Quaggy's Year of Movies Part 2
So here we go with our next installment of my year of movies, which is now hopelessly out of date. You can find Part 1 over here.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
I know the people on my f-list, so I can say without exception: GO SEE THIS FILM!!! Judi Dench and Maggie Smith. That should be enough reason right there. It also has Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton (from Downton Abbey) and Dev Patel. It's supposed to be adapted from a book... but really it seems like they just took the basic premise and some of the character names and used it as an excuse to watch our fabulous cast be magnificent in India. And truthfully that's really all you need!
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
This was very very enjoyable. It was filled with quirky British humor, just the way I like it. Ewan McGregor was absolutely fantastic. The idea of a romantic lead with Asperger syndrome works surprisingly well, simply because Ewan McGregor makes him so... lovable? You can tell what his character Fred is thinking/feeling with just a crinkled brow or a sigh... even if his own social skills don't really convey those thoughts. The ending was a little rushed, a little too Hollywood-y. But I figured that it was probably thanks to some adaptation problems. Sure enough, the original book sort of danced the line between political comedy and political satire, only to fall heavy into the satire category for a pretty downer ending. I think they did as well as they could with what they had, but if they really were going to have to craft an ending out of whole cloth, I wish they had tried to make it a little smoother. That said, good film and definitely worth seeing.
Being Elmo
I have to admit Elmo was never my favorite Muppet, but I always found his puppeteer Kevin Clash to be very warm and interesting. The movie itself is more about Kevin Clash's journey than anything else. Fascinating and inspiring story, told in a dynamic, interesting way. (The part when they covered Jim Henson's death was emotionally wrenching and visually how they handled talking about an experience or situation for which they didn't have footage was totally a cut above. It makes you want to be a puppeteer and get to work on Sesame Street. In fact, in one part, Kevin Clash is teaching a whole bunch of new Sesame Street puppeteers how to make their Muppets come alive... and caught myself mimicking their hand motions. I just hope the friends I was with didn't notice.
Labrynth
The nice thing about seeing Labrynth after Being Elmo is that I knew that this was the first time Kevin Clash worked for Jim Henson and was able to grin knowingly when we got to his character's big scene. Now normally, I don't talk about a rewatch of a movie, but there's something totally different when it's rewatching an old favorite in an actual movie theater. Labrynth has always been a favorite of mine, but I think I love it even more as an adult. (Well, everything about it except Jennifer Connelly's early attempt at acting.) As a kid, I was a little sorry that there was no handsome prince. Yes, there was a Goblin King, but David Bowie may be utterly cool, he always seemed far too old for a 15 year old girl. But as an adult, I can appreciate what wonderful and enlightened decision it was not to have even a hint of romance. It was just a young woman learning to rely on herself and take the hero's journey on her own. It's a rare occurrence when that happens, even today. But then Jim Henson is a legend for a reason.