Elysium - Review

In this futuristic sci-fi directed by Neill Blomkamp, the earth has become diseased and over-populated, leading to the rich boarding shuttles to a man-made space station orbiting earth named Elysium, where diseases can be cured in a heartbeat and a life of luxury is lived by all inhabitant, whilst the poor have to live in poverty and diseased on Earth. Max (Matt Damon) is a factory line worker who hasn't had the best past, trouble with the police has made him a target for both the security guard robots on Earth and also his boss. When one day, Max is directly exposed to radiation in the factory, he is told he has five days to live. In his mind, he has five days to get to Elysium, and this film follows his journey to do just that.

With a plot that features space ships, space stations and robots as recurring characters, Elysium shows off our ability to create truly believable environments through CGI and watching the film excited me regarding the potential of both our current films and also the future of cinema. Earth in the film sees endless tall buildings and crowds of people in a dusty and unclean environment, a chilling reminder of our current population problems and rich/poor divides and an exaggerated portrayal of them being our ruin as a race. Humorous at parts and full of action, the film is just as exciting and enjoyable as it is eerily creepy, with parts reminiscent of a video game, the fight scenes are amazing, Blomkamp presents us with unique angles and ways of showing the action, capturing the audiences attention and making the experience a thrilling one, as opposed to one that gets lost among all the other fight scenes we've ever watched.

The character of Kruger (Sharlto Copley) is presented as a genuinely scary, psychopathic villain. His introduction as a hooded man working undercover on Earth gives him a veiled background and allows our imagination to create our own dark beginnings for the character. His face being destroyed and rebuilt by the technology on Elysium makes him seem almost invincible, that behind all of this technology that is causing disruption and unfairness, there are also terrible humans. Matching Max's strengthened outfit, we feel that Kruger is a genuine threat to our hero's journey and the fight scene between the two near the end of the film was one of my favourite moments. Whilst on the topic of the bad guys, Jodie Foster plays an awful member of the Elysium council, allowing death to happen all around her without her batting an eyelid. Blomkamp has villains sussed out in this film, with the combination of robots and humans, the threat is ever present, seaming the film together with an overwhelming sense of tension throughout.

Outside of the obvious themes, questions are raised regarding our quick technological advancements. The idea that if we were able to simple cure diseases, there would be an injustice, is raised, surely the rich would be entitled to a better service, widening the gap between the poor and the well off and resulting in injustice towards those with little money. A lot of political thoughts came to me after watching this film, it's portrayal of a society gone corrupt enabled me to question for myself the direction in which our world is heading. The scariest part of watching sci-fi films is that elements of truth may be involved, this film is well thought out, beautifully written and oh, so thought provoking. The acclaimed director of District 9 does not disappoint with this wonderful follow up.

Frankenweenie - Review

In Tim Burton's 2012 adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic novel, Frankenstein, Frankenweenie tells of a young boy, Victor, who, after his dog dies, finds a way to bring him back to life, when his classmates find out of his endeavours, they plan to discover how he did it, steal his idea and win the science fair. All does not go to plan and chaos is let loose on the town of New Holland, it's up to Victor and his dog, Sparky, to save the day.

German expressionism is a clear influence for a lot of the scenes in this film, being highly stylised and released in black and white, the film incorporates features of the 1920s movement so effortlessly giving it a dated feel although it is 3D stop motion animation which uses highly advanced technology. The constant use of shadows for dramatic effect and characters looking extremely pale with dark eyes portrays beautifully the gothic roots of the story, with Shelley being one of the most prominent authors of gothic literature, and also cements it stylistically as a 'Tim Burton film', with dark visuals and peculiar creatures becoming common features of the auteur's work.

The characters of this animated feature are brought to life with as much realism as any non-animated feature achieves, the movement of the animals in particular is something which struck me as masterfully done. The characterisation is brilliant meaning that the ending is emotionally engaging, for a moment we forget we are watching a digitally created image and connect with the story and characters of this fictional town, even when we are looking at stitched up dogs, cats combined with bats and giant sea monkeys, the film never strikes you as something false, instead it instantly makes use of the your imagination, suspending your disbelief almost without you realising it. The visuals and narrative combined make for a whimsical nightmare that you don't want to wake up from.

Tim Burton's extensive knowledge on film is shown in many subtle references throughout Frankenweenie, be it the creation of a giant lizard destroying the town reminding us of Godzilla, Sparky's love interest poodle donning the hairstyle of Valerie Hobson in The Bride of Frankenstein or even a direct reconstruction of Nosferatu's shadow climbing up the stairs. The references add an element of fun to a crazy plot, allowing audience members a moment to appreciate the influences that these iconic films have on modern cinema.
Frankenweenie is dark, dangerous and decadent, Tim Burton shows his experience in the animation field and lets his competition know he isn't about to step down any time soon. Frankenweenie contains everything you could want in an animated film, the excitement never stops. With quirky characters and an idea that only Tim Burton could write, this Oscar nominated feature is truly wonderful.

Reviewing Recent Trailers

Every so often I like to make a post about upcoming films, sharing interesting trailers and discussing my opinion on how I think the film will be. This is one of those posts.

Film: Parkland

Directed by: Peter Landesman

UK release date: 8th November

Being Landesman directorial debut, Parkland looks like it could be one of the less hyped films to look out for in Hollywood this year. Based on the shooting of JFK, the film follows in the footsteps of some of the most talked about films of 2012, ones based on real life events, with films such as Argo, Zero Dark Thirty & Lincoln all basing their narratives on real events, and all getting Best Picture nominations at the Oscars, Parkland seems to be an interesting look at the effects of the shooting on a variety of people including a photographer and a doctor.

