My Most Anticipated Films Of 2013

It's that time of year where we start to look forward to the next. After the year of films we have just had, you wouldn't think it could get much better, but my oh my do we have some incredible looking films to get ready for. It looks as if it could be yet another year where I spend most of my time in the cinema! Below is a list of my most anticipated films of 2013:

10. Catching Fire (November)

Although I am anticipating this film, it is also the film I am most worried about. The Hunger Games was a brilliant film and one of my favourites of 2012, but the sequel will no longer have Gary Ross at the helm after he left due to the tight filming schedule. This worries me. I hope they keep the same style and themes as the first one but I don't want to get my hopes too high for this one.

9. Thor: The Dark World (October)

With The Avengers making Thor cooler then ever, I have high hopes that Marvel will keep this going in Thor: The Dark World. With Joss Whedon looking over The Avengers Phase 2 and Game of Throne's Alan Taylor in the directing chair, I have high hopes for this one!

8. The Wolverine (July)

All the news I have heard about the new Wolverine film has gotten me excited. After X-Men First Class it finally feels as if the X-Men franchise is back on track. With a lot of this film being set in Japan and based on a fan favourite storyline from the comics, this film sounds as if it could be one of the coolest of the year.

7. The World's End (August)

The final film in the Cornetto Trilogy from Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. With the previous films Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being seriously good, I have no doubt that this film won't be just as great or better!

6. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December)

With The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey proving that The Lord of the Rings prequels will be nothing less then spectacular, who isn't excited for the second part? Especially as we will finally be able to get a full glimpse of the dragon Smaug! Saying that, I doubt I will be seeing it in 48fps.

5. Elysium (September)

After the masterpiece that was District 9, I was always going to be anticipating whatever Neil Blomkamp was going to do next! Not much has been released apart from the cool looking picture above and a basic plot. Some footage was released at Comic Con I believe, but either way, if its even half as good as the director's previous film it will be brilliant, and its even got a bald Matt Damon!

4. Iron Man 3 (April)

With Shane Black directing, I can't wait to see what happens to Tony Stark in the first film of Marvel's Avengers Phase 2! Hopefully it will be just as good as the original Iron Man and much better then it's sequel! With Iron Man being one of my favourite superheroes, I cannot wait for this film!

3. Monsters University (July)

I love Monsters Inc! I definitely think it's one of Pixar's best. With a teaser trailer coming out earlier this year, it just confirmed that Monsters University deserves its place as my third most anticipated film of 2013. Lets hope it will be as good as the original and keep Pixar on track after Brave bringing the company back on form earlier this year after Cars 2 being nothing special.

2. Star Trek Into Darkness (May)

I've always liked Star Trek but I was never a massive fan until JJ Abrhams rebooted the series back in 2009. Now its sequel looks even better and Benedict Cumberpatch looks like a very interesting and truly terrifying villain in the recent trailers. The trailers alone make me very excited as to the type of feast I will be able to treat my eyes with in May next year.

1. Man of Steel (June)

Just like Star Trek, I was never a massive fan of Superman. But here it is the top of my most anticipated films of 2013! It's at the top because it looks incredible! Both the teaser and theatrical trailer makes this look like a very different take on comic book hero, something I like the look of a lot! With Zack Snyder as director and Christopher Nolan on producing duties this sure does look as if it could be the film of the year! Only time will tell...

Well that concludes my list. But trust me, next year looks to be a good one, these are only ten film that look amazing, there are many more that I am also very excited for.

Please let me know what you are most excited for by commenting below! Let me know if you think I missed anything out.

Thanks for reading!

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 3D HFR

This could be one of the hardest films I have had to review. I didn't know whether to be excited for The Hobbit or not this year. I was a massive fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and didn't want Peter Jackson to ruin its legacy by releasing a prequel that I didn't believe could be as epic as the previous films. Then there was the news that it was going to be turned into three films, which I'm still not too happy about. Though after seeing it last night I am pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the film and it sure does feel good to have Middle Earth back on the big screen. However I'm not too sure that watching the film in 48 frames per second (fps) is the way forward. But more on that later. I would just like to mention that this review is spoiler free.

The first part of The Hobbit trilogy follows a gang of Dwarfs who want to reclaim their home and treasure stolen off them by the dragon Smaug. Led by Gandalf who insists that the hobbit Bilbo Baggins would be a great addition to the gang.

The journey the gang take is very similar to the journey taken in The Fellowship of the Ring, but the film does not feel the same. It stands on its own but still has that light but serious tone that was kept throughout the whole of the franchise. And like the rest of the franchise, this film had a top notch ensemble cast, of which you probably already know, but I want to pick out the two people I thought were the best in this film, and those two are Martin Freeman and Richard Armitage who played Bilbo and Thorin. Both were outstanding in their roles and the film would not have been as good without them. Everyone one else was also on form but they were the two performances that stood out the most.

I must say I was expecting this film to be quite a slow one, with a lot of the action to be left for the sequels but this was not the case at all, there was blooming loads of it! This film may not have as many grand scale epic war scenes as the other films did but the action set pieces are brilliant. My only criticism would be the amount of CGI and animated characters put into the mix which sometimes looked out of place because of the format that I saw it in.

