Stoker - Review

Recently I was introduced to Chan-Wook Park’s 2012 masterpiece, Stoker. When I began to watch I was completely unaware of what was to come as I did not have any knowledge of this film before it bgan playing. And needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. Cinematically this film is beautiful, with conscience yet immaculate appreciation of framing and composition the overall style was something which I found compelling. The film is a mystery crime thriller surrounding the life of 18 year old India who is introduced to her previously inexistent uncle after her father dies. The pair are shown to have a connection, this is done through cinematic references through camera angles and framing of the pair together, however this connection is something a little out of the ordinary. India seems to become infatuated with her Uncle Charlie, yet there are elements which would leave the audience to believe it is the other way around. As the film progresses more is learned about the life Charlie had been leading up until his momentous reencounter with his niece, and it is something which I will not spoil for anyone as I will defiantly be proposing anyone interested to watch this film. 

Along with the beautiful cinematography comes a clever use of sound, shots and editing. The film is in fact quite morbid and never seems to pick up the tempo which would be expected from a regular mainstream film. Conventionally in films of this nature there are uses of particular lighting techniques such as low key and much more contrasting lighting creating darker effects. However within this film Park takes to a much more experimental approach. Linking back to the titles reference to Bram "Stokers" Dracula, each of India's senses are supposed to be enhanced. This is explored in the cinematic way of enhancing the visual and audio elements within the film. Instead of deepening the lighting and desaturating the colour like it would have been expected, throughout the film the colours are enhanced. Bright colours are used to make objects stand out, but overall everything is much brighter than it should be. In some ways this begins to create even more of an atmosphere than say, low key lighting would have done.
As someone who is very interesting in films which showcase unusual elements but still sticking to a narrative structure, Stoker was defiantly a film that I have fallen in love with. Beautiful cinematography never goes a miss throughout the whole film, and with key attention paid to each of its influential elements there is no doubt that you should watch this film!

TRACK

By yours truely, and the rest of the team :)

Cherrybomb - Review

“Two Guys. One Girl. Game On”

This very thought provoking tagline (please sense my sarcasm)seems to hint at more of a rom-com film, which may sort of be the case, however with this British independant film being set in modern day Belfast it strays a lot from today’s Hollywood multimillion dollar budgeted rom-coms. So much so, that IMDB is even listing it as a drama/thriller, and who can deny IMDB is a website counts for everything as a teenager interested in film.

The classic story of two best friends falling for the same girl is somewhat distorted in this gritty and urban thriller, as Rupert Grint and Robert Sheehan star as two 15 year old boys fighting for the attention of Michelle (Kimberly Nixon) through the means of rebellion. With attention from Michelle coming thick and fast to both of them when either of the boys act out, this underlying romance based story, takes a complete turnaround from the norm.

A weekend of drug and alcohol abuse, followed multiple fights and breaking the law is actually told in an interesting way. Directors Glenn Leyburn and Lisa Barros D’sa, both also of Good Vibrations, film this as a circular plot as told by Grints character Malarchy as he is telling prying police officers; and so, from the outset we all know its not going to turn out well for the three rebellious youths. I was interested in this film originally from the cast line up, and without the highlight of Rupert Grint, and his surprisingly not bad irish accent. This film probably wouldnt have been distributed as it was in fact the support of his fan base which helped find a distibution deal. It is more of a gritty role for Grint (fitting more so with the last name) than his more famous character Ronald Weasly in the Harry Potter films, and I do not think that the performance was a bad one. Neither was It by Robert Sheehan, although I refuse to believe they should be playing 15 year olds but I think that is beyond the point somewhat.

In terms of its cinematic qualities, some of the shots were in fact very interesting, and obviously well thought out. Unfortunatly, when lighting came into question I think 4 week shooting time frame seemed to take its toll; im not actually too sure what it was about the lighting that I didn’t like but I think I have come to the conclusion that it seemed much too bright and high key. In certain scenes, mostly those within any of the houses the lighting just threw me off any believablilty. But maybe that’s what was being aimed for and there was a deeper meaning behind it all that I missed. It is definalty a modern day and very urban film which I do think should attract the right audience through it’s stars and hopefully due to it’s ending will not actually ruin teenagers by making them beielve rebellion is the way to find love.

