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Many are quick to stick it to the chick flick. But! This most humble genre of filmographic entertainment serves many a noble purpose for millions of gals, and – to relieve the gender specificity – guys. Below are some I love, some I like, and some I’m not so keen on, but they all offer something: comforting catharsis, frivolous fun, light-hearted escapism, or easy-pleasing amusement.

Hugh Grant is a chick flick regular - Image courtesy of sponkit.com

‘Grant’-ing Much Laughter
Bridget Jones’ Diary
Notting Hill
Love Actually
Four Weddings and a Funeral
About a Boy

Richard Armitage of 'North and South' - Image courtesy of jrinla.com

Having the ‘Time Of Yore’ Life

North and South
Jane Eyre
Little Women
Much Ado about Nothing
The Importance of Being Earnest
An Ideal Husband
Sense and Sensibility
Emma

Not so clueless - Image courtesy of movies.go.com

An ‘Easy Going’ Evening
Clueless
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
The First Wives Club
While You Were Sleeping
Jerry Maguire

Julia Roberts plays the soiled dove - Image courtesy of cbc.ca

Sparkling ‘Jules’ of Jollity
Pretty Woman
Runaway Bride
Erin Brockovich
Notting Hill
Steel Magnolias

As Good As It Gets - Image courtesy of greencine.com

‘Hunt’-ing for Hilarity
What Women Want
As Good As It gets

Audrey Hepburn - Image courtesy of guardian.co.uk

Reminiscing About the ‘Old Days’
Casablanca
Philadelphia Story
Breakfast At Tiffany’s
Sabrina

Muriel gets married - Image courtesy of pettipond.com

‘Relative’ Revelry
Bend It Like Beckham
Muriel’s Wedding
My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Grease is the word - Image courtesy of freewebs.com

Feeling ‘Groove’-y
Grease
Flash Dance
Priscilla: Queen of the Desert
Moulin Rouge
Dirty Dancing

The English Patient - Image courtesy of filmreference.com

Having a ‘Weep’ and a Wine
Sophie’s Choice
An Officer and a Gentleman
The Colour Purple
The English Patient
Thelma and Louise
Ghost
The Bridges of Madison County

A likely pair - Image courtesy of voote.com

‘Hank’-ering for ‘Meg’-a Romance
You’ve Got Mail
Splash
When Harry Met Sally
Sleepless In Seattle
City Of Angels

Which chick flicks do you think are slick, get a tick, make you sick, do the trick?

Michaelie Clark

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Irresistible, From Any Direction

January 10th 2008 18:33

From the north, from the south, from any old direction you please, this little BBC production has more appeal than you can shake a stick at – and a lot of it is to be found in the fine form of Richard Armitage.

The delectable Richard Armitage - Image courtesy of photobucket.com

Based on the Victorian novel North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell, this four hour television miniseries of the same name (not strictly a film but close enough) is wholly engaging. Starring the majestic and striking Daniela Denby-Ashe (EastEnders, Absolutely Fabulous, My Family) as Margaret Hale, and Armitage (Robin Hood, Cold Feet, The Vicar of Dibley) as the ardent but iron-willed John Thornton, North and South (2004) tells a tale of class conflict, poverty and privilege, circumstance and culture, industrial dispute, loss, discovery, and simmering passion.

Thornton talks to Margaret... with his cravat off! Image courtesy of jrinla.com

Margaret Hale, a young, middle-class southerner with a haughty sense of propriety, finds that her life is to change forever when her father, an Anglican clergyman, leaves the church after a clash of conscience, and takes his wife and daughter to Milton, a factory town in the north. At first disdainful of this new place and everyone in it – even the handsome and powerful mill master, John Thornton – Margaret soon finds her attitudes changing as she becomes involved with the people of the town, and embroiled in both sides of a workers’ rebellion.

Daniela Denby-Ashe as Margaret Hale - Image courtesy of jrinla.com

Thornton, on the other hand, is quicker to recognise the change Margaret brings to his life, and, captivated by her regal beauty, frank intelligence, deep compassion and concern for justice, he asks her to marry him. Margaret’s harsh refusal wounds Thornton profoundly, but does nothing to diminish his feelings for her, and when tragedy strikes soon after, and secrets and misunderstandings abound, Margaret is forced to face the irrevocable truth of what lies between them.

