tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55562720902534610132024-03-16T00:08:21.232-07:00Celluloid Amazing - Timothy Goose's sporadic film blogI used to review films ages ago - I might start again now I'm unemployedTimothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.comBlogger299125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-38797160220930208522015-09-17T04:53:00.005-07:002015-09-17T05:10:03.405-07:00Because of me and my mediation with my master, you - all of you - will be saved from the red death<h2>
<b>The Masque of the Red Death (1964)</b></h2>
<h2>
<b><span style="font-size: small;">Dir - Roger Corman</span></b></h2>
Before we begin looking at this and looking at my ramblng notes, I think it is a good idea to definitely watch the film:<br />
<a href="http://www.veoh.com/watch/v199571086tMbhgkd" target="_blank">Which one can do so here</a> (it got taken off Youtube it seems)<br />
<br />
And also read the story. It is very short<br />
<a href="http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/POE/masque.html" target="_blank">You can do so here.</a><br />
<br />
We all storied up? Excellent, lets go.<br />
<br />
The story follows Francesca (played by cake-queen Jane Asher) who is kidnapped and forced to witness her lover and her father get physically and emotionally tortured in a series of sick games by the Lord Prospero. Prospero meanwhile is saving his subjects from a terrible plague with help from the devil.<br />
<br />
Francesca sort of has a character path - but it is very brief. She goes from being the victim of Prospero's vanity and a cowering prisoner<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIskJVVQ5eBmNgnW8zvaP99VbNBCGWsYfiidBehWNj14vTcw2O_9kFRS75nUGTs1iHJ1oddy-UROC9VeZs52qA9QZz1A_Q2Ia2kSlincxQ9scvH5U9RmHjZO_qxA5zf-Z-65JYdHh5XI/s1600/Fran+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="142" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfIskJVVQ5eBmNgnW8zvaP99VbNBCGWsYfiidBehWNj14vTcw2O_9kFRS75nUGTs1iHJ1oddy-UROC9VeZs52qA9QZz1A_Q2Ia2kSlincxQ9scvH5U9RmHjZO_qxA5zf-Z-65JYdHh5XI/s320/Fran+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span id="goog_970779832"></span>
To begrudgingly accepting what is going on, getting dressed all fancy and being cordial to Prospero's guests.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9tz0goF0Q-xVbx1s9880Tso6Tehe7QyxVbGefgQUttMz3x1CVWovd8XJPVX_0XKMlFK9caWgxgxG9FwjWJMyHFgsG_b1RmEHarZSTNdvhCfgns8nKzCejIugy_LJGkcZ8sOmlGUsnH0/s1600/Fran+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9tz0goF0Q-xVbx1s9880Tso6Tehe7QyxVbGefgQUttMz3x1CVWovd8XJPVX_0XKMlFK9caWgxgxG9FwjWJMyHFgsG_b1RmEHarZSTNdvhCfgns8nKzCejIugy_LJGkcZ8sOmlGUsnH0/s320/Fran+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
I'm not expecting a film full of <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WSqsBAMuhSs/VE9k7gDtquI/AAAAAAAAF34/KJTR8wvDUy0/s1600/1964%2B-%2Bmasque%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bred%2Bdeath%2Bscreencap%2B(47).jpg" target="_blank">screaming Asher</a> - but it would be nice if she was really a character who's actions and motivations matched the situation she's in... she sort of accepts the situation very quickly - even <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnodQvTEGmQ" target="_blank">Belle kicked up a fuss when she was captured by the Beast</a>. She isn't really a real person - she is a receiver of Prospero's monologues and that's fine. Because, lets be honest, none of us are going to be Francesca... nobody gives a shit about anyone in this film who isn't Vincent Price.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFF1AR4f-un1AMZtgn5GOzIRrn3I0gTnAl0DATCNV-rc3Uy0_PwXKzL7IBq3RivjDpOfOEOGuu0uCC3puN3VFbijYoopH0ODTiEpMqIXgAAsM7aSjaQ6K4IuaI2VcDcwkqx7oq6hNOCeQ/s1600/Price.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFF1AR4f-un1AMZtgn5GOzIRrn3I0gTnAl0DATCNV-rc3Uy0_PwXKzL7IBq3RivjDpOfOEOGuu0uCC3puN3VFbijYoopH0ODTiEpMqIXgAAsM7aSjaQ6K4IuaI2VcDcwkqx7oq6hNOCeQ/s320/Price.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Prospero kicks up all the main themes of the film - the stuff that I think we need to be looking at. He is an interesting force and the way he behaves (both with his guests and to Francesca) explain a lot about the themes of the film.<br />
The story really only seems to be about the inevitability of death - man locks himself away from the death outside - man throws a party - death comes in the end. So everything else - including the complete characterisation of Prospero comes from the mind of awesome shit-film maker Roger Corman (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Corman_filmography" target="_blank">check out that filmography</a>).<br />
<br />
The film really highlights the following key areas - either through Prospero, or through some of his guests - and I think these are the areas that we need to focus on when recreating the Masque<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Dishonesty, naivety and the constant power struggle</li>
<li>My blind obedience is more valid than your blind obedience</li>
<li>Corruption of innocence</li>
</ul>
<br />
So lets break it down with some exciting sub-headings.<br />
<br />
<b>Dishonesty, naivety and the constant power struggle</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Firstly, apologies if this is not how you spell naivety - it looks wrong to me. I'd spell it with an acute accent on an e... but I can't remember how to insert that symbol and my (usually wrong) spellchecker is going with Y.<br />
<br />
Prospero's main weakness in this film is believing that he has way more power than he actually does. We know that Prospero is powerful - he is a Prince after all - and from the start we see that he maybe doesn't use his power for good. His attempt at being 'nice' to the poor people in his domain (offering the scraps from the massive party he's throwing) is refused, and as he is offended by this refusal he burns down the village and sentences two of the villagers to death.<br />
<br />
Weirdly, I don't think Prospero sees himself as<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUDntpV_HdQ" target="_blank"> an EVIL man</a>... and for Vincent Price, this is quite a calm performance with very few maniacal cackles. I think he just believes that everyone has to know their place. His place is the tippy top - and these villages need to know that.... if a few peasants have to die for that message to be learnt than so be it.<br />
In fact he invites them to the safety of his castle and only burns the village down when he hears that the Red Death has come. He doesn't want his principality to get all diseased - so he destroys the source.<br />
<br />
Prospero's problem is that nobody has ever challenged him - he can kill peasants and burn down villages and nobody cares and whilst his court is full of dishonesty and back stabbing, he still has complete control.<br />
This scene is really sinister if you ask me - both the blind obedience (which we'll come back to) of the court but also the weird sycophantic maniacal laughing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/b8GAm7zko5Q/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/b8GAm7zko5Q?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<i>This would be a brilliant walkabout piece - have somone issuing demands - have a couple of 'plants' who get the ball rolling so that normal people don't feel too shy and then rope the punters into being frogs or donkeys or snakes or goats</i><br />
<br />
I find it all really quite sinister and horrible - but it shows the heirachy - everyone within the court is eager to suck up to their master. They'll debase themselves in front of others if it makes their prince happy - if it puts them in a better position, and fuck anyone who gets in the way. The only exceptions here are the 'low classes' - the peasants are constantly rebelling and getting killed for it and Hoptoad the jester (whilst certainly making tricks and using the power struggle for his own advantage) is protecting his wife.<br />
<br />
Even Prospero is trying to play games to make himself look better in the eyes of his lord Satan.<br />
<br />
<b>My blind obedience is more valid than your blind obedience</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is an interesting one - Prospero firmly believes that Satan is the lord of the universe (in fact when he meets the Red Death and learns this isn't the case you can hear the <a href="https://youtu.be/SkW8b-gPeMg?t=5m6s" target="_blank">fear and confusion</a> in Price's voice). His blind faith that Satan can save him from the Red Death is the force that powers this film and that powers Prospero's every decision. He brings his subjects to his castle so that he can bring their souls to Satan.<br />
<br />
And yet - he looks down on blind obedience. He talks about the foolishness of Christianity and believing in a dead god, using clumsy falcon analogu. He looks down on the obedience of his subjects but punishes them harshly if they don't.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="background-color: #fcfae7; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.2px;">Do you know how a falcon is trained, my dear? Her eyes are sewn shut. Blinded temporarily, she suffers the whims of her God patiently, until her will is submerged and she learns to serve - as your God taught and blinded you with crosses.</span></blockquote>
This point links back to Prospero's naivety - he believes he is in the right and that he is safe from the inevitability of death... he isn't<br />
<br />
However - there is a brilliant bit in the film where obedience is tested, with two prisoners essentially playing Russian Roulette with daggers. <i>We should definitely have some kind of (non-lethal) Russian Roulette going on - maybe a walkabout food based thing (chocolates with one super chilli one?)</i><br />
<br />
We should also have a Satanic ritual at some point like the one Juliana goes through to become Satan's wife - I love <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9nC0OE7HRg" target="_blank">a good Satan dream</a> as much as <a href="http://celluloidwickerman.com/2013/11/14/the-masque-of-the-red-death-roger-corman-part-3-the-freudian-dream/" target="_blank">the next man</a> (who wrote a good little study on the dream)<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2i_ZoXuOmv-Gl5-FP9hiZl69etFzyyx9-XnE60LIW175ovCBA0NAOIzzK8c19OPMxH2OdayGg__UdW09ZydfUffqlkETMQJ8y15fHnNMog5mxcYdz3ws6_6qs2MwPb6qYHYC4onfEkg/s1600/Juliana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC2i_ZoXuOmv-Gl5-FP9hiZl69etFzyyx9-XnE60LIW175ovCBA0NAOIzzK8c19OPMxH2OdayGg__UdW09ZydfUffqlkETMQJ8y15fHnNMog5mxcYdz3ws6_6qs2MwPb6qYHYC4onfEkg/s320/Juliana.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Corruption of innocence</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
So, I'm aware that there is the potential for this experience to be dark - too dark. Lots of Machiavellian back stabbing and betrayal as well as talk of Devil Worship- but that is largely Prospero.<br />
Most of the party are really there to have fun. They want experiences - they want to see people die for their enjoyment. They want to corrupt the innocence of others.<br />
<br />
This is particularly shown in the story of Alfredo's passion for Esmerelda - the tiny dancer who is the fairly disconcerting juxtaposition of an 8 year old girl over dubbed with an adult's voice. Watching her talk is weird. Probably the creepiest bit of the film.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm-NiogF_COzYMIGNQIWyUaZJL-EZQ_-0YaDEp2Vabg1qcCNNG7K3in5qgFrU6YvaJuQ7H2uQtWR9jjtYr5VJ3xWiJUGb0nT1vinZDVBVGJjnx0JTIB635a4NlPRV1kDz0DVoCwxPCeg/s1600/alfredo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEm-NiogF_COzYMIGNQIWyUaZJL-EZQ_-0YaDEp2Vabg1qcCNNG7K3in5qgFrU6YvaJuQ7H2uQtWR9jjtYr5VJ3xWiJUGb0nT1vinZDVBVGJjnx0JTIB635a4NlPRV1kDz0DVoCwxPCeg/s320/alfredo.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Alfredo is always after the thrills - and whether that is corrupting a woman who looks like a child, or whether it is watching people tortured for his entertainment - he doesn't care how his thrill seeking affect others. Unfortunately he should... because he ends up tricked into a monkey suit and set on fire - because he is a horrible horrible man -<i> I'm not saying we should set anyone on fire... but Alfredo and Hoptoad as ape and trainer would be a fun bit of walkabout to do</i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaO0cIk2OTSmSbFEMwiP5Q0_RRBTxSf0H1KgbSMuMY0YVpvkvdAY_PQfr8GrBC1YXXywGP3Fmx51ItSgN3dUGCIOjVR4XCWMcilg7l5vF3R4mzgjRMffEZHK3kgK9QT27ZGRfu4QUJ_w/s1600/alfredo+2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVaO0cIk2OTSmSbFEMwiP5Q0_RRBTxSf0H1KgbSMuMY0YVpvkvdAY_PQfr8GrBC1YXXywGP3Fmx51ItSgN3dUGCIOjVR4XCWMcilg7l5vF3R4mzgjRMffEZHK3kgK9QT27ZGRfu4QUJ_w/s320/alfredo+2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
This is what we should be emulating for most of it - pure decadence at it's most dangerous level. Blissful ignorance until it all fucks up...<br />
<br />
Which brings us to...<br />
<br />
<b>The actual Red Death</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Here we go - all the themes mentioned above.... the power struggles, the worship of gods and devils, the thrill seeking... all of it means nothing.<br />
<br />
Death comes to us all in the end.<br />
<br />
A lovely joyous message for us to throw a party around - but there are some really wonderful striking visual elements.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SkW8b-gPeMg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SkW8b-gPeMg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />
In the video above we get two great elements - The Dance of Death (from 2:24) and the clawing grasping hands of death as the throng fall in on Prospero (from 6:06) - a visually striking scene that means I now finally understand the <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xh3cqt_phantom-of-the-paradise-1974-fin_shortfilms" target="_blank">end of Phantom of the Paradise</a>.<br />
<br />
So.... we can do what we want - be cruel and selfish and hurt others to protect ourselves in our lie of a happy ball - but it doesn't matter, because in the end....<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNmvtAJg6jG_ACUN1z25iBk61SiPvFEcZ3YbXjy7Qw3Bl12FVzYXfwhyphenhyphenPq87BZaEqS8ycFhTjDBIh_9uxrRc_IL9aDPXGOXb0_9CVVOncT1ISVtjKcpRziYf5_633rUZy0FOSlQeDjKM/s1600/fin.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNmvtAJg6jG_ACUN1z25iBk61SiPvFEcZ3YbXjy7Qw3Bl12FVzYXfwhyphenhyphenPq87BZaEqS8ycFhTjDBIh_9uxrRc_IL9aDPXGOXb0_9CVVOncT1ISVtjKcpRziYf5_633rUZy0FOSlQeDjKM/s400/fin.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
