Wild Country

Wild Country, this film was a pleasant surprise. The film was rented as a speculative try this new to DVD low budget horror movie. The selling point was that it was Scottish made with a cast of unknown actors that had received good reviews.
I've seen a lot of horror movies, ghost movies, slasher movies, etc. It's not necessarily a favourite genre of mine, but is the preferred genre of a family member. Which I guess means for the most part I have seen it all before.
The film was at its heart a teens roaming in the dark being eaten one by one by an unknown beastie affair. But it managed to be a lot more than that. The performances were very good, the fear believable, the camera work setting the mood just right, definitely scary in parts. The low-ish budget animatronics could be off putting, but I've seen worse. It managed a couple of good twists too resulting in an ending that should have been predictable but caught me by surprise.
The mood of the film must have caught me just right. This is only the second film to have me feeling quite uneasy when walking the dog in the dark immediately afterwards.
Nice one, has to be an 8 out of 10.

Atonement

Atonement; here was a movie that was going to pass me by. It had won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, was nominated for Oscars, but managed to stay well under my radar. Until the day a colleague tells me he was soon to see it as a birthday treat for his wife. He's not really looking forward it, "sounds a bit girly". I say that I think good things have been said about it and I'll have a look around the internets. Yes, sure enough there were good reviews all round, but for me the clincher was a 5 star (top) rating from my favourite critics; The Radio Times Film Guide. So, I send him away with a glowing recommendation, he'll be fine it'll definitely be worth watching.
Days pass. He has seen it, "Rubbish..." is the well considered review, "Slow, odd start. Poor ending." Well, I guessed that meant I needn't bother now. No, I am now being told that I must watch it to prove to myself that the critics were wrong. Fair enough, onto the DVD rental list it goes.
Days pass. I mention the movie to a friend, "Don't bother, poor middle, and an ending that pissed me off... a waste of two hours sleep on a long flight." Heck, what have I let myself in for?
Days pass. The movie arrives, I sit down and give it a fair trial. What did I think? Excellent movie! Well worth the 5 stars, loved it. I won't do spoilers so will have to be a bit vague in my descriptions. The setting and style of the first half was pretty good, very believable characters, and the cleverest flash-backs used in a movie I have ever seen. The second half was a huge change of scene and mood covering revelations and separation in a quite captivating way. The cinematography here was pretty special too. Nearing the end of the film I am left wondering how atonement can be made, I want it to happen but can't see how. Then the wow moment, a final switch, an explanation, and the end. Whoa, I was stunned. A movie that made me live the moment, 8.5 out of 10.
As for my colleague, well I didn't think he was the sort of chap to decry a movie that has a principle character deflowered in the library of a stately home, but he did. It takes all sorts I guess...

Dil Chahta Hai

Well, here's a thing. I am quite the movie lover, a fan of cult movies, but will watch anything. I believed I had covered all genres and styles of movie making, until now. A friend pointed out that I was missing an important element of modern film making, Bollywood. "Do you have a reason not to watch these?", I am asked. "Well... umm... no, none at all..." I guess it was the lack of this style of movie in national cinemas and non promotion by DVD rental companies that caused this gap in my viewing pleasure. No excuse really, it may just have been my belief that these were musical movies, which I lean away from.
So, I receive a recommendation. Dil Chahta Hai. A modern example of the style billed as a romantic comedy. Ok, overall I wasn't disappointed. It was a good coming-of-age, entering adulthood movie. The musical set pieces, a novelty for me, actually had a purpose. Cool, this was better than the occasionally cringe-worthy Hollywood musicals that I lean away from. The songs continued or added to the storyline, very clever. I think I missed some cultural references regarding family and growing up, but not to the detriment of the movie. Funny, sad and happy. It was all of these, which is just what I look for in romantic comedy. Would I recommend it? Well, only with reservations. I had a problem with the movie, it was very long, 3 hours. I tried very hard, but 3 hours of subtitles really took it out of me. This isn't the movies fault, I am giving it 7 out of 10.
Is this the start of a whole new era of movie viewing for me? Maybe, yes. I want another recommendation, half the length if possible. And then there's a good chance I'll be looking for a good Bollywood review site.