Happy Christmas Eve!
Happy Christmas Eve! It's pouring rain here and we've been told to expect wind gusts up to 90km an hour, and this is not what I signed up for at Christmas, damnit. Where's my snow?!? *shakes fist at mother nature*
I still have a few last-minute things to do before dashing off to work, so of course what better time to update this years Not-Even-Close-To-Watching-50-Movies list, right?
22. Go Now (1995) - starring Robert Carlyle, Juliet Aubrey, James Nesbit
Quite frankly, this is one of the best films I have ever seen. I wish it was widely available. I wish everyone could see it. Carlyle plays Nick, who soon meets and falls in love with Karen. Then he starts to get sick. It starts with losing feeling in his hands, and after a barrage of tests it's discovered that he has multiple sclerosis. The disease slowly inhibits his abilities, and the movie is about how he and Karen navigate all the changes - physical and emotional. The beauty of this film is that it is rooted in reality, both in their courtship and in dealing with the MS. There is no big sweeping moment where the music swells and the audience knows that They Will Beat This Thing Together. No, these are real people - sometimes they make mistakes, they laugh, they lie to each other, they don't know what to do, they struggle, sometimes they're wonderful and inspiring and sometimes they do things that make you want to hit them. And ultimately they are there for each other.
Robert Carlyle is simply amazing in this. He has to play so many emotional beats and it's no surprise that he hits every one. But the physical transformation also blew me away. He's well known for researching his roles so I can only surmise that he spent a lot of time with MS patients, because the physical struggles looked so real. This was very early in his career, pre-Trainspotting, when he'd only done a couple of low-budget films and some TV appearances, and he is just so.damn.good. Why wasn't this a hit?
23. Once Upon A Time in the Midlands (2002) - starring Robert Carlyle, Shirley Henderson, Rhys Ifans
I was looking forward to watching this because it reunited Carlyle and Henderson, who starred together in Hamish MacBeth (a brilliant series, by the way). Jimmy (Carlyle) is a rather incompetent thief who sees his old girlfriend Shirley turn down a marriage proposal on live television, so he decides to return to their town in order to win her back. I expected a sort of sweet, unconventional type love story. Instead it's sort of a weird little mix of 'wacky' comedy and somber drama and neither one hits the mark. And the motivations are so unclear - I mean, I never had a clue why the hell Shirley and Jimmy were even drawn to each other (unless Shirley just couldn't resist Bobby's hair, which is really quite lovely in this film. Hee.)
24. Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005) - starring Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman, Sean Astin
Ohhhh, this could have been SO good. The story is split between flashbacks (of Steve [Goodman] meeting his first love at age 12 in dance class) and present day (of Steve relating this story to Frank [Carlyle] as he is dying, and of Frank going to the dance class to find Steve's lost love.) The flashbacks reminded me a little of the style of A Christmas Story, yet the current day stuff is more 'realistic'. So the juxtaposition didn't work for me, nor did the more outlandish characters that make up the current day dance class. But somewhere in here there is a beautiful little story about loss, about moving on, about coming to terms with the past and letting yourself have a future. There are some lovely, beautifully acted moments.
Wishing you all the best this season... and lets hope Santa sticks with the reindeer.
.
I still have a few last-minute things to do before dashing off to work, so of course what better time to update this years Not-Even-Close-To-Watching-50-Movies list, right?
22. Go Now (1995) - starring Robert Carlyle, Juliet Aubrey, James Nesbit
Quite frankly, this is one of the best films I have ever seen. I wish it was widely available. I wish everyone could see it. Carlyle plays Nick, who soon meets and falls in love with Karen. Then he starts to get sick. It starts with losing feeling in his hands, and after a barrage of tests it's discovered that he has multiple sclerosis. The disease slowly inhibits his abilities, and the movie is about how he and Karen navigate all the changes - physical and emotional. The beauty of this film is that it is rooted in reality, both in their courtship and in dealing with the MS. There is no big sweeping moment where the music swells and the audience knows that They Will Beat This Thing Together. No, these are real people - sometimes they make mistakes, they laugh, they lie to each other, they don't know what to do, they struggle, sometimes they're wonderful and inspiring and sometimes they do things that make you want to hit them. And ultimately they are there for each other.
Robert Carlyle is simply amazing in this. He has to play so many emotional beats and it's no surprise that he hits every one. But the physical transformation also blew me away. He's well known for researching his roles so I can only surmise that he spent a lot of time with MS patients, because the physical struggles looked so real. This was very early in his career, pre-Trainspotting, when he'd only done a couple of low-budget films and some TV appearances, and he is just so.damn.good. Why wasn't this a hit?
23. Once Upon A Time in the Midlands (2002) - starring Robert Carlyle, Shirley Henderson, Rhys Ifans
I was looking forward to watching this because it reunited Carlyle and Henderson, who starred together in Hamish MacBeth (a brilliant series, by the way). Jimmy (Carlyle) is a rather incompetent thief who sees his old girlfriend Shirley turn down a marriage proposal on live television, so he decides to return to their town in order to win her back. I expected a sort of sweet, unconventional type love story. Instead it's sort of a weird little mix of 'wacky' comedy and somber drama and neither one hits the mark. And the motivations are so unclear - I mean, I never had a clue why the hell Shirley and Jimmy were even drawn to each other (unless Shirley just couldn't resist Bobby's hair, which is really quite lovely in this film. Hee.)
24. Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School (2005) - starring Robert Carlyle, Marisa Tomei, John Goodman, Sean Astin
Ohhhh, this could have been SO good. The story is split between flashbacks (of Steve [Goodman] meeting his first love at age 12 in dance class) and present day (of Steve relating this story to Frank [Carlyle] as he is dying, and of Frank going to the dance class to find Steve's lost love.) The flashbacks reminded me a little of the style of A Christmas Story, yet the current day stuff is more 'realistic'. So the juxtaposition didn't work for me, nor did the more outlandish characters that make up the current day dance class. But somewhere in here there is a beautiful little story about loss, about moving on, about coming to terms with the past and letting yourself have a future. There are some lovely, beautifully acted moments.
Wishing you all the best this season... and lets hope Santa sticks with the reindeer.
.