ps - who are all the other deaths?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-51293319113002026042011-11-08T14:53:00.000-08:002011-11-08T15:41:56.631-08:00Dr. Green, how can you diagnose someone as an obsessive compulsive disorder, and then act like I have some choice about barging in here?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsKKCQYchR_F6K1HQNiovT299pEPDNJUi7pRngGRqJy_0ee_ovsG36QjRRyXyjAi1U7UYUdIQgWaY2POkWgDzDM0AuOPM7Xx_R9alM1HNCfv-2LIcFCDISjYR9-8EszzhUVuY61ezAOQ/s1600/helen+kiss.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 140 - As Good as it Gets</b></i><div><i>Director - James L Brooks</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Jack Nicholson is a crazy old man isn't he. He's always been a crazy old man. </div><div><br /></div><div>He was<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsqSeuUkbINoEipJwwc4wW5KTiPxNLeUIhyphenhyphen9bI8KLHMFT2OaxxXJC8_3XriExcpChyphenhyphenIKtbtNrYb_qJ3PGKUYMODT-J0XfUYRwG5_6miDr4_k82J6Wa2MYKjuvgAnKqFa8mU1cDXSG54Vzf/s1600/the-shining-2.jpg"> a crazy old man in the 70's</a></div><div>He was <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvfnnb-NWwLBJmXXzSUOQSCEhwxN6A_brNTkic3aP93W5ZSYqk87kUZCDL-pgPrF8bHJByQX0m_dVFJXSoRx5xILV_0Jt4VtgRnqZjUhj8ar63VvQcio2Lf3QJSvvQFP01bIWJggwZoUaJ//">a crazy old man in the 80's</a></div><div>And<a href="http://thebestpictureproject.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/as-good-as-it-gets.jpg"> he's a crazy old man here in the 90's</a> too</div><div><br /></div><div>He is also fascinating to watch. Something about his face. His eyebrows and his teeny tiny eyes and his ENORMOUS creepy grin.</div><div>His, is a face you can look at forever because he manages act with parts of your head which shouldn't be acting:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6WEz7JX6ZnrqwlH8cJ6Cv99LH3tkqmxpzYxUCCx7TC729-PxgxS5PujH9pZvtbjhvLexacfxW3FeEAcz2x_OB8czctrJFA-G60LT6tHLbX9CqGVaqwd3Mm_P3A3xM1VcCMGJ20UVYnM/s1600/nicholsson+forehead.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS6WEz7JX6ZnrqwlH8cJ6Cv99LH3tkqmxpzYxUCCx7TC729-PxgxS5PujH9pZvtbjhvLexacfxW3FeEAcz2x_OB8czctrJFA-G60LT6tHLbX9CqGVaqwd3Mm_P3A3xM1VcCMGJ20UVYnM/s400/nicholsson+forehead.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672765545821249506" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 296px; " /></a>In this film, Nicholson plays a grumpy old <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">curmudgeon</span> and the film is set in a weird tone, begin with some brilliant dog-based toilet humour, but also factoring in some uncomfortable (hilariously uncomfortable at times) homophobia and racism towards his neighbours.</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, this is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Hollywood</span> and grumpy old <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">curmudgeons</span> can't stay grumpy forever. So, after a surprisingly brutal scene, Nicholson is left looking after the stupidest dog in the world!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwtZL23W3R01W_2m37rhwOevmcSWLfncZv0XHOPdTK71dY8YCcsDsPlxCix4rTanGn9BpQ63XCuMOYPj1GelMUrY_vjFM9dywLltnqSdsdQMviIgElUB5_1invMjcqzn_q-83XhH-zBo/s1600/stupid+dog.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbwtZL23W3R01W_2m37rhwOevmcSWLfncZv0XHOPdTK71dY8YCcsDsPlxCix4rTanGn9BpQ63XCuMOYPj1GelMUrY_vjFM9dywLltnqSdsdQMviIgElUB5_1invMjcqzn_q-83XhH-zBo/s400/stupid+dog.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672768336930916402" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 221px; " /></a>Now - it turns out the dog is a Brussels <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Griffon</span>.... but look at its doggy face. It is the stupidest dog in the world....</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxhl2lGdKmBKxaSSFubmvQJD6IqIzqkJMWjmv2UwLx50Y_CWcz7W_82t2076eehlV_jyYwBH2bKxMYL7xdsuWkH85Dl-7T7PTJvSLppHTe6evvfYlvO7Ulrr_De1B_EfLufRgy8Lwpts/s1600/stupid+dog.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzxhl2lGdKmBKxaSSFubmvQJD6IqIzqkJMWjmv2UwLx50Y_CWcz7W_82t2076eehlV_jyYwBH2bKxMYL7xdsuWkH85Dl-7T7PTJvSLppHTe6evvfYlvO7Ulrr_De1B_EfLufRgy8Lwpts/s400/stupid+dog.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672770682460848418" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 110px; height: 120px; " /></a>That is a stupid face.</div><div><br /></div><div>And so, looking at my notes, I seem to have become fixated with the dog. I even drew sketches of the dog.</div><div>I think the reason was that I didn't want to focus on the main story.</div><div><br /></div><div>The main story sees Nicholson soften into a nicer more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">likeable</span> guy as he goes on a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">roadtrip</span> with Helen Hunt's waitress (what he fancies) and his gay neighbour (or <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Gaybour</span>) played by Greg <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Kinnear</span>.</div><div>In this, the typical happens.</div><div>Now call me naive, but I sort of hoped that Nicholson's character would see the good that he was doing. Would see the relationships he was helping to form and this would soften his character. He'd leave with two new friends and a changed outlook on the world.</div><div><br /></div><div>But no... THERE HAS TO BE A FUCKING LOVE ANGLE DESPITE THE FACT THAT NICHOLSON IS 26 YEARS OLDER THAN HUNT.... this is never mentioned. He is old enough to be her dad and he is horrible.... and yet Hunt fancies him right up.</div><div>At one point, Nicholson's character meets Hunt's mother.... I thought that would lead to romance.... an interesting (and fitting) relationship.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are also interesting moments which are downplayed - Greg <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Kinnear's</span> artist finds his muse in Helen Hunt's character. This gives us one scene of cheeky nudity and hunt-boob, but very little in the way of story or character notes.</div><div><br /></div><div>you see....</div><div><br /></div><div>its all bumped out of the way for this</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsKKCQYchR_F6K1HQNiovT299pEPDNJUi7pRngGRqJy_0ee_ovsG36QjRRyXyjAi1U7UYUdIQgWaY2POkWgDzDM0AuOPM7Xx_R9alM1HNCfv-2LIcFCDISjYR9-8EszzhUVuY61ezAOQ/s1600/helen+kiss.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlsKKCQYchR_F6K1HQNiovT299pEPDNJUi7pRngGRqJy_0ee_ovsG36QjRRyXyjAi1U7UYUdIQgWaY2POkWgDzDM0AuOPM7Xx_R9alM1HNCfv-2LIcFCDISjYR9-8EszzhUVuY61ezAOQ/s400/helen+kiss.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672773420743385874" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 178px; " /></a>And this cheapens the whole film for me. I like the idea of Nicholson curing (or at least controlling) his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">OCDs</span> - I like the idea of him becoming a nicer person. </div><div><br /></div><div>But I'd much rather it was friendship which changed him. Or even a silly little dog.</div><div><br /></div><div>Because those changes become much less poignant when the motivation is clear:</div><div><br /></div><div>Jack just wants to stick his Nicholson in to Helen's Hunt.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-53581357339745712232011-11-08T14:16:00.000-08:002011-11-08T14:47:15.160-08:00I've done a lot of bad things, Joey. Maybe it's comin' back to me. Who knows? I'm a jinx maybe. Who the hell knows?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqeEc2OKkQeTyeuGUQsUCosofDmp8kkbMXFFvAALsbPUW72QLvahYxHeLVkI7r8wo-7Jbuif453sUgXm5ZxCtSbbfQ3arFLXN5_maMEY6A9kIlrj4r2b4K3lOM39-6YqbKc8W7i9JI4HY/s1600/weightloss.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 11 - Raging Bull</b></i><div><i>Director - Martin Scorsese</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Oh Blog.... I've neglected you. I'm like an absent husband taking advantage of you as you wait for me, scared of what I might do next....</div><div><br /></div><div>Which dovetails nicely to RAGING BULL - the story of a horrible shit of man who is in no way <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">likeable</span> throughout the film.</div><div><br /></div><div>Seriously - Jake La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Motta</span> is a horrible bastard of a man. Now... I'm not necessarily talking about HIM personally (never insult a boxer) - but certainly his character in this film. Bastard.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't want to dwell on this too much as it would just be a list of character flaws and violent outbreaks - also, I saw this film ages ago and lost all my notes - but this is a man who mixes dangerous levels of paranoia and arrogance. He is quick to temper, and quick to get violent. He leaves his wife for a girl of 15 and continues to abuse and bash her around anyway. </div><div><br /></div><div>He is a nasty piece of work. But the film never shies away from it. It gets right in there. Sticks close to the screaming and the flying crockery. Clinging to the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">fiery</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Mediterranean</span> outbursts of rage. It is close up, hyper real and ugly.</div><div>The perfect counterpoint the boxing scenes.</div><div><br /></div><div>Scorsese films the boxing scenes in a similar way to the scenes of domesticity - the camera is up close, in the face of the violent. But the image seems softer, the movements more dreamy. Often the scene's sound is faded out and replaced with music.</div><div>As soon as La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Motta</span> steps into the ring, the film takes a fantasy twist. It becomes beautiful to watch.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just look a the silent moments of confrontation in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wwItkoapuA">this video</a> between Sugar Ray and Jake La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Motta</span>. The cinematography is brilliant.... from the stark use of Red in the opening credits</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kzp2cfytq31qz72nz.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kzp2cfytq31qz72nz.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 308px; " /></a>to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLNft6cO0I4">the final sequence</a> in which a fatter, older La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Motta</span> memorises a speech - talking to his reflection in an awkward monotone delivery: It all looks amazing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Which brings us to the other of the film's key strengths.... De <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Niro</span>.</div><div>De <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Niro's</span> transformation throughout this film is <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">phenomenal</span>. It is a tour <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">de</span> force, not only in acting as he creates a rounded, deep, flawed and layered character from someone who could easily be a 1 dimensional fucker, but also in the physical dedication. As the film progresses, we see La <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Motta</span> gain weight, as he loses the will to fight and just gets lazy with his riches. It is impressive because it happens over the course of the film, but it is more impressive because it sneaks up on you.... you don't notice it at first, until he's parading around topless on the beach. It makes it much more striking than the films which just cut to a point where the protagonist is super skinny or fatter.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqeEc2OKkQeTyeuGUQsUCosofDmp8kkbMXFFvAALsbPUW72QLvahYxHeLVkI7r8wo-7Jbuif453sUgXm5ZxCtSbbfQ3arFLXN5_maMEY6A9kIlrj4r2b4K3lOM39-6YqbKc8W7i9JI4HY/s1600/weightloss.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqeEc2OKkQeTyeuGUQsUCosofDmp8kkbMXFFvAALsbPUW72QLvahYxHeLVkI7r8wo-7Jbuif453sUgXm5ZxCtSbbfQ3arFLXN5_maMEY6A9kIlrj4r2b4K3lOM39-6YqbKc8W7i9JI4HY/s400/weightloss.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5672759523466582050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 298px; " /></a>The slow creep of fat is similar to the majority of the film. The film's knockout punches are the fights. Amazing shots which have become iconic and which are frequently paid homage to in films where punches are thrown.</div><div>The rest of the film is more of a creeper. Growing on you, slowly, and horribly.... getting under your skin as you watch the rise and fall of a cruel cruel man...</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-70331070962629854082011-10-06T01:08:00.000-07:002011-10-06T02:12:01.512-07:00My name's Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmkLZgv4JULKoPbOsVMUGOZLe7rguQKfHbWro3ylI3lAVj_KgmGdbi5kIzi85gfhLXA629VPsUach4pC_yNTuqyumn6yufDz12cl2faqmwMvJrKSbQ_kQxiyNG-f_XHBEi8TcwRj-jvE/s1600/gump+jenny.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 240 - Forrest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Gump</span></b></i><div><i>Director - Robert <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Zemeckis</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>This was the film that won 'Best Film' in 1994, beating both Pulp Fiction and The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Shawshank</span> Redemption, two films which can be described as gritty fantasy (whether the fantasy comes from <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Tarantino's</span> sense of myth or from the uplifting suspension of disbelief which is there in King's story)</div><div>So does it deserve it?</div><div><br /></div><div>Short answer is no....</div><div>But that isn't to say that Forrest <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Gump</span> is a bad film - in fact I've been looking forward to having the excuse to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">rewatch</span> it, because I have fond memories of the film - and it is very clever, and really quite enjoyable. It is also drowning in saccharine, self importance and sentimentalism.</div><div><br /></div><div>But what works?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobzbp-nOnKgfXzKaXPv0VF0p7YCORxQf9wozRTt6tIXBG2NLxlM4sh95ih6cfQ355eyUGDJMEM7gXV0RUBpoQQacnxB3Yw4ELhmC4lxnVhPM-MUP6l7IWwDK6I9jRO_TD3kP3I8cqeJU/s1600/gump+cgi.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjobzbp-nOnKgfXzKaXPv0VF0p7YCORxQf9wozRTt6tIXBG2NLxlM4sh95ih6cfQ355eyUGDJMEM7gXV0RUBpoQQacnxB3Yw4ELhmC4lxnVhPM-MUP6l7IWwDK6I9jRO_TD3kP3I8cqeJU/s400/gump+cgi.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660293325651257346" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 200px; " /></a><br /></div><div>This is a complex story - it is the story of America during a messed up time, where they were dealing with paranoia, racism, wars and protests. The aspirations of the country are muddled and the way the country goes about it is messy. Yet we are anchored with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Gump</span>. Forrest is a simple man - both in mental capacity and in needs. He doesn't seem to want anything (except maybe for Jenny to be happy) and he just bumbles through life and yet through him we experience so much. </div><div>It seems that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Gump</span> (or at the very least <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raVFzZZLp3A"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Gump's</span> family</a>) are directly involved in important moments of history. There are the small moments (his influences on popular culture - from Elvis through to 'Shit Happens' via 'Imagine' are all sublime) and then there are the big moments. </div><div>The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">CGI</span> is becoming a bit more <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">noticeable</span> now, as they manipulate the mouths of old stock footage, but still.... kudos to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Zemeckis</span> for USING old stock footage and then tweaking and cheating with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">CGI</span>. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSEdBNslGOk">Scenes like this</a> still amuse and still look pretty impressive (even if the voices aren't always 100%)</div><div><br /></div><div>This tweaking with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">CGI</span> and with American history also helps create my next point:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oHyRbXDA9rMXHB7ADiLAe3kbu62-FVsjMVE-nZPS6d4QLm2QXcEEsaiiVKiIybAdMhFywUS4DjRooGIF_rTzyH-f4-dKHGnA4QZr8VQCCpFVDPky3CuGVQHHYSIkHoTEtCxpUXFUm8k/s1600/Gump+Scale.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oHyRbXDA9rMXHB7ADiLAe3kbu62-FVsjMVE-nZPS6d4QLm2QXcEEsaiiVKiIybAdMhFywUS4DjRooGIF_rTzyH-f4-dKHGnA4QZr8VQCCpFVDPky3CuGVQHHYSIkHoTEtCxpUXFUm8k/s400/Gump+Scale.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660297205297809954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 200px; " /></a><br /></div><div>The film may really stay in 3 areas (Alabama, Washington and 'Nam) - but the sense of scale is massive. From the explosions and helicopters <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">whooshing</span> past in Vietnam through to the massive rally you see in the picture above and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">hurricane</span> which affects <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Gump's</span> shrimping business - This is a large story, and whilst it is told on a small, one person scale - the film remembers that the large scale shenanigans need to be shown, even if in the background.</div><div><br /></div><div>I wish to end on a point of characters. I, personally, find Forrest really grating. His slow southern drawl (mixed with the fact that he is slightly retarded) just makes everything he says ponderous and dull... but because he is surrounded by so many interesting moments, you forget. The real star of the show is:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY76qku0_dD-FRp98IyA0QMKScogOA3P76lVYxbELsAVVpkGneKBW1ox3ZV1GcI61nZn_PI3aMoPDLPidn9k8pU2MYnbX0yuMNijnD8qWPv9UxsCxuZuogMxBIpyajbgpBiZCXeJN1iN4/s1600/gump+lt+dan.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY76qku0_dD-FRp98IyA0QMKScogOA3P76lVYxbELsAVVpkGneKBW1ox3ZV1GcI61nZn_PI3aMoPDLPidn9k8pU2MYnbX0yuMNijnD8qWPv9UxsCxuZuogMxBIpyajbgpBiZCXeJN1iN4/s400/gump+lt+dan.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660299704753172290" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a>Dan Taylor has the greatest character arc. A brilliant character arc... The Vietnam officer who is stripped of everything and has to learn again what life is about. We see him at his very lowest, we see him happy (for several different reasons). He's important, because with the exception of maybe death, I don't think <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Gump</span> ever truly realises that bad things happen to people.... Lt Dan is there to be the man that had to rebuild his life, and climb out of his own self destructive descent.</div><div><br /></div><div>And on the topic of Self Destructive Descent</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmkLZgv4JULKoPbOsVMUGOZLe7rguQKfHbWro3ylI3lAVj_KgmGdbi5kIzi85gfhLXA629VPsUach4pC_yNTuqyumn6yufDz12cl2faqmwMvJrKSbQ_kQxiyNG-f_XHBEi8TcwRj-jvE/s1600/gump+jenny.