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Live the Movie – Groundhog Day
Posted by Team Boxwish about 1 month ago
Groundhog Day, the story of self-obsessed, bitter weatherman Phil Connors (Bill Murray) who finds he is living the same day, February 2nd – the Groundhog Day – over and over again until he learns to become a better person, is considered by many one of the greatest comedy films ever made. After unsuccessfully applying his ability to relive the same day without consequence to more selfish endeavours (seducing women, stealing money), the Pittsburgh meteorologist finally learns that self-improvement holds the key to his future. He then sets about dedicating his time to learning new skills and helping those around him, a personality U-turn that earns him the heart of his beloved Rita (Andie McDowell). With its potent message, the film almost challenges us, asking what we want to do with our lives and who we want to be. It encourages us to strive to better ourselves and delivers a happy ending and huge feel-good factor that is truly inspirational.
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Posted by Team Boxwish 3 months ago
With romantic onscreen pairings such as Cameron Diaz and Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black, 2006’s The Holiday is the perfect way to banish any winter blues. It tells the story of two unlucky-in-love women, LA workaholic Amanda (Diaz) and unassuming Surrey girl, Iris (Winslet) who swap houses for the Christmas holidays and manage to find love on opposite sides of the pond. Taken in its most literal meaning, their holiday is a break from their jobs and their homes, but in a wider sense it is a holiday from themselves. They are completely out of their comfort zones – on foreign soil, surrounded by strangers and given the time and space to address some of the mental and emotional baggage cluttering their lives. That both achieve their happy endings isn’t surprising in a feel-good rom-com, but with such gutsy commitment to change and love it is what they deserve. So, if you fancy injecting some of that holiday spirit into your life, read on for Boxwish’s top five ways to live the movie.
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Posted by Team Boxwish 3 months ago
In our “live the movie” series of features, we like to offer Boxwishers novel and exciting ways to experience their favourite films, but where to start with Elf? The 2003 Christmas comedy starring Will Ferrell as Buddy, a man raised by elves in the North Pole who heads to New York to find his biological father is a festive feast of ideas and activities.
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Live the movie - Love Actually
Posted by Team Boxwish 3 months ago
When it comes to festive films to warm the cockles of your heart and give you that feel good factor there are few better than 2003’s Love Actually. It unashamedly embraces all that is potentially corny about the Christmas film (kids nativity plays, carol singing) and gives it the funny twist we’ve come to expect from Brit scribe Richard Curtis (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Notting Hill). Cleverly entwining nine plots with overlapping characters, the film bravely explores many of the various aspects of love from newly-wed bliss to unrequited passion, from a mid-life fling to enduring platonic friendship and all with a sparkly holiday gloss. Never do the more realistic or sad stories bring down the mood, rather they bring into sharp focus the amount of love there is at this time of year and according to the Prime Minister (played by Hugh Grant): “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion love actually is all around.” So share in it by bringing Love Actually to life with our five inspirational ideas.
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The Pacific Northwest in Twilight
Posted by Team Boxwish 4 months ago
Movies can act as love letters to a location, a glowing endorsement that this place deserves your time and attention. Through all the trickery of technology, films create a travel brochure of irresistible sights and sounds that invite complete strangers to feel familiar with and be seduced by these new surroundings. Famous, instantly recognisable landmarks help cast the spell until the viewer surrenders, almost feeling like a native. Not so in Twilight.
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Posted by Team Boxwish 4 months ago
There is so much to talk about with Twilight, the adaptation of the Stephenie Meyer novel that has sunken its fangs into so many young readers. There is the literary angle – how does the film compare to the book? There are the stunning locations in Portland, Oregon (standing in for Forks, Washington) that play host to the romance between high school student Bella (Kristen Stewart) and her vampire paramour Edward (Robert Pattinson). There are the quirky, high school fashions that combine modern edginess with classical elegance and even cars from Bella’s beaten up old 1963 Chevrolet C-10 truck to Edward’s Volvo C30 (originally a 1953 Chevy and a Volvo S60R in the book respectively), though for techie fans there is only one subject – the cool gadgets on show.
