Sorry it's been a while, not much has been happening. I do however, have quite a few reviews to write. I'm hoping to write a review of a couple more films and some albums, I won't ruin the surprise though (that's the best part!). Last week, I was told that my review for Ed Wood (posted previously here, just below) was named one of the "Reviews of the week" on the film club website. Although, it is only a small community and most reviews are written by children's parents, my review was still chosen out of over 6,000 reviews. I guess that's something to be proud of, right?! It's not massive, but it's something.

This week at Filmclub I was given a special birthday treat by my tutor, I go to choose the film we watched, I chose the phenomenal Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson, as most of you know Wes Anderson is my favourite director; usually I wouldn't write a review of a film by my favourite director but I'll give it a go!

Moonrise Kingdom
Directed by - Wes Anderson
Release date - 2012
Starring - Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray and Edward Norton

As an avid follower of Wes Anderson's work, there are a few things to look for when watching his films: 1) Symmetry in shots (check), 2) Overhead shots (check) 3) A beautiful score (check), within the first fifteen minutes the three major boxes are ticked. Other similarities to look for in Anderson films are Swish Pans, Wide-Angled shots, flawed, relatable characters and feel-good realism. Check, check, check and check. Okay, we've established that we're watching a Wes Anderson film here, but what's this fairy-tale like film about?
   Suzy Bishop (Kara Hayward) and Sam Shakusky (Jared Gilman) are a pair of loved up, EXTREMELY underage runaways, fleeing their town in New England to embrace each others new found love. Coincidentally, this sends the town into a frenzied search party (understandable enough). Sound like every other romance film out there? Wrong, although you may be getting the impression this is a very weird, uncomfortable film to watch (two children, in love?!) it is also very beautiful in many ways, not to mention mildly hilarious. Wes Anderson is known for making his films to be very awkward, leaving massively cringey moments last for what seems to be forever, until they get funny...or cute. This isn't the sort of romance film where everything is perfect, the characters, the setting, the plot are all perfect. This film is relatable and honest. The honest part is either shocking you or you don't believe it...when I was twelve, all I could think about is how much I loved all of these boys. I felt exactly the same way Suzy did, I wish these boys were as honest as Sam!
    Not quite sold on the main plot? There's more than what meets the eye here. When we finally finish the beautifully rehearsed continuous beginning shot, we are faced with what I can only gather to be a narrator of some sort, introducing us to the island and the year. He also explains about the storm that is coming to the island, one that will go down in history. The storm becomes the underlying plot within the film and in the end brings the film to the dramatic climax, it could symbolize Suzy's and Sam's rebellion, how it escalates through the film and finally comes to an end, when the storm is at it's peak (no more spoilers, promise!).
   I always talk about colour grading, how usually it's perfect. Again, here it is perfect. All Wes Anderson films have a "theme/scheme" of colours. 'Fantastic Mr Fox' for example, is oranges and browns, 'Rushmore' is beige and darker shades of primary colours, 'Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou' is blues, yellows and reds. 'Moonrise Kingdom' is yellow, blue and pink (almost the same as Life Aquatic). Anderson is obsessed with primary colours, much like most of his characters are obsessed with something! Everything within the film is yellow, the fields, the telephones, shirts, dress patterns, even walls in some cases. As the film progresses, as the storm brews, the colour scheme turns darker, bluer until the storm is at its peak everything is blue. It's almost as if there is a blue filter/gel over the whole edit. The yellow, in my opinion, gives off the feeling of content and happiness. As the film turns darker and colder, so does the colour scheme. However, unlike most films it's not subtle, it's bold and in your face. When Sam and Suzy are sharing intimate moments, the scene seems increasingly pink, almost like they are "looking through rose coloured glasses/la vie en rose" (more on French symbolism later!).
   Typically, everything has a meaning in Wes Anderson films, including costumes. In 'Moonrise Kingdom' he focuses on Suzy's costumes, although dresses appear exactly the same, shift, sixties, tailored and contrasted collars. The dress changes colour near the end of the film. In the beginning, her dress is a pale red/orange colour, this symbolizes her depression (or "de-pression" to keep up with the quoting of the film). At a point in the film, towards the end, she is wearing a yellow dress of the same style. This isn't an accident, this isn't to keep up with the colour scheme, Wes Anderson is all about the tiny details. She wears a yellow dress, yes, to match the colour scheme; but as I was saying earlier, yellow symbolizes content. Suzy changes into a yellow dress because she finally feels content with her life, with Sam. She feels as if everything is finally in it's right place and therefore doesn't wear the colours that symbolize anger and depression.
   There is one more thing about 'Moonrise Kingdom' that I'd like to bring up (then I'll stop analyzing every detail about it, promise!)...it is heavily influenced by New Wave French Film, for example Jean-luc Godard's 'Pierrot Le Fou'. It breaks the fourth wall, the invisible wall between audience and character by the camera looking directly into the camera and talking into it. Not at the audience directly but at another character, by doing this we (the audience) instantly feel part of the film, more involved. Therefore keeping us more on the edge of our seats. New Wave French Films are also prestige for their jump cuts, Wes Anderson has taken it upon himself to incorporate those jump cuts into 'Moonrise Kingdom' and not subtly. The last thing that has influenced Anderson is the use of a character that appears once or twice and then disappears for the rest of the film, the audience don't know who he/she is and sometimes don't even know their name. This is where our trusty "narrator" (remember, the guy that gives us a tour of the island?) comes in!
   Overall, I would give 'Moonrise Kingdom' five out of five stars. To me, it's perfect. The acting is superb, the plot is inspiring, unique and realistic and the style of the film is flawless. It's the imperfections within the film that make it so perfect. If you haven't seen this one yet, you really have no idea what you're missing.

