Holy Days

And this week's Friday night movie has been... Holy Days!

Original image located here. Accessed 21st August 2026

Kiera insisted that we watch this. And the funny thing I would've never have heard of it otherwise. 
So this is a New Zealand co-production which has to have the most unusual elevator pitch behind it: a trio of nuns go on a road trip with a little boy across both islands of New Zealand. 

So yeah, its pretty obvious that the humour will rely on that of 'nuns interacting with the real world'. But what truly makes it work is the three leads - Judy Davis, Miriam Margolyes and Jacki Weaver - who are clearly having the time of their lives in these roles. There's witty dialogue, great jokes and some truly stunning imagery of New Zealand. 
Indeed, a fun movie. 

Winnie the Pooh

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... Winnie the Pooh!

Original image located here. Accessed 14th August 2026

Well I saw the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh last week so it is only fitting that I follow it up with this 2011 effort. 
It would be easy to write this off as a remake of the preceding movie given it takes the same approach: Use the source material and throw in zany sight gags, lean on the naivety of these characters, break the borderline between the animation and the text, show off the playful nature of the animation and all wrap it up in a big bow of cosiness. 
But if it worked the first time, there's no reason why it won't the second. 

Really there's not much else I can add; This was a lot of fun to watch and whilst it seemed a repeat of the Many Adventures it never came across as a problem (which, lets face it, is a difficult trick to pull off). 

Although I am convinced that Pooh's love of honey is so great he may require professional help...

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

   And this week's Friday night movie has been... The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!

Original image located here. Accessed 7th August 2026

When I was a little boy, my father had a copy of Winnie the Pooh on the bookshelf. This was a copy of the original text by A. A Milne and I read it many times. Indeed, a book where the titular character is far from the sharpest tool in the shed but is still able to succeed is something that spoke deeply to me. 

So we come to this: An anthology of previously animated shorts and indeed the most widely recognised of the Disney adaptations of Milne's work. I do recall seeing one of them on TV when I was a lad - the one where Tigger is stuck up a tree - but I never got to see how it ended. 

Looking at this collection of shorts, I can certainly recognise the stories from the source material. And I especially love the playful nature of the animation, with the incorporation of the story book framework. 
Given the ubiquitous nature of these characters, one will would they would grow tiresome easily but that is not the case. 
This has been a lot of fun to watch and hasn't aged at all.