One thing I would love to mention that I am very happy about in this film, is that Kimbery Nixon playing sex bomb Michelle is a love interest who has a bit of curve to her. As a female who is by no means stick thin, it is nice to see the boys swooning over a more curvatious girl who still in fact looks super hot!

Edinburgh International Film Festival

I’ve not posted in a while, and to anyone who is actually reading, I apologise. But now I’m back I fancied sharing my recent trip to Edinburgh International Film Festival with you all, I travelled down for 4 days on a college trip and spent 2 full days in the marvellous and inspiring city. Which, as you can probably tell, I enjoyed. I also managed to fit in six films in three nights; when booking my tickets I tried to be experimental with the nationalities and genres of film that I chose to watch, and although I probably could have done a better job at diversifying, I feel that I made some pretty good choices. I’m just going to give a bit of a low down on some of the ones I watched, trying to give them a quick review. I saw quite a few films, so it will probably be a bit of a long post.

The first that I watched was Magic Magic, this was one of my favourite choices from the offset admittedly due to it’s star credential of Juno Temple; who I think may be one to look out for within more mainstream films in future years if given the right role and opportunity. It also stared Michael Cera, and like most of his films he was type casted as a more socially awkward and sex driven teenage boy. However, this film had its thriller vibes running through and even ended up giving me the creeps towards the end with a voodoo ceremony. The film contained both the English language as well as Spanish and in places was difficult to follow, due to the nature of the story. Which, I honestly would not be able to describe to you, without a long explanation of pretty much every scene. So lets just say, that Juno Temples character Alicia, is travelling in Chile with her friend and her native friends but begins to experience very odd and physiological events. That again, I would find difficult to explain. It was a weird film, one that you finish watching, turn to those around you and just say “What?!” and the ending did not help matters either. A lovely cliff-hanger for us to enjoy. As a whole, if you fancy having a lot to think about after a film, then this might be the one for you. But it was also, very slow paced so even though it didn’t even make it to the 100 minute mark, you’d be surprised what that time actually felt like! But Temple and Cera were brilliant, although their characters may have been a little off putting, they were played the correct and believable way you could only ask for.

The next film I went to see on the first night was Pluto, a South Korean film, focused around an elite private school and a murder which took place there. But it is not your typical “whodunit” movie, it is told from the point of view of Kim June in flashback form, Kim June is the believed killer by the police yet the story is told with him holding certain students from the school hostage to let out his side of the story. The deceased Yujin Taylor, was the top student in the school, and the film focuses on both his struggle to stay on top whilst others, including Kin June tried to take his place in order to find a better life for themselves at University. I think that the basis for the story was a good one, an interesting view on school “cliques” as well as a very severe and advanced one. Cliques which are so high and mighty, that they will do anything to stay at the top including murder. It was a film which I did thoroughly enjoy, and would most defiantly watch again. Even to people who are put off by foreign language film, GO AND SEE IT! You might enjoy it.

PEAKY BLINDERS! What can I say? I’m super excited about this one. They were screening the first two episodes of an upcoming BBC tv show due to be airing in the autumn. You heard about it here first guys, a must watch! Based in Birmingham just after the war, Peaky Blinders is in fact a local gang who are both dominant but reluctant in their ability to control everything. From the first two episodes, it can be grasped that the life for the lads of this gang is not going to be easy with both the law and rival gangs after them. What I can say for this one, is that as soon as it begins to air, I shall be getting the popcorn ready and setting it to series link so that I do not miss an episode. It also stars Cillian Murphy, If that entices anyone anymore. Before this screening, the director shared a few words with those in the cinema, I remember vividly him saying that he was excited for it to be shown at Edinburgh first in a cinema screening, as this is how he wanted his vision to be seen; rather than on a home television set. I was lucky enough to experience this, and I can fully agree that it was cinematically very good and as a TV show may not be done justice by the way it will now be seen. Just remember this if you do in fact decide to watch it later on in the year. Which you should!

