Downton Abbey

Our favourite family and their staff are back after 4 years! This feature film was just as delightful as the series! I really hope they come back in a few years to show us what happened to Downton and the characters during WWII and then, even later, because I really want to see Mary as the grumpy old aunt. And yes, I got an A1 poster with all characters from my local cinema! I can’t wait to buy it on DVD and show it to my family! Someone asked me the other day what it is about Downton that is so good and no matter how many nice things I had to say it just doesn’t explain it well enough. A friend or two of mine watched Downton for a season or two and then abandoned it. I started watching Downton back in season 4, right after I read online about Anna’s rape storyline. I started from the pilot and after two or three episodes I was hooked on the lives of the Crawleys and Downton’s staff. Cora played by Elizabeth McGovern and Anna played by Joanne Froggatt are my favourite characters on the show, but honestly, everyone is highly likeable, even Mary. I still haven’t been to the Highclere castle, but it’s definitely on my to do list. The king and queen’s visit seemed a little far fetched to me though, and that’s honestly the only problem one may have with this film.

‘Will you have enough clichés to get you through the visit?’
‘If not, I’ll come to you.’

‘Oh Violet. After all these years you still astonish me.’
‘Oh good, I’m glad I’m a revelation and not a disappointment.’

‘You are the future of Downton’

10/10

Apollo 11

A riveting documentary made out of 11 000 hours of unused footage and never-heard-before audio recordings of Neil Armstrong’s trip to the moon. I especially liked shots of the public waiting for the launch. Just think about it, these people, some of them long gone, will never learn about this film, and those still with us, won’t probably know about this documentary. I’m glad I got to see it on the big screen, this is why I love Odeon’s Silver Screen.

‘One small step for man… one giant leap for mankind.’

8/10

The Shape of Things

This was a great way to kick off my birthday celebration! I went in, thinking it was a rom-com, instead I was handed a refreshing twist! Rachel Weisz plays this artsy character who’s really into sex, art projects and stirring shit and Paul Rudd plays her clueless boyfriend. Rachel’s character decides to change the main character, she changes the way he dresses and even convinces him to have a nose job. The ruthlessness of Rachel Weisz’s character and Paul Rudd’s naivity balance themselves out perfectly.

8/10

Finding Normal

A big fan of Full House over here. Yes, this means I am quickly running out of the cute romcoms and murder mysteries starring Candace Cameron Bure. According to letterboxd, I’ve seen 27 of her films (out of 40), and there were maybe 3 that were genuenly good? I’m looking at you Punchline (also starring Sally Field and Tom Hanks), Freshman Fall, it’s this campus rape made for tv film were Candace plays a survivor and No One Would Tell, another 90s tv movie where Candace plays a teen who’s abused and eventually killed by her boyfirend, played by Wonder Years’ Fred Savage. Some true genius thought to put Full House agains Wonder Years. Finding Normal is an awesomely cute romcom, which seems a lot like a fresh take on Doc Hollywood. I really hope I’ll get to show it to my mum one day, as I know for a fact she would love it.

6/10