Jane Austen Movie Night

Films are like chocolates. There are some people who abstain -- not good for you. There are those who nibble occasionally -- a savoured treat. And then there are those to whom it is a food group, perhaps an addiction. Not for them the odd Saturday night flick, no, they need an almost daily supply. They are the attendees of marathons and festivals.

For the latter, films are like strings of pearls, each one suggests the next. Same writer, same director, same actor, same theme, same place, or opposites. (more ... )

It's not surprising that when the American government set out on a cultural cleansing they attacked the creative community. It is the nature of creativity to SEE. The creative process is about taking the world and showing it in a different way. This is what we call reframing, like the pictures that could be a young woman or an old crone depending on where you look. Fiction and non-fiction both are at their best when they reframe, when they take what is generally believed and show it to be something else. For those who are in power, who want things to be seen their way creative, independent thinkers are the great evil.

On the other hand, to the creative, to the independent, to those who want to do good, those who wield the hammer of power without conscience or remorse are the true evil-doers.

From time to time among the dross of mindless, sensation-driven flicks; glossy, shallow, thoughtless blockbusters and sticky-sweet escapism there can be found a message of value. (continued ...)

I make a point of looking for good and bad, writing the balanced report. But who am I kidding here? Sometimes even the popcorn sucks.

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Moved by Movies

There are some movies that express a deeply felt belief, recover a long lost memory, dredge up past tears, or shock us into sudden empathy. Movies that move us.
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And if you have an opinion about a movie, don't forget to let us know. E-mail us, or click on the your view button.

Ali Kayn Says: Sitting through the Emmy awards is an emotional experience. Surprise at some of the decisions, complacency at one's ability to pick the winners, embarrassment on behalf of the presenters who struggle with some of the worst-written would-be-humour on the small screen ("We told them it wouldn't work": George Clooney). And gratitude.
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Spoiler Alert

Danny Heap says: I am really getting sick of the way advertising movies is handled. We've replaced the manic hyperbole of fifties and sixties cinema with a newer, more devious, 'get them in at any cost, even if you have to wreck the movie' attitude. It doesn't seem to matter to these companies if the adverts for their product give a totally false impression of the film or, even worse, show you the ending.
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