Film: Pompeii

Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson

UK release date: 28th February (2014)

Although the film is released a while away, the hype for it is huge. The trailer for this historical action film doesn't really give much away, but it tells of a young man's journey to save his lover and his friend in the days leading up to Mt. Vesuvius' eruption. With the eruption of the volcano being evident simply in the film's title, I think that Pompeii has the capacity for a huge build up of tension and excitement throughout, and with a lot of fans of Kit Harington due to his success on Game of Thrones already on board with the film, the film should see a lot of sell out cinemas over the opening weekend.

Film: The Book Thief

Directed by: Brian Percival

UK release date: 31st January (2014)

Based on a massively popular historical fiction novel, The Book Thief has amassed thousands upon thousands of fans over the years of it's publication, with it set to hit the big screen in a few months time, the adaption will be highly anticipated by many, and as all adaptations are, highly criticised by many. The trailer looks interesting and without giving too much of the story away, possibly to encourage book sales until the movie's release, looks like it is set to be a poignant and heartbreaking story of a young girl caught up in the destructiveness of World War 2 Germany. 

Film: Her

Directed by: Spike Jonze

UK release date: 31st January (2014)

Genuinely looking to be one of the most interesting films to come out in a long time, the trailer for Her is so capturing that I feel it is needed on this list. The plot looks to intriguing and saddening, the cast is filled with some of the most terrific actors and actresses around at the moment and the style seems so delicate and pure. If you go and see one film a year, go and see this film, I have really, really high hopes and I know that it will be brilliant.

Mister Lonely - Review

Ever since one of my favourite films of the year, Spring Breakers, came to my attention, I have been meaning to look into the history of films directed by Harmony Korine, watch them all and try and get acquainted with the roots of Korine's career in which elements of Spring Breakers style may have come from. Whilst watching films from his (extremely short) filmography (only 5 feature films long, including Spring Breakers), I encountered Mister Lonely and have been blown away ever since watching it by the amount I have been thinking into the themes and characters, relating to it and just reminiscing over how much fun I had watching it and couldn't think otherwise than to write about how much I enjoyed it.

Mister Lonely has two separate plots, the main one revolving around a Michael Jackson impersonator who meets a Marilyn Monroe impersonator in Paris and travels to Scotland in order to live with her and her husband, a Charlie Chaplin impersonator, her daughter, a Shirley Temple impersonator and many other impersonators. The group are striving to build a stage on their land and perform in the greatest show the world has ever seen. This characters of this portion of the plot are living their life through the image of their chosen celebrity and in isolation from the general public for most of their screen time, meaning their lack of awareness of the outside world is uncomfortable to watch for viewers. We feel as if we are intruding on a group of mentally unstable people's lives and that isn't something that is easy to watch, but as the running time of the film moves along, there is almost a beauty in the delusion of these people, choosing to live their own non conformist lives. These people choosing to live in their own bubble are perhaps a throwback to Korine's troubles with a heroin addiction prior to the production of this film, the lack of responsibilities that a heroin user feels when he is on the drug are personified into these outrageous characters and plot.

The subplot of the film shows a group of nuns working with people in a poor country. When, in a freak accident, one of the nuns falls out of an aeroplane without a parachute and survives, she tells the other nuns that it must be God's plan for them and a way of him testing their faith. Whilst the film only cuts to this subplot a few times, we see the final result of the nuns all boarding a plane to the Vatican and it crashing into the ocean. It appears that Korine is showing extreme contempt for the idea of everyone having their own destiny, and someone else being in control of their lives. The nuns, who do not even second guess that the one surviving nun must be telling the truth, are ridiculed in their comedic death, they are made to look like complete idiots, and perhaps I am looking into this film too much as autobiographical on behalf of Harmony Korine, but I read between the lines that in order to successfully live your life, you have to live the path that you decide for yourself and not think much more into it.

The film, shot in Korine's typically gritty framing, lighting and movement, shows just how brilliant a film can be when you do not insult the audience's intelligence and spoon feed them your messages. Art is subjective, and therefore so is every film, and whether people take Mister Lonely as a fictional piece of work with interesting characters and a quirky plot or as a film very closely linked to the life of the director is up to them, the fact of the matter is that what Korine produced is an interesting and thought provoking piece of film with beautifully written monologues contrasting with an anti-Hollywood style of production. Harmony Korine is the king of independent dramas and Mister Lonely is the crown jewels.

Another Earth - Review

A young girl crashes her car head-on into a family of 3 and a half after a drunken night of celebrating being accepted into college. The crash kills both the mother and her son in the car, as well as the unborn child in the woman's body, leaving John (William Mapother), a composer and lecturer at Yale and Rhoda (Brit Marling), the young girl, as the sole survivors of the accident. After four years in a prison, and the uncovering of a planet identical to Earth in that time, Rhoda is released, and finds out who the other survivor of the crash is, with the intention of confessing her crime to him and apologising. When her courage defies her and she struggles to articulate her confession, an unlikely bond forms between the pair.

Another Earth is an extremely strong debut from director Mike Cahill, focusing on the character of Rhoda, and the effects that the one mistake she made as a teenager has permanently on her life, the film deals with extremely dark and thought provoking themes, giving the impression that it was made under the control of an experienced director, not a virgin to the feature film. The discovery and uncovering of the second planet in the film serves beautifully as a metaphor for the journey of self exploration that Rhoda is undergoing, the mirrored actions of the two worlds force characters to accept the fact that they may possibly have to come into contact with.. themselves. The awakening of this idea regarding the type of person the characters would like to see in comparison to, perhaps, the version of themselves in which they currently are is one of the most important aspects of the film and definitely the most transcending, for me. Solidified by (spoiler alert) Rhoda meeting her mirrored self at the end of the film, the last image we see being the two versions of her looking at each other, Cahill definitely chose to highlight the importance of this idea both inside the diegesis and outside.

