Laurel Canyon (DVD)

On the Internet Movie Data Base (IMDb) site, the plot outline is quoted as being "When an uptight young man and his fiancee move into his libertine mother's house, the resulting clash of life attitudes shakes everyone up". Yes, that's the plot in a nutshell - no need for me to say more, really, since this sums it up perfectly. I haven't a clue who the writer/director Lisa Cholodenko is, but getting McDormand into her movie was certainly a coup for her, since her popularity as a cult star certainly brought viewers to see her play the part of Jane, the rock music producing mother in this film. Getting Christian Bale (the next Batman) to play Jane's son ...  Read the complete review

Title: Laurel Canyon Director: Lisa Cholodenko Running Time: 1 hr 39 mins approximately Starring: Frances McDormand, Kate Beckinsdale, Christian Bale, Natascha McElhone & Allessandro Nivola DVD retail price: £6.99 **************************************************************************** If Joni Mitchell and Spinal Tap were to team up in some fictional alter-reality with the aim of producing a movie, you could perhaps then explain how ‘Laurel Canyon’ came into being. Lisa Cholodenko’s follow up to her breakthrough ‘High Art’ is a rock and roll soap opera of the rich and spoiled, set, ...  Read the complete review

Laurel Canyon starring Christian Bale and Kate Beckinsale is a drama revolving relationships, focussing mainly on the lifestyles of several characters and how that affects the relation of Bale and Beckinsale who has come to be in Bale's mom's empty house, only to find that she is yet to leave the house and is occupying the place with a music band(she is the producer of the recording company) Bale has his internship to do while Beckinsale has to complete her research paper. This film is mainly a character study, with the film focusing on the intellectual couple being flown away with the tide of proceedings, Bale becoming friends with an attractive intern and ...  Read the complete review

Director: Lisa Cholodenko Starring: Frances McDormand, Kate Beckinsale, Christian Bale Running time: 103 minutes Summed up in a sentence: A classic take on the embarrassing parent scenario. A bit more info: Accurate casting and fine performances from the whole cast turn a potentially lacklustre premise into a wonderful film. Frances McDormand shines as Jane, an incredibly successful pot-smoking record producer who's fooling around with her latest discovery - a cocksure toyboy. When Jane's straight-laced doctor son and his wife come to stay, the wife is exposed to a hedonistic lifestyle of drink, drugs and ...  Read the complete review