Well, hello there, kind folks. If you’re visiting this blog of mine, I presume that you have a certain interest in the cinema. As for me, even since my early childhood, I have had a deep love of everything related to movies and television. As far as I can remember, I have been more at ease in front of a screen than in the yard, outside, playing. It is a great way to travel, though other people’s stories, without having to foot any kind of steep bill. Over the years, I feel that movie-watching has even fuelled my own creativity.

All that being said, I welcome you in my Cinephile’s Nest. I hope you enjoy it here, feel free to come back at any time. Here you will find reviews of current movies and older ones. TV shows also. Some classics that have remained some of my favourites, some that have disappointed me. I will use a very basic star (*) system to grade them from 1 to 5 (5 being sliced bread level). Remember, these are just my tastes. I will try to explain in each review what I liked about these particular movies, without giving spoilers.

Il y aura aussi des critiques en français pour les films francophones, car j'aime également le cinéma dans ma langue maternelle. Avant d'apprendre l'anglais, plus jeune, je louais des tonnes de films traduits en français, surtout ceux de Bud Spencer et Terrence Hill. Ma mère a eu le choc de sa vie lorsqu'un jour, dans la boîte d'un de ces films, Deep Throat avait malencontreusement inséré. Une expérience formatrice pour le jeune cinéphile que je suis.

Bienvenue à tous, amusez-vous bien.

I welcome you all here, enjoy yourself.

Monday, August 15, 2016

The Big C (2010-2013)

Genre: TV / Drama
Starring: Laura Linney, Oliver Platt, John Benjamin Hickey, Gabriel Basso
Number of seasons: 4



When The Big C starts, Cathy Jamison is a suburban wife in Minnesota who works as a high school teacher. Having been diagnosed with melanoma, she now knows that her expiry date is not that far ahead. At home, she has an immature teenage son and a husband from whom she is drifting further and further apart. She also has a bipolar brother, who is occasionally homeless and always anti-establishment. With death clearly in sight, Cathy wants to live life to the fullest and fix everything around her before she goes.

Laura Linney is absolutely magnificent as Cathy Jamison. She rocks that role like a champ. She makes you embark on her character’s journey and she never lets you go for four seasons. John Benjamin Hickey is also brilliant as Sean, Cathy’s bipolar brother. Though Sean is often abrasive, in spite of his sweet core, Hickey always manages to make him loveable. Gabourey Sidibe is also a highlight of this show, as Andrea, a student of Cathy who soon becomes a very close friend of the family.

The characters in The Big C are well defined; it is a true marvel of writing. And the written words are performed solidly on screen. I also appreciated the fact that the characters are not stagnant; you can see a very nice evolution in all of them as the show progresses. A few plot twists left me scratching my head, but, overall, this is a very good, must-see, TV show.
Rating: ««««

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