Peppermint Friday Review #29: Anastasia

This was a film I needed to do of as its amazing and so beautiful, it just so happens to be one of my favourites.

This isn't a Disney film firstly not that, that's not a big deal or anything, just need to know as many people assume its Disney, its got Disney Animators but its not the company its made by Don Bluth and 20th Century Fox. Anyway the story is the true story of the lost Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanov, after her family were fallen and she escaped and was lost. There's a girl called Anya who looks like Anastasia, acts like her, talks like her and she doesn't remember her life from the age of 8 years old, just like the Grand Duchess theres no memory of what happened to her after she was 8 years old. Anya meets Vlad and Dimitri who is a con-man and a former servant to the Tsar, who is convinced Anya is Anastasia. Anya wants to go to Paris, funnily enough that's where Anastasia Grandmother is. So that's where they go, but Rasputin a former servant is greedy and selfish and wants it all for himself. 

What can I say about this film? Other than its brilliant and beautiful all the costumes yes I know its an animation but just adore the costumes so much, and when I was a kid I needed to wear them and now I need to wear them. The animation and artwork of the film is so beautiful and it just looks gorgeous from the scenes in St Petersburg to the scenes in Paris, the difference between the places are just incredible with the humble working class people in St Petersburg during the song A Rumor in St Petersburg which by the way is an amazing song. The decor of the town and the costumes are just wonderful, it just feels real you can really tell where they drew there inspiration from. In Paris the colours the vibrancy of the city is so electric I love that dynamic of the film. 

The music in the film is beautiful, I love Once Upon A December, Learn To Do It, In My Dreams, and Quartet At The Ballet all of the songs are just beautiful and fit so well with the film. I think with musicals a song should be included if there's a realisation of something and with this it does it extremely well. Rumor has it that there going to adapt this film into a Stage Musical which would be just amazing and I can't wait as its an amazing story thats based of History and with beautiful songs and costumes it would just be so unique to have. 

I love the opposites that the film has, its the opposite lifestyles from St Petersburg and Paris, and its got the opposite side of Anya/Anastasia, from her beginning to not knowing who she was to knowing who she was and proud of it, but still remaining true to herself but looking and acting a little more groomed and like a lady. Which does happen to many nerds and people, I say that as she is very relatable to anyone who is going through an identity crisis, not only just that, its relatable to those who are going through a change of some sort and you can interpret that in anyway you want! 

The cast is Meg Ryan as Anastasia, John Cusack as Dimitri, Christopher Lloyd as Rasputin, and Bernadette Peters as Sophie, Anastasia's first cousin and Angela Lansbury as Anastasia's Grandmother, and also Hank Azaria as Bartok, Rasputin's servant. Its so brilliantly casted with the comic relief of it and the tone of each character is brilliant and makes the characters so lifelike. I love Bernadette Peters and Angela Lansbury in this as they are both Stage Actresses and they know about Animation and Musicals, and plus it kinda puts a stamp on the film of being very established. 

                                                             
Regardless of the accuracy behind the history of the story, you should see it as its got gorgeous animation, beautiful costumes and amazing songs it all just works. It sent shivers down my spine when I was a kid and it still does now. I will see you all later and have a good day/weekend. 

Review: Maleficent

I've been meaning to do a review of this for a while as its such an interesting story and concept of a Villain who has a complicated past, and a reason as to why she's is who she is in the Original classic. I've also never spoken about Angelina Jolie before, so that needs to change. 

I'm sure many of you will know the story if not, here's a brief synopsis. Its set from the point of view of Maleficent, and her story as to what happen to her leading up to Princess Aurora and what we see in Sleeping Beauty.  Maleficent actually was in love with King Stefan growing up, but as they got older and were from different backgrounds, they couldn't be together as it was inevitable. As Stefan wanted to be king, and Maleficent was ruler of the Moors, Stefan wanted to rule and injured Maleficent leaving her wingless. So she gets revenge at Stefan partly from a broken heart but also completely destroying her.

