More importantly, WHEN are we?

I'm keeping it short, my PC is barely staying on so I'm just clearing my feet again before I go and see loads more films next week. Hunger is being shown at Cineworld on Tuesday morning, at last a chance to catch it. I'll hopefully be going to see Revoloutionary Road, Valkyrie and maybe a wee cheeky show of My Bloody Valentine. I have an excuse, I don't pay for the cinema (directly anyway). I'm also setting a mental not to blog about City Lights. Though let's not forget the Q&A with Bruce Campbell and screening of My Name Is Bruce on Thursday.

TV

Lost Season 5 - So Lost has started back again and I can tell you one thing, there ARE answers. I won't spoil it for anyone but the show has almost entirely changed format, and most viewers probably won't even notice. This is what keeps the show interesting, the continuing use of fresh ideas. While watching the third episode Jughead, it occurred to me that really, the science fiction has sneaked up on us all. The first season doesn't FEEL like a sci-fi show, but now that we are at the penultimate season, it's worth going back to re-watch them with fresh knowledge, for fans anyway.

FILM

Defiance - Pretty decent. Not quite a must see on reflection but worth a watch. The story is really great and the actors turn in fine performances but it just feels a little familiar. Not the most original film ever and maybe this was how I managed to pick out a theme, about the importance of brotherhood, all too easily.

Defiance - 7/10

Frost/Nixon - A film praised for performances but besides Frank Langella, I didn't really see much of note here. Even though I was far from alive in the Nixon era, I was truly in tune with Langella, and it almost felt as if he had been possessed by Richard M. Nixon himself. I don't see any point to return to the film, it can only really be enjoyed once. The problem with the film is the marketing, the key point of the film is shown almost exactly like it is in the trailer. Meaning that I felt almost entirely cheated when nothing else seemed to happen in the conclusion of the film, besides a nice closing scene.

Like most films that are Oscar contenders this year, it makes me question why they are made. Why are we so interested in stories we know already? Credit to Ron Howard though, I bet the original tapes aren't as interesting to watch as the film.

Frost/Nixon - 6/10

Milk - I don't think I've ever come out of a film with such a 'Meh' effect. I didn't gain anything from the film, I wasn't educated, entertained or interested. Sean Penn is fine but as was mentioned in an episode of Entourage, you always get an Oscar if you play a homosexual or a character with special needs(not an exact quote). I guess he could win the Oscar, but I really don't think he deserves to, as much as I like Sean Penn. There's nothing in the film that I couldn't get from watching a documentary on Harvey Milk for half an hour. It's not a bad film, just highly unremarkable.

Milk - 4/10

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More soon!

Samuel Goldwyn (on a film set): "Why is everything so dirty here?"
Director: "It's supposed to be a slum."
Samuel Goldwyn: "Well, this slum cost a lot of money. It should look better than an ordinary slum.

Names is for tombstone's baby!

Somehow I'm having less and less time to blog and more and more time to watch films. It doesn't even make sense. The academy is all going well, besides the fact that we haven't really had technical classes (sound was a joke this week) and that we STILL haven't had any editing classes are the only real annoyances. Now though, I can no longer complain about having less classes since at least one cancellation has really worked in my favour: Adam's class next week. Why am I glad it's not on? Well, I'm travelling through to Edinburgh with a few mates for a screening of My Name Is Bruce followed by a Q&A by the man himself. The film will no doubt be disappointing but hey, it's Bruce Campbell!

I still need to blog about Defiance and Frost/Nixon. Hopefully I'll find time to do it soon.

FILM

Nosferatu - I had heard that this film was still scary but I can't say that is true. It did still have a fairly creepy atmosphere, something which most horror movies today seem to lack but I can't really say I was scared but as I've said before, I think I'm desensitised to most horror films. There are flaws which brought the film down a little, such as Orlok being outside far too often in daylight, though as John pointed out to me afterwards, it'd be nigh on impossible to shoot at night in those days. Like the Odessa Steps sequence, I look forward to the deconstruction of this film, I find it quite hard to read between the lines on my own. Again, hard to compare to modern day cinema but like Battleship, another landmark film that I'm glad I've seen.

Nosferatu - 7/10

Resident Evil Degeneration - I'm not the biggest fan of the game series but I did love number 4 and I'm looking forward to 5. I also find the second film quite entertaining, though the third is truly horrible. Anyway, this film looks EXACTLY like Resident Evil: Code Veronica, a game which came out 9 years ago. Take from that what you want but for me it made this film feel quite stale.

While watching this, I felt I was just watching a game cut scene and that any minute I'd be thrown back into the game but instead I was bored by the events and had to remind myself this was a film not a game. It's nice to see that the voice cast are carried over from the game, but the Claire character in this acts totally unlike her character in the games. I didn't have high hopes for this but I was still disappointed. It might be fine for hardcore fans but I have no interest in ever watching this again.

Resident Evil Degeneration - 2/10

The Lost Boys: The Tribe - I love the original Lost Boys but unsurprisingly, this is just awful. The Tribe, looks and feels far below the par of TV shows like Buffy and Supernatural, which makes me wonder why they bothered at all. Sometimes it feels like the film knows it bad and decides to rip off almost entire scenes from the original. The only positive of this film is Corey Feldman. His cult like status is clearly evident and he seems to relish the return of his character Edgar Frog but the use of a washed out 80's child star shouldn't really be the main talking point of any film. The ending leaves the story wide open for the third film in the series which is in production just now but again, why are they bothering. If you are at all interested in this, forget it, Feldman is the only reason to watch it and no doubt those sections are on Youtube.