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJmkLZgv4JULKoPbOsVMUGOZLe7rguQKfHbWro3ylI3lAVj_KgmGdbi5kIzi85gfhLXA629VPsUach4pC_yNTuqyumn6yufDz12cl2faqmwMvJrKSbQ_kQxiyNG-f_XHBEi8TcwRj-jvE/s400/gump+jenny.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5660301795348216034" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a>Now.... I understand the point of Jenny, she is an <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">interesting</span> and pivotal plot point. She provides the motivation for a lot of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Gump's</span> actions, and her character (particularly her sexual awareness and drug use) is a great <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">dichotomy</span> to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Gump's</span> utter <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">naivety</span> throughout.</div><div>The thing is.... I only cared about Jenny when she was a little girl and at the hands of her abusive father. The character is one who is drawn to the safety of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Gump</span> and his incredibly loving and busy household....</div><div>But as soon as she becomes Robin Wright I just lost interest... I never felt <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">anything</span> for Jenny. She was moving from one terrible decision to another (the direct opposite of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Gump's</span> life) but I never felt for her the way that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Zemeckis</span> wanted me to.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that... brings me to the real issue of the film. </div><div><br /></div><div>For all the interesting moments, for all the nice nuances which have been brought to the story - the film is too eager to thrust mawkish sentimentality and over-sincere characters at you. And the freaky robot child that is Haley Joel Osmond.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could do with fewer tearful speeches around gravestones, and more of the story of America...</div><div><br /></div><div>And that's all I really have to say about that.</div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-77468907715522752972011-09-26T13:59:00.000-07:002011-09-26T14:45:07.362-07:00Today I saw a slave become more powerful than the Emperor of Rome.<a href="http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00427/snf3099a_280_427089a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 151 - Gladiator</b></i><div><i>Director - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ridley</span> Scott</i></div><div><i><br /></i></div><div><i><a href="http://www.creativelydifferentblinds.com/BlindImages/2155.jpg" style="font-style: normal; " onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://www.creativelydifferentblinds.com/BlindImages/2155.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 247px; height: 350px; " /></a><div style="text-align: center; "><i>CONTESTANTS <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">RRRRRRRRRRRREADY</span></i></div></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Only joking.... I'm talking about different gladiators. The Roman ones.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rome was a long time ago - this must be the case because Gladiator begins with all the studio logos appearing in sepia tones. So we're talking OLD.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Roman empire was a tough time, and being <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Caesar</span> was particularly tough. You had to make sure everything was correct. You had to stop the marauding hordes. And frequently actors would <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">thesbianically</span> lament that the Gods were angry.<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYW4VvW_eMw"> Caesar 3 was a tough game</a> - but here old man Richard Harris seems to nail the whole God <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Emperor</span> thing. He is popular. He is powerful. He is doomed.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is the story of one of Caesar's friends and officers and how he is plunged into big old shit - losing his power, his status, his family and his freedom. The thing that I forgot though was just how bloody dark and bleak and gloomy it is.</div><div>11 years had passed since I last saw it, and over time nostalgia had tinged the film as being more fun. The blood and sand and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">fightings</span> had taken over and meant that I remembered the film to be a bit more of a romp.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is not a romp at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">in fact</span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09cuzs3zuDucaz_qnmsYobQelN_Y_cEzxSWnWTsa3rgoWYm_8pjhMKKiFGdrTM4zIgKW9PizffAMtyLukesodrVw5tLrcEUpNVE1gmz5wUdzdxxUGvz9KqZYeXLDVnfxwN7k6V7iEJuA/s1600/gladiator.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj09cuzs3zuDucaz_qnmsYobQelN_Y_cEzxSWnWTsa3rgoWYm_8pjhMKKiFGdrTM4zIgKW9PizffAMtyLukesodrVw5tLrcEUpNVE1gmz5wUdzdxxUGvz9KqZYeXLDVnfxwN7k6V7iEJuA/s400/gladiator.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656781192925353586" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 346px; " /></a><br /></div><div>And the horrors of the age (particularly the death of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Maximus</span>' family - which leads him to his Gladiator role) - jar with the more cinematic deaths of the battleground.</div><div><br /></div><div>The battles in the arena are not glorified. This isn't 300 - this is proper 'this shit is real' fighting - with dirty brown sand stained with blood. The audience's celebrations, aren't echoes in the cinematography. The film doesn't want you to relish in the battle. Just witness the plight.</div><div>- I say that.... but actually, the more famous <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Maximus</span> becomes, the more the film seems to forget that. I mean - the tigers don't do much do they? They just look cool?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWXJHc2flilXT_fjaYgTVFOcfGLzBUURbNGmtuEsKV9UgCbICfj4fqFpwWvXLf86PG5WdQRTVB2i6ptmU_9wC6BfOD4jN1lV0hHiTtf2VlelF_E66aKCXwkuwv61L00vZni0OYT4-4s8/s1600/tiger+fight.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiWXJHc2flilXT_fjaYgTVFOcfGLzBUURbNGmtuEsKV9UgCbICfj4fqFpwWvXLf86PG5WdQRTVB2i6ptmU_9wC6BfOD4jN1lV0hHiTtf2VlelF_E66aKCXwkuwv61L00vZni0OYT4-4s8/s400/tiger+fight.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5656783207258508898" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 263px; " /></a><br /></div><div>The fights are impressive - they're violent but not <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">KERRAZY</span> VIOLENT. And they all help to lead <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Maximus</span> to meet Joaquin Phoenix's ridiculous <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Emperor</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Commodus</span>. A man who is trying so hard to do every bad thing. He's like the pantomime villains off <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_NS0vAYGVk&feature=related">The Crow</a> - and he ticks all the boxes of being a bit of a bugger. Specially to his family - what with all that incest and patricide going on.... Phoenix plays him beautifully. In fact, its <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Commodus</span>' <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">snivelly</span> pathetic neediness that makes him more horrible. It is his motivation which is the real shocker. Not the actual acts....</div><div><br /></div><div>After all Rome was a tough old place, and that kinda shit happened.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film's ending suffers from being a little too Po-faced - but there are some beautiful shots (I particularly like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Maximus</span> gliding over the desert) - and it leads the story to the only logical resolution....</div><div><br /></div><div>I just wish they'd had the balls to do Nick Cave's sequel for it. Because it is so bat-shit bonkers, it could have been amazing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Forget my blog - <a href="http://www.mypdfscripts.com/unproduced/gladiator-2-by-nick-cave">just read this if you've never read it before</a>. Naturally there will be stuff in it that spoils the first film, if you've not seen it. </div><div><br /></div><div>All in all - Gladiator is a great film, full of marvellous actors (famous, of course, as the bloody legend Oliver Reed's last film) and visually incredible.</div><div>I think it just takes itself too seriously at times.</div><div><br /></div><div>So.... in conclusion.</div><div><br /></div><div>My favourite Gladiator was Jet</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00427/snf3099a_280_427089a.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="http://img.thesun.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00427/snf3099a_280_427089a.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 390px; " /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-91651295645576392011-09-15T14:32:00.000-07:002011-09-15T15:09:08.370-07:00The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gNooA-0b6U5hkZry9B6BaTwOh1sKNiYBUIGrKW9T9LNsgzRxYr0yTEqHbOQ6JuJ8Cv5nTzcsOjqvnVyuArs03t3rt7bU0t73E2eulyvozDo1N1hG28czELdhmELmAXlrkcRpWwsAGhs/s1600/sutherland.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 279 - National Lampoon's Animal House</b></i><div><i>Director - John <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Landis</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>I don't understand a lot of American culture. Especially university culture. Like I don't understand Frat houses or what they really are. I could do some basic research. Read <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternities_and_sororities">this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Wikipedia</span> entry</a> that took me literally seconds to find. But I won't. I refuse to. It will all remain a mystery of people being weird and getting spanked. </div><div>A strange homoerotic one-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">upmanship</span> that just creeps up in films every now and then. But which I just don't get. I especially don't understand why their so important.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, they are important and Delta house is painted as the fuck-up house. And yet, when we're introduced to the houses at the start of the film, Delta house looks like the place that is actually fun. A party. Rather than an awkward parade of self-importance.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway.... Animal house has been the stepping stone for almost every College gross-out comedy since. It has been parodied by everything. It was essentially an entire episode of The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Simpsons</span></div><div><br /></div><div>cough cough <a href="http://www.watchcartoononline.com/the-simpsons-episode-503-homer-goes-to-college">look over here</a></div><div><br /></div><div>There is swearing, there is sex, there is a LOT of female nudity. </div><div><br /></div><div>And there are some true comic gems. There is some visual humour which is inspired. John Belushi shuffling about on a ladder..... one of the funniest things I've ever seen.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even the 'zit' moment is still funny. And that is a clip on Scene it and I've 'seen it' about a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">gajillion</span> times.</div><div><br /></div><div>Lets move on and just discuss the big bag of awesome. The true legend of the film. D-Day.... </div><div><br /></div><div>And I just learnt something amazing about D-Day.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gNooA-0b6U5hkZry9B6BaTwOh1sKNiYBUIGrKW9T9LNsgzRxYr0yTEqHbOQ6JuJ8Cv5nTzcsOjqvnVyuArs03t3rt7bU0t73E2eulyvozDo1N1hG28czELdhmELmAXlrkcRpWwsAGhs/s1600/sutherland.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gNooA-0b6U5hkZry9B6BaTwOh1sKNiYBUIGrKW9T9LNsgzRxYr0yTEqHbOQ6JuJ8Cv5nTzcsOjqvnVyuArs03t3rt7bU0t73E2eulyvozDo1N1hG28czELdhmELmAXlrkcRpWwsAGhs/s400/sutherland.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652709669393526898" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 234px; " /></a>For a good half of the film, I thought D-Day was ACTUALLY a lecturer at the uni who then became a bit of a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">badass</span> and hung out in the Frat house. I'd even created a back story for him.</div><div>Anyway then I assumed that Sutherland had enjoyed the script so much that he wanted to play two roles. Like Jack Nicholson in Mars Attacks!</div><div><br /></div><div>But NO!!!! Donald Sutherland is only playing the lecturer. The legend that is D-Day is played by Bruce <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">McGill</span>... Who has appeared in lots of stuff but nothing that stood out.</div><div>So my entire speech about the awesomeness of Donald Sutherland has been wasted.</div><div><br /></div><div>BUT.... D-Day is still amazing, from his entry as he rides a motorbike up some stairs to his finale in the car of destruction he pimps out...</div><div><br /></div><div>He is great.</div><div><br /></div><div>Its a weird film in that it inspired an entire genre really. And whilst nothing in it feels particularly NEW anymore (a side effect of its material being borrowed by so many sources) - it does feel like a quality piece of comedy.</div><div><br /></div><div>There is a really high gag rate. </div><div><br /></div><div>There were some genuine <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">LOLZ</span></div><div><br /></div><div>what more do you need?</div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-92136605657113473772011-09-05T02:32:00.000-07:002011-09-05T03:41:31.233-07:00So long as the Arabs fight tribe against tribe, so long will they be a little people, a silly people - greedy, barbarous, and cruel, as you are.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9IsiaUiJ_IAnS87FwlBwHeNSChPODn0i9h3Te5xS6ZuFR6NuoyCmw1WFF3Mf_VHH5Vfy9x1hbnb2gy1HK6UtI52H8BnVaE3bdjJodsbpssimfVkYw1SHo64o1dqLZ1iAGlNVnkp3h34/s1600/alec+guiness+blackface.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 57 - Lawrence of Arabia</b></i><div><i>Director - David Lean</i></div><div>
<br /></div><div>I cleared my diary and set myself an evening to sit down with a true gargantuan epic. From the little disclaimer before the film telling me <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">there'd</span> be moments of score with no visual accompaniment, I knew I was going to enjoy the film. This is a director with a vision. A proper true vision.</div><div>And he has a freaking awesome score.</div><div>"<i>Listen</i>" He seems to say "<i>This score is so fucking <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">amazeballs</span>, that I want you to really get your chops around it before I sully it with beautiful beautiful imagery. Lets just appreciate it first you cinematic heathens</i>."</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I am not one to go against Mr Lean. So - before you read this meandering <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">blog post</span>, make sure you listen to the score and get all <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">goosepimply</span> and that.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><iframe width="480" height="24" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/qJPxlPs9iqo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Beee</span>-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">autiful</span></div><div>
<br /></div><div>I have recently read the fabulous book <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hellraisers-Inebriated-Burton-Harris-OToole/dp/184809017X"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Hellraisers</span> by Robert Sellers</a> and had learnt magnificent stories of amazing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">drunkardness</span>. All it did was cement Peter O'Toole as a complete legend. I've always thought he was aces. But I've also always thought he was old. Which is a completely idiotic thought to have.... but O'Toole just seems old. He seems a randy old bugger. Like in that weirdly depressing and utterly <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">disturbing</span> film Venus.... So to see him so young and striking kind of threw me off course.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxT8paaXODAd4QiQgSMQjffrdT-0S9Tokc70B-kPQ_yvdJsNz_O9lWlyWPBeEHSIvvasgPCphbOpxysQCBILxh6jQA1dieHay2MUyokDwYWlll590vR5ggypzRymGFriUzROpNdZnmDuI/s1600/peterotoole.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxT8paaXODAd4QiQgSMQjffrdT-0S9Tokc70B-kPQ_yvdJsNz_O9lWlyWPBeEHSIvvasgPCphbOpxysQCBILxh6jQA1dieHay2MUyokDwYWlll590vR5ggypzRymGFriUzROpNdZnmDuI/s400/peterotoole.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648815222625866322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 292px; " /></a>
