Hush, 1998

Hush, 1998
Director: Jonathan Darby
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jessica Lange, Johnathon Schaech


Stage: Home theatre, Sunday night


Hush in short: Helen is the young girlfriend of good-looking Jackson Baring. When Helen gets pregnant and marries Jackson, they decide to move to his hometown, Kilronan, and have a baby there. But his mother Martha, who lives there, starts to do weird things, and obviously she's not too friendly to Helen.



Preps: Gwyneth, mmmm. Need to see it, not aware of the movie or the entities it has or sets. Therefore, a blind walk in the park it is.


Reality: Well, it is hard to become a fan of this movie. It is a mixture of a really bad teenage movie on the topic of bad mothers and something that remotely resembles Single White Female or the Roomate, however, from a perspective of a mother that has a mixture of complexes and a husband, that doesn't really have Oedipus complex, but is nearly there.
It could be really a good piece, but the delivery is a disaster. Since I am a huge fan of Paltrow, I wanted to see it, still it lead me to a huge dissappointment. The act of Lange should also be better, they somehow don't seem to connect in the negative way, as they should, the stepdaughter and mother. They are supposed to express hatred towards each other, but they are cool as ice.
I don't really get where the director was leading to, but I was eager to know how far the mother will go and what is the story behind. You always know there is a story behind the scenes, the one you get to know in the process or somewhere by the end. The Oedipus complex is broken just at the end, as the truth reveals and the mother is left alone. However, at this point I should feel hate towards her, not sadness and some sort of compassion. Brings out the topic from before – what was the director thinking?

The movie is fairly old and I get that also in 1998 they didn't have special effects or something. Still, the movie feels like being dragged from a decade before it was actually made. The scenery, the photography, the costumography, music.. obsolete. The way of acting.. naive and obsolete. I didn't like it and it didn't make me anxious for more. The only thing that provoked in me, and that might be the only good thing about this movie, is curiosity. I wanted to know the story and it kept me alive until the end.

So watch it, if you are a fan of the main cast. Otherwise, a waste of energy.


My personal rating: 4,0 (well, if I had to choose, I wouldn't take the second look at this piece. It is made as a TV movie and I am not surprised it never appeared before in my radar. Don't waste your time.)


Hush on IMDB

Shakespeare in love, 1998

Shakespeare in Love, 1998
Director: John Madden,
Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench



Stage: Home theatre, late Saturday night.


Shakespeare in short; Will Shakespeare is a known but struggling poet, playwright and actor who not only has sold his next play to both Philip Henslow and Richard Burbidge but now faces a far more difficult problem: he is bereft of ideas and has yet to begin writing. He is in search of his muse, the woman who will inspire him but all attempts fail him until he meets the beautiful Viola de Lesseps. She loves the theatre and would like nothing more than to take to the stage but is forbidden from doing so as only men can be actors. She is also a great admirer of Shakespeare's works. Dressing as a man and going by the name of Thomas Kent, she auditions and is ideal for a part in his next play. Shakespeare soon see through her disguise and they begin a love affair, one they know cannot end happily for them as he is already married and she has been promised to the dour Lord Wessex. As the company rehearses his new play.


Preps: This is the oscar winner in huge sense. Took 7 statues and went to bed afterwards. One of the finests crew in terms of cast. One of the largest themes. MMMMMMMM. A swell selection on any night.


Reality: This is when too much poetry is turned into a poetic movie. I adore Shakespeare in whole, which means I have read virtually everything several times and know his words by heart. However, I am aware how many people there are with mere respect to the name (personal name) and none so ever knowledge about his work. Therefore it's a great challenge to put the poetry into a movie genre, yet alone to put it into a script.
The cast is amazing. Paltrow is amazing, the same goes for Wilkinson and Fiennes. Dench doesn't surprise me, because I am her fan anyway and know she's a great actor, even without the ironic black humour touch she has here. I believe those roles suit her well, however she exceeds any expectations here and goes beyond excellent.
The costumes /costumography is worth more than mentioning. They did an exquisite job with the roles and the wardrobe for them. Also, the music more than suits the suite chosen for each section of the movie. Scenography, applause. The scenes are filmed on a square that looks just like you would be there. The language spoken, also. For a fan of Shakespeare, this might be a kind of an insult, however, it is a well and carefully chosen language and the script, suitable for a movie, therefore I am more than satisfied and I enjoy the scenes, especially when the two lovers express love to each other thru rhymes.
There is a reason, why some movies get the awards, however in some cases you are awkwardly surprised, like in this year, 2012. Well, Shakespeare gets what he deserves. The main flow and the story revolves around love, obviously. You get a glimpse of Shakespeare's life and you like the man for his looks and words. Obviously charm. I wonder if the real guy really posessed it. Usually great artists are only a prism through which their heart is revealed (through their work and not as persons). The love he has is forbidden, and vice versa. Seems that the story of Romeo and Juliet gets inspiration along the way, with the development in real life, the story is written. Awfully romantic :) I just love it. The spirit you get from the two and the desperation in terms of getting to know one's duty and the need to follow your heart as opposed to what the queen told you to.. it's breathtaking and gets a tear or two from my heart as well.




