Somewhere in Time (1980)

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Starring: Christopher Reeve (Richard Collier), Jane Seymour (Elise McKenna)

I finally watched Somewhere in Time (1980). My God sister told me about it after we had another discussion regarding my favourite film - Titanic. I love romance and films that emphasise an element of destiny and fate so she told me about this film that had the same effect on her as Titanic has on me.

Last night we sat down (no phones allowed being the rule, as my God sister insisted I watch it with my full attention, when I broke this rule I was snapped back into my place with a quick 'this part is important!' LOL) and I got to grips with this time travelling romance film that mind f*@ked me to the extreme!

Firstly I was struck by the beginning of the film, an elderly woman approached Richard (Christopher Reeve) at his opening night of his play and she hauntingly captured the rooms attention. She took his hand and put an old pocket watch in it, she closed his hand and whispered 'Come back to me'. It honestly sent a chill down my spine (even though my God sister had re-enacted this scene for me previously with much passion) and was a great way to set the scene and get the questions running through your mind.

Richard is a playwright and had his opening night of his play at the theatre near the Grand Hotel where he visited some eight years after this encounter with the old woman. He was drawn to this place and later he found out why. He comes across an old photo hanging in the Hall of History and is mesmerised by the woman in the photo. Her beauty is apparent but he is not sure why he is so obsessed with her.

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Eventually he discovers that the old woman that gave him the pocket watch was in fact the woman in this photo, Elise McKenna who was a famous actress and had stayed at that hotel in 1912. He became engrossed in the notion that he had known this woman on a deeper level and researched her life and came across a book regarding time travelling from his college professor in her belongings.

He then tries to do the impossible by attempting to travel back in time to 1912 when he discovered he had signed in to the visitor's log book at the exact same hotel almost 60 years earlier.

The poignant thing in this film is the fact that he does meet this woman and they have a whirlwind romance but he inevitably has to return to the future, where he came from. The trick was not to remember the future and to completely immerse himself in the past in order to stay with Elise, his true love. They both fell for each other which is why they were heartbroken when Richard disappeared after finding a 1979 coin in the pocket of his suit, reminding him of the future and dragging him back against his will.

The trip back to the future completely drained him, he was heartbroken at the fact that in his future, Elise was now dead but in her past, he was not able to stay because he was reminded of his future (confusing I know). The point is, they were in love and meant to be but living in two different eras and only able to be together through the form of time travel, star crossed lovers if you will.

The film really does boggle the mind as you think to yourself, did he try and go into the past originally to find her because she gave him the watch? He must of given her the watch before in order for her to find him in the future to give it back to him. He then went back to find her again but she could not warn him of what would make him remember his future as she did not know he would have forgotten the modern coin in his pocket.

Now I understand, this is one complicated explanation of a film and trust me, I am having a hard time getting my words right to explain this film but that is the beauty of it. The viewer has to build up their own perception of how Richard's time travelling idea came about in the first place and why he could never go back to her again. It is a very subjective film that leaves many debates and opinions open for discussion.

The fact is, they both died of a broken heart, they were both born in the wrong era destined to be with each other but fate was too cruel to enable them to be with each other. They experienced a short-lived romance that lasted them a life-time and that to me is the greatest love story.

This is a must see just for the sake of trying to figure out my review of this film LOL. I hope I have been as clear as possible but it truly is a worthwhile film for any hopeless romantics out there! The acting is fantastic and Christopher Reeve really is a likable character and easy to watch on screen for the entirety of the film while Jane Seymour is as captivating and beautiful as ever.

Rating: 8.5

The Inbetweeners - The Movie (2011)

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The Cast: Simon Bird (Will), James Buckley (Jay), Blake Harrison (Neil), Joe Thomas (Simon)

The series of ‘The Inbetweeners’ first aired in 2008 and introduced us to the four misfits we have come to know and love from series to series. It focuses on a very geeky Will, his three friends and their experiences at school.  All of the series have been received very well, winning them the Audience Award at the BATA’s in 2010 and the Best Sitcom award at the BCA’s in 2011.

The movie was long awaited as it a natural development for a series like this, being very popular for relating to its target audience. I was desperate to see this when it came out. I haven’t been an avid watcher of the series but I had seen quite a few episodes and thought the film would be just up my street.



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For people who watch the series, some have said there have been episodes that have possibly been funnier than the film. As I cannot judge that as I have not seen every single episode of every series, I can only speak from the viewpoint of the film in its own right.

The film focuses on the four boys making a trip to Malia, Crete. They want to have a memorable summer and show their schoolmates that they can be just as cool as them! They have two things in mind: drinking and getting girls! It was a great marketing choice to release the film just after the summer as everyone came back from party destinations such as Malia, Ibiza, Magaloof and Ayia Napa to be reminded of the fun antics they got up to!

My friend and I watched the film and couldn’t wait to start planning our trip to Ibiza next year as the film got us in the mood to be back on holiday, partying away! The film is hilarious and had us in stitches most of the way through it. The characters are already established thanks to the series but the actors made their mark in the film world and proved they are not just for the small screen.

What I like about this film are the love interests. The girls are perfectly suited to the boys and you are rooting for them to get together. Many have complained that the ending was too much of a happy ending but I think for viewers who empathise with the boys, we want them to be happy and finally get the girl! It’s a nice way for the boys to finally get what they deserve as they are sweet, geeky boys who hardly have any luck so the film wraps up loose ends and actually cuts them a break!

The antics the boys get up to on the first night are totally hilarious, Neil’s moves are hard to resist and adding in the other boys, seriously how do they not get girls? That was definitely my favourite part of the film. It had the whole audience crying with laughter! In the cinema the film was a big hit, everyone laughed in unison at the majority of the jokes, except one guy in front who laughed a few seconds later every time, there’s always one!

