Hi All, its Monday again.

Not sure what to blog about today so I thought I'd quickly catch up on some of the movies I watched over the January period. Now I have already mentioned "So I Married An Axe Murderer" but I have watched several films since then.

DW and I had been looking forward to seeing "The Producers" with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, but we found the movie to be a bit lame. While everyone played their parts reasonably well, overall it was like an ill-fitting jigsaw puzzle. Uma Thurman provided little more than eye candy but I did enjoy Will Ferrell's role. The part I found funniest in the whole movie was when Nathan Lane's character is in his cell toward the end, recounting his childhood only to realise moments later that what he was remembering wasn't his childhood but someone elses. The line "What the hell was that about?" was vintage Mel Brooks. Still, overall it was a fairly plodding film and perhaps the stage is where it should have stayed.

Another film I watched with anticipation was the Nick Cave written, "The Proposition" with Guy Pearce. This Australian film was one I would recommend with reservation. It is an extremely well crafted film, make no mistake. John Hillcoat has definitely shown his colours in directing this film. But it is a hard film to watch. At its core it is about family and this might make it seem appealing but wait... there's more. This film shows the ragged remains of strained relationships in brutal detail, and it is the brutality of this depiction that leaves you desperate for something emotionally equivalent to a palate cleanser. There are many films with far more graphic violence, but few more brutal. I will not watch this film again but I will always remember it and it will inform my own filmmaking in many ways, I am sure. So watch this film if you think you can stomach it, but remember, you have been warned.

A much lighter film was "Russian Dolls". DW did not watch the previous film with me and was reluctant to watch this one, though for different reasons. Anyway, we finally sat down and watched it and it was a pleasant surprise. It is a light film but very well made. It showed mostly simple depictions of relationships, but it highlighted some extremely significant things within that surface layer. Probably the best shot in the whole movie was seeing how two hands touch and hold for the first time. While this film was far from perfect, and the (anti) hero finally gets the girl, even though he probably doesn't deserve her, its still a satisfying film. It has some very funny moments as well but mostly, its simple and light and enjoyable. It won't change your life but its worth a look.

Anyway, that's all for today. I promise the next blog will have something about Princess and Little Man.

Ciao!

Thought for the Day: Absorbent and porous and yellow is he (I have the SpongeBob Squarepants tune stuck in my head)