The Lost Boys: The Tribe - 1/10


TV

Entourage - I've only just started watching this (I previously rented the first disc and loved it) but already I'm hooked. The celebrity cameos are used quite well, it never feels like Extras did with actors coming in for fleeting scenes and playing caricatures of themselves. Instead, the characters often play nice little parts in party scenes (like Luke Wilson) or are invited to parties (Jessica Alba's in episode 2) or merely walk past stars on the back lot (like Mark Wahlberg in episode 1). The show seems to give a reasonably realistic view of events in Hollywood and since we are all interested in the lives of stars, I don't see why this show doesn't have a bigger UK fan base. Behind the Hollywood lights and glamour however, the show boils down to the relationship between the five lead characters, four of which are best friends and the fifth is the agent played by Jeremy Piven. Piven steals each episode every time he's on screen, his smart, witty dialogue is always entertaining and he is a man who always has his mind on the next big thing, helps sell the fast pace of both the Hollywood lifestyle and the show.

The other characters are also interesting. Adrian Grenier who plays Vincent Chase feels like he could be an upcoming Hollywood star and Kevin Dillon plays his brother, Johnny Drama. Drama is always overshadowed by his brother, something that bears a real life resemblance to Kevin Dillon's own life since he is often overshadowed by his brother Matt.

I'm loving the show so much that I've decided to pace myself with the DVD's, meaning I can savour each episode rather than just rush ahead and finish them.


Coronation Street, Monday 26th January- I DID actually do the homework (8 men stuck in one room for an hour and a half, watching Corrie is something I'm not going to ever forget), and since the work was done, it's better late than never.

Synopsis - Audrey tells Maria not to go back to work for a while but Maria argues with her. We then find out Carla has called the police about Maria's attack on Tony. Meanwhile, Blanche tells Leanne that Peter is coming home but Blanche didn't hear the rest of Dierdre's phone conversation and peter is actually in rehab.

Maria goes to the police station to complain about Tony but Maria finds out Carla has already contacted the police about her. Maria comes off as looking a bit mad. Anna is suspicious that both Eddie and Gary had something to do with the robbery of the building site. Afterward, Gary and Len talk in the pub about how successful the robbery was.

Maria then hits Tony with her car and crashes it into Underworld. Both are taken to hospital. Carla tells the police Maria should be locked up. Gary tells Tina that David has set him up for the robbery because he is jealous Tina like Gary. Later, David overhears that she thinks Gary is innocent and is fairly annoyed.

Ken's dog falls into a canal but it is rescued by Martha. They both share stories, and wine but Ken does not tell her he remarried and lies to Dierdre about where he has been. At the hospital, Tony asks Audrey to keep him informed about Maria. After being released from hospital, Maria is visited by an officer who informs her she may be charged with attempted murder.

Hooks - Ad-Break 1: Carla has phoned police.
Ep-Break: Tony is hit by Maria.
Ad-Break 2: Ken meets Martha.
Ep-End: Maria may be charged.

Status -
Audrey- Maria's boss/confidant
Maria- Pregnant avenger
Tony- Husband/Murderer with conscience
Carla- Tony's paranoid wife
Gary- Liar/thief.
Ken- Unhappy Husband
Martha: Lonely Woman
Tina - Confused and gullible

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More Soon!

"And there's no doubt in my mind, not one doubt in my mind, that we will fail. Failure is not a part of our vocabulary. This great nation will lead the world and we will be successful."
George W. Bush

Oscar Nominations!

For those interested, here are the full nominations:

Best Motion Picture of the Year
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Frost/Nixon

Milk

The Reader

Slumdog Millionaire

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Richard Jenkins for The Visitor

Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon

Sean Penn for Milk

Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role
Nominees:
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married

Angelina Jolie for Changeling

Melissa Leo for Frozen River

Meryl Streep for Doubt

Kate Winslet for The Reader

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Josh Brolin for Milk

Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder

Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt

Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight

Michael Shannon for Revolutionary Road

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominees:
Amy Adams for Doubt

Penélope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Viola Davis for Doubt

Taraji P. Henson for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler

Best Achievement in Directing
Nominees:
Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Stephen Daldry for The Reader

David Fincher for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Ron Howard for Frost/Nixon
Gus Van Sant for Milk

Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Nominees:
Frozen River : Courtney Hunt
Happy-Go-Lucky : Mike Leigh
In Bruges : Martin McDonagh
Milk : Dustin Lance Black
WALL·E : Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter

Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Eric Roth, Robin Swicord
Doubt : John Patrick Shanley
Frost/Nixon : Peter Morgan
The Reader : David Hare
Slumdog Millionaire : Simon Beaufoy

Best Achievement in Cinematography
Nominees:
Changeling : Tom Stern
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Claudio Miranda
The Dark Knight : Wally Pfister
The Reader : Roger Deakins, Chris Menges
Slumdog Millionaire : Anthony Dod Mantle

Best Achievement in Editing
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter
The Dark Knight : Lee Smith
Frost/Nixon : Daniel P. Hanley, Mike Hill
Milk : Elliot Graham
Slumdog Millionaire : Chris Dickens

Best Achievement in Art Direction
Nominees:
Changeling : James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo
The Dark Knight : Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
The Duchess : Michael Carlin, Rebecca Alleway
Revolutionary Road : Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt

Best Achievement in Costume Design
Nominees:
Australia : Catherine Martin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Jacqueline West
The Duchess : Michael O'Connor
Milk : Danny Glicker
Revolutionary Road : Albert Wolsky

Best Achievement in Makeup
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Greg Cannom
The Dark Knight

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Alexandre Desplat
Defiance : James Newton Howard
Milk : Danny Elfman
Slumdog Millionaire (2008): A.R. Rahman
WALL·E (2008): Thomas Newman

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song
Nominees:
Slumdog Millionaire : A.R. Rahman, Gulzar("Jai Ho")
Slumdog Millionaire : A.R. Rahman, M.I.A("O Saya")
WALL·E : Peter Gabriel, Thomas Newman("Down to Earth")

Best Achievement in Sound
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire

WALL·E
Wanted

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Nominees:
The Dark Knight
Iron Man

Slumdog Millionaire

WALL·E

Wanted

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominees:
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button : Eric Barba, Edson Williams
The Dark Knight: Nick Davis, Chris Corbould, Timothy Webber, Paul J. Franklin
Iron Man