This comes to my point about this being a hard film to review because although I loved it, I really did not like the higher frame rate that I saw it in. Films are usually filmed and shown in 24 fps but Peter Jackson decided to film in 48fps and give us the option as to which format to see it in. As a budding filmmaker this format intrigued me and I was very interested to see what it looked like. I can only describe it as  being almost like a super HD version of the film. Everything was in focus and it seemed a lot like live television. A lot of critics have been saying that it looks so real that it looks fake and now after watching I can understand what they mean by that. Unfortunately because it looks so real, when there is animation involved it is obvious. Which is too bad because the animation is some of the best I've ever seen but unfortunately still doesn't look real, or at least not real enough to be shown in 48fps with human actors. When all that was on the frame was animation, it looked incredible but when you mix it, it looked awful. This isn't good because it takes you out of the story and back into the cinema where you are watching the film. If a company was to make a motion capture animation film in 48fps then it would definitely work but live action not so much. I can't help but feel I may have enjoyed the film just a little bit more in its regular format.

The 3D however does look stunning in 48fps but because the stuff on screen looks fake then they kind of cancel each other out. Still though, some of the best 3D I've seen.

If you are a fan of The Lord of the Rings then you are going to love this film! I felt very nostalgic seeing Middle Earth in all it's beautiful glory on the big screen once more, a feeling I hope to get again when they release the new Star Wars film in 2015.

If you are a fan of the book and read it when you were younger like me, then you will be very happy with how they adapt some of the best bits for the big screen. My favorite bits of the book such as the scene with the three trolls and the game of riddles between Bilbo and Gollum (who looks better then ever!) are also my favorite parts in the film. Although Peter Jackson has stretched certain scenes out to make them bigger and more cinematic, it never feels too far from the source material. The film, like The Lord of the Rings, just felt a little bit too long, but I can now see why they were going to split the story into two, but splitting into three is yet to be justified in my mind.

Everything you loved about The Lord of the Rings is back and thankfully it maintains it's excellent standard. I am looking forward to the next two instalments but will most likely see them in 24fps. It's hard to rate this film because no matter how much I loved it there was still a lot I didn't like because of the format I saw it in, therefore I am giving The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey a rating of 4/5.

What do you think of the 48fps? Which format is the first part of The Hobbit best in? Did you like the film at all? Please comment below!

Thanks for reading!

The Bourne Legacy

Yet again I haven't posted in ages, which I am sorry about but I have been very hard at work on a short film that I helped write the screenplay for. The film has been finished and I will be posting it as soon as I can get it on to YouTube, which will hopefully be in January. But don't worry, I have a lot of stuff ready to fill this blog up in December 2012, including a review of the first part of The Hobbit, which should be online in the next couple of days once I have actually seen the film tonight! I also will be doing my review of 2012 and a post on what I am most looking forward to in 2013. But right now I have a review of The Bourne Legacy which came out on DVD and Blu-ray recently. 

As a big fan of the last 3 films in the Bourne franchise, I was slightly worried when they announced a fourth film that wouldn't have Matt Damon in it. I thought the story wrapped up pretty nicely in the first 3 films but I guess Universal wanted to expand the story's universe and make more money.

The latest instalment takes place right after the events of Jason Bourne's story. We see how this affects the world and more importantly our new hero Aaron Cross who is now being hunted down after the people behind Treadstone and Black Briar 'shut the operations down'. Bourne was a man looking to find out who he was whereas Cross is a man addicted to a steroid type drug that turns him into a kind of super soldier who is looking for his next hit. Personally I don't think it has the same ring as the previous films but with Jeremy Renner as Cross, he's still pretty cool. Renner holds the film well and its good to see him as a leading man in a big blockbuster film.

With Renner we also get other great acting talent in the form of Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton. The acting is great but whoever decided to given Norton grey hair should be fired. He looks really odd, almost as if someone put a load of talcon powder in it. If they wanted the character to be old they should have hired an older actor or at least done the make up better!

Bourne was the forefront of a new type of action film and this movie follows the rest in that grounded fighting style. The action is cool and well done but it never seems to have that same feel that Matt Damon had when he was fighting. There are some interesting moments but nothing original like killing someone with a pen or setting a house on fire by ripping out the gas pipes and putting a magazine in the toaster.

Originality is what lets the film down. It's nothing we haven't seen before, nothing new is brought to the plate and most of the action is already seen in the trailer. I was fine with the amount of action but it just didn't feel the same as last time.

The film isn't all bad, far from it. It's more average then anything. There are some terrific visuals near the start when Cross is making his way through a snowy mountain filled terrain and there is also a terrifying scene in which one of Rachel Weisz's co-workers goes on a killing spree. A scene that was definitely the best in the film and was executed perfectly.

The first three Bourne films were something new and exciting but Legacy feels like it's just your run of the mill action thriller. It had it's great moments, however I'm not sure the film was even needed. I personally felt satisfied at the ending of Ultimatum. That being said I am still interested in where they are going to take this franchise next. A Cross and Bourne team up would be pretty cool but unfortunately it doesn't look as if Matt Damon is on board for that. I felt The Bourne Legacy was a good film but nothing special, that is why I am giving it a rating of 3/5.