<br /></div><div>Young O'Toole isn't really a handsome man, but he does have striking eyes, a beautifully soft spoken voice and a caddish charm - all of which is carried across to Lawrence making him somebody which you immediately route for in the stuffiness and stiff upper lip of the British armed forces. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>Throughout the film, Lawrence's intentions are never clearly explained.... especially at the beginning it is difficult to see what is motivating him - however, here is the benefit of such a slow and ponderous film playing over 4 hours. As we are surrounded by lavish and insanely beautiful pictures of the desert, we begin to understand Lawrence's feelings. When he finally declares his love for the country, it comes as no surprise. This is man who has taken the harsh and inhospitable world to heart. Who treats the people as equals and who wishes to be treated as an equal by the people. A massive difference from the cries of "<i>Wog</i>" which <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">eminate</span> from the other bigoted soldiers and officers.</div><div>Whilst I'm on the topic of casual racism... let me just mention the one aspect which sullied what is an otherwise beautiful and engrossing film:</div><div>Alec Guinness shouldn't be all blacked up in order to play an Arab.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9IsiaUiJ_IAnS87FwlBwHeNSChPODn0i9h3Te5xS6ZuFR6NuoyCmw1WFF3Mf_VHH5Vfy9x1hbnb2gy1HK6UtI52H8BnVaE3bdjJodsbpssimfVkYw1SHo64o1dqLZ1iAGlNVnkp3h34/s1600/alec+guiness+blackface.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB9IsiaUiJ_IAnS87FwlBwHeNSChPODn0i9h3Te5xS6ZuFR6NuoyCmw1WFF3Mf_VHH5Vfy9x1hbnb2gy1HK6UtI52H8BnVaE3bdjJodsbpssimfVkYw1SHo64o1dqLZ1iAGlNVnkp3h34/s400/alec+guiness+blackface.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648820532707337794" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a>
<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div>I am aware it was common in those days, and there is no denying that Guinness plays the part with passion and creates a rich and detailed <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">character</span>. However, it always snaps me out of the film: whether it is <a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2009/03/13/article-1161714-03E0D599000005DC-823_468x346.jpg">Olivier in Othello</a> or <a href="http://houseofmirthandmovies.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/kanchi800.jpg">Jean Simmons in Black Narcissus</a> - it just feels a bit icky. Nowadays we can only have it done for jokes. And it only really works if it addresses the joke directly... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD7OTARfoQs">Kirk Lazarus' dedication to method acting</a> is a great 'blacking up' joke as well as mostly being a massive <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">pisstake</span> of 'The Method' and role immersion.... <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDuBwc2ot5g">Eddie Murphy's Mr Wong</a> in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Norbit</span> is as horrible and icky as <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUq6pvPPG2P_Ss4HzZgEw7qDE1rjAyNClpP6ZZd_TGJSLg3rFDM7lKXImbaOHohHxWQZ7s09YU7Gtuneytvzr2N8IqMHSYpHjEOfvMJFbw8TvfTsEGtfoKJHxxMIEUuN4JJo2Bd0ZzzpI/s1600/mickeyrooney.jpg">Mickey Rooney's Mr <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Yunioshi</span></a> in Breakfast at Tiffany's, 40 years earlier.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Right - I got sidetracked there with a little link-heavy rant about racism. The important thing is that this is just a small glitch in a beautiful, rich and truly epic story about (ironically) race relations.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The film isn't afraid to tackle dark topics and manages to paint the Arab nation as a bunch of squabbling violent tribes in a way that doesn't belittle them. The film is about accepting that there are different cultures, and whilst some of these cultures may need an outsider to see them and amend them in order to move things on - we shouldn't just stick OUR cultures on top. That remains as true now, as it did then.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>It is a bit too long (I was flagging by the end) but you stay interested and rooting for Lawrence. He is a good man. He is brilliantly played by O'Toole.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>A great film.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div>
<br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-26659737790949322192011-09-05T01:34:00.000-07:002011-09-05T03:11:22.441-07:00If I know Mary as well as I think I do, she'll invite us right in for tea and strumpets.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9SZ_FTZON4Pjm3Kf_mr7044rAKt46KH2pBfb0dRvu64-XJpZC5Cr_SDmKdqYZk9mJoYGpfLSBazkCw8LHZjczMH8uZpwVTtic7Iv-LSI2IdG2DIGmdq-vBhFyW4TzcCRufjfsKZThyE/s1600/dumb+and+dumber.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 445 - Dumb and Dumber</b></i><div><i>Director - Peter Farrelly</i></div><div>
<br /></div><div>So. I planned to sit down and watch Lawrence of Arabia. But no one had warned me it was a billion hours long. So I sat down to watch that other classic of cinema:</div><div>
<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9SZ_FTZON4Pjm3Kf_mr7044rAKt46KH2pBfb0dRvu64-XJpZC5Cr_SDmKdqYZk9mJoYGpfLSBazkCw8LHZjczMH8uZpwVTtic7Iv-LSI2IdG2DIGmdq-vBhFyW4TzcCRufjfsKZThyE/s1600/dumb+and+dumber.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9SZ_FTZON4Pjm3Kf_mr7044rAKt46KH2pBfb0dRvu64-XJpZC5Cr_SDmKdqYZk9mJoYGpfLSBazkCw8LHZjczMH8uZpwVTtic7Iv-LSI2IdG2DIGmdq-vBhFyW4TzcCRufjfsKZThyE/s400/dumb+and+dumber.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648797853343302994" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 253px; " /></a>
<br /></div><div>Hoozah!</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I think I had watched it once before, many a year ago - but didn't really have much knowledge of it. I'm not a massive fan of Jim Carrey's early gurning phase (with the exception of the Mask, which is absolute genius) so had always just seen this as a film which was ok, but nothing special.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>On rewatching, I was surprised by the depth. Particularly the depth of Lloyd's character. Harry seemed too whacked out to be really paying attention to the world. But Lloyd is just desperate for affection. The entire film is based around the ridiculous lengths one man is willing to go in order to try and impress a woman.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The thing is (and I've always felt this) - The Farrelly brothers try too hard. They ruin the film with their insistence on toilet humour (which is by far the weaker jokes), and when they do dare to do a subtler joke it is usually much ore triumphant than their more obvious jokes.</div><div>For example I found the line "I fell off the jetway again" much funnier than the entire sequence of events which happened before, leading to Lloyd falling.</div><div>I suppose asking for intelligent humour in a film like Dumb and Dumber is a bit redundant. But it is these small moments which show me what could have been.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>There were some pleasent surprises in the film - there are some great cuts, most famously that great boobs/headlight cut - that, as well as the dog-car, are moments of the brilliant visual humour which are interspersed throughout the film.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>I think, really this is a film of brilliantly funny moments and great concepts. But in trying to make a film, it resorts too often to cheap humour which stops it from being truly remarkable.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>But at times it is truly painfully funny!</div><div>
<br /></div><div>PS - I just found out from IMDB that Nic Cage and Gary Oldman were the first choices to play Harry and Lloyd. That would have essentially made this the most unhinged film of geniusness ever.</div><div>Such a shame.... don't get me wrong, Daniels and Carrey are good. But.... NIC CAGE AND GARY OLDMAN?! Fuck....a.....duck</div><div>
<br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-20747353182431856572011-09-05T00:55:00.000-07:002011-09-05T01:26:13.212-07:00The burden of proof is on the prosecution. The defendant doesn't even have to open his mouth. That's in the Constitution.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiORDB63EyT4i9jnHXCrtIUpHYfw9KdkMAftvZ1q1DzI61zU7n24uluAw3vvCCupp7LwBZCHRvVidV0ycOsdRqUOxKhD8BloBo2n8D6Ww1aBtWc473gSSx-1shH2XhRrdCdsSHy1QSAGoY/s1600/hanna.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 72 - 12 Angry Men</b></i><div><i>Director - Sidney <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Lumet</span></i></div><div>
<br /></div><div>Well bloody hell.... life catches up with you doesn't? Between doing the Edinburgh Fringe, flying to Spain and then flying to India (I'm quite a big deal) - I haven't really had the time to do anything. Certainly not been at a laptop long enough to blog.</div><div>Though I did catch a lot of quite good films on the Planes. Hanna is pretty awesome isn't it.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiORDB63EyT4i9jnHXCrtIUpHYfw9KdkMAftvZ1q1DzI61zU7n24uluAw3vvCCupp7LwBZCHRvVidV0ycOsdRqUOxKhD8BloBo2n8D6Ww1aBtWc473gSSx-1shH2XhRrdCdsSHy1QSAGoY/s1600/hanna.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiORDB63EyT4i9jnHXCrtIUpHYfw9KdkMAftvZ1q1DzI61zU7n24uluAw3vvCCupp7LwBZCHRvVidV0ycOsdRqUOxKhD8BloBo2n8D6Ww1aBtWc473gSSx-1shH2XhRrdCdsSHy1QSAGoY/s400/hanna.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5648783900414166706" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 184px; " /></a><i>
<br /></i></div><div>But what about the actual list film? Well.... I saw it almost a month ago so I'm going to have to resort pretty heavily on my notes rather than on any clear memories. </div><div>
<br /></div><div>The first thing that I really noticed is that the film is very stark. From the way that it opens without <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">pre</span>-film credits (which you don't see that often in films of this age) through to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">openly</span> bigoted characters, none of which are named, and complete lack of momentum. This is a film which is unashamed about its <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">minimalism</span>. There are no set pieces. No real drama. Just a lot of talk and some ever shortening nerves.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The entire film takes place in one room, and the film enjoys letting the audience savour the claustrophobia. The jury is too hot, the room is too noisy, stifling and there is the inherent racism that probably did simmer in the minds of people in 50's America. </div><div>What the film does exceptionally well is watch the journey of these jurors. I have never had to do jury duty, but I don't think it would be as complex or as demanding as the full analysis which occurs in this film. </div><div>At no point do they ever say the nameless kid is INNOCENT of his crime. They are just debating whether there is enough evidence to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">sentence</span> him to death without qualms. This means a hefty breakdown of all the facts, changing the minds of some.... and further <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">infuriating</span> others who just want to get out, get home and get back to their lives.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>The more that people discuss the facts, the more the jurors get irritated. I particularly love the quote</div><div>
<br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "></span></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); "> I'm sick and tired of facts! You can twist 'em anyway you like, you know what I mean?</span></div></blockquote><div>Which for me sums up the whole <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">temperament</span> of some of these jurors. They don't really care about the facts. They just want to hang the no-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">goodnic</span> (and there is no question that he is a bad kid, just maybe not a murderer) and go watch their ball game.</div><div>It also makes me think of this small moment of genius.</div><div>
<br /></div><div><iframe width="480" height="293" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4n-UGQcG3Jw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<br /></div><div>
<br /></div><div>Really, the film doesn't have much to it. But as a tense character study of 12 people. As a deft analysis of the human psyche. It works splendidly.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>It is, in a strange way, quite similar to the Social Network as it is a superbly written piece which manages to make legal procedure and a bunch of people bickering in a room a massively entertaining and captivating film.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>Where 12 Angry Men is even more impressive, is that it does it in one room. Without ever resorting to flashbacks or anything.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>A triumph of a film from a very skilled director.</div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-7173781557979948722011-08-02T14:09:00.000-07:002011-08-02T15:04:17.083-07:00Honey, we all got to go sometime, reason or no reason. Dyin's as natural as livin'. The man who's too afraid to die is too afraid to live.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVGDq-8VCYZWGQmr-MtEaAZxEh6dUn17e3EBnPQjwvtkTfXSYxAQ_VqMs3ppsWKllrj5qtjptY6Wh6YCp1TthMgyjLPlflv4GoByqlmBWlQZAvD9swSQJyfDmudPx_CJML64LzaulMmg/s1600/sexy+misfits.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 207 - The Misfits</b></i><div><i>Director - John Huston</i></div><div><br /></div><div>I was tricked. Duped even. I thought the Misfits was going to be a knockabout comedy... My hero Clark Gable and the impossible cartoon of sexiness that is Marilyn Monroe. There would be quips and sparring and maybe some hilarious mistaken identities and farcical moments.</div><div><br /></div><div>BUT NO!</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a serious film... with a lot of sad faces and a the two <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">afore</span>mentioned actors cracking out their last feature length films before they die.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMbfBHHU1PQ1qe8dcnS4oLA4QvW5w3prELBv1geHtEvELm6OjoQPIMxLSK7QIGpqAlBOqr0GzpQVzuVPN0Hsn7852g07kavhcZIPRGHEWk_QV1rZCdVlxF9_Y01aD0GBy584RY-D-E6k/s1600/sad+misfits.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRMbfBHHU1PQ1qe8dcnS4oLA4QvW5w3prELBv1geHtEvELm6OjoQPIMxLSK7QIGpqAlBOqr0GzpQVzuVPN0Hsn7852g07kavhcZIPRGHEWk_QV1rZCdVlxF9_Y01aD0GBy584RY-D-E6k/s400/sad+misfits.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636377420526121874" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 380px; " /></a>The Misfits is an odd film - as it seems to be one which is structured on disappointment and compromise. Nearly every character is coming out of a relationship - mostly through divorce but a couple are widows and widowers. They're then settling into this harsh cold world and trying to find any comfort to help them through. It isn't pretty. Most of the characters appear to be drunk about 90% of the time. I'd be quite interested in playing a The Misfits Drinking Game - because there is a fair amount of Whiskey getting polished off throughout.</div><div><br /></div><div>So when a pretty little Widow like Monroe's Roslyn comes into the equation, a fierce competition happens. Everyone vies for her attention. Everyone tries to woo her. Everyone seems to get seriously fucked up when they realise they can't have her.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVGDq-8VCYZWGQmr-MtEaAZxEh6dUn17e3EBnPQjwvtkTfXSYxAQ_VqMs3ppsWKllrj5qtjptY6Wh6YCp1TthMgyjLPlflv4GoByqlmBWlQZAvD9swSQJyfDmudPx_CJML64LzaulMmg/s1600/sexy+misfits.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVGDq-8VCYZWGQmr-MtEaAZxEh6dUn17e3EBnPQjwvtkTfXSYxAQ_VqMs3ppsWKllrj5qtjptY6Wh6YCp1TthMgyjLPlflv4GoByqlmBWlQZAvD9swSQJyfDmudPx_CJML64LzaulMmg/s400/sexy+misfits.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636380910714264354" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 140px; " /></a>This is a film in which <a href="http://www.peoplequiz.com/images/bios/clark-gable.jpg-3704.jpg">Clark Gable</a>, <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Montgomery_Clift_in_I_Confess.JPG">Montgomery <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Clift</span> </a>and <a href="http://www.superiorpics.com/eli_wallach/pictures/Wallach_AG04_picture.html">Eli <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Wallach</span></a> are constantly backstabbing each other to get (a NEWLY DIVORCED) Marilyn Monroe into bed.... ethics are all over the shop.