"I love you, but you don't know what you're talking about."

 

At college, our tutor and us students (so cheesy) have started a film club. It's not as nerdy as you think! We recommend super cool films of all ages and all languages and every Monday after lessons we sit and watch the film together, then have a discussion about it whether that just be between us, or with a guest speaker who worked on the film. Okay, reading that back it does sound lame to anyone that doesn't love films. But to any fellow film lovers, this is the dream, right?! Access to free films seems pretty cool to me.
      One of the points of this film club (which, by the way is funded by the BFI thanks guys!) is to review the film after watching it, great news for me. But for everyone else who's idea of reviewing a film is worse than listening to U2's discography (sorry U2 fans), obviously aren't as keen as I am. Last night we watched Tim Burton's Ed Wood, so here goes.

Ed Wood
Directed by - Tim Burton
Year released - 1995
Starring - Johnny Depp (no surprises), Martin Landau, Sarah Jessica Parker

Ever wondered who the worst director of ALL TIME is? Nope, not Ruben Fleischer, not Len Wiseman, it's Edward. D. Wood Jnr. Never heard of him? No surprises there. A director in Hollywood in the 1950's trying to make it the same way Orson Welles did; with little to no funding. This almost true biopic follows the "rise" of the non-nonchalant Ed Wood, in it we are forced to watch the brutal making of his films 'Glen or Glenda', 'Bride of the Monster' and 'Plan 9 from Outer Space'. Wood tries to bring life back into retired, junkie actor Bela Lugosi (played by the fabulous Martin Landau), however it seems that Lugosi's Dracula days are over, along with his acting skills.
It was said that Tim Burton was weirdly obsessed with Ed Wood, obviously not the way Ed Wood directed as he claimed "It's not the tiny details that count, it's the big picture". I guess (from past experience) that's where Ed made his first major mistake. The film itself is funny, interesting and attention grabbing; especially for young directors and film students as I'm sure (like myself) they could relate with a lot of the film, walking away from the film then realizing their mistakes. I think what made this film a true, real feeling biopic is that although the film was made in 1994 (then released in 1995) it was all filmed/edited in black and white, true to the time period, it meant the actors could be more dramatic about everything; which made it even more hilarious.
'Ed Wood' is probably the most famous Edward. D. Wood Jnr will ever be, and he should be thanking Tim Burton for that (well, apart from the fact he'd been dead a good twenty years before the film was made). Burton's film has made me want to watch the atrocious films that Ed Wood had made, regardless of them being awfully made, all scenes taken in one shot.
There is one early twist within the film (spoiler alert, kind of). Ed Wood admits to potential backer of his first him 'Glen or Glenda' "I've never told anyone this but, I dress in woman's clothing." Meaning that at random points through the film we get the pleasure of seeing young Johnny in women's clothing, usually owned by his girlfriend Dolores Fuller (Sarah Jessica Parker) who is a hopeful young actress, a jealous wreck and in the end becomes the only person who is honest to Ed; telling him his films are awful (which is true).
