21 February 2010

Arts Corner: February is film month too...

...courtesy of the £1 a ticket showings at Empire Cinemas on a Sunday (it's just a cheap excuse to go into Newcastle so we can go to the Chinese bakery afterwards, I suspect), and the charity shops of Gosforth (it's amazing what you can find on video for 10p).

So far, we've seen:

Bolt: on DVD, which we were given for Christmas. It was the first full-length feature film M ever saw, and just as exciting to revisit. Good storyline, accents that can be understood by a four-year-old, and, for once, a thoroughly fabulous heroine. Penny doesn't wear pink, she isn't obsessed with being a princess - she's a proper action girl, who has the best scooter ever. I may have had to pretend to be Bolt the dog running round the park more times than I would like, but hey, it's worth it for less princess/fairy/kitten nonsense.

Sound of Music: 25p on video from the charity shop. A special edition, with original intermission, no less (including lots of pictures of the lovely Austrian countryside). I'd forgotten there were so many good songs in this film - my favourite has to be Raindrops on Roses. I'd also forgotten just how *long* the damn thing is...we had to watch it in two sittings. M loved the children and Julie Andrews, and was completely bored by the love story. I sat there in a haze of nostalgia, remembering when I played Sister Margaretha (complete with habit and fishnets) in the school production. My little brother's never really got over playing Kurt (I think it was the long socks and shorts that did for him).

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: at a proper cinema (hurrah for the large screen!). This was excellent - far better than I expected. It was funny, had lots of jokes for adults (including lots of references to other films, apparently, which I didn't get but which Orb thought were hilarious), and some fantastic special effects. And the love interest is a geek weathergirl. How cool is that?!

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: another charity shop purchase, which we watched while munching hot cross buns. I can't quite believe (a) it was made in 1968 - the special effects are still rather good (b) how bad Dick Van Dyke's accent is - although not as bad as his cockney Mary Poppins one and (c) how scary the child catcher is still, even as a grown up.

Next on the cards: more charity shop purchases (including James and the Giant Peach, and Ice Age), and maybe a trip to the cinema to see Colin Firth in A Single Man.

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