Paddington (2014) Film Review

So, Paddington (voiced by Ben Wishaw) ends up in London, gets adopted by Henry Brown (Hugh Bonneville) and his family, but the evil Millicent (Nicole Kidman) wants to get him and so adventures take place.

Many kids in the UK and Australia grew up with Paddington – a bear from deepest Peru who came to London and was adopted by a family. Possibly, you could even say most kids know of him. I’d heard of him, but I didn’t know the story, and had very little interest in watching this film despite being told repeatedly that it was amazing. And it was a really good kids film with a great cast, a fair bit of humour and a lot of niceness. Enjoy with some kids – that’s the best way!

Paddington was nominated for BAFTAs for Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay.

 

Blue Jasmine (2013) Film Review

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) has lived the life of a high-society woman in New York for years, married to financier Hal (Alec Baldwin). However, he was busted for running some schemes that lost a lot of people all their money.  Broke, Jasmine has gone to stay with her sister, Ginger (Sally Hawkins) until she gets back on her feet. Despite her own situation and ruin, she constantly criticises Ginger for her choices in life and in men whilst struggling to maintain a semblance of sanity.

I’ve not seen a lot of Woody Allen films, but I think this is a pretty good one. The characters are believable in all their insanity and the emotional discomfort created is quite intense. Cate Blanchett is wonderful in the role of Jasmine, seemingly in control much of the time yet totally incompetent in so many ways.

Blue Jasmine won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (Cate Blanchett) and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Sally Hawkins). It was also nominated for Oscars for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Cate Blanchett), Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Sally Hawkins) and Best Writing, Original Screenplay (Woody Allen) and nominated for BAFTAs for Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen), Best Leading Actress (Cate Blanchett) and Best Supporting Actress (Sally Hawkins)