I love Angelina Jolie already but she played this part with such gusto and gave the character so much more depth. I love Diavial her friend who was a Raven but in human form, he is brilliant as he gives her a humanity side to her. She is this very alienistic and has feelings like all humans, but sometimes she can be too proud. Little fact about this film, when they were casting toddler Aurora, they could only choose Angelina Jolie's daughter as most toddlers were too scared of her in her costume! 

The costumes in this film are the best, I love Maleficent's costume I thought they gave it a modern makeover but still remaining true to the Original Animation. Aurora, Prince Phillip and the fairies all have amazing costumes all so fitting with the period but remaining true to character. The three fairies, Knotgrass, Thistlewit and Fittle (played by Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple and Lesley Manville) were all so brilliant and funny, loved the dynamic between them all. The chemistry between Prince Phillip and Aurora (played by Elle Fanning and Brenton Thwaites) is just adorable, as Aurora is a teenager and very sweet. 

Elle Fanning was just brilliant, as she is so young it was perfect that she played a teenager princess. If she was played by a 30 year old actress who does and could pull of being a 16 year old perfectly yeah it would've worked, but not as well. Sam Riley and Sharito Copley who played Diaval and King Stefan, were just brilliant I liked that you got to know the characters much more than in the Original one. I'm not even a big fan of Sleeping Beauty but this has made me love it loads, I think the Original is still amazing as it has the music in, and I think if Disney changed the music for this film, you'd have a riot on your hands. Although I think everyone liked Lana Del Rey's version of 'Once Upon A Dream'.

This film is just beautiful, whether you're a fan of Sleeping Beauty or not, its a beautiful story with an amazing character development. The costumes are beautiful, as well as the script and characters, regardless of the amount of remakes/reboots/prequels are happening this is one that is worth watching. 

Peppermint Friday Review #28: Beauty & The Beast

Earlier this week I went to see Beauty & The Beast and thats what I'm gonna talk about today. It has taken the world by a storm and I won't compare it to the Original Animated on entirely as one's live action and the other is Animated, but the story still stands the same, but in this one we get to know about Belle and the Beast's past and there mothers. 

I loved this film so much, Emma Watson plays Belle and I do love Emma Watson she is so beautiful and every inch of Belle brilliant casting. There was something in the back of my mind that just made me go 'hmm i'm not sure' as I personally and still do think this, would love if they got a Broadway Actress to play Belle as she would have been unknown in the film world and knew exactly how to play her and do both the singing and the acting. That's not to say Emma Watson didn't do a good job, she was amazing and I loved her and always will! 

Josh Gad who plays Le Fou was fantastic, in this version Le Fou is gay and has quite a crush on Gaston. Which is something that I don't think people cared about, it actually made me like Le Fou more as in this version he had more depth and more character, rather than in the original. The songs I loved were, Gaston, Be Our Guest, Belle, Something There, all the classics. They got rid of If I Can't Love Her from the Stage Musical so that annoyed me, but they replaced it with two beautiful new songs Days In The Sun and Nevermore.

The costumes were so beautiful and stunning, it was all very fitting for the period and time. Dan Stevens was so charming, the relationship with him and Emma was beautiful. I loved it, even when they turned back into humans, because usually I don't like it and want them to go back to being objects and the beast. The Beast's past was interesting to me, because we all knew that he was an arrogant person who didn't care and had a curse upon him to turn himself into a Beast until someone loves him for who he is.

The Beast's mother was a kind and wonderful person, someone I guess could be very similar to Belle, whereas his Father was in some ways like Gaston. In this version you learn about Belle's mother and what happen to her and I must say I am a little disappointed about that. As I would've liked it to be a bit more dramatic, but it was still wonderful, and well thought out. Overall this film is well worth watching, especially if you loved the Animated Original and the Stage Musicals or just Musicals in general. 

Review: Inside Out

Been a bit absent recently not gonna explain why life just happens thats all. But I really wanna talk about this film, as its a Pixar and we all know and love Pixar yes we do, and its fascinating because its a Children's film with themes and messages that kids won't understand and I'm not talking about dirty jokes. 

