I wish I’d carried this on.
18. Like Crazy - Drake Doremus
WE HAD A MINOR BLIP IN THE 365 BLOG POSTS - 5 BLOG POSTS MUST BE ADDED. MOVING SWIFTLY ON.
“Wise men say ‘only fools rush in’, but I can’t help falling in love with you…”
I went to Leicester Square yesterday to see Like Crazy with my boyfriend in Empire cinema, and I loved it just as much as I thought I would. I’ve been waiting to see it since the end of summer last year and it didn’t disappoint me. Each scene was really beautiful to watch, as the visuals were easy on the eyes with gorgeous lighting and because the majority of the dialogue is improvised I genuinely believed the relationship between Felicity Jones and Anton Yelchin was real life. You’re rooting for their relationship to work the whole way through the film, and one girl even gasped ‘SHIT’ out loud in the cinema when she realized they may be on the rocks… Hilarious.
I think my boyfriend fell head over heels in love with Felicity Jones (we came out the cinema and he was desperate to know her name, assuming he wanted to Google her immediately), and rightly so - she was wonderful. I’ve only ever seen her in Flashbacks of a Fool and Cemetery Junction, and shamefully paid little attention to her. But in Like Crazy she completely stole the spotlight, and it was impossible to take your eyes off her. Jennifer Lawrence, who plays Jacob’s new love interest, is no comparison…
Don’t see it if you’re in a long distance relationship or if you’re struggling to make things work with your partner, and don’t see it with anybody cynical or bitter about love. If you can avoid all of the above however, do watch it, because it is just lovely and although many scenes had me welling up or wanting to curl up in a ball and cry, it’s beautifully filmed and the dialogue is charming and playful. I want their relationship. Ahem, Jamie.
17. Sleepy Hollow - Tim Burton
I was about seven years old when I walked in to my living room and my parents were watching Sleepy Hollow, and I had awful nightmares from then on up until I was about 12. This film effected me so much, I literally couldn’t sleep with the lights off or go upstairs on my own for fear of finding the headless horseman. Even a few years ago when I took my old dog Charlie on a walk with my family in Shoreham Woods, I was spooked by the memories of this film and kept seeing in my imagination the horseman riding towards me in the distance. I was flicking through youtube videos earlier (started from Immigrant Song) and worked my way to the Sleepy Hollow soundtrack - the internet takes you through the strangest trips. This song (soundtrack by Danny Elfman) literally gives me shivers all over my body. I still find the film terrifying now - it’s the sound of the horse galloping through the town and the swish of the axe chopping off villager’s heads. The one scene that has always stuck with me, is when the family are hiding underneath the floorboards as the headless horseman walks into the room. My God…
16. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - David Fincher
I just got back from the cinema, where I finally watched David Fincher’s latest film - and I am left sort of speechless, it was absolutely brilliant and hands down I can say that has slipped into my top ten list of favourite films pretty damn easily. I am very tired and have work early tomorrow, so will post a more detailed review of the film both on here and my other blog later. But as of now, I am incredibly impressed and want to see it again immediately. The cast was fantastic, especially both Mara and Craig, with Plummer’s performance being wonderful too. I cannot get over the opening sequence, I know David Fincher has always supplied his audiences with mesmerising ones, but that was just mind blowing.
Fucking incredible - I am so pleased I enjoyed it.
15. Upside Down - Juan Diego Solanas
I was going to post about the Oscar nominations that were revealed today - but I have decided against it. We are all entitled to our own opinions, and to be perfectly honest mine is that there is little point discussing it because it is clear many of the choices the Academy have made are biased, which is everything cinema should not be.
Moving on! On Monday morning, I came downstairs to find my latest Empire subscription lying amongst the post (March Edition) and featured inside is this interesting article about new film ‘Upside Down’, directed by Juan Diego Solanas. I hadn’t heard anything about this release before reading this particular issue, but I can safely say I am so excited to see it.
In brief, it follows the story of Adam (Jim Sturgess) and Eve (Kirsten Dunst), two lovers who are separated by the gravitational dimensions of Earth - they live in parallel worlds that lie opposite each other. As you could have guessed from the title, Eve is upright, whereas Jim is upside down. My explanation does the tale no justice… but I can’t wait to see the visuals the film will present. It will be interesting to see how the CGI of the parallel worlds have been created, and how they will succeed in working throughout the film. I personally think it’s a powerful storyline and the setting of the film is incredibly interesting; it’s an idea I have never heard about before.