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film then takes a strange existential angle. Looking at the value of life, and the way that the world has changed. Clark Gable's beat up old cow boy is tragic, a man who hasn't quite come to grips with how the world has modernised and changed around him. But all 3 men are equally as bad... they're men who's wartime experiences have seen them desensitized to life and death. They're men who refuse to see the way the world changes and who hang on to old values.</div><div><br /></div><div>Monroe may come off as a bit hysterical throughout the film - but they need that... they need that to realise that times have changed. That you have to work. That the world is cruel. That you can't always get what you want....</div><div><br /></div><div>Maybe I just watched this film in a glum mood (and I did) hoping to be cheered up... but <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">that's</span> what I got out of it. That life is a challenge, and the truly brave people are the people who rise to that challenge and be the better man.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then you can be haggard and worn down (and hilariously called Gay) and still sleep with Marilyn Monroe....</div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-48508132942544649992011-08-02T13:36:00.000-07:002011-08-02T14:04:14.847-07:00I want to see what love looks like when it's triumphant. I haven't had a good laugh in a week.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQkDAhgNVNoVFGt-bvfrgUBMjCGDS4iKmafjgwinlXo7oWcnGHI-miPv1NmGYJdDwutHTfM0z86GilQeZAP16NtUt8F-haka0R_g7PDx6b4YJHjjX3Yy-tg78v43gGU2JwNpbjSDqLyA/s1600/awesome+clark.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><i>No 297 – It Happened One Night<br /><b>Director – Frank Capra</b></i></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDDu9iR5VPifBFi7UimEMn5INf8Ircz7Ptzl-oEDdAZ5nHebewidgvG9IgQGNRBK4H8ZYn6LBEYncJPWn-UTrAjJeh7vqgV5YVTgWAWulif06weCTqOCcY1Mf2hMPesImkRs-0_VpzoQ/s1600/clark-gable-0220-lg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDDu9iR5VPifBFi7UimEMn5INf8Ircz7Ptzl-oEDdAZ5nHebewidgvG9IgQGNRBK4H8ZYn6LBEYncJPWn-UTrAjJeh7vqgV5YVTgWAWulif06weCTqOCcY1Mf2hMPesImkRs-0_VpzoQ/s400/clark-gable-0220-lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636361079711351906" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px; " /></a></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Hello…. My name is Clark Gable and I am utterly awesome in every way…. From my brill-creamed hair to the tips of my beautiful brogues – and don’t forget my moustache. It’s a very good moustache</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBgrLn-AtjB8vgJfvvY1rNigdCwNm2hOYkm6V-YEx7syQVG5T5Ubsf1VcYcTsPCyqnd0MAKhF0A1ZWcwchXArxnHyJIeN85EVfZFIjzUkXfbGa1eFwlk94xFivR0HsYbQ-0_BDyJ8oMc/s1600/moustache.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBgrLn-AtjB8vgJfvvY1rNigdCwNm2hOYkm6V-YEx7syQVG5T5Ubsf1VcYcTsPCyqnd0MAKhF0A1ZWcwchXArxnHyJIeN85EVfZFIjzUkXfbGa1eFwlk94xFivR0HsYbQ-0_BDyJ8oMc/s400/moustache.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636361967617400050" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 393px; " /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbDDu9iR5VPifBFi7UimEMn5INf8Ircz7Ptzl-oEDdAZ5nHebewidgvG9IgQGNRBK4H8ZYn6LBEYncJPWn-UTrAjJeh7vqgV5YVTgWAWulif06weCTqOCcY1Mf2hMPesImkRs-0_VpzoQ/s1600/clark-gable-0220-lg.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Oh yes…. Everyone loves me, from olden day <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">womens</span> to trendy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">electro</span>-hipsters.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >The Postal Service - Clark Gable</span></i></p><iframe width="480" height="27" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yryZvd6aqME" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">So basically – all this film does is point out the Clark Gable may be the single greatest human being to have ever graced the Earth… from his unsubtle entrance (a motley crew of drunks parade him around whilst declaring ‘Long Live The King’) - He then spends the majority of the film being a cocky little shit, utterly hilarious and generally awesome. <a href="https://goldenagedames.wordpress.com/2011/01/15/things-clark-gable-does-in-his-pajamas/">He even looks awesome in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">PJs</span>.</a></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">But this film <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">wasn</span>’t just about me developing a severe man-crush on Clark Gable, it is also a great little fast paced romp about relationships changing and love and that. We follow Ellie - who is glamorous in that <a href="http://www.newshawker.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Claudette_Colbert_in_I_Cover_the_Waterfront_2.jpg">20's/30's way</a> in which <a href="http://www.ssatlantica.com/pictures.html">people can only aspire to nowadays</a>, she is an heiress and engaged to wed some chap who is generally regarded as a chump. Now, this is despite there being no actual evidence of his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">chumpishness</span>... however, nobody likes him and Ellie and Gable's Peter do develop a genuine rapport throughout.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">This is important, because I feel uncomfortable watching films like His Girl Friday - where the central pair bicker and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">ight</span> all film and then she leaves her husband for him, just because he's Cary Grant. Just doesn't feel fair.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlBdAqxP4EO59hGFNvvDX_3Uv8GJ7zoTCIvShaGUdyZ2Gmm-9hA-JedG_C-Da48W-NgrUKOLtL09DynTFcikDtgWugS7ZUfISGGFYziyNhurmaFqFPOoNi1oJo4Gb9ggpkr9gjvIuIaI/s1600/his+girl+friday.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlBdAqxP4EO59hGFNvvDX_3Uv8GJ7zoTCIvShaGUdyZ2Gmm-9hA-JedG_C-Da48W-NgrUKOLtL09DynTFcikDtgWugS7ZUfISGGFYziyNhurmaFqFPOoNi1oJo4Gb9ggpkr9gjvIuIaI/s400/his+girl+friday.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636366067931350322" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 301px; " /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEBgrLn-AtjB8vgJfvvY1rNigdCwNm2hOYkm6V-YEx7syQVG5T5Ubsf1VcYcTsPCyqnd0MAKhF0A1ZWcwchXArxnHyJIeN85EVfZFIjzUkXfbGa1eFwlk94xFivR0HsYbQ-0_BDyJ8oMc/s1600/moustache.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">But here, the relationship is genuine, the banter is top notch and the film whizzes by, wittily and entertainingly.</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">To be honest... I watched this film ages ago but have only just got round to writing it.... My notes are nothing but 3 pages of "Clark Gable is Awesome!". I remember enjoying the film and finding it witty and inoffensive.....</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Go and watch it, but remember this one thing:</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQkDAhgNVNoVFGt-bvfrgUBMjCGDS4iKmafjgwinlXo7oWcnGHI-miPv1NmGYJdDwutHTfM0z86GilQeZAP16NtUt8F-haka0R_g7PDx6b4YJHjjX3Yy-tg78v43gGU2JwNpbjSDqLyA/s1600/awesome+clark.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQkDAhgNVNoVFGt-bvfrgUBMjCGDS4iKmafjgwinlXo7oWcnGHI-miPv1NmGYJdDwutHTfM0z86GilQeZAP16NtUt8F-haka0R_g7PDx6b4YJHjjX3Yy-tg78v43gGU2JwNpbjSDqLyA/s400/awesome+clark.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636367206472503218" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 331px; height: 331px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlBdAqxP4EO59hGFNvvDX_3Uv8GJ7zoTCIvShaGUdyZ2Gmm-9hA-JedG_C-Da48W-NgrUKOLtL09DynTFcikDtgWugS7ZUfISGGFYziyNhurmaFqFPOoNi1oJo4Gb9ggpkr9gjvIuIaI/s1600/his+girl+friday.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></p>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-24013354837722075542011-08-02T13:11:00.000-07:002011-08-02T13:33:50.005-07:00Death and honor are thought to be the same, but today I have learned that sometimes they are not.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxtSGi4E-AXzMXJchLssUxNxA7qCmoFQ7oang3w4b6OApx1jtJun3pNvy14uLThztRLXErVSAO-khWnPomj9pf1t8g5ZfvfuswwhGE_WftP5cuDnlca9q3PFAZQ_FcvzZLOWTOIjphOHw/s1600/mohawk.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><i><b>No 131 – The Last of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Mohicans</span><br /></b>Director – Michael Mann</i></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">So I’m back… July has been manic, but I have been really busy:</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1STH57rWRaRA1PkNeYEj6VSBM_VFosyMOCDqxaYiS3jIxUfWZbRxkidi_vzUJr0SQDGhleTk3FoW_1q9b-xERmeUr_8hrbheToDWJ8uHj6K-LoQDVz5YQToXEd5kM2YgVRmXC5htzV0E/s1600/rockstar.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1STH57rWRaRA1PkNeYEj6VSBM_VFosyMOCDqxaYiS3jIxUfWZbRxkidi_vzUJr0SQDGhleTk3FoW_1q9b-xERmeUr_8hrbheToDWJ8uHj6K-LoQDVz5YQToXEd5kM2YgVRmXC5htzV0E/s400/rockstar.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636355080227080610" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 317px; height: 400px; " /></a></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Cough Cough *<a href="http://www.wearegoose.co.uk/">CLICK ON THE LINK</a>* Cough Cough</i></div> <p class="western" style="text-align: left;margin-bottom: 0cm; ">So deal with it… anyway, here are some <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">bloggles</span> for you to gawp at:</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">I expected this to be another story from the ‘Outsider is taken in by tribe of natives and then fights with them’ genre… and whilst TECHNICALLY it is (as Daniel Day Lewis could never be passed off as an actual Native American), the act of being initiated into the society happens many years before the film starts – so it <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">isn</span>’t really part of the plot.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">The plot is about revenge, double crossing and war – and whilst that may sound really juicy, the film also manages to be really fucking dull. How dull? Well I stopped the film several times. Once to make myself some dinner, and once to answer the phone and have a little chat. I <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">didn</span>’t even pull that shit with Tree of Wooden Clogs.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXZ11sZW9pK_L56NZe-LucjuXOp2lBLXtqiFcnHdRQBfa-npSWpZihKGSoBBCszZnuj00aJU2_n_e65aYjXJLW-nqPD5IE8bWhAhL39ED-66UEgs3itTbyqRf1TzcrgqATbLwsG79STU/s1600/wooden+clogs.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXZ11sZW9pK_L56NZe-LucjuXOp2lBLXtqiFcnHdRQBfa-npSWpZihKGSoBBCszZnuj00aJU2_n_e65aYjXJLW-nqPD5IE8bWhAhL39ED-66UEgs3itTbyqRf1TzcrgqATbLwsG79STU/s400/wooden+clogs.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636355919263404002" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 396px; " /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1STH57rWRaRA1PkNeYEj6VSBM_VFosyMOCDqxaYiS3jIxUfWZbRxkidi_vzUJr0SQDGhleTk3FoW_1q9b-xERmeUr_8hrbheToDWJ8uHj6K-LoQDVz5YQToXEd5kM2YgVRmXC5htzV0E/s1600/rockstar.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">This film is not as dull as Tree of Wooden Clogs.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">But lets talk about the good bits first…. It was lovely to have a film in which the Native Americans and the American settlers live together amicably. I’m so used to it all being cowboys ‘n’ <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">injuns</span> that it felt refreshing to see a new villain, though ‘villain’ seems the wrong word. This film triumphs in painting everything with shades of grey… so morality is never black and white. The baddies are really all that bad. The goodies <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">aren</span>’t really all that good. It feels realistic.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">It is also worth recording this one description of the French:</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><i></i></p><blockquote><i>They’d rather eat and make love with their faces than fight</i></blockquote><p></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">AMEN! Never before have I been so proud of my duel nationality.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">So, the film plods along as Daniel Day Lewis and his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Mohican</span> friends escort a British army chap and his ladies off to see the ladies’ dad – who is in a camp. Meanwhile the American settlers are tricked and bullied and there is talk of sedition and King and Country and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">yada</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">yada</span>.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">There is a love triangle… people act like cocks…. People then see the error of the ways and get all noble. Everything in the film is pretty standard and is very well executed, I just <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">couldn</span>’t connect with a single character. I just <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">didn</span>’t give a shit about their plights or anything…. I can’t pin point what was wrong with the film… but something was definitely wrong when the only element of the film that piques my interest are the beautiful beautiful military uniforms.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNa9LW2O-XuF3CrwzSO9nRDpQI2KFnAxHd-f-UAgTy9NoAtKPyezdaZRNdcDmW8hr3bTZyXoBCm0em0aKeNo7tNq8xbmVXtnFDY0ixUwyG3jTUJPXFU1n3WKFPnvrmXFXWR7bhdjKCuo/s1600/dapper.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNa9LW2O-XuF3CrwzSO9nRDpQI2KFnAxHd-f-UAgTy9NoAtKPyezdaZRNdcDmW8hr3bTZyXoBCm0em0aKeNo7tNq8xbmVXtnFDY0ixUwyG3jTUJPXFU1n3WKFPnvrmXFXWR7bhdjKCuo/s400/dapper.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636356760605432162" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilXZ11sZW9pK_L56NZe-LucjuXOp2lBLXtqiFcnHdRQBfa-npSWpZihKGSoBBCszZnuj00aJU2_n_e65aYjXJLW-nqPD5IE8bWhAhL39ED-66UEgs3itTbyqRf1TzcrgqATbLwsG79STU/s1600/wooden+clogs.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">I would love to enter a society where we could start wearing <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">tri</span>-corner hats again. </p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">So… as the title implies – which means it can’t be a spoiler (but if you don’t want to know how this film ends just stop reading)… shit goes down and leaves only ONE <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">MOHICAN</span>…. The last of them…. And just look at the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Mohican</span> army:</p><p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxtSGi4E-AXzMXJchLssUxNxA7qCmoFQ7oang3w4b6OApx1jtJun3pNvy14uLThztRLXErVSAO-khWnPomj9pf1t8g5ZfvfuswwhGE_WftP5cuDnlca9q3PFAZQ_FcvzZLOWTOIjphOHw/s1600/mohawk.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxtSGi4E-AXzMXJchLssUxNxA7qCmoFQ7oang3w4b6OApx1jtJun3pNvy14uLThztRLXErVSAO-khWnPomj9pf1t8g5ZfvfuswwhGE_WftP5cuDnlca9q3PFAZQ_FcvzZLOWTOIjphOHw/s400/mohawk.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5636358858756452514" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 389px; " /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzNa9LW2O-XuF3CrwzSO9nRDpQI2KFnAxHd-f-UAgTy9NoAtKPyezdaZRNdcDmW8hr3bTZyXoBCm0em0aKeNo7tNq8xbmVXtnFDY0ixUwyG3jTUJPXFU1n3WKFPnvrmXFXWR7bhdjKCuo/s1600/dapper.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Tough battle….</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">But that last <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Mohican</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">isn</span>’t Daniel Day Lewis… oh no, even though he lived all his life with that tribe, they don’t want his honky ass polluting their blood stream. So even though he has a lady by the end and they can have all the babies, the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Mohican</span> tribe dies out due to one man’s racism.</p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm"><br /></p> <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm">Or at least that’s what I took away from it all….</p>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-32979747184594685732011-07-10T08:42:00.000-07:002011-07-10T09:20:30.218-07:00She knew everyone that mattered. Everyone loved her<i><b>No 318 - Rebecca</b></i><div><i>Director - Alfred Hitchcock</i></div><div><br /></div><div>I have not read the original novel and only had the most basic understanding of the plot.... basically, I knew enough to know that the sketch 2:30 into the video below was based on Rebecca:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>you may as well watch it all because Big Train is amazing</i></div><div><iframe width="480" height="293" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bm0UY_PU5rw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>But I couldn't have told you what actually happens in the story. I think this is the best way to view the film, because it really heightens the fantastic series of twists and turns.