Those of you who don't know, Inside Out is essentially about Mental Heath and how the human mind works. That already is very big and heavy for a kid to understand, but I think kids are more intelligent for what they're parents and teachers give them credit for. The plot is about a girl called Riley and is just an average kid with two parents who love each other, and she loves Ice Hockey, hates Broccoli. She is moved to a new town, at the start of the film in her mind she has her emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Anger( Lewis Black) Sadness (Phyllis Smith) Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kalling). all control Riley in certain situations like if she's playing Ice Hockey she's happy and Joy takes control.

They also take control and organise all the memory orbs, a memory orb is a prominent moment of your life well in this case Riley's so for example it could be her first Ice Hockey game, because Ice Hockey is one of her passions. Until one day Sadness touches on of the orbs and Riley associates it with being sad. It just teaches kids about mental illness and how the minds work, and I love that as its important for not just kids but everyone to learn about emotions and empathy for what people are feeling and respect those thoughts in which we are indifferent to and such. 

It also has the witty dialogue Pixar are known for that fits well with both age demographics with kids and adults. I love that Pixar incorporated both the serious side to growing up and the fun and happy side to it aswell. Its got the wonderful talent from Mindy Kalling who was in the Office, and Amy Poehler who both are so funny and witty already as they are comedians, to put them in an animated film and they just riff is brilliant, because they can add so much to the character and make it 10 times more lively. I also love the differences between Mom and Dad's emotions with Mom its very attentive to what Riley's actions are and how she speaks. Dad on the other hand is up with the fairies and as soon as Mom looks at him he just panics and agrees. 

I love this film so much and I'm so glad Pixar made it, not because its wonderfully done with the animations and all that, but with the story arch and what it shows to everyone as its important to understand empathy. Some of the other characters in the film are brilliant aswell, like Bing Bong Riley's old imaginary friend, he is the best and so funny, and adorable. I also love how important he is to Riley as it shows you should never forget about your childhood best friend regardless whether you still talk to them or not. 

                                                       
You need to watch this film if you haven't seen it, because its funny with it being very mature as it tackles with emotions and the human mind. Because feelings are complicated and to put it in such a simple but also being witty about it, is very impressive. Its such a great film as Mental Health is getting better and much more support its wonderful to have a story like this to exist. 

Peppermint Friday Review #27: Porco Rosso

Been really wanting to do a review of a Studio Ghibli film as they are amazing, and everyone should talk about them, as I only ever really hear film buffs talk about them (like me), and Anime fans, as Studio Ghibli is the Japanese Disney. So I don't really hear that many people talk about them, well in my area I know its a multi million empire churning out classic films, but whenever I mention it too people they're like 'who?' and that annoys me. 

Porco Rosso is about a World War I veteran who was turned into a pig by a curse before the film takes place, his mannerisms are very charming, and gentleman like. At the beginning Porco take down some sky pirates, after he's finished he goes to his usual diner and bumps into an old friend Gina. The head of the sky pirates go to their diner and plan for they're next attack, which is on Porco. Porco gets attack, and is assumed dead, he then decides to head for Milan to see the mechanic Piccolo assisted by his granddaughter Fio who is very enthusiastic about mechanics.

This film is so amazing, and funny I simply adore the quick witt humour of the script. The time period its set in is 1930s and instantly its appealing to me I love the costumes, the language being used its so stunning, its delicious. Porco is just brilliant, I love how relaxed he is about his appearance, you can tell he's annoyed by it, but not too much from the outside. The story shows you should never judge a book by its cover, with Porco looking like a pig, doesn't mean he is a pig and acts like one. With Fio who is a young woman, that loves mechanics and is amazing at it, you just never know a person until you get to know them, we all have many secrets and troubles.

