It's Better to Travel than Arrive?

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive"

Robert Louis Stevenson, Virginibus Puerisque, 1881.


"Robert Louis Stevenson speaks utter tosh and has

obviously never flown long haul economy class"

Kristy, first ever blog post, 2011.


Friday, June 22, 2012

In-Flight Movie Reviews - Part 1




After I had folded myself up and wedged myself into my economy class seat for the 26 hour flight duration to Australia, I checked out what I could be watching to while away my time.

Living in Germany, in a small town without a cinema, we don't go to the movies anymore, so if I'm stuck in a seat for a long time then I might as well catch up on movies I've not seen.  Over the two long haul flights over and back I managed to watch 7 movies.  Yes, you got it, I didn't get much sleep!

Here's what I watched and what I thought:-

Man On A Ledge - starring Australia Sam Worthington (with a scratchy American accent) as an ex-con masterminding the biggest diamond heist ever.  Highly improbable, but watchable.  It lost me after he wiped all his fingerprints off everything the hotel room that he touched, he then used his bare hands to open the huge window and climb out onto the ledge - leaving his great paw prints all over the glass.  Also, the window opened all the way up so he could comfortably climb out.   In a hotel in NYC.  On the 22nd floor.  Never going to happen.

Wish You Were Here - four Aussie friends travelling through South East Asia attend a Full Moon Party and one of them goes missing.  Joel Edgerton was the stand out actor for me, though I've been gone from Australia for a while, so some of the other cast might be more well known by now.  It was okay, but the entertainment system died with about 15 minutes to go, and when they re-installed it I didn't even care enough to go back and watch the end.

The Intouchables - no, I didn't make a spelling mistake, it's French!  This is a SERIOUSLY GOOD movie.  An aristocratic quadriplegic hires a young man (the utterly gorgeous Omar Sy) from a dodgy background to be his new carer.  It's all in French, but has English subtitles.  It's fabulous, funny, brilliantly written and acted and it's based on a true story.  Find this movie and watch it, you won't regret it (and you might even be able to polish up your French!).  Go!  Watch it now.

W.E. - Madonna wrote it, Madonna directed it, but luckily for all of us, Madonna didn't "act" in it.  It's an odd mix of the story of the affair between King Edward VIII and the American divorcee Wallis Simpson - and a unhappy married woman and a Russian security guard.  Hmm.  Yes.  It doesn't make much sense and features Abbie Cornish with black hair, black clothes and sad expression as the married woman, and actors I didn't really recognise in the other parts.  I nodded off a few times whilst watching it, but it wasn't too bad.  It did pique my interest in Wallis Simpson, so I think I'll toddle off and find a good book about her.

2 comments:

  1. Ok, so I DID see 'The Intouchables', but it was playing in the German theater (dubbed) under a different name (typical). Went to see it w/the MIL and BIL and we were all in tears laughing a few times -GREAT film! I always hate how the Germans translate movie titles b/c it usually has nothing to do w/the original title...argh.

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    1. I was crying with laughter too, on a plane - no wonder I get strange looks from the air hostesses! Seriously great movie, and I loved the music they used. Might go and Google to see if they have a sound track. Have a great day!

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