The Oscars!

Lets have a little (friendly) competition as we approach The Oscars (Sunday 26th February).
http://oscar.go.com/

Follow the link, have a read about the films and then decide (and post!) who you think will win the following categories:

Best Picture: - nominations are:  The Artist, The Descendants, The Help, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, The Tree of Life, Moneyball, War Horse.

Best Actor: - nominations are:  Demian Birchir, George Clooney, Jean Dujardin, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt.

Best Actress: - nominations are: Glenn Close, Viola Davis, Rooney Mara, Meryl Streep, Michelle Williams.

Supporting Actor: - nominations are: Kenneth Branagh, Jonah Hill, Nick Nolte, Christopher Plummer, Max Von Sydow.

Supporting Actress: - nominations are: Berenice Bejo, Jessica Chastain, Melissa McCarthy, Janet McTeer, Octavia Spencer.

Cinematography: - The Artist, The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo, Hugo, The Tree of Life, War House.

Prize to whoever is the most accurate in their predictions!!  You have five days!

Hi
Remember when you review your films to think about how you could use them for the exam - questions you could ask yourself (and then post your thoughts about) are: if it is a British film is it distinctive or aimed at profit? It is one of the genres Britain as a film industry does well? Is it typical of its genre?

Carry on screaming

1966
Director; Gerald Thomas
Stars; Harry Corbett, Keneth Williams, Jim Dale, Petter Butterworth and Fenella Fielding
Plot;
Carry on screaming follows the life of DS Sidney Bung (Harry Corbett) and his DC Slobotham (Petter Butterworth) as they investigate the disappearance of Albert Potter's (Jim Dale) girlfriend. They soon come across a house that contains the undead beings of Doctor Orlando Watt (Keneth Williams) and his sister Valeria Watt (Fenella Fielding) who secrectly steal girls from the forest using their 'pet' Oddbod. When they have the girls they turn them into wax dolls to send to local clothes shops.
Response;
This film contains typical British humour as it mentions certain inn'your'endos that many Americans wouldn't get. I think that this film would be appropriate for any age but whether they get the humour is a different matter. The film contains many different aspects form other movies such as the concoction from Dr Jekyl's Mr Hyde and the electrical charges from Dr Frankenstien's monster. Overall this film will be suitable for any age as it is alot funnier than it is scary.

Gypo  (2006)


Director:- Jan Dunn
'Stars' :- Pauline McLynn (Helen) and Chloe Sirene (Tasha).


Synopsis:-
The film follows the lives of a family living in a near-poverty stricken lifestyle and on the verge on breaking up , when a Czechoslovakian refugee named Tasha enters their lives via their teenage daughter. She struggles for acceptance and to gain a British passport , so she can begin her new life free from oppression and past experiences. 


Production Companies and Other Aspects:- 
Medb Films , British Broadcasting Company (BBC) , Distant Eyes Films , Molinare Studio, Spotty Dog Films , VMI. 
The film won , and was nominated for multiple awards such as 2005 British Independent Film Award (Won), 2005 Best First Feature (Won) , 2006 Special Mention to Cast and Crew (Won). 


Response:-  
I initially watched the film because the name suggested it would either be a comedy , or a foreign version of Snatch , then i read the information on the back of the cover. Though it wasn't what i expected it still sounded interesting and unique and I thought the film was relatively good and powerful as it showed the reality of the lower class families living in Britain and how they have to overcome everyday challenges. Then when Tasha comes into play it shows how her lifestyle , which in itself is even worse , effects their bonds and their attempt at freedom. It was one of the better British films i have seen as it related to both Foreign and British inhabiters of the UK. 
 

Withnail and I

Director: Bruce Robinson

Main stars: Richard E. Grant, Paul McGann, Richard Griffiths ,  Ralph Brown and  Michael Elphick 

Date of Release: 1987

Date viewed: 4/2/12

Brief Summary:

 Sick of their grotty Camden Hovel, two unemployed actors embark on an ’idyllic’ holiday in the countryside with disastrous results. Nonstop rain, a decrepit cottage, no fuel, and empty store cupboards, force Marwood and Withnail to rely on their own survival skills and the threatening locals; both of which leave much to be desired. Problems only heighten with the appearance of Uncle Monty who, although solving the dilemma of malnutrition, brings a new and unwanted agenda to the equation.

My Response:

With little plot, the film revolves around the wit, intellect and personality of each character, created by the wonderful dialogue which is executed flawlessly.

 It’s interesting, that the film wasn’t an immediate success when it first came out, but was thought to be too ‘Individual’ and ‘art house’ because it is now considered one of the best, funniest and indeed most iconic British comedies ever made.

The idyllic, yet comedic setting of the wet countryside and bad weather is very stereotypically British, but in no way mirrors the normal conformities of popular British film, rather highlighting the dreary aspects of English culture and our famous inability to stop complaining no matter what the situation.

If one thing did irritate me about the film, it was the main characters’ inabilities to stop squandering their money on alcohol. The minute either Withnail or Marwood came into any kind of money, they bought spirits, which although intended as a comedic element, did frustrate me a little.  