Gina is a a character that I love, she is so funny and beautiful, she is very streetwise and you honestly wouldn't think it considering, she is very welll off and beautiful. That's why I love Studio Ghibli so much the way they write they're characters is brilliant, I love how relatable and varied they are. There's not one character who I look at and go 'oh she's like this' or 'he's similar to him' its so different and brilliantly written. I loved that they made the main character a pig, because if Porco was a real man, I don't think it would have been as good a film or character, because it gives it an air of mystery. 

Few other minor characters I like are the members of the Gang, Porco and FIo meet. One of them has such a funny voice its so crazy, and memorable I don't know if I hate it or I like it, its like marmite. I like with Studio Ghibli that with creativity there's no limit, with every Studio Ghibli film its different from the other and thats why i love it, with Disney and I ]'m not hating Disney as they're getting better with stories, its just that most of they're stories are about Princesses. With this film its about air pirates, a man who turned into a pig, if I described it to someone who knows nothing about it, they'll think its some dark, grown up film. 

Overall you should give Studio Ghibli a go as they are amazing and make some real diamonds, and Porco Rosso is a great start! One day I will do a post on my favorite Studio Ghibli films, as they're so good everyone should watch them. I will speak to you all later and have a great day wherever you are!

Favorite Animal Films

It's funny because this week is actually the most diverse yet, because I'm talking about films of all genres and for all different ages, even in this post I have 2 very grown up, intellectual films and they have animals in of all things. 

Babe

We're gonna start with a film that was one of the first films I ever remembered, and one of the first books I ever read. Babe is such a beautiful wonderful film, about a pig who wants trains to be a sheepdog and its the journey he goes on. I adore this film so so much its so heartwarming, and uplifting it really holds a special place for me as I found it really hard to read and it was one of the first books I read cover to cover and I was obsessed with this film, it's also my dad's favorite film. Its so inherently British despite that its filmed in Australia, its got the typical farmer aspect which I love so much. 

Animal Farm

From one golden pig to a dictator pig, its a George Orwell classic. Now most of you have probably read this in school,  I didn't but I watched the 1954 version a few weeks ago but I need to read the book. As I know its so political and amazingly done to show all the parties and for someone who has only just gotten into politics its great that a story like this exists. This story is great for those who want to get into politics and learn about it, because it doesn't do it where its shoving down you're throat but very casual. I always thought it was for people who were a bit older as it got into things like politics and referenced dictators, but its something everyone should know whatever age, definitely worth a watch. 

Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

Another classic from my childhood with the brilliant voices like Michael J Fox and Sally Field. The story is about two dogs, Chance, Shadow and a cat Sassy, they are sent to this farm while there family is in the city for the summer, they all think that they've been abandoned so they go off and find them again. Its beautiful all the scenic views across America and its accurate to what the gang (I hate that word, but they are anyway) they all thought they were abandoned and I know the family were only gone for what twelve weeks or so, but for a beloved pet even a day is long. I adore Michael J Fox anyway but him as an American Bulldog is the best, and I love how witty and funny Sally Field is as Sassy, she is the best. 

The Birds 

I need to include this as its such a good film, its one of those films that ends up as a question on TV, and its so good oh god. I love where the film is set as I went to a place very similar when I was in New Zealand called Foxton and its so beautiful and relaxed, but of course this is not as casual and easy breezy as the place its set in. Full of tension thats what a Hitchcock film needs, in this film its the birds causing the most havoc that the humans, like in Animal Farm where its mainly the humans fault. I love films that are set in this location, and just the feel of this film is so brilliant.

Pom Poko

 I'm gonna end it on a Studio Ghibli film, a film that I didn't watch until very recently first of all I love Studio Ghibli and I will be talking about them alot more on this blog as its so creative and wonderful everyone should know them. The story is about a group of Raccoons who decide to rebel against the humans in the nearby city, so they decide to transform into humans and go undercover. Studio Ghibli really makes stories as creative as possible, and brings everything to life and at the end of the film you really think about the environment and you take a really good strong look at yourself.  

