St.Trinian's, the infamous school for 'young ladies', is facing a financial crisis. The new Education Minister (Colin Firth) is an old flame of the headmistress (Rupert Everett) but is determined to bring discipline and order to the anarchic school. A motley crew of teachers, and ruthless pupils join forces to steal the famous painting "Girl With A Pearl Earring" from the National Gallery. But can their combined cunning, girlish wiles and total lack of shame win the day before the authorities close them down for good?
The Belles of St. Trinian's is an absolute gem. This remake, is not. In fact it's pretty rubbish, but that at least means it's on a par with the originals sequels which tended to get steadily worse.
The premise, based on the cartoons of Ronald Searle, is still intact and it is glorious. I just love the idea of a self-sufficient school running riot with slapstick violence. The girls are great and at their very best are a sheer force of nature (see the moment they charge through Trafalgar Square!) led by The Twins (Holly and Cloe Mackie), backed up by the more cunning older girls, be it daft but gorgeous Posh Totty Chelsea (Tamsin Egerton) or especially the devious head girl Kelly (Gemma Arterton). They're a tight knit bunch and it takes a while for new girl Annabelle (Talulah Riley) to find her place.
She's the niece of headmistress Camilla Fritton, played brilliantly by Rupert Everett in drag (he also plays her brother). I don't normally like him, but he's good here although Alistair Sim is a very tough act to follow. Everett is great in his (her?) scenes with Colin Firth, who lifts the overall quality somewhat. Russell Brand is Flash Harry who helps the girls with their various illegal activities. He's ok, but not being stretched. I don't begrudge him being a stand-up comedian turned actor though after seeing that he was pretty good in Forgetting Sarah Marshall.
So the characters are great and played by a good cast, plus the spirit of the original is well in place, what went wrong? Because as I said, it's not a good film. The plot though loosely based on Belles is a mess and there's far too much going on. Plus it's poorly edited killing some of the humour. The writers have not been looked after by the director Frank Launder. Still it's a typical Ealing story and there's little else like it,
It lacks the charm of the original, but then it was made at a unique time. British film found a real niche post-war because it's as if the teenager had inherited the world and the irreverence of things like Billy Liar was exploited ten-fold by the outrageous exploits of the girls school that refused to be ignored. The new version can't claim any of that and if anything, looks out of date before it starts. It's just bloody good innocent fun and that's all you should look for.
The end scene features Girls Aloud which should be a dreadful moment, whatever you think of them. But they blend in quite well and you get to see Cheryl Cole in a school uniform...
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, a review by Jimmy
MOVIE / DVD INFO:
Title: Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981)
Genre: Drama Director: Uli Edel Rating: Unrated Length: 2h05 Video: Widescreen Audio: German Subtitles: English
Stars:Plot: This movie portrays the drug scene in Berlin in the 70s, following tape recordings of Christiane F. 14 years old Christiane lives with her mother and little sister in a typical multi-storey apartment building in Berlin. She's fascinated by the 'Sound', a new disco with most modern equipment. Although she's legally too young, she asks a friend to take her. There she meets Detlef, who's in a clique where everybody's on drugs. Step by step she gets drawn deeper into the scene.
My Thoughts:
If you have seen my top ten in an other topic, you already know that this film is on my all time best list. What I like in this movie is the fact that the drug use is not glorified and they don't use a preaching bulshit speech. Like many others I was a drug user in my younger years (ok not so young since I've stop taken it 5 and a half years ago). I was never an addict and I've never hide the fact that I was an user when I was one (never seen that as a big deal at all). But because of this film that I've watched with my parent at 13 years old the lesson was strongly print in my mind : never use heroine. Enough with my life story
What is the most surprising in this film is the teenagers performance, they are all good. Natja Brunckhorst in the title role does a wonderfull job and for a 15 years old who is in her first movie she is 100% credible. I'm very surprise that she didn't have a bigger career. We have the feeling throughout the film of how was the life in the neighborhood where she live (I hope that it had change now) and the feeling of emptiness and despair they confronted everyday. Some scene are particularly striking : the withdrawal attempt after an overdose, the first time that Christiane sell her sexual favour for drug money and the overdose of her 14 years old friend. The soundtrack by David Bowie is great too, but I'm already a fan.
Not the most feelgood movie, but sometimes it is necessary to watch a film like this to understand the facts of life. A strong recommandation and a film that must be seen by every young teenagers.
Synopsis: Delenn is called back to Minbar. Her clan will decide if she should be allowed to marry a non-Minbari. She has into go to the dream oracle and relives the events that lead to the Earth-Minbar war. Meanwhile Sheridan sends Dr. Franklin and Marcus to Mars to bring news and make contact with the Mars resistance.
My opinion: Great episode which fills the last holes about Delenn's involvement in the Earth-Minbar war and a great explanation why The merging of Human and Minbari souls began a thousand years ago. Loved it
Racing Mars
Synopsis: Dr. Franklin and Marcus arrive on Mars and make contact with the resistance - or at least they try to. Meanwhile Ivanova suspends Sheridan for 48 hours from active duty, he hasn't had a free day fro more than nine months.
My opinion: It's an OK episode. Not much to say about it.
Lines of Communication
Synopsis: The problems of Minbar are getting worse. The conflicts between the warrior caste and the religious caste becomes more violent and Minbar stands on the brink of civil war. Delenn is forced to meet with a race called "Drakh". Meanwhile Franklin convinces the Mars resistance to work with them and stop the terrorist bombings on the Mars colonies.
My opinion: Delenn has to go to Minbar to fight for her planet, Sheridan has to go to Earth to his planet. It's a sad episode because even with the ended war there are still many open wounds that must heal and many conflicts left to be solved. One asks oneself if it will ever going to end. It's the same question as in real life: Will there be ever a time where there is not a war or fight going on on this planet?
Quote of the episode: Delenn (to Sheridan): "Curious thing about Humans. Minbari cities remain untouched and unchanged for centuries. I leave for three days and you redecorate."
Conflicts of Interest
Synopsis: Garibaldi has to smuggle his former love in and out of the station. Meanwhile Invanova tries to find a power source for their news broadcasting system.
My opninion: One asks oneself what the Psi Corps did to Mr. Garibaldi. He is so hostile towards his former friends and colleagues he won't get any help from them in the near future. Nonetheless it was a good episode especially the ending with the newly installed broadcasting system.
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May 12, 2024, 10:57:49 PM
