Going to begin with a brief abstract here. In essence the original Twilight film was what some might say as “really good” or “OMG amazing”. Secondly New Moon was, to put it nicely, butchered. It’s pretty much a typical Hollywood scandal: “the first movie made money by accident, so the second WILL make money if we force it hard enough” Do we blame Summit Entertainment for bringing on Chris Weitz over Catherine Hardwicke?
We can start with Catherine Hardwicke, her previous credits include Thirteen, which was Golden Globe, Oscar and BAFTA nominated and also her debut film. This probably gave the industry some indication in 2003 what was to come of this talented female director in the business. Lords of Dogtown was also a success and had a large cult following which was her follow up. Then came Nativity Story and the most famous, Twilight. What many people fail to realise is that, it was originally an independent film with an independent film distributor, had a famous independent star (Kristen Stewart famous for many Sundance Festival films) so the whole film wasn’t a big budget industry killer to start off with. That’s the beauty of it and why it was so good. There were no major budgets calling for amazing special effects but instead the director got to direct the actors and give them a sense of purpose. It comes down to intense chemistry. There’s no denying Stewart and Robert Pattinson gave it their all in this performance. You can only imagine that Hardwicke connected with the actors to since she cast them through an audition in her own bedroom. Moving on to New Moon. This is where the fun stops. Chris Weitz directed The Golden Compass just before New Moon which was massacred by the studio, chopped and changed then finally released much to Philip Pullman’s probable disappointment. Granted every director has their ups and downs, Weitz probably just wasn’t best for this film. The film was full of horrible directing on the actors behalves. You know they can pull it off but there was just a lack of direction, they seemed awkward on camera and somewhat agitated. Of course all the actors have praised Weitz’s job, but it’s their job to do so on such a high budget shoot. The special effects weren’t anything to shout home about either.
Fortunately for the studio, there were a few half naked guys in this film that were going to appeal to the mass teenage girl’s fan base so it was never going to lose money, just integrity for all the people who connected so well to the first film. I will say this to authentic first time twilight fans; don’t let this sequel put you off. There was something in the first film that can be compared to some of the greatest love stories in movies, forget the vampire part, it’s just a metaphor for everything that keeps people apart in life. There’s still another two or three movies to come out of this series of books, let just hope Weitz isn’t directing Breaking Dawn.
Sunday, 7 March 2010
Reviews
Up In the Air
Let’s start by saying this is probably Clooney’s best role as an actor yet and who would have thought a 32year old director could bring it out of him. By no means am I saying Clooney’s other roles haven’t been good for him, but this was a great chance as an actor to prove to everyone who thought he was only good for Rom-com’s to prove them otherwise.
The character Ryan that Clooney portrays every emotion in the film, despair, love, anger, arrogance confusion and realisation which is pulled off well in the film. It’s the story of a man that travels around America firing people for companies that don’t have the audacity to do so themselves. He spends over 300 days a year on the road...or up in the air so he has slowly become very detached from the real world. Then comes along Anna Kendrick’s character, the young educated business woman who aims to save the company a lot of money and put Ryan back in an office. Naturally Ryan disagrees because he’s forgotten how to cope on the ground in reality. Thus the story begins of self actualisation. Clooney’s love interest Vera Farmiga pulls off a convincing performance and you won’t see the plot lines coming, I tell you that now. Kendrick too has an amazing performance for her first real adult role although she’s already a Tony award winner and now has her time to shine and does it brilliantly. This will do wonders for her career especially after that whole sullen New Moon fiasco of a film.
For anyone (like me) who didn’t like Juno but loved Jason Reitman’s Thank You for Smoking, you’ll probably like this too. Why? Because he wrote it and is a much stable film than Juno was. It’s also hard to believe he started writing this in 2002 before the economic downturn when he was just 24. Who says Hollywood produces no talent anymore? You’ll probably fall for Clooney and Farmiga’s undeniable chemistry so much so you’ll wish they were one big happy family in real life, but don’t be fooled by the extreme belated writings of Reitman, There are also crass realisations of how the world really is. Sad and ironic. To create reality Reitman included workers who’ve actually lost their jobs to make the film more authenticated through these sad stories. Truth be told it’s a relevant film for society and the world today teaching us about the harsh beings of the current state. This will be one of those films we’ll all look back on to relate to in some form or another and go “yeah that definitely deserved an Oscar back then”.