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Director: Jim Sharman Main Stars: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien
Date of Release: 1975
Date Viewed: 7^th February 2012

Summary:

A newly engaged couple, Brad and Janet, are driving home when their car breaks down. Looking for a solution the couple end up at the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite.  He offers the couple to stay but a serious of weird and colourful events take place including the Time Warp dance. Brad and Janet have come on the night of Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s party for his experiment with creating a man. His creation comes to life and is called….Rocky Horror. After the guests discover Frank-N-Furter is an alien he returns home to planet Transylvania, leaving  Riff Raff the butler and Magenta the maid to declare that they have plans of their own.

Response: 

I really enjoyed this film despite the weirdness of it. It is full of energetic songs which will get stuck in your head for a day! The characters are very memorable which is down to a small yet great cast. As a cult film I didn’t quite know what to expect, I had heard the songs but never watched the film and am glad to say it was a good watch. After looking up about the film I read that people go and watch the show dressed up as the characters….seems like fun…. But they through things on the stage which does confuse me but I suppose that’s what the fans like to do. I would definitely recommend this film but be prepared to be singing the time warp over in your head again and again!

Name: The Boat That Rocked
Director: Richard Curtis
Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy & Nick Frost
Year of Production: 2009
Date Viewed: 23rd January 2012
Summary: Carl (Tom Sturridge) is sent to the pirate radio ship when he his mother decides it is time for him to sort himself out. However, it soon turns out the ship is the wrong place to sort yourself out. Battling against the government to keep the radio station going, Carl meets weird and wonderful people that change his life. Amongst the best days of his life, his fellow DJs help him uncover the mystery of his dad whilst also giving him the opportunity of love.
Response: I absoloutely love this film! The casting is brilliant and the soundtrack is classic. The narrative is light hearted and easy to watch. The film has an open narrative ending and therefore leaves opportunity for a sequel, which I hope they decide against for fear of ruining the first...
Exam: The Boat that Rocked is a successful co-production. It's production companies being
Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Working Title Films, Medienproduktion Prometheus Filmgesellschaft, Portobello Studios & Tightrope Pictures

Rumble Fish - 1983
Director - Francis Ford Coppola
Stars - Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke and Diane Lane

Plot:

The story follows Rusty James (Matt Dillon) a street thug trying to live up to the reputaion of his older brother 'The Motorcycle Boy' and gain respect from his fellow gang members.  After getting stabbed in a fight his brother appeirs to take care of him and events that follow lead to his delosioned world to start crumbeling around him.  With the help of his detatched and dostant brother Rusty James starts to put his life back on track and into perspective to give it greater meaning.

With a cast list full of stars including Dennis Hopper, Chris Penn, Nicholas Cage and others I had high hopes for this film.  This could have easily been a basic gang based film with lots of knife fights but with Coppola's influence he slowed the tempo of the film down and used sleek cinematography holding the lengths of shots extracting more emotion from the characters.  The use of black and white adds to the dark bleakness to the film which reflects on Rusty James's state of mind, but there are dashes of colour throughout the film.  Along with thius is the setting there is no setting that realy stands out of any recognition which again shows the void which Rusty James is stuck in with no snese of meaning to his life. 

This moodey character study showed good promise for many of the young actors involved in the film amd big performances from both Dillon and Rourke.  I did enjoy the slow tempo throughout the film and the distant atmosphere both rourke (through his acting) and Coppola created on screen.

Hot Fuzz (2007)

Hot Fuzz (2007)
Directed By: Edgar Wright
Starring: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Timothy Dalton
Viewed: May 2007

Plot: Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is relieved of duty in London, and moved to the village of Sanford, where he meets a disfunctional policeman Danny (Nick Frost). After several fatal "accidents" occur in the village, he works with Danny to try and uncover the village's dark secret. Nicholas primarily suscpects the boss of a local Somerfields, Simon Skinner (Timothy Dalton), but discovers that the murders are due to something much larger, and it's up to only Danny and Nicholas to stop it.

Review: The editing in this movie jumps from one shot to the other very quickly, even during dialogue scenes, in fact, I don't remember many shots that last any much longer than 5 seconds. It really helps the movie feel very fast-paced. Many of the shots used are often close shots (mid-shots, close-ups, etc), helping give the film an intense atmosphere, making it all the more ironic that it mostly takes place in a village in the countryside.

Senna

Senna

Date viewed: 16/1/12


Director: Asif Kapadia


Main Stars: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost and Frank Williams.


Year of production: 2010


Summary: The film focuses on the late Ayrton Senna a F1 driver from 1984 through to his tragic death in 1994. It is told through the use of old archive footage with voice overs played over the top of various members who knew him well. It focuses heavily on the rivalry that he and Prost shared and the unfairness of the motoring sport back then. It also shows the major part religion played in his life.