A story of deceit, regret, love and tragedy, the film is an exciting example of the wonders that are capable from debut directors and a true credit to modern independent cinema. The film has received critical acclaim, winning the Special Jury prize at the 2011 Sundance film festival, and quite rightly so, the film boasts a thematically strong script, and complemented by the raw acting talent of Brit Marling, the film is flies by. I was strongly engaged in the relationship between Rhoda and John, the characters were both so obviously scarred from the incident four years ago, and the tense conversations were so naturally performed that I forgot about the science fiction element going on outside the house and was engulfed in the realism that the relationship was presenting.
Brilliantly tugging all of my emotional strings simultaneously, this film presents the viewer with a journey that doesn't end with the closing credits, beautifully written and beautifully shot, the film shows a lot of potential for the young director and stars involved.

The Fly - Review

David Cronenberg's 1986 gore filled horror film, The Fly, has gained cult status among movie fans throughout the years. With its comic book violence and graphic make up, the film embodies everything good about '80s horror. The plot is simple, a scientist (Jeff Goldblum) working on a teleportation device decides one drunken night to test it on himself, everything seemingly goes to plan until strange changes start to appear on the scientists body. It is revealed that a fly had got into the machine with the scientist and the computer responsible for teleporting the object fused the two, the man and the fly, together.

Choosing to look primarily on how the deformation of Brundle, the scientist, affects his once blossoming relationship with Veronica (Geena Davis), Cronenberg focuses heavily on characters in the film, ignoring the cheap scares and pointless horror that is featured in many other films of the same genre. Cronenberg uses the transformation of Brundle's physical appearance, from handsome man in a suit to a beast that the audience struggles to look at without wincing, as a representation of his connection with Veronica. The interest thereby comes in two forms, one, in the repulsive features of the changed Brundle, a physical display of horror, and two, the lack of humanity that is evident in the way he speaks, walks and thinks. We do not question Veronica's fear of the new Brundle as we have the exact same fear within ourselves when he comes on screen, Cronenberg masterfully puts viewers in the shoes of the female character, forcing them to forget the passionate, human, scientist we once watched and focusing on what can only be described as an animal. Using horror as a form of telling the story and allowing the audience to understand characters more, the film chooses narrative as a priority over scares, something that relates directly to the success of the film, in my opinion.

The script is written, with many quotable phrases featured, "Be afraid. Be very afraid.", and perfectly combining science fiction and horror, showing off the new technology of the '80s and also the advancements of prosthetics. This film attempts to hammer the final nail into the coffin of horror films made previously to The Fly, screaming "Welcome to the '80s" at the top of it's lungs, we see a huge contrast in this film to the popular horrors of the '70s, with The Exorsist, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Halloween appearing to be worlds away from a film such as this. Aside from the advancements in technology shown both in the film and through the camerawork, the lack of discretion regarding the graphicness of the attacks shown in the film also proves Cronenberg wanted to set this film apart from the rest. In mainstream cinema, people would have been, and perhaps still are, discomforted by bones sticking out of wrists and baboons being blown to bits, but Cronenberg was aware of the advancements of cinema and the new features that were available in regards to special effects and camera tricks. No rating was going to stop him from displaying the possibilities of the developing film form, and with the film going straight to an 18 rating in the UK and an R rating in the US, no rating did stop him. 'If we could now show bones breaking and baboons exploding, the people should be able to watch bones breaking and baboons exploding' seems to be the mentality he went for in regards to the more graphic side of the film.

This film is really, really important in regards to the development of the horror film as we know it. With a strong plot and a clever mind behind the whole project, the film is a lot of fun to watch, featuring 'cover your eye' moments and laugh out loud moments, the film is a staple in any horror fan's collection.

Half Nelson - Review

"One thing doesn't make a man."
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) is a teacher at a high school in inner city New York. He is also a man struggling with a crack addiction. Half Nelson explores the two extremely separate lives this broken man lives, and the consequences of those lives meeting when one of his students finds out about his addiction and an unlikely friendship develops between the two characters.

The most immediate point of conversation regarding this film is Ryan Gosling's Academy Award nominated performance. From scenes where his character is teaching history to his class to ones of him lying on a bathroom floor after smoking too much crack, we never forget that the character we are following is fragile and in need of help. Living a predominantly solitary life, a lot of the acting comes not in the form of dialogue but in movements and subtle expressions, when watching Gosling's performance, one would never have guessed he was the same actor as the happy go lucky character we see in Crazy, Stupid, Love or the youthful and romantic portrayal he gave us in The Notebook. Dunne's choices and unawareness of the harm he is bringing to the children he cares so much about through his supporting of local drug dealers is infuriating to watch, the film presents drug addiction so poignantly as a character flaw, not as something that defines a character, and the anger that is stirred in the viewer regarding Dunne's lack of ability to look past the positive effects of his addiction is accompanied by a deep, most sincere sympathy. This film is without a doubt one of the most thought provoking and emotion-inducing independent films I have watched in a long time.

The film is a debut from director Ryan Fleck, and the haunting themes it deals with so effortlessly are moving to the point of tears at times. Fleck fired himself head-on into the independent film scene, proving himself to be a more than capable director and screenwriter and the combination of such well written characters with detailed backgrounds and the interesting shooting style (natural looking lighting, hand held shots - reminding me of Dog Day Afternoon), the film screams realism at the viewer, allowing a much deeper and more believable engagement with both the characters and the plot. The film was a roaring success when it circulated the 2006 film festivals and quite rightly so, showing that you don't need masses of experience in order to make a film that blows people away, Half Nelson is a treasure, one that will keep its sentimentality for years to come and should not be passed up on watching.

The Conjuring - Review

It appears that James Wan took every single cliche feature of every horror film of the past 20 years, put them in a large mixing bowl, added a shitty script and some half-assed acting and put it in the oven to bake for 112 minutes. The cake we receive at the end of the running time is burnt, bland and tasteless. Excuse the metaphor, but it's the only thing that I felt could liven up this review that is quite frankly going to slate the entire film.

