Andrew-Lee Potts as Hatter in Alice. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

When you are in a strange place it helps to make friends, and not many places are stranger than the setting for the new Syfy Channel miniseries Alice. Innocent people from our world are being taken and brought to a parallel universe known as Wonderland. Once there, their memories are forcibly erased and they become prisoners in a casino where people never lose. The resulting emotional “high” helps sustain Wonderland’s residents, most importantly its ruler, The Queen of Hearts, and her husband, The King of Hearts. 

When Alice Hamilton arrives there in search of her kidnapped fiance Jack, she turns to come of the locals for help, including a slightly shady character called Hatter. Having not long finished his third season battling dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures as Connor Temple in the hit British TV series Primeval, actor Andrew-Lee Potts was excited about the idea of a potential trip across the pond to work in Wonderland and play Hatter. 

“When I first got a call from my agent to go in and read for Alice I thought, ‘Oh, wicked! That sounds fantastic and right up my alley,” enthuses Potts. “Then I found out that it was for the character of the Hatter, and straightaway everything felt right for me, and even more so when I eventually received the script and discovered it was written using the type of humor that I often use in my work. 

“So I taped my audition with the British casting director and I just did my thing. [Director/writer] Nick Willing wasn’t there in the room; it was just me and the casting director. And sometimes with that type of situation, especially when you’re doing overseas casting, things can get lost in the translation – i.e. how you should be playing the part. 

Alice (Caterina Scorsone) and Hatter (Andrew-Lee Potts). Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

“And it’s funny because I went into the audition and played the role as I thought it appeared to me, and was more sarcastically comedic as well as a bit eccentric. Hatter is a hero of sorts in the story, and the casting lady suggested, ‘Maybe you should try being a little more sexy?’ and I [jokingly] said to her, ‘What do you mean? Am I not being sexy?’ So I tried that, and later on when I met Nick, he told me, ‘Your first reading of the role was perfect, but then you did something really strange and went all serious.’ So although I’m glad I did it both ways so that he could see either interpretation, I’m really pleased that my initial take was what Nick was looking for and that I eventually got the job.” 

A week after Potts received word that he had been cast, he was on his way to Vancouver, British Columbia to start shooting Alice. “We actually had a few days rehearsal before filming began, and that was really interesting for me,” recalls the actor. “I haven’t done that many plays and things of that nature, so I’ve tended not to rehearse a lot of the parts I’ve played in the past. I like to keep my performance as fresh as possible because I never quite know what I’m going to do with the material. That’s something I began doing during Primeval, and as a result they [the producers] allowed me to be a lot freer with the dialogue and to try, I suppose, to get the humour and keep things really lively. 

“On my first day of work on Alice, I actually shot my final scene as Hatter, and then went on to do my first scene, which was something like seven or eight pages long. It was just me being the Hatter in his teashop, so I had to gt into the swing of things straightaway. I was a bit nervous, but at the same time really excited. I was playing the character the way I wanted to, and it was a relief to see that Nick looked happy when he came out from behind the monitor after the first few takes. 

“I suppose as an actor you always think, ‘I hope I’m doing the right thing and they’re not going to recast me.’ I remember we started out filming in this abandoned mental institution up in Kamloops. It was hot and the Hatter wears a leather jacket throughout the whole story. Being British, I’m not used to the heat,” he says with a chuckle, “but I survived and it was a lot of fun. Both Nick and I hit the ground running with the character and we carried on having a good time with it.” 

A brief moment of respite for Hatter. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

In this telling of Alice, the Hatter is part of a resistence force led by Dodo (Tim Curry) and The White Knight (Matt Frewer), whose goal is to overthrow the Queen’s (Kathy Bates) tyrannical reign. While eager to take on his character’s re-imagined role, Potts also wanted to imbue his performance with some of The Mad Hatter’s original personality. 

“In the back of your mind you’ve got the original story where you know The Mad Hatter as being eccentric, crazy and all that kind of stuff,” explains the actor. “However, in Alice, we don’t have The Mad Hatter, we have the Mad March [Geoff Redknap], who was originally The [Mad] March Hare. So my character is supposed to be the sane one, but what I tried to do the first time you see the Hatter is go with a little bit of his eccentricity because I thought that might be enjoyable to the audience. 

“We tip our hat to every single character in Alice in Wonderland. With Hatter I wanted to keep an element of fun and spontaneity of the original. You never quite know what’s going on with him. Sometimes he goes really fast and other times he slows down and tries to take control. The first time Hatter meets Alice [Caterina Scorsone] it’s an assault of information on her, and from there he tries to take control. He’s a hustler and a very conniving one, and I wanted to play him slightly dangerous at the start as well. We have no idea what Hatter is capable of, and as the story unfolds, he does things that constantly surprise you. 

“At one point I had to do a hat trick, so I had to have a lesson and learn a bunch of tricks. That was cool, but, unfortunately, the hat I wore was really lightweight and the guy who came in to teach me the tricks was struggling because of that. They usually use a weighted hat, so I had to try to work around that. My character uses his hat as a bit of a distraction tool, especially in fight situations, which was quite fun and interesting. I’m quite handy with my fists in this, as opposed to Connor in Primeval, who couldn’t throw a punch to save his life, but Hatter is the complete opposite. 

The Hatter and Alice discover their budding friendship. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

“The stunts were neat to do, too, and quite challenging as well because I did nearly everything myself. That included learning how to ride a horse, which I had never done before. I’d never even sat on a horse before. So I went to horse training, which was brilliant. I loved galloping as fast as I could on top of a ridge in the middle of nowhere and thinking, ‘I hope I can stop,’” he says with a laugh. 

Although Hatter’s relationship with Alice starts out as a purely selfish one, it becomes more of a friendship as the story unfolds. “In the beginning, he sees her as a money-making tool,” says Potts. “Alice is initially useful to the Hatter in very different ways to the ways that she’s useful to him at the end. I think my character finds her absolutely fascinating because she is very headstrong and sure of herself. Even though she’s been flung into this incredibly strange world of Wonderland, where the things she sees would instantly blow away most peoples’ minds, she manages to keep her feet on the ground and continue searching for what she’s come to Wonderland for. 