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Get the teen fantasy look from Twilight
Posted by Team Boxwish 5 months ago
Paris, Milan, New York and Forks, Washington? The damp and overcast setting of romance fantasy Twilight isn’t exactly one of the international bastions of fashion and style. You’re not going to catch Carrie Bradshaw skipping around the forest in her Manolo Blahniks, rather it’s known as the logging capital of the world due to its timber industry and its persistently wet weather (it’s the rainiest city in the continental US). However, this unglamorous and sleepy spot of the Pacific Northwest was chosen by author Stephenie Meyer as the setting for Twilight and now with the adaptation of the 2005 bestseller a bonafide film phenomenon, it’s become the unlikely home to some of the best dressed teenagers around.
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Get the forties look from The Edge of Love
Posted by Team Boxwish 5 months ago
Often movies set in Britain during World War II are grim affairs. As conflict raged around the globe, glamour and beauty were two lesser sacrifices made among many, with clothing rationed and women donning trousers to help do their bit. But despite what must have been the bleak reality of life back then, a more attractive gloss has been applied to John Maybury’s 1940s drama about Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and the two women in his life. Of course, such artistic liberties are easily excused when the two female roles are played by fashionistas Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller.
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The theatrical look from The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Posted by Team Boxwish 6 months ago
It’s not difficult to spot a Terry Gilliam film. The former Python began his career as an animator and over the years has carved out a very distinctive niche in Hollywood as one of the most visually exciting directors around. His fantasy films a feast for the eyes, rich with sumptuous beauty, decadent detail and with a flair for the incredible and imaginative. And it’s to the realms of the imagination that he strays for his latest, the title-tastic, The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus.
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The Victorian gothic look from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Posted by Team Boxwish 6 months ago
Director Tim Burton and his long-time onscreen muse Johnny Depp are famous for their offbeat and eccentric collaborations. Throughout their six movie union, from Edward Scissorhands to Sleepy Hollow, they have mastered the creation of outlandish characters and macabre fairytale worlds and often with the help of Oscar-winning costume designer Colleen Atwood. Once again invited into the Burton/ Depp world for 2007’s big screen adaptation of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Atwood had to craft a look for the popular Stephen Sondheim musical.
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The classical string music from The Soloist
Posted by Nic 6 months ago
Musicians are a fantastic source of material for big screen dramas. Their lives blessed with the gift of music but oh-so-often cursed by the weight of this genius. It makes for intense and poignant stories, all heightened by the music which adds an extra later of emotional understanding and artistic expression, soaring with every triumph only to plummet with every failure. And the latest film to take us on such a journey is The Soloist, a look at the unusual friendship between directionless journalist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) and Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), a former musical prodigy with schizophrenia who now lives rough on the streets of L.A.
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Posted by Team Boxwish 6 months ago
When a place is chosen as a prominent film location, it’s often a boon to the local community. They welcome the financial injection to businesses, the employment opportunities for residents and are thrilled that their hometown’s charms are being shown to the world. Add to that the possibility of movie tourists and you’ve got yourself an interested and appreciative place. Not so with Angels and Demons.
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The Radio Rock boat from The Boat That Rocked
Posted by Tim 6 months ago
The ship of shame and the boat of love – one place, two descriptions. The former comes from British government minister Dormandy (played by Kenneth Branagh), a fusty establishment figure set on shutting down the rock’n’roll excesses of pirate radio station Radio Rock, illegally transmitting from a ship on the North Sea. The latter comes from side-burned lothario Dave (Simon Pegg’s comedy cohort, Nick Frost), one of the DJs from Radio Rock flouting the law and living the life out on the high seas.
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Get Hannah Montana's look from Hannah Montana: The Movie
Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
Fancy having a casual day loafing about in jeans and a simple tee? Great, Miley Stewart’s your girl. Prefer to glam it up with a bit more colour and creativity? Cool, look no further than Hannah Montana. Whatever your style, you’re covered with Hannah Montana: The Movie, the cinematic spin-off of the Disney Channel TV phenomenon.