Review: Life of Pi

Going for a different flavour of films this week, I'm going to be talking about films with Animals in them, so the film can be a comedy, romance, thriller, sci-fi, horror whatever genre just as long as its got an Animal in it. Today we're gonna talk about this beauty of a film, as its so beautiful and breathtaking and as a person who loves animals of all species its great to watch a film with so much diversity and culture.

Now the film Life of Pi is about the life of Piscine who is visited by an author called Yann Martel (who wrote the novel the film was based off) and thinks Pi's life is worth writing a book about. His family owns a zoo and moves to Canada to settle and sell the animals until a shipwreck happens and Pi gets on a lifeboat, along with a Zebra with a broken leg as he lands, an Orangutan, Hygena and a Tiger from his childhood called Richard Parker. From there he has to survive and cope with the conditions he faces in the middle of the ocean and taking care of four animals.

What I like about this film is that its so aesthetically pleasing, its filmed in Taiwan and its so beautiful you can't believe its real, like theres a place that's so breathtaking you only imagine it in story books. The animals that were used in the film were again just so beautiful and stunning, I love animals already but the close ups of them and to see the whites in there eyes and see them as characters rather than just accessories. Because a lot of films that involve animals, they don't take them as characters with thoughts and feelings and that's hard to do as you can't give them dialogue and they usually say never work with kids, and animals as typically they can do what they want. But with this film the animals are just as if not more important than the human characters.

I guess it could be to do with the Hindu aspect of the film, religion plays a big part in this film but it does it in a really nice way that's not too shouty and in your face about it. Pi was bought up with a Hindu family, and when Pi was 12 he was introduced to the views of belief by Christianity and Islam and from there he decided to follow all three. I think that's very open minded and gives total freedom to everyone who wishes to follow a belief. Hinduism plays a big part of the film as from what I know about Hinduism is that they believe animals and creatures deserve respect, hence why there's a lot of Vegetarians. 

This film was directed by Ang Lee who is such a brilliant filmmaker it was obvious this story had to be created on screen by him, he completely understood the plot and the elements of this story and even though I haven't read the book yet, so I guess what I could be saying is blissfully ignorant. The Actors who have played Pi from childhood to adulthood are all so amazing, especially teenage Pi who spent months on that boat and it was his first proper role and a total newcomer. Thats another thing I love about this film is that Ang Lee didn't choose a huge actor who already had a big following, he chose an Actor who was everything Pi was despite his background.

                                                              
Cinematography in this film is just stunning, I need to go to Taiwan now. The animals were beautiful from the animals in the zoo to the animals that kept Pi company on the boat in the middle of the ocean and the meerkats on the island that Pi and Richard Parker end up on, thats another character I love Richard Parker, he was so gorgeous and really symbolises Pi's journey as at the beginning Pi's fascinated by Richard but Richard is a typical tiger and sees him as an another human. As it goes on they bond and in some ways Richard kinda adopts Pi and brings him and turns him into a man especially with the connection Richard has with Pi's father at the beginning. 

I'm going to end this post on this gif, and I love what Pi's saying about religion its a million different doors and rooms so why rent a room when you can buy a house with different rooms. The animals are the real stars of this film as you can see all the emotions of there face, like what they're thinking how they're feeling all the things when it comes to Acting with humans. It shows animals how I see them, and I do believe that they are such beautiful, intelligent creatures who I'm sure could speak would have a lot to say. All I can about this film is that, it really affected me and nailed what I think about religion and animals. You should definitely watch this film, and I need to read the book now as the film is beautiful the book is usually better. Anyway I'll see you all on Wednesday and have a lovely morning/afternoon/evening/night wherever you are!

Peppermint Friday Review #26: Sullivan's Travels

I hope you enjoyed Wednesday's post as it was nice to talk about something abit different for a change, and appropriately it was uploaded on International Woman's Day which wasn't planned at all by the way. Anyway we're gonna talk about an Actress and one of the best films ever I think, and it needed to be a Peppermint Friday Film to talk about, I couldn't just do it on any other day.