“Again, Hatter finds that attractive in a way, but I don’t think he understands exactly why. Like I said, he’s a player. He’s used to having many women in his life, but not really connecting with any of them. In a weird kind of way, his and Alice’s heads work in a very similar fashion. They’re equally matched intelligence-wise, which furthers his challenges with her, and they spend a great deal of their time arguing, which leads to some very amusing situations for us to play. Alice has a lot of trust issues and she finds it incredibly hard to trust anybody. At the start, I don’t think anyone would trust Hatter, and that’s something else I tried to explore with the character. I wanted to make the audience go, ‘He’s just plain mean,’ and that’s the fun with Hatter. You’re supposed to expect the unexpected with how I played him.” 

Potts relished the opportunity to work with Nick Willing in developing the many levels of the Hatter that viewers are introduced to. “One of the brilliant things about Nick is that, yes, he has his own ideas, but he doesn’t trap you inside them,” notes the actor. “He likes to throw everything up in the air and see where it lands. I always feel that that’s what makes a better show. Going back to Primeval, I think one of the reasons why my character worked so well is that the producers had the same way of working as Nick does. Connor was supposed to be your typical nerd who liked Star Wars and that sort of thing. He’s quite cliché in the original script, but then we did something completely different with him, which was to make him eccentric and more of an accidental hero as well. 

Hatter and Alice try to talk themselves out of a tight spot. Photo copyright of The Syfy Channel

“So they were very open-minded in Alice with how I delivered a lot of the dialogue, and also with making it suit my voice as well, being that I have such a strong Northern accent. At first they wanted an English accent, but Nick said he really liked the Yorkshire in my voice, and also up in the north of England we always enjoy a cup of tea, so it’s kind of fitting that my character should run a teashop. I love that the first time we see the Hatter, he’s drinking a cup of tea. I’m so pleased with the way he’s been written. You don’t expect Hatter to be such a strong force in the story. I know it’s Alice’s journey, but she catapults him into his own journey as well within hers. 

“Hatter has been living in Wonderland for years, unhappy with his life as well as with the system and the way things were going. He had a lot of resentment built up towards the Resistence and the Queen’s side of things. So he’d kind of been living in a no-man’s land until Alice came into his life. She opens my character’s eyes and suddenly Hatter has something to fight for, a girl, and he doesn’t even realize it, which is lovely. Hatter is a little slow on the uptake with things like that,” he jokes. “He thinks he’s fighting for himself. Up to this point, Hatter has lived his life very selfishly. One of his lines is something like, ‘I’ve lived life playing both sides of the court and trying to keep everyone happy.’ But in this story he actually does good by himself and Alice, which is terrific.” 

While there is no sign of prehistoric wildlife in Alice, Potts feels that his work on Primeval was excellent preparation for this project. “Having done a big CGI [computer-generated image] show, I actually feel qualified for the first time in my life,” says the actor. “I thought, ‘This is easy. I’ve been doing this for the past three years. I can run away from these monsters.’ So that was a blast but in a different way because it’s less about monsters in Alice and more about the CGI world that we’re in. There are a lot of extended CGI sets, which was something I wasn’t used to, and far more green screen work, too. We didn’t do much green screen on Primeval. 

“So every day has been fascinating and I feel extremely fortunate to have been given this role. I felt ready for it as well, though, if that makes any sense, and I don’t know if I would have had the same confidence before Primeval. A lot of the stuff I’d previously done were one-off films and projects like that where you only have a short period of time with a character. With a TV series, though, when it progresses, you have the chance to explore all these different angles of your character. And during the four hours on Alice, Hatter shows every side of himself and way of behaving. So hopefully playing Connor on Primeval has helped me in portraying Hatter.” 

The first two hours of Alice airs Sunday, December 6th from 9:00-11:-00 p.m. EST on The Syfy Channel and concludes Monday, December 7th @ 9:oo p.m. 

Steve Eramo 

As noted above, all photos copyright of The Syfy Channel, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!

the_blind_side sandra bullock quinton aaron the idea girl says

Movie- Review- Blind Side – Sandra Bullock – Tim McGraw – Quinton Aaron- Michael Oher – Baltimore Ravens- – Kathy Bates – Lily Collins – Jae Head – Tuohy Family – Michael Lewis Author – John Lee Hancock Director – The Idea Girl Says

This movie was absolutely amazing, not only is it a heart warming true story about a white family that adopts a homeless black boy.

It is a story of inspiration for a young boy who is taught the values of love, life and christianity and how family should be.

It’s the true story of Sean, Leigh Anne, Collins and SJ Tuohy life with football player Michael Oher of the Baltimore Ravens.

Michael attends a Christian School where the teachers help him from getting 0 scores on his tests to a B+.

A mother named Leigh Anne Tuohy, powerful, loving, rich and caring offers a home to a boy and feeds and clothes him, then eventually adopts him and gives him a family.

A sister named Collins Tuohy who learns to accept Michael and become his friend and study partner in school.

A little SJ Tuohy, the best football coach that I’ve ever seen as he helps Michael learn to play the game.

The scene with all the condiment bottles out of the fridge and cupboard was pretty funny, while SJ is teaching Michael the football play book moves.

Sean Tuohy the Taco Bell King, yes we admire the fact that you own over 500 restaurants, a giant in the world of business.

Leanne Tuohy we admire your strong personality and lots of women probably wish they were like you.

Sandra Bullock did over and above the call of duty by presenting a strong character that we soon fell in love with on screen and off.

Sandra is definitely going to win something for this role, because it’s so convincing and she really holds the fort all through the movie.

I couldn’t wait to see what she was going to do next.

I love how she bosses the men around, that reminds me of myself…

Michael Oher went from being a homeless black boy to having a family, learning how to work hard to achieve his goals, felt the love of the Tuohy’s who had reached out to him and aspired to be a good student and football player.

Michael attended the University of Mississippi and now he’s a pro football player.

A rookie for Baltimore Ravens.

I love movies that are a true story.

This one made an impression on me, it was so nice to see a good Christian family sharing their strong sense of values, truths and desires to make our world a better place to live.

A family that reached out to a lost boy and gave him more than he could ever ask for.

Michael is so humble and sweet as a character, it’s funny but I’m going to refer to him as the “gentle giant.”

I sat there mesmerized through the whole movie, captivated by Sandra Bullock and Quinton Aaron’s performances.