Directing such great horror films as Insidious and Saw, James Wan should have the genre completely sussed out. With these two films, I felt genuine respect for the director, they were ground breaking plot wise and really, really scary, with The Conjuring, however, I don't think I've ever been so disappointed whilst watching a film- perhaps an overstatement but anyway, lets continue. With a sold out cinema on a tuesday night several weeks into the film's release, everybody in the theatre was giddy when the opening titles played, awkwardly laughing in order to hide their nerves from their friends or their dates. The awkward laughter quickly turned to full fledged hilarity before the film had even hit half of the running time. The predictable 'scares' (if they can be called that), attempts at creating dramatic tension along with the plot taking itself far too seriously meant that the once nervous crowd had to remind themselves that this film wasn't a joke throughout. I, myself, felt like checking my phone half way through the feature just to clarify that this wasn't a parody of every shitty horror film ever made. Sadly, it wasn't.

Disregarding the fact that it was based on a true story, the character's were too many for the audience to even try and feel a connection to any one of them during the 1 hour 50 minutes of the film, meaning the connection, or lack thereof, we were meant to share with these characters, only identifiable through the fact we are of the same species, rendered the psychological horror aspects of the film useless. I did not care about a single character in this film, in fact, I was hoping a few of them would die off in order for me to possibly remember the names of some of them, sadly my wishes weren't granted. Without psychological scares, we are left with jump scares, and jump scares only to scare us, and giving them the credit they deserve, there were a few shouts from unsuspecting audience members who had quite clearly never seen a horror film before and were not aware of the lack of originality in the build up to these events, but for the most part, there were no surprises in the hands, faces and slamming doors meant to shock viewers.

Following another of the popular features of horror at the moment, The Conjuring uses home video cameras in order to give us a more edgy view of the events occurring. Whether the effect of these clips was to make us feel more intimate with the characters and closer to the events occurring, or whether they were used in order to give the audience a genuine headache (only one of which was effective), I don't know, however the only thing displayed to me through this feature was once again the unoriginality of the whole project.

I understand the one sided-ness of this review, but I honestly cannot remember any redeeming qualities the film offered besides the ending, which I thought was shot so poignantly and was moving, it's a shame that I had no interest in any of the character's well beings after I had just sat through almost two hours of garbage. The film is full of cheap thrills and is no different from any of the other bad horror films being produced at the moment, therefore it is not to say that people who enjoyed films such as The Purge or Texas Chainsaw 3D will not be mind blown by this feature, but for me, it didn't really cut it. Perhaps my expectations were too high from the director's previous works and the circulating reviews I happened to read before watching it, or perhaps I am missing something that most other bloggers and critics are picking up on, the fact of the matter is that I gained nothing from watching this film except a whole lot of laughter.

(I do really, really, dislike writing bad reviews and will rarely post on a film that I saw no good in, but before I went and watched The Conjuring I was dead set on writing something about it because I was expecting something so brilliant, but go and see the film, watch it and make your own mind up, prove me wrong, tell me about all the ways in which the film excited you, scared you and was original, I am such an open minded person that I enjoy listening and reading other people's views on the film).

My letterbox'd review summarises this post for those who did not read it all:

Hitchcock Statistics: Happy Birthday Sir Alfred Hitchcock

In honour of my favourite (and the most flawless) director there ever was, Alfred Hitchcock's, birthday, I found some interesting statistical Alfred Hitchcock information posters. 

Happy birthday Hitch, my life would most definitely not be the same without you.

Deconstructing The Machinist

When a films ending features some kind of ambiguity, one of my favourite things to do is read people's thoughts on the meaning behind certain aspects of the movie, and with The Machinist's ending leaving many stones unturned, it is a fun one to discuss.
This is the obvious spoiler alert. This post will contain key plot points of the film, if you haven't seen it, I suggest you watch the film and then come back to read.

The first point of discussion is the character of Ivan. The only thing Trevor says in regards to who the character is, is "I know who you are". I think it is fairly certain that Ivan is some sort of physical representation of Trevor's conscience after killing the child. Weaving through red lights with no reactions from cars of pedestrians, nobody knowing who he is in the place he claims to work, it is obvious that only Trevor can see him. Whether he is a hallucination due to his lack of sleep and clearly deteriorating health, or whether Trevor is a schizophrenic are both topics left for viewer discussion, all we know is that the character is only important to Trevor.

A more interesting discussion arises when the question of whether Trevor is already dead during the whole film, and is in purgatory whilst he is denying his sins. Some of the main causes for this theory are the flashback scene after he hits Nicholas with his car. We see Trevor driving away, driving through the same tunnel we have seen him drive before, he is driving in his red car towards a white light (the light of the day outside the tunnel). Previously in the film, he is following Ivan in the red car, and almost crashes, then his truck stops working and he is forced to pull over to the side of the road. Was this near crash an actual crash when Trevor was alive? Hence why he cannot drive any further, is he bound to the area in which he committed his crime, being reminded constantly and prompted to confess to his sins? The car crash point is solidified when Trevor goes to the police in order to track down the address of the red car's numberplate and they tell him that he totalled the car in a wreck.

The Route 666 ride can be seen as representing Trevor's life, with a car wreck, a dead body on the ground and numerous other things, it is obvious that Trevor is extremely uncomfortable in the wreck, being reminded of the parts of his life in which he chooses not to remember. The ending of the ride, choosing the Highway to Hell or the Road to Salvation is a reminder to Trevor of the choices he has to make as a person, and when he tells Nicholas to choose the Road to Salvation and Nicholas chooses the opposite, it shows us that Trevor cannot just take a backseat (in this case, the backseat represents not being in control and responsible for his actions) and take the Road to Salvation, in order to get rid of the terror that haunts him he needs to become responsible.