To put it short this film is about filmmaking, John Sullivan played by Joel McCrea is a Director who has done well, and made some money from the films he's made, but is creatively dissatisfied with the films he's made and wants to make some real gritty drama instead of the comedies he's making. The studio he works for wants him to make a film that is very much the same genre and style of film. John decides he wants to see the world at first hand so he becomes a tramp and bumps into a struggling actress called as in the film 'The Girl' who is played by Veronica Lake.  

The dialogue of this film is just brilliant, I love how witty they are and the quick humour of them both. Veronica Lake is such a beautiful woman and an amazing actress, she is a woman who I admire greatly and her portrayal of an actress who has struggled and has found it really hard the fact that she has this sense of humor is amazing and so classy and sultry she is a woman who I think we should all aspire to be. One of my favorite bits of the film and its turned into a classic line for varies films, TV shows, Theatre alike and that's when they're in the car and he goes 'What could go wrong?' and suddenly they're in prison together.

Joel McCrea is brilliant, he's an actor I've only seen in one film and that's this film, but despite that he's a good actor and I love the chemistry between him and Veronica Lake it's like an old married couple, and that's something I love in romance I like the witty, fun atmosphere with it, instead of it being all serious all the time as it's nice to have a bit of yin and yang. The character development from Joel's character is something I love, I love that he is so relatable because creative people are very erratic at times, its about changing things up all the time.

 Sully I should call him, at the beginning he is very frustrated with what he's doing, he wants to create gritty realism that has dirt underneath its fingernails, throughout the film he wants to deal with real trouble by being a tramp, he meets a beautiful girl who is struggling as an actress and is seriously thinking about going back home. She brings light to him and he brings light to her, and you all know already how much I love witty, cleverly written comedies with added genres and themes of anything. 

Minor characters I love are the Head of the studio which Sully works for, he is so patronising towards Sully about him doing something different which I like as he was very cheerful about it, which makes him even more so patronising, but I liked that because it succeeded in what the character set out to do. The butlers were so funny, and relaxed about it, one of my favorite bits of them was when Sully and Veronica were by the pool and fell in twice because they were having quite a heated conversation. They were so 'oh they're in the pool' and I just found it so amusing, during the end of the film when the plot gets thicker and much more deep.

                                                              
One of the cutest and most picturesque screenshot of the film that I love and holds a memory for me is the scene where Sully is on a boat in his hobo gear with a dog, I don't think there's nothing more beautiful than a man with his dog. You should definitely watch this film its so witty and wonderful, with a brilliant cast and its got Veronica Lake in and that's a film made I think. On that note I shall speak to you all very soon, and have a lovely weekend!

Women In Film

Follow my blog with Bloglovin This post was along time coming, and here it is I wanna talk about what I think of feminism and whether I'm a feminist or not, and women in film from behind the scene jobs such as Directors, Producers, Writers and such, also I wanna talk about female characters and they're representation and what impact they have. I also wanna touch on another topic that's not talked about as much and thats a female who's a fan of films, like me. 

Before you ask I am a feminist but I'm a quiet feminist I say that as the word scares me a bit and I'll explain why. When I first heard of the word 'Feminist' I was about 8 or 9 and we learnt about the Suffragettes in London fighting for the right to vote for women that's when I first heard that term and what it meant and since them until fairly recently that's just what I thought a feminist was. I thought a feminist was a woman who was stuck in the old Suffragette times thinking we needed rights for women and yes we do but not in the U.K which is where I live, but in some underdeveloped countries and countries that women don't have support and aren't as lucky we are in the U.K and USA where we have the vote and free speech if you get what I mean.

That term of what I thought what a feminist was which is very old fashioned and really bad to think that way, as recently its not the case anymore. Like with Emma Watson and the speech she gave at the UN and the HeForShe campaign, she made feminism much more modern and clear the light on it a little. She basically explained what feminism is much less about women but more of a whole issue with both genders, its about equality for everyone and thats what I believe in its not 'Women Vs Men' or 'Men Vs Women' its a human issue. I say I'm a quiet feminist as there are still some scary, crazy feminists out there, but obviously not everyone is and I'm sure everyone will know what I mean by crazy feminists.