Bring on the new Inception. Joking, nothing could ever replace Nolan’s work of utter genius - I love you, Nolan.
14. The Vow - Michael Sucsy
Guilty pleasure. As much as I am interested in films that challenge my mind, there are some ‘love/romance films’ that I cannot help showing an interest in - despite how simplistic they may be. I was reading about The Vow today, and although it may be considered stereotypical in its approach to love, it’s dealing with an incredibly difficult theme/topic - and from the trailer I gang the impression that it’s succeeded in creating both a careful and realistic representation. I hope Rachel McAdams pulls off this difficult role. A weird paring (McAdams and Channing Tatum), but I am shamelessly looking forward to seeing this.
13. Funny Games - Michael Haneke
“Would you be so kind as to go and make us something to eat?”
Earlier today my boyfriend and I watched Funny Games (thank you Netflix), and I really liked it - probably one of the scariest thrillers I have seen, because there was no reason behind the torment the sadistic killers (Michael Pitt and Brady Corbet) inflicted.
I’ve never seen Michael Pitt in anything before, but I’m aware of things he has been in (Bully / Broadwalk Empire), and I was really impressed by his performance. He was BRILLIANT, and when he spoke to the audience through the 4th wall, it was truly intimidating and unsettling. A particular scene in which he asks the audiences “Who do you think will make it to the morning?” is unbelievably creepy.
Tim Roth (as always) also gave a fantastic performance, as a tormented father who is incapable of protecting his family from the outset due to a broken leg (shown above). However, it was difficult to concentrate on some things he would say as I kept hearing his English accent slip through and it was distracting… But that might just be me.
The ending was brilliant - it concluded the film so well. There was no melodramatics, or it didn’t end in favour of the family for the sake of making it bearable, it was blunt and peculiarly comical. Evil, but fantastic movie. Definitely watch it.
12. American History X - Tony Kaye
Watching American History X yesterday, after discovering the difficulties Tony Kaye had with the editing process and production (and attempts to remove his name from the directorial aspect of the film), I can understand why he abandoned the film at the last hurdle. Although Edward Norton gives an incredible performance, it is clear the film is catered to furthering Edward Norton’s acting career - which I was unaware of to begin with, as I did not know that it was Norton who had control in the ‘editing room’. I still find many of the scenes in the film iconic and brilliant, such as the basketball scene and especially the supermarket raid, but the ending is superficial in comparison to the content and bares little relevance to the rest of the film.
SPOILER ALERT
When Danny is murdered by the black kid in the toilets of his school, just before he intends to hand in his completed essay, with the intention of leaving school permanently to pursue a better life with his family - it has little relation to the previous scenes in which the problems for the family (which caused them to decide to leave the town as soon as possible) are the other neo-nazis. By Danny’s killer being a black boy, who the reformed neo-nazi now essentially does not hate, it seems this is merely to prove a point - it’s incredibly predictable. Although it is tragic, and adds power and shock to ending of the film, I think it would have been far more unsettling and powerful for the family to move away unnoticed. Hate is baggage - yet, surely Danny’s death at the hands of a black kid, would revert Derek back to the views he previously discarded. It is clear it is attempting to prove that we are all as bad as each other, but this has been proven in other scenes, such as the Derek’s rape in the prison shower. I don’t know, I haven’t succeeded very well in getting my point across.
Does anybody know the ending that Tony Kaye intended to have, as I have tried to find interviews with him discussing it but had little success?
11. Ghost In The Shell - Mamoru Oshii
I just got home from my friends house, where we watched one of his favourite films - Ghost In The Shell: Innocence - and I thought it was brilliant. I couldn’t explain exactly what it was about, as the story itself was confusing to say the least! But, the visuals were completely mesmerising, and the moral and ethical questions the film touched upon were fascinating. This song from the original soundtrack I found quite eerie when I first heard it, but by the end of the film I began to find it incredibly soothing and dreamy. I think it’ll quickly become one of my favourite songs from a film soundtrack, I think it’s wonderful. If you haven’t heard of the film (the 2nd of two parts), I urge you to either watch or read about it. It’s very, very good and gives you a lot to think about. And give this song a chance, it’s worth it.
