So this review is a little late – we watched the movie two days ago. It’s based on a true story as told in a book by James Gregory, a prison guard for South Africa. He was assigned in the position to be in charge of the censorship office on Robben Island – where Nelson Mandela was held for 20+ years. The movie is about the relationship that the two of them form and their respective roles in Mandela’s freeing. It’s got pretty good acting and directing, but the story is so compelling that it comes to you as highly recommended. I can tell you that having been to South Africa and on Robben Island and into Mandela’s cell certainly added a lot of context to the film. 

Isn’t that how we got to this point in the first place? Don’t worry, no spoilers here. Anyway, we went to see the movie last night, so a review is in order. It’s actually pretty good….you don’t have to know the TV series to understand the movie, but it certainly helps. It was interesting fun to see a theater full of mostly middle-aged white women dressed up and in groups of three or four, clearly already having consumed a martini or two. The movie was exactly what I expected it to be: cheesy at times, over the top at other times, good writing, soap opera story telling, high fashion, and true-to-life in spurts. I found the ending to be a little annoying, but Ahna thought it was okay. If you are a fan of the series, you have to see the movie. Even if you are just looking for a good evening flick (date or night out with the ladies), it’s worth it. 

As the movie reviews are now rolling in one per day, here is the latest. This afternoon amidst the rain and clouds, we watched suffered through the movie 27 Dresses. It didn’t take long to realize that we were about to completely waist the next 2 hours of our life, but it was like watching a train crash and we couldn’t hit the stop button. If you are looking for a study in bad acting, bad directing, bad writing, bad music, and a bad storyline; this is the movie for you. Otherwise, stay away from it like it would suck your brain dry – which is exactly what it does for 120 minutes.  This is the sort of debacle that you will end up watching on a Tuesday night three years from now on Lifetime because you have seen The Matrix six straight nights on TNT.

PS: Still nothing major with the baby. 

While we all wait – and believe me, we are doing lots of waiting – we have taken some advise and in between walks are watching good emotionally charged movies. We kicked of the moviefest with ‘Lars and the Real Girl;’ a story about a guy who thinks that a doll is a real person and falls in love with her. Okay, I know that it sounds strange, but it really is a gem of a movie and we are highly recommending it. It is a great love tale about belief in each other…set in Wisconsin. The setting of the movie actually makes it more believable. 🙂 

More movie reviews to follow…