Anyway that's what I think of feminism and me being a feminist, its not like its weird I think everyone is a feminist. In terms of films and the behind the scenes aspect, the gender gap is interesting as its not like women are rubbish at being Directors, or Producers and Writers. It is getting better, particularly in TV I feel as there are more Female Producers and Writers and definitely Directors than there were 10 years ago or so. It is getting better its just we're not choosing to see it, like for instance Breaking Bad an amazing TV Show, extremely popular and its had 6 female producers working on the show consistently for 5 years I think thats amazing and brilliant but often overlooked. Plus there are so many amazing Directors that just happen to be female like Sofia Coppola, Jane Campion and Jodie Foster who have made amazing films, but people don't put them in there favorite film list, its usually great films by a female director. It should be she's a great Director/Producer/Writer or whatever and she's a female, it should be about how good something rather than whether it was made by a woman or not. 

Female characters have improved so much, its amazing in Film and TV. Female characters are just as good and strong as the Male characters if not better sometimes. I don't know one person who doesn't wanna be Arya Stark from Game Of Thrones or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, as they're so strong and admirable women to look up to. But with the amazing characters of women in Film and TV theres also the bad characters, where writers feel the need to show as much flesh as possible or to show how chivalry the man is by the woman being a damsel in distress. I feel there are some badly written female characters as well as badly written male characters, but again its getting alot better.

As a woman who loves Films and TV something that I find is quite typically a male thing to enjoy, I say that as there aren't many females my age, older, younger who like the same things as I like that could be my problem that I'm not expanding myself more, but its something I have had problems with. In my experience and with my age it can be quite difficult to talk to people about films as they just assume I love Chick Flicks, Romantic Comedies and thats all I know. With my age, its usually with the older generation of film lovers, who immediately make the assumption of young people only liking films that were made in the modern age which can be the case but not always.

Its not that bad its just annoying as you're not taken seriously as someone who genuinely enjoys films, but its something that I've kinda used to my advantage in a way. As I'm talking to someone about films and they mention an actress like Bette Davis or an Alfred Hitchcock film, and quickly they try to explain to me who Bette Davis is or what the Alfred Hitchcock film is about and them having to explain who he is, because I clearly wouldn't know being a young woman who only likes Chick Flicks. I do enjoy being quite smug about it when I turn round and go I know who Bette Davis is, or yeah I've seen that Alfred Hitchcock film by the way, and there faces are just priceless because they don't expect it and suddenly you're taken seriously.

There is this thing called 'The Bechdel Test' for those of you who don't know its the test that show the active presence of females on film. Its based upon this comic strip and the questions are 1) the film has to have at least two women in it who both have names 2) who talk to each other 3) about something besides a man. You'll be surprised about how many films don't pass this test and films that do, examples of films that didn't pass the test are, The Social Network, The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and the Original Star Wars Trilogy, some examples that did pass the test are, Fifty Shades Of Grey, American Pie 2, and Deep Throat. I do find the test interesting as it should be so simple to have female presence in film, and the amount of films fail to do this its crazy, but its not the B-all and End all of good and bad films. I mean it doesn't distinguish whats a good film and a bad film that's matter of preference. 

Overall I think women have flaws as do men, I don't believe there's a superior with them both in terms of characters and jobs in films because like with any job or character there are good and bad people, its not a case of Men are the best Directors because some Men might be crap, and also not all Women are only fit for Makeup Artists and can't Direct at all. I do think there should be more encouragement for women to partake in the behind the scenes jobs as it were, because we're not encouraged enough to believe that its a job just as important as an Actress, Makeup Artist, Costume etc, I don't think, but that's an opinion so I could be talking rubbish to you. Although I believe you should do something because you want to and have the ambition to not because you wanna be the first at it, or there's no enough females in this area of job so I'll do it.