What did you think of the latest instalment of the Bourne franchise? Would you like to see more of Aaron Cross? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back soon for more posts!

Happy Birthday: One Year On...

One year ago from today I put my first blog post online. I started doing it as a bit of fun, not expecting for my blog to grow as much as it has! 63 posts later and I have an audience that I never thought was possible. The amount of different people in different countries that have read my posts is incredible! I have even had the organisers of the Sundance Film Festival read some of my posts! I would not have a got here without the help of my readers! Thank you guys so much! I also want to thank The Large Association Of Movie Blogs (The LAMB) for letting me into their community and bringing a larger audience of fellow movie bloggers to my site.

I was a bit unsure as to what to write about today for the 1st birthday of my blog, but I have decided to look back at my 10 most popular posts of the last year. So please enjoy!

10. The Avengers Review
I remember this day very well! I was so excited for this film and I am so glad that it met all my expectations. My review is a very happy one indeed and although I am biased as a massive fan boy! There is no doubt in my mind that this will most likely be my favourite film of the year.

9. Chronicle
Many of my popular posts I did not expect to do as well as they did and this post is one of them. I saw it on DVD, really liked it and wrote a review. It sure is a film to check out if your fan of superheroes and found footage films.

8. Ted
Ted is one of those films that I had mixed feelings on. I would definitely watch it again with a group of friends but it definitely wasn't the funniest things I have ever seen. Check out this review to see if you agree with me.

7. God Bless America & 21 Jump Street
Even though I was on holiday when this was posted this still got a great amount of hits. This is mainly due to the fact that this was the first post people saw when I had been allowed as member of The LAMB. Both films I believe are great and I recommend them both as good comedies.

6. Reinventing Romance
This is one of my more recent posts and it actually contains my case study for the end of Media Studies course. I really enjoyed writing about the subject and I am glad you guys took a liking to it too!

5. Shame
Shame is one of those film that I loved but don't really want to watch again. It contains one of my favourite actors, the Fassbender, in one of his best roles. But the subject matter of sex addiction is an uncomfortable one and is most likely why it was denied an Oscar nomination.

4. Would You Like The Good News or The Bad News First?
Another post I am surprised has done well.One of my first posts and it just contains a summary of movie news that had happened that week.

3. Alex's Essential Spider-Man
I am so glad this post did well as I worked very hard on it. I loved the fact that I was able to get fan made pictures from my readers to work on this post and celebrate our love of Spider-Man. Even if the most recent film was a bit of a disappointment.

2. Sundance London 2012
One of the best weekends ever in blog form! With help from organisers of the festival I was able to move this post up to second on the list. Whether I'll be there next year, I do not know. Being a student can be difficult in this day and age! If I can, I will!

1. What Would Travis Bickle Do?
The biggest surprise of them all! My quick angry rant turned into my biggest hit. I don't really know what else to say as i wasn't expecting this to that well. I think when I first put it on it did terribly but as the months have passed, more people have read and enjoyed it. Thank you so much!

Although things have slowed down here recently on the blog I would like to thank everybody who keeps reading it. Here's to another year!

Thank you for reading!

Sightseers Review

Over the weekend I had the chance to go to the Cornwall Film Festival, due to other commitments over the the three days, I was only able to watch one film. Thankfully though, it was a film I had been looking forward to seeing. That film was Sightseers.

From Ben Wheatly, director of Kill List comes his second film about a couple of misfits on a rather bizarre camping trip. The outline goes like this; 'Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn.'

The film goes a certain way that makes this seem like the British version of God Bless America. Again this plot type can be very controversial and is not for everyones taste. Three people actually walked out of the cinema during my screening, which to my guess is because of the amount gore and violence involved in the film. The violence is matching to that of what we saw in Kill List. The film gives a whole new meaning on the perspective of sex and violence.

The two leads, Steve Oram and Alice Lowe actually wrote the script for the film. They are also incredibly funny actors and strangely brilliant at playing two oddballs in love. The two of them really have created some cracking one liners for the film that are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud. They are a great pair and the film would not work without them. I really hope that they are picked up as screen writers and comedy actors in the near future! The supporting cast in this is great as well with some great stereotypical characters. If you want to see more of Alice Lowe she actually plays a lot of supporting characters in the new Harry and Paul series which is on BBC 2 at the moment. 

The film is very vibrant and the cinematography reflects this with some great lighting and colour grading. For a film with little budget, it sure did look good. One of the best thing about this film was it's incredible soundtrack. Mainly filled with classic 80's tunes, it really did help create emotion and some great comedy sequences.

The social commentary in this film is not as apparent as it is in God Bless America but I do think that this film was funnier. The lack of this commentary did let the film down in places and made some of the plot points seem a bit stupid in places. But overall it was a great and very funny film. Personally I preferred this to Kill List.

I had a great time at the festival even though I was only there for it's opening evening but I hope to spend the whole weekend there next year. Thankfully the film I saw was of great quality and an example of great British comedy films. That is why I am rating Sightseers a 4/5.

If you live in America then you may not have heard a great deal about this film, but I assure you that you should check it out for sure! 

If you have seen it, let me know by leaving a comment below. Thanks for reading!

