Moliere - 2007 * * * *

What a lovely foreign film based on the life of Moliere, the satirical and talented playwright and actor. Romain Duris does excellently as Jean-Baptise Poquelin (otherwise known as Moliere) who tries to get his plays noticed whilst also helping Monsieur Jourdain (who covered a debt for him that kept him out of prison) rehearse a special one act play that he will perform in secret to a beautiful widow named Celimene (the tantalizing Ludivine Sagnier ) behind his wife's back . Plans go wrong however when Moliere falls for Elmire ( Jourdain's wife) and realises the difficulty of his predicament.

I found so much to compare this to Shakespeare in Love and I found it a totally enjoyable and very funny film. Moliere appears to me to be one of those playwrights who was light years ahead of his rivals in wit and satire and this film very cleverly had Moliere's later characters coming up as real people before he decided to use them in his plays. I found my mum constantly saying 'so and so was a character in one of his later plays and this must be how he came up with the idea for using them.'

A great film to watch if you are feeling intellectual or just want to see something that makes you laugh and realise that even over 300 years ago there were still wonderfully brilliant individuals who made the world a better place.

Million Dollar Legs - 1932 * * *

I've never seen the legendary W.C. Fields in anything up until now and I must say I wasn't thinking of him in a favourable light beforehand. I had this idea he was a wasted, horrible and dreadfully unattractive man who's displeasure in anything was blatently obvious in any films he starred in. But actually I had a nice surprise as I found myself laughing along at his sarcastic wit and dry humour deciding that actually he was a perfectly decent man ( not counting his addictive penchant for aclcohol which was sadly the norm in those days). The story isn't really that amazing but the acting is done with such slapstick precision that it really didn't matter. The residents of a small country that is about to go bankrupt decide to enter into the Olympic games to raise some money, but things don't go to plan. ( On another note it's amazing to see how totally different the clothes and styles of sport are such a long time ago. The fact that there is barely no safety precaution outlined for any of the sporting activities is almost unheard of these days.

A film that should be watched, I'm tempted to snap up WC Fields boxset to have more laughs.

Jack Frost - 1997 * * *

This is one of the funniest and bizarrely scary films I have ever seen. There is a great combination of both genres so that if you start finding it too funny you get a nice amount of gore, and if you are starting to find it too scary to watch alone you find yourself having a chuckle.

A serial killer has gone berserk whilst being transported to his execution site and murdered the security who are watching out for him. He then dies in a car crash and a year later comes back as a killer snowman intent on revenge. What a funny idea for a movie! He creates havoc as he infiltrates himself back into the town he once lived in ( he can melt himself and solidify when it suits) and it is up to the inhabitants to fight him. I think as a character that he is priceless. One of my favourite lines is when Frost demands a cigarette off a guard, then kills him with an axe because he refused, manically shouting 'I only axed you for a smoke.' Some really hilarious lines here.

A Perfect Murder - 1998 * * * *

A Perfect Murder is based on the brilliant Hitckcock movie 'Dial M for Murder' starring the divine and gorgeous Grace Kelly. Although nowhere near as good it still packs a fairly good punch and is really very well acted. Michael Douglas is on top form as the rich and influential husband of Gwyneth Paltrow who discovers that she is playing away from home, and decides to deliver his own, unique kind of revenge. At times the film is a full-blodded thriller and at other times it's slightly weak, but it's still very enjoyable ( I find myself siding completely with Douglas's character and feeling totally heartless towards Paltrow's sordid and pathetic affair). Good to see Viggo Mortenson in something else although he does appear to be 'violence' or 'Lord of the Rings' based in his film parts. A pretty good movie. Worth a watch one evening.

Who was that Lady? - 1960 * * * *

You know one of the things I adore about film? The fact that I can come across a hidden gem that no one has ever mentioned to me or heard of before and find out that it's excellent.

This is exactly what happened with this film and me last Saturday morning. It really is very funny.

Tony Curtis winds up in trouble with his wife after she spots him kissing one of his students (he's a chemistry professor and also does admissions!) and so he comes up with a scheme concerning him and his friend ( good old Dean Martin) that makes his naughty mistake acceptable. The trouble is they soon becomes involved in all too real situations as they fumble from one place to the next getting into serious trouble. Janet Leigh plays Tony's wife and although she is totally annoying and whiny she does work very well with him in this. It's no 'The Great Race' but it's a pretty good and funny effort and one of those films you can revist again. Brilliant Saturday viewing.

Club Dread - 2004 * *

What a truly dreadful film. It tried so hard to be a mixture of loads of slasher horror movies that are actually successful and failed miserably. It was unfunny, not in the least bit scary and dreadfully acted, the only person I vaguely recognised was one half of the Sweet Valley High twins. She's an equally awful actress. How embarassing to be known to act in a film like this. Not even a 'so bad it's good' film. It was just plain bad.