If you are not a massive obsessive fan of Tim Burton, but like some of his other films (Beetlejuice, Corpse Bride, Edward Scissorhands) this is one you should add to his collection. Although not typically Burton, it is still very gothic with typical elements of his (Johnny Depp being one of them), skulls, hilariously morbid and family friendly.

Gangster Squad

Director: Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, 30 minutes or less)

Starring: Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone

Gangster Squad is a typical 1950's, Los Angeles based mobster film. Mickey Cohen, a top mobster in LA and Chicago, is taking over Los Angeles one phone line at a time so he can take the title, “King of the City” (so lame). Set specifically in 1949, fresh stories and memories of the war are floating around, SGT. John O'Mara is a detective that can't seem to lift those memories(not surprising). The impression I got was, it was his sole purpose to take down anyone who had done any bad in the world(despite being told not to, many times). As the Cohen rises in taking away Los Angeles' “soul” from the LAPD, the chief inspector calls upon O'Mara to get together a secret crew of police officers to take down Mickey Cohen.

With help from O'Mara's pregnant wife (because she obviously knows exactly what traits a secret police crew need) John and his wife (mostly his wife) put together LA's dream team. Which include: a black cop who is amazing at throwing knives, an old guy on the front of what looks to be a comic book that my twelve year old brother could draw, a really brainy guy who also fought the war and of course the gorgeous, naïve SGT. Jerry Wooters. Somehow a Mexican guy joins the “Gangster Squad”(which they name themselves), despite his lack of police experience and he has never shot a gun before, he just “listened in” on one of their plans and decided that he may as well join now. Before I continue, can we just reflect? This film is set in the 1950's, if I'm not mistaken and I remember my year nine history correctly, black and whites were not aloud to mix, am I right? Certainly not a Mexican!

There's no character development in this film, I didn't even know Jerry Wooters was a sergeant until I got home and looked it up on IMBD, I also had no idea what he was fighting for, without giving anything away he seemed to change his mind about the “dream team” pretty promptly. Further on in the film, it seems like he changes his mind as to why he's fighting! I know there's only a certain amount of time in the film and explosions and big guns are obviously more important but it'd be nice to know some details.

Although the film is named 'Gangster Squad' it's shocking how little we know about them apart from O'Mara and Wooters; again poor character development. Dare I say this film is a complete rip off of Scarface, not the story, the “slow motion gun wounds”, the rolling of the shoulders, the proud pouting while shooting a machine gun; it left me in a sombre state of squalor. There's one more thing I need to say before I say what I actually enjoyed. I've never been a fan of Sean Penn, but in this film I particularly didn't enjoy his acting, he spent the whole film looking as though he was having a stroke, failing to make eye contact with anyone. Not even his “lover”, Grace Faraday. He also reminded me of a nodding dog, bulldog like features and all.