Skyfall

After a number of sold out screenings I have finally been able to catch the latest film in the James Bond franchise. A franchise which I am a fan of and could not wait to see where they went next with Agent 007. I am also a big fan Daniel Craig as the leading man, Casino Royale was my favourite Bond film, though unfortunately it was let down by Quantum of Solace. Though after going to the cinema today I believe my favourite Bond film may have just changed to Skyfall.

With Sam Mendes in the directer chair it was guaranteed Skyfall was going to have some class, and he did not disappoint. In Bond's latest outing his 'loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.' Skyfall is the return to form for Bond that's tone is a mix of Casino Royale and the earlier, more cheesier Bond films. So for me this was the perfect mix of old and new, which really suited it as this is the 50th year of Bond, we are reminded of this throughout the film with some really brilliant fan moments.

Bond as usual starts with a great action scene and Skyfall grips us well by giving us some of the best we have seen of Bond. The opening credits scene is also a return to form as Adele's song sounds like a classic theme tune and the visuals to go with it are also incredible. 

The whole film's visuals are beautiful, this is mainly because of the various exotic locations but the cinematography also works a treat to make this an amazing experience. The CGI is also good apart from a few dodgy looking lizards but because of the film's dominant use of practical effects this problem is not a common one.

The acting is also first class, with Craig reminding us why he is the best Bond yet and Ben Whishaw letting us know he could be the best Q yet. Other new great casting editions include Naomie Harris, Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem as one of Bond's most interesting villains yet. Judi Dench also has more screen time as M this time round and she also gets say 'bloody hell' a lot, because that is of course how us British speak.

I was however confused as to who was the Bond girl in this film. We had two women who had some kind of relationship with James but not enough to call either one of them a Bond girl. Either way they were both great actress's and both added something new and interesting to the film.

I really admire the action and set pieces in this film, they were done really well and this was one of the main reasons I loved the film so much! Some of the set pieces felt very much like they had been heavily influenced by The Dark Knight. But that is no bad thing! I also enjoyed the new angle on Bond and looking back into his past and finding out a little bit more about the man underneath the suit.

My only flaws with the film are the dodgy lizards and some strange cast additions in the last act. One cast addition that I very much think was intended for Sean Connery as a cameo. But apart from that I very much loved this film!

Skyfall is the perfect combination of old and new style Bond, and this made the film for me. 2012 has been full of great films and this is just another one to add to the list. Definitely one of the best Bond films I have seen and hopefully the next one will be just as good, if not better! If not, well at least we got Skyfall which I am rating a 5/5.

What did you think of Skyfall? Do you like the latest take on Bond or do you prefer the classics? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!

Star Wars Episode 7!?

The news broke this morning that Disney have just bought the Lucas Film company and plan to make a new Star Wars film ready for a 2015 release. This of course sparked Internet outrage and as a massive fan of Star Wars I don't know whether to be excited or annoyed at the prospect of a 7th film in the franchise.

A lot of people are complaining that Disney will ruin the franchise but if you ask any major fans they will probably agree that the image of Star Wars was ruined when they released the first prequel. So why would they know go and make a sequel to the original trilogy?

Well for one reason we will no longer have George Lucas involved, or at least not in a directorial or producing role.In fact he is only going to be an outside contributor which kind of means he won't have much input. Which means we can get someone new to create a Star Wars film, including making a script which doesn't have bland and crappy dialogue. Now we can get some new fresh ideas to help restart the franchise and hopefully bring back the glory of when the first 3 films were released.

Where they go with Episode 7 is anyone's guess. Will Mark Hamil reprise his role as an older Luke Skywalker? Probably not. But hopefully Luke will play a background role in the new film, perhaps bringing him alive through the technology they used to create another Jeff Bridges in Tron Legacy. Will any of the original cast be back, who knows? I for one am anticipating where they hope to go with the new film.

In terms of who should be directing, I don't have a clue, there are the obvious choices like Joss Whedon and JJ Abrams, but I doubt that will happen. My guess it could be someone like Jon Favreau or Mathew Vaugn (could this be the reason he left the new X-Men film?). Whoever it is though will have a massive amount of pressure on them to create a Star Wars film that fans and critics alike will enjoy. May the force be with them.

When it comes to the script, I say hire one of the guys who wrote the well reviewed Star Wars novels or comics, surely their ideas would make a lot of sense in the development of the series.

I don't really see why making a new Star Wars film is a bad idea, surely this just help make the franchise live longer and hopefully become one of the biggest ever. I for one feel like a child again at the prospect of seeing another Star Wars film. In fact I am even more excited for 2015 as Disney will have hell of year, what with The Avengers 2 and Star Wars Episode 7. They are sure going to make a load of money! Lets hope both films are of excellent quality as well though.

2 and half years until a new Star Wars film, didn't expect to hear that this morning... What are your thoughts on a new film in the franchise? Please comment below.

Thanks for reading!

Ruby Sparks

I am a sucker for romance films with some kind of genre twist, I wrote a whole case study about it for my media studies course! So when I heard about Ruby Sparks I knew it was a must watch and that feeling was solidified when it got such good reviews in the states, but now it is out cinemas over here in the UK and after the screening I was glad it had hit all expectations, but still took twists that I had not seen coming, making it different from any other romance I have seen before.

