Yellow Submarine (1968) [G]

Psychedelic!! Sit back and enjoy this wonderful animated film. Starring The Beatles, this is a treat for the eyes and the ears. This clever and entertaining movie is full of puns, double entendres, and Beatle jokes. The real Beatles show up at the end of the movie, with souvenirs of their journey.

The story is simple: The lovely Pepperland, under the protection of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, is attacked by the music-hating Blue Meanies. The band is sealed inside a music-proof bubble, the people are frozen into stone, and the land is drained of color (colour, as the British say!). It's Old Fred, Ringo, Paul, John and George to the rescue!
 

The soundtrack is incredible, with classics such as Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, When I'm Sixty-Four, All You Need is Love, Nowhere Man, Eleanor Rigby, and many more.

A great musical film, the animation was like nothing ever seen before. 

Full of love, fun, music, friendship, and goodness, with just a touch of melancholy, this is a great family film. If your kids don't understand what the big fuss is about The Beatles, this is the way to introduce them to both the music and the sensibility of the times. For us older folks, this is a real trip down memory lane.




DIRECTOR: George Dunning.  CAST: The Beatles, Paul Angelis, John Clive, Dick Emery, Geoffrey Hughes, Lance Percival.

AWARDS: 2 awards and 2 nominations.

He Love Me...He Loves Me Not (2002) [unrated; my rating: R]

Have you ever been obsessed with someone? This movie is about what happens when obsession is taken to extremes. In a departure from her usual light-hearted characters, Audrey Tatou plays Angélique, a young art student in love with Dr. Loïc Le Garrec (Samuel Le Bihan), who is married. Her closest friends do not approve of the relationship, but she insists that Loïc will leave his wife for her.

With its lush use of roses, Tatou's sweet and hopeful smile, and her wistful feelings of love toward Loïc, you will believe that this will be a light romance, but don't be fooled. There is so much more going on here.

The movie begins from Angélique's point of view and halfway through rewinds itself and changes to Loïc's perspective. When it does, you'll find yourself wanting to go back to the first part to make sure you did see what you saw. It's very interesting how point of view changes the whole story.

It is very hard to talk about this movie without giving away its secrets, and there are many for us to uncover. Not really a date movie, not a romantic comedy, but instead, it is an insightful and fascinating film about how far someone will go for love. Even the very last moment holds a good shock. Go with it and enjoy the twists! And yes, it's French with subtitles, but well worth seeing! You'll even learn a new word for your vocabulary...

DIRECTOR: Laetitia Colombani. CAST: Audrey Tatou, Samuel Le Bihan, Isabelle Carre, Clement Siboney, Sophie Guillemin, Eric Savin.

AWARDS: 2 nominations.