Best Animated Feature Film of the Year
Nominees:
Bolt

Kung Fu Panda

WALL·E

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Nominees:
Der Baader Meinhof Komplex (Germany)
Entre les murs (France)
Revanche (Austria)
Okuribito (Japan)
Vals Im Bashir (Israel)

Best Documentary, Features
Nominees:
The Betrayal - Nerakhoon

Encounters at the End of the World

The Garden

Man on Wire

Trouble the Water

Best Documentary, Short Subjects
Nominees:
The Conscience of Nhem En
The Final Inch
Smile Pinki
The Witness from the Balcony of Room 306

Best Short Film, Animated
Nominees:
Ubornaya istoriya - lyubovnaya istoriya: Konstantin Bronzit
La Maison en Petits Cubes: Kunio Kato
Oktapodi: Julien Bocabeille, François-Xavier Chanioux, Olivier Delabarre, Thierry Marchand, Quentin Marmier, Emud Mokhberi
Presto: Doug Sweetland
This Way Up: Alan Smith, Adam Foulkes

Best Short Film, Live Action
Nominees:
Auf der Strecke

Manon on the Asphalt
New Boy

The Pig
Spielzeugland

Thoughts?

Shock and shockier!

Week 2 in term 2 and it's been a decent week, besides the fact that we seem to be having less classes, something we'll no doubt look for a year or so's time. Ray's class was fine, back on the lights again. It was good to also see the rest of the class stay around to practice, everybody loves lighting. Richard's class was fun, though proved that our class can't pass paper round a circle successfully, the exercise was fun, some of the stories (the park ranger one will stick out forever in my memory) ended up pointless but it was nice to see that one or two worked out. It's certainly a good way of building a story. Andy's class today was good also, though I was scared how much I remembered about Coronation Street. At some point in my life I must have watched it regularly. I'm glad we're learning more about TV that I for one write off as pointless and a waste of time. My opinion has certainly changed of Coronation Street, though I think I'm far too sociable just now to sit and enjoy it.

Tonight, myself, Phil, Steven and David recce'd the opera, which turned out much better than I imagined. I don't love it, but it was tolerable enough to make me not dread the actual filming tomorrow.

Also tomorrow, the Oscar nominations will be announced at roughly 1-ish GMT depending on how long the ceremony lasts. For those reading this after the time, you can find it all out here:

Oscar.com

FILM

Silent Running - First, a quick (stolen) synopsis for those unfamiliar:
Plant-loving botanist Freeman Lowell happily carries out his duties on the spaceship Valley Forge, a giant orbiting greenhouse which contains the last remaining samples of flora from a now-barren Earth. When Lowell is ordered to destroy his cargo and return home, he mutinies, kills his more obedient shipmates, and sets out for the far reaches of space with his robot companions Huey and Dewey in tow.

A film that has influenced the likes of Wall-E, and Sunshine as well as Red Dwarf. Directed by Douglas Trumbull who went on to do special effects for Blade Runner and other Sci-Fi classics. These two points made this sound like a film that I should see. Truth be told, it was just about worth sitting through the 85 minutes running time, though it didn't turn out like I would have imagined. The effects are fine (it was 1971) some of the camerawork is terrible (there's an atrocious zoom at the beginning, it looks like a child was operating the camera) and for the most part, the film is overly ecological.

By it's second half, The film becomes about the characters (or maybe, character?) and gets a little more interesting, even though 2 of them are robot drones. Without going into too much detail, the final minutes of the film are about as close to tear-jerking as Sci-Fi can get.

I think the only things I'm really let down by, is that Silent Running never quite reaches the possibilities of it's premise. I felt like I had a greater idea in my head for how the story would progress. The other fairly annoying factor are the two songs used at the beginning, middle and end of the film which were so cheesy and bad that I wanted to switch off. Instead I persevered with my teeth fairly gritted. Somehow, despite this, it still becomes a neat little film that gives an insight into human loneliness and makes a strong, clear statement on how important the Earth's resources are. It might be worth a watch if you are at all interested in a different kind of Sci-Fi.

Silent Running - 6/10

The Wrestler - I'm not that familiar with Mickey Rourke, except that he has been acting for a long time, made some terrible decisions (film-wise and personally) and also that he starred in Sin City. Going in, I had a bizarre concern. Does Mickey Rourke always sound like he's eating gravel like he did during Sin City. For those interested in the answer, he doesn't.

Although I enjoyed Aronofsky's previous two films, Requiem For A Dream (which stands as one of my favourite films) and The Fountain, I was bewildered by his decision to do a very realistic biopic-feeling type of film. It has to be said however, that he made a very wise choice. The film looks fine, shot in an almost documentary style with the camera often following behind Mickey Rourke but the film doesn't require any flashy cuts or special effects. It's all about the character, Randy 'The Ram' Robinson played to Oscar level by Mickey Rourke.

I've sat through many horror films, many of the so-called 'torture porn' or 'gorno' movies as well as some of the 70's and 80's horror classics but I've never wanted to cover my eyes as much as I did in The Wrestler. There are at least two parts in the film where I can remember being almost disgusted by how brutal it was, though I put this down to my sympathy for the character, since I imagine if I had to watch only the scenes again, it wouldn't seem half as strong as I believe it was.
I could write for another hour on The Wrestler but I fear I would be giving so much praise to the film that it may put anyone off going to see it. Instead, I'll just say, go see it. A very well made movie that will be remembered for it's central performances

The Wrestler - 10/10

Seven Pounds - Everyone loves Will Smith! Why? It's probably unexplainable but just because he's great, doesn't mean all of his films are. Seven Pounds is a fine example of this. Joining again with The Pursuit of Happyness director, Will Smith seems like he's going gold statue hunting, like his nomination for Happyness 2 years ago. Sadly, I found it hard to even like Will Smith in this since the film seems only ever to be a set up for a plot twist that I seen coming at around the 20 minute mark. So for about an hour and a half, while no doubt some audience members were piecing it together, I was sitting there bored stiff, waiting for the film to at least make me question what the twist was. Now, I don't claim to be smart for guessing it, and I'm not one that tries to guess twists, but I found this one so gapingly obvious that the only time I was second guessing was me thinking that surely it isn't this blatantly obvious.

