Watching - May 2021

Brave (2012)

Family viewing on a Saturday night, and something we probably haven't watched since we first got it. A fun story, well told and (of course) superbly animated.

Gregory's Girl (1980)

Having watched Chariots Of Fire last month, I had to get to this next, as they go together in my mind - in fact, I feel sure I saw them on a double bill once. It's on my list of favourite films, although I can't remember the last time I watched it. It's dated, obviously filmed on a budget and some of the acting's a little ropey, but it's so sweet and charming that it's easy to forget all that. At least, I find it so, but then it's so irrevocably associated with my own adolescence that I can't really judge it impartially. This is why I'm keen for B to watch it and see what he thinks! I'll persuade him eventually ...

The Lego Movie (2014)

Despite having seen this many times, there is so much detail in this film that it's easy to watch again. The animation is spectacularly clever and the script is tongue-in-cheek and witty. Sure, the ending, where the dad realises his mistake, is a touch sugary, but this is splendidly sent up by the final twist: "Now that I'm letting you come down here and play, guess who else gets to come down here and play? Your sister."

Clueless (1995)

B's Sunday afternoon choice, possibly partly because he's reading Emma, but who needs a reason? It's still one of my favourite films, a smart, funny and sweet film, given depth by its literary inheritance and its heart by some lovely performances.

One Day (2011)

The sign of a good book is that you don't want it to end, even while being unable to wait to find out how it ends. The film of the book is a way of extending your time in the book's world and maybe seeing it from a new perspective. In this, the film does very acceptably; seeing the characters and seeing their environment does bring the story to life in a new way. The film continues the grand tradition of British films featuring a US star to try and make it internationally appealing, which in this case is a mistake, I think. Not that Anne Hathaway isn't decent in the role, but she is too recognisable and consequently unbalances the story (look, there's Anne Hathaway pretending to be plain again!). And why did no-one spot that her "Yorkshire" accent keep disappearing (when it's there, she sounds just like Jodie Whitaker, who is also in the film). But a British actress who could actually do the accent would have been better. Still, the story survives, all the right buttons are pressed and I found it moving all over again.

Back In Time (2015)

Documentary about Back To The Future - made, of course, in the year that Marty McFly famously went to in BTTF2. Not as much about the making of as I expected, but there's reams of that on the box set. This is more about the phenomenon, the fans, the cars (lots about the cars). Mildly diverting but entertaining enough.