A brooding Thornton looks out across his mill - Image courtesy of jrinla.com

Apart from many small sequential and circumstantial differences, this adaptation remains very true to the book, most particularly in tone and representation of the protagonists. Denby-Ashe gives a spirited portrayal of a distinctive and most remarkable heroine, while Armitage set hearts (and loins) aflame with his intensely persuasive performance. On the whole, North and South is a magnificently lavish production, with a strong cast, high-quality delivery, and stunning depiction of personal and social tensions still relevant today.

Note: Commendable supporting performances by Tim Piggot-Smith (V for Vendetta, Gangs of New York), Sinead Cusack (V for Vendetta, Hoffman), Jo Joyner (EastEnders, Dr Who), Pauline Quirke (Birds of a Feather, The Elephant Man) and Brendan Coyle.

Michaelie Clark

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Not So Legendary

January 6th 2008 18:33

It’s not often I see films about which I have no preconceptions. Usually I have an idea of what they are about; have read the reviews or books; have heard what people think. But I watched Francis Lawrence’s I Am Legend quite blindly, if that makes any sense at all. I had discussed it with a friend before I saw it, but as far as discussions go, this one was rather vague. All we knew was that it involved Will Smith in New York, running on a treadmill with a dog. “Is it about 9/11?” I asked. “I think it’s about aliens,” she replied. That was about as informed as I got. I hadn’t heard of the 1954 book by Richard Matheson, or seen either The Last Man On Earth (1964) or The Omega Man (1971), which are the two earlier adaptations.

Will Smith stars in I Am Legend - Image Courtesy of aolcdn.com

So it was with some surprise that I watched the opening scenes of Emma Thompson describing a new cure for cancer – a cure which, as the film progressed, I discovered had subsequently caused the death and mutation of most of the world’s population. There was not a Martian to be seen, all flying objects were identified as golf balls, and Tom Cruise was not present to be probed. (Though, incidentally, he was initially considered for the lead role, but that was when development of the film started, about twelve years ago, before everybody realised what a loony toss-bag he is.)

Anyhoo, due to this film usurping my expectations, I was forced to make my mind up on my own – not a lot of fun when you’re set on being lazy. I decided, after some thought, and some brain stimulating jelly babies, that I Am Legend isn’t that crash hot. It was watchable, and interesting in parts, but mostly, it seemed unrealistic and unconvincing.

Robert checks for mutants - Image courtesy of filmjournal.net

CGI technology is used far too much throughout the movie – to make The Infected seem less human, to make the animals spring about the deserted streets of New York, and to erase all the people hanging about during filming – giving it the feel of a Nintendo game. The lack of fear invoked by the rabid victims of the virus is also very disappointing, as is the open-endedness of how it all came to be, how the virus managed to spread as it did, how Robert Neville (Smith) managed to build his fortress, maintain sufficient resources, construct his lab… There are hints here and there, but they are far from adequate, leaving the viewer with a sense of unreality.

The strangely empty streets of New York - Image courtesy of buzzsugar.com

On the plus side, Will Smith is red-hot. He actually looks like a man who is exhausted from the constant struggle to survive in a world where he has lost everything. He seems older, with moments of quiet desperation which verge on insanity. This is demonstrated much less clearly in the slightly contrived scenes showing his close personal relationship with shop dummies, than it is in his moments without dialogue, and the scene where he stands in the lounge room, somewhat at a loss, reciting the lines from Shrek. It is both one of the funniest and saddest parts of the film, indicating so incongruously the depths of his despair, having only DVDs, a dog, and Bob Marley to save him from madness.

So in conclusion! Worth a look-see, albeit on DVD. Prepare to be underwhelmed by the special effects and those ever-so-‘scary’ infected folk, but keep your eyes on Smith as his performance hits home, and he proves once more he’s not just a funny Black man from Mississippi.