For a film that relies so much on it's twist to put the story in place, I find it hard to rate the film any higher since I found the twist not only dumb but also predictable. No doubt there are people like Gavin who didn't see it coming and I'd be interested to see if they rate the film any higher. It's at least better than Wild, Wild West. Though that's not really saying much.

Seven Pounds - 2/10

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More Soon!

"Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first woman she meets and then teams up with three complete strangers to kill again."
An American newspaper's TV listing for The Wizard Of Oz

Rumours about The Thing prequel and other stories

It's been a good week at the academy, lighting was great, scriptwriting was good though I think my mind still hadn't warmed up yet. TV class was good, the Doctor Who episode made the show seem a little intriguing though, as usual, I'm not yet sold by it, maybe I'll rent the box set when I get the chance. I certainly found it much better than the original series, though maybe that's just because I remember having to sit and watch them with my dad when I was much younger. History of cinema is great and I'm quite glad we didn't learn it at the beginning of the course, at that time it may have been slightly off-putting for some. The producing class with Abigail is quite interesting but I think I'm a million miles away from having the qualities required for producing. Though I believe that's down to my far from good communication skills.

I find the inclusion of ratings on my blog sometimes difficult to judge but here's an easy way to break it down:
0-4: Various shades of badness.

5: Average.
6-10: Various shades of goodness.

I also found this curious little rumour, the director doesn't bother me since I have no idea who he is but his thoughts for the story concern me:

THE THING PREQUEL RUMOUR

Another, VERY interesting article I found this week is with regards to Harvey 'Two-Face' Dent's fate at the end of The Dark Knight.

AARON ECKHART GONE CRAZY?

Yet another point I want to mention, is about a film which bar a few friends, very few people seem to care about: Crank 2 - High Voltage. Crank for me was one of the most original and entertaining action movies there has been in years and I hope that the sequel can be even half as good as the original. It doesn't have much artistic merit and I don't think it'll ever be studied in any film classes but golly is it fun to watch. I guess it's just a guilty pleasure, though I don't mind shouting about it. For anyone interested, here's a link to the trailer:

CRANK 2: HIGH VOLTAGE TRAILER

TV

Prison Break - Well news has...ahem...broke this week that the show has finally been axed and while I found Season 3 as entertaining as it's ever been, it really did need to happen. The show will run through to the end of May after resuming in April but will not return. It is unknown whether the show will be wrapped up properly.

PRISON BREAK AXED

24 - I've started watching Season 6 (I'm a LITTLE behind) and so far it's been fine. I think I know who the mole is already and as usual, there's another attack on Downtown L.A. Like every other season, Kiefer Sutherland is the sole reason to keep watching. This show really needs to be stopped, it has truly ran it's course, to the point that time no longer seems to affect the show.

Coronation Street, episode dated Monday 12th January. Originally screened at 8:30pm: The main storyline was Molly & Tyrone’s wedding and the events before hand. Tyrone is restrained by a man claiming to be a policeman. Jack and Kirk offer to pay him to let Tyrone free, though it’s never revealed if they do. Meanwhile, Molly is taken to the wedding on a horse & cart. When she arrives at the church she panics when Tyrone isn’t there. Eventually he arrives, believing everything’s going wrong and he faints. The episode ends with him about to tell Molly about what happened.

The episode had smaller storylines, none of which seemed to move forward.

FILM

Battleship Potemkin - Not a film I would have sought out to see but I'm glad I've seen it, at least from a historical point of view. I don't imagine there are many who would watch this for sheer entertainment. I guess it could be compared to classical music for the more intellectual of my generation. I know the importance of it on modern times but that doesn't mean I'm going to keep it on my iPod, or in this case, DVD collection.

The film is truly landmark in terms of editing and defining story and It deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Citizen Kane as a landmark in film history. Sadly, the Russian Revolution stuff is lost on me since I'm not a history buff and really only find out about major events in history via cinema or TV. I hate to admit it, but it's true. I however get the feeling that the film was commenting on political repression, something it does very well. Other things I got from the film was how characters were setup, which at the time I don't think it had ever been done before. The impact of close-ups and just how a character looks at another can say a lot about who he or she is, something which is very important in silent cinema and is shown to great effect in Potemkin.

The final thing I was taken back by was the sheer amount of scale and especially, the amount of extras involved in the 'Odessa Steps' sequence. Nowadays, someone like Peter Jackson would hire around 40 extras and fill up the battlefield with computer generated people, something that would seem beyond Sci-fi in 1925. The only problem I have is that how do you compare it? I think Murdo raised the point that you should always compare it to modern day cinema to see how it holds up. I don't think it needs ever to be remade and it's true that I, personally, wouldn't change much about it if I had to but I find that it doesn't really hold up to most modern day films. It might have been simply the music or maybe the odd jump in narrative but I don't think it's really fair to compare it to any film since the inclusion of sound to films adds an extra dimension. So my rating of the film below, relates directly to comparing it to modern day films. If I had to write this blog in 1925 (a strange thought), it would without a doubt be receiving 10/10.

Battleship Potemkin - 7/10

The Reader - Myself, Michael, Charlotte and Galina went to see this on Friday (there's was no way I was going to see Australia) and while it's certainly not the genre I gravitate towards to, it's a film that made a good two hour distraction. I doubt I'll ever want to watch it again, mainly because I don't see any reason to. Mrs Mendes gives a great performance and even when she was off screen for a large amount of time, I found myself wanting her back since she was always so gripping. I find the story slightly disturbing due to the fact that the German boy Kate falls in love with is 15 years old. This is never part of the film however and from the opening, the film builds quite well to it's final third, where I think the film then falls apart. Yes it's an adaption but I found the Michael character overly cold in the latter part of the film but it may be a problem I'd have with the original story rather than the film itself. There were several points in The Reader were I seemed to loose track a little. Once Michael meets Kate Winslet, he moves in with her, though this isn't evident until the boy returns to his parents.