It's been six years since the directorial team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris brought us the incredible Little Miss Sunshine, it has been long awaited there next project and it was definitely worth the wait. Ruby Sparks is about a novelist struggling with writer's block and finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character, Ruby, he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence. The script for the film was ironically written by Ruby Sparks herself, Zoe Kazan. Zoe Kazan is also the real life partner of Paul Dano who plays the novelist Calvin. No wonder the two of them had great on screen chemistry!

The directors had a host of stars to play with in this film, such as Steve Coogan, Antonio Banderas and Annette Bening, they are all great fun even though most of them don't get that much screen time. Though it is Dano and Kazan who make the film work, not that we were expecting anything less. Has Paul Dano ever had a bad performance?

The story in this film is great, it's kind of sci-fi element creates a lot of fun to be had and a lot of thinking about morals and life from the audience. The script is great and there are some really great lines that make you think about your own life and relationships and brings a great new perspective to them. What makes a perfect girl? Would you change anything about your partner? These great questions are asked over again throughout the film and depending on what kind of person you are, shapes how you feel about the characters. I found myself switching sides a lot throughout the film.

I love the theme of morals and doing the right thing, the film reminded me a lot of my favourite film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, there were a lot of things similar to this. Though the film was less arty then Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind it did however go much darker, much darker then I thought it would and this was just emphasised by the unnerving soundtrack.A scene in the final act also feels like it has come from a horror film, but don't worry this isn't all doom and gloom, in fact it is quite a feel good film by the end of the rolercoaster ride of a journey. A journey enforced with an incredible cast, script and very natural visuals that almost make this film feel as if it was real.

The film unfortunately is not as good as Michel Gondry's masterpiece, neither is it as good at the directors previous work Little Miss Sunshine. It is not a bad film but it did not grip me in the way the other two did. It is still however, up there with a lot of the best romance films and is definitely another contender for best films of the year, that is why I am rating Ruby Sparks a  4/5.

What did you think of the film? Genius or pretentious? Another great indie romance or just another quirky girl love story? Please comment below!

Thanks for reading!

Stick With Me

Hello readers! I am sorry it has been a long time since I have posted something on my blog but I have been spending the last week moving and settling into Falmouth University. Due to this new transition in my life, things may sometimes get a bit slow on the blog, but don't worry, I'm not giving up yet! Doing a film course at university, hopefully means that I will learn new things about the subject which I can share with you guys, maybe even new films which I have been shown which I can advise you all to watch or avoid!

Now this post isn't really film related but I do have some goodies in store for you, including reviews of Moonrise Kingdom and Looper if I can get to watch them this week! Also next month is the 1st Birthday of my blog, so hopefully some more great stuff will be getting posted then as well!

I apologise again for the site being slow on posts, but I leave you know with some very funny videos I have come across which I thought you guys might enjoy. Thanks for sticking with me!

 

 

5 Films To Still Look Forward To In 2012

Well the summer of movies is over and what a summer it was! You may be feeling a bit down about the rest of the year and the films it has to offer, but don't fret we still have some pretty awesome stuff coming our way! These are the films I am excited about that are coming out this year in the UK. So Django Unchained will not be on here unfortunately.

5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Some of you may be surprised this is not at the top of my list but unlike the other films, I know what to expect of this one. I expect it to be great, however I have been put off my the recent splitting of the story into three films. I feel like it's a bit of a money grabbing thing but Peter Jackson has denied this. Either way it's going to work because there is no way I'll be missing it.

 

4. Seven Psychopaths

If the hilarious trailer isn't anything to go by then the director Martin McDonagh 's previous film just might. In Bruges was a brilliantly funny film that was different to anything before it. That is why a lot of people are looking forward to what McDonagh does next, including myself.

 

3. Skyfall

A new James Bond is always a good thing, even if the last one was pretty bad. But things are looking better, especially for those who want a return to form, as Sam Mendes is on board as director and looks to be making an epic. Daniel Craig also says he feels better about and has signed on for more films which could see him becoming the actor to have played 007 the most! Bond and Mendes seems like a perfect match really!

 

2. Ruby Sparks

From the people who made Little Miss Sunshine what more can I say?

 

1. Looper

Bruce Willis playing Joseph Gordon-Levitt! Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing Bruce Willis! A time travelling sci-fi directed by Rian Johnson!

 

 

 

So do you agree with me? If you like you can post your top 5 in the comments below.

 

Thanks for reading! 

Dredd 3D

I would like to begin my review of Dredd 3D by saying I have never read 2000 AD comic books, so therefore I can not tell you how close this film is to its source material. I do know some basic facts about Judge Dredd and so I can confirm that he does not take his helmet off in the film. I can also confirm that the latest adaption of the comic book anti hero is totally bad ass! Read my SPOILER FREE review to find out why!

'The future America is an irradiated waste land. On its East Coast, running from Boston to Washington DC, lies Mega City One - a vast, violent metropolis where criminals rule the chaotic streets. The only force of order lies with the urban cops called "Judges" who possess the combined powers of judge, jury and instant executioner. Known and feared throughout the city, Dredd is the ultimate Judge, challenged with ridding the city of its latest scourge - a dangerous drug epidemic that has users of "Slo-Mo" experiencing reality at a fraction of its normal speed.' The story is pretty cool and once Dredd and his trainee Judge, Anderson are locked in a 200 story slum the story really kicks off. The premise has been compared to that of The Raid Redemption, a film I have yet to see, so I will have to wait to find out if the comparisons are correct. It is also great to see that this is not an origin story and yet we still get to know who the character is by the time the credits role. So you can do it Hollywood, it's been proven!