Drag Me to Hell
I have a big problem with anyone who says this film is “crap” or “rubbish” or whatever colloquial term’s you undistinguished people use. You’ve probably never seen Evil Dead or any Hitchcock films. Because that what this film is, the perfect equilibrium to Sam Raimi’s early Evil Dead series and influences such old British horror cult films and suspense that would make Mr Alfred turn in his grave. But if you did like this film, then good on you.
I watched this film with my respective partner, him being a make and me being female so stereotypically you’d imagine I would be the one jumping my ass off and screeching however the roles were reversed and I came out with grip marks on my jeans from where his hands were clenching out of anticipation and uncertainty as to when the next “jumpy” sequence would come in. Okay so maybe it wasn’t a terrifying film such as the stuff Hollywood churns out but there’s enough thrilling moments to give you an anxiety attack, name me one film that has made you do that in the last ten years? I dare you.
This film also throws at you wit and sarcasm which makes you feel slightly better after jumping to the moon and back in-between that anxiety attack you just had because the old woman with no teeth made you jump. Alison Lohman’s blissful ignorance plays well off Justin Long’s charm as well as an abundance of quirky characters that will make you chuckle all the way through. This is going to be a cult film so not everyone will like it, but I suggest if you don’t like Raimi’s work on this, you’re probably more suited to watch Spiderman 3.
Let’s start by saying this is probably Clooney’s best role as an actor yet and who would have thought a 32year old director could bring it out of him. By no means am I saying Clooney’s other roles haven’t been good for him, but this was a great chance as an actor to prove to everyone who thought he was only good for Rom-com’s to prove them otherwise.
The character Ryan that Clooney portrays every emotion in the film, despair, love, anger, arrogance confusion and realisation which is pulled off well in the film. It’s the story of a man that travels around America firing people for companies that don’t have the audacity to do so themselves. He spends over 300 days a year on the road...or up in the air so he has slowly become very detached from the real world. Then comes along Anna Kendrick’s character, the young educated business woman who aims to save the company a lot of money and put Ryan back in an office. Naturally Ryan disagrees because he’s forgotten how to cope on the ground in reality. Thus the story begins of self actualisation. Clooney’s love interest Vera Farmiga pulls off a convincing performance and you won’t see the plot lines coming, I tell you that now. Kendrick too has an amazing performance for her first real adult role although she’s already a Tony award winner and now has her time to shine and does it brilliantly. This will do wonders for her career especially after that whole sullen New Moon fiasco of a film.
For anyone (like me) who didn’t like Juno but loved Jason Reitman’s Thank You for Smoking, you’ll probably like this too. Why? Because he wrote it and is a much stable film than Juno was. It’s also hard to believe he started writing this in 2002 before the economic downturn when he was just 24. Who says Hollywood produces no talent anymore? You’ll probably fall for Clooney and Farmiga’s undeniable chemistry so much so you’ll wish they were one big happy family in real life, but don’t be fooled by the extreme belated writings of Reitman, There are also crass realisations of how the world really is. Sad and ironic. To create reality Reitman included workers who’ve actually lost their jobs to make the film more authenticated through these sad stories. Truth be told it’s a relevant film for society and the world today teaching us about the harsh beings of the current state. This will be one of those films we’ll all look back on to relate to in some form or another and go “yeah that definitely deserved an Oscar back then”.
Drag Me to Hell
I have a big problem with anyone who says this film is “crap” or “rubbish” or whatever colloquial term’s you undistinguished people use. You’ve probably never seen Evil Dead or any Hitchcock films. Because that what this film is, the perfect equilibrium to Sam Raimi’s early Evil Dead series and influences such old British horror cult films and suspense that would make Mr Alfred turn in his grave. But if you did like this film, then good on you.