The final shots of Trevor being escorted to his police cell with his desire to sleep, something he was unable to do in the purgatory he was in, shows he has acted and chosen to take the Road to Salvation. The entirely white room seems almost a heaven, and his overwhelming desire to sleep due to the conscience being taken off his back shows that whatever stage he was just in is now over.

Midnight in Paris - Review

A writer's wet dream come true, in Midnight in Paris, Gil (Owen Wilson), a screenwriter and hopeful novelist is holidaying in Paris with his fiancé and her family. When, on a stroll around the midnight streets of the city, he is invited into a car full of people and taken to a party, he quickly realises he has travelled back in time to his image of the 'Golden Age', 1920s Paris. Partying with Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, meeting Ernest Hemingway, Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dali and Man Ray in a bar and having Gertrude Stein critique his writing whilst arguing with Pablo Picasso, Gil is having the time of his life, which continues when he meets, and is attracted to, Adriana, a French girl living in the 20s. When the confusion of living in two moments in time becomes too much and they start interfering with each other, Gil is forced to choose between the time of his life or his real life.

The originality and playfulness of the script is one of the main factors which makes this film as enjoyable as it is. I'm sure Woody Allen had the most fun of his career re-writing historical figures to be just like any other characters in his film, and the relationships between the fictional characters, that is, those made completely from Allen's imagination, and the characters based on important artists and author's, is humbling, showing a humanisation of these names that are drilled into all of us during our time at school. Our knowledge of the figures presented prior to the film is a pulling factor in regards to us wanting to know more about them as minor characters on Gil's journey, and the addition of them to the plot allows Allen to make a point regarding our illusions of these figures as perfect examples of artists and novelists, our idealised visions of their lives are smashed instantly with suicide attempts and affairs, history is well and truly being rewritten.

The Fitzgeralds.

The film opens with a series of shots of Paris, and it seems that throughout the film there is always a constant infatuation with the beauty of the city. Be it the architecture and the cafes, or the creatively minded type of people which Paris attracts, the film never tires of the location, presenting itself, as well as Gil, as a love-stricken tourist. The cinematography is beautiful also, the lavish parties are presented as whimsical and dream-like, making the viewers second-guess the validity of the things we are seeing, therefore by default we appreciate Gil's lack of understanding of his new environment. 

Rachel McAdams plays Inez, Gil's fiancé who is very in touch with reality, her performance is not entirely breathtaking but believable, and the lack of any real interest in her character brings the audience to feel sympathetic towards Gil, a creatively minded person who's not taken seriously by the people closest to him. The most memorable performances are those of the actors playing historical figures. Tom Hiddleston plays a kind F. Scott Fitzgerald, Corey Stoll a witty and drunk Ernest Hemingway and Adrien Brody the eccentric Salvador Dali.

The film breaks down the modern person's created image of past eras and bluntly discourages ideological thinking, emphasising that history continually repeats itself, people, in years to come, will look at our generation as the perfect one to live in, however what Allen states with this film is that each era faces the same problems, we are all human and will always have our flaws, cheating on partners, alcoholism and suicide are eternal traits of our characters. The film is a really interesting watch, exploring both the troubles of creating art in the modern world and also that of the world in which a lot of our inspiration comes from, it is humbling to think about the wider themes the film presents, set in a romantic comedy following a troubled couple holiday in Paris.

Se7en - Review

Mills (Brad Pitt) and Somerset (Morgan Freeman)'s detective skills are put to the ultimate test in Se7en, when a serial killer seemingly targets random victims, torturing them and playing with their deaths. It is not until after several murders that the detectives realise the killer is murdering people for the sins they commit. Keen on enlightening the detectives, and anyone who will listen to him, of people around the city every day committing some of the seven deadly sins, the serial killer (an uncredited Kevin Spacey) feels he is doing no wrong in forcing death upon these sinners. It takes all that the detectives have, and playing by his rules, to catch up to the murderer who appears to be constantly one step ahead of them, and when they do catch up to him, with two sinners left to complete a murder for each on the list, an unexpected twist presents itself to Mills and Somerset.

David Fincher has proved himself able to produce brilliant thrillers with the likes of Fight Club and Zodiac, however before both of these films came Se7en. Se7en shows Fincher becoming comfortable in directing a film with an ever-twisting plot, which would become key when directing the likes of Fight Club. With it being only his second ever feature film, the raw talent of Fincher is evident, it seems he has mastered dramatic tension and capturing the emotion of a character just two films in to his career. The film features one of my favourite chase scenes of all time, between John Doe and Mills, from the initial shot of John Doe's gun to the final blow of his crow bar, the chase is fast paced, the gun shots are many and a feeling of genuine excitement consumes viewers. The 'thriller' genre has never been so literal, with just the right amount of drama and just the right amount of action, we are engaged on an emotional level with the characters, yet still get to see them go about their business, dealing with the murdered and the murderer.

A constant uneasiness surrounds the character of John Doe, the murderer, his unpredictable actions and seemingly unstable mind puts genuine fear in the audience and where the two detectives mask their discomfort, the viewer finds it hard to, with Spacey's absolutely outstanding performance, his smug look, high intelligence and distorted morals make it hard for us to identify as the same species as him. Spacey proves himself to be a chameleon actor, able to take on the shape and persona of any character thrown at him, and his performance in Se7en is no exception.
The relationship between Mills and Somerset comes across so natural that you would think Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman were both stubborn work colleagues outside of the film. The build up of tension and little remarks given off by the characters are done with such ease that the relationship is easy to believe and invest in.