In all, a good film, but not a great film just like Kate Winslet's performance, a good performance, not an Oscar worthy performance.

The Reader - 7/10

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More soon!

"Do we need earplugs?"
Prince Philip at the premiere of Die Another Day when he learnt that Madonna had sung the film's title music.

Intellectual/untellectual

So, back to the Academy tomorrow and I'm looking forward to returning, though I'm curious about the gaps in our timetable a few months down the line. All will be revealed. Anyway, another post:

FILM

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - It's sale time! While there may be a credit crunch on at the moment and for the foreseeable future, it isn't the end of the world for most. For me, a student, with a solid part-time job and who hasn't moved out, it can be a great time. It leaves coppers to spare and for one who loves shiny discs in plastic cases, those coppers get spent on DVD's. The downfall of Zavvi isn't a bad thing for me, it just means cheaper DVD's.

It's cheaper DVD's all round. I purchased FF:ROTSS, 2-Disc "Special" Edition for £3 from Asda. "Bargain!" thought I and after picking up both The Prestige and The Bourne Ultimatum as well as confusing a customer, I threw this on.

Now, the first was decent. Nowhere near the great comic book films but still entertainment. This one on the other hand, was entertaining, but far too short to be memorable. Jessica Alba seems to have blonder than blonde hair and Zac Efron-like blue eyes and is entirely one dimensional, only ever moaning through the entire film. Ioan Gruffudd is the straight yet bendy man and Chiklis and Evans continue their comic double act, which is one of the few highlights of the film. The film suffers from mostly Primark-like CGI, with the artists too lazy to correct lighting. They are so lazy in fact, that to cover up a camera-helicopter shadow they add in a CGI helicopter, which would be fine if it looked any good.

Thankfully, the film is saved by the Silver Surfer, though how he gets his name is far less interesting than J. Jonah Jameson spouting headline grabbing titles. His name may be in fact preceded by a line similar to: "He's on a surfboard, and he's silver, kinda like a...". The silver-y guy saves the film, looking as cool as the T-1000 initially did, though why do we need 'Larry' Fishburne's voice?

Still, the film is far from bad. It just follows a formula that is all too evident in comic book sequels: The questioning of whether the characters should still be superheroes and then a foe enters and forces them to assure themselves that they should still be heroes. I did feel a bit cheated by the running time, less wedding, more surfer would be the solution to that. The third act is easily the best part of the film Hopefully Iron Man 2 doesn't go down the same route.

It has to be said though, that the Stan Lee cameo in this one was great, almost as good as the 'Hef' moment in Iron Man and the drinking of the juice in Hulk.

Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer - 4/10

Role Models - Another timekiller, and frankly, that's all I'll really remember about it. The story has almost been done to death by now but only the kids make it interesting. McLovin plays a boy obsessed with a live role playing game and his character is the device for any of the morals the film plans to give you. I won't insult anyone reading this by telling you what they are but I bet you can be right on when I tell you that no-one understands him except when he plays the RPG. The only other highlight is that comic staple, the potty mouthed kid. It may seem offensive to uptight parents when the kid does talk about boobies and drop several f-bombs but, let's be honest, who WASN'T talking about that when they were ten? Sadly, whenever this kid was on-screen was the only time I laughed throughout, I like Paul Rudd but how many 'pitiful-boyfriend' roles can he play? It's as almost as if he's still inside the head of his 40 Year Old Virgin character.

The only other laugh came from the term 'whispering eye' which McLovin tells Paul Rudd while he is on the phone trying to get his girlfriend back. I won't spoil it for you though no doubt you've googled it already...

Role Models - 3/10

Slumdog Millionaire - Hype is a funny thing, sometimes it can ruin your perspective on a film and while I thought I knew everything about Slumdog, I knew nothing about it's structure.

At the risk of sounding like a poster quote, it is a big winner with a great heart. This deserves most of the praise it's getting and I only say most because there are a couple of weaknesses. I wasn't as gripped by Dev Patel as I thought I would be, he's still good, but not quite award worthy. Also, Danny Boyle chooses to shoot most of the film at awkward angles, which was nice to give you a disorientated feeling but by the mid point, I'd grown slightly tired of it. Though this is me nitpicking, no film can be perfect.

The film looks amazing and while being a great story, the film is also very informative, at least for me. I always imagine India as a land of wealth but an insight into the slums and the Indian culture showed me otherwise. A hilarious scene in a call centre makes me think that maybe I'll not be as nasty to any Indian call centre operators next time.

This is one of those films that I could write about for several hours and still find new things to love about it, but since it's just out, I don't want to be the bearer of spoilers so let me leave you with a few facts:

• Yes it is feel-good, but not quite as much as the marketing will have you believe.
• The film has a great story, it may lie on coincidences but that doesn't stop it being gripping.
• It deserves a lot of praise, and you'd be heartless not to enjoy it.

Miss it, and you'll miss out on what will no doubt be one of the best films of 2009. Worthy of those Golden Globes and any Oscar success. Oscar nominations are announced on the January 22nd apparently.

Slumdog Millionaire - 10/10

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More soon!

"The movies are weird. You actually have to think about them when you watch them."
Britney Spears, talking about independent films shown at the Sundance Festival.

Odder and Oddidder...

A film I wanted to write about before I forgot what I had to say, since I'm going to overload myself with films before returning on Tuesday. Also, a couple of other things I didn't want to forget about...

Sometimes you get some strange things in the mail. Earlier in the week I got this link.