By now you're probably wondering, “what the heck did she LIKE about this film?”. Well here's to sum it up in one paragraph, the colour grading and editing were excellent, beautiful colours; very warm and raw, although they would be more appropriate in a RomCom, somehow it worked. I went in to the cinema with very low expectations, there were parts where those expectations were exceeded and parts where the film met those expectations, the film is very much like a sound wave (yep, I did just use that analogy). The acting from the rest of the cast (minus Sean Penn) was super, especially Ryan Gosling, who always delivers. Lastly, the ending was wrapped up nicely, showing what everyone went on to do; which I really liked.

My final verdict: wait until this film goes to £3 in HMV...oh wait. However, if you enjoy a film with little to no character development, big guns, explosions, over-the-top fifteen rated gore and an extremely cheesy script (my favourite line being “Hold on to your hats, boys”) only then would I recommend seeing it for the hefty price of £9.20 or more (the rip-off prices of Cineworld).

So, this years Oscar nominations were revealed today. Here's my thoughts:

Best Supporting Actor:

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook

Alan Arkin, Argo

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln.

Who do I think should win? Well in all honesty I've only seen one film out of that list, Silver Linings Playbook. Robert De Niro was brilliant in that film, don't get me wrong. But there's something telling me that Christoph Waltz will win because 1) He is amazing 2) Django Unchained will be brilliant 3) It's Quentin Tarantino. Tommy Lee Jones, for me, always pulls through with a brilliant performance in everything he does. Argo, I haven't heard enough about. I don't think I've even seen any other Alan Arkin films to judge his performance skills on.

My prediction: Robert De Niro. 

Best Director:

David O'Russell, Silver Linings Playbook

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Michael Haneke, Amour

Benh Zeitlin, Beasts of the Southern Wild

I think from my previous reviews it's quite obvious who I think should win this. Although Silver Linings Playbook was amazing, from a directors point of view everything was perfect. However, just because of how beautiful Life of Pi is...it has to be Ang Lee. I'll be very surprised if Life of Pi doesn't win. However, having Steven Spielberg as a nominee, it's going to be hard for anyone else to win. Let's hope we can pull away from the obvious choice.

My prediction: Ang Lee

Best Actor:

Daniel Day Lewis, Lincoln

Denzel Washington, Flight

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

I think we're seeing a trend already aren't we? It seems that there are two films that are ruling the Oscars so far; Silver Linings Playbook and Lincoln. In my opinion, Les Miserables should be nominated for so many more Oscars than they are. I haven't seen it yet, nor do I plan to see it for another couple of weeks but I already know that I'll come out like a crying wreck. Hugh Jackman is one of the best actors for this role and I know he'll play it perfectly. For that reason I think he deserves to win Best Actor.

My prediction: Hugh Jackman

Best Actress

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild

Once again, Silver Linings! I honestly think Jennifer Lawrence deserves this. She manages to break out of her role from The Hunger Games and turn herself in to a completely different character, completely unique. Which, as far as I know she sticks strictly to the book character, which is amazing. She totally deserves this Oscar. But then I go back to thinking about The Impossible, Naomi Watts I know plays a VERY strong role in that. I think I'm going to stick with my first decision here. 

My prediction: Jennifer Lawrence

Best Picture

Beats of the Southern Wild

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Lincoln

Les Miserables

Life of Pi

Amour

Django Unchained

Argo

This year at the Oscars, I think the judges choices have been pretty broad. For Best Picture there is a film from every genre. It's hard for me to pick a favourite here, I think Les Miserables deserves the Oscar because everyone has worked so hard to keep to the original screenplay, but then again with Life of Pi's cinematography, I think it deserves the Oscar too. Django Unchained is just a brilliant piece of work and Silver Linings Playbook is a great film to tug at your heart strings and makes you feel good about yourself. I feel like I am a bit biased here because I haven't seen the rest of the films that are up for nominations. I guess this can be my task, to watch them all before the Oscars. But I think this time I'll have to go for 

My prediction: Life of Pi.

From here, I will just give my predictions because I do not know enough of the films to give an extended opinion.

Best Foreign Film

Amour

No

War Witch

A Royal Affair

Kon-Tikki

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see any of the foreign films that are nominated for Oscars this year so cannot give an opinion.

