Begin Again

I went to see Begin Again with a few people from the film studies class. It was very empty in the screen and the cinema and the cinema experience was generally nice, except the lights came on during the end of the film rather than after it finished (but oh well).
The film felt perfect in length, and actually a little short compared to the last few films I've watched in the cinema.

Begin Again was very sweet - with a few moments of comedy and drama, it was just a happy film. I thought the idea of recording their own album in various places around New York City was lovely and the characters all had such interesting depth to them. I was concerned there would be too much focus and plot dependency on the ex-boyfriend-turned-pop-legend, but I was pleasantly surprised. The focus was instead put into the character of Violet, the daughter of Dan who I had no idea would be a character in the film.
All the musicians felt very authentic and friendly and the film, although not one of my favourites, was very enjoyable and just nice to watch.
This hasn't been a very coherent response but the film was a real gem and had some absolutely beautiful moments so it is well worth watching it (and Keira Knightley can sing pretty well).

Boyhood (spoilers)

Boyhood was an absolutely incredible film: a fantastic script, amazing cinematography, lovely soundtrack - the whole works.

People often say that they're "transported" into a film and I've never felt so completely involved in the lives of a set of characters. When I watch a film, particularly in a cinema, I tend to get a little distracted and reflect on my life. This barely happened when I watched Boyhood (which is a good thing).

There were some very interesting themes being discussed in the movie, such as domestic violence, alcohol addiction, as well as just the process of growing up.
I also thought that the "everyday" content of the script was great - the comedy all came from everyday situations rather than it being planned out and forced.

The shifts in time were so subtle and it was great to see how these individuals changed over the years, mainly in their appearance but also in the way they behaved.
I liked how the jump between the years would leave the audience to fill in the gaps. Whilst the film was almost 3 hours long, it felt like a great length. In fact, I was a little bit disappointed when it ended - not because I wanted to know what happened next, but because I had been in the middle of the characters' lives for 2 hours and 40 minutes and then suddenly I wasn't.
I kept wondering how they were going to end the film, and I was relieved to find that they didn't seize any of the opportunities to end it softly after cliche scene. Instead, the ending was very reflective (yet humorous) but so abrupt and perfect ... plus, the credits featured one of my favourite songs by Arcade Fire.
I knew Arcade Fire's track (Deep Blue) would be in the film after reading an article about the soundtrack, and I thought the lyrics suited the idea of the film well. I was pleasantly surprised to find that another Arcade Fire song was featured in the middle of the film.

I think my favourite scene had to be the one where Mason travels to his university and stops off along the way to put petrol in his car and take photos of some of the amazing surroundings, all to the music of Hero by Family Of The Year.