I can’t explain it but usually through a movie I’ll be distracted and a wee bit bored so I’ll munch on my goodies.

I was so wrapped up in this story that my goodies for the FIRST time in my life didn’t even cross my mind.

So I’d have to give this movie a rating of 100 out of 10.

I can’t explain why because words cannot really express just how wonderful I felt when I walked away after watching this movie.

It makes you feel warm inside, inspired to be great, it gives you hope to follow your dreams…

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the blind side sandra bullock tim mcgraw the idea girl says

the blind side quinton aaron - big mike jaehead as sj tuohy

the blind side big mike and collins tuohy played by quinton aaron - lily collins

the blind side kathy bates quinton aaron

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the blind side photo JOHN_LEE_HANCOCK_ the idea girl says movie review

Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock air out their dirty laundry.

(Warner Brothers) Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates, Lily Collins, Jae Head, Kim Dickens, Adriane Lenox, Catherine Dyer, Andy Stahl, Tom Nowicki, Libby Whitmore, Brian Hollan, Ray McKinnon. Directed by John Lee Hancock

Accidents happen. There are no accidents. Accidentally on purpose. Is anything really random chance, or is there a destiny for all of us?

Michael Oher (Aaron) has very little going for him other than he’s big and athletic. He can barely read and write his own name, his mother is a crack addict and his father is God knows where. The father of a friend of his works as a janitor at an exclusive private school in Memphis and gets the idea to bring the two of them before the football coach to see if he can get them into Wingate one way or another. Salivating at the chance to get the raw talent onto his team, the coach (McKinnon), almost salivating, convinces the school’s trustees to admit the disadvantaged boy.

However his presence on his friend’s couch has put a strain on them, so Michael is left to his own devices. He moves from place to place, silent and sad, a big sorrowful man-child without any hope or any joy. He doesn’t fit in at his new school, and his old neighborhood is becoming increasingly dangerous.

One cold night he is walking on the side of the road, trying to get into the school gym before it is locked so that he can have a warm place to sit for awhile when by chance the Tuohy family drives by. Its matriarch, Leigh Anne (Bullock) orders her husband Sean (McGraw) to stop the car and in her typically abrupt and no-nonsense manner interrogates the boy. Do you have a place to go? Don’t you dare lie to me! Oher admits he has nowhere to sleep and on the spur of the moment, Leigh Anne decides to bring the boy home and put him up for the night.

Her children SJ (Head) and Collins (Collins) range from enthusiastic (SJ) to not so much (Collins) about the new houseguest as one night stretches into several and then into weeks and at last, months. Leigh Anne drives Michael to his old home to pick up some clothes but they find that his mother has been evicted and nobody knows where she is. Instead, Leigh Anne drives Michael to the nearest Big and Tall store where Michael shows signs of life when offered a rugby shirt in his size.

As the days go by, Oher begins to respond to his academic environment although he is unable to learn in the traditional way. Instead, he picks up on what is told to him verbally. Leigh Ann hires a tutor (Bates) to help him get his grades up and soon he gets his average to the point where he can try out for the football team. The coach’s joy turns to disappointment when Oher turns out to be far too soft and unskilled to be much of a force. It is only when Leigh Anne, to whom Michael has become very attatched to, gives him a pep talk that Michael begins to show what he’s capable of and that is becoming an All-American offensive tackle. However, when he makes a choice for his future, the motivations of his family are called into question and the relationship between Michael and his new family becomes imperiled.

Director Hancock is something of a true sports movie expert, with The Rookie to his credit and again he pulls out all the stops with this one. His best move was casting Bullock in the lead role and she nails the role of Leigh Anne who could intimidate Kimbo Slice if she had half a mind to. She’s tough as nails, suffers no fools but is fiercely loyal to her family with a soft spot for underdogs. There are a surprising number of women like her in the South and if the region has any greatness at all to it, it’s because of them.

McGraw, whose easygoing charm translates nicely to the screen, is solid as the dad, a role he has begun to be attractive to casting agents in. While Head is a bit over-the-top in places as SJ the spirited son, he at least has a great smile and a good sense of comic timing for an actor his age. In fact, all of the actors who play the Tuohy family do a good job of creating a believable onscreen family.

If there’s a problem with The Blind Side it has to do with the script. True sports stories have tended to follow a very similar format in recent movies; an underdog gets inspired in the pursuit of a goal and that inspiration leads to overachievement. When the goal is in reach, something happens to jeopardize the achievement of the goal but in the end the team/individual pulls it together at the last minute to triumph over adversity.

Some of the adversity that is shown here feels scripted and not terribly authentic. Just because a movie says it’s based on a true story does it mean that everything in it is true. Something tells me that some incidents were embellished to create dramatic tension and normally I don’t have a problem with that, but in this case it didn’t feel organic. I think it’s possible that we’ve overdosed on the genre since it felt like I’ve seen it all before and in fact I have.

And that’s not to denigrate Michael Oher or his story in any way. I think it could have been handled a bit differently and written better is all I’m saying. Still in all despite my quibbling this is still a solid movie that I can recommend without hesitation. It gets you in all the right places and makes for a fine cathartic afternoon. Still, the best reason to see this is to watch Bullock at her very best.

REASONS TO GO: Bullock does some of the best work of her career. The family dynamic is believable even if S.J. is too cute to be believed.

REASONS TO STAY: The plot is a bit formula and some of the elements feel scripted instead of true-to-life. Aaron as Oher gives us little insight into his character.

FAMILY VALUES: Some language and some minor violence but otherwise okay for families.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: There are cameos from several Southeastern college football colleges playing themselves, including Phil Fullmer, Nick Saban, Lou Holtz and Tommy Tuberville.

HOME OR THEATER: This can easily fit on the small screen.

FINAL RATING: 6/10

TOMORROW: Terminator Salvation

SyFy is premiering a new version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ called ‘Alice’ starring Kathy Bates and Tim Curry. The two night event airs Dec. 6th at 9/8C on the SyFy channel.

Misery is a 1990 American horror-thriller film from Columbia Pictures and Castle Rock Entertainment, based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King. Directed by Rob Reiner, the film received critical acclaim for Kathy Bates’ performance as the psychopathic Annie Wilkes. Bates won both the Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe. The film was ranked #12 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments.

