Anna Aden Writes

This is a very simple film marketed as a romantic comedy but felt like a platform for Tiffany Haddish's talents. She had the most gags, most laughs and basically carried the whole film. Without her, and honourable mention to Whoopi Goldberg,  I'm not sure the movie would have work. So basically an upwardly mobile professional had to take in her sister cue Tiffany Haddish who has just been released from jail. Everything goes a bit chaotic and crazy as the jailbird sister interfere in her relationships. Though Tiffany Haddish seems like the supporting actor to main character, she was actually the star. Romantic comedy? Yes, its romantic as in the main charater's quest to find true love and a man. Comedy? Down to Tiffany Haddish's part playing the sitter. This film/movie is great if you are a fan of Tiffany Haddish, or want a simple chick-flick with some attitude. Actually it was probably better than Girl's Trip so if you liked that you'll love this one! But ...

Not even Rachel Weisz ams Mrs 007 aka James Bond aka Mrs Daniel Craig can save this sinker. Honourable shout-outs to Iain Glen and other good actors however there is nothing to write home about. It's boring and though Rachel Weisz does her best, a bad script is a bad script. Normally I try and look for something nice or good to say but watching three novel adaptations for film/novels has taken its toll. First it was On Chesil Beach, then the Tulip Fever now. I can't. What was wrong with it? I guess as a fan of the novel  My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier, it lacked the basic gothic element that gave the novel much of its suspense. Plus there is swearing. I don't mind swearing, cussing, cursing but if the book doesn't have it, why should the film? I guess it makes it contemporary. I think it wasn't dark enough, the locations were too large, too grand, too much light given it's a a gothic story. But what do I know? It was just boring. And boring is bori...

I watched another screen adaptation of a book. This time it was the Tulip Fever, set in Amsterdam during the Tulip madness. It was a slow start, then plenty of unnecessary sex scene - I write romance, and at times, they can be erotic but sex scenes need to advance the plot in some way. Anyway, the actors needed to get off their kits at various stages of the films, probably to show 'how in love' they were.  Oh the story? An old geezer marries a young woman and commissions her portrait. Soon for no reason at all, the young wife and artist starts to have a torrid affair. You know it's torrid by the number of sex scenes in the film - probably too many. There is the parallel story of the maid and her love affair. Basically the young wife embarks on an elaborate plan to be with her lover, and it goes a bit weird, saying this the plot is very convoluted. Even though set in Holland, it's mostly an English cast, Cara Delevingne is in it, - hard to miss our Cara especially...

I was haunted by the book, and I had questions to ask if I ever met the author, 'what happened to Florence?' Well, this film answered it. Still even though Ian McEwan wrote the screen play, I'm not sure. There were changes that were a nod to commercialisation but I don't think it worked. It was mostly slow, awkward and painful watching. However my question of what happened to Florence was answered, especially if you are a romantic like me. I'm glad I saw it to find out what happened to Florence but after a while it went down hill and all Hollywood. I don't know...Not a hit. Basically if you haven't read the book, I'd give it a miss. If you had read the book and had any lingering questions, though this film may be long and painful and very awkward it may answer your questions.

Slow, very slow and somewhat predictable. I'm not even sure it's worth watching to pass the time. It's like a forced sequel. Like the guys at Pixar and Disney thought it was time for a money grab sequel and thought this up. Convoluted story line, though there are a few laughs, the younger characters are the star, so maybe kids will enjoy it. And the baby is fantastic! Great images but there is only so much you can do with a dull animated story. However as I said there are some highlights. Saying this there are better films out there so for me a miss. I only watched it all the way because I had a guest watching with me otherwise I wouldn't have finished.

Apologies- A day late...doh'... This was an impulsive choice. I saw him a clip of Andre Leon Talley being interviewed on Youtube, maybe it was Wendy, I'm not sure so when I saw this as a choice in my DVD club, I chose it. So it's a documentary about his time in fashion. Andre Leon Talley is a legendary fashion editor and journalist. He has worked and still does pieces for Vogue magazine etc. He is a respected authority of fashion and how you get to know that was who turned up to show...I mean who did interviews. So heavy weights like Anna Wintour,  Tom Ford, Marc Jacobs, Diane de Furstenberg, Manolo Blahnik, and Valentino Garavani clear their busy diaries or schedules to make time for this documentary you know Andre is respected. So the documentary is very complementary towards him showing him as a talented and gifted fashion journalist which he is. It also covers a few touchy bits like the racism he encountered and rumours that he was sleeping with peopl...

This is really for the big screen with all the CGI images and plenty of stunning visual special effects with great fantastical  undersea creatures and creation of an underwater world. Just lots of craziness. There are also great fight scenes, explosions and chase sequences but very little on story line - well it's a simple very simple linear story. It's also a little long just over two hours but overall, if you don't like to think too much and want to escape into something simple and easy to watch the probably try this. Also if you have over 12 years olds (or mature enough) and need a nanny this should keep them occupied for while - but note it may be a little too long so they could get bored. I watched it with Big Momma and she said it was like a video game, and I thought yes, it was. The story It' starts off a bit slow and messy but after a while the real story starts. Basically it's quest and adventure story with a number of trials to find the true king of...