Best Animated Film

Brave

Frankenweenie

Paranorman

Pirates! Band of Misfits (UK title: Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists)

Wreck-it Ralph

My prediction: Frankenweenie

Best documentary film 

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers

How To Survive A Plague

The Invisible War

Searching For Sugarman

My prediction: The Invisible War

Music (original score)

Anna Karenina, Dario Marianelli

Argo, Alexandre Desplat

Life of Pi, Mychael Danna

Lincoln, John Williams

Skyfall, Thomas Newman 

My prediction: Argo, Alexandre Desplat

Adapted Screenplay

Argo, Chris Terrio

Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Lucy Alibar and Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi, David Magee

Lincoln, Tony Kushner

Silver Linings Playbook, David O Russell

My prediction: Silver Linings Playbook

Original Screenplay

Amour, Michael Haneke

Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino 

Flight, John Gatins

Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola

Zero Dark Thirty, Mark Boal

My prediction: Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola

Cinematography

Anna Karenina, Seamus McGarvey

Django Unchained, Robert Richardson

Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda

Lincoln, Janusz Kaminski

Skyfall, Roger Deakins 

My prediction: Life of Pi, Claudio Miranda

Costume Design

Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran

Les Miserables, Paco Delgado

Lincoln, Joanna Johnston

Mirror Mirror, Eiko Ishioka

Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood

My prediction: Anna Karenina, Jacqueline Durran

There are a couple of surprises however, I'm EXTREMELY surprised that Leonardo DiCaprio isn't up for an Oscar AGAIN! If anyone deserves one this year, it's him. He's really put himself out this year to get into as many films as he possibly can: The Great Gatsby, Django Unchained and The Wolf of Wall street. I'm not really sure how the Oscars work, if there's a cut off point or not? Because I'm also really surprised that The Hunger Games isn't up for any Oscars either? What's going on?! 

Now, before I start this post properly I want to make something clear. I know, to all of you who avidly read my blog (ha ha) you're probably used to my music posts, which is why you read this. I am however, trying to find another niche. I want to try my hand at writing about film as well as music. Although music is the drive in my life, I feel that film is becoming increasingly more favourable to me. This might be because of my college course, which as you all know is a Film and TV course. So, to keep myself and everyone happy...I'm going to try to write about both.

Lately, as I delve in to the deepest depths of procrastination I have been watching film trailers and there's one in particular I keep going back to...

Yes, that's right. The Great Gatsby. Yes, I am jumping on the bandwagon with this one and finally yes, I did only read the book after I saw the first trailer. It had been on my mind for a while to read it but as soon as I saw the first trailer (emphasis on first) it became my main priority. The reason for this? I guess it's sort of a pet peeve of mine to not read the book before seeing the film. So when I first saw the trailer I assumed it's first release date (Christmas time). I rushed through the book, thoroughly enjoying every word and every description F.Scott Fitzgerald gifted us. I'm not here to talk about books because book reviews really aren't my forte (they are Sophie's however). Anyway, just as I couldn't get more excited about the film a second trailer is released. Okay so here's the thing, I get exactly thirty-one seconds into the trailer and have to pause it for a breath. Who would have thought in the first thirty seconds it checks all the boxes: great CGI, great soundtrack (yes, I do love Watch The Throne), great cast, stunning picture quality and best of all plot explanation. As we move on through the trailer we begin to find about more about this "chap", but who is he? Jay Gatsby of course! Anyone who has read the book are either grinding their teeth with rage or (like me) howling with excitement at this surge of colour: the confetti, the parties, the dancers, the waiters with drink trays and best of all Florence and The Machine. On a side note, I have found that Ceremonials (Florence's late album) is and has been used for a number of films, not that I blame them the music is so dramatic. But coincidental it's been so popular for films.
   For many people, The Great Gatsby is just another "boring" book you've studied at either GCSE or AS or A-level, am I right? I bet after watching this trailer you wish you had an imagination like director, Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, Australia, Romeo + Juliet), in just one trailer he has managed to sum up pretty much the whole story. The trailer takes a dramatic change at around 01:26, from which Filter - 'Happy Together' starts playing (For all those who have been racking their brains for that one, you're welcome). You begin to have a short insight of Gatsby's feelings for a strange blonde woman in the form of Carey Mulligan, who would have thought...a rich and passionate man, add kinky to that equation and you're not far short of Christian Grey! No, I'm kidding. Jay Gatsby is NOTHING like Christian Grey. Anyway, from here you have a montage of what I can only gather to be twists within the book, maybe this is Baz Luhrmann's way of saying "don't worry everyone, I've not missed anything!". That's what one can hope anyway.
If Leonardo DiCaprio doesn't get an Oscar for this, I will be a little more than surprised! On a final note, there is one thing in particular I love about this trailer but it takes a few times to watch it to pick up on it. Aside from Meyer Wolfsheim (a minor character), not one other name of a character is mentioned in the trailer, apart from Gatsby's. Centering the whole trailer around him, understandable enough apart from the book is narrated from a completely different characters perspective!