Trivia:

• Cameo: [J.T. Walsh] State of Colorado Police Chief.
• Director Cameo: [Rob Reiner] the helicopter pilot.
• After seeing The Shining (1980). Rob Reiner was immediately inspired to direct a movie based on a Stephen King novel.
• The main character Paul Sheldon’s novels are published by Viking, the same publishing company that published Stephen King’s books at that time.

Buy this title on Blu-ray Disc

• A video of When Harry Met Sally… (1989) (also directed by Rob Reiner) is visible in the general store.
• The “guy who went mad in a hotel nearby” is a reference to The Shining (1980), also based on a novel written by Stephen King.
• Jack Nicholson was offered the role of Paul Sheldon but passed because he wasn’t sure he wanted to do another movie based on one of Stephen King’s novels after what he had experienced with Stanley Kubrick on The Shining (1980).
• When Annie demands that Paul burn his manuscript, she lights the paper and we see a close-up of the words on the paper, an article about Cameron Crowe and how he is an amazing scriptwriter. It talks about his movies, but mostly offers praise for Say Anything… (1989).
• According to William Goldman’s book “Four Screenplays”, the main character role, Paul Sheldon, was offered to William Hurt, ‘Kevin Kline (I)’, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, and Warren Beatty, all of whom declined.
• Anjelica Huston was offered the leading role, and was interested, but was unable to accept it due to her commitment to The Grifters (1990). Bette Midler also turned the role down before it went to Kathy Bates.
• One of Stephen King’s first typewriters had a malfunctioning “N” key, just like the one used by James Caan in the movie.
• The new manuscript that Paul burns at Annie’s urging was called “Fast Cars.”
• In a recent interview with Melvyn Bragg, William Goldman revealed that few actors wanted the role of Paul Sheldon because Annie Wilks overshadowed him so much as a character. Warren Beatty commented before declining that the hobbling scene made Paul Sheldon “a loser for the rest of the film”. Goldman was determined to keep that scene in the film as it was his favorite from the Stephen King novel.
• Stephen King had originally planned to release the novel under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. While writing it, however, it was discovered that King was Bachman. King subsequently published the novel under his real name, and announced that Bachman had died from “cancer of the pseudonym.”

♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦

“The Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, and Quinton Aaron, was a phenomenal movie! It is truly inspirational! One person can change the world of another by showing him or her Christ. Don’t think that you can’t make a difference because you can! Leigh Anne Tuohy is living proof of that! She took in, now Ravens player, Michael Oher, saving what could have otherwise been a tragic – and short – life! The Synopsis is included on the website for the movie below. I give this FIVE STARS!

http://www.theblindsidemovie.com/

            What does the word family mean today? Does it mean only the people who you are biologically similar with or the people you visit for holidays? Or is family a group of people who share the same goals and values and have long term commitments to each other through good or bad? Maybe the bond of family runs a lot deeper than just blood. While throngs of people pour in and out of “Twilight Saga: New Moon” and Disney’s new comedy “Old Dogs” I’m sure that many of them are totally blind to the fact another movie came out the same day.

            “The Blind Side” tells the uplifting biographical tale of Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a homeless boy abandoned by his broken family to wander the streets of Memphis. When Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock), an upscale mother of two, takes the impoverished and uneducated boy under her wing everyone in the family must realize that “family” doesn’t always require a blood relation. The Blind Side is based on the true story of Michael Oher who now plays national football for the Baltimore Ravens. If this were not based on the truth it’s amazing characters may not be as believable. They all show different facets of their personalities and have a certain depth that is not found often in sports movies.

              As this incredible true story proves that talent can be found in the strangest of places, Quinton Aaron proves that he has the talent required. Aaron has only acted in very few roles usually as bodyguards and bouncers. Even if he is inexperienced, he is very convincing as Michael Oher. His colossal stature seems to be totally contradictory to the profound sadness and vulnerabilities within him. Aaron was not the only actor in this movie to reveal new things about themselves. Sandra Bullock has been making movies for a long while now. The roles she plays usually do not seem to progress in the ability that they require. However, this role as the fiery and charitable Leigh Anne Touhy, stands out above her previous work. Her character is charismatic somehow drawing the viewers in but she can also be unrelentingly defensive of the people she loves.

            “The Blind Side” is a feel good movie to see with your family whether they are caucasians from the upper crust side of town, an orphan that is the size of a grizzly bear or maybe some of both. This movie features breakthrough performances by it’s main actors and great ones by it’s supporting actors including Kathy Bates and Tim McGraw. It’s message is one of hope and striving for something better even if you run into difficulties along the way. I recommend that you do not turn a blind eye to “The Blind Side”.

Sandra Bullock is all sass, little sentiment as Michael Oher's (Quinton Aaron) guardian in "The Blind Side."

Let’s be plain about “The Blind Side”: Lee Daniels’ “Precious” it ain’t. Save for two damaged protagonists, these films have little in common. In “The Blind Side,” John Lee Hancock dulls the sharp edges of a childhood lived in poverty and neglect; Daniels displays the emotional and physical hurts in full view. Really, it’s the difference between neatly bandaged wounds and open ones. 

But perhaps this comparison, though inevitable, isn’t exactly fair, because it implies that “The Blind Side” is some kind of emotionally manipulative mushfest that is top-heavy with cliches. Gird your loins for a startling realization: There’s little schmaltz here. Indeed, what delights about “The Blind Side” is the low-key tone and the balance Hancock strikes between character-based drama, sports and comedy. What’s more, the director sees his characters as actual people and allows them to behave as such; their actions feel natural, not forced along by inane plot conventions. They become real to us, something that rarely happens in films with such clear feel-good intentions as this one.

Much credit must be given upfront to Sandra Bullock for her bold, unidealistic performance as Leigh Anne Tuohy, a wealthy Tennessee interior designer whose designer-label threads belie her kind heart and good intentions. This is strong, nuanced work from an actress who (finally! after years of crap like “Miss Congeniality”!) has begun to trust her talent. She grounds “The Blind Side” firmly in matter-of-fact reality as her story intersects with that of future Baltimore Ravens right tackle Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a poor teen accepted to the private Christian academy her children attend. Accepted because the football coach (Ray McKinnon) sees a bright athletic future for him, Michael has a low GPA and a tendency to retreat into his own head that some teachers mistake as stupidity. But Leigh Anne’s son S.J. (Jae Head) befriends Michael, and so she invites the teen into her home. They hire a tutor (the always-wonderful Kathy Bates) to work with Michael while S.J. teaches him football. Slowly, and much to the dismay of Leigh Anne’s snobbish friends, Michael becomes a real part of the Tuohy family.