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Get the L.A. hipster look from 500 Days of Summer
Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
Modern romantic comedies can seem formulaic. Simply cast two attractive actors, watch their onscreen alter egos clash before falling in love cueing a happy ending that leaves you smiling as you exit the theatre. Easy peasy – except no-one told Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber, the writers of the critically acclaimed 500 Days of Summer. It’s a rom-com, but not as you know it – the story is told from the male’s perspective, heartbreak occurs and the usual lashings of brands and designer labels are noticeably absent. Not that this dearth of Hollywood gloss diminishes the desirability of the clothes. On the contrary, they’re gorgeous and becoming very much sought-after. They’re just a little different. A bit like 500 Days of Summer…
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Johannesburg, South Africa in District 9
Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
Neill Blomkamp didn’t look too far from home when producing his debut feature, District 9, a sci-fi thriller that has taken the US box office by storm and promises to do the same on these shores. The rookie director was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa and the 29-year-old has travelled back to his hometown to bring to the big screen his vision of immigrant aliens clashing with the native humans. And District 9 is a distinctly South African movie through and through, from it title to its themes, from its cast and crew to its locations.
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Live the movie - I Love You, Man
Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
It can be hard to make new friends. Like romantic relationships, true platonic perfection is a rare and cherished thing that can’t be artificially constructed – but that doesn’t stop Peter Klaven (Paul Rudd) having a go in raucous new buddy comedy I Love You, Man. Peter has always placed more importance on girlfriends than mates and so when he proposes to girlfriend Zooey (Rashida Jones) and realises that he doesn’t have anyone to be his best man for the occasion, he decides to set about acquiring a close male chum.
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The wartime look from Inglourious Basterds
Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
It’s been two years since the critical mauling and commercial disappointment of Death Proof, his half of the Grindhouse double-bill with Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino is back, back, back with what he calls his “bunch of guys on a mission film” – Inglourious Basterds. Set during World War II, the plot follows two narratives, firstly those “guys on a mission” that Tarantino spoke of, namely ‘the Basterds’, a group of Jewish-American soldiers on a violent quest to kill and terrify the Nazis led by Brad Pitt’s Lieutenant Aldo Raine, and secondly the deadly aspirations of young French-Jewish girl Shosanna Dreyfus (played by Mélanie Laurent), who plans revenge on a SS Colonel for killing her family.
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Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
Having beaten Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption to the top Oscars, some movie critics turned their noses up at Forrest Gump – the tale of a simple Southern man whose personal journey through life often overlaps with historical events. That didn’t stop it catching on with the public. “I saw it as one of those kind of grand, hopeful movies that the audience can go to and feel … some hope for their lot and their position in life,” reveals the film’s star, Tom Hanks, and he was certainly right. 1994’s Forrest Gump charmed audiences with its affectionate tribute to Americana, top-notch performances (it helped star Tom Hanks become only the second actor to win back-to-back Best Actor Oscars) and innocent message of hope. But it’s not just the film’s positive spirit that is worth remembering when the credits roll, as there are many ways to welcome Forrest into your everyday life. Let’s take a look at some of the practical ways we can be inspired by Forrest Gump.
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Get Clare Abshire’s look from The Time Traveler’s Wife
Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
Introducing 2009’s ultimate tear-jerker – The Time Traveler’s Wife. This touching new drama has all the credentials to have you reaching for the tissues: it’s based on a bestselling book embraced for its emotional melodrama, was adapted by the screenwriter of Ghost and features Rachel McAdams, star of beloved weepie The Notebook. It does indeed boldly and unashamedly reveal itself as a tender love story, one which charts the unconventional romance between artist Clare (McAdams) and Chicagoan librarian Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana), a man afflicted with a genetic condition which sees him unexpectedly and abruptly travel through time and space. One minute he’s there, the next he’s not, except this is no clever magic trick but the bizarre curse that blights one young couple’s love.