The film looks great and the acting is perfect. It is obvious that Karl Urban put a lot of dedication into his character and after hearing various interviews with him it sounds as if Dredd 3D was definitely his and the director Pete Travis's baby. Now their baby is all grown up and kicking all kinds of ass in a film that is deserving of its 18 certificate. This is definitely a comic book movie for adults as blood is spilt in all kinds of cool ways. That being said isn't a complete gore fest and is a lot more dark and gritty then most comic book movies but a little bit more light hearted then the recent Batman films. Karl Urban plays Dredd brilliantly even though it's his awesome chin that does most of the work.

Dredd is an anti-hero and this is not shyed away from in the film. Dredd is hard faced and emotionless but this is all part of his character, his 'sidekick' Anderson on the other hand is not so much. She brings more connection to Dredd as she is more human. That being said she is actually a psychic mutant. Olivia Thrilby does a great job of keeping this film from becoming too stupid and she also kicks a lot of ass too. That's the great thing about this film is that the women are not the damsels in distress or the love interests,  they can handle themselves just fine. Or they can be down right evil like the main villain Ma Ma, played by Lena Heady, yes the horrible Cersei from Game Of Thrones. Who is just as evil in this film, or at least it's said she is, i would have possibly liked to see her have some more bad ass moments as she was a terrific villain.

The coolest thing about this movie though, was the use of the drug slo-mo, which was mainly an excuse to have some extremely awesome 3D moments but damn it worked so well! Yes you read right, the 3D was awesome! When 3D is done right it can really work and it did here. For once the 3D added to the experience rather then taking away and I suggest everybody see it in this format as it probably won't be as cool without it. It had a kinda of Matrix feel in places whilst seeing people getting shot in the head in slow motion, in 3D! Like I said at the start, it is badass!

The film was shot in South Africa on practical sets which really pay off. When there is CGI it is always good with only a few shots looking less then that . But all together the film looks great and I can't wait to see more of Mega City One if a sequel gets a green light. If this does happen I hope they keep Paul Leonard-Morgan as the composer, because his soundtrack is all kinds of techno awesome!

After seeing this, all I want to do is see more of Judge Dredd! The film is great and very violent so it might not be to everyones taste, but if you like that kind of thing then definitely give it a go! And if you can watch it in 3D, which for me was the only format I could, then I strongly advise it as it is the best use of the third dimension this year! I'm giving Dredd 3D a rating of 4/5.

What did you think of Dredd 3D, hit or miss? Please comment below!

Thanks for reading!

CLASSICS: Rear Window

It has recently occurred to me that I am to become a film student later this month. Therefore it is required of me to have seen a wide range of films, and believe me, I have seen a lot of films! There is only one problem though, and that problem is that I have only ever seen one film by Alfred Hitchcock. That film being Rebbecca when I was younger. Alfred Hitchcock has been named one of the most influential filmmakers of all time so therefore I really should have seen more of his works. That is why I am starting a new segment on the blog where I will review every Hitchcock film I see, in order to learn more about film and whether Hitchcock really is as great as everyone says he is. Starting with my review of Rear Window below.

Rear Window is considered Alfred Hitchcock's best film. It stars James Stewart as a wheelchair bound photographer with only one week left until he is able to have the cast taken off his broken leg.  He uses his time to stare out of the window into his neighbours homes in order to have insight into what kind of life they live. Due to this fascination he stumbles across what he believes to be murder from the apartment opposite.

It is definitely true that Hitchcock was ahead of his time in terms of creating suspense in film, especially in one where the main character is stuck in one location. Although some of the camera techniques would not be considered original nowadays, you can definitely see that Hitchcock was experimenting with his work in order to create something that audiences hadn't seen before.

There are so many complex and original ideas put into a very simple story. My favourite being the use of a seemingly diegetic soundtrack, that comes from a musicians apartment next door to the main character Jeff. Even though this is a simple technique, it is something that is very clever yet rarely used in film nowadays. The only recent film I can think of is The Human Centipede 2 but I don't even want start to go into comparisons with that!

The acting is good and is very similar to any film from that period. James Stewart and Grace Kelly are great but don't exactly seem like a perfect match, but this is something that may have been done on purpose to create more depth and subtle hints to the sub plots which this story has many of.

The themes of the film are also more insightful then first thought. The theme of voyeurism, being a peeping tom is the most heavily looked at. Looking into the human mind and wondering why we are attracted to watching other people for our own pleasure, essentially why we enjoy gossip. Unfortunately this film did nothing to stop our society's fetish with gossip which really has spiralled out of control in the last couple of years year.

This wasn't the best film I have ever seen, neither was it the most suspenseful, but you can definitely see that it has its roots in many of our modern day hits. This film definitely proves Hitchcock was influential, but I'll have to watch more of his work before I decide on whether he is the best filmmaker who ever lived. I am giving Rear Window a a rating of 4/5.