The story, loosely based on Michael Lewis’ 2006 book about the real Oher, is simple enough to suggest some parts have been smoothed over. That’s probably the case, but it’s important to note what Hancock gets right: the likable characters and the lack of Hollywood mushiness. Tim McGraw, though hardly Sean Penn, doesn’t overact as Leigh Anne’s supportive husband Sean (he does have a few unnecessarily corny zingers, though). Head doesn’t exactly transcend the Precocious Kid stereotype, but he provides solid comic relief. Bates’ sly humor is a welcome addition as well (Kathy Bates don’t do cutesy, remember?). Aaron, chosen more for his size than acting chops, is a little more hesitant than he should be, but that doesn’t derail the movie.

Actually, that hesitation aligns him nicely with Bullock’s hard-nosed Leigh Anne, herself a bit reticent and not prone to spontaneous displays of emotion. These two have more in common than we’d think (this wins the film more points for originality). Sean describes Leigh Anne as an onion — “you have to peel her back layer by layer” — and that extends to Michael. Perhaps that is what draws Leigh Anne to Michael, the fear of seeming vulnerable. They are, in a strange way, kindred spirits. Bullock, who’s always had a quietly guarded air about her, captures Leigh Anne’s reluctance perfectly. This performance might earn her some nominations, and she will deserve them.

Hancock also sidesteps a number of cliches that lesser directors would devour: the Big Game; the Touching Moments Montage; the Coach’s Big Motivational Speech. “The Blind Side” contains not one of these insufferable moments, and the few checklist items that do crop up — there is a misunderstanding and a scene with Michael’s drug-addicted biological mother — are handled with grace. When given the choice, Hancock errs on the side of poise. And while that doesn’t mean “The Blind Side” is perfect, it does mean that it’s a refreshingly unsentimental inspirational film.

Grade: B-

(This review will not try to avoid spoilers, so SPOILER WARNING if you haven’t seen Titanic, which is to say, if you do not live on planet Earth)

A successful story, in any storytelling media, is not the same as a good story. “Twilight” is undeniably a successful novel. Three chapters in, I wanted to cut my carotid open. “Transformers” is an undeniably successful film. And it’s also a badly-directed, over-cut, loud and stupid piece of shit.

It had been a while since I’ve watched “Titanic”. Hell, I think I was a teenager last time I did, and I was only seven years old when the movie was released to overwhelming success. I would watch it years later. My young impressions of the film were very positive, but I’m not the person I was years ago (thankfully), so I decided to watch it again to determine whether or not, from my point of view, this film deserved the success it got. And also because I’ve been hearing a lot of people say, “I don’t like Titanic” or using the film as proof that James Cameron’s next project, “Avatar”, will suck.

The verdict is that, once again, James Cameron’s film immersed me completely in its admittedly conventional but incredibly compelling love story, which is vital in creating a connection between the viewer and the death of 1500 people in the real life tragedy of the Titanic. Fuck yes it deserved the success it got. It’s a painstakingly researched, passionately crafted film, with the dedication of Cameron and his crew displayed in every frame. It’s also surprisingly humorous, achieving an amazing emotional balance, something made much more challenging by the sheer scale of the story.

It’s pretty much futile to complain about the unidimensional nature of some of the characters, because that was the point. One thing I love about this film is how relentlessly it satirizes aristocracy, and to achieve this effect, it’s no wonder Rose’s family are absurdly stuck-up and snotty. This leads to several priceless moments throughout the film, and makes the contrast between Jack and them (when they’re all sitting on the same dinner table) even stronger. And let’s not forget: we’re hearing the story from Rose herself, and I doubt her impression of these characters stretched beyond “what a bunch of cunts”.

And even though the premise of the movie’s core romance is conventional (poor boy, rich girl, etc. etc.), Cameron avoids cliches when developing the actual romance itself. Jack and Rose’s chemistry always rings true, because it makes perfect sense. She’s a rebellious aristocrat, feeling trapped in a predictable life — as she herself puts it, “I saw my whole life as if I had already lived it.” And he is a smart and adventurous man, the one person in her life who seems to truly care about her — something established right when they first meet, when Rose is about to commit suicide, and he threatens that if she jumps from the ship, he will “have to” jump in after her.

Always a brilliant storyteller, Cameron avoids melodrama by constantly balancing the dramatic and romantic scenes with humorous moments that hit the mark, even (and especially) during the sinking of the “Titanic”. One of the best of these moments is when Rose needs to break Jack’s handcuffs with an axe, and he asks her to rehearse it on an object first, with disastrous results.

Equally important was holding composer James Horner back — and keep in mind this is an unfair statement, since for all I know Horner held himself back of his own accord. But really, all you need to do is watch “Glory”, directed by Edward Zwick, to see how ridiculously melodramatic the otherwise talented Horner can be. In “Titanic”, however, the music is used to perfection. Whenever a scene needs the famous score, it’s there, never overdone. Whenever the scene needs to work solely on dialogue and sound effects, the music disappears — which is particularly important on scenes with romantic dialogue, where music would have been excessively emotional.

After one hour and a half establishing Jack and Rose’s relationship and other interesting characters like (the real-life) Unsinkable Molly Brown, the sinking of the Titanic begins. This sequence, well over one hour long, has always fascinated me for its magnificence. From the impeccable editing to the amazing special effects, it’s impressive and emotionally wrenching thanks mainly to Jack and Rose, who work as a way of immersing the viewer into the film to the point where you truly feel every death onscreen, and you honestly care about the crew’s survival as well as Jack and Rose’s.

Which is why, proving his competence for the umpteenth time, Cameron never spares the viewer, filming every death in appaling and relentless detail, never turning his camera away even when portraying the death of children (something particularly disturbing when one of the frozen bodies the rescue boat finds is of a woman with a dead baby on her arms).

(Cameron does slip in his portrayal of the real-life William Murdoch, though — on the film, he commits suicide after killing two desperate passengers with a pistol. This is entirely ficticious (although it can’t be proved it didn’t happen — or that it did) and the Murdoch family wasn’t happy about it.)