My personal rating: 8,0 (my genre, my poems, my kind of a movie to breathe through any night. Love it. )


Shakespeare on IMDB

Seven, 1995

Seven, 1995
Director: David Fincher
Cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Gwyneth Paltrow


Stage: Home cinema, TV selection on a nice Saturday Evening

Seven in short: A film about two homicide detectives' desperate hunt for a serial killer who justifies his crimes as absolution for the world's ignorance of the Seven Deadly Sins. The movie takes us from the tortured remains of one victim to the next as the sociopathic "John Doe" sermonizes to Detectives Sommerset and Mills -- one sin at a time. The sin of Gluttony comes first and the murderer's terrible capacity is graphically demonstrated in the dark and subdued tones characteristic of film noir. The seasoned and cultured Sommerset researches the Seven Deadly Sins in an effort to understand the killer's modus operandi while green Detective Mills scoffs at his efforts to get inside the mind of a killer...
Preps: Hm.. n'th time to be seeing this. So good I cannot dare to miss it again, even though it's a tv version.


Reality: One of Fincher's most remarkable pieces. I absolutely adore the storyline and the disgusting tone he's following. Pitt brilliantly playing the rookie, Freeman also brilliant in the role of retiring cop. Paltrow one of the side roles, still remains true to the idea of the movie. The murders follow a pattern, still are exceeding each time with the evil note they possess. I have seen several similar case studies involving several murders, after all this is a grateful genre with a wide range of audience, however this one somehow reminds of the Silence of the Lambs in its evilness and making the viewer respect the murderer's actions - in a sense, I am not able to say he's punishing the wrong people. I just disagree with the idea that he is the mesia, taking God's hand into his own. Or justice, for all the atheists like me.
When Spacey is revealed, this is mere a cherry on the top of a pile of delicious fruit. It draws attention even more to the other side, making me respect the mind of someone so vicious and dangerous. The last deed is indeed the most vicious and psychological the hardest one to take into your system and you are just waiting for Pitt to explode in the last scene. Scenery carefully chosen, dialogues are leading to perfection. Some of dark humour involved, especially in the family atmosphere scenes (when Freeman comes to Pitt's home and meets the wife). Seeing the soft side of the rookie is somehow entertaining, however it brings the emotional part to the movie and attaches the viewer also to Paltrow, which was obviously the purpose to see the last scene in the most emot spirit ever.

There are several overachievers in the business, Seven seems to be one of them. In my opinion, one of the best movies in the genre, difficult to miss with its many repetitions. Also, remarkable flow of the cast at the end - vice versa as it was supposed to be. Finally, remark about the music. If you don't notice it during the piece, you will be surely surprised in the defilee - the last words coming out of director's mouth.


My personal rating: 9,5 (absolutely a must see)
Seven on IMDB

Iron man, 2008

Iron man, 2008
Director: Jon Favreau
Cast: Robert Downey Junior, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard



Stage: home theatre/home TV

Short synopsis: When wealthy industrialist Tony Stark is forced to build an armored suit after a life-threatening incident, he ultimately decides to use its technology to fight against evil.


Preps: a recommendation from a friend + suggestion from the newspaper. Since I am in the mood to watch something on TV after a long week and need to relax, seems like a reasonable idea.


Reality: Ufff.. I am dissappointed. Since I am not really a fan of McGyver, James Bond and genre, where male ego points out like the Eiffel in Paris, or I don't acknowledge added value in building cars, weapons and having sex with multiple women at the same time, I don't appreciate the movie. Even the superb cast doesn't make me taste the difference. Well, in this case, the woman drinks martini with lots of olives, dry and shaken.

The movie represents the wealth that creates weapons and one man that stands alone against evil. eh.. maybe it wasn't such a great idea. And of course, government issues regarding Afganistan, etc. I would say it's mocking the system with its view of the things and in such cases I tend to have ironic thoughts. However, I stop watching at the middle, I think. Even the gorgeous Downey can be repellant if put in such a role.

My personal rating: 3,0 (or maybe it's just me not seeing the real value of the movie?)

Iron man on IMDB