I hope this post wasn't too waffleley and incoherent and I got my point across without sounding like a feminazi. So that's what I think of feminism and this will be only time I'll talk about this in real detail as I do have opinions, but I like talking about films and on this blog that's what I do I mean it says it in the title so it speaks for itself in a way. I do hope you enjoyed this rather opinionated post of me talking about women and women in films, as I did enjoy writing this but I'll talk to you all on Friday which I will do a review on and it will be back to normal. I would love to know your opinions on women in film, as its interesting to know about different opinions and such. My twitter is @zaravalerielane if you're interested, anyway I'll talk to you all on Friday!

Review: Travels With My Aunt

Last week was abit wishy washy, as there was no usual Wednesday post, there was but not the Peppermint Friday way post if that makes sense. I did touch on something I'm really happy that I touched on and thats women in film, the posts I did were both involving Elizabeth Taylor and Tennessee Williams, and I spoke alot about the women in those stories. So we're gonna carry it on and it was a long time coming so thats what we're gonna do. This weekend I watched Travels With My Aunt, with Maggie Smith and Alec McCowen and thats what we're gonna talk about today.

Travels With My Aunt is about a man called Henry Pulling who's mother has just died (Alec McCowen) and at the funeral his Aunt Augusta played by Maggie Smith who says she raised him and not his mother. She has an African boyfriend called Zachery who is waiting for her, she is then received a package containing a served finger who belongs to her true love Ercole along with a note saying they will be reunited with payment of $100,000. Augusta asks if Henry can accompany her to Paris aware that she is has pay ransom, and its just as the title suggests 'Travels with my Aunt'

Firstly it has Maggie Smith in it, so you're immediately gonna enjoy it, plus its Maggie Smith as more of herself than anything you know what I mean if you watched her in interviews particularly back in the day. She's so acid tongue and witty, that's the Maggie that isn't shown that often and thats why I love it so much. Alex McCowen plays the opposite of Maggie Smith's character Augusta, he's shy, straight guy in the comedy. The character dynamic is amazing love how different they are to each other and it makes it so much more funny. The costumes are amazing aswell, love all the clothes Maggie wears in this film, its set in the 70's and that's an interesting and fun era of fashion and film. The fact that Henry is younger than Augusta and he's much more mature is one of the things that makes me love Augusta and Maggie Smith that much more shes's internally youthful.

The minor characters they meet on the journeys are just wonderful, they're such full of colour. Tooley is a firm favorite she's so quirky and adorable one of my favorite scenes was when she was flirting and encouraging Henry to smoke marijuana. She reminds me of Danielle Foussard from To Catch A Thief that cheeky, funny, slightly naughty girl and that kinda character is always fun to me. All the interesting funny peculiar people they encounter are just so brilliant, like the Taxi driver they meet as soon as they get to Paris he's so positive and can't speak that much English its so accurate its hilarious because we've all met someone like that when we go to different countries and its so bonkers you've gotta laugh at it. 

There is a serious side to it in terms of Augusta and the genuine of her being Henry's Aunt as it can be wishy washy, because throughout the film you're questioning whether or not she's his Aunt, but I'd like it to be one of those make of it what you will moments of film and storytelling. Another serious part of the story is, the problem with Augusta's relationships and how she feels about them. I loved that Augusta has that mind of an 18 year old, and doesn't give a thought about long term marriages, and focusing on the hear and now of relationships and flings. I just hope that I'm like that when I'm at that age. Adding that the 1970's of film and I think I've said this before, but its quite a serious era of film I feel it had much more of the dialogue and styles we see now, and I haven't seen that many 1970s films so its a good one to watch of those who haven't seen many. 

                                                                    
If you watched The Lady In The Van or read the review I did #promo then you'll see the similarities of characters in them both. Maggie is a fantastic Actress and if you loved The Lady In The Van then you'll love this film, just think of Travels with my Aunt as a younger version of Maggie in The Lady In The Van. Alec McCowen was amazing in it, just total opposites from each other, and I love that, just found out Alec McCowen past away only a month ago, so RIP. Give this film a go as its so funny with its witty lines, and brilliant Acting talents from Maggie Smith and Alec McCowen.