Hip Parade

The scary thing about it, is that this band were going when I was in high school (under Myopia) and it's quite scary to see a couple of people I knew (one through primary school also) finding some form of fame. I'm not a fan of the music but I wish them all the possible luck.

FILM

The Thin Red Line - Sometimes it's quite odd how you find films. For me, I found this through a band called Explosions In The Sky who use a sample from the film in their song "Have You Passed Through This Night?". The sample sounded interesting and since I was looking for some more films to add to my rentals list, this film was added.

Little did I know, how big this film was. The number of Academy Award nominations and great actor's involved in the project is something to be noticed. It was one of those films where I was astounded at the number of recognisable faces who were all turning in great performances. In my continued effort to keep my reviews short, I'll sum up how I felt about the movie very quickly. Terrence Malick's film feels like an entirely character based piece, and I can almost guarantee it's nothing like you've seen before. War is only the backdrop, the main focus is purely on the characters. Even with the big advancement on the hill that is the centre piece of the film, I couldn't help but feel the film was about these men fighting the war, the individuals who are losing friends and standing up to authority as part of their everyday lives. Things everyone can relate to at a certain level. It is almost three hours long but some of the visuals are astounding. The camera seems to glide unlike anything I've ever seen before, shaky-cam director's take note, this is how action scenes are shot. Another special mention must go to Hans Zimmer's score. It's so good that it's one of the few times I've felt that both the director of the film and the composer of the score are on the exact same page when it comes to setting a tone throughout the film.

There are some great war films out there and when most think of war they think of Saving Private Ryan and rightly so, it is a good film but when it boils down, it feels far too much like a Hollywood blockbuster. The stand out pieces in that film are the action scenes, with the odd typical soldier stereotype thrown in. Still a great film but now, in my opinion, it pales in comparison to The Thin Red Line. Oddly, both Saving Private Ryan and The Thin Red Line were nominated for what is now known as Best Picture at the Academy Awards in 1999. Sadly, both lost to Shakespeare In Love. Has anyone even watched that since 1999? If you feel like you want to see more war films, I suggest you check out The Longest Day also. An amazing cast for it's time and one of the few war movies ever made that has all of the different factions speak in their native tongue. Among the cast: John Wayne, Robert Mitchum and, then future Bond Sean Connery and future Bond baddie Goldfinger, Gert Frobe. The film focuses on showing every side which ends up giving a more human side to all the factions, even the Germans. This also gave me more of a perspective on the D-Day landings than Saving Private Ryan did.

So finally, The Thin Red Line, much better than Saving Private Ryan, though I'm slightly questioning myself. I may need to watch Saving Private Ryan again...

The Thin Red Line - 10/10

So much for keeping it short!
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Do you remember how bad The Happening was? If you do then you'll remember the scene where Marky Mark talks to a plant. Here's a funny, mildly related skit. If you have the time, you should watch all three videos:

Mark Wahlberg Talks To Animals

"Charity is taking an ugly girl to lunch"
Warren Beatty

Onwards and upwards. Well, onwards at least...

I came up with a great idea to help tame my blog postings: to only post about films I see for the first time. It'll cut down heavily since most of the DVD's I buy are films I've seen before. It'll save me a heck of a lot of time. The only problem being that I'm in Glasgow as much I'm at home and it's hard to resist not to go to the cinema.

Yesterday though, I decided I'd do my first "Cinema Day" of the New Year. 3 totally different films, 3 totally different experiences. Plus I think I've seen one of the best and worst films of 2009 in the same day...

FILM

The Spirit - Oh God, where to begin. If this film had been made before Sin City, I may be saying it is at least stylish but a few years after Rodriguez stunned the geeks, Miller attempts the same on his own and fails. Do you remember when American Pie came out and within a year our cinemas and television screens had clogged up with "gross-out" comedies? This is what this feels like, a sub-par rip-off of Sin City.

The only thing you are going to learn from the film is that Eva Mendes is beautiful, but any male (or female) would tell you this is true before seeing the film. Watch the opening 10 minutes of We Own The Night if you need anymore proof.. It almost seems as if director Frank Miller is himself, having some form of affair with the actress. She spends a lot of time in perfect lighting and sexy outfits, perfect for 12 year old boys but c'mon, seeing the film for her alone would be like buying a Girls Aloud CD simply because they're attractive.

A film focussed on Mendes sounds like an overwhelming positive compared to the rest of the film. Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson and leading man Gabriel Macht turn in perfect panto performances. In fact, I take that back, that would be insulting panto. It may be the script or it maybe just the characters but I cringed every time all of them were on screen, and that's when I could see them through my heavy eyelids.

To go back to the inevitable Sin City comparison, The Spirit doesn't feel even half as stylish. Yes it's filmed with VERY similar techniques, but at the end of the day, all I could think of was that this was filmed in a warehouse, something that both 300 and Sin City did before hand. There's a nice tagline: "From the warehouse that brought you Sin City and 300." The Sin City comparisons don't stop there though. For me, the weakest of the Sin City stories was the Marv story and this film seems almost exactly like it, except extended by about 3 times and lead by a man with as much charisma as a tin of beans. It also suffers from the John Woo effect, that filter that is on John Woo movies where the audience is far too dumb to see something run in real time, so the filmmaker feels they must slow everything down. Besides shaky-cam, slow-down is my main pet peeve with most modern movies. Unless it's something particularly powerful like a character death, or a defining moment, I don't want to see slow down. Though maybe that's just me.

I really can't recommend this to anyone, I almost feel as if I should have donated some money to the other people in the cinema for seeing it. There is one line in the film that will always stick out in my mind, and I imagine one day, the same will be said about The Spirit: "You're as dead as Star Trek". Hmmm, how possibly irrelevant when one of the biggest blockbusters of 2009 goes by that title. Watch Sin City again instead.

The Spirit - 1/10 (and only for Eva Mendes)

Che (Part One) - I've never been an overly political person, I understand the importance of politics in society but I don't feel anyone needs to shout their political views from the rooftops. My first encounter with Che Guevara was when someone decided to tell me about how great he was in high school. I couldn't give a damn then and going in almost cold to this, it felt like I was being educated about politics, but in a good way.