I watched this film with my respective partner, him being a make and me being female so stereotypically you’d imagine I would be the one jumping my ass off and screeching however the roles were reversed and I came out with grip marks on my jeans from where his hands were clenching out of anticipation and uncertainty as to when the next “jumpy” sequence would come in. Okay so maybe it wasn’t a terrifying film such as the stuff Hollywood churns out but there’s enough thrilling moments to give you an anxiety attack, name me one film that has made you do that in the last ten years? I dare you.
This film also throws at you wit and sarcasm which makes you feel slightly better after jumping to the moon and back in-between that anxiety attack you just had because the old woman with no teeth made you jump. Alison Lohman’s blissful ignorance plays well off Justin Long’s charm as well as an abundance of quirky characters that will make you chuckle all the way through. This is going to be a cult film so not everyone will like it, but I suggest if you don’t like Raimi’s work on this, you’re probably more suited to watch Spiderman 3.
Dawn of the zombies
Zombieland will be released on DVD and in accordance with this and in honour of Columbus’ rules for staying alive I’ve come up with some of my own that that might just save your life from a zombie attack one day.
1) When you’re walking home and getting close, do yourself a big favour and get those keys out of your bag or pocket in advance. If there’s a zombie tracking you close behind, you don’t want to be fumbling around looking for them while running furiously away from something that wants you as dinner.
2) Bring your phone charger- In a world where social media is taking over most forms of communication and where stories break over twitter before national news stations it will be important to have your phone on you and charged at all times possible. You’ll be able to keep on contact with friends and family and more importantly if you have a Smartphone (which a good proportion of the population do) then you’ll be able to keep up to date with the latest outbreaks and safe places to head for.
3) If and when you find your safe place to settle down and make a base, see if you can do it near a supermarket, why? They have big freezers that can freeze food (assuming the power hasn’t been totally cut off). Food has expiry dates so the more you can freeze the longer you’re going to last in a world that can no longer generate fresh food.
4) They say that when a tornado hits, go to the smallest room in the house with no windows. This is also pretty applicable to zombie attacks. Unless you’re dealing with some advanced multi intelligent zombies they’re not going to look in the smallest room or closet for you, so lock it up or barricade if you will and have a good sleep.
5) Like Columbus says, the first to go are the fatties because they can’t run. Well if you think about it the second to go are always the parents. They’re usually older and don’t take this thing too seriously so they’re a lot more vulnerable. When you first get news there’s been a zombie outbreak, call them up and insist they don’t leave the house and they lock themselves in until you get there. First port of call is always your family home so let’s hope they’ve got plenty of food to last a few days which face it, they’re your parents they’ll have plenty of food (unless the day of the zombie attack was their Tesco shopping day).
1) When you’re walking home and getting close, do yourself a big favour and get those keys out of your bag or pocket in advance. If there’s a zombie tracking you close behind, you don’t want to be fumbling around looking for them while running furiously away from something that wants you as dinner.
2) Bring your phone charger- In a world where social media is taking over most forms of communication and where stories break over twitter before national news stations it will be important to have your phone on you and charged at all times possible. You’ll be able to keep on contact with friends and family and more importantly if you have a Smartphone (which a good proportion of the population do) then you’ll be able to keep up to date with the latest outbreaks and safe places to head for.
3) If and when you find your safe place to settle down and make a base, see if you can do it near a supermarket, why? They have big freezers that can freeze food (assuming the power hasn’t been totally cut off). Food has expiry dates so the more you can freeze the longer you’re going to last in a world that can no longer generate fresh food.
4) They say that when a tornado hits, go to the smallest room in the house with no windows. This is also pretty applicable to zombie attacks. Unless you’re dealing with some advanced multi intelligent zombies they’re not going to look in the smallest room or closet for you, so lock it up or barricade if you will and have a good sleep.
