt as if I'd stepped into a tardis and travelled back to a world which was less acquisitive and far more comfortable than what I largely see around me these days.
As I continued to watch with interest, lowering the volume during the parts when the music got just a bit too loud for me, I became aware that I was making up scenarios in my mind as to how Once would end....but that was where just a tiny smidgeon of letdown seeped through in that what did happen, turned out to be not as I'd hoped. Consequently and despite the warm feeling I got from the whole film, I was left in the lurch somewhat, dangling on a little string of frustration in that I wanted to grab hold of the script and re-write the ending to suit my own expectations.
All in all though, Once is a sensitively made, warm film that I have a feeling may play on my mind for the next few days, but in the nicest possible way. Aside from the ending, the only things I'd change would be to steady up the camera work a bit, it being slightly shaky at certain points, and reduce the volume on some of the music....perhaps omitting one or two tracks completely. This is one of those films which made me wish I was Irish! I do think it may be worth paying another visit to Once at some point in the future, as I feel there possibly were a few veiled, under the surface little bits and pieces that I may not have picked up on or absorbed first time around.
In summary, I do recommend Once to lovers of music which falls far, far outside of the dance, rap, hip-hop genres, together with any potential viewer having a well-developed sense of romance. This isn't a film for people who place a lot of importance on action, special effects and hype....it is a fairly slow-moving tale which focuses on the personalities and potential closeness of two people who are drawn together through music.
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At the time of writing, Once can be purchased from Amazon as follows:-
New: from £2.72 to £25.68
Used: from £2.58 to £16.00
Collectible: only one copy currently available @ £5.99 (appears to be used)
Some items on Amazon are available for free delivery within the UK, but where this doesn't apply, a £1.26 charge should be added to the above figures.
Thanks for reading!
~~ Also published on Ciao under my CelticSoulSister user name ~~
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Knocked Up (DVD)
by thriftygiftyisme
=Knocked Up DVD=
=This is a film only review=
The film centres around the two main characters
Alison Scott played by Katherine Heigi
Ben Stone played by Seth Rogen
=Background=
=Alison is a career girl, whose career is everything to her, she is a presenter on E! and gets a new ... job. Everything Alison does is career focused and done by the book,
=Ben - Who lives with his mates, which is about the most responsible aspect of him, he is a recreational drug taker, he runs a naughty internet site with his friends. He's living off compensation that he got a few years previously, he's never really had a girlfriend.
=The Plot=
Alison has got this new job so goes with friends to a nightclub to celebrate, meets Ben, gets drunk, yep you can guess the rest, think the title of the film is a definite give away!
Although in defence to both of them, it's a slight misunderstanding, Alison thinks there being careful, but after telling Ben t hurry up and get on with it, he thinks she means go bareback.
=8 weeks later=
Yep 8 weeks later the little stick is positive, and Alison has a shock to find out she's pregnant,
=Keeping the baby=
Alison decides to keep the baby, this is where the fun and games begin, as Ben and Alison try to get to know each other. You see the differences between them, Alison would have the baby book read cover to cover, whilst for Ben who needs a book, he doesn't.
=Ups and Downs=
You go through them trying to make the relationship work - but the differences keep rearing their ugly head.
=Do they don't they=
That is the million dollar question - and for the answer - you need to watch the film!!
=General Information=
The film is rated a 15, which I feel is appropriate, as it's not just a one off incident of swearing or sexual reference, - it's a fun film, and there's times where you want to shout at the screen or knock their heads together.
Time 129 minutes running.
=My Verdict=
It's a good film, one where you get involved with the characters and it's a laugh out loud film. One that would be a laugh for a girlie night, a night with the other half, maybe some of the laughs are at the characters expense, but your laughing with them.
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The Kingdom [2007] (DVD)
by Beanie8844
First of all, I would like to make it clear that this is not a review of the DVD, just the film.
Genre: Action
Rating: 15 years
Runtime: 1 hour 50 minutes
Introduction:
'The Kindom' is another anti-terrorist themed action movie in which the American good guys go on a mission to destroy a ... terrorism hotbed. Jamie Foxx plays the lead role, Special Agent Ronald Fleury. Following a terrorist attack in Saudi Arabia, Fleury puts together a rapid deployment team to establish what has happened, why and to ultimately seek out the perpetrators.
It's a good cast list, but there aren't that many stand out names, to be honest though this is a good thing because the film is about the story rather than the individuals within it; it's about the big picture. To keep you in the loop however, some of the other cast members include Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Kyle Chandler, Ali Suliman, Richard Jenkins and Jeremy Piven.
What is it all about then?
The film is based on two real life bombings, but is unique in what it explors along the way. To begin with we are reminded of the historic relations and key events between the United States and the middle east and the impact this has had - setting the scene.
The setting of the terrorist attck is an American Oil Company's housing compound for it's workers. Terrorists wearing the uniform of the compound security and police officers infiltrate the compound and begin shooting at civilians living there using high powered weaponry. Whilst directing the scared and running civilians to safety another of the terrorists in the uniform revels himself as a suicide bomber and detonates his vest, killing many.
It is following these events that Fleury receives a desperate telephone call from Special Agent Francis Manner warning him of what has happened and the urgent need for them to scramble a crack team to deal with the situation. Shortly after the phone call a secondary device explodes to traget the emergency responders to the scene and Manner and many more are killed.
Fleury leads a briefing at the headquarters of the FBI and has to pass on the sad news about the civilians and their much loved colleague. There is no shortage of volunteers following a rousing speech from Fleury and soon enough he has a team ready to go and target the terrorists. From the moment the set foot in Saudi Arabia the team realise what they have let themselves in for and there are many gun battles in puruit of the guys behind the attack. Do they make it and get them? That would be telling, but it is a great film and very gripping with many twists and turns along the way.
So, is it any good?
There have been quite a few of these kind of films released now, but for me this rates right up there with the best of them. The plot is nothing short of amazing and gives you a real sense of wanting the team to succeed on their mission, which couldn't get much tougher. Foxx effortlessly plays the role of Fleury and his supporting cast make everything genuinely believeable.
I was a dissapointed when the film ended and felt that it did get a little predictable towards the end, but only the very end. This has not affected my rating in any way though.
Think I'm going to have to go out and purchase the DVD.
Overall I would give this film five dooyoo stars because it thoroughly entertained me *****.
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