Mamma Mia! (2008) - thank you for the music, indeed

directed by Phyllinda Lloyd / starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Amanda Seyfried

Today wasn't my day. I sat in front of a blank page with a blank mind, and after some desperate pondering (that went nowhere) I closed the document, left the computer, picked a DVD from my shelf and put Mamma Mia! on. Because sometimes there are days, when that's all you can do - forget about deadlines and enjoy one and a half hours of pure joy.

In the movie version of a hugely popular stage musical hit, Sophie invites three men to her wedding, wishing to find her real father. She bases her hopes to her mum's, named Donna, old diary entries. Figuring out which one of the three candidates shares her DNA turns out to be quite a ride... So Mamma Mia, here we go again.

It's really quite amazing how all those ABBA songs seem to fit so well in the story, without hardly any changes in the lyrics. Donna is having Money Money Money problems. Donna best friends Rosie and Tanya want Donna to let out her inner Dancing Queen again. The father candidates Sam, Bill and Harry reminisce Our Last Summer, when they all met Donna. Sophie's soon-to-be-husband Sky urges Sophie to Lay All Your Love On Me. Sophie wants to know What's The Name Of The Game. Pierce Brosnan gets a duet and it's only approapriate that the song is called SOS. Donna is afraid that time is Slipping Through My Fingers. And When All I Said And Done we can only Thank You For The Music.

ABBA music is just awesome. For the hundredth time I have to humbly swallow my pride and admit that the damn Swedes did it once again. What ever song they are merciful enough to play on Saturday nights, you can bet I'm on the dance floor within that second and once again happily making a fool out of myself. I just can't resist those tunes.

 Meryl Streep is a wonder woman and I adore her and I want to be her! In Mamma Mia! she is again phenomenal, bubbling with great energy and presence. She might be in her 60s, but damn girl, senility isn't something you have to worry about just yet. And if anything else, her Winner Takes It All performance proves that she can sing the crap out of everyone if she wants to!

The actors all do their own singing, obviously. They might not all be qualified for stage (which gives me a good excuse to mention the stage musical. Which was so much fun. There's nothing like that final Waterloo singalong...), but I appreciate them for sticking their necks out and not taking themselves too seriously. Of course there's Amanda Seyfried (with that gorgeous hair I have to mention every time I talk about her), who sings just beautifully, but then on the other hand there's my dear Mr Firth and most of all Mr Bond, James Bond. Seriously, when Prosnan sings, even he himself looks like he's in pain. Oh well. I'm not the one to judge, really, haha. Of the rest of the cast, I want to mention the jättehärligt Stellan Skarsgård, the super hot Dominic Cooper with that super hot accent and Julie Walters, whom I love even when she's overacting.

The movie is silly, alright. There's a lot of screaming and jumping up and down and running around almost to the extent of being annoying. And yet it's just wonderful. It's an exlploding package of joy, fun, music and dance. The exlamation point is in the title for a reason! Mamma Mia! is a stimulant that never fails you. I've watched the movie on numerous rainy days - both literally and figuratively rainy - and every times it manages to light up the skies, bring a smile to my face and make my feet restless.

There's no guilt in this pleasure.

"I grew up."

"Well then grow back down again!"

It's walks along the Seine & morning croissants for me!

Well, folks, I'm off to Paris! I'll be back next week, on one piece I hope, and my bank account still above zero. A little, at least.

This is me saying au revoir with a little help from the oh-so-adorable Colin Firth, the damn-why-is-everyone-from-Sweden-so-cool Stellan Skarsgård, the please-give-me-your-hair Amanda Seyfried... and Pierce Brossnan.

Oh oui.

Dear John

It is the morning after the evening I had a sudden idea to start writing a movie blog. The idea seems even weirder now, since I'm still not going to tell anyone I know about it, or advertise it in any way. So, I'm very aware that, quite possibly, I'll be dancing with myself (I like Glee, too! And in case I'm the only one here, I'll be dancing with myself is the name of a song they perform on the show). And it's okay, you know! A bit stupid, yes, but hey - I'm a sucker for little stupidities! I don't know how long I'll keep writing here, and how often, and whether at some point I give up one of my wonderfully stupid dreams and tell someone about this. Maybe I get bored and need someone to dance with.

So, yesterday I mentioned this movie I watched and felt embarrased because I wasn't ready to move on yet. It is silly and a bit lame that the first movie I write about in my awesome movie blog is a silly and a bit lame wannabe-tearjerker, which I didn't even like that much. It should have been some life-changing movie experience that inspired me to start writing and sharing my thoughts to the world...! Oh well. You can't have it all.

Oh, and the cat is still alive.

Dear John (2010)

Directed by Lasse Hallström. Starring Amanda Seyfield, Channing Tatum.

Long story short: A young soldier on leave falls in love with a girl. And then he has to go back. Let the correspondance begin!

I honestly didn't expect much of this movie. Since it's based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, I expected an easy, predictable plot, larger than life love, bad-boys-gone-good and some melodramatic heartbreaks. I've seen two movies based on Sparks's novels, I think, The Notebook (blah, I don't get the hype) and A Walk to Remember (another blah, slightly smaller though, because this one is not so hyped). These films are good for a certain kind of mood, exactly that kind I had yesterday. They don't require you to think too much, or to invest yourself to the story or the characters. Easy, careless pastime, in other words.

I was slightly surprised by the plot of Dear John. Sure, it had all the Sparks elements: sweet pretty girl, tough handsome boy, sudden earth-shattering love and the heartbreaking twist that is supposed to make us girls weep like... well, girls. The first half of the film was just this, same old same old. I rolled my eyes, when in the prologue (Tatum's character, what's his name... John! Oh god, right. You genious.) John's voiceover says something like: "You wanna know the last thing that went through my mind before I blacked out? You." Yeah, boo hoo. BUT. This time it didn't go exactly the way I predicted. The movie got better towards the end. It did move me at times, and so help me god but I kind of felt their pain! And one scene between John and his dad actually watered my eyes! Heja Sverige! (Sorry.) Even the horrible cheesy line from the prologue wasn't so cheesy after all. And I kind of liked the ending. And I like Amanda Seyfield's hair. If you read this, send it to me, please. I didn't hate Channing Tatum. The autistic boy was very cute. Lasse Hallström directed Chocolat, too, so a few extra points there. I'm kind of jealous of the Swedes. They have Stellan Skarsgård. Anyway.

To be honest, I will probably never watch Dear John again, but it fitted well in my Saturday. So, if you sometimes have a Saturday in your hands, you're recovering from a stomach bug, are not looking for life altering experiences and want to look at beautiful people, you might as well give Dear John a go. I liked it more than The Notebook. And I definetely need to try that thumb trick next time I see a moon around here. Oh, and why wasn't ready to move on? It set me to this mood. I couldn't have watched anything too different right after.

"No matter where you are, the moon is never bigger than your thumb."

Now. I have a deadline approaching, so next I'll spend some quality time with my essay. And I think tonight is a movie night. I'll report back to you. So...

See you soon then!