5) Like Columbus says, the first to go are the fatties because they can’t run. Well if you think about it the second to go are always the parents. They’re usually older and don’t take this thing too seriously so they’re a lot more vulnerable. When you first get news there’s been a zombie outbreak, call them up and insist they don’t leave the house and they lock themselves in until you get there. First port of call is always your family home so let’s hope they’ve got plenty of food to last a few days which face it, they’re your parents they’ll have plenty of food (unless the day of the zombie attack was their Tesco shopping day).
Thursday, 10 September 2009
You're Not Salinger, Get Over It.
Tonight i've finally realised why i've been feeling confused and anxious towards people for the past two months. In america i met few and far people i actually wanted to talk to. I think i've figured it out...
"While misanthropes express a general dislike for humanity on the whole, they typically have normal relationships with individual members of society. Misanthropy may be motivated by feelings of isolation or social alienation, or simply contempt for the perceived prevailing characteristics of humanity...Misanthropes can hold normal and intimate relationships with people, but they will often be very few and far between. They will typically be very selective with whom they choose to associate"
Now i know why i liked Catcher in the Rye so much. Cheers JD Salinger, you've made me feel like it's alright to be a misanthropist.
"While misanthropes express a general dislike for humanity on the whole, they typically have normal relationships with individual members of society. Misanthropy may be motivated by feelings of isolation or social alienation, or simply contempt for the perceived prevailing characteristics of humanity...Misanthropes can hold normal and intimate relationships with people, but they will often be very few and far between. They will typically be very selective with whom they choose to associate"
Now i know why i liked Catcher in the Rye so much. Cheers JD Salinger, you've made me feel like it's alright to be a misanthropist.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Jetlag has destroyed me. I fell asleep at 6pm watching friends and woke up again at 3am. Layed in bed for the next, god knows how long, i might have fallen conciously asleep but next thing i new i had twilight in the dvd player. It was either that or the watchmen as blockbuster had provided me with cheap titles to buy however watchmen probably would have sent me into a coma at that time in the morning. I dont stay to finish the end of twilight, i drive to the beach and go running. Seven weeks of crappy american food will make you want to run a mile or ten.
All i want to do now is cook and read all day. I have a massive urge to read camus or bukowski but the library has apparently never heard of camus or the lady who looked it up is wrong about knowing her literature.
I will slowly add extracts of the trip in between my tired eyes and soul, maybe starting from toronto later however LA is fresh and exciting so i may get muddled up.
Hannah xoxo
All i want to do now is cook and read all day. I have a massive urge to read camus or bukowski but the library has apparently never heard of camus or the lady who looked it up is wrong about knowing her literature.
I will slowly add extracts of the trip in between my tired eyes and soul, maybe starting from toronto later however LA is fresh and exciting so i may get muddled up.
Hannah xoxo
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
Better In Manhattan.
Day 2 New York-wake up pretty early to change hostels. Go to the metropolitan museum for the day. Walk around acting like pseudo-intellectuals. It's hot and i'm wearing skinny jeans. We later get ripped off at a place called metro diner by our new hostel by a shovanist italian waiter, i do not tip. Me and dan head to the cinema to see proposal on times square because i am twenty years old and still have a thing for ryan reynolds. Dan now has a thing for sandra bullock. Mark and jamie head to a comedy club and we all meet up later on, attempt to find the rockerfeller center for about half an hour. Me and dan eat mcflurrys, i feel sick.
Day 3 New York- I go for an early warm sunday morning jog in central park where i come across a triathalon and battle the competitors. I swear i see hilary duff jogging. Later, Dan, mark and i go to set your goals, four year strong, the swellers and fireworks in new jersey. Great show. I feel 17 again. Jamie gets caught up in a tornado back in manhattan. We meet some local new york natives who come from the show back at the train station heading back. They seem ignorantly bliss as to why we have come to new jersey for a show, does this sum up most of the americans i meet on this trip? Quite possibly.
