Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)

Genres

Comedy | Romance

Director

Sharon Maguire

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Patrick Dempsey, Sally Phillips, James Callis, Shirley Henderson, Sarah Solemani, Neil Pearson, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Celia Imrie, Jessica Hynes, Kate O'Flynn, James Faulkner, Katia Elizarova, Ed Sheeran

Storyline

Single and focuses on her career only, now 43-year-old Bridget Jones (Renée Zellweger) finds herself pregnant and she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of the father.

Opinion

More than 10 years after the disappointing "Bridge Jones: The Edge of Reason", another female director has brought the life of Bridget Jones back to the screen. I have to admit that I was sceptical about it, but "Bridget Jones's Baby" turned out pretty good. Sure, it's not as good as the first one, but it still is a funny romantic comedy.

The story isn't anything new, it's basically the same of the previous two films with a slight difference, there's a baby involved this time around. It is very predictable - although I've read three different endings were filmed, you'll totally see that happy ending coming - still it kind of keep you guessing and engaged for the whole time.

About the new guy, Patrick Dempsey's American billionaire, I'm not so sure about it. A part of me would have loved to see Mark and Daniel both still fighting for Bridget, although I realise Daniel wouldn't be the father kind of guy. The other part of me is actually happy with the new character because, let's be honest, Patrick Dempsey is ridiculously handsome. And I never liked Grant.

But let's move onto the comedy. It feels fresh because instead of relating only on the (mis)adventures of Bridget and on she constantly making a fool of herself, the film benefits from the fantastic Emma Thompson. She plays Bridget's gynaecologist in such a humourous way, and her performance alone is worth the watch.

As for Renée Zellweger, she nails Bridget for the third time. She is able to bring to the character than craziness, goofiness and uniqueness that made me fall in love with her character in the first place.

I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)

Genres

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Director

Macon Blair

Country

USA

Cast

Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, David Yow, Jane Levy, Devon Graye, Christine Woods, Robert Longstreet, Gary Anthony Williams, Lee Eddy, Derek Mears, Jason Manuel Olazabal, Matt Orduna, Michelle Moreno

Storyline

Fed up with the human indecency she sees around her and set off by her home being burglarized, Ruth (Melanie Lynskey) teams up with her martial arts-crazed neighbour (Elijah Wood) to exact vengeance. However, the duo soon finds themselves deep into a world they know little about.

Opinion

Although Netflix has been misfiring a lot lately, I still decided to give "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore" because of the involvement of Elijah Wood, who I love, and Melanie Lynskey of whom I've seen very little, and I was pleasantly surprised with this quirky and rather suspenseful dark comedy.

The story is pretty banal and very absurd to say the least, but it's the absurdity that makes it so engaging because you never know what to expect from it. It does take a while to get going but once it starts flowing, it doesn't stop until the end.

I've already mentioned how absurd the plot is, yet director Macon Blair is able to deliver it with such a realism - one could easily think it was based on a true story - and, despite the transition from quirky comedy to tense thriller, he manages to make it feel very natural.

The characters are also very interesting, eccentric yet realistic people to which it's easy to relate, especially Ruth, a very well developed character whose life is just like most of ours - or at least mine -, full of small disappointment and wondering what the hell is going on with the world, because just in case you didn't notice, assholes are everywhere.

And the leading duo does a very good job. Melanie Lynskey plays Ruth brilliantly, bringing to the character the right amount of humour and drama, and Elijah Wood gives an equally brilliant and (surprisingly) humorous performance as her neighbour.

Thursday Movie Picks: Ancient World

It's Thursday again which only means it's time for another episode of Thursday Movie Picks, the weekly series hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves where you share three movies to fit the theme of the week each Thursday.

I've always loved ancient history, but the truth is I haven't seen a lot of films set in this time period - which is 3600 BC - 500 AD -, therefore my dream of picking three movies set in ancient Greece or ancient Rome didn't come through. However, I still was able to find three good films with everything, there's Greece, Rome and Egypt.

Hercules (1997)

The son of Zeus is turned into a half-god and half-mortal and he's raised by mortals. Years later, he finds out that he is the son of a God and that in order to reclaim his immortality he must become a hero. This was one of my favourite Disneys when I was a kid and still is because it's so fun and the songs are great.

Gladiator (2000)

After being betrayed and seeing his family murdered, Maximus Decimus Meridias is taken into slavery and trained as a gladiator, and he lives only to someday take his revenge. I haven't seen this in ages, but it is a fantastic epic film.

Agora (2009)

Although many say it's a biography of Hypatia of Alexandria, it is more the story of a slave who becomes a Christian in the hope of pursuing freedom and falls in love with his mistress, the philosopher and mathematician Hypatia of Alexandria. As you can tell the plot is a mess, but I believe the purpose of this film was to show the conflict between human intellect and faith and that it does good. 

Baran (2001)

Original Title

باران ‎‎ Hamsay-e khoda

Genre

Drama

Director

Majid Majidi

Country

Iran

Cast

Hossein Abedini, Zahra Bahrami, Mohammad Amir Naji, Abbas Rahimi, Gholam Ali Bakhshi, Jafar Tawakoli

Storyline

In Iran, when the illegal Afghan worker Najaf (Gholam Ali Bakhshi) breaks his foot in an accident in a construction of a building, his fragile son Rahmat (Zahra Bahrami) becomes his replacement bringing his secret along.

Opinion

Months ago I read enough about "Baran" to make me want to see it, and although those were pretty good things, I wasn't expecting to like it as much as I did. But what can I say, it is such a human, beautiful and touching film.

The story is unbelievable, in a good way. It is basically a love story set in a construction site, which is definitely a weird, unusual location for such a story to take place, but it works very well; it is well-developed, beautifully told, engaging and incredibly touching.

However, the story of forbidden love is just a facade. Majid Majidi uses it to address issues concerning immigration, refugees, illegal workers and the role of women in a society such as the Iranian, and through the character, he also makes a quite deep study of culture differences.

Other than being sensitive, touching, deep, thought-provoking and humorous, "Baran" is also a visual masterpiece. Every single shot is beautiful and able to deliver emotions. The photography also provides us, in a stunning way, the ugly side of Iran, Tehran in particular.

The cast is also worth of a mention. They aren't the most outstanding actors - I do believe most of them aren't even professional actors -, but they all look so authentic and natural, they give the film an even bigger feeling of reality.