What do you think? Is Hitchcock the greatest filmmaker ever or not? Is Rear Window a  masterpiece? Please comment below, and thanks for reading!

Reinventing Romance

I'm sorry it has been quite slow on the blog recently, this is mainly because I have finally caught up on the two seasons of The Game of Thrones, but don't worry here is a new post to satisfy your need, if you have any. This post contains my case study on new and improved romance films from my year 13 Media Studies course. This is the case study which helped shape and create my short film Broken Hearts. So please read and enjoy and more posts will be coming your way soon!

Considering films such as Up in the Air and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, why is the romantic genre being reinvented?

 

It has been proven that in the last few years, audiences going to the cinema have declined. ‘This summer saw US cinema attendance figures hit their lowest point in 5 years. Hollywood.com estimates that 552 million people hit theatres across the States, compared to the previous lowest point of 563.2 million back in 2005.’ ^[1] One of the most popular genres of film has taken the biggest hit with this decline, the romance genre. But why are audiences so reluctant to see the latest boy meets girl film romcom chick flick?

 

A traditional romance film is made up of a narrative that consists of boy meets girl. Is this narrative slowly becoming more tiresome and unoriginal with its audiences and therefore is the genre slowly starting to lose the audience it cares about most?

 

The plot of a romance runs very much like Propp’s Character Theory it runs like the perfect fairy tale love story, where at the end of the story the hero gets the princess and they live happily ever after. Though as we see in (500) Days of Summer, this is no longer the case in new anti romance films as in this film the hero doesn’t get the princess, the princess marries another man. Though Propp did state ‘The character of a genre is determined by the kind of reality it reflects,’ ^[2]  which may be the reason that we as an audience are turning to films like (500) Days of Summer because their characters are more believable and reflect reality.

 

The romance genre has a large female audience ‘it appeals to women because it relates to the sufferings they endured in patriarchal culture.’^[3] Some argue that the fact it has not been doing well is that it is too unrealistic in the harsh times we are in. Theorist Stuart Hall argued that audiences can reject messages [in films] and compare representation to their own views and understanding of the world. At the moment we are going through a depression as most of the world is in economical crisis and the threat of war is getting too close to home. The Uses and Gratifications theory suggest that audience actively engage with media texts that will satisfy their needs.  Maybe audiences don’t want to sit down and watch a fantasised film that teaches them the ways of true love. Most audiences don’t buy this and many could argue there is no such thing. This view helped start the birth of the anti-romance genre.

 

The anti-romance genre has been the most used genre in the last 10 years, in order to create ‘original work’. For example (500) Days of Summer which advertised itself as an anti romance film and had reviewers saying ‘It looks you right in the eye and tells the truth.’^[4] The film takes the boy, meets girl convention of a romance and turns it on its head by the main girl not believing in love, which goes on to end her relationship with the male lead. The film is narrated by the male character and follows his experiences with her; this goes against the normal conventions of a romance film, as it is from the male’s point of view. The film steps away from the happily ever after ending that many romance films have, and allow the audience to remember their first loves and how it may or may not have worked out. The director Marc Webb, is known for his work on characterisation and the final product allowed the audience to feel for the main characters, sometimes angry at their decisions and sometimes happy ‘Audience members could clearly feel the affection in the relationship, the affliction of the falling out and the maturing in the aftermath. The less-than-desirable ending left an impact on the audience, reminding them that while hurt exists in life, they must learn and mature from it.’ ^[5]

 

But is this the only realism that audiences wanted in the new anti-romance genre? Audiences wanted to be able to relate with characters going through the same hard times due to the state of our economy. Up in the Air best shows this. It is a social commentary about our current state. Up in the Air was released in a time where more and more people were being made redundant; the film looks at a company that are hired out by businesses to fire their employees. During the film the main character starts a relationship with a woman who he slowly learns to love, at the end of the film he turns up at her house to tell her this and when she answers the door we find that she is already married with a family. The star of the film, George Clooney said in recent issue of Total Film ‘the film is a commentary on a real and pressing issue for so many.’^[6] The comment was about the themes of unemployment in the film but this shows that even the big Hollywood actors want to connect more with their audiences. The film is also a social commentary on industrialism and how it leads to misery.

                             

Recent romance film Crazy Stupid Love, seemed to work for both male and female audiences. Containing most of the elements that make a romance film except it was also a smart, touching and realistic view on a couple’s relationship. Although this also seems to be the start of an anti-romance it is not, the main character learns the fact by the end of the story that love is hard and cannot always overcome obstacles, and what seems like true love might not be. These themes and narratives are not of your average romance film but more realistic. The film was a hit with a range of audiences and showed that the compromise between new and old romance conventions works. So is this the way forward for the genre?

 

Though it isn’t just reality that’s being added to the romance genre there has also been merging of genres to create a hybrid. This allows for even more originality within the narrative being told. 2011 saw the release of sci-fi romance film The Adjustment Bureau which had conventions of both the sci-fi and the romance genre. This allowed the institution to attract a wider audience. Incorporating different genres into the romance mix allowed for new audiences to watch and enjoy a romance film.  

