Other Films Watched In April

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakual (Betty Thomas, 2009) - Good

Tooth Fairy (Michael Lembeck, 2010) - Good

The Covenant (Renny Harlin, 2006)- Very Good

Astro Boy (David Bowers, 2009) - Good

Year One (Harold Ramis, 2009) - Okay

Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) – Very Good

Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964) - Very Good

The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1963) - Good

Torn Curtain (Alfred Hitchcock, 1966) - Not Good

Push (Paul McGuigan, 2009) - Very Good

High Noon (Fred Zinnemann, 1952) - Okay

Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010) - Very Good

Don’t Look Now (Nicholas Roeg, 1973)

Cast: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania

Summary: John and Laura Baxter are living in Venice grieving the recent death of their little daughter when they meet a pair of elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic brings a warning from beyond.

Genre: Horror, Thriller

Beware there are spoilers!!

I watched this film as part of my film studies exam on British Horror films back in sixth form.

We used this film to learn about narrative theories and the theory we applied to this film was Todorov’s theory of Equilibrium, Disruption, Resolution and New Equilibrium.
This theory says that the narrative starts off as being balanced and normal before a problem occurs that creates an enigma; which when resolved rebalances the narrative and returns it back to normal, however this new balance differs from the old.

The stages of the narrative theory within Don’t Look Now are shown as:

Equilibrium: The equilibrium within Don’t Look Now is shown in the first few scenes where we see the family happy and relaxed, with parents John (Donald Sutherland)and Laura (Julie Christie) working and reading while their two children play outside.

Disruption: The disruption within Don’t Look Now is when we see John inspecting slides of stained glass windows. As he studying the pictures he accidentally spills a drink on the slide resulting in parts of the picture running red. Feeling that something is wrong John then races toward the children by the pond only to find that his daughter Christine had drowned.

Resolution: The resolution of the film comes when John sees a little girl with blonde hair in a red coat running through the streets of Venice, a girl who he associates with his daughter because of her blond hair and the read coat she was wearing when she died.

New Equilibrium: Finally the fourth and final stage in this narrative comes when John dies and pervious shots that have been shown to us now make sense as the audience can now make sense of the things that John saw.

My Rating: 5/10
Perfect For: Thriller Lovers
One Final Word: Okay

Alice in Wonderland (Tim Burton, 2010)

Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Crispin Glover, Matt Lucas

Summary: 19-year-old Alice Returns to the magical world from her childhood adventure, where she reunites with her old friends and learns of he true destiny, to end the Red Queens reign of terror

Genre: Family, Fantasy, Adventure

I went to see this with my family at IMAX as part of my 17th birthday present. This was my first ever trip to IMAX and I have to say it was quite intense, the screening room was huge and the screen was even bigger.

I've heard that quite a few people have been saying that the film is rubbish but I actually really enjoyed it, of course it’s not perfect and it's not as good as Disney's Alice In Wonderland (1951), but I don't think it's as bad as what some people have been saying.

I love the idea of how the film is meant to be like a sequel but where Alice has absolutely no memory of the first visit to Wonderland. The story was very different to how I remembered it and there were a few new characters introduced that confused me a bit, especially when it came to the Red Queen’s lover.

There was definitely one thing I hated more than anything else and that was definitely the CGI that was used on Crispin Glover who played the Knave of Hearts, it was incredibly distracting.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a film at IMAX and it is a completely immersive experience, with a slightly curved screen and speakers all over the room it feels as though the film completely surrounds you and you're sucked into the story.

My Rating: 6/10
One Final Word: Good

Heartbreakers (David Mirkin, 2001)

Cast: Sigourney Weaver, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ray Liotta, Jason Lee, Gene Hackman

Summary: A mother and daughter con team seduce and scam wealthy men

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Crime


Not much to say about this film to be honest. I'm not really one for rom-coms despite my love for romantic comedy books, but surprisingly I didn't mind this one all that much.

What I do want to talk about is how bad that poster looks, the heads look like they don't belong on the bodies and Gene Hackman just looks weird.


My Rating: 5/10
One Final Word: Okay