Never Mind Pop Film

Toho's greatest creation came to the U.S. in 1998 and promptly crashed and burned with the assistance of Roland Emmerich. The film did poorly for the reason most of Roland Emmerich's recent films haven't done well; Emmerich has an eye for the explosions, but not of the stakes. Making matters worse was Godzilla really wasn't Godzilla, just an over-sized dinosaur scurrying about New York City.

Ruthless tycoons have been a fixture in recent years with men like Bernie Madoff building corporate conglomerates with other people's money. Less seen in news coverage are the wives left behind after the arrests are made. Jasmine French serves as a challenge for Woody Allen and Cate Blanchett in basing a film around a woman who would be (rightfully) scorned by others and trying to make audiences see things from her perspective, make her feel real.

Jasmine, formerly Jeanette, lives in the lap of luxury after falling in love with Hal (Alec Baldwin) at Martha's Vineyard. Their story is a romantic one scored to "Blue Moon", as she tells it anyway. Jasmine doesn't know much of Hal's business, but she doesn't question when he presents her with papers to sign and lavish gifts. She seems set for life... until Hal winds up in prison on charges of fraud.

Jasmine sinks low and quickly after the money dries up. Left with no alternative, she moves to San Francisco wi…

I was lucky enough to catch Made in Dagenham last night at the local rep cinema. I consider myself lucky because I'd never heard of the film, and I consider it to be one of the best of 2010.
The movie tells the story of a strike in the upholstery shop, staffed solely by women, at the Ford Motors plant in Dagenham, England. Initially a strike about being classified as unskilled labour, the cause quickly morphs into a demand for equal pay for women. It's quite an inspiring tale.

Sally Hawkins (Happy Go-Lucky) turns in a tremendous performance as the (fictional) strike leader Rita O'Grady.

Movies like this really deserve more attention. It wasn't a ground breaking work of cinema, but it was a more solid film than a lot of the dreck that's being thrown around for the "Best of 2010" honours.