Benicio Del Toro, plays the title role and he does it well, apparently it's been a pet project of his for some time. While his performance will no doubt miss Oscar's gaze, it is certainly worth noting and I'm pretty gutted that I don't get to see the film build to it's inevitable conclusion. I'll have to wait instead for Part Two. The film spends very little time on early Guevara and it was only after watching Part One that I realised that this wasn't really about him, as much as it's about the actual revolution.

What action there is in the film, doesn't feel like modern action, if you had to tell me this was filmed 10 years ago I might possibly believe you. I'm unsure whether everyone will have the benefit of seeing it in what I believe is a digital print, but for me, half of how good the film looked was thanks to this. Every leaf and every strand of hair seemed to 'pop' off the screen. The only step that could have made it feel more real would have been to have it in 3D, but everyone knows no good movie is 3D.

The supporting cast are pretty great also, the man who plays Fidel Castro comes off pretty well and I feel I connected in some way with the kids who the revolutionaries pick up around the mid-point. The politics may be a tad irrelevant but there are several statements that still feel as true then as they are now. Che is an important film that everyone should see and so far the best of 2009, the only thing that annoys me is I have to wait for Part Two, lets hope they overlap in the cinema so I can catch a back to back showing in the future.

Che (Part One) 9/10

Four Christmases - I guess a nice way to end the day, though it may have been more relevant a few weeks ago. You know the story, Vince Vaughn has been fattened up for Christmas and Reese Witherspoon and he must travel to each of their parents for Christmas after they get spotted on T.V. The film from here writes itself and I imagine anyone would struggle to come up with a different conclusion but while the film ticks off every cliche, it does so in the nicest way possible. "You can't spell families without lies" is a line repeated several times and for 3/4 of the running time we're told that this is how everyone should think of their family. That is until Daddy Jolie enters and fixes the films moral and then everything turns out alright. Oops, shouldn't have spoiled it.

As much as I didn't want to like it, there are a few jokes which did have me laughing a bit, including a particularly nice Shawshank Redemption reference from Vince Vaughn. Besides Vince Vaughn being only as occasionally funny as he is in any other film, there's nothing else worth watching here. During Four Christmases a couple of thoughts flew through my mind: Having watched Walk The Line again, Reese Witherspoon is much more attractive with dark hair and secondly, why is Iron Man director Jon Favreau in this at all? Maybe for him it's just another mortgage movie.

It's never going to be a winner of anything but if I had to choose between this and The Spirit, I know what I'd watch again. Even if it is a romantic-comedy! Though it's maybe a little too much like Meet The Parents times 4. Pretty bad poster too...

Four Christmases - 4/10


TV

The Wire - A week or so ago, I finished the first 3 episodes of this show and while it is a good show, I'm not yet entirely sold by how supposedly amazing it is. The problem may be that I'm not a fan of cop shows, they just don't appeal to me, no idea why not. I think I probably need to watch the entire first season to enjoy it but it's not one I'm going to rush it and buy yet. It's promising though.

Prison Break - I've now caught up to the end of Season Three, so I'm a bit behind but Season Three was particularly good. The show benefited from a shorter season and like Lost, it's third was better than it's second. It's almost implausible and unlikely but the show really sells the possibility of all these out-there events actually happening. It certainly had me hooked and yes, Michael Schofield has now broken out of two prisons. Roll on Season Four.

Lost - Two weeks before the first episode of the penultimate season goes live but advance word (that review doesn't spoil anything from Season 5 at all, thankfully) is that the opening of the season is as good, if not better than season five. This is what I'm looking forward to most in 2009, though I'm going to be a nervous wreck by this time next year. Since I know there are one or two people reading this who are catching up on Lost, I tried to find a good non-spoiler photo. Since I was unsuccessful, I decided a nice photo of Evangeline Lilly would suffice.
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If you haven't checked this out yet, then you should now, no excuses:

Another Star Wars Robot Chicken Classic



"The problem with London is the tourists - they cause the congestion. If we could just stop tourism we could stop the congestion."
Prince Philip

An Odd Coincidence

This morning before work, I stuck on BBC News 24 and among the news, a story about the new Doctor, Matt Smith. I've never sat and watched the show so I was entirely not bothered by the announcement. So this evening, I stick on the Special Features for In Bruges and during the deleted scenes (Chapter 16 to be exact) there is a flashback of Harry life, who is only played by Ralph Fiennes in the film. The scene shows a young Harry entering a police station and chopping off a man's head. Guess who plays the young Harry? Yep, the new Doctor Who, Matt Smith:

FILM

In Bruges - The only film I've watched in the past few days and a film that was a good second viewing. This black comedy with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson is quite simple and ultimately very character based. One hates Bruges and one loves Bruges, one pays the world great respect and the other is offensive to everyone and everything and the friendship between both of the leads is made so much more believable simply because they counteract each other perfectly. I'd say the film could be about how everyone has a different way of looking at the world. Ken sees the world the way a very classic, older generation way and Ray has a very immature Un-PC opinion of it all. The film isn't simply a comedy however, the drama of Ray's back story is quite intense and adds a twist to anything you've ever seen in gangster films.

It's definitely dark and it's definitely a comedy and if you don't mind some very offensive language you'll love it too. Just when you thought Colin Farrell had gone mad...he needs to avoid Hollywood for a while.

In Bruges - 8/10

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For some fun, check this out, It's been around for a good while though. Beware, classic films moments may be destroyed forever:

FUN STUFF!


"I am responsible for all of my mistakes, and so are you"
George W. Bush

Nappy Yew Hear!

I finished my first draft for Richard this week so I've watched many films, clearing my feet (almost literally) from DVD's. Quite a few different films here, thankfully, I've kept it short! More Lolcats!

