MacsLady
CSI Level Two
The Shipping News
Based on Annie Proulx's novel of the same name. Kevin Spacey plays Quoyle, a loveable loser who works menial jobs and is married to a horrible woman called Petal, who cheats on him constantly and has run out on him several times. Shortly after Quoyle's parents commit suicide, Petal runs off again, taking their daughter Bunny with her. She sells Bunny to a black market adoption agency to get more money, but is killed in a car accident. Quoyle's aunt Agnis (Judi Dench) comes to visit because of his parents killing themselves, and when she finds out what happened to Petal she persuades Quoyle to go with her to Newfoundland where their ancestors are from. Quoyle, Bunny, and Agnis make a new home on Newfoundland and gradually begin to get their lives back, Quoyle especially - he gets a job as a reporter for a small paper reporting the shipping news, and falls in love with lonely widow Wavey (Julianne Moore). It's a really beautiful film, with dark moments, sad moments, funny moments, sweet moments. The characters are all very human. The scenery is amazing. It sticks pretty closely to the book, too, which is a good thing.
Sunshine Cleaning
Two sisters, Rose and Norah, are struggling with their lives. Rose is a hard-working single mum who works for a cleaning service, but longs for success, and for a meaningful romantic relationship. Norah is a slacker who still lives with their father, Joe. Both women are still affected by their mother's suicide when they were children. They don't have much of a connection, except for Joe and Rose's son Oliver.
Rose's detective (and married) boyfriend Mac encourages Rose to start up a crime scene cleaning business because it's a lucrative trade, and she persuades Norah to get involved. They call the company Sunshine Cleaning. As they work, they fight, grow closer, and have some interesting, funny, gross, and sad moments. The film also follows Joe and Oscar. Oscar is a very bright boy and consequently often gets in trouble at school. Joe wants to provide for his daughters and grandson, so often comes up with 'get rich quick schemes' that he gets Oscar to help him with.
A really great film, intelligent and funny and moving, with great characters.
Escape from New York.
A John Carpenter film from the 1980s starring Kurt Russell. Manhattan Island has become a maximum security prison island. The bridges and tunnels have been blown, it's surrounded by high walls and armed police officers. The city itself is run entirely by criminals. when terrorists take over Air Force One and crash it into Manhattan, a ruthless gang kidnaps the president. The prison authorities call in ex-Special Forces, ex-con 'Snake' and persuade him to go in and get the President. Because of some big stuff going on in the world, he only has 24 hours to save the President, and he's been injected with something that means that if he doesn't get him out in time, he'll die.
It's a very cheesy, very 80s, very John Carpenter film, and the acting ain't great (though Russell is pretty good) but it's a damn good film. What makes it interesting, and a little creepy, and a little poignant is that the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre have a pretty important role in the film and you actually see them several times throughout the movie, up close - Snake lands his plane on top of one of them!
Based on Annie Proulx's novel of the same name. Kevin Spacey plays Quoyle, a loveable loser who works menial jobs and is married to a horrible woman called Petal, who cheats on him constantly and has run out on him several times. Shortly after Quoyle's parents commit suicide, Petal runs off again, taking their daughter Bunny with her. She sells Bunny to a black market adoption agency to get more money, but is killed in a car accident. Quoyle's aunt Agnis (Judi Dench) comes to visit because of his parents killing themselves, and when she finds out what happened to Petal she persuades Quoyle to go with her to Newfoundland where their ancestors are from. Quoyle, Bunny, and Agnis make a new home on Newfoundland and gradually begin to get their lives back, Quoyle especially - he gets a job as a reporter for a small paper reporting the shipping news, and falls in love with lonely widow Wavey (Julianne Moore). It's a really beautiful film, with dark moments, sad moments, funny moments, sweet moments. The characters are all very human. The scenery is amazing. It sticks pretty closely to the book, too, which is a good thing.
Sunshine Cleaning
Two sisters, Rose and Norah, are struggling with their lives. Rose is a hard-working single mum who works for a cleaning service, but longs for success, and for a meaningful romantic relationship. Norah is a slacker who still lives with their father, Joe. Both women are still affected by their mother's suicide when they were children. They don't have much of a connection, except for Joe and Rose's son Oliver.
Rose's detective (and married) boyfriend Mac encourages Rose to start up a crime scene cleaning business because it's a lucrative trade, and she persuades Norah to get involved. They call the company Sunshine Cleaning. As they work, they fight, grow closer, and have some interesting, funny, gross, and sad moments. The film also follows Joe and Oscar. Oscar is a very bright boy and consequently often gets in trouble at school. Joe wants to provide for his daughters and grandson, so often comes up with 'get rich quick schemes' that he gets Oscar to help him with.
A really great film, intelligent and funny and moving, with great characters.
Escape from New York.
A John Carpenter film from the 1980s starring Kurt Russell. Manhattan Island has become a maximum security prison island. The bridges and tunnels have been blown, it's surrounded by high walls and armed police officers. The city itself is run entirely by criminals. when terrorists take over Air Force One and crash it into Manhattan, a ruthless gang kidnaps the president. The prison authorities call in ex-Special Forces, ex-con 'Snake' and persuade him to go in and get the President. Because of some big stuff going on in the world, he only has 24 hours to save the President, and he's been injected with something that means that if he doesn't get him out in time, he'll die.
It's a very cheesy, very 80s, very John Carpenter film, and the acting ain't great (though Russell is pretty good) but it's a damn good film. What makes it interesting, and a little creepy, and a little poignant is that the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre have a pretty important role in the film and you actually see them several times throughout the movie, up close - Snake lands his plane on top of one of them!