Film Corner 2004

Saw two films over the weekend. The first was a duty attendance with daughter number 1 (and only) at The Cat in the Hat for which I had low expectations and hence was presently surprised at how good it was. Some of the innuendo was obviously meant for the adults but the whole thing was compulsive - it kept both of us rapt for the necessary time and my daughter in jokes for the entire weekend. I do hope that the Baby Sitting joke is just a joke as Number 1 Son may find himself under N1D.

The other film which I knew was going to be good anyway was actually the best film I have seen in ages. It was Love Actually and I know that a few people I am acquainted will probably dis it as a piece of un-realistic tosh. Yes some of it was simplistic but as I have said many times here, simplistic is good; it is was most people can get their head around. Having said that, the actual film is quite complex. We watched the deleted scenes that unusually are worth watching and as Richard Curtis said, were quite worthy of being in the film; they were removed purely to get the film down to a manageable length. There were two African scenes at the end, based on posters of people supposedly in need in Africa who actually turn out to be relatively happy because they are loved. It was these that made the film spill the boundaries of being just fiction and turn into something that we all have. I know that you will think of me a as soppy, something which would have mortified me only a few years ago but the poet's heart has got the better of me. I cried at the end of the film. I have just read one of the reviews on IMDb, which berated Curtis for using 9/11 within minutes of the start of the film and accused him of profiting from the disaster. The point I would make is that 9/11 is always brought up as the worst thing that ever happened (when I rave on about other things equally bad and never so much talked about). Well if it was so bad then would it not go into consciousness as part of everything. I though the reference to the messages of love from the doomed planes actually said something quite touching. We are all striving for happiness and a better world - hell some people think (entirely wrongly and with definite evil intentions) that explosions are the way to do this when we all know that this does not work. Work beckons and I haven't finished ranting yet.