Michaelie Clark

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I Just Don't Like Her

December 28th 2007 18:33

She has earned fame and fortune as an actor, director and producer; she has been the muse of Woody Allen, won almost every major acting award, and been in some of the most memorable movies ever made. She is Diane Keaton, a superstar and extraordinarily talented woman. But I just don’t like her.

With feminine clothes and layered hair - a whole other Diane. Image courtesy of askmen.com

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It Has Been Jolly Good So Far

December 23rd 2007 19:33

I have just realised that I have been so busy* that I have not written a single thing for a whole week! Alas, this realisation has done little to prompt me into action. In fact, it has been an hour since I wrote that first line, and in that time, all I have done is smuggle a handful of my dad’s cashews and eat them furtively while watching Extreme Hollywood. This is hardly productive, but it’s Christmas and I’m staying with my parents and have thus reverted to childhood.

Anyway, the post must go on, but seeing as I am far too tired* just now to write anything decent, half-decent, or indeed, indecent, about movies, I will instead endeavour to overcome my weary* ways and say Merry Christmas and thank you to all the Orblers who have made my first four months here so amusing, interesting and fun

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Movie Menagerie

December 17th 2007 18:33

They don’t earn millions, they don’t make Oscar speeches, they don’t have run-ins with paparazzi, and their mating rituals aren’t reported in every magazine – and yet they are the ones that often steal the show. Below are some of the films where creatures have leant their animal magnetism to make the fans go wild.

Babe
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Only In The Movies!

December 10th 2007 19:25

I mean it. Not at work, not at the shops, not even in the privacy of your own bedroom. I’m talking about a particular breed of movie stunts, boys and girls, which you should never try at home. They are horrifying. They are terrifying. They can be downright dangerous. They are the hairstyles of film.

That’s right, the Hollywood hair-dos that are civilian hair-don’ts. The frenzied follicles, the stressed tresses, the shocking locks that should only be seen on screen, and sometimes not even there. Have a look-see at these twenty mad, mangy or moronic manes

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'Jane Eyre' Gets Some Flair

December 6th 2007 18:59

There is nothing at all “poor, obscure, plain [or] little” about this Jane Eyre – a two-part BBC film series directed by Susanna White. Instead, it is a production of rich distinction, a lustrous and most grand adaptation of a beloved Brontë tale.

Ruth Wilson as Jane Eyre - Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

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Very Merry Movies

November 30th 2007 00:26

As a kid, I loved it when the TV stations would start to screen Christmas movies. It meant Santa was on his way, and I would soon receive a jumping castle, a flying fox and/or a Mexican walking fish. Of course, Santa never did deliver, but I still continued to delight in the movies, year in, year out. Even the bad ones. As long as they were about Christmas, I was full of cheer!

Santa failed to deliver - Image courtesy of bullz-eye.com

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Remembering Roald Dahl

November 23rd 2007 08:11

As if we could ever forget him, when his legendary legacy lives on through every generation. Nevertheless, as today marks seventeen years since this amazing man’s extraordinary life came to an end, it’s a good time to look back at his trials and triumphs, and give tribute to those ever-so-wonderful stories of his.

Roald Dahl - Image courtesy of bbc.news.co.uk

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Great Flicks For Small Folk

November 19th 2007 18:18

No, I don’t mean movies with midgets – though, incidentally, I have included a few. I’m talking about kids’ films, suitable for adults of all ages. There was many a movie I marvelled at as a slightly wicked, yet adorable and charming child, and quite a few that still appeal to my inner imp now. Here are some of my favourites:

Mary Poppins, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and Pete’s Dragon – All three originated in the 1960’s and 1970’s and combine live action with animation to glorious magical effect. The first two in particular are quite similar, with their magnificent adventures and discernible direction from Robert Stevenson

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To Be Like Grace Kelly

October 31st 2007 19:17

Remembered most of all for her patrician poise, her sensuality and dignified elegance, the chemistry she seemed to generate so effortlessly both onscreen and off, and of course, her film star fame and royal union – Grace Kelly was a woman whose spirit lives on in golden immortality.

The sublime beauty of Grace Kelly - Image courtesy of moderngirlstyle.com

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