‘Oddball’

Family Film: Oddball (G) Directed by Stuart McDonald

This Australian movie based on a true story was released in September this year and will appeal to every dog lover. Shane Jacobson plays a chicken farmer, Alan Swampy Marsh, and along with his dog, Oddball, his grand daughter, they bring this Australian drama to life. It is the compelling story of how Oddball, a Maremma dog is trained with a fairy penguin. There is a fight to save a fairy penguin colony from foxes and big business on an island off the Victorian coast, near Warnambool.

The good news is that the fairy penguin colony has grown; after getting down to 10, it has since increased to 150.

This feel good movie is full of kindness and I am responding to it by recommending it to you!

Pay It Forward, daily post by Ben Huberman

Tell us about a time when you responded to an act of kindness with one of your own.

 

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Paper Planes, the movie

Folding future: Ed Oxenbould as Dylan, an 11 yo. who discovers he has a knack with folding stuff in Paper Planes.

 

Having grandchildren staying gave me the opportunity to see this new Australian movie, written, directed and produced by Robert Connolly.

This movie captures the imagination of children with its eleven-year-old Dylan, Ed Oxenbould, as the hero, succeeding against all the odds to participate in the Paper Plane World Championship. Dylan’s unassuming character shows his quiet strength coping with the enormous difficulties he’s facing.

The unique Western Australian landscape with its country school, gives a feeling of stepping back in time. Every emotion is tweaked.

I didn’t have high expectations, and yet the film was totally absorbing and left me feeling uplifted. Even if you don’t have children, it’s a delightful film to see.

Film Review: Philomena (M) 5 stars

 

I know, many of you have seen this movie, but maybe there’s someone out there who hasn’t, so I will write this for you!

 

Here in Victoria, Australia we are having a hot spell. It is too hot to be in the garden and there is nothing very interesting on television. Last night we resorted to watching a video. Maybe in the Northern Hemisphere it’s too cold to work in the garden, and you might like to watch a good movie also.

Philomena is based on a true story of a mother, played by Judi Dench, looking for her lost son. It is directed by Stephen Frears.

The story flits into the past, 1952, where Philomena is a young girl in Ireland and gives birth to a son in a convent. Here she works for her keep, and is allowed to visit her child for an hour a day. As a ‘fallen woman’, she had no rights, and toddler, Anthony, and his best friend are sold to an American couple for adoption.

Philomena never forgets her son. When she has almost given up trying to find him herself, she manages to convince a journalist and former government adviser, Martin Sixsmith, (Steve Coogan), to take on her mission. He is reluctant at first but he gradually succumbs to Philomena’s charm and is touched by the injustice of what has befallen her. Their search takes them to America.

Although this sounds a somber topic, it is heartrending and convincing as we see the journalist and Philomena form a bond as they search for her son. The ending: I shall leave this for you to discover, as it is well worth seeing for your-self. This film was winner of Best Adapted Screenplay and won the BAFTA Awards 2014, as well as being nominated for Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards in 2014.

 

 

Fantasy vs real life: Daily post

You get to spend a day inside your favourite movie. Tell us which one it is- and what happens to you while you are there.                                                                                   (Thanks to the lovely prompt idea Mywitchkitchen)

 I am torn between two simple movies, if I’m to share a part:

‘Fried Green Tomatoes and the Whistle Stop Café’ and ‘Enchanted April’.

In Fried Green Tomatoes, I’d probably choose to be the older woman looking back at her youth. The fact that she chooses to support her friend and remove her from a violent relationship brings justice. To cook the recalcitrant husband and serve him up to the policeman, appealed to me at the time.

The other film, ‘Enchanted April’, as the title suggests, brings together four women, discontented with their disparate lives, in the wet, cold weather of England. Together they escape to the Italian Riviera for a month’s holiday in a wonderful old castle, surrounded by beautiful over grown gardens. Of course I’d like to play the young woman who proposes this escapade. If you’d enjoy an Italian romantic holiday, it’s worth a look.

I wouldn’t want to mess about with the story lines, but live them as they are played out. Both of these stories share the importance of friendship and how it alters and expands their lives, giving of themselves they receive threefold.

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A Posy and Thank you to Margaret Rose:

This is a bunch of flowers, ( photographed earlier in the year), as a thank you to Margaret Rose for her kind comments, introducing me to many who haven’t been here before, and for those of you who visit my site reguarly. 

Theses are some flowers photographed yesterday .

Today I went to see a really quirky film, which was a story within a story called, ‘The Budapest Grand Hotel.’ I am always suspicious when they say any resemblance to anyone is coincidental, fictional characters, etc., as so often, fact is stranger than fiction.  M. Gustave says, ‘If you look and listen to the tales of others… there’s no need to have imagination when writing!’ Have any of you seen it?

The European hotel and grand house settings are beautiful. Perhaps my imagination is a little wild if I began to believe the story; but it implies, if you are kind to others, all will fall in your lap. M. Gustave H. is played by Ralph Fiennes, who acts the part of a legendary concierge . As he ages, his ‘lady friends’ age and he speaks of the ‘cheaper cuts having more flavour’ to Zero Maslafa, the bell boy, who is learning the trade from his master. The story is inspired by the writings of Stefan Zweig, and is produced by Director Wes Anderson.