Merepeka Raukawa-Tait: Movies worth watching

Actress Glenn Close attends at the 65th San Sebastian Film Festival. Photo/Getty Images

Cinemas would go broke if they waited for me to walk in the door to see a movie.

I was always an avid moviegoer but Theo wasn't all that keen so after a time you just drop off too. And that's a pity.

There's nothing wrong with couples liking different things including having different tastes in movies. We're not clones of each other - as long as one partner's preferences don't dominate and take over then life should be sweet.

I know a couple who often go to the movies together but once inside the theatre, because their taste is so different, they go to separate movies. They go once or twice a month and each gets to see what they want. If it works for them, that's all that matters.

I surprised myself recently when I did a back-to-back at the movies. It wasn't planned. The weather was miserable, a good day to watch a movie. I had seen The Wife starring Glenn Close advertised. I don't know who the male lead was. Close was the main attraction. She knows her craft and is exceptionally good at it. I wasn't disappointed. Close plays the wife of an award-winning writer. He enjoyed the limelight, attention and accolades that came with being a successful writer. This culminated in winning the Nobel Prize for literature.

But the couple have a secret. In case you haven't seen the movie I won't say any more but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

As I left the theatre there was a queue to see The Book Club. I have seen the main actresses: Jane Fonda, Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen and Candice Bergen in various movies over the years. Who hasn't? Like Close, I admire their acting too. That's a movie I'll come back and see soon I told myself.

Yeah Right. I left mumbling "don't kid yourself Merepeka, you'll wait until the movie is on TV before you see it".

I went back into the theatre to watch The Book Club. I wasn't disappointed. It was a hoot. I think there were a couple of men in the audience. I don't know what they thought of it. I think you had to be a woman and quick with the nuances to really appreciate the humour and subtleties.

They came thick and fast. There was constant laughter from the audience that suggested they had read the book Fifty Shades of Grey. This was central to the movie. The story involved four friends, the book club, only one of whom had a husband. The others were without men in their lives. No distractions. From reading Fifty Shades of Grey you got the impression the women may have been shortchanged and missed out on great sex when younger.

I couldn't stop laughing but there was a serious point too. It showed the women being receptive to sexual and romantic gratification, even though they had convinced themselves they no longer needed it.

The actresses who starred in The Wife and The Book Club are not young. They have lived life and had their own experiences. They are versatile actresses with long-term accomplishments behind them.

The diverse roles that come their way now, late in their acting careers, appear to be made just for them. They inject credibility. Not for them movies with rabid sex scenes with faded worn actors.

No movies with gratuitous violence either. Just good believable stories.

A great movie requires a good story otherwise it's just a mediocre movie no matter how well acted. At least with these accomplished actresses, you know their movies will be worth watching.

Worth the occasional back-to-back viewing.