Don't forget to check out what
Wandering Through the Shelves picked, the blog that started Thursday Movie Picks.
Four Weddings and a Funeral
If I didn't include this film in my picks this week, I'm not British. Richard Curtis on top form here, along with the cream of British acting crop of the 90s. There are too many great moments in this film and none of them include Andie Macdowell, apart from the ending when they're standing in the rain of course.
Ceremony
Max Winkler's debut feature film was difficult to get a hold of. If you recognize the name, he is indeed son of Henry Winkler. Sam, an aspiring writer, falls in love with an older (taller) woman after a brief affair. But she decides to return to her fiance and get married. Sam crashes her wedding to try and convince her not to while dragging his hapless friend along too for the ride. Seems like a run of the mill story but the cast is so unusual that it makes more than the typical unrequited love story. Sometime through it morphs into a story about two friends moving on with their lives. Plus Lee Pace is in it as an eccentric documentary filmmaker, not to be missed.
Melancholia
I couldn't decide whether I liked this film at all. While watching it I felt like my soul was slowly being distorted. The story is of two halves and two sisters. The depressed bride ruins her own wedding to the disappointment of her sister. The second half is about an impending doom about to befall the Earth which I found incredibly uncomfortable. I can't cope with stories about the apocalypse or cannibals. I squirmed around in my seat for the second half as the depressed bride welcomed the doom and the other sister panicked. I don't think I could sit through it all again, but the opening sequence of the film is incredible.
I really need to see Melancholia. I find Von Trier's films to be extremely distant from the audience, which turns me off, but this one always seemed different to me.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen Melancholia. Yeah, that's a total downer of a film. I needed therapy after watching it.
ReplyDeleteYour choices are different from the others. I like that but haven't seen your movies :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting choices. I adore Four Weddings and a Funeral. So tough on Andie McDowell, true she doesn't have the comedic grace of Sandra Bullock or Julia Roberts but their strong personalities would have thrown off the balance of the film and she a damn sight better than the other actress considered for the role-Sarah Jessica Parker! Ugh the mind reels at the mess she would have made of the role. Anyway besides Andie everyone is on their A game with Kristin Scott Thomas and Simon Callow giving Hugh Grant a run for best in show.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of Ceremony before but I've already queued it up. I like both Lee Pace and Michael Angarano so I'm looking forward to it.
Haven't seen Melancholia. I've heard that it's hard to like so I've avoided it. I've also heard Kirsten Dunst is excellent in it but I heard the same about Emily Watson in Breaking the Waves which lead me to watch that von Trier film. She was but lordy did I hate that movie!
There's a wealth of films on the wedding theme so I fished around in them a bit and came up with three that are lesser known but that I enjoyed. The last one in particular was a happy surprise with a gem of a performance by Ginger Rogers.
A Wedding (1978)-Robert Altman directed film with his usual kaleidoscopic cast ranging from Lillian Gish to Desi Arnaz, Jr. of the friends and family of a young couple who intermingle at a mansion before, during and after the ceremony, not always harmoniously. Not one of his wholly successful pictures but if you’re a fan of the director worth seeking out.
Royal Wedding (1951)-Tom and Ellen Bowen (Fred Astaire & Jane Powell), an American brother & sister dance team, are headed to a London booking that coincides with the celebrations of the upcoming 1947 marriage of then Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip. During the sea voyage Ellen meets Lord Brindale (Peter Lawford) and falls for him. Upon arrival Tom and Ellen begin planning their show where Tom meets the elegant Anne Ashmond (Sarah Churchill-Winston’s daughter) during auditions. So smitten is he with her he literally dances on the ceiling. Many memorable dance numbers later this MGM musical culminates in many nuptials.
It Had to Be You (1947)-Daffy comedy starring Ginger Rogers as a socialite notorious for leaving men at the altar. On her fourth fiancé she’s certain she’s found the right man until on a train trip another turns up in her dreams claiming to be her true love. Returning home she’s flustered to discover the man really exists, or is he a figment of her imagination? Sort of a precursor to Runaway Bride with a twist.
I haven't seen any of these but two are on my watchlist.
ReplyDeleteI love 4 Weddings and a Funeral and thought it would be everywhere today. Andie saying that she didn't notice it was raining made me cringe though. I haven't seen the other 2 and doubt I will see the last one-sounds too depressing
ReplyDeleteMELANCHOLIA!!! I ALMOST picked it, but decided against it. But I think it's absolutely incredible. Kirsten Dunst is just beyond in it as the bride whose depression takes on planetary form and destroys everything. It is a difficult sit but I thought it was well worth it.
ReplyDeleteI hated Melancholia. I gave up on Von Trier movies after that. It had so many good ideas that were wasted. I've never heard of Ceremony, but I love Michael Angarano so I'm throwing that in my Netflix queue immediately.
ReplyDeleteAnother Michael Angarano fan - yey!! I'm also a Reece Thompson fan and Lee Pace so I pretty much had everything in this film. The only other Von Trier films I've seen were Breaking the Waves which I did not enjoy one bit and The Idiots which I found disturbing and sad so I sold it. But I was interested in seeing his comedy The Boss of It All...
ReplyDeleteI like your interpretation of the film, far more interesting way to look at it, but I'm in two minds whether I liked it. I still maintain that the opening sequence is so beautifully made though.
ReplyDeleteOh it it depressing - no escaping that.
ReplyDeleteI though 4 Weddings and a Funeral would be too, but maybe everyone is fed up with it. I used to hate as it was EVERYWHERE and its always used to represent British film, that and Love Actually (which I cannot stand). But after having not seen it for years I went back to it and loved it.
I wonder if I can guess which two... the first and third?
ReplyDeleteI try to be a bit out there with my choices but I thought that two of them would be everywhere today - I was wrong :)
ReplyDeleteHahahaha thats an excellent way to sum that film up. I definitely was not right afterwards but mainly because of the impending end of the world thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree, he doesn't really entice people to watch his films again. I can't imagine anyone sitting at home thinking 'I feel like relaxing tonight, I know, I'll just watch Breaking the Waves'. His films can be good but not films you can enjoy. Its a weird art form, watch but you don't need to see again.
ReplyDeleteI suppose Andie McDowell had a bland enough character that she could fit in but it was her character that doesn't have the best scenes. The better ones involve the ensemble.
ReplyDeleteI hated Breaking the Waves. Emily Watson is brilliant but like you, oh gad I couldn't bear it!
I loved Gosford Park - wasn't too keen on The Player but A Wedding sounds interesting. I actually have a few other Altman movies I need to see. It Had To Be You sounds like my sort of film - even though I hated the Runaway Bride I like Ginger Rogers so I'm going to hunt that down now!
Yes, those two. And I never heard of Ceremony before yesterday
ReplyDeleteAha! :) To be fair I think most haven't heard of Ceremony.
ReplyDeleteSeen them all.
ReplyDelete4WaF - I have seen this at least twice but I can never remember what the movie is actually about.
Melancholia - I actually like it. It's weird with a lot of doom and gloom, and it had some very interesting surreal shots.
Hahahah its quite a basic plot - a group of friends meet up for each wedding (and funeral) and the side love story between Hugh Grant and Andie MacDowell.
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