The
Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
A Sound: B Extras: A Film: B+
Check
back into the Marigold Hotel where love knows no age, the wine flows
like water, and the guests has no limits. After the success of their
first hotel, Sonny and Ms. Donnelly seeks to expand their business,
but first they must convince their investors and their inspectors.
Along with their all star cast of guests they are joined by a new
comer, Guy Chambers (Richard Gere). On top of it all, Sonny's own
wedding plans there several other complicated/hilarious relationships
are happening in the background ...but that is nothing Sonny can't
handle or can he?
In
John Madden's The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015),
Sonny and Ms. Donnelly are partners of the Marigold Hotel, a hotel
for the super rich elderly where they can live (and die) their final
days like kings, queens and emperors, where the service is warm and
friendly, and there is always some love affair in the air. As Sonny
tries to impress the inspectors to get the funding to expand his
hotel, he forgets about his own wedding plans and it seems like
everything that could go wrong is going wrong ...but there is nothing
a song and a dance can't cure.
This
was an amusing movie about comedy, friendship and finding love before
it is too late. It did however remind me a bit of when India was
ruled by the British Rule/East India Trading Company because even
thought the hotel was beautiful, if you paid attention to the
background staff and common people, they lived in poverty when
compared to the 'rich' patrons. As for the singing and dancing it
reminded me of Bollywood films/musicals. Judy Dench, Bill Nighy, Dev
Pavel, Maggie Smith and David Strathaim also star.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image looks great with its
sometimes complex, superior use of color, while the lossless DTS-HD
MA (Master Audio) 5.1 mix may not be as spectacular, but is
consistent in soundfield and well recorded. Extras include six
behind the scenes featurettes: Cast, Story, Returning to
Marigold Hotel, Filming in India, Blossoming
Relationship & Marigold Wedding, plus a Gallery with 2
modes and trailers.
-
Ricky Chiang
