Doug and Abi take their kids on a family vacation. Surrounded by relatives, the kids innocently reveal the ins and outs of their family life and many intimate details about their parents. It's soon clear that when it comes to keeping a big secret under wraps from the rest of the family, their children are their biggest liability.
Directors:
Andy Hamilton,
Guy Jenkin
Stars:
Rosamund Pike,
David Tennant,
Billy Connolly
A crime novelist whose research on Victorian serial killers has turned him into a paranoid wreck must confront his worst fears when a film executive takes a sudden interest in his movie script.
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
When their father passes away, four grown siblings are forced to return to their childhood home and live under the same roof together for a week, along with their over-sharing mother and an assortment of spouses, exes and might-have-beens.
Beneath Bruce Garrett's under-confident, overweight exterior, the passionate heart of a salsa king lies dormant. Now, one woman is about to reignite his Latin fire.
Dan Mangan:
When Professor Coreman is giving in his lecture and the camera pans across the audience, Dan Mangan, who wrote and performed much of the soundtrack, is sitting in the front row, just stage left of the aisle. See more »
Goofs
Hector's journey into work at the very beginning of the film is geographical chaos. Initially it shows him in the City of London (north of the Thames) on Paternoster Square, then he's immediately crossing the Millennium Bridge south to north, heading again into the City. His office is shown in the shadow of the Shard (south of the Thames) and then when he's picked up from work by his gf, he's once again in the City. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Hector:
[waking suddenly from a nightmare]
Clara!
Clara:
Hector... Morning, sweetheart. Time to raise and shine.
Hector:
[narrating]
One upon a time, there was a young psychiatrist called Hector, who had a very satisfactory life. His world was tidy, uncomplicated. And he liked it that way. He took great comfort in its predictable patterns. Patterns his girl friend Clara was happy to maintain.
See more »
Vessel
Written by Dan Mangan, Gordon Grdina, Kenton Loewen and John Walsh
Performed by 'Dan Mangan' featuring Dave Grohl
Published by Dan Mangan Music (SOCAN) See more »
In the mood for a film, I stopped by the local art house cinema this afternoon. Of the films on offer, this looked like it might be good, though I didn't know too much about what it was about, and really didn't expect much.
Turned out to be a great film. Funny, poignant, and inspiring all at once. Simon Pegg is terrific as a psychiatrist who experiences a sort of existential crisis, and decides to disrupt his tidy, organize, and predictable life to search for the makings of Happiness. His research produces a collection of Buddhist-like conclusions about what may or may not lead to happiness. Along the way, Pegg's character, Hector, begins to 'live', and we the viewer, if we're paying attention, gain some philosophical insights.
The more I think about this film, the more layers of meaning and nuance I realize were lurking beneath the surface of this thoroughly delightful movie. I left the cinema feeling introspective, inspired, and ...Happy. I was moved to indulge in some of the little things that make me happy: a few bars of Amedei chocolate, a meander through the arboretum, a book of poetry; as well as moved to examine what things in my life lead to happiness, and what things lead to unhappiness.
This is a film I would like to see again, and will likely purchase for my movie library.
36 of 53 people found this review helpful.
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In the mood for a film, I stopped by the local art house cinema this afternoon. Of the films on offer, this looked like it might be good, though I didn't know too much about what it was about, and really didn't expect much.
Turned out to be a great film. Funny, poignant, and inspiring all at once. Simon Pegg is terrific as a psychiatrist who experiences a sort of existential crisis, and decides to disrupt his tidy, organize, and predictable life to search for the makings of Happiness. His research produces a collection of Buddhist-like conclusions about what may or may not lead to happiness. Along the way, Pegg's character, Hector, begins to 'live', and we the viewer, if we're paying attention, gain some philosophical insights.
The more I think about this film, the more layers of meaning and nuance I realize were lurking beneath the surface of this thoroughly delightful movie. I left the cinema feeling introspective, inspired, and ...Happy. I was moved to indulge in some of the little things that make me happy: a few bars of Amedei chocolate, a meander through the arboretum, a book of poetry; as well as moved to examine what things in my life lead to happiness, and what things lead to unhappiness.
This is a film I would like to see again, and will likely purchase for my movie library.