Hollywood is OBSESSED with Kong! Anyway, this is yet another remake the old classic, and again I'm watching it - mainly just for a movie to blog about. I saw the one with Jack Black, and the classic when I was a kid. This one starts Samuel J Jackson and Tom Hiddleston, where Jackson acts a crazy war obsessed soldier and Hiddleston  - not sure. what his role was really...a tracker but he was some kind of potential bad boy and potentially romantic hero. John Goodman also makes an appearance as the mad scientist but in a similar role to Jack Black's role in his version of Kong. It's essentially an adventure movie with a high body count caused by monster predators. Yes, I found it a bit scary and violent (with hungry monsters upping the body count), but there was also an underlying story of true love, kindness and respect (other people or creatures spaces). Apart from Kong who is just one of his kind. Maybe they could do a movie where he finds a kong mate of his kind and siz...

Generally it's a feel good movie though it starts off  bit like a soap opera, rom-com and drama rolled into one . Great locations, handsome actors and beautiful actresses. It starts off slow and then gets really gripping with a few twists and surprises to keep you guessing to the end. Super rich boy carries his ordinary girlfriend back home  for a friend's wedding and to meet his family.  Only he hasn't told how rich he is. From there the fun and games starts, basically his mother hates her guts. His super rich sister also have problems with her husband,Pierre Png who had a really HOT shower scene. It's raining washboard abs, serious washboard abs. Awkwafina does a great job as Peik Lin, but all round good performance by all. Can't say much without spoiling the story but it's good, realistic in some areas and fantasy and escapism  in others. Yeah, it's worth watching even if for something different. Even if it's a slow start. EXCELLENT ENDING! I...

A feel-good comedy,  starring Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish. There isn't much to say as the plot is convoluted but if you can lose yourself in the plot and you can get with it you'll enjoy it. A few nice twists with plenty of gags and one-liners from Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish and the support cast. I even shed a few tears at the end. Kevin Hart plays a deluded salesman who thinks he is great but he is really a loser. At some point, he burns down his workplace and ends up with no job. However it turns out,  he is a high school dropout with no GED so he has to go back to school before he can get decent job. Lots of adventures, a few laughs but it is what it is.  I'm not going into because it's convoluted and no real storyline but overall fun to watch with some nice twists to keep the viewer hooked. A few sentimental moments made to make you go aww.... And a nice ending. Unpredictable in a predictable way. Nice and funny, even pushing inspiring if you finish the mo...

Basically Bradley Copper is a big time troubled star, who meets an aspiring singer who ends up becoming a star, but it all wrong from there.  It's great acting but I just wasn't moved maybe it was too emotional and I was tired. I'm not sure why, but it didn't resonate with me. I just found the beginning very slow and it didn't get any better. I stopped watching it when they had a duet at the concert.  What I did find out was Lady Gaga wasn't the great singer I thought she was. She is very good but without her 'Lady Gaga' persona and the electronic music etc, she was just a good singer. I was expecting some really really good singing. But no. I still like her but doing 'Lady Gaga'. She's more or less a studio recording artist. Funny that.  However her acting was very good. Better than most singers-turned-actresses.   I guess if you want an emotional weepie or like a good drama with  something to cry about,  watch it. Some good ...

Another black and white movie, this was a recommendation about looking at plots. It's quite a simple plot where everyone is after the same thing but it is quite dated in some respects unlike the Sunset Boulevard. Great twists and turns with a cast of brilliant actors - The film stars Humphrey Bogart as private investigator Sam Spade before he hit the big time. Nobody is good and bad and everyone has a secret agenda. If you don't mind black and white movies with hardboiled detective-speak then watch this. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Maltese_Falcon_(1941_film) I'm a member of a film club so this was the disk I borrowed. I like images for authentic.

This came highly recommended at screen writing workshop, I'm not a screen writing but I do take any writing workshops that interest me. It was actually season four but I decided to start at the first season. It's about a chemistry teacher, Walt White, who is down on his luck financially, and worse is diagnosed with a terminal illness. For money, he gets involves with the drug trade by 'cooking' crystal meth. He's got loads of family problems and his brother-in-law works for the DEA - that is like the drug law enforcement so they are indirectly battled against each other.  It's violent with it does have human and empathic moments to tone down the horrors. And there is some very dark humour to relieve tension. However  really my kind of series since I like happy optimistic shows. It's just a bit too gruelling for me. I do have a box set so series 2 & 3 to watch I've decided not to watch them, just because its not my thing. It's...

Off the cinema I decided to the got the cinema (movie theatre)  instead of watching my planned box set of Breaking Bad series 1. So I looked at what was happening around and decided on a trip to town and Alita - Battle Angel since it sounded neutral enough.  Ended up at Camden Parkway, at one point it had one of the biggest screens in London before it become a multiplex Odeon - I think back in the day it was ABC but don't quote me on that. Got my ticket which cost £7.00 which is relative cheap for town, as you can see it's the date of my blog and I decided on the first showing. Then up the stairs. It is a nice cinema though fraying around edges probably because everyone is staying at home and glued to Netflix or Amazon Prime. In the cinema there was me and another person who liked a student. About Alita: Battle Angel Alita, a cyborg, is found by a cyborg-surgeon who give her body parts. She ends up being some super warrior from a different age....

This was film was suggested by my writing workshop so I was surprised when it finally arrived it was in black and white.  Saying that it was easy to watch and there were some good one liners. I also enjoyed the narrative direction because it starts off at the end. The beginning is the first end and then the film is told retrospectively.  It's a bit like My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier - the book not the movie. So basically a young screen writer who is in debt stumbles across an old house on Sunset Boulevard, and meets an ageing silent movie star called Norma Desmond and things develop from there with a twisted love story or romance of sorts. Overall it's easy watching and you feel sympathy for all the characters.  You know what's going to happened in end because that is revealed in the beginning but you don't know how or why. It did make me think about today's fading celebrities and how they cope with change. There are a lot of Norma Desmonds around...