What I’m watching: JOHN Q

Tagline: Give a father no options and you leave him no choice.

I saw this movie a few years ago, and since it came out in 2002 it was quite a few years ago, but it’s the kind of theme that never dates. Intense, powerful, emotional–John Q delivers it all as far as I’m concerned. And Denzel Washington is ‘the man’ when it comes to bringing tortured John Q Archibald’s father’s love, and just how far he’s prepared to go for his son, to the screen. Mind you, DW is pretty much ‘the man’ in every performance he does, don’ t you think? I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in a movie that I haven’t liked. As one reviewer on imdb pointed out, “Denzel usually played well-educated, intelligent lawyers and/or businessmen (with the obvious exception of TRAINING DAY), but here Denzel is playing an average Joe…a working stiff, struggling to pay bills and keep food on the table and a roof over his family’s head who is driven to extreme measures to protect the family he cherishes so dearly.”

Here’s the short plot synopsis from imdb:

John Quincy Archibald’s son Michael collapses while playing baseball as a result of heart failure. John rushes Michael to a hospital emergency room where he is informed that Michael’s only hope is a transplant. Unfortunately, John’s insurance won’t cover his son’s transplant. Out of options, John Q. takes the emergency room staff and patients hostage until hospital doctors agree to do the transplant.

For me, as a parent, this movie hits on so many fears. You have adversity in a difficult financial situation but you’re making ends meet, then wham! Out of the blue something threatens your child and you will do anything, ANYTHING, to make things right in your child’s world again. Of course the financial situation worsens, your child’s health worsens, your desperation increases. How far would you be prepared to go?

Great story, great performances and terrific ending. If you haven’t seen this yet, and you love a good drama, then, in my opinion, this is your thing.

Bits and Pieces

Saw this news item in an online newspaper today. Lesson to be learned, don’t leave your partner sleeping at the movies! 

UPDATE TO THE ABOVE NEWS ITEM: Check out this link. Seems the course of true love doesn’t run smooth…

Best thing that happened to me this week? Getting my author copies for the Australia/New Zealand edition of Tycoon’s Valentine Vendetta. To see the down under cover treatment, or to order from eharlequin australia click here.

Best book I’ve read recently? Odd Mom Out by Jane Porter. Great story!

Best movie I’ve seen recently? Assault on Precinct 13. Seen it before and I’ll see it again. Excellent character portrayals. Sometimes I like to watch a movie with the sound off just to observe the body language. Did this with Monster-In-Law a couple of years ago and it was amazing how many cues you got just from the body language.

What’s up in your world?

What I’ve been watching: POSSESSION

How’s this for a tag line: The past will connect them. The passion will possess them.  I love it, and it encapsulates, in two short sentences the power of the movie.

Interestingly enough, and contrary to the title’s suggestion, this movie isn’t about anything demonic. It is a wonderful romance featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, playing Maud Bailey, and Aaron Eckhardt, playing Roland Michell.

Here’s part of the plot summary, courtesy of imdb (written by C.D.):

Roland Michell is an Americian trying to make it in the difficult world of British Academics. He has yet to break out from under his mentor’s shadow until he finds a pair of love letters in the textbook that once belonged to one of his idols, a famous long dead Victorian poet. Michell, after some sleuthing around, narrows down the suspects to a woman not his wife, another well known Victorian poet. Roland enlists the aid of a Dr. Maud Bailey, an expert on the life of the woman in question. Together they piece together the story of a forbidden love affair, and discover one of their own.

This movie hit every level of enjoyment for me. It showed the development of a mystery, the growth of a modern day romance and managed to sprinkle a bit of skulduggery into the mix as well. Even my husband, who usually prefers movies packed with fast paced action and plenty of explosions, admitted to enjoying Possession.

Here a link to the trailer on You Tube:

What I’m watching: THE HOLIDAY

Pretty appropriate, I thought, to be watching THE HOLIDAY, starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. I loved this movie for many many reasons, although I have to admit that I did struggle a bit with Jack Black as a convincing love interest for Kate Winslet’s character. The things I loved the most about this movie…

• How Kate Winslet’s character had the time and the inclination to care about her elderly neighbour and learn about what a fantastic and wonderful life he’d led. All to often I think we get too caught up in our busy lives and we forget to stop and listen to our elders and learn their stories. Everyone we meet has life experience different to ours and I reckon we can learn something from everybody if we just take the time to listen.
• How Cameron Diaz’s character was so mecurial. She really wanted and needed to get away from home and her cheating partner and yet once she was where she thought she wanted to be she couldn’t wait to get back on a plane to the US.
• How Jude Law’s character interacted with his beautiful daughters. I think one of the most precious scenes in this film was with all three of them in bed and there wasn’t so much as an inappropriate suggestion about any of it. We have to deal with so much horror in our day to day lives it was lovely to see a widowed dad just being able to be a dad with his girls without fear of recrimination, or overt suggestion, that to love and comfort his children as a parent should, is wrong.

So yeah, all in all I really did enjoy this film. I love a good happy ending and this delivered on all levels of happy endings for me.

What about you? Seen anything you’ve really enjoyed lately?

What I’m watching: KNOCKED UP

I freely admit that having this movie in our DVD player was NOT my choice. I’d read the premise of the film, I’d even seen other people blog about it–but faced with another evening of boring television (we don’t have cable) we watched KNOCKED UP since it had been hired by the kids.

Firstly, I think this movie could have been a whole lot better than it was. The actual premise had a ton of potential to show some great character growth and yes, while the lead male’s behaviour was incredibly juvenile and lacking responsibility he came to the party and was prepared to be ‘there’ for both the girl he knocked up and the baby that resulted from their one night of random sex.

I suppose, really, that his portrayal was pretty honest for the situation but the movie really lost it for me when the secondary characters (the heroine’s sister and husband) started acting out. What is it with couples, or at least TV and movie couples, where a female gets to say ‘I don’t like the way you’ve been behaving, I want you out of the house.’ Is there abuse? No. If there was I certainly wouldn’t have issue with wanting someone out of the house. Is there mental cruelty? No. Has he forgotten how to communicate with his wife about his own dreams? Yes. D’uh. Makes no sense for him to move out in my book. How the heck are you supposed to make things right when you’re not even together?

Call me old-fashioned, I don’t mind. I just find the whole cut and run thing (or even the cut and banish thing) very immature, especially when kids are involved and especially when there’s been no effort to seek to make things right in the first place–one strike and you’re out? Excuse me? To me, marriage and long term relationships are work all the way. Sometimes good work, sometimes hard work, but always work–much like life really. Forget to breathe and you’ve had it. Equate breathing with working on keeping your relationship healthy, and aren’t relationships the same way?

Anyway, suffice to say I wasn’t disappointed in this movie because I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it. Yes, there were moments of humour that weren’t based in a particularly grubby toilet bowl and, yes, I’m probably not the target audience for this film being <mumble mumble> years old, married for half that time, etc.

So anyone seen a really good movie they’d like to direct me to? I don’t care if its comedy, romance, drama, thriller or action (just not too much gore, please.) Tell me about it, please?