The Wedding Video Movie Review 2 1288

The Wedding Video movie review

As happily engaged couple Tim (Robert Webb) and Saskia (Lucy Punch) are preparing for their big wedding day, Tim’s brother and best man Raif (Rufus Hound) decides to make a video of their expensive wedding and everything leading up to it as his present to the couple.

Directed by Nigel Cole and written by Tim Firth (both of whom brought us Calendar Girls), The Wedding Video may look like just another in a long line of farcical British comedies about the chaos and hilarity surrounding a special (and more importantly formal) event. However, as always the proof is in the pudding and as it turns out it’s a rather charming and sweet little movie with quite a lot of genuine laughs and a dose of heart.

Though rather slight without a whole of staying power as any sort of all-time great British comedy, this is nonetheless pleasingly diverting viewing that sufficiently delivers on what it sets out to do. A lesser film would have constantly fallen back on crass humour to get by (something tells me the upcoming A Few Best Men may do exactly that) but thankfully that’s not the case here. The humour comes from an honest, believable place even if it sticks to a simple but rather rigid premise i.e. they have to keep that camera rolling any which way they can. It’s true that it sometimes feels like a set of comedy sketches stitched together into a narrative but the important thing is more of them work than don’t.

A lot of the success of The Wedding Video can be attributed to its cast. Points must particularly go to Rufus Hound and Lucy Punch as the brother obsessively filming everything he can about the big day and the nervous bride-to-be being told what to do by her controlling mother, respectively. Hound – mostly known up until now as a stalwart of British comedy panel shows and those “Top 100 Greatest…” TV countdowns – displays some real acting ability as not only a comedic actor but a dramatic one, too (who would have thought?!). And Punch has a fantastic comedic presence about her (which she also displayed in Bad Teacher and Woody Allen’s You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, to name but a couple), solidifying herself as a real British talent.

The rest of the cast are all solid, from Harriet Walter as Saskia’s mother hell bent on making her daughter’s wedding the best of the year (in one particularly funny scene she is riding a white horse which has been made up to look like a unicorn) and Michelle Gomez as the wedding planner on the edge of having some sort of (alcohol and pill-fuelled) breakdown, to Robert Webb playing very much the straight man to Hound’s more outlandish brother. Those familiar with Webb might be disappointed in that considering he’s always been the more out-there one when performing with his comedic partner David Mitchell but Webb plays his role here well.

Presented in the now tired found-footage format, The Wedding Video takes a potentially annoying premise and does its best to get everything it can out of it. There are contrivances to do with that, for instance another more professional camera crew is brought in at one point to film the wedding but is ultimately just so that we can see more of the goings-on than would otherwise make sense. Also, although it never enters any sort of ridiculous territory as many other similar films would it nonetheless resolves itself in a rather too convenient manner.

Ultimately it may be a tad on the predictable side and hampered by the confines of its found-footage style, The Wedding Video nevertheless manages to succeed thanks to a likeable cast, pleasant nature, a solid script which delivers the chuckles pretty consistently and a slew of the type of awkward public and familial situations we can all relate to one way or another. No classic but it does its job.

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I'm a freelance film reviewer and blogger with over 10 years of experience writing for various different reputable online and print publications. In addition to my running, editing and writing for Thoughts On Film, I am also the film critic for The National, the newspaper that supports an independent Scotland, covering the weekly film releases, film festivals and film-related features. I have a passion for all types of cinema, and have a particular love for foreign language film, especially South Korean and Japanese cinema. Favourite films include The Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction and 2001: A Space Odyssey.

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Tolkien Biopic to Be Released in May 0 5296

10th May, 2019 is when Tolkien will be released to the world, an autobiographical film that will revolve around the early days of legendary author J.R.R. Tolkien before he became the literary giant that he is today.

Here on Thoughts on Film we are big fans of his work and the recent films made by Peter Jackson. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), are responsible for originating a universe that has gone on to inspire movies, animation, fiction, and modern media interpretations.



This is why Tolkien is regarded by many as the greatest fantasy author of all time. His creative stamp can be seen nearly everywhere in modern media. There’s the direct reinterpretation of his work in the recently released action roleplaying game Middle Earth: Shadow of War, where players are thrust into a major role in Tolkien’s literary canon. George R.R. Martin, who originated the now globally-popular Game of Thrones series on HBO, openly reveres LOTR as the inspiration for his work, citing the early death of Gandalf in Fellowship of the Ring as having a profound effect on his “own willingness to kill characters at the drop of a hat.” On the web, more Tolkien-inspired work can be found on leading slot portal Slingo and its many online titles dedicated to the fantasy genre, including Amazon Queen, Fae Legend Warrior, and Magic Castle, all of which feature elements that can be traced back to the author’s massive body of work. Technically speaking, the same can be said of nearly every major fantasy brand out there today, from Dungeons & Dragons to Magic: the Gathering. In short, almost every type of entertainment that features western fantasy can be traced back to the works of Tolkien.