The final film that I will share with you, was I think, my favourite of the ones I watched at the festival. “UWANTME2KILLHIM?” Although I am not a massive fan of the title, and the excessive use of text abbreviation (which I’ll get over, because when it was set, it was a big thing) I still enjoyed this film. Based on a true story of two teenage boys, Mark, (who we’ll call “Mr Gullible”) seems to be obsessed with internet chartrooms, and with the story set in 2003 with this new technology all the rage, who can blame him. I don’t want to say too much about this film, as if I remember correctly there was a plot twist which I do not want to give away. So in terms of story, I shall quote its description from the EIFF app “A suspenseful tale of adolescent obsessions and shifting identities” which I think is pretty much spot on. This is also what I will call a must watch, maybe not 5 star, but it’s a film which will begin to make you contemplate your use of the internet as well as question other peoples, one that you won’t want to miss.

Walk The Line - Review

Somehow I wonder how I hadn't previously watched Walk The Line before my boyfriend forced it upon me due to his interest in the subject of this musical biopic. Walk the Line follows the early life and career of country music star, Johnny Cash, showing his rise to fame, love affair with June Carter as well as the troubles he faced. Puerto Rican born Joaquin Phoenix, (also famous for his co-starring roll with Russell Crowe in Gladiator) plays the star, with Reese Witherspoon taking on the role of June Carter. Both play their parts exceptionally and well worthy of the Golden Globes won by the pair for this, as well as Witherspoon’s Oscar and BAFTA. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this film throughout, right from the off there was interesting plot and characters to interest the viewer straight away, I think that this is highly important for any bio-pic. Along with the famous life the subject needing to be interesting and worthy of its own 2 hour film, the childhood of the character must be intriguing in order for the movie to get off on a good foot and carry the film through. This is easily shown through similar musical biographic, Ray, with his interesting childhood and back story, the film is able to show extra elements to the character people could have been unaware of before they watched the film.

There are not many elements within the film that I can fault, even the actor's own singing; although not a patch on Cash's, Phoenix managed to show the passion and love Cash had for singing with the use of his own voice whilst not dragging the film down with it, this is also the case for Witherspoon. I was pleasantly surprised by the use of their own singing abilities, especially Witherspoon's due to my knowledge around her only really spanning from Legally Blonde to Four Christmases, neither of which are the most meaningful of performances. It begins to show her versatility and ability as an actress by branching out into this genre rather than the type cast rom-com girl that people usually refer to her as.

Admittedly, I am finding this one a little difficult to review as it was a few weeks ago when I actually watched this, and has just taken me so long to finally get round to reviewing it. But what I do have to say is that, it was a brilliantly put together film, interesting from start to finish and most defiantly worth a watch!

Drive - Review

After being told to check out Drive by a teacher at college, and being lent the DVD (which I will give back on Monday) I have finally got round to watching it, and here is my review, its only short but I’m having a busy weekend.

A Nicolas Winding Refn film based around the life of a Hollywood stunt driver by day, and criminal get away driver by night, Drive shows Ryan Gosling doing what his character does best “Drive”. Although his character is never actually given a name, other than being credited at “Driver” and not much is revealed about his ability behind the wheel of a car, all that is forgotten when watching this film due to the storyline being a much deeper one than I had first anticipated.

The Driver manages to get himself locked up in some serious mobster crime after trying to use his talent to help out the husband of his rather attractive neighbor (Carey Mulligan) after he becomes the target after being released from prison. Everything begins to go awry for the driver after this point and he is forced to turn to his obvious nature of violence to sort through it.

Due to the age rating of the film being an 18, towards the beginning of the film I had suspected scenes to get graphic when the plotline turned to crime, however, I was not actually expecting for Ryan Goslings character to be the one committing most of the violent acts. I think this is because, at the beginning of the film, although he is a crime get away driver, his character is portrayed as some one who takes a back seat on all this crime and who seems to be rather serene. How wrong I was in expecting this.  Which is in fact quite a good thing actually as the change in character half way through makes the film much more interesting; as well as showing just how a person can change when put in the right (well in this case, wrong) situation.

There was a large variety of slow motion scenes, which are rare in dramas such as this one, but I think that they worked very well and helped to highlight certain scenes as well as the gore that is shown in them. My personal favourite gory scene is when you get an up close and personal view to a bullet entering a persons head (I will say no more for those who wish to watch it.)

In a more general case, I thought that the film was directed brilliantly with some beautiful shots capturing the relationships between the characters. My only fault that I can think of with the film would be an element of corniness that is shown as Driver and pretty neighbor drive down the LA river culvert. Admittedly, it is just my own opinion, and general lack of interest in corny elements of films, but this reminded me immensely of the chase sequence in Grease and that is all I could see when watching this part of the film.

