ALBERT NOBBS

I didn't expect to enjoy this movie as much as i did. glenn Close is Albert Nobbs and she is a phenomenal actress. Mr. Nobbs is a woman disguised as a man and working as a butler in 19th Century Ireland in a hotel.  Besides this film being about class distinctions and social status and being a lesbian and employment, it is also a love story but one without any gooey sentimentality.

Albert is saving money to buy a shop. He is a very withdrawn, isolated, emotionless person; in large part, to make sure she/he is not 'discovered.' The hotel's owner hires a painter, Mr. Page, who shares a room with Nobbs. Lo and behold! Mr. Page is a woman also and through that relationship, Nobbs finds out about actually living in the world as a lesbian and having a lover and mate.

This results in Nobbs pursuing a maid (not a disguised female but a 'real' girl) so they can be married and live together. But the maid, Helen, is attracted to a less than ethical and moral character who is the maintenance man at the hotel.

The plot twists and turns and certainly did not end up the way i thought it would. There was no predictability in it at all. A lot of the hotel scenes where the staff would eat together or prepare food for the guests (all insufferably pompous) reminded me a lot of that great movie by Robert Altman - Gosford Park starring Clive Owens).

Bill gave this movie a 9 (and he really really did NOT want to see it) and i gave it an 8.5.

MOONRISE KINGDOM

I usually don't see 'coming of age' movies so rating this film was sort of difficult. Bill gave it an 8 and i think i'll go with a 7.

The story line is really simple. A khaki scout (the scout leader is Edward Norton) falls in love with a girl who lives near the campground where he is staying with the rest of his troop. The kids are in early puberty. Sam and Suzy run away together though they can't get very far since they live/camp on an island off of Rhode Island. The scenery is breath-taking.

So the movie follows Sam and Suzy's adventure and growing bond and also the search for them by the adults. This was the disappointing part of the movie. The adult roles though all played by excellent actors (Bruce Willis as the island police chief was the best) were superfluous to the storyline and their dialogue was forced and unbelievable. Every time they entered the scene it took away from the lovely and magical tale of Sam and Suzy.

Their was a lot of music in this movie and most of it was symphonic or operatic. There were no laugh out loud moments for me at all (i thought there would be as soon as i saw the movie advertisement with Bill Murray in the ad.); just smiles at the innocence and lightness of the friendship between Sam and Suzy and how the rest of the khaki scout troop rallied around them to help their adventure along. It had a nice and cute ending. That's probably a good word to describe the entire movie; cute.

June 2012 Colorado trip pictures

here are the photos from our recent colorado trip.


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