Okay, it's been a while but I bought myself these really cute notebooks the other day for film and music reviews, they were on sale but they're really handy! So I thought I would try my hand at a film review, so here goes. My review for Life Of Pi.

The Life of Pi, 2012
Directed by - Ang Lee
Starring - Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu and Adil Hussain
The Life of Pi is an astonishing story which started as a novel by Yann Martel. Before the film I believe it wasn't exactly the most popular book, however after watching the film I can't wait to go out and buy the book and compare it to the the film (like most book adaptations). The film is about a 16 year old boy named Piscine Patel, who was named after a beautiful swimming pool in Paris "Piscine Molitor"; he changes his name to Pi whilst still in school as he got teased by his classmates. Pi is Hindu, Muslim and Catholic; claiming he just wants to "love god", religion is a huge part of this film and Pi is heavily influenced by religion. His family run a zoo in Pondicherry, the French part of India. After living there for 16 years, Pi's family decide to immigrate as they cannot afford to live there any longer. After his family die in a shipwreck, Pi finds himself alone and stranded on a lifeboat, only to discover the Bengal tiger from the zoo (Richard Parker) is on the boat with him. This film is about the struggle of Pi and Richard Parker as they are alone in the pacific ocean and are trying to find reality, together. It is a story of friendship, coming of age and life.
 There isn't anything bad to say about this film; it's absolutely stunning and the acting is tremendous. Whilst watching I felt as though I were in a dream or watching someone else's dream. It has the best cinematography I have ever seen, wonderfully colourful and teeming with life. For me, this film was life changing, not so much the story but the way it was shot. Each scene had been carefully planned out, each more stunning than the last. The use of colour grading, flawless special effects and every colour you can imagine, The Life of Pi is certainly a once in a lifetime film. I don't think anything will ever top itself in the fact of a nature/wildlife/friendship story. If you thought Free Willy had you tearing up, just wait until you've seen Pi's brave journey with a wild, hungry tiger. It's one of the only films I can truly say I'm glad I saw in 3D; it wasn't one of these "try hard" 3D films where everything is jumping out at you, but it just made it even more perfect and believable. To be honest, I was so engrossed in the film that I didn't have time to remember it was in 3D, after about fifteen minutes I didn't even notice. While watching it, I felt every emotion inside of me light up, I was up and down more than a six month pregnant woman. Every emotion was real, which I can't say is true for a lot of films, I came out of the cinema feeling physically drained I was so engrossed. The characters were so real too. I feel that Pi's character was very relate-able, in that he was trying to grow up on his own, trying to find his own path. Which, in ways is very similar to most teenagers of that age, but they are fortunate enough not to be in the unique situation he's found himself in.
"I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts most is not taking a moment to say goodbye" - Pi Patel.