It is a definite must see to anyone who doesn't mind being made to feel uneasy by the amount of violence that you are shown. If you enjoy it, The Place Beyond The Pines, Ryan Goslings new release with Bradley Cooper looks set to be Drive on two wheels!

The film also raised the question In my mind- why doesn’t every criminal invest in a fake prosthetic face to wear rather than a ski mask?

Lore - Review

This review may not be of interest to many of you out there as I know that even a slight mention of foreign language film turns people off, but seeing as I made the trip out to Phoenix Arts Centre especially to watch it, I think my opinions might as well be shared.

Lore, a German foreign language film directed by Cate Shortland, focuses on a young girl Hannelore “Lore” for short and the journey she and her younger siblings take through Germany after the war has ended. Unlike many other war films Lore’s family are in fact fans of Hitler, who end up facing the trails of losing their parents along with the war. I found it an interesting story because I think it is one of the first films that I have seen focusing on Germans losing the war rather than the British winning ,and it was a part of history that had never really crossed my mind beforehand. Lore is forced with the task of moving her 4 younger siblings including a very young baby to the other side of Germany to live with their grandmother; along the way she is forced to put her trust into a jewish boy they meet, even though she is very reluctant to do so due to her low opinion of him installed by her parent’s Nazi views. The relationship formed by the two, is very intriguing and at times, heart-warming as although she does not want to trust him, in order to keep her family safe she has to and even begins to rely upon him as the film continues.

Musically I found this film beautiful, I don’t usually tend to notice the scores within a film however the beautifully written music conjoined with cinematic elegance created by Shortland made the score stand out. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that the film was entirely in German, whereas music is the same in every country so it was easily relatable to anyone, but any fan of film scores should defiantly listen to this one.

To those who get put off by foreign films or those reluctant to watch them, this is a good place to start. Although it contains many deep themes it is mostly revolved around cinematic techniques and music to tell the story rather than dialogue, even in the places that dialogue was used it was not difficult to keep up with. This enabled me to be taken in by the power of cinema and shown how language should not stop this art form.

However, it has to be said that this film is not the most exciting and in places did tend to drag but I am solely putting this down to the nature of the plotline and the time in which it was set. I wanted to completely fall in love with this film, I was drawn in to watch it from a review on Film 2013 early this year but for some reason did not come out of the arts centre in the astonished way that I had hoped for when entering. With time of reflection it is clear the elements of the film which were brilliantly compositioned; but not much light has been shed in my head onto the reason which I didn’t fall in love with it, because everything I have to say is mostly good. And so, I must conclude that it has something to do with the narrative being different to what I am used to watching.

Even with a language barrier (helped along by subtitles) I am still able to admit a good performance was given by 19 year old actress Saskia Rosendahl who played Lore, she portrayed the character in a believeale way: although with me having very little knowledge of the time frame it was set in or the German language I admit that my opinion on this could in fact be mistaken.

The Hunger Games - Review

This review was requested by my friend, Lauren, aka Streps, as she is some what of a Hunger Games fanatic, so here you go Streps.

Last spring offered the release of, The Hunger Games, the first instalment in the three book franchise written by Suzanne Collins. Directed by Gary Ross, this film follows teenager Katnis Everdeen during a lively broadcasted battle to the death between her and 23 other tributes. All of these teenage tributes, 12 male and 12 female, have been offered into this battle from each of the 12 districts of the world of Panem in punishment for a past uprising. Katnis Everdeen faces the other tributes including the male from her own discrict, Peeta. To who this film also follows as he begins to get closer to Katnis through the film.

I have also read the book this film is based on so I have a much clearer knowledge of the storyline, however I do not think there is much within the film that is unexplained, which is usually not the case for films based around a book franchise.  Although there is certain things from within the book that have been altered for the film, they aren’t things which make much of a difference to the narrative of the film yet I am not really certain as to the reasons they were changed.

I think that this film is helped along a lot by the storyline as I found it interesting and appealing, probably because it is aimed at my particular age group, yet the credit to the storyline must be given to Suzanne Collins for the books rather than anyone involved in the film. Other credit on this film should most defiantly be given to those casting the title roles, as I am sure many of them will in fact go on to many bigger and better things due to this film, Jennifer Lawrence being the prime example winning at both the Oscars and Golden Globes this year.