My Thoughts: I felt this was one of the best documentaries I have seen in a long time. I had known little of who Senna was apart from the fact that he was seen as one of the greatest drivers ever , but after seeing this is can see why that was the presumption and i cant really go against that. What I liked about this is that there was a real drama about the film with the rivalry and most interestingly his belief in god and hauntingly the passage he read before his final race in which ‘God would give him the greatest gift of all, himself’. There moments of irony throughout and this for me emphasised the tragedy of it all it was if the documentary was counting down the clock to his death.  The documentary really does play out like a proper blockbuster film. It was insightful about how biased some of the F1 Board were and you could easily tell that Prost was made out to be the bad guy if that is right or not make up your own mind. After watching the film i really felt as if i now know who Senna is both as a driver and a person due to the amount of footage both from home and the news is used Overall an intriguing and moving piece of cinema, one of which I will certainly watch again.
What I can take from the film to the exam: I could use the fact that even in a limited run on its opening weekend made 375,000 pounds.
A must watch even if your not a fan of F1


10/10

The History Boys

The History Boys

Year of production:2006

Director: Nicholas Hytner

Main Stars: Dominic Cooper, Richard Griffiths and James Corden

Summary: The film revolves around a group of gifted teenagers who by their headmaster are pushed to pass their entrance exams for oxford and Cambridge. The headmaster brings in a young teacher Irwin who he hopes will polish the boys styles so that they have the best chance at getting in. Meanwhile their general studies teacher Hector is rightly accused of groping a student boy.

My Thoughts:  I dont really know what to make of this as its stated as a comedy yet i really did'nt find it that funny or that entertaining, it could be to do with the fact that this was a successful play and so maybe the transition from stage to screen does'nt really work that well. I feel that the film has a homosexual backstory or undertone with both Hector and one of the Students being homosexual and i think the film is trying to show the audience the effect it can have on both ages but again i struggled to fully understand the messages that the film is promoting or asking the audience to concentrate on. What the film positively shows however is you can make a very deep story from a small budget and a bunch of british actors with each character having their own unique character. The fact that it was adapted from a stage play speaks for itself as how popular and successful the play is. Overall I didnt understand the film on first watch so many repeat viewings will unlock what the film is trying to say.

6/10

Attack The Block (2011)

Attack The Block (2011)
Directed By: Joe Cornish
Starring: John Boyega, Jodie Whittaker, Nick Park
Viewed: September 2011
Plot:

A small group of rowdy "hoodie" teenagers, lead by a young adult named Moses (John Boyega) discover an alien whilst mugging a woman (Jodie Whittaker), an kill it. This later escalates into an alien invasion on a small part of London. Moses hides the alien corpse in the apartment of a marjuana farmer and his friend (Nick Park). After discovering that the corpse is the incentive of the alien invasion, Moses destroys part of the marjuana farmer's apartment in order to kill the aliens, and is arrested.

Review: The entire movie takes place over the course of one night, so most of the lightly is rather low key, as most of the "sets" are lit by street lights, which really helps give the movie a mysterious feel to it. There is rather frequent use of non-diegetic music, sounding very much like a "John Carpenter"-esque electronic score, though this is stopped for some of the more shocking moments of the movie (when someone dies, etc.). This movies is shot almost entirely with mid-shots and close-ups, very rarely using the (extreme)long shots etc.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Directed By: John Hughes
Starring: Matthew Roderick, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara
Viewed: August 2009
Plot:

Ferris Bueller (Matthew Roderick), pretends to be sick in order to be excused from school, he then persuades his close friend, Cameron (Alan Ruck) to let him drive his vintage Ferrari into a nearby city. After he manages to get his girlfriend out of school about lying about how her grandmother died, Ferris takes his friend on a day out in the city, whilst the school's principal breaks into Ferris's house in order to get him back to school. Ferris manages to restore the status quo and get back into bed the moment his parents come home.

Review:

The cinematography in this seems to favour long/mid shots, and very rarely features close-ups/extreme close-ups; there's a lot to see in each shot. This features a good balance of non-diegetic sound, especially during the more grandiose moments of the film, like the city exploring montage and the famous "twist and shout" scene. There's a lot of bright colour in this film too, which, with the log/mid shot cinematography, really helps give the film a light-hearted, expansive feel. In short, this film uses a healthy mix of everything.

Fish Tank (2009)

Fish Tank (2009)
Directed By: Andrea Arnold
Starring: Kaite Jarvis, Michael Fassbender, Kierston Wareing.
Viewed: 25th January 2012
Plot Synopsis:

Mia (Katie Jarvis) is a rebellious, 15 year-old girl who wants to pursue a career in dancing, however, she is very caught up with her ill-tempered mother (Kieran Wareing) and sister, and has no friends. She falls in love with her mother’s new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender), and tries to win him over, she eventually does. Mia then discovers that Michael already has a partner and a child, and is having an affair with her and her mother, and so kidnaps is child, breaking the relationship. She then runs away from home.

Review:

This is just what you would expect from a social realism film; there are a lot of handheld shots going on, usually an over-the-shoulder shot, when walking. There's very little (if any) non-diegetic sound, and pretty much all the lightning seems ambient, which really helps drive the realism aspect home. Whilst this move makes good use of all kinds of shots, it seems very proud of its close-ups, we get a little bit too familiar with a lot of these people’s faces than I would have liked, but, technically speaking, it’s rather well-done.