Day 4 New York- I venture out on my own today. I take the subway to times square with an ipod and armed with an OK magazine. I try to find the rockerfeller center again, this time in the day time and get miserably lost thanks to google maps and my altered perception of north and south in manhattan. I give up and start heading south on broadway as thats the only direction i have figured out. I look out for the jazz club my parents tell me about, the village vanguard, i eventually find it somewhere near chelsea or greenwhich. I've walked so far i dont know where i am anymore. I stop at starbucks and treat myself to a smoothie and a piece of marble cake while i read my ultra stupid american gossip magazine. I walk a few blocks and all of a sudden the heavens open and it storms right over me and lower manhattan. A traffic warden takes shelter with me and makes small talk about the weather. I tell her it could be worse, like a tornado but she fails to understand my british humour. The rain gets heavier, i get slightly wetter. A dude from california starts talking to me about how he didnt bring the sun with him. He then asks me where times square is as if i live in the city. I say about four miles north. He asks me whats the other way, i tell him ground zero is about 10 blocks south and he freaks out and starts rapidly walking in the rain towards it. I contemplate if i give off a radiance of new yorker in me? The skies clear and i head to ground zero. It's a lot different from the first time i saw it five years ago and i'm somewhat disappointed they've made no progress except a building site. I think about heading to brooklyn bridge but it's nothing i havent done before. I take a packed subway to columbus and get stuck in another rainstorm. This time i just pull out my magazine and wait it out. I find the rockerfeller center this time and decide to go up it. The views are amazing, much better than the empire state building in my humble opinion. I take aimless amounts of photos. I start to walk back to the hostel through central park but its dredgy from the rain and my flip flops are destroyed, undearneath my feet want to give up but i am determined not to spend anymore money on subways. I eat macdonalds on 73rd. It's not amazing, but it does the job.
Day 3 New York- I go for an early warm sunday morning jog in central park where i come across a triathalon and battle the competitors. I swear i see hilary duff jogging. Later, Dan, mark and i go to set your goals, four year strong, the swellers and fireworks in new jersey. Great show. I feel 17 again. Jamie gets caught up in a tornado back in manhattan. We meet some local new york natives who come from the show back at the train station heading back. They seem ignorantly bliss as to why we have come to new jersey for a show, does this sum up most of the americans i meet on this trip? Quite possibly.
Day 4 New York- I venture out on my own today. I take the subway to times square with an ipod and armed with an OK magazine. I try to find the rockerfeller center again, this time in the day time and get miserably lost thanks to google maps and my altered perception of north and south in manhattan. I give up and start heading south on broadway as thats the only direction i have figured out. I look out for the jazz club my parents tell me about, the village vanguard, i eventually find it somewhere near chelsea or greenwhich. I've walked so far i dont know where i am anymore. I stop at starbucks and treat myself to a smoothie and a piece of marble cake while i read my ultra stupid american gossip magazine. I walk a few blocks and all of a sudden the heavens open and it storms right over me and lower manhattan. A traffic warden takes shelter with me and makes small talk about the weather. I tell her it could be worse, like a tornado but she fails to understand my british humour. The rain gets heavier, i get slightly wetter. A dude from california starts talking to me about how he didnt bring the sun with him. He then asks me where times square is as if i live in the city. I say about four miles north. He asks me whats the other way, i tell him ground zero is about 10 blocks south and he freaks out and starts rapidly walking in the rain towards it. I contemplate if i give off a radiance of new yorker in me? The skies clear and i head to ground zero. It's a lot different from the first time i saw it five years ago and i'm somewhat disappointed they've made no progress except a building site. I think about heading to brooklyn bridge but it's nothing i havent done before. I take a packed subway to columbus and get stuck in another rainstorm. This time i just pull out my magazine and wait it out. I find the rockerfeller center this time and decide to go up it. The views are amazing, much better than the empire state building in my humble opinion. I take aimless amounts of photos. I start to walk back to the hostel through central park but its dredgy from the rain and my flip flops are destroyed, undearneath my feet want to give up but i am determined not to spend anymore money on subways. I eat macdonalds on 73rd. It's not amazing, but it does the job.