The fact is, it captured many people’s holiday experiences, maybe not to such an extreme but it made people feel familiar with the location, situations and characters. The film compliments the series well and it is worth a watch!

My view: Highly recommended. This film is pure comedy and laughs with a hint of romance. What more do you want from a film based on such a successful and established series?

Please leave your feedback on this film or let me know via twitter: @Trishaaa_

Links: http://www.e4.com/inbetweeners/
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Inbetweeners

An Epic Love Story

Titanic (1997)



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If I had to choose a film that has affected my life or changed my perspective I would find it difficult. Many films provide us with a false sense of reality. We watch them to escape our own lives for the running time, to imagine a world without our mundane problems. We get to relive something great through the eyes of others, with bigger problems than our own. A film that has changed my perspective and has affected different stages of my life has to be one of the biggest blockbuster films, ‘Titanic’. James Cameron provided a film based on the events on the night of April 14^th 1912 when the Titanic sank. He combined actual footage of the Titanic and a subplot of a missing diamond with a romantic storyline on the night of the sinking.

What makes this film epic is not just the long awaited special effects but the romance element that captivated audiences. Many would think that the cliché storyline is the least important aspect of the film but I think otherwise. The plot and the love interests are what affected me the most growing up and throughout my life have made me think about my own problems. I have watched this film so many times now but at each stage of my life it meant many different things to me.

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When I first watched this film I went to the cinema for my birthday. I was too young to appreciate the storyline and only went to see the effects of the ship that so many people were talking about at the time. All my friend and I could talk about was the character of Jack Dawson played by Leonardo DiCaprio. This ultimately led us to disliking the character of Rose played by Kate Winslet through pure jealousy. Naturally we cried when Jack met his fate which most girls admit to.

Nowadays Titanic is underrated as people do not share the same romantic weakness as I have. I see the love between these two characters as an escape from my own life. The pendant Rose wears signifies their love as she holds onto the ‘heart of the ocean’ all her life until she is finally reunited with Jack once again at her death. These types of strong bonds give us hope in our own lives that there is something more to life and something worth living for. Jack tells Rose to ‘never let go’ and throughout her life in the story she follows this message by never letting go of Jacks spirit and memory.

The poignant end to the story that Rose is finally reunited with Jack at the clock on the Titanic never fails to bring tears to my eyes. There is a little part of everybody that hopes that in the afterlife we can re-live our fondest memories with the people that made the most impact on our lives. The fact Rose is reunited with Jack after all those years shows the everlasting love which inevitably makes this a film for only true romantics.



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The idea of mixing the past and the present also provides the film with enough substance to last the full 194 minutes. I find it never gets boring as it has interludes of the actual Titanic wreckage[1] as well as collaborating the 21^st Century with the 1900s and brings the past to life in a sense. For me, bringing to life the characters on board one of the most famous ships in history is something that is epic and screen worthy. What Cameron does brilliantly is mix fictional characters with historical characters to get a real sense of the Titanic as it could have been. Cameron wanted the film to be like a ‘Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic’[2] and he certainly achieved this. I definitely came away from the cinema hoping there was a love story true to this on board the real Titanic.

What inspires me in this film is some of the real elements that are incorporated such as the orchestra that carried on playing until the end to try and keep the people calm during the sinking. The second half of the film is all about the sinking and how people reacted and the true colours of the characters are shown. The fact that Rose jumps off the boat that would take her to safety as she knows Cal – played by Billy Zane will not save Jack. Her feelings became so strong over such a short time that she would rather die on the ship than allow Jack to be alone. This is what makes Cal insane with jealousy as he is used to getting what he wants but when it comes to true love, the heart wants what it wants and not even the promise of safety or money can stop it.

This is when the real action begins as Cal begins shooting at the lovers and would rather see them both dead than together. His true colours show he cannot really love Rose but ultimately always saw her as a possession rather than an equal partnership. Although Rose is higher in class than Jack, love transcends all boundaries and obstacles. She sees in Jack all the honest and humble qualities that Cal doesn’t possess and this is what she has always wanted. Her life has been nothing but manners and etiquette. Her level of interest in her current life bored her and she was looking for something else, something inspiring. That was when she met Jack and he saved her from this life.

Jack’s worldliness and experience attracts Rose to him, she sees his life as the complete opposite to hers. His drawings highlight his ability to see people for what they really are. He saw through Rose and knew she wasn’t happy with her life. He saw her purity and her need for adventure and gave her the ultimate adventure for such a brief time in her life but a time that changed her significantly and for a lifetime. She lived her life in modesty but to the fullest after his death, briefly shown in the photographs she kept at her bedside. She kept true to her word and never looked back but always kept Jacks memory alive in her heart and through her life. True love should affect all of us in this way at some point in our lives, otherwise we have not lived.

Religiously I watch this film when I need to be reminded of what’s important in life or what is missing from mine. A great love is what everyone hopes for and what everyone deserves. A great love can only happen once; we always remember the one true love in our lives. At a stage when I thought I began to feel love I watched this film and realised that the love I had was not a great love, it wasn’t eternal. A great love is the kind that lives on in your heart even after your apart not only in death but even in separation. The song allocated to the film ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion is perfectly chosen for this film for this reason – that Rose’s love for Jack will always go on.

 Films like the ‘Titanic’ will always be epic and stay with us through our lifetime as they show how love should be or how we wish it could be. It takes us away from our own lives and allows us to escape into a true great love, just in case we never get ours.

I had to add in two of the soundtracks to this film that I just love:

[1] Actually shot on the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and scale models and special effects used http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akademik_Mstislav_Keldysh

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film)

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