Se7en is a film that is hard to write about. The pure brilliance of the seamless overall film leaves even the most attentive viewer too deeply involved in the characters and the plot to make many mental notes regarding criticism of the film. The plot is thick, the acting is brilliant and David Fincher's sophomore film is still one of his best to date. Se7en is a truly exciting film and climbs itself straight to the top end of films in the thriller genre.

Dial M For Murder - Review

There are some Hitchcock films that are often ignored by a lot of people in favour of focusing attention on his bigger budget, box office record smashing films, Dial M for Murder is one of these forgotten gems. Set mainly in one single room, the film sees Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) enlist the help of an old college friend, Captain Lesgate (Anthony Dawson), to murder his wife, Margot (Grace Kelly). When the murder doesn't go quite to plan, and Margot ends up killing Lesgate, Wendice must think fast in order to cover his tracks, and what we get is a cat and mouse chase in a typically suspenseful Hitchcock style feature.

The biggest topic for discussion regarding this film is the extremely thick plot, which was adapted from the play by Frederick Knott. The many twists and turns of the plot are presented to us throughout the whole 1 hour and 45 minutes of screen time that the film runs for, showing Hitchcock's understanding of pacing and how not to overwhelm and audience with information. The plot twists are very often unseen, and the characters, specifically the Inspector, (John Williams) have more knowledge on the events of the night of the murder than the viewer, even though we were the ones that witnessed the deed happening. The murder is meticulously planned out in the film by Wendice, in order to inform Lesgate, and the audience, of the way in which the events should pan out, meaning that when, on the night of the attack, things don't really go to plan, we are already full of suspense over what position Wendice will find himself in and how he will deal with it.

With the remorselessness of Wendice sending shivers down viewer's spines, Ray Milland's performance was brilliant as the sadistic brain behind the murder. Grace Kelly, although being a minor character in terms of how often we see her, shows her perfect fit to the role of the Hitchcock blonde in this film. Her innocence is captured through her lack of awareness of her husband's manipulative side, the audience is immediately sympathetic towards her, even though she is in fact flawed, cheating on her husband with Halliday, however we discover that in Hitchcock's world, there is rarely an unflawed character and therefore should not show contempt for people's flaws, it is only when people's evil is shown that we should express out contempt. The casting for this feature was great, with the actors giving just enough performance so the realism and excitement of the investigation is relatable and not viewed as too much.

Dial M for Murder is definitely not one of Hitchcock's films to skip. Whatever simplicity Hitchcock chose to go with in regards to the technical side of the film and the cinematography is overrun by the winding plot and diverse range of characters, where we are genuinely at a loss as to where the film will go next. A masterpiece of '50s cinema, this film is an example of Hitchcock at his best and most comfortable.

The Week in Review - Trailer Picks

Pick number one: Lone Survivor

Directed by: Peter Berg

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Ludwig

UK Release: February 21st, 2014.

Based on a real failed mission in 2005, Lone Survivor tells of the Navy SEAL team's mission to capture and kill a Taliban leader. With the potential to be a truly moving portrayal of a failed mission, I am really excited to see how the film is constructed, what aspects of the mission it will focus on and how the performance from lead actor Mark Wahlberg will be. 

Pick number two: American Hustle

Directed by: David O. Russell

Starring: Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams

UK Release: 26th December, 2013.

Styled brilliantly in their '70s attire, Bale, Cooper and Adams star in a film about New York con men who work with a fed agent in order to reveal other con artists and scammers such as themselves. With some big star names, this film will see crowds of people heading to the cinemas during the Christmas period, and I will be among them crowds.

Pick number three: Ender's Game

Directed by: Gavin Hood

Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Asa Butterfield

UK Release: 25th October, 2013.

With Young Adult book adaptations taking the film world by storm in the past few years, the trailer for Ender's Game looks like the film will stand with the best. Boasting some good CGI and the king of sci-fi, Harrison Ford, this dystopian apocalyptic film will bring the enthusiasm of young adults to the cinema this autumn.

Pick number four: The Counselor

Directed by: Ridley Scott

Starring: Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem

UK Release: 15th November, 2013.

With some of the most prolific actors in Hollywood at the moment, this film follows a lawyer who gets caught up in the drug smuggling trade. With Ridley Scott as director, the film is my favourite of this list already, the trailer is exciting, the acting is obviously going to be amazing and my trust is fully in Ridley Scott to create the film of the year.

Only God Forgives - Review

After his brother dies, Julian (Gosling) a drug dealer, is confronted by his mother, Crystal (Kristin Scott Thomas), and pushed to seek revenge on his brother's murderer. Choosing not to go ahead with the revenge initially, we see a divide in the family, with Crystal confident that she can find someone else to do the job. However, when countless murders happen and Crystal realises she is alone without protection, she chooses to beg one last time for her son's protection and an end to the trouble.

There was, and still is, a lot of controversy around the latest feature from Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn, with reports that the film was booed at Cannes along with many other negative comments made, it seemed like fans of Refn were expecting a sequel to Drive, his last collaboration with Ryan Gosling, who stars in Only God Forgives, and what viewers got was anything but that.

The film is influenced by avant garde cinema, but too much so to be considered a masterpiece by violence and action fans, yet is also too violent and linear to be considered avant garde, leaving the film in a limbo between genres, and the limbo where it resides is where I feel people's discomfort and dislike of the film comes from. Rather than take the film for what it is, which, in my opinion, is a piece of work that transcends genre boundaries all together, people want a defined piece of work, they want to be told what they are watching and what other films it is similar to, they want comparisons, one word descriptions and a star-rated system, the fact that Refn gives his audience ambiguity in all corners of the film shows the respect he holds for the intelligence of the viewers. The film is set in the East and the majority of viewers are from the West, the underground world of Bangkok in which we are viewing is meant to seem alien to us, this unfamiliarity of culture is mirrored in the unfamiliarity of the film's style, the differences from films set in Westernised countries is meant to detach us from the location, making it seem that bit more dangerous and unknown. It is with this that the film has been misunderstood, people had expectations for the film as opposed to an open mind and their ability to pass judgement on the film as a stand alone piece is tainted by the hauntings of Drive, two years after it was released.