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story (which has apparently been sanitised slightly from the book which is even more morbid) follows a protagonist who is never given a first name (creating a weird distance and sense of formality between her and the viewer) as she marries above her station and is permanently belittled by the memory of his ex wife. Joan Fontaine is wonderful in this role. She manages to have a whole load of small town charm and elegance. However, she is also very much out of her comfort zone and frequently stressed and upset. You really sympathise with the character and want things to sort out for her.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story starts fairly mundanely, as a film it is very much of its period and has dated quite badly in places (I particularly enjoyed the condescending attitude to those 'silly little women') and the scenes in Monte Carlo move quite slowly. However, Hitchcock's skill has always been tension and once the action moves away from the courting and into the stately home of Manderlay, the film really picks up. </div><div>There are secrets and mysteries which have not been explained, and Max De Winter's first wife Rebecca is at the heart of it all - her legacy clear not only in the sheer magnitude of objects with a monogrammed R, but also in the attitude of the servants. The most notable, and brilliant, is the creepy character of Mrs Danvers. A solemn figure who seems lurking behind all of Mrs De Winter's social faux pas and embarrassments. She is clearly a nasty piece of work, but might there be more to her?</div><div><br /></div><div>And thats where I want to end it really.... Because the final act of the film is just an incredible barrage of twists, revelations and dramatic moments. None of which I really saw coming. They are also timed to perfection, so just as you recover from one game-changing statement, the next one hits you.</div><div><br /></div><div>Accept that the film will begin slowly and pompously, and you're in for a treat. A complex and rewarding mystery that is explained in a third act which moves at an oddly breakneck pace after the first two far slower acts.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-9035067619639054762011-07-09T06:46:00.000-07:002011-07-09T07:11:17.010-07:00I haven't felt this awful since we saw that Ronald Reagan film.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoR44xqbCi71KzcHauexIdPPdq26yaTquefE8fC1Av-3KyycDFSxIh23cZaQB-v-KRsfchOYkGy4_xAVsyGdLHspqOx-9-9nQ1yabCGz-RaYp8mH2mzDvYjXfMxQ-0C-p6UL9jnLntUM/s1600/scary+movie.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 368 - Airplane!</b></i><div><i>Director - Jim <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Abrahams</span>, Jerry <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Zucker</span> and David <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Zucker</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>You have to give this film a fair bit of credit.... it really goes in all guns blazing and for just under 90 minutes we're subjected to an almost ceaseless barrage of gags. Airplane!'s real triumph though is the sheer <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">breadth</span> of these jokes. Desperate to be funny to everyone, the pulls out all the stops with an amazing range of jokes: from visual to verbal, surreal, cheap or very intelligent, there really is something for everyone.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film plays with all the cliches of 1950's disaster films, as a passenger has to land a crashing jumbo jet. Liberal use of flashbacks allows the tone to flick away from the Disaster movie genre and give the gag writers a bit more leeway.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film is the epitome of hit and miss, and it is really quite dated now - especially in the way the film treats other races, women and homosexuals. There is a bit of a nasty streak through some of the humour which I didn't entirely like, but most of the time the film just revels in being silly.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't really know what else to say. I will always find the scenes in the cockpit hilarious. Either the misunderstandings based on names, or Kareem Abdul-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Jabbar</span> breaking character or the creepy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">paedophilic</span> subtext of Captain <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Oveur</span>. However there are also little gags which rest too much on cliche and lazy preconceptions. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">OTT</span> camp Johnny seems too weird, and his frequent outbursts just began to piss me off really.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't want to sound too preachy, I fucking LOVE Airplane. I've seen it a fair few times and it still makes me properly laugh out loud in moments - and you have to respect it for one major discovery.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6nmzIfmiwvjnFZnf_DBNAoP7PDdC5qPSEji-gJJeD_9cMa2YpoFdBFqEJekqGMGSBbgRMa0UsUodm68RRX92x8Z7Wfz6U64gubxJqAGzg3OtrMfS5jE1TclcbWwrSPW_XRDA9YCBS78/s1600/neilsen.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgE6nmzIfmiwvjnFZnf_DBNAoP7PDdC5qPSEji-gJJeD_9cMa2YpoFdBFqEJekqGMGSBbgRMa0UsUodm68RRX92x8Z7Wfz6U64gubxJqAGzg3OtrMfS5jE1TclcbWwrSPW_XRDA9YCBS78/s400/neilsen.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627353420396265202" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 300px; " /></a><br /></div><div>The man who moved from being all serious to becoming the king of pissing about on film. A bloody hero really.</div><div>And Airplane sort of led the way for film parody and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">scattergun</span> humour being let off all over the place.</div><div>Which means we have it to blame for the inexplicable rise of Jason <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Friedberg</span> and Aaron Seltzer.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoR44xqbCi71KzcHauexIdPPdq26yaTquefE8fC1Av-3KyycDFSxIh23cZaQB-v-KRsfchOYkGy4_xAVsyGdLHspqOx-9-9nQ1yabCGz-RaYp8mH2mzDvYjXfMxQ-0C-p6UL9jnLntUM/s1600/scary+movie.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRoR44xqbCi71KzcHauexIdPPdq26yaTquefE8fC1Av-3KyycDFSxIh23cZaQB-v-KRsfchOYkGy4_xAVsyGdLHspqOx-9-9nQ1yabCGz-RaYp8mH2mzDvYjXfMxQ-0C-p6UL9jnLntUM/s400/scary+movie.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627354667803092530" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 322px; height: 242px; " /></a>which is a shame</div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-13553087415161866712011-07-09T01:48:00.000-07:002011-07-09T02:20:51.762-07:00"You who swallowed a falling star, o' heartless man, your heart shall soon be mine." That can't be good for the table.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWMNG8wRv0dMbdYTwJW1rralij0hJ1OIBNCyFPowAa88zX31odLgasf-PaIjgS0e8Qn_krICm6GNiEpU1DKrIFqvZfEfmN-vuWqKwNtV1sBJTrO_7i4zi1Yh0ujv5h_GvZmLv8febTvM/s1600/turniphead.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 230 - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Hauru</span> no <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ugoku</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Shiro</span> (Howl's Moving Castle)</b></i><div><i>Director - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Hayao</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Miyazaki</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>If there is one thing you can <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">confidently</span> say about Studio <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ghibli</span> it is that they make beautiful looking films. Whether it is the masses of fish swimming about in <a href="http://bespokecashmere.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/ponyo-1143.jpg%3Fw%3D510%26h%3D273"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Ponyo</span></a> or the spirits which mill about in <a href="http://www.japan-talk.com/images/jt//Zeniba-Spirited-Away1786012557208337460.jpeg">Spirited Away</a>, their films look amazing, deep and layered with gloriously populated and immensely imaginative worlds. It is the same with Howl's Moving Castle, particularly the titular castle itself. From the first time we watch it clanking through the countryside, I was <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">entranced</span>. It is the attention to detail with all the individual moving components which make it so refreshing to watch:</div><div><br /></div><div>Watch the trailer's opening sequence (also the film's opening sequence) as the castle emerges from the fog. </div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="490" height="293" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rb1g3sF_CGo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Just beautiful.</div><div>Every frame of the film could be printed off and stuck on your wall. Glorious.</div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, the rest of the film isn't as strong as the excellent visuals. The film sort of plods along with a story that manages to be vague and far too complex. Sophie's curse (at the heart of the story) is clear enough, but it is interwoven with something about a war and wizards turning into birds and Howl's heart and having to hide from the witch of the waste. It is, really, nonsense and I spent large moments of the film not understanding what was going. This is on my 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">th</span> viewing. I don't expect new people to get it at all.</div><div><br /></div><div>The story isn't moved along by the characters either. It doesn't bode well that the films most likable character is a silent scarecrow with a fixed stupid grin and little to no movement. Everyone else is grumpy, rude or just plain <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">non-eventful</span>.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWMNG8wRv0dMbdYTwJW1rralij0hJ1OIBNCyFPowAa88zX31odLgasf-PaIjgS0e8Qn_krICm6GNiEpU1DKrIFqvZfEfmN-vuWqKwNtV1sBJTrO_7i4zi1Yh0ujv5h_GvZmLv8febTvM/s1600/turniphead.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWMNG8wRv0dMbdYTwJW1rralij0hJ1OIBNCyFPowAa88zX31odLgasf-PaIjgS0e8Qn_krICm6GNiEpU1DKrIFqvZfEfmN-vuWqKwNtV1sBJTrO_7i4zi1Yh0ujv5h_GvZmLv8febTvM/s400/turniphead.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5627277917463429442" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 232px; " /></a>Howl is the guiltiest, he seems rude, shallow, sulky and really really boring. He is also barely in the film - more of a presence in the background of proceedings who occasionally swooshes in during his Black Swan <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">birdman</span> moments. He doesn't really show any compassion until one big move in the film's final act. But by then, Sophie has fallen in love with him, it is a romance which is used to explain a lot of their actions but which is itself, not that clearly explained. Much like many of the plot points in this film, they just happen. Deal with it.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is a shame that the story is so lacking, because the film is a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">pleasure</span> to watch, you just have to entirely disconnect your ears and watch it as a purely visual aesthetic set in a delightful steam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">punky</span> world. A steam <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">punky</span> world with WIZARDS! Surely the best kind of steam punk world.</div><div><br /></div><div>But yeah, much like Howl himself, the film looks good, but the intentions and details are muddled or just dull.</div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-34535313296406127022011-07-02T02:39:00.000-07:002011-07-02T03:29:08.902-07:00Mrs. MacNeil, the problem with your daughter is not her bed; it's her brain.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3M44wxvtW5-WA1C4Cx38TRWqduPgaPn-WQI-jrAWNtZldtjoOSKhC-_LujESMvlU4TptzKWYlFM8F6Er3TnhbrLjTobZi4P-UK1t0rhZKHJLYS19A0NBIkhVtHBWlv8iRaG6lVCNTGI/s1600/angry+blair.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 206 - The Exorcist</b></i><div><i>Director - William <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Friedkin</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>The first time I watched The Exorcist was at university and I was drunk... We watched it in a gang on VHS at about midnight. I didn't find it that scary, but I put it down to being drunk and rowdy students. After all... this is:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkLRlOxFaXn2xbhuy4HSp5vkUH506pKCeYP_Y93nqAxirOClMjaBcQfM8TGvRZzqj0XYL7beUWpG4MyQHOexOIcOWy5jmorAeXIQt6xjVx5M65HNk7C1-0fxXf4PpiPk4xbWKG6Bd0MM/s1600/scary+exorcist.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkkLRlOxFaXn2xbhuy4HSp5vkUH506pKCeYP_Y93nqAxirOClMjaBcQfM8TGvRZzqj0XYL7beUWpG4MyQHOexOIcOWy5jmorAeXIQt6xjVx5M65HNk7C1-0fxXf4PpiPk4xbWKG6Bd0MM/s400/scary+exorcist.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624690594482594258" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 354px; height: 400px; " /></a>But... is it? I think the film splits nicely down the middle. The defining moment being where they catch young Regan masturbating with a bloody crucifix. Before that moment the film is genuinely unsettling, following a young girl who is traumatised by a series of strange events. I like that there are these moments (such as the prologue which I'd forgotten about) which begin to paint the paranormal elements, and which create the unsettling tone. One of the greatest shots is when Father <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Merrin</span> is facing a statue of the Devil in Iraq as dogs fight in the distance. The growling gets louder and more distorted until I'm sure there was a voice hidden in it. Its a great moment, creepy without relying on hokey effects and brilliantly countered by the fact that the next hour is bogged down in doctors, suburbia and the little practical intricacies of life.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqS_2rkFwzGQlgawOzgPtOhUn8ZWdUZqjOmk3R8W5unpVFPTC9jsPcNhJjgl5BkS1q1YUl5UugXXIupGPofELjBKUXu-P1738NEMqUcG-jRCnudeHbHbAF4Yg4uCAECBDz41eOWjCRpUM/s1600/Ex+1+1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqS_2rkFwzGQlgawOzgPtOhUn8ZWdUZqjOmk3R8W5unpVFPTC9jsPcNhJjgl5BkS1q1YUl5UugXXIupGPofELjBKUXu-P1738NEMqUcG-jRCnudeHbHbAF4Yg4uCAECBDz41eOWjCRpUM/s400/Ex+1+1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624693056334696866" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a>The exact reason as to WHY Regan gets possessed is never explained, but it is hinted at with the discovery of a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Ouija</span> Board and Regan's conversations with Captain Howdy (I love a fictional Captain) - The possession is much scarier when it is in the realms of believability. Perhaps it is because I have an epileptic sister, but for me the real horrific moments are the vacant looks on Regan's face or the moments of fitting. There is something quite chilling about horribly thing happening to a young child and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">persistent</span> series of tests and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Xrays</span> which reveal nothing. For me the most shocking moments of the film are the dark scowling looks Linda Blair pulls off, that seem so alien and other-worldly.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3M44wxvtW5-WA1C4Cx38TRWqduPgaPn-WQI-jrAWNtZldtjoOSKhC-_LujESMvlU4TptzKWYlFM8F6Er3TnhbrLjTobZi4P-UK1t0rhZKHJLYS19A0NBIkhVtHBWlv8iRaG6lVCNTGI/s1600/angry+blair.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT3M44wxvtW5-WA1C4Cx38TRWqduPgaPn-WQI-jrAWNtZldtjoOSKhC-_LujESMvlU4TptzKWYlFM8F6Er3TnhbrLjTobZi4P-UK1t0rhZKHJLYS19A0NBIkhVtHBWlv8iRaG6lVCNTGI/s400/angry+blair.