Trance out and be entertained

While Danny Boyle was masterminding the London Olympic opening ceremony, he was also making this dynamic but dark psychological thriller. We are taken straight into an art heist at a London auction house where Simon (James McAvoy) plans an inside job to fund his gambling addiction. He works with tough guy Franck (Vincent Cassel) to take out the £27 million Goya's painting 'Witches in the air'. Despite an audacious action sequence, Franck finally realises that the painting has been cut out of the frame and chief suspect Simon has suffered a significant head injury where he has conveniently forgotten what he did with the painting! Franck is quite an enlightened gang leader who makes a very left field suggestion that hypnotherapy could help Simon to recover his lost memory. Simon chooses the stunning and stylish Harley St hypnotherapist, Dr Elizabeth Lamb (Rosario Dawson). And then the movie starts to get really interesting. Simon starts his psychodynamic search for "secrets that we keep from ourselves, called forgetting". Once she realises what is happening Dr Lamb throws professionalism aside and indulges in a little transference to demand her share of the reward. The audience then whizzes through some great psychedelic sequences of narrative backflips, psychological projections, and cartwheels with the dark side. I quickly decided to let go my grasp of reality and enjoyed the ride backwards and forwards in time through it all. I did not mind that 'character development' was compromised for interesting editing, music, colours and perspectives. It helped to enjoy the experience. I was on the edge of my seat all the way, and a little perplexed when my friend questioned me at the end about who was still alive and who really had the painting...

enjoyed the symmetry of Silver Linings Playbook

It takes skill to play mental illness with sensitivity and integrity. But this movie is not sentimental in recognising the tough moments of life. When Pat (Bradley Cooper) beats his wife's lover to death, he is forced to spend 8 months in a mental institution where he is diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He returns to live with his dysfunctional parents (Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver) and is forced to stay away from his wife, although he is motivated by a belief that they will resolve their differences and be reunited. However when Pat meets widowed Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), who has her own mental health challenges, two halves become more than one whole. Tiffany promises to help Pat reconnect with his wife in exchange for being her dance partner. An unexpected bond begins to form amidst powerful and quirky chemistry and silver linings appear for them both...

Soldier Dog - the power of connection

Take a step back in time and years and pretend...the great war is underway and you can live through the eyes of 14 year old Stanley. Your dad is numbed by grief and the only hope is to follow your older brother and enlist. You do your basic training but are somewhat protected by your young age and eventually you get allocated to the messenger dog service. You are given the most challenging dog to train. Bones is a big hearted great dane who remains loyal and dedicated all the way. The tragic events unfold into an impressive maze that is navigable - albeit with a few tears along the way... Can Stanley demonstrate his true skill, be reunited with his family and be able to return home?

appreciating an island escape - The Island by Victoria Hislop

what better place to read a great holiday novel titled The Island, than on my own holiday island! However, while I was able to truly enjoy the daily pleasures, the heroine Alexis Fielding was evaluating a life-changing decision. She sought advice from her mother Sofia, who wrote a letter to an old family friend and passed the responsibility to share her own story of growing up in Crete. When she travels to the small village of Plaka, Alexis is haunted by the deserted island of Spinalonga – home to Greece’s former leper colony. Then she finds Fotini, and finally uncovers her mother's secret: the tale of her great-grandmother Eleni, her daughters and their shared tragedy and passion. Alexis discovers her own connection with Spinalonga...

Exploiting each other in Arbitrage

A truly engaging attempt to have it all and keep it all as a powerful and capable man does whatever he wants. Richard Gere plays Robert Miller, a charismatic and silvery hedge-fund manager riding high in New York. Seduction and exploitation in every work, play and family relationship; amidst splashes of money, glamour and pure arrogance. We come face to face with the power of greed and manipulation and realise that this is an integral part of every person's journey! Morality and integrity seem to be ideals that must be sacrificed in growing up in this harsh environment. Arbitrage is the first feature for writer-director Nicholas Jarecki. The classic car crash with his lover exposes a whole series of flawed decisions and we are unsure whether to doubt the cocky but crooked posture of the NYPD investigator, played by Tim Roth. A truly entertaining movie about a man with his back to the wall, can he really get through this without collateral damage and who will pay the ultimate price?

blissed out in tropical paradise

What a superb combination of picture postcard perfect coconut palm fringed beaches and shady walkways and beaches.The small sandy island of Biyadhoo was circled by an impressive house reef, teeming with so many colours and varieties of fish and patrolled by chameleon-like large octopus. Despite this being my first ever beach bliss out holiday, I was totally absorbed in the underwater world, and enjoyed snorkelling for between 2-3 hours each day for 7 days, without the slightest twinge of boredom. I am so impressed with the colours and designs in nature; purple and green anemone hiding black and white striped Clark's Anemonefish, black and white stripes and black spots on yellow fins looking great together on the large oriental sweetlip, the long white plumes of angelic looking reef bannerfish and the amazing irridescent powder-blue surgeonfish. I really enjoyed the Maldivan curries and tested out the range of cocktails available on the all inclusive offer. I finally decided on a pina colada before lunch, a sunset gin fizz and an after dinner whisky sour... what a way to chill out and enjoy paradise...

Jason does Priscilla in Oxford

The storyline of this australian classic, released in 1994 reads as; Two drag-queens (Anthony/Mitzi and Adam/Felicia) and a transexual (Bernadette) contract to perform a drag show at a resort in Alice Springs. They head west from Sydney aboard their psychedelic bus, Priscilla. En route, they discover that the woman they've contracted with is Anthony's wife. Their bus breaks down, and is repaired by Bob, who travels on with them. well, it is clear that this is a very big understatement. I had wanted to see the musical in London, but sadly missed it because i was too busy doing other things. So when I saw that the production was travelling the country with a stop at the New Theatre in Oxford, it was too good to miss. I invited two friends to enjoy with me - the music, costumes and the twists and turns made it a real sell-out. I enjoyed reliving the stories of 3 friends reconnecting in a true culture clash with aussie tough men in their native environment. The brilliant mix of classic gay anthems had us all clapping along and the costumes were so totally over the top...