Every single shot of the film looks like it could be framed and put in an art museum, the amount of beauty in each frame is breathtaking, the line "Time to meet the Devil" is spoken at the beginning of the film, making us aware of the nightmare journey we are about to embark on, but slow motion effects are used, making the film seem a lot softer than most dark films, it is a nightmare shot in the style of a dream.

The film's pacing is a little slow, shots are held for long periods of time in order to build tension, with the action and violence not taking up too much screen time, but being memorable when it does for the sheer brutality of it. Along with the pacing not being at super-speed like most thrillers, dialogue is not heavy at all, either, with Refn taking the approach of quality, not quantity. Gosling's character speaks a mere 22 lines throughout the whole 90 minute film. As said previously, the film does not spoon feed information, it requires a close eye and presents the majority of information visually, which is a real pleasure to watch in a time when I feel most director's take for granted the actual ability that a camera has.

Nicolas Winding Refn has definitely proved himself as a force to be reckoned with in the world of indie cinema, with his next feature set for release in 2015, we can only wait and see the direction that the director will take. With Only God Forgives, he has presented himself as one of the top young directors of our generation, making the films that other director's are too afraid to risk making and pushing the limits of cinema as an art form.

Nosferatu Review

Nosferatu is a must watch for fans of horror and/or vampires. Released in 1922, we see Count Orlok showing his interest in purchasing a residence in the city of Wisborg, and Thomas Hutter, and estate agent, having to leave his wife to go and confirm Orlok's request. Orlok, who is soon found out by Hutter to be a Nosferatu (a vampire), sets his sights on Hutter's wife, who is having nightmares and fever-ish conditions caused by Orlok. When Orlok disappears from his home in the 'Land of the Phantoms', Hutter realises that his hometown may be at risk, and what follows is the journey of both men back to Wisborg.

Modern Horror films have shown us that fear can be created through violent murder scenes and that gore is essential in any attack, Nosferatu, an example of a classic horror film, uses nothing of the kind. The horror element of the film comes from what we don't see. When there has been an attack, we are only given a glimpse into the aftermath of the event, seeing the bite marks on the neck of the victim and using our imagination to figure out the ways in which Orlok would have attacked these innocent people, which can be much more gore-filled than any of the modern horror films in theatres today. The appearance and characteristics of Count Orlok, his dark eyes and the fact he is constantly emerging from the darkness, also add to the fear element of the film. The extended shadows of Orlok's eyes combined with his gaunt face add an undead-like appearance to the character, his long, thin body seems almost inhumanely giant when next to the average sized Hutter, and the power in which he holds is evident even when the focus is not on him.

Cross cutting is effectively used in this film to create tension in the audience, we will be set up with a scenario that is going to be horrifying and then the film will cut away to something less dramatic, but with the dramatic scene still lodged in the forefront of our mind, it is as if we had never cut away. A factor that I have always enjoyed and felt added to my fear of Orlok, and one that may not be intentional by director FW Murnau, is the lack of clarity of shots. As the film form had only been around for just over 25 years at the time this film was released, the camera for motion picture was obviously not highly developed, leading to some of the shots being too dark to make out much else than one or two things, this lack of knowing the location being shown puts the audience in an alien environment and therefore an uncomfortable situation, mirroring the trapped position of those being targeted by Orlock.

As the film fits in to the German Expressionist movement, the use of lighting and shadows is key in the film. Elongated shadows of Orlok, with his claw-like hands and his long nose, are key shots in which viewers remember and associate with the film. The moment where Orlok is ascending the stairs in order to reach Hutter's wife, where we only see him by his shadow, is an iconic moment not only in the German Expressionist movement, but in film history as a whole. The constant playful techniques that directors of this movement used make the films so much more fun to watch than modern ones focusing on jump scares and CGI gore.
The film is a delight to watch and comparing Nosferatu to horror films from the past few years such as the remake of Evil Dead and the likes of Saw shows just how much change and development has happened in both audience expectations of horror films and also in the way they are produced. The film is a well-rounded, tense horror film, with a few problems regarding pacing along the way, however the interesting style makes up for what it lacks in the weaker parts of the script and the overall outcome of the film is one that is most definitely a classic in every sense of the word.

A Streetcar Named Desire Review

Elia Kazan's adaptation of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire tells the story of Stella (Kim Hunter) and Stanley (Marlon Brando), a couple expecting a baby whose relationship is put to the test when the deranged Blanche DeBois (Vivian Leigh), Stella's sister, comes and stays with them.

A Streetcar Named Desire was released in 1951, with the '50s being notoriously responsible for films such as Vertigo, Rear Window and Seven Samurai, films that all explored and pushed boundaries in the developing form of film, we see A Streetcar Named Desire step aside from the technological advancements of cinema and focus on the performances given by cast. This leads the film's camerawork to be almost unnoticeable, sticking with static shots for the majority of the feature, allowing us to feel intimacy with the characters, ignore the fact that there is a whole crew of people behind the camera and feel almost as if we are watching it as a play, which it was originally performed as.

The performances from Marlon Brando and Kim Hunter, who were both a part of the original Broadway production of the play, are absolutely breathtaking. Brando's portrayal as the dominant and heavy handed Stanley is so pure, showing the raw talent that Brando had and the genuine connection he had with his character, with it only being his second feature film. Brando and Hunter's performances are so subtly brilliant that it is only until after the film, once we have taken our eyes off of their characters and realised that they are fictional, that we understand just how mesmerising their performances were. Vivian Leigh's portrayal of Stella is a much more Hollywood one, with her feature film career running sixteen years prior to the release of the movie, her experience in playing the dramatic female lead is evident. Her overcompensation in some aspects of her performance runs in correlation with her character's eccentric and dramatic personality, however, and the casting director's were extremely clever when it came to the casting of Blanche DeBois.
It is no surprise to me that three Academy Awards were won for acting in this film, however, it both confuses and angers me how Marlon Brando was not in the list of winners, with his performance being the main brilliance of the film.