As the director, James Cameron not only does an amazing technical job (building an almost full-size replica of the Titanic definitely paid off onscreen), he invests heavily in the story he’s telling, especially in some beautifully nostalgic shots when a camera travels through the sunken wreck of the Titanic and dissolves, without interrupting the camera movement, back to 1912, showing the same location brightly lit and full of passengers. Cameron saves the best of these shots to the very last scene, which, without a single word being said, portrays Rose’s life after the Titanic in a continuous, fluid and perfect camera movement. Cameron is aided by the convincing recreation of the time period and by the amazing cinematography, which is especially impressive when the Titanic’s lights switch off as it sinks, and the lighting manages to convey the darkness without becoming unclear or losing its aesthetic beauty.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet have exceptional chemistry, also being utterly convincing in their respective roles — there is a moment when Winslet’s character sees a rich little girl, sitting near her, being taught etiquette by her mother. Winslet manages to make it clear that she’s seeing herself in that little girl only with a terrified, but subtle look in her eyes. And Leonardo DiCaprio, in an early display of his now proven talent, refuses to rely on his then-boyish looks, using his charisma and impeccable comic timing to turn Jack into an excellent character. I particularly like the look on his face when Rose takes her clothes off in front of him, and the way he shakes, nervously, after sex — a brilliant and subtle touch. The rest of the cast, from the captivating Kathy Bates (as Unsinkable Molly), to the heartfelt Gloria Stuart (as the older Rose) and the arrogant Billy Zane (as Caledon Hockley) are, as a whole, convincing and competent.

In fact, Jack seems to be based on none other than his creator, James Cameron himself — it’s no wonder that all the drawings in Jack’s book were actually drawn by Cameron, an exceptionally talented artist, and that on the scene Jack draws Rose, it’s Cameron’s hands drawing her, not DiCaprio’s — not to mention Jack has the same adventurous spirit Cameron had when younger, and still has to this day (just try telling Cameron he can’t do something — everyone said “Titanic” would be a disaster, prior to its release).

So honestly? “Titanic” is a classic. I’m happy to see that, as I near my twenty-somethings, this movie hasn’t lost its heart, at least for me. In fact, after more than a year reviewing movies (which made me more observant and nitpicky), it’s even more satisfying that I didn’t really find anything significant to dislike in “Titanic” — it simply works. It more than succeeds in its emotional and dramatic goals.

Let me put it this way: in most disaster movies I see, I care more about the main characters (or, when watching a Roland Emmerich movie, no-one at all) than everyone else. I rarely think of the thousands who died in the background, only about the main group that mostly makes it to safety.

And the reason I truly love “Titanic” is that it makes me feel the weight of the catastrophe as a whole, providing a rich and satisfying cinematic experience.

So yeah, since his career truly started (with “The Terminator”, since his actual first film was “Piranhas 2″), James Cameron, always a dedicated innovator and brilliant storyteller, hasn’t yet disappointed me.

Drama. “The Blind Side” depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher’s presence in the Touhys’ lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle.

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Kathy Bates, Quinton Aaron
Director: John Lee Hancock
Screenwriter: John Lee Hancock
Producer: Gil Netter, Broderick Johnson, Andrew Kosove
Studio: Warner Bros.

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Review: The Blind Side

The trailers for The Blind Side triggered my “oh geez, another sports-related Triumph of the Human Spirit” cynicism, and I might not have seen the film at all if I hadn’t been assigned to review it. That would have been my loss, and I experienced the lovely surprise of having a movie turn out far more enjoyable than I expected. The Blind Side has no twists or gimmicks other than being a very good example of a sports-related family film, with quality performances and writing.

The movie’s title is a football reference, which the voiceover of Leigh Anne Touhy (Sandra Bullock) explains at the beginning. Michael Oher (Quenton Aaron) is sweating out a tough but unspecified situation in an office, when we flash back a few years and meet him as Big Mike. An African-American staff member at a mostly white Christian private school is trying to get his athletic son into the school, and the school’s coach also spots some athletic potential in Big Mike, granting him a scholarship. Big Mike has terrible trouble keeping up in school, and when his friend’s family stops helping him out, he is virtually homeless — sleeping in the school gym, eating popcorn left there after events, wearing the same thin clothes daily.

Although Big Mike is an oddity at the private school, he gets along well with smaller children like S.J. (Jae Head), and thus attracts the attention of S.J.’s parents, Leigh Anne and Sean Touhy (Tim McGraw). The upper-class family takes him in and encourages him — they’re very much into sports both as former participants and current fans, so they encourage him in football and in schoolwork so he can possibly win a football scholarship to college. Will he be able to succeed, or will he return to his neglectful, drug-addicted mother?

The Blind Side is based on the nonfiction account of Michael Oher by Michael Lewis, which was adapted by the film’s director, John Lee Hancock. If you’ve read the book or know about Oher, the outcome of the movie won’t surprise you. But that’s not the point — this is a movie about characters and relationships, and the effects of great acts of kindness. Bullock, Aaron and Head are the highlights of the film; other characters tend to border on stereotypes, but these three have depth and warmth and fit together beautifully. Kathy Bates has a small but amusing role as a tutor.

The real-life basis for the film may explain some of the difficulties with the story. It’s hard to get past the seeming visual message that the African-American community can’t or won’t care for their own, and that the saviors here are rich white conservatives. The movie is more complicated and personal than that, for the most part. However, I couldn’t believe the scene in which the family that knew about Michael’s situation, and offered him a warm place to sleep, suddenly kicked him out and neglected him. It may reflect real life — I can’t tell without reading the book or asking Oher himself — and real life often makes no sense, but it doesn’t work in the context of the film.

And if this were a purely fictional story, I’d wonder why Longview, Texas native John Lee Hancock and current Texan Sandra Bullock had set a film about intense football fans in Memphis and not in Texas. The rhythms of the dialogue often sound more Texas than Tennessee, although the Touhy adults are actually Ole Miss alumni. Hancock does have some fun casting the college football coaches inThe Blind Side — they all play themselves. Some of the coaches are not quite comfortable speaking lines someone else wrote, but then-LSU coach Nick Saban may have missed a calling as a character actor.