In the upcoming Tolkien movie, the man will be played by Nicholas Hoult, whom is best known for Mad Max: Fury Road and Hank McCoy in the most recent X-Men movies. And now, the actor’s versatility will be tested as he steps into the shoes of the most iconic fantasy writer of all time. Starring alongside Hoult will be the actress Lily Collins as Edith Bratt – the woman whom Tolkien loved above all and is reportedly the inspiration for all “elven princess characters” in the LOTR series.

Helming the film is director Dome Karukoski whose CV includes 2017’s Tom of Finland, a critically acclaimed chronicle of the life and works of the controversial artist of the same name. And while media outlets haven’t yet heard from either the cast, director, or crew of the film, an official synopsis of the movie has been released via Collider. “Tolkien explores the formative years of the orphaned author as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. This takes him into the outbreak of World War I, which threatens to tear the “Fellowship” apart. All of these experiences would inspire Tolkien to write his famous Middle-earth novels.” It sounds like a real treat for film, literature, and Middle Earth fans.

Feature: 2019 Oscar Predictions 0 4036

I think it’s fair to say that the run up to this year’s Oscars has been a little messier than usual, from unexpected and bizarre wins at other awards shows (Vice winning Best Editing at the BAFTAs, anyone?) to ridiculous decisions by the Academy to change the show around.

The latter has proved a particular point of contention with both those in the industry to onlookers on social media, with choices such as not letting all the songs be performed to introducing a Best Popular Film category (whatever that means) to not airing four categories live; Editing and Cinematography proved a particular issue, sending the folks of Film Twitter into a Hulk-like rage.

Thankfully all of these decisions except for the one to not have a main host have taken the walk-back of shame; I look forward to Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair again. Of course there’s still the issue of plenty of thoroughly deserving films, filmmakers and performances not being up for any Oscars at all (*cough* Toni Collette! *cough*) but of course that’s not an issue unique to this year.

The show must go on, as they say, and I thought a week out from this year’s ceremony I’d throw my hat into the ring as far as predictions goes. Below I’ve listed what I think will win in each category, as well as what I personally would like to see pick up that little gold man come next Sunday evening.

Best Picture

Want to win: A Star is Born
Will win: Green Book

Lead Actor

Want to win: Bradley Cooper (A Star is Born)
Will win: Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody)

Lead Actress

Want to win: Olivia Colman (The Favourite)
Will win: Olivia Colman (The Favourite)

Supporting Actor

Want to win: Richard E. Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?)
Will win: Mahershala Ali (Green Book)

Supporting Actress

Want to win: Emma Stone (The Favourite)
Will win: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk)

Director

Want to win: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)
Will win: Alfonso Cuarón (Roma)

Animated Feature

Want to win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Will win: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Adapted Screenplay

Want to win: BlacKkKlansman
Will win: BlacKkKlansman

Original Screenplay

Want to win: First Reformed
Will win: The Favourite

Cinematography

Want to win: Roma
Will win: Roma

Documentary Feature

Want to win: Free Solo
Will win: Minding the Gap

Foreign Language Film

Want to win: Roma
Will win: Roma

Film Editing

Want to win: BlacKkKlansman
Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody

Sound Editing

Want to win: A Quiet Place
Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody

Sound Mixing

Want to win: A Star is Born
Will win: Bohemian Rhapsody

Production Design

Want to win: Roma
Will win: The Favourite

Original Score

Want to win: If Beale Street Could Talk
Will win: Black Panther

Original Song

Want to win: Shallow (A Star is Born)
Will win: Shallow (A Star is Born)

Makeup and Hair

Want to win: Mary Queen of Scots
Will win: Vice

Costume Design

Want to win: Black Panther
Will win: The Favourite

Visual Effects

Want to win: Avengers: Infinity War
Will win: Ready Player One

Animated Short

Want to win: Bao
Will win: Bao

Live Action Short

Want to win: Marguerite
Will win: Marguerite

Documentary Short Subject

Want to win: Black Sheep
Will win: Lifeboat

Do you agree? Disagree? Feel free to leave your predictions/wishes for the winners below or tweet @TOF_UK or @rosstmiller.

Roll on Sunday!