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Washington Failure
"I think the main thing we have learned from this trip will have been...do not use greyhound bus service if you want to get somewhere"
Bus from charlotte 12.30. Time we left, 1.30am. We were scheduled to get to DC at 10am. We get in at 4pm. The time our bus is meant to leave for new york is 4pm. This was due to a disablede woman who was rude and irritating (dont feel sorry for her) and she basically broke the bus and shouted at staff. We don't get Nandos or get to the white house. We get to new york around 8 or 9. Dan's booked the bus a day early so turns out we dont have a place to stay as our hostel on broadway is booked up until our room becomes free the next morning. We wonder around broadway and the upper west side looking for a hostel that has availability on a friday night. We finally find a HI (hostel international) of which i am a member so i recieve discount so this makes the rip off rates seem slightly redeemable for me. Unlucky boys. We're only going to be at the hostel for 12 hours but we take it anyway. Get dressed, convince the boys to go to times square at ten at night because it's a cool place to look at with all the lights n such. We eat pizza in a Sparro's, i have fruit too. Jamie and Dan decide to walk back. It is warm and muggy. Times square is busting with humans. Me and mark go to get cake and walk about and explore instead. It's $17 bucks buut we only have $15 and some change between us. The guy at the counter kindly lets us have the cake for that. Fucking american tax charge. I have strawberry cheesecake, it's possibly one of the nicest i have ever had and mark has vanilla and chocolate cake which he dosen't quite finish-understandibly. Mine was sickly sweet bus amazing. We stroll into a three storey m+m shop and i instantly regret not bringing more money out. Peanut m+m's are one of my favourite chocolates. We find madison square garden and get lost in penn station. Get continually panhandled but we dont have a cent to our name. They dont believe us. We try to find the empire state building and when we do mark is disappointed with its size. I am too, it seemed bigger when i went up it before. We get the subway home.
Day 2
wake up pretty early to change hostels. Go to the metropolitan museum for the day. Walk around looking like pseudo-intellectuals
Bus from charlotte 12.30. Time we left, 1.30am. We were scheduled to get to DC at 10am. We get in at 4pm. The time our bus is meant to leave for new york is 4pm. This was due to a disablede woman who was rude and irritating (dont feel sorry for her) and she basically broke the bus and shouted at staff. We don't get Nandos or get to the white house. We get to new york around 8 or 9. Dan's booked the bus a day early so turns out we dont have a place to stay as our hostel on broadway is booked up until our room becomes free the next morning. We wonder around broadway and the upper west side looking for a hostel that has availability on a friday night. We finally find a HI (hostel international) of which i am a member so i recieve discount so this makes the rip off rates seem slightly redeemable for me. Unlucky boys. We're only going to be at the hostel for 12 hours but we take it anyway. Get dressed, convince the boys to go to times square at ten at night because it's a cool place to look at with all the lights n such. We eat pizza in a Sparro's, i have fruit too. Jamie and Dan decide to walk back. It is warm and muggy. Times square is busting with humans. Me and mark go to get cake and walk about and explore instead. It's $17 bucks buut we only have $15 and some change between us. The guy at the counter kindly lets us have the cake for that. Fucking american tax charge. I have strawberry cheesecake, it's possibly one of the nicest i have ever had and mark has vanilla and chocolate cake which he dosen't quite finish-understandibly. Mine was sickly sweet bus amazing. We stroll into a three storey m+m shop and i instantly regret not bringing more money out. Peanut m+m's are one of my favourite chocolates. We find madison square garden and get lost in penn station. Get continually panhandled but we dont have a cent to our name. They dont believe us. We try to find the empire state building and when we do mark is disappointed with its size. I am too, it seemed bigger when i went up it before. We get the subway home.
Day 2
wake up pretty early to change hostels. Go to the metropolitan museum for the day. Walk around looking like pseudo-intellectuals
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