If you can get your head past the dicey racial issues — nearly all African-American characters in this film live in the projects, and I know Memphis is far more diverse than that – The Blind Side is a very entertaining family film that avoids the maudlin cliches of “inspirational” films, or at least pads them out with some depth or humor. I’m not fond of football myself, or intense football fans, but the characters appealed to me and I didn’t even mind the long running time (128 minutes). This is a movie I’d love to take my mom to see — she wouldn’t find anything offensive, and we’d both be entertained. Sandra Bullock fans who may have tolerated some stinkers in order to watch their favorite actress will be rewarded with one of her better performances and one of her better movies.

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The Blind Side is exactly what it is selling itself as, a heartfelt and emotionally inspiring story that avoids sap and stereotypes for the most part to create a film that deserves our emotional response.
Following the high school years of Michael Oher an at risk student who gets a second lease on life when a wealthy family takes him under there care. Sandra Bullock breaks her type and plays a fast talking southern belle that gets what she wants and delivers a fine performance as a mother bonding with her adoptive son. Michael Oher was given a chance to get a good education in a good school and while this is being sold as a football film it just as much as a student’s story overcoming his personal obstacles to learn. The football aspect of the film doesn’t show up until the final third of the film, so don’t expect an all out sports movie here. Instead what we get, and this isn’t a bad thing, is a wonderful story about family and how anyone can defy there preconceived image and surprise people.
Oher’s journey of living on couches and surviving/escaping the life he seemed trapped in is nothing new, but being thrown into a world where the contrast is so different to his own and with a character as engaging as Bullock’s Leigh Anne Touhy. The film not only completely sells you on the relationship and bond between Touhy and Oher, but creates a likeable and fun family as well in the rest of the Touhy family. The youngest Touhy S.J. will provide a number of laughs throughout the picture and is one of the funnier little kids to pop up in a movie for a while. Tim McGraw provides possibly his best performance yet as the supportive father role here and proves his acting chops are worth a damn. Quinton Aaron plays Oher and while he starts off with very little to do as the quiet type, he slowly blossoms into a soft spoken but strong personality that we really can connect with even in the subtle nature of Aaron’s performance.
The film does take a couple missteps along the way though as it relies on stereotypes a bit to much painting blacks as poor and disheveled people with no sign of any examples to prove that this isn’t always the case to be seen. It also paints whites as all being rich and happy which is quite a stretch as well, but balances things out a bit by grounding Touhy a bit and admonishing stereotypical/racist things popping out of some characters mouths. Thankfully, this is only a minor occurrence, and most of the emotional pathos are earned in the film from strong connections between characters and not from generalizations and over coming them, I just wish they never crossed that bridge at all. The film also does a good job at avoiding sappy movie type scenes, and while there were a couple of cheesy lines here and there most moments don’t feel contrived for emotion or unearned.
The football aspects of the film are done adequately as well and actually add to the relationships of the story as well instead of just being some action for the film. The film also does a good job of explaining the position and game of football as well for anyone that is unaware of the pieces of the game. So if you are afraid your lack of football knowledge or care for the game will diminish your enjoyment of the film, don’t, this is not a sports movie and there is so much more to it than that.
In the end, The Blind Side is a bit long in the tooth, but for the most part it does what you expect and at a high level. From the acting, to the story, and the message of the film there is a lot to get behind in the picture and it will be tough for you not to have an emotional reaction to the film. And while the film doesn’t bring anything terribly exciting or new to genre, the film is so well done, and one of the better brands of this type of film, that it isn’t really an issue; though it keeps it from being a true gem.
The Blind Side is a B

Taken in by a well-to-do family and offered a second chance at life, a homeless teen grows to become the star athlete projected to be the first pick at the NFL draft in this sports-themed comedy drama inspired by author Michael Lewis’ best-seller The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. Michael Oher was living on the streets when he was welcomed into the home of a conservative suburban family, but over time he matured into a talented athlete. As the NFL draft approaches, fans and sports radio personalities alike speculate that Oher will be the hottest pick of the year. Sandra Bullock stars in a film written and directed by John Lee Hancock

  A little over a month ago the entertainment community collectively went “Huh?”  when it was announced that James Franco would be appearing a 2 month long story arc on of all things a Soap Opera.  “This must be a joke” and “It is for research” were thrown about fairly often as possible reasons why JF would have chosen to leave his ivory tower in Hollywood and walk amongst the commoners.  Because when you get right down to it that is how the industry chooses to view Daytime, as commoners.  Someone not worthy of their respect.  Someone to laugh at and mock.  Daytime is so low on the totem pole that some people are even quiet about the fact that they watch them at all because of the laughter that it might illict.  Granted not everybody has been negative in their response to the news, for the most part it has been a range from startling disbelief to a kind of way to go JF.  But still it got me to thinking why doesn’t Daytime earn more respect?

  Some say that soaps are just one long story that keeps replaying itself over and over again.  They say that each story line gets more outlandish than the one before.  Remember the Possesed by the Devil story on Days of Our Lives?  Or perhaps Dixie coming back from the dead for perhaps the millionth time on All My Children?  Plus we aren’t even going to get into the Who’s the daddy? story arcs or the myriad of romantic entaglements that are the crux of the daytime world.  So I guess I can see their point, to an extent.  Because honestly what makes Soaps any different from Primetime or even the very top of the Ivory Tower, Movies?  Can the naysayers honestly tell me that Primetime doesn’t have outlandish storylines?  Can they honestly say that shows like Grey’s Anatomy or Gossip Girl are more respectable for their romatic entanglements than say The Bold & The Beautiful?  Or shows like Fringe and The X-Files are more grounded in reality than say no longer on the air, Passions?  Or why The Sopranos deserves more respect than General Hospital?  The truth is they can’t say any of that because the only differences Primetime and Daytime have are the amount of money the networks are willing to spend on them and and one runs one night a week and gets up to a 3 month hiatus and the other is on 5 days a week and has no hiatus.  And no being blacked out for two weeks, holidays, and weekends do not count. 

