(Classic) (Movie) A girl's best friend....a look at Breakfast at Tiffany's.

If Alice from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland grew up, I'd imagine she'd be something like Ms. Holly Golightly.

A hurricane of class and refinement, Holly breezes through life playing the field and trying to land herself a rich man to settle down with.

She's a mover and shaker and this, Breakfast at Tiffany's, is her story.

Story/Dialogue: One of the things I love about this story is the fact that the theming revolves around survival. Holly survives using her womanly wiles, while Paul uses his dashing good looks to get by. Her strong personality and free spirit make it hard for blokes to pin her down, in both sense of the word. Paul is an observer, who falls for her as she not only inspires him, but her firecracker personality is enthralling.
The dialogue is witty and outrageous. It is a mask with which people talk to each other. Which makes even more sense that Paul, being a writer, would wield words in such a way that reveals the truth of things when events come to a head.

Cinematography: The rich colours of this movie, combined with the soft lighting in certain scenes make it a delight to watch. The visuals are incredibly decadent and the framing, much like our heroine, can often be perceived as fickle. You can see this in that Holly is often framed just out of centre, in line with her way of thinking.

Audio: Be warned of the accursed buzzer in the first scene. It's beyond irritating. However, the music beyond that created an almost dreamy atmosphere. 'Moon River' sung by Audrey Hepburn, is a beautiful track that had me imagining sitting in a dingy half asleep in the sun.

Overall: 5 Stars. There's no way I could give this movie any less than that. It keeps you entertained with its charming characters and its story is subtly woven throughout the movie. The dialogue isn't heavy handed, the cinematography is wonderful and the audio (Aside from that dreadful buzzer,) is pleasant.

5 Stars. No wonder this movie is considered iconic.

(Classic) (Movie) Holey Quest.....A look at Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

This is the first review of Classics month. In which I review a classic movie a week.

First I will say this.

I'm not typically a fan of Monty Python movies.

Whether it's because I don't understand most British humour or I try to follow a story that is so far in front of me that I miss it.

The first time I watched this film, I found myself dragged along on an adventure with King Arthur, king of the Britons and his quest to find the holy grail.

Let's get on with it, shall we?

Story/Dialogue: The story takes a back seat, in that King Arthur, king of the Britons, is out trying to find knights to join him at his round table. After he abruptly finds them all, he decides that Camelot...his home, is far too silly to reside in. So God comes forth and tells King Arthur, king of the Britons to locate the Holy Grail.

Also, someone has murdered a historian. Police are investigating.

The dialogue is witty and leaves you in a state of shaking shoulders and breathless laughter. It also makes it exceedingly difficult to write this bloody review! Furthermore, your have characters trying to sing and an argument over the savageness of a rabbit.


Cinematography: The film was shot in Scotland (An observation, not a judgement). The indoor scenes were well lit and pretty much everything was covered in straw. I found myself remarkably dumbfounded by seeing the inside of EVERY castle covered in straw.
With this said, visually, this movie is excellent. From the animations to the flying predator rabbit they are both cheesy and excellent for the setting.

Audio: There are a few musical numbers in this which were excellent to listen to. Overall the audio created a sense of epicness while also cutting off at points to snap you out of it and laugh.

Overall: My advice would be to watch this movie as though it were an hour and a half long Saturday Night Live skit. If you treat it as though it were something to get immersed in, you will be pulled out constantly when the characters start talking about the rights to power and consulting a manual on the holy hand grenade of Antioch.

I give this movie 4 and a half stars.