Jennifer Lawrences character, Katnis, is portrayed within the film as a strong and independent female, these types of characters are becoming more popular within mainstream films in recent years with the likes such as Angelina Jolie in Salt and Milla Jovovich in Resident Evil. It is nice and refreshing to see a strong female protagonist within this film, as it sends out a good message to young females who are easily influenced by the media.

Personally, from watching the film, one thing that I would have liked to see used much more would be references to Katnis’ past as it is not fully explained through the flashbacks that are used, though I am sure they will in the sequel. I would have also liked to see more of what was happening in each of the different districts during this battle, including Katnis’ district and her families reaction to what is happening. This is not in the book however, as that is all from Katnis’ point of view meaning that she does not know what is going on outside of the arena, yet if I was the screenwriter and I was going to alter anything to make it fit more into a film than a book, that is what I would have done.

Overall I think that this film is very well put together, and has much more of a broad audience to that of other teenage based franchises, such as The Twilight Saga. Gary Ross has done a very good job in bringing this book to life, and although I am looking forward to watching the sequel to this film, Catching Fire, released later this year, I think that it is very unfortunate that it is not being directed by him.

Les Misérables - Review

This review was supposed to be in fact be about John Q which I watched a couple of weeks ago, but I went to see Les Misérable’s yesterday evening and I couldn’t help but review it straight away! So here goes;

This new adaptation of the French novel and longest running musical on the west end has been highly rated by many critics and with a cast including awarding winning Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Helena Bonham Carter it is not much of a surprise. After seeing this film for the first time yesterday the cast and a basic knowledge of the storyline was all I had to go on as I have not seen it performed on stage or read the highly acclaimed novel. However my little knowledge about the films background did not leave me disappointed, I found it to be a thriving film of emotion and brilliant performances from the cast.

Directed by British director Tom Hooper most famous for his 2010 film The Kings Speech, Les Misérable’s is set in 19^th century France and follows the life of ex convict Jean Valjean, caring for orphan Cosette, after a promise he made to her dying mother. The film focuses on the trials he faces trying to get back on his feet whilst looking after this young girl and avoiding capture again after breaking his parole. About the storyline, all I have to say was that there was a lot to take in throughout the film, not just due to its length but also because of the vast number of characters and the time scale it revolves around. Personally I did not mind too much about all of this as I feel that it gave the film a certain impact that would not have been put across as well had any of these things varied. It was an in depth story which involved thought to comprehend, which is never a bad thing when watching a film.

The large number of characters meant that the performances given by everyone can in some cases be seen as “short and sweet” for instance, Anne Hathaways character, Fantine, is only seen in the first half of the film, and yet she has won both the Bafta, Oscar and Acadamy Award for best supporting actress, which was 100% deserved. The only two characters which are in fact shown from beginning to end throughout the film are Jean Valjean (Jackman) and Javert (Crowe) each of the other characters only appear in a small number of scenes depending on the character. One actor within this film that I feel deserves much more credit for his performance was Eddie Redmayne, his character is one which requires power and emotion and in my opinion Redmaynes performance was no short of brilliance. (Watch out for him people, I predict he will be huge!! and Daniel Huttlestone!)

Emotionally, this film needs to be tackled with a box of tissues, I am not one who cries often in the cinema and so this new experience startled me a little. Every emotion I can pretty much think of is related to in one way or another throughout the film: pride, happiness, love, grief, honour, dishonour, conscience! Somehow and someway I am sure that almost every emotion is linked into this film, and that is no doubt the reason behind it tugging on your heartstrings willing a tear to fall. I am not sure if all this emotion within one film is a good thing, especially for those who can get teary eyed over less emotional scenes, but boy does it have an impact!

Tom Hoopers decision to shoot the scenes with live singing was absolute genius, it showed the raw emotion behind each performance and song that would  not have been shown had they been shot lip singing. His brilliant decisions with this and the casting of the film lead me to question his lack of nominations throughout award season for best director. Surely a nomination couldn’t have hurt? After all, the film was brilliant.