   Or it could possibly be the fact that only second rate actors are on Daytime, while all the “real” actors are on Primtime?  Oh wait a minute that can’t be true because Daytime is proud to be one of the few venues that has churned out some of the best actors of the past couple of generations.  What other venue can honestly say that?   But despite that fact Daytime is still considered to be either the place where younger actors get their feet wet or older actors go when they have no other options.  Because as we all know Primetime has no bad actors.  Hey I know how about anyone who feels that Daytime is the blackhole for talent I dare you to go up to Betty White and tell her she doesn’t have any other options or tell Bradford Anderson that GH will be his last stop.  Oh wait a minute I have an even better dare for you.  I dare you to go up to Jennifer Aniston and tell her that the man who plays Victor Kiriakis on DOOL is a bad actor.  Go ahead we will wait because I am sure those of us who are fans of Daytime and those of us who work tirelessly to bring it to fruition could use a good laugh at your judgemental expense.

You know what nevermind Daytime doesn’t need your respect nor do we want it.

Igår kväll (i Mjölby på Kura skymning) berättade Barbara Voors att hon minsann bloggat lite, på nåt som heter bokcirklar.se och som jag inte känner till. Efter viss möda hittar jag bloggen här. Ungefär som hon skriver i första inlägget sa hon även igår kväll, det där med att känna obehag inför nätet för att man tycker det är så hård stämning.
Jag har även hört om andra författare som tycker så, och jag brukar säga att: Det är en helt annan sak i bokbloggosfären. Här är alla snälla och vänliga mot varandra, och ingen bråkar nånsin. Vi är det snälla hörnet av internet. Så det sa jag till Voors igår också. Och hon berättade att hon nog tänker sig att kommunicera sen, när hemsidan blir klar.
Det var en bra kväll även om jag gärna hört fler utdrag ur Islossning. Apropå skrivande så nämnde hon vid ett par tillfällen Stephen Kings bok Att skriva, och då var jag tvungen att fråga om hon hade andra King-favoriter också. Lida och Dolores Claybourne blev svaret. Ypperlig smak! Och en fin anledning att titta på Kathy Bates.


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Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Barbara Voors, Islossning, Kathy Bates, Stephen King, Lida, Dolores Claibourne, författarframträdande,

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew McConaughey, Kathy Bates, Terry Bradshaw

Lame factor: 2/5

Tearjerker: 1/5

Will guys want to watch it? Considering it has SJP AND Mr. Sexypants McConaughey, I’d say..NO.

Allllllrighty, I like Sarah Jessica Parker, ok? I mean, yes, she cannot for the life of her, be anyone other than Carrie Bradshaw, in ANY movie, but that’s ok. She sticks to what she knows, right? She’s cute in that goofy way, except for the annoying screaming for no apparent reason. What the hell is up with that?

Plot: McConaughey plays a 30-something dude-type that still lives at home with his folks (and has no plans on that ever changing). He has a new girlfriend every week and all his little guy pals also live at home with their parents. It’s their “thing”, apparently. Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw play McSexypants’ parents, who hire SJP, who is an interventionist for men who suffer from the “failure to launch” syndrome, which basically means they can’t grow up and they still live with mom and dad. SJP’s job is too pretend to be interested in McSexypants, and slowly ween him off the parents, build his confidence in really lame and stereotypical ways and eventually have him move out into his own place.

Of course, as with any chick flick, issues arise. SJP falls in love, McSexypants’ friends find out about the scam and, naturally, McSexypants finds out as well. All hell breaks loose and he winds up tied to a chair. What? Watch it, you’ll see.

Throughout the movie we get mildly entertained by that one black-haired girl named Zooey, who plays Kit, which is SJP’s roommate.  She is completely uninterested and uninteresting and yet is still quirky enough to be cute in that bitchy way and uh, kind of reminds me of me.

By the end of the movie, you will not be surprised because, hello, it involves Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew McConaughey. What did you think this was, a Reese Witherspoon movie? However, if you are ailing from a lonely heart, a sore throat or just general blahness, the sheer sexiness of the southern drawl from one McConaughey paired with his sexy chest and abdominal muscles will cure you of everything. (Sidenote for the squeemish: there is a scene where McConaughey and his little guy pals are doing yoga. There is little that grosses me out more than a man doing yoga. Even if he is a sexy, sexy beast.)

Worth watching? Aw yeah, why not. It has funny moments, a sexy southern accent and Kathy Bates.

El director de The Queen o Dirty Pretty Things (Negocios ocultos) entre otras, Stephen Frears, dirige esta vez un apasionado e irónico romance.
Ambientada en el siglo XIX, durante la Belle Epoque en París, Christopher Hampton, guionista también de Expiación o El americano impasible, adapta ésta novela de Colette.
El talento y la experiencia tanto del guionista como del director, ambos nominados en varios ocasiones a los Oscar, hacen que lo que podría ser un cursi romance, se convierta en un intenso tira y afloja de egos, pasiones y placeres.

Los personajes resultan muy interesantes, Michelle Pfeiffer, encarna a la elegante y rica prostituta que acoge a Chèri, el descarriado hijo de una amiga (Kathy Bates), interpretado por Rupert Friend. La relación entre ambos se convierte en un aprendizaje, en una diversión y sin quererlo también en una necesidad para ambos, que solo entenderán cuando tengan que separase para que él se case con una joven escogida por su madre.

Las interpretaciones de los 3 son impecables, pro hay que decir que Michelle Pfeiffer destaca especialmente, esta guapísima y resplandeciente, su interpretación es fuerte y sólida, traspasando la pantalla con una sutil sensibilidad, quizás digna de Oscar.

Lo mejor del film son los diálogos cargados de subtexto y muy cortantes e irónicos, abordando con la cordial falsedad de la época las inquietudes y sentimientos de los personajes bajo sus corazas sociales y físicas. Tan guapos, finos y elegantes por fuera, y tan atormentados por dentro.

Otro punto fuerte es la fotografía que consigue un perfecto equilibrio entre la calidez del romance  y la elegante frialdad de la estética de la época, en consonancia con la escenografía. Los exteriores son todos increíbles, paisajes y arquitecturas de ensueño, que te meten de cabeza en el idilio, y si te dejas llevar la experiencia es tan intensa como suave y agradable.

La nota final, viene de la mano del compositor Alexandre Desplat, responsable también de las bandas sonoras de Coco avant Chanel o  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,
que ha conseguido que Chèri sea galadonada en los World Soundtrack Awards ( Premios mundiales de Bandas sonoras).

Si os interesa, se estrena en nuestro país el próximo 6 de noviembre.

Rebeca Arnal