Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001, John Cameron Mitchell

Hansel (John Cameron Mitchell) is a young man from East Berlin who falls in love with an American soldier. In order to marry him and migrate to The States, Hansel has to have a sex change. Hansel becomes Hedwig and moves to America - but with the operation being a bit of a botched job, all she is left with is an a bit of a mess in the downstairs department - hence the angry inch.
Hedwig tours America (her husband has since left her), singing with her Eastern European band in chain restaurants and shopping mall foyers - her songs too big for the location. Hedwig's US tour also follows the tour of her now famous ex boyfriend Tommy Gnosis (Michael Pitt) who has stolen her songs.


Not a one for musicals, I started watching Hedwig and the Angry Inch (written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell) expecting I would be frequently pausing it to do the dishes, check Facebook and pat the dogs. But from the first scene I was hooked. Hedwig's band performances are so over the top they are deliciously funny. Yet Mitchell plays Hedwig's character as so brittle, affectionate, sweet and flawed that I fell a bit in love with her. The moments between Hedwig and Gnosis were tender are real that I lamented their break up.

I give it 4 stars.

Withnail and I (1985, Bruce Robinson)

A story about friendship (drugs and booze) and a holiday in the country.

This is a film that underwhelmed me the first time I saw it, two years ago.  However, on this, my second viewing, I think it’s a masterpiece.

This film is hilarious! And with so many quotable lines I wish I had a better memory.

It’s 1969 and struggling London actors, Withnail and Marwood, tired of the filth they live in and their uneventful lives, decide to rejuvenate themselves with a jaunt in the country. But without the modern conveniences with which they are accustomed, their friendship is put to the test.

Richard E Grant is superb as the ever-intoxicated Withnail and Paul McGann is brilliant as Marwood.

Highly recommended!

Kill Bill (2003, Tarantino)

My third viewing of Kill Bill tonight.

Lilya 4 Ever (2002, Lukas Moodysson)

Somewhere in post Soviet Russia, Lilya's mother leaves for America with her new husband - promising to send for 16 year old Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) once they are settled. As the days pass it becomes evident that Lilya has been abandoned. Her only confidant is Volodya (Artyom Bogucharsky) , a boy several years younger than Lilya and also an out cast. Lilya struggles to survive until one day she meets and falls for Andrei, who promises to help her start a new life in Sweden.

Written and directed by Lukas Moodysson, this is a relentlessly harrowing film. Moodysson's directing is superb, and it's even more impressive knowing that although the film is in Russian, he doesn't speak the language. He gets a brilliant performance out of all the actors particularly those who play Lilya and Volodya. Rarely does a film move me this deeply - I haven't stopped thinking about it since I watched it several days ago. It deserves every award that it won, and more.

Double Bill

It must always be hard to make a sequel to a classic such as In the Heat of the Night (1967, Norman Jewison) . They Call Me Mr Tibbs (1970, Gordon Douglas) is rather lacklustre - although it does have a pretty cool Quincy Jones soundtrack and it's fun to see a young Martin Landau. There were quite a few continuity issues with the sequel - the one I noticed particularly was that Mr. Tibbs in the first film was unmarried (I remember that point because I fancy Sidney quite a bit). In the sequel he has a wife (which he has been with for ages apparently) and two kids. The crime Mr. Tibbs had to solve didn't grab me so much - but his parental skills did. Watching him give a cigar and whiskey to his 8 year old son until he spewed (to teach him a lesson) was interesting.

I really wasn't overly keen to watch An Affair to Remember (1957, McCarey); I thought it would be overly saccharine and schmaltzy - A rich play boy falling in love with a quick tongued lovely lady on a cruise ship. But - I found the film completely endearing; the dialogue witty, sharp and sweet. I was also really impressed by Carey Grant's sun tan as he even managed to be coffee brown between the fingers. Worth viewing and it will remind you of Sleepless in Seattle (if you have seen Sleepless in Seattle). I wonder what Meg Ryan doing these days.

Since Otar Left (2003, Julie Bertolucci)

The story of the relationships of three generations of women. Set in contemporary Georgia, the elderly matriarch Eka (Esther Gorintin) lives with her daughter Marina (Nino Khomasuridze) and granddaughter Ada (Dinara Drukarova) in a small apartment.

Eka’s beloved son, Otar, has been living in France for the past two years to get work and start a better life.

Eka adores her son and looks forward to receiving his letters and the occasional telephone call. Her relationship with her daughter Marina, however, is quite strained. Although Marina takes good care of her mother she can’t seem to get the approval and love she so deeply craves and deserves.   Ada is young, intelligent and diligent and the glue that binds the elder women together.

One day as Eka is out to the country; Marina and Ada receive a phone call, which notifies them of Otar’s death. Not wanting to break Eka’s heart Ada and Marina decide to keep Otar’s death a secret and compose Otar’s letters to Eka and things become more and more complicated as they try to conceal the truth from Eka. But Eka is more astute than they think.

This is a beautiful story with rich characters and superb acting by the three female leads. I love this film more and more on every viewing. A film with heart and soul.

Tonight's Movie

I've been meaning to watch it since it came out in 1992.....