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Get Mike O'Donnell's look from 17 Again
Posted by Team Boxwish 7 months ago
The old adage says you’re only young once, but what if that wasn’t true? It certainly proves false for Mike O’Donnell in new family comedy 17 Again. Played by Friends alumnus Matthew Perry, Mike is 37-years-old and frustrated with the direction his life has taken only for a little magical intervention to find him turning back the clock 20 years to when he was 17 Again. This bizarre opportunity sees Perry disappear from our screens replaced with a more youthful Mike, played by High School Musical star Zac Efron. And it’s this teenage version that impresses in the style stakes.
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Get Abby Richter's look from The Ugly Truth
Posted by Team Boxwish 8 months ago
It’s time for unlucky in love TV producer Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) to face The Ugly Truth – she doesn’t understand men. Good job that she’s forced to work with chauvinistic TV personality Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler) who believes he can help Abby grasp what makes men tick and thereby snag and keep the man of her dreams, next-door neighbour Colin (Eric B. Winter). And this dating education soon makes its way to her wardrobe.
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Coco Chanel's look from Coco Before Chanel
Posted by Team Boxwish 8 months ago
“She likes dresses with no corsets, hats with no feathers… that’s my Coco!” gushes Étienne Balsan, a rich French playboy and lover of Coco Chanel in Coco Before Chanel, the new biopic charting the rags to riches tale of the French fashion pioneer played by Audrey Tautou. And he was right to marvel at her offbeat sense of style, which, during her early years stood her apart from wealthy Parisian society, but would evolve into one of the most successful and celebrated fashion empires ever bringing us such timeless treasures as quilted handbags, oversized pearl necklaces, the little black dress and the iconic fragrance, Chanel No5. Introducing the original haute couture rebel.
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The masked heroes look from Watchmen
Posted by Team Boxwish 8 months ago
It was the graphic novel they said could never be filmed. Its film rights were sold over 20 years ago and yet it was mired in development hell, abandoned by various industry heavy-hitters and discarded as an impossible dream. Welcome to the world of Watchmen, the seminal graphic novel written by Alan Moore (V for Vendetta) and illustrated by Dave Gibbons.
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Get Margaret Tate's look from The Proposal
Posted by Team Boxwish 8 months ago
It’s been ten years since Sandra Bullock last scored a number one movie at the US box office and in The Proposal, her return to the cinematic summit we get to see a new side of the rom-com queen. Gone is the scruffy tomboy of the Miss Congeniality movies or the girl next door cutesiness of Speed, both replaced by an icy ferocity as she steps into the designer heels of Margaret Tate. An ambitious and ruthless New Yorker, Margaret is a top book editor, flush with professional success but low on likeability as each of her colleagues, most especially her assistant Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds), despise her. But who needs friends when you’ve got Margaret’s wardrobe?
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Live the movie - The Harry Potter series
Posted by Team Boxwish 8 months ago
Step up, step up and enter the magical realm of Harry Potter. The boy wizard and his weird and wonderful world of house elves and hippogriffs has been charming us on the big screen since 2001 with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and continues to cast its spell with its latest instalment, the sixth adventure, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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Get the teen casual look from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Posted by Team Boxwish 8 months ago
It’s the sixth year at Hogwarts for Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and there are big changes afoot. Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his Death Eaters are threatening the human and Muggle worlds, Hogwarts is no longer the safe refuge it once was and raging teenage hormones are causing much romantic drama. Good job that one thing remains so comfortingly constant – the fashions of our favourite threesome.
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The English stately homes in The Young Victoria
Posted by Team Boxwish 8 months ago
There have been a glut of British period dramas in the past few months. Brideshead Revisited, The Duchess and The Edge of Love have all taken us back in time to a world before mobile phones, traffic jams and Dominos pizza where people talk in perfectly enunciated clipped voices and know how to stand up straight. This is the Britain, or most commonly the England that is imagined by tourists to our shores and further adding to this weighty catalogue of historical pieces is new flick The Young Victoria.