The film does stick to the main story of the play, with just a few minor changes due to the obligations required by the Hollywood Code, and doesn't try and jazz up the feature with quirky camerawork or crazy sets, the sets are simple and the camera is static, we are aware from the beginning that we are watching an adaptation and that the narrative and relationships between characters are the most important part of this film. In a time when the world was going crazy for innovational camerawork and technology, the film would have been, and still is, a breath of fresh air that I'm sure no fans of the original play would be disappointed with.

The Darjeeling Limited Review

Wes Anderson is one of the most exciting auteurs of our generation. It seems that each of his films have a certain life given to them that some directors will try their whole life to achieve, The Darjeeling Limited is an example of a film effortlessly thriving with just that excitement and life. 
This 2007 feature tells of three brothers (played by: Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman & Owen Wilson) who are travelling around India in order to regain the bond that they lost the previous year when their father died. After numerous failed spiritual trips and a disruption to their travel plans, the three men find themselves in rural India, and after a fatal accident involving a small child, regrow their bond in places they never thought they would.

The cinematography in this film is stunning, with Robert Yeoman, a long time collaborator with Anderson, responsible. The creative placement of the camera in some shots makes a change from the thousands upon thousands of soulless manufactured films that are released each year and neglect the creative possibilities of the art form. Films directed by Wes Anderson are instantly recognisable as being created by someone who is in love with cinema, Anderson has found actors and crew that get his style of production, and it works for him, allowing him to try interesting camera techniques and the likes with a crew of people who have faith in him. The cinematography is complemented by the breathtaking landscape of both urban and rural India. The shots of the built up areas of India show us bustling towns filled with market stalls and eccentric characters, with quick and snappy camera work, while the exceptional natural beauty of rural India is shown through slow motion editing and less dramatic pans and tilts.

The casting of this film was also a positive, with the three lead actors brilliantly conveying emotions of pent-up frustration through as much as a glance. Owen Wilson's performance sticks out as prime of the three, however whether this is due to his character seemingly being more developed in the writing process than the others or whether his acting abilities add the development to the character, I don't know, but he gave a brilliant performance as the surrogate parent to his brothers and the hilariously deluded figure of reason. The lack of a shining star performance by Brody and Schwartzman coincides with their character's emotional troubles back home, their slightly reserved personalities in comparison to their brother's adds almost a divide to the group, creating tension at even the slightest disagreement on the train, all of this is intentional and brilliant.

The film combines really dark themes such as death and grief with some of the most laugh out loud comedy. With many quotable moments, the film perfectly balances having a substantially moving plot with breaks for laughs and cries, which I feel a lot of films struggle to do, with a lot of recent films focusing too much on the ability to make the audience laugh than to engage with them through narrative. I think it may even be my favourite thing about Wes Anderson, his ability to perfectly balance his films, the moments with music are just enough for the audience to listen to the lyrics and take a message from it, the moments of slow motion are just enough for viewers to admire the framing, the actions of the characters of even just the technical ability of the modern camera.

Wes Anderson's films have just enough of everything you could want, and The Darjeeling Limited is a perfect example in support of this statement.

Ghost World Review

Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johannson), two recent high school graduates, are bored with their summer after finishing high school. Enid is forced to take a remedial art class in order to graduate whilst Rebecca works in a coffee shop, earning money for the apartment that the two girls have always said they would get after school. All is normal until the girls find a posting in the newspaper from Seymour (Steve Buscemi) and decide to play a prank on him, after the prank, Enid becomes interested in Seymour and wants to find out more. The film shows Enid and Rebecca's friendship drift apart whilst hers and Seymour's strengthens.

If you have been on websites such as Tumblr or Twitter, you have most likely seen pictures of, or quotes by the character of Enid. Having being propelled into a cult icon due to her quirky personality which is matched in her sense of dress and her hilarious misanthropist personality, it very quickly feels like this film should have been called The Enid Show or something along those lines, with Rebecca being a fairly bland character who I never really felt any interest in. Although it can seem a little bit too try-hard at times, the character of Enid is a fun one who is relatable in a sense and exaggerates all of the teen angst we all once felt, or feel now, or are to feel in the future.

The film is an adaptation of a comic book of the same name by Daniel Clowes, which is obvious in the general style of the film. The colours used in this film are bright, mostly coming from Enid's adventurous hair and clothing, however the settings are also extremely playful and interesting to watch, with Enid's bedroom and the diner being the two most memorable locations. A lot of the characters are two dimensional, perhaps because of their stems from a comic book or perhaps because of director Terry Zwigoff's adaptations of them, I have not read the graphic novel and therefore cannot comment on the reasons why they appear to be shallow and have no real qualities, all I can say is that they do. Rebecca is a shell of a human, with the only thing we really see her do being working and being a shadow to Enid, who is pretty much the opposite of her. Seymour, who I know is not featured as a major character in the graphic novel, is a character who Enid is obsessed with, however this interest is not mirrored in the audience, with his character just being there and not provoking any real response from viewers.

I just felt while watching the film that it was missing something. Perhaps I will read the graphic novel and then be able to make more sense of the director's intentions in making this film, however in a stand alone film, I don't think this should be necessary in order to fully enjoy the feature. The plot is stagnant, the only thing interesting is Enid and her failing relationships, and the films attempt at a thought provoking ending fails quite miserably. The film was interesting in regards to the style, however it doesn't go much further than that, I'm afraid.