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624696042203021522" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 399px; height: 259px; " /></a><br /></div><div>So, this seems like a good time to talk about Linda Blair's performance. It is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">spigging</span> incredible, easily the best thing in the film. Blair was only around 11 or 12 when she made this and not only is she covering some heavy and disturbing themes (makes you rethink all the Hit Girl controversy when you see some of the stuff Regan says and does - whilst her <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">possessed</span> voice is a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">voice over</span>, she is still<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqZcMeX0tZE&feature=related"> acting and saying those things</a>) but she is also putting across a very nuanced and layered performance. Not only is she flitting between identities but also she is trapped in her own body and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA8PdJTv8NY">silently screaming desperately for help and escape</a>. The transformation is an incredible performance and during the slower quieter moments 'possessed Regan' is truly freaky - thanks to the wicked grins and mannerisms Blair puts across.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is just a shame that the film also descends into silly ridiculous. Whilst the neck spinning and pea soup are famous moments, they're hardly scary. They're just a bit silly. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">That's</span> the problem, I actually found myself laughing at the Devil more often than not, either because of the ridiculousness of the situation, or because there are some genuinely funny lines. Kudos especially to the term "<i>Your <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">cunting</span> daughter</i>" - I don't think that word gets used as an adjective often enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, in summary, when we are dealing with an unknown force assaulting a small girl we have a film which explores the paranormal without accepting it. The film's horror stems from the world's rationalism and watching it crumble against the events that happen. However, once it all breaks into the scratched faced insanity it becomes silly and loses a lot of the fear. I also find the ending (which I won't spoil) as a bit of an anticlimax. Though I like that, once again, the paranormal isn't resolved and the demon (or devil) is never really truly vanquished.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-55570403466124880342011-06-27T13:45:00.000-07:002011-06-27T14:14:58.185-07:00A person doesn't change just because you find out more.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-DFIKvvDiNzjsIUXxZaCfd6u2iZzQKrhh3M8tTfTH931YrIVRnZGTX4t47C54XyuAWz4nx2UGJWxCBSv9WnSdmONIzpO8QBSM1CYbljowSwTVlH8rFANA5ItJ1ALkpc-bhZHulnelU4/s1600/awesome+welles.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 21 - The Third Man</b></i><div><i>Director - Carol Reed</i></div><div><br /></div><div>The film <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">noir</span>. The Murder Mystery. A great framework for a film, and one that is done amazingly well. The story is the simple tale of a suspicious death and a man's journey to get to the bottom of it, yet it is a story made all the richer by the surroundings it is in. The weird oppression and military nightmare of post-war Vienna makes this film a lot more tense, a lot more paranoid. Paranoia which is brilliantly depicted through the use of camera angles. Maybe they filmed a lot on hills. Or maybe the tripod's third man was a bit too short....</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_72bgtx_GnixjhVHW6j-Yt08m0nFVRZpwc15EAvUNw_XTCIQrm21g55VlMBUYhefrhcD90BcAb35xkJbAyRPUseJWMlvJ1odRdpZ91sBL5364siqHZV99tBjJyqc44dxMcjkqvQ-obSc/s1600/third+man+camera.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_72bgtx_GnixjhVHW6j-Yt08m0nFVRZpwc15EAvUNw_XTCIQrm21g55VlMBUYhefrhcD90BcAb35xkJbAyRPUseJWMlvJ1odRdpZ91sBL5364siqHZV99tBjJyqc44dxMcjkqvQ-obSc/s400/third+man+camera.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623006534504561922" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 304px; " /></a>I don't mean to sound like I'm belittling it... the camera work is probably the most impressive thing in the whole film. Either in the angles and shot or in the transitions. There are some amazing fades or some great early examples of quick editing which help make the film feel a lot more ominous and shady throughout. The mystery of Harry Lime is rich and captivating, so much so that some of the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">peripheral</span> characters feel like a nuisance, they're important to the main plot, but their sub-plots are just getting in the way of the real story. Yeah... I'm talking to you Anna Schmidt.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC2eBOJWQuI_kMWA8kQEe7xyrkqel0yky1NKTE2bPn7qTttqkwJQ7lR-4rU53G4NmSaNOw_Zjn7btQfzpWuxD1kbrBAS7Vtfk7hh7jTOSr0LuzLaupfP8DE8jsJF0wtI4DZS6667YZGI/s1600/anna+schmidt.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoC2eBOJWQuI_kMWA8kQEe7xyrkqel0yky1NKTE2bPn7qTttqkwJQ7lR-4rU53G4NmSaNOw_Zjn7btQfzpWuxD1kbrBAS7Vtfk7hh7jTOSr0LuzLaupfP8DE8jsJF0wtI4DZS6667YZGI/s400/anna+schmidt.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623008028872060802" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 260px; " /></a>The film is really waiting for Orson Welles to appear and explain the mystery of Harry Lime. Welles is a delight throughout this film, for a lot of the film he has this permanent arrogant smirk as if he's just pissing himself in his glorified cameo. But actually, despite his brief appearances (both in number of times, and how long he's on screen) he manages to fill Harry with a lot of complex nuances. I love watching the arc of emotion Welles portrays. Particularly the moments when he feels betrayed or worried. In fact, as the net tightens and Harry gets progressively ruffled you see his fall from grace. The cocky <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">smirker</span> becomes bug eyed, gasping and crawling through a sewer. Its a remarkable journey and you can see what attracted Orson Welles to the part. </div><div>The camera also seems to love Welles, with loads of wonderful lingering shots over the enigmatic Harry Lime. But nothing will ever beat the character's introduction. As a light is cast over Lime's smiling face it seems like a two-tiered TA <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">DAH</span>. Firstly... at last! We get to see Harry Lime, the man we've heard so much. But secondly... at last! I was wondering when Orson Welles was appearing. Just look at that moment... he's either channelling some serious smugness with Harry Lime or he knows that he is pretty much the shit.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-DFIKvvDiNzjsIUXxZaCfd6u2iZzQKrhh3M8tTfTH931YrIVRnZGTX4t47C54XyuAWz4nx2UGJWxCBSv9WnSdmONIzpO8QBSM1CYbljowSwTVlH8rFANA5ItJ1ALkpc-bhZHulnelU4/s1600/awesome+welles.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-DFIKvvDiNzjsIUXxZaCfd6u2iZzQKrhh3M8tTfTH931YrIVRnZGTX4t47C54XyuAWz4nx2UGJWxCBSv9WnSdmONIzpO8QBSM1CYbljowSwTVlH8rFANA5ItJ1ALkpc-bhZHulnelU4/s400/awesome+welles.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623010280538435714" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 241px; " /></a>But the final point, which I'm repeating from earlier, is that even with great acting and a super story, the film's real triumph is how it looks. This is a beautifully shot film. This is not a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">spoilery</span> scene... but watch the framing in the film's last shot, as Anna Schmidt walks out of the protagonist's life forever....</div><div><br /></div><div>Beautiful</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/l64JIcG-O-k" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-12600344016491580172011-06-27T13:19:00.000-07:002011-06-27T13:43:13.009-07:00Have you been drinking?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaOY9jh1XfPyYAQ-TgV8MXcVF_1dzETW_6oJWErGVAv6FK0wB2bcsXzoyiYDgNyewHuJUlpyZuAh8dC_MURm7O5AQO_BkYmCcWPcewWkJsol_srOdWGbUs6MFnUM_6fEYdAJYx-Ep3bQ/s1600/lazarescu.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 270 - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Moartea</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Domnului</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Lazarescu</span> (The Death of Mr <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Lazarescu</span>)</b></i><div><i>Director - Cristi <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Puiu</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>My knowledge of Romania is not massive, and mainly stems to a 10 day holiday romance with a girl called Jo which I had on a school trip to France aged 17 and a bottle of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">homebrew</span> which I drank on the same school trip. It looked like <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ribena</span> and tasted like meths. The man that gave it to me delivered it with the greatest quote ever.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><i>In our country we drink this in winter to stay warm.... </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>and we drink it in summer.... to stay warm.</i></div><div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Jo taught me that Romanian is surprisingly similar to Italian (enough that she was able to translate an Italian play for me) - that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">homebrew</span> taught me that Romanians drink savage savage shit. And it is <u>that</u> point which is at the heart of The Death of Mr <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Lazarescu</span>.</div><div><br /></div><div>This film is classed as a comedy, and if you get your chuckles from watching an old man slowly die, you are in for a treat! There are some little moments which made me smile (mainly down to the few <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">bearable</span> members of medical staff) but most of this film frustrated me. An old man (older than his years) is ill and is caught in some kind of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">bureaucratic</span> nightmare as he moved from hospital to hospital and from unit to unit.</div><div>Some of these doctors are nice. I particularly like the couple who seem to be involved in the second hospital. I like their shameless and borderline unprofessional flirting and how they get distracted having little domestics. They are a sweet couple and (most importantly) they are worried about Mr <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Lazarescu</span>. Whereas other hospitals are wrapped up in admin or refuse to treat him as he has alcohol on his lips....</div><div><br /></div><div>It does paint the Romanian health service in a terrifying light, as it seems very easy for people to just die. Just die.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaOY9jh1XfPyYAQ-TgV8MXcVF_1dzETW_6oJWErGVAv6FK0wB2bcsXzoyiYDgNyewHuJUlpyZuAh8dC_MURm7O5AQO_BkYmCcWPcewWkJsol_srOdWGbUs6MFnUM_6fEYdAJYx-Ep3bQ/s1600/lazarescu.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqaOY9jh1XfPyYAQ-TgV8MXcVF_1dzETW_6oJWErGVAv6FK0wB2bcsXzoyiYDgNyewHuJUlpyZuAh8dC_MURm7O5AQO_BkYmCcWPcewWkJsol_srOdWGbUs6MFnUM_6fEYdAJYx-Ep3bQ/s400/lazarescu.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623001159315035378" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 303px; " /></a>Now.... I don't want to focus on how much the story annoyed me and how much I wanted to punch some of the doctors throughout. I presume that that was kind of the point. What I wanted to highlight was the amazing performance from Ion <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Fiscuteanu</span> as the titular Mr <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Lazarescu</span>. From the start of the film you can see the depth and layers within the character. Here is a man who is clearly unhappy and clearly lonely. He isn't that close to anyone (he has some kind of strained relationship with his brother in law as witnessed in a phone call) apart from the stray cats which he takes in. </div><div>But the really impressive nature is that as the film progresses, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Lazarescu's</span> health massively <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">deteriorates</span>. What starts as him being obnoxious, becomes a tired, confused and scared man before finally he is just gone. No longer understanding the questions asked of him nor understanding where he is.</div><div><br /></div><div>This is not a comfortable watch, and despite the occasional smile-<span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">inducing</span> moment, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Death_of_Mr._Lazarescu">there is no way I'd call it a comedy, or even a comedy-drama</a>. It is really a bleak look at bullying doctors, bullshit <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">bureaucracy</span> and the dangers of drinking too much alcohol.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perfect film for a nice summer's day.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-87069550471827446822011-06-27T13:01:00.000-07:002011-06-27T13:19:03.366-07:00If I could find a souvenir, just to prove the world was here.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpzrcBxKZ_b3U5YlNnJuzSvFe5-KxrEwDqakC0HvX6bbDf2DfcmOqiu-b0nshaBgJk0hdQdMUHXiYl-kq0OChEXXJOmEk8HbqBj9So635bYWLeLCba2TTPCjHL1-rPupvCBVQ1BONsCI/s1600/the-red-balloon.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 294 - Le <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Ballon</span> Rouge (The Red Balloon)</b></i><div><i>Director - Albert <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Lamorisse</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>This is a short little fantasy tale about a boy who befriends a red balloon and the journey the two go on. Not to be mistaken with Billy's balloon, which was my only prior source of information on this kind of subject.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Fpc5vgi9zbM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><div><br /></div><div>The relationship with Pascal and his balloon is much sweeter. The boy untangles the balloon from a lamp-post and the balloon subsequently follows Pascal around - much to the annoyance of the adults and jealousy of his peers.</div><div><br /></div><div>The balloon is an incredible character (and believe me, it is a character) - Firstly, the colour.... compared to the drab greyness of post-war Paris, the balloon seems unreal. A redness so bright that it appears almost <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">CGI</span>. Of course, that's impossible, so it is an impressive feat on the behalf of the film makers. I don't think it is down to lenses either, I just think Paris was a lot greyer back then.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpzrcBxKZ_b3U5YlNnJuzSvFe5-KxrEwDqakC0HvX6bbDf2DfcmOqiu-b0nshaBgJk0hdQdMUHXiYl-kq0OChEXXJOmEk8HbqBj9So635bYWLeLCba2TTPCjHL1-rPupvCBVQ1BONsCI/s1600/the-red-balloon.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpzrcBxKZ_b3U5YlNnJuzSvFe5-KxrEwDqakC0HvX6bbDf2DfcmOqiu-b0nshaBgJk0hdQdMUHXiYl-kq0OChEXXJOmEk8HbqBj9So635bYWLeLCba2TTPCjHL1-rPupvCBVQ1BONsCI/s400/the-red-balloon.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5622995213836611490" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px; " /></a><br /></div><div>The balloon also seems to emote (certainly, it acts much better than some of the smaller roles <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">throughout</span>) - you get to see a happy balloon, an interested balloon, a scared balloon, a yearning balloon.</div><div><br /></div><div>It really helps to make a rich relationship between Pascal and his balloon, which means you care about their fate. So the persecution of the balloon becomes <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">really</span> sad to watch. </div><div><br /></div><div>The film's ending is bittersweet, but after <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">focusing</span> on this beautiful relationship and as it reaches its natural conclusion, we get the final shot. An impressive and utterly beautiful final shot. </div><div><br /></div><div>So beautiful, that I don't want to ruin it by showing you it. But you can <a href="http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkbe0xl5pl1qbniebo1_500.jpg">click here</a> to see it.</div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-14986994857313744012011-06-19T06:45:00.000-07:002011-06-19T07:46:59.471-07:00Zed's dead, baby. Zed's dead<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQKQSn5W6G2L2-Dd9zNgH2u4DNcPGKGTJCXKh6olB0v6BcSjMdS4E5SBlRVpdm6HWsZv05QAQvpylyFTbOFAbm3hiTLZpinnrMXnqzKutVwi0yH08sWsVMHbv9RP2scPv5Kh0SVYMakg/s1600/wallace.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 9 - Pulp Fiction</b></i><div><i>Director - Quentin <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Tarantino</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the film that really showcases <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Tarantino's</span> dialogue (and it is his dialogue which is his true strength). He is very good in situations where he has several stories going on at once - this is a classic example of a successful use of chapter based storytelling, accompanied by incredible performances and a totally boss soundtrack.