FILM

Transformers - Great, dumb entertainment. The sort of film I would have watched every day after school if it was out when I was younger. Great special effects (explain to me how bad CGI polar bears won the Oscar) and an attractive cast. Some great voices and bit players also. Not the deepest film you'll see but if you're looking for a nice big Hollywood blockbuster you can't go wrong with this. I enjoyed the film much more on this second viewing, a good Christmas Day distraction.

Transformers - 8/10

Yes Man - We only went to see this because there was nothing good that I hadn't already seen available. An entertaining film, not one I'll ever watch again but some decent sequences and gags and a good throwback to 10+ years ago with some classic Carrey. There was one thing I found scary though, Zooey Deschanel must be young enough to be Jim Carrey's daughter. Anyway, a nice comedy that plays perfectly into the formula laid down by Bruce Almighty and Liar Liar but unlike those films, I won't catch it again.

Yes Man - 6/10

Cloverfield - I forgot how good this film was and this time around (3rd watch) I enjoyed it more than ever. The film is simply a monster movie shot Blair Witch Project style but I found the effects just as astounding as they were in the cinema. On DVD it does loose a little of it's spectacle but I watched it twice in the cinema so I never felt I missed out, as most seeing it on DVD will. The film is something to be seen, the slow reveal of the monster is ingenious and when the film hits the hour mark you know exactly what the threat is and you'll become glad of the slow setup. The acting is a tad dodgy, but this is a monster movie and as far fetched as the story setup is, could you be sure you wouldn't act differently? The only real fault I have with the film is the final reveal of the monster. The special features reveal that producer J.J. Abrams felt that we had been with the monster for so long that the audience would feel disappointed if we didn't really see it. I understand the reasoning behind it but it let's the film down for going on for just a few seconds too long, the previous scene gives enough of the monster.

Obviously, there's going to be a sequel and I'm unsure whether this is a good thing. But the idea that the monster itself is a baby lost in an unknown setting gives lots of room for expansion. Watch it now without all the hype there was a year ago. Much better than Godzilla at least...

Cloverfield - 9/10

Diamonds Are Forever - Yep, another classic and the final Sean Connery Bond movie. The film is partly set in Vegas and this leads to an interesting car chase before the duplicate Blofeld's show up sometime later. Charles Gray's Blofeld comes off as being very fussy, giving a totally different angle to the character setup (fully on-screen) by Donald Pleasance. Thankfully, Gray comes off as a far less cartoon-ish than Telly Savalas did in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Sean Connery does look a little older and greyer than before but nowhere near as old as Roger Moore was later in the series. This film goes back again to a more 'Hollywood-y' Bond than the more character based On Her Majesty's Secret Service and within the first 10 minutes, I felt like I was right back home with James Bond.

There are two characters however, that lift this film from being at the level of Goldfinger and You Only Live Twice to the level of a franchise landmark. These characters are of course the homosexual assassins Mr Kidd and Mr Wint, played by Putter Smith and Bruce (father of Crispin) Glover. These characters could almost have had a spin-off series on their own. They steal every scene they are in with their dark, twisted, dry sense of humour and assassinations which, for the time, was quite controversial to have two characters be homosexual. Thanks to these two characters and the presence of Connery and a credible plot, this film is so far my favourite in my revisit to the Bond series. 7 down, 15 to go...

Diamonds Are Forever - 9/10

The Game - The only David Fincher film I hadn't seen (Benjamin Button reaches these shores in February)and while it's not his best, it's certainly not Alien 3, which you'll argue isn't his anyway. The film starts out great, though feels a little too much like Total Recall, with Michael Douglas receiving a gift from his brother which allows him entry to a game that will change his life. Once he meets the company, Douglas is soon part of some strange events, wondering whether he is or is not playing The Game. Clever title. The film plays out like most thrillers but since David Fincher was at the helm, I had my suspicions about every item and every character throughout. While I don't want to spoil it for anyone, the ending wasn't what I expected at all, but a nice little twist.

The film is, at least to the best of my memory, better than Panic Room. Another Fincher thriller that starred now Oscar winner Forest Whitaker and a pre-30 Seconds To Mars Jared Leto. I'll be revisting Panic Room soon though, under £4 on Amazon? I bought that. So if, like me, you enjoy David Fincher's films (some of his music videos are quite good also, check out the Nine Inch Nails - Only video) this is definetly one to see but don't go expecting anything quite as good as Seven, Zodiac or Fight Club. Zodiac is due to arrive in the post soon also, too much of Fincher?

The Game - 7/10

Live And Let Die - Another Bond and the first Roger Moore which I've returned to. It has possibly the best Bond theme ever and it has several other things going to it also. Moore brings a more tongue-in-cheek tone to this Bond and the film includes more cheesy one-liners than most of the early Bond's put together. This is both a gift and a curse. It's a refreshing take from Sean Connery's Bond but it soon becomes a bit tiresome. Other flaws in the film include a boat chase that is just a little too long, the horrible comic relief of the Sheriff Pepper character and over the top blaxpoitation themes. Never in a Bond film did I think I'd hear terms like "honky" and "cueball". The series has always been a reflection of the world they are in at the time of their making but this seems to go a bit TOO far. The liner notes claim that this does not date the film, while I'd argue the opposite.

It has it's positives though, the plot is decent and has a very realistic Jamaican drug smuggler played by Yaphet Kotto, who you'll know from Alien. The most memorable character from the film is Baron Samedi (which translates as 'Baron Saturday'). Yes, the whole voodoo thing doesn't perfectly fit with Bond but he is such an entertaining character that it adds another refreshing layer to the 8th film. A young Jane Seymour plays Solitare who is a clairvoyant that can see the future, though once she is 'intimate' with Bond, she loses her power. Another nice little touch.

The film is the first to give a little more background to James Bond as well, when we see his home. It's nothing spectacular but I thought it was a nice little touch.

Live And Let Die - 7/10

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"On What?"
Chris Eubank, when asked if he had thought about writing an autobiography.