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winterbadgerEasy
At first I thought that this definite "chick flick" might have enough sex and humour in it to make my "guy" friends give it a try, but...naaah. Not even having D. B. Woodside (the demon-killing Principal Wood from Buffy and President Palmer in 24) or tough guy Brian O'Byrne can "redeem" it from the fact that it's essentially a movie about the mistakes we all make in relationships and the hope that we can eventually learn from them. It probably gets some "guy" points in that the central character (the beautiful Marguerite Moreau) eventually ends up with the jerk* instead of with the good guy**. Yes, in effect, it's true to so many real-life relationships--the nice guy gets screwed and the bastard is rewarded. That said, it's a quirky, interesting, appealing film with some good acting, so on the whole I recommend it.
*(The guy whose reaction to romantic competition is sneer at, belittle, and lie about the other fellow; who doesn't trust her and repeatedly lies to her; who throws her out of their apartment when she's tempted to--but doesn't--sleep with someone else after she thinks she's found him cheating on her)
** (The guy who really understands her, respects her, loves her, thinks of her feelings, and is open and honest with her)
Blue Juice
I totally forget how this ended up on my Netflix list, but I'm glad it did. In a typical Hollywood attempt to rewrite history (or retcon its own PR?), the current poster shown for this features co-star Catherine Zeta Jones and supporting actor Ewan McGregor, because of course he's a big name now. But the original promotions showed CZJ and her actual co-star, Sean Pertwee. The son of Jon Pertwee (one of the early Drs. Who), Sean is a decent actor (certainly as good as or better than CZJ, whose success has relied more on her stunning good looks than her thespic abilities) and does a creditable job in this film about the surfing scene in...Cornwall. Again, a lot of the film is about the relationship between Pertwee's and Jones's characters (yes, I watch a lot of films about relationships--by choice!), but there are several other subplots in motion, and there's some ripping scenes of awe-inspiring wave riders cutting, carving, and floating on some impressive (and scary) waves off St Agnes and Newquay. Sometimes over the top, sometimes briefly approaching the bitterness and pain of McGregor's next film, Trainspotting, Blue Juice explores how our friendships can sometimes collide with our dreams and our loves. It's not a classic for all time, but it's not a bad film. And at least based on this, I'm surprised that Sean Pertwee has done little more than one-ep appearances in mystery programs and voiceovers for computer games (including Medieval Total War, Fire Warrior, and the upcoming Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie!)
At first I thought that this definite "chick flick" might have enough sex and humour in it to make my "guy" friends give it a try, but...naaah. Not even having D. B. Woodside (the demon-killing Principal Wood from Buffy and President Palmer in 24) or tough guy Brian O'Byrne can "redeem" it from the fact that it's essentially a movie about the mistakes we all make in relationships and the hope that we can eventually learn from them. It probably gets some "guy" points in that the central character (the beautiful Marguerite Moreau) eventually ends up with the jerk* instead of with the good guy**. Yes, in effect, it's true to so many real-life relationships--the nice guy gets screwed and the bastard is rewarded. That said, it's a quirky, interesting, appealing film with some good acting, so on the whole I recommend it.
*(The guy whose reaction to romantic competition is sneer at, belittle, and lie about the other fellow; who doesn't trust her and repeatedly lies to her; who throws her out of their apartment when she's tempted to--but doesn't--sleep with someone else after she thinks she's found him cheating on her)
** (The guy who really understands her, respects her, loves her, thinks of her feelings, and is open and honest with her)
Blue Juice
I totally forget how this ended up on my Netflix list, but I'm glad it did. In a typical Hollywood attempt to rewrite history (or retcon its own PR?), the current poster shown for this features co-star Catherine Zeta Jones and supporting actor Ewan McGregor, because of course he's a big name now. But the original promotions showed CZJ and her actual co-star, Sean Pertwee. The son of Jon Pertwee (one of the early Drs. Who), Sean is a decent actor (certainly as good as or better than CZJ, whose success has relied more on her stunning good looks than her thespic abilities) and does a creditable job in this film about the surfing scene in...Cornwall. Again, a lot of the film is about the relationship between Pertwee's and Jones's characters (yes, I watch a lot of films about relationships--by choice!), but there are several other subplots in motion, and there's some ripping scenes of awe-inspiring wave riders cutting, carving, and floating on some impressive (and scary) waves off St Agnes and Newquay. Sometimes over the top, sometimes briefly approaching the bitterness and pain of McGregor's next film, Trainspotting, Blue Juice explores how our friendships can sometimes collide with our dreams and our loves. It's not a classic for all time, but it's not a bad film. And at least based on this, I'm surprised that Sean Pertwee has done little more than one-ep appearances in mystery programs and voiceovers for computer games (including Medieval Total War, Fire Warrior, and the upcoming Ultramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie!)
