On the Screen

My Christmas break is rapidly coming to an end. I had some good old fashioned rest and relaxation by doing absolutely nothing but being a couch potato and watching movies and TV series. Some of them are last year’s but have been piling up as I didn’t have time to watch. Others are new and still in the cinema. Here are my top 6 recommendations [continue reading after photo]:

1. I’ve been watching all three seasons of the TV serie Downton Abbey in one week, and I’m so glad I discovered it! It’s one of the best series I’ve watched in ages. Better late than never. The plot is set against the years before, during and after WW I and centers on the wealthy aristocratic Crawley family and their servants. (DVD)

2. The Lady is an impressive movie on DVD and a true story. It’s the story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the leader of Burma’s democracy movement. Her leadership and perseverance are highly admirable. Another storyline is her relationship with her husband, and writer Michael Aris, who is suffering from cancer. Aung San Suu Kyi has to choose between her love for her husband, and her battle for justice and peace in her home country. (DVD)

3. Sonny Boy is also a true story and a book I read a long time ago. I was a bit reluctant therefore to watch the movie, but I’m glad I did. It’s the compelling story of a student from Surinam who moves to the Netherlands and gets involved with an older, divorced woman. The story is set against the years leading up to WWII and during the war. (DVD)

4. My week with Marilyn, tells the story of a young production assistant Colin Clark, an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier’s. We get to know the real Marylin Monroe when the camera wasn’t rolling, and through the eyes of Colin Clark during production of the movie The Prince and the Showgirl. (DVD)

5. Anna Karenina is set in late-19th-century Russia high-society. The aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The movie is brilliant! (now in Cinemas)

6. Flight is a drama about an experienced jet pilot, played by Denzel Washington, who manages to land his jet in distress, saving almost the entire load of passengers and crew. However, soon after it is discovered that he was under influence of drugs and alcohol. The story is about his struggle with his conscious, the investigation, and is a brilliant piece of character development and mixed emotions. (now in Cinemas)