La Superba

Spent a few hours in a cinema watching a movie called Genova.

from here
Colin Firth should be enough when explaining what encouraged me to see this. :-P
But this aside, the wonderful photography and scenery of Genoa/Genova were big drawcards. Loved the way it was filmed in a very natural, immediate way. The colouring of the film was very muted and unsaturated - I liked that because it seemed to provide a sense of 'realness' and stopped it from looking like a travel brochure.
Also loved that it was not about starring roles or big parts but it was a vignette of everyone, in particular Mary, the little girl. What a wonderful little actress. She really did a great job. And Colin's Joe was very real, played in an understated way.
Things I didn't like? Kelly the older daughter was so brittle, a horrible teen but that was her expression of grief I think. I thought the actress was toooo skinny, and she was dressed way too provocatively but maybe that is exactly what a teenager would be wanting to wear, plus her mother wasn't there to see and her father was somewhat distracted. It wasn't that I disliked the character or the actress but I was more aware that I was thinking about these things, whereas the others seemed to inhabit their characters and the actor disappeared. But maybe this demonstrates what a great little actress this girl is because she was so thoroughly horrible at times.

So, nice day. Caught up with my friend and we had a lovely few hours watching this movie, having lunch, chatting and browsing round a shop full of nic nacs. Left her to do the school run as I dashed off to one of my fave spots for a bit of a wander - Ikea. Yup, I do love this barn of a place. It provides so many cool and versatile things. My thing today turned out to be Christmas decos. A few good candles, Swedish style ornaments and bargain wrapping paper. Way more there this year than in the past so it was a little tricky getting me to stop with the buying!!! Here's a few of my cute finds:

Yes, there are a few common themes emerging here ..

:::::dala horse, moose, bird:::::

hmmm, a tad predictable is moi, non?

it is often who you're with

I am so unoriginal, I keep seeing other peoples great ideas for posts and going "why didn't I think of that?"
This post is inspired by a cute little piece from jane brocket

Who you watch stuff with can be just as important as what you watch. Your viewing companion can also impact on the experience ...

Watching with a parent can be either an uplifting, fun confirmation of who you are, both together and as individuals, or completely squirmworthy.
Take my lovely parents - here we have two very different movie companions:
Mum and I were great movie amigos, watching everything and anything really. We watched all the musicals and sang along, we loved historical dramas, comedy and the current movies of the day. Mum might not have enjoyed some of the things I liked (Star Wars springs to mind) I didn't always like her favourites - Pretty woman, and she adored Ryan's Daughter. But we relished the shared experiences and we watched on together, regardless - and often had some good discussions afterwards. This could be one small corner of our top 100 (there's no way we could select just 10!!) in no particular order:
Oklahoma, Gigi, Mrs Miniver, Now Voyager, A Fish called Wanda, Out of Africa, Roman Holiday, North by Northwest, The King and I, Going my way?, Desk Set ....

Watching movies with Dad, however, is a different kettle of fish. He is not really what I would call a movie buff. Although he enjoys seeing fil-ums and he has clear likes and dislikes, he finds many celluloid pieces silly, distasteful or just time wasters (he would much rather be watching the footy!). But we have a few firm favourites and good shared memories over the years - watching all the Pink Panther movies together and laughing til we cried, James Bond and Indiana Jones adventures, movies all 3 of us loved like Local Hero, Chariots of Fire, Brassed Off and mostly anything from the 30s, 40s and 50s, particularly those with Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy. We sat up and watched a Bill Collins offering recently (I can't remember the name) It was a melodramatic black and white costume drama and we loved every minute of it, cursing the villain, and loving how over the top it was.

UV and I, on the other hand, love most genres and many of the same films - anything scifi for one. A tiny selection of movies we liked: No Country for old men, The Godfather 1 & 2, Amelie, Dead Man (Johnny Dep). But we have lots of our own faves too - he loves b graders and Steven Seagall  movies for a good laugh. Unlike him, I can watch and rewatch things like Lord of the Rings, Love Actually, Room with a View, old musicals and the odd girlie flick - but I do have definite likes and dislikes there - hate Pretty Woman, love Notting Hill for example. I love movies that baffle me - The Draughtsman's Contract, 2001, Donnie Darko. I love World Movies from all over the big wide world. I love Jacque Tati movies (introduced by another movie companion of complex tastes, my brother.) Some I've loved include Nosferatu, Gone with the Wind, Bladerunner, Fargo, Pulp Fiction, Pan's Labyrinth, Gosford Park, Hellboy, Fantasia, The Graduate, The Sting, Gladiator, Rebecca, Lost in translation ...

Now, when it comes to my niece and I, we have funny tastes in movies - I was 10 when she was born so we have a shared history growing up. Our dvd sessions these days largely figure the movies that made us laugh then and still do, but sometimes now for very different reasons.
This might be our top 10:
Grease :: we sing all the songs, laugh at how bad an actor a certain star is, google how old they all were when they made it and now agree that Stockard Channing and her character are the best things about this film!
Point Break :: what more can I say - pirouette sky diving!!!
Dirty Dancing :: we watched this again only the other day - what a cliched script but how funny it all is, and the inevitable quote was yelled at the top of our voices - "noone puts baby in a corner!!!")
Sound of Music :: just a great singalong, we know all the words and ring each other up whenever it comes on the tellie
Xanadu :: ELO songs to singalong to, crazy rollerskating muses, 80s fashion, unbelievably abyssmal story idea and worse script - what could be more fun!
The 'burbs :: we first saw this at the movies when my neice lived right there, in the burbs! always makes us laugh
Ghost :: Patrick Swayze is figuring large in this list! - more pirouette moves by Patrick throughout to keep us entertained
Saturday Night Fever :: how can you not love Travolta and the mad 70s scene
The Lost Boys :: both of us drooled over Jason Patrick then, now we chortle about Keifer the blonde vampire .. and we love the wool-uf! (the husky dog that belongs to the brothers)
Groundhog Day :: this is one that we just adore - do I need to explain this one? Bill Murray says it all

Having different people you watch movies with in your life gives you a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the relationship you have with them. And it also gives you permission to be anything you like, whether its being a silly teenager again or a serious movie buff. For me, when it comes down to it, it's really the people around me that make the movies.

Why Sunday was nice

Drank coffee and browsed books here
Went on a long picturesque drive
Ate lunch with family beside the water
Sang happy birthday to a 1 year old and ate yummy homemade chocolate cake
Watched this movie here
Had a refreshing vodka, lime and tonic, sitting on red ottomans
Ate very delish garlic bread with a side of bruschetta, Italian meatballs and a rocket salad
Caught up with my favourite cousin

All in all, a superb Sunday.