 

Hybrid genres were the start of an uprising against ‘The Culture Industry’. This is a term created by theorists Adorno and Horkeimer. They stated ‘The culture industry fuses the old and familiar into a new quality. In all its branches, products which are tailored for consumption by masses, and which to a great extent determine the nature of that consumption, are manufactured more or less according to plan.’^[7] They basically argued that media institutions produce entertainment that has no originality but they know it will sell within general public. This is what can be argued has happened to the romance genre as institutions produce the same boy meets girl films like Bridget Jones’s Diary and Two Weeks Notice. Maybe this is the reason that the romance genre has been failing to bring in the audiences. It can also be argued that institutions continue to create repetitive films due to the romance being an ideology that distracts people from rebellion (Chomsky and Herman 1988). So the bourgeoisie through different media texts is forever controlling us. For the audience this also means a lack of originality in the media texts they consume.

 

The theorist Lyotard argues that society maintains stability on metanarratives. ‘For Lyotard, modernity is characterised by metanarratives used by western societies in order to legitimate science and the state.’^[8] The metanarrative in the romance genre is the fact that there is such thing as true love and that love can overcome all obstacles. ‘In the classics, the dynamic protagonists often undergo struggles, whether due to internal or external circumstances, and battle their problems in order to obtain love.’^[5] The beginning of these anti-romance films is the beginning of the collapse of metanarratives. Lyotard argues that in a post modern world these metanarratives are no longer central and therefore society is no longer stable but fluid. This argues that audiences are no longer believing in true love and therefore do not believe it in the movies either.

 

But the auteurs of our time are fighting back against ‘The Culture Industry’, bringing out new films of their own that mix up and redefine the romance genre. More and more directors are now putting their own signature on their movies. The improvement is that directors are allowed more freedom on the creation of their films and instead of seeing it as just a film they see it as a work of art that they want to show off to the world. Therefore more time and effort is put into the final product allowing a film to become more personal and engage more with audiences.

 

An example of a romance film that has been given the auteur treatment is Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, directed by previous theatre and indie film director Michel Gondry. The institution Momentum Pictures wanted a more artistic style to their film, so they hired Michel Gondry due to his previous work in theatre. Theatre is ‘thought’ to be a more artistic form of entertainment to film, so hiring a previous theatre director meant that the film would have a more abstract artistic style and a more practical approach to effects such as using frosted glass to create blurred and faded backgrounds behind characters, rather than relying on computer generated images. Michel Gondry is described as a ‘visual director’ ^[9] and is now known as an auteur. Bringing in a director with a ‘unique’ style proves that studios are trying to reinvent the romance genre.

 

Though you can also argue that sometimes we need escapism, we don’t always want to be reminded of how bad our life or relationship is. This means that in this ‘post modern world’ that Lyotard talks about, there will always be metanarratives. Society is brought up on stories of history and narrative structures and that is unlikely to change. Romance films have been a source of escapism since they have begun. “I like watching people fall in love onscreen so much that I can suspend my disbelief in the contrived situations that occur only in the heightened world of romantic comedies” ^[10] So if the original romance codes and conventions still work, is the ‘Culture Industry’ such a bad thing after all? Is there such thing as the ‘Culture Industry’ as Adorno and Horkeimer suggested? Every film has a different storyline doesn’t it? It’s just the codes and conventions that stay the same. Every genre needs a set of rules, that’s what defines a text as a certain genre. Dyers Utopia sees the ‘real’ world as full of negatives and that the ‘mediated’ world is one that is hopeful, one where the audience can escape from their troubles.

 

In conclusion I believe that this is the start of a new generation of romance genre movies. Traditional romance films are becoming too predictable and unrealistic for audiences in our current economic state. Don’t get me wrong, we all need to have a form of escapism, but not to an over fantasised world that has been used over and over again. Romance films like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Adjustment Bureau, hybrid films that mix two genres together are the way forward. And finally, institutions are starting to realise that you can make romance films that appeal to males and females, with the proof being Crazy Stupid Love. As an audience we are finally starting to see past the brainwashing of ‘The Culture Industry’ and seeing films for what they are, a piece of art that auteurs take pride and care in making.

 

Word Count: 2007

 

Bibliography

 

Websites:

[1] http://www.techdigest.tv/2010/08/low_cinema_atte.html

[4] http://www.observer.com/2009/movies/love-actually

[5] http://nique.net/opinions/2011/06/24/romance-genre-films-decline-in-integrity/

[9]http://www.universalstudiosentertainment.com/eternal-sunshine-of-the-spotless-mind/

[10] http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/i_love_romcoms

 

Books and Magazines:

[2] Theory and history of folklore – By Vladimir Propp – Published by Manchester Printing Press 1984

[3] An Introduction to Film Studies – Third Edition – Edited by Jill Nelmes – Published by Routledge 2003

[6] Total Film Issue 186

[7] The Culture Industry Reconsidered – By Theodor W. Adorno and Anson G. Rabinbach

[8] Engaging Deconstructive Theology – By Ronald T. Michener – Published by Ashgate 2007

 

DVDS:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

(500) Days of Summer

Up in the Air

The Adjustment Bureau

Crazy, Stupid, Love

 

 

 

Thank you for reading! Do you agree with my conclusion? Please comment below.