One Day (2011, U.S.)

I had been looking forward to this movie for ages. I read a review of the book in Library Journal or Booklist last year before it was first published in the U.S., bought it for the library, and read it as soon as it came out. I loved it. Of the 122 books I read last year, it was one of only 7 that I gave five stars to. I thought the concept, the writing, the everything was absolutely stellar. Therefore, I guess it was inevitable that the movie could only pale in comparison.

I've said recently that Anne Hathaway has really been growing on me lately, and I really liked her in this. I think I've seen Jim Sturgess in a couple things, but he's never really stuck in my mind. I really liked him in this too. Their chemistry was decent, much better as friends than lovers, but it still worked. The costumes and sets really help keep the viewer oriented as the plot whizzes from year to year, from the late 1980s to the present day. Like the book it's based on, the movie's story is fundamentally good. I just didn't feel as emotionally invested in the characters as David Nicholls made me feel.(This is slightly odd, as Nicholls adapted the screenplay himself. Novels and films are inherently different mediums though, I guess.)

I don't know, I feel like I'm being unfair. If I had seen the movie without reading the book, I probably would have thought it was incredible—writing, acting, setting, and the rest. As it is though, I feel like I'm comparing a stationary star to a comet. The one just isn't as magical having experienced the other. Still, I definitely recommend the movie. (And highly recommend the book!)

Rating: 3.5

Plunkett and Macleane (1999, UK)

I liked this one, but I would have liked it a lot more if it was set up better. The first 20 minutes and the entire rest of the film seemed like two different movies. The beginning was incredibly violent and graphic, popping out eyeballs and digging up smelly corpses. All of this leads to an impoverished gentleman and a run-of-the-mill poor guy start crime scheme in 1748 London. The gentleman (Miller) gets into the social events of the aristrocracy, finding out who is carrying a lot of cash and where they hide their money, and the two become gentleman highwaymen. The poor one (Carlyle) wants to earn enough to go to America, and impoverished one just wants to be a gentleman.

The grittiness lent extreme realism, but it also turned my stomach a little bit. The plot took awhile to pick up because the first scenes were so irrelevant, but when it got going, it was engrossing. It mixed action, a hard-luck drama (with class wars), romance, and a bit of black comedy too. I especially loved Jonny Lee Miller, who was adorable and hilarious. Alan Cumming was interesting as an aristocratic, flamboyant bisexual. Liv Tyler wasn't annoying like she usually is.

One thing that really stuck out was the music, which was partially modern pop/rock (like they were going for the A Knight's Tale feel, though not as successfully) and partially instrumental music that sounded like the type of music you would hear in a modern crime comedy where the "bad guys" are really "good guys." (Instead it was an historical crime quasi-comedy where the "bad guys" are really "good guys.")

If you're looking for something different with a strange feel, this one is worth a watch.

Rating: 3.5