A Good Day To Die Hard - Review

To make it aware to anyone who doesn’t know, I am a bit of a Bruce Willis fan so I was excited by the release of A Good Day To Die Hard. However I will try to be as honest and unbiased as I can possibly be during this review.

The fifth instalment in the Die Hard franchise was released on Valentine’s Day, as much to my boyfriends dismay, 25 years after the release of the unmistakable brilliance that was the original film. Yet the newest film in the franchise see’s a change for NYPD’s famous officer John McClain, as he is now centred within a global terrorist attack with his son Jack trying to lead the way. John McClain, played by Bruce Willis throughout the franchise, visits Moscow in attempt to rescue Jack who he believes to be in danger, it turns out, Jack is undercover for the CIA. As not to spoil the plot, I won’t reveal anymore, also due to the fact that I got so lost during the film I couldn’t even begin to tell you what happened with the storyline after the first 40 minutes in the film.

As much as I would have liked to love this film, I was let down by the use of consistent action throughout. Although that was what should have been expected, with the other films in the franchise you have at least some time to comprehend who was just murdered, or, who’s helicopter just got brought down by a car! A Good Day To Die Hard left no time in which to do so before the next batch of dynamite was set off, so much so, that everything else within the film just got lost by the size and scale of the stunts. I can admit that some of the actions scenes were in fact well put together by John Moore the director, but it can not be denied that with expectations of the previous films being so high Moore also let the McClain lovers out there down!

John McClain should come across as an unstoppable action hero within this film, yet constant jokes referring to Willis’ lack of hair and almost non rememberable one liners he is so brilliant with, begins to suggest that 20^th Century Fox should quit while they are ahead with this franchise. Even so, it has already been announced that they will be scheduling Die Hard 6 in the near future, if done correctly could help bring the genius back into the mother of all action film franchises. All it needs is a compelling and easily understandable storyline, and a brilliant supporting villain! Just like Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber in the original.

I could in fact continue to criticize this film a lot more than I have, but in order to avoid bringing the name of Bruce Willis down anymore than it already has been after Death Becomes Her, I shall take a leaf out of my own book and quit whilst I am ahead.

To anyone wanting to watch a film jam packed with action and only one mention of the awesome quote that is “Yippee Ki Yay mother f***er” practically censored out by the low age rating. This is the film to see, but please, don’t let this one poor sequel cause you to forget the great Die Hard films that have already been produced.

First Review - Flight

It cannot be denied that Robert Zemeckis is capable of great things within the world of film, directing some all time classics like Forrest Gump and Back to The Future.  But it can also not be denied that his new film Flight, starring Denzel Washington, is not for lovers of action packed blockbusters as the trailer may have made out but for an audience wishing to see a hard hitting drama.

The film revolves around the legal battle surrounding Denzel Washington after piloting and landing a doomed plane whilst drunk and high on cocaine, as well as the personal battles he must face to prove his innocence. Washington meets others along this struggle who attempt to help get his life back on track, including Kelly Reilly’s character, Nicole, who I would have loved to see more of through the film as I feel her back story could have been expanded much further. Washington and Reilly’s characters bond over their similar drug habits and although they are both trying to change their lives she is much more successful at doing so.

Throughout the film there are moments leave the viewer wondering and praying that Washington’s character, Whip, will do the right thing for himself and those around him, these moments aren’t always followed by what could have been expected, one reason which I feel this film has its elements of genius. Although the narrative could originally be seen as sort of one dimensional, there are elements which leave surprise and gut wrenching anger towards Denzel’s character.

Whip Whitticker, this drunken, cocaine addicted pilot puts the lives of hundreds of people at risk before every  flight, yet Washington brings a performance to this character which makes you put aside how immoral you feel his actions are, in order to understand the difficulty he is going through. His character should have been hated, but it has been scripted and performed in a way that is well worthy of the academy award nominations for best actor and original screenplay that this film has received.

Negatives surrounding this film I feel are very minimal, if the drama genre is one that does not interest you then this film will not be of your liking, the trailer may have suggested a lot more elements of Denzel’s heroic actions within his plane however it was really only contained within the first twenty minutes. The film, running at just over 2 hours did seem to be dragged out for quite a bit longer than this, but for everything that it contains I feel as though this can be looked over as it is defiantly already going to be one of the best dramas released this year and we are only in February!