</div><div><br /></div><div>If you have to find a central point to the film, it probably falls on Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Winnfield</span> (Samuel L Jackson) - 2 heavies who work for a mobster called <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Marsellus</span> Wallace (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Ving</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Rhames</span>). They might not be the protagonist for every chapter (Bruce Willis' boxer Butch also takes the spotlight at times) appear in all of the stories and are pivotal to the tale.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm not going to go into detail on all of these chapters, as they have all been assessed to the hilt. However, I just want to talk about a few factors of the film.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpXhMeVYmwjHVytpM14-2QtYyayr6njhSWvfmzTtnC3T0an99tw18Sap_3_JJdq5Aj8BS-3YzA2o3OX_uOhQewQe6HJYIx9RhCabLZBIV-_gTVVIvw4s5hpxXmvCpPhNX18NS6SMth2E/s1600/travolta+cool.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlpXhMeVYmwjHVytpM14-2QtYyayr6njhSWvfmzTtnC3T0an99tw18Sap_3_JJdq5Aj8BS-3YzA2o3OX_uOhQewQe6HJYIx9RhCabLZBIV-_gTVVIvw4s5hpxXmvCpPhNX18NS6SMth2E/s400/travolta+cool.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619930080236861154" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 200px; " /></a>This film drips with effortless cool. So effortless that it seems lazy. The film manages to be cool without really trying. This is probably helped by the music throughout (after all - anything would look cool when paired with Neil Diamond.... even though its actually<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAHA4Jh5jkw&feature=related"> a cover by Urge Overkill</a> in the film). But what is impressive is that elements that shouldn't work at all, end up working. Just look at the picture of John Travolta above - taken from the film's single coolest moment: the twist competition at Jack Rabbit Slims. Firstly, he has lank and greasy slicked back hair and secondly he has the most 90's suit ever seen.... and yet he remains cool. </div><div>Same with Jackson, he appears wearing a bloody <a href="http://www.virginmedia.com/images/jackson_pulpfiction-430x300.jpg">PERM</a> and yet he still looks too <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">badass</span> for words.</div><div>As I've already mentioned, the film's coolest moment is the Twist scene... It manages to be almost <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">nonchalant</span> in the dance, a<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJn-XF1QEPc"> very cool scene</a> which is now iconic. The nonchalance is important. There are a lot of films out there which are self conscious in their drive to be cool. Obviously <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Tarantino</span> tries hard to make sure his movies come out as stylish, but it never feels forced. That is an impressive feat and ties me into my next part.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7a34SIuPA2YPe4pjKLWgHenuDwxK0KxOg6Zl5oRdDxYp-kVyxnmuw_THRUV7yRc7isYXb7V90zhxPjmSLdSDSQg9GVtn0eD12BhKRdxycfYz8uLADswwzQdgE-Ewt9-9Bkjdw9__tcg/s1600/jimmy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7a34SIuPA2YPe4pjKLWgHenuDwxK0KxOg6Zl5oRdDxYp-kVyxnmuw_THRUV7yRc7isYXb7V90zhxPjmSLdSDSQg9GVtn0eD12BhKRdxycfYz8uLADswwzQdgE-Ewt9-9Bkjdw9__tcg/s400/jimmy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619933793259028690" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 200px; " /></a><br /></div><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Tarantino</span> has always been lauded for his dialogue, and throughout the film you can see why. The casual conversation <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">occurring</span> through out scenes was pretty revolutionary at the time. Whilst most people discuss the famous <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srrsjDWCHTU&feature=related"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Royale</span> with Cheese</a> conversation, I'm much more impressed by Tim Roth and Amanda <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Plummer's</span> conversation about the intricacies of bank robbery. It is all discussed in a matter of fact and straightforward manner. He also manages to make <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">believable</span> characters with distinctive voices.</div><div>Whether it is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Fabienne's</span> stilted dialogue with her adorable use of words or L Jackson and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Rhames</span> speaking with distinctively 'black' dialogue (whatever the hell that means). He also knows how to lift his quotes. Is there anything more chilling then L Jackson quoting <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czb4jn5y94g">the bible</a>?(then again, he can say anything and sound <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U550Gxh5voY"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">badass</span></a>)</div><div><br /></div><div>There are some moments which don't quite work (Christopher <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Walken</span> will never be a convincing kindly child friendly character), but the worst is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Tarantino</span> himself with his character of Jimmy. A man who grates throughout (I'm not a fan of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Tarantino's</span> voice or delivery and find him jarring in every one of his cameos) but who mainly makes me feel uncomfortable through his excessive use of the N word (a word which is liberally used throughout the film, but notably only by black characters). By having Jimmy use it so casually (rather than as a racist insult) it leaves a strange taste in my mouth and is the only part of the film which draws me out of the world.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Aw1TT_ieJx9AHo_r8S36U2ZEKhLfmgW8qEsIHM5XxMTVnDwqDehFkB7IpYEUKCESiskQDIxH0IGLxhhI4xf-VYIgIsAUAfOchmRl8f4a2wp8Racjhj-JEHvlbRLhyphenhyphene1spFzLpb5TeFM/s1600/pulp+simpsonse.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3Aw1TT_ieJx9AHo_r8S36U2ZEKhLfmgW8qEsIHM5XxMTVnDwqDehFkB7IpYEUKCESiskQDIxH0IGLxhhI4xf-VYIgIsAUAfOchmRl8f4a2wp8Racjhj-JEHvlbRLhyphenhyphene1spFzLpb5TeFM/s400/pulp+simpsonse.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619938673234130482" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 200px; " /></a><br /></div><div>This is a dark film. A film which successfully shows drug use (and subsequent overdose). Shows an awful lot of violence and an awful lot of abuse. Yet, The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Simpsons</span> decide to parody a dark film's darkest moment. Where two men are gagged and bound in order to be subsequently tortured, raped and (it is hinted) killed by a redneck, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Dorien</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Tyrell</span> and a gimp. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is such an odd choice for a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Simpsons</span> reference. What the fuck?!</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQKQSn5W6G2L2-Dd9zNgH2u4DNcPGKGTJCXKh6olB0v6BcSjMdS4E5SBlRVpdm6HWsZv05QAQvpylyFTbOFAbm3hiTLZpinnrMXnqzKutVwi0yH08sWsVMHbv9RP2scPv5Kh0SVYMakg/s1600/wallace.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcQKQSn5W6G2L2-Dd9zNgH2u4DNcPGKGTJCXKh6olB0v6BcSjMdS4E5SBlRVpdm6HWsZv05QAQvpylyFTbOFAbm3hiTLZpinnrMXnqzKutVwi0yH08sWsVMHbv9RP2scPv5Kh0SVYMakg/s400/wallace.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5619941023800838658" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 200px; " /></a><br /></div><div>Throughout the film we spend time with Wallace, the true central crux of the film and a mysterious (and possibly paranormal?) thread throughout it all. After all.... why has Wallace got a plaster on the back of his neck? What is in the suitcase?</div><div><br /></div><div>Quite the mystery...</div><div><br /></div><div>A fabulous fabulous film.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-16696424298825733032011-06-11T08:11:00.000-07:002011-06-11T08:53:52.709-07:00What happened between Mrs. Robinson and me was nothing. It didn't mean anything. We might just as well have been shaking hands.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq66aiGZwsmqQ1UX2ev7AtF0Ju7z3PA3HPQ3COi4nLKoGeorre3zqEylwFt3PPvtQTtM60Lz6v66BqjQiXmr4PYqga3VPwKP9ALrSd-oab0txXe7ECUcL5O9Q4UA77edjK8M9rietqs5Q/s1600/graduate.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 62 - The Graduate</b></i><div><i>Director - Mike Nichols</i></div><div><br /></div><div>I give up trying to apologise for the recent lax behaviour on this blog. My life has got distressingly hectic and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">LoveFilm</span> are sending me all sorts of fascinating films which are decidedly NON-LIST. But I'm keeping at it.... and will continue here. Have no fear.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are a lot of nice little bits I wish to talk about in The Graduate. The beautiful soundtrack, for example and that I really love The Sound of Silence, even after hearing a hundred times over the film.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>The Sound of Silence by Simon and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Garfunkle</span> - just beautiful</i></div><div><iframe width="480" height="27" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/BvsX03LOMhI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Then there is the great acting. Namely, the two central roles.</div><div>I am a massive fan of Dustin Hoffman. He pretty much makes every thing he is in better. Whether its a <a href="http://youtu.be/vqbXPfaN_VM">serious role</a>, what seems like a<a href="http://youtu.be/6b7HF5nQ1Ps"> cash in</a>, or just a <a href="http://youtu.be/eBjRznETGEQ">cheeky cameo</a>.... he is brilliant. No exception here. Ben is a great character. A bundle of nerves and angst, filled with worry and self loathing. He stays utterly fascinating and believable throughout. Not only that, but as you watch his mannerisms, and listen to how he speaks, you realise that he may have been <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">influential</span> to a certain long lasting comedy:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWkIy_7wkZSUw3tSJhUP-frX-dOti88xTG04D2Hv5wAQCOCd6H6yzchRw8BsA4i-UUO7FmfKZdrp36802F1aBsuAbaNJYcyqDJxqqdw4sXyWIvGEJzF1ZHVdgW4E9MKz5WW69tqwQ_88/s1600/Ross.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyWkIy_7wkZSUw3tSJhUP-frX-dOti88xTG04D2Hv5wAQCOCd6H6yzchRw8BsA4i-UUO7FmfKZdrp36802F1aBsuAbaNJYcyqDJxqqdw4sXyWIvGEJzF1ZHVdgW4E9MKz5WW69tqwQ_88/s400/Ross.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616985510656873378" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a>Hoffman's Ben works brilliantly against the icy cool Mrs Robinson, played marvellously (and at times terrifyingly) by Anne Bancroft. At its heart is a story of love, lust, emptiness, confusion and self loathing. All of these emotions are made brilliant clear through the work of one man:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgXcEv7Vln9gjWvFtE-ZgtReBhp5ZJWqGGQK4IWq3FPIpfBUjhIzxiggnBaKL2JS0krPnsgMmwk3tNd5yrJiHe70qxJQRsuSdEE5Sfr7Ew8oJiQgOdKmU171zIgwQ0Aa5jC2QgHfbUyw/s1600/Surtees.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqgXcEv7Vln9gjWvFtE-ZgtReBhp5ZJWqGGQK4IWq3FPIpfBUjhIzxiggnBaKL2JS0krPnsgMmwk3tNd5yrJiHe70qxJQRsuSdEE5Sfr7Ew8oJiQgOdKmU171zIgwQ0Aa5jC2QgHfbUyw/s400/Surtees.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616987325331960562" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 450px; height: 200px; " /></a><br /></div><div><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Surtees</span>, as cinematographer, managed to shoot the film in a way that makes every frame a screen shot. Shots which convey loneliness far more elegantly than any monologue could. From the beautiful, simple title sequence through to the end, each shot is a delight. Shots which show anger, passion, betrayal, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">despair</span> and shots which are just incredibly iconic.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq66aiGZwsmqQ1UX2ev7AtF0Ju7z3PA3HPQ3COi4nLKoGeorre3zqEylwFt3PPvtQTtM60Lz6v66BqjQiXmr4PYqga3VPwKP9ALrSd-oab0txXe7ECUcL5O9Q4UA77edjK8M9rietqs5Q/s1600/graduate.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq66aiGZwsmqQ1UX2ev7AtF0Ju7z3PA3HPQ3COi4nLKoGeorre3zqEylwFt3PPvtQTtM60Lz6v66BqjQiXmr4PYqga3VPwKP9ALrSd-oab0txXe7ECUcL5O9Q4UA77edjK8M9rietqs5Q/s400/graduate.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616990390002020834" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 370px; height: 800px; " /></a></div><div>A film which is just beautiful to look at.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-33115919964998081732011-05-31T07:10:00.000-07:002011-05-31T07:45:33.479-07:00You want to explain the math of this to me? I mean, where's the sense in risking the lives of the eight of us to save one guy?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKFpzqq0bCLdkjKDO6Z4HjxxI1MccouiAQ-3N4XYBobTTziWSOdDuk4msabJQxRX-mQpb9evvG9NkUoR-DdGFNHpnm4PMEAUFB61EbQdrqCZA2KvXSrLuvV3cFYNu-xtUeHLNM4y6aCA/s1600/private+ryan+cast.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 156 - Saving Private Ryan</b></i><div><i>Director - Steven Spielberg</i></div><div><br /></div><div>Saving Private Ryan is known (and really, is remembered) for one thing. One epic battle on the shores of Omaha Beach in Normandy. It is so ingrained as THE memory of the film that it eclipses everything else. I was so convinced that this was how the film truly began that I was surprised to see a little old James Ryan shuffle along to the Normandy American <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">cemetery</span> and Memorial. But it is old Ryan which bookends the film (indeed the fade out at the end from young Ryan to old is masterful) before we hit the full horrors of war.</div><div><br /></div><div>The opening <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">sequence</span> is incredible. <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Shaky</span> cameras which seem to be documenting evidence rather than filming fiction, mud, blood, entrails and futility are all captured on screen. It is deliberately chaotic, the camera almost seems like an additional character as it looks around the beach trying to find moments of action to focus in on. Throughout this mess we lose track of characters and can barely hear what is being shouted over the bombs and blasts. But that is not the point. This is not there to boost a character arc or to progress the plot. This is there for one reason. It shows you that war is a horrible brutal place and it shows you just how fragile and fleeting life can be. In that job, it succeeds triumphantly. It is a tough and painful bit of cinema - incredibly visceral, and unnerving in how 'in your face' it all is. It stands alone (and it is, really, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">separate</span> from the rest of the film) and should be watched. Or.... experienced.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="490" height="293" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gZgKo46X8CI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Only after subjecting us to a good 15 minutes of brutal warfare do we begin to actually mention the plot and the strange ruling which sees Tom Hanks and a small unit sent to rescue Private James Ryan (a point which is contested throughout the film) - during this, the group coincide with other groups performing their own missions and we get to see a barrage of familiar faces. Spielberg putting together a marvellous (and somewhat <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">surreally</span> diverse) cast.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKFpzqq0bCLdkjKDO6Z4HjxxI1MccouiAQ-3N4XYBobTTziWSOdDuk4msabJQxRX-mQpb9evvG9NkUoR-DdGFNHpnm4PMEAUFB61EbQdrqCZA2KvXSrLuvV3cFYNu-xtUeHLNM4y6aCA/s1600/private+ryan+cast.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSKFpzqq0bCLdkjKDO6Z4HjxxI1MccouiAQ-3N4XYBobTTziWSOdDuk4msabJQxRX-mQpb9evvG9NkUoR-DdGFNHpnm4PMEAUFB61EbQdrqCZA2KvXSrLuvV3cFYNu-xtUeHLNM4y6aCA/s400/private+ryan+cast.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612888642825628386" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 352px; height: 400px; " /></a>Ted <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Danson</span>?!</div><div>Daniel from Lost?</div><div>Vin Diesel in a role written specifically for him?!</div><div><br /></div><div>The main focus though (and the drive of the film) is the relationship between the soldiers as they suffer in a horrible situation - a theme Spielberg continues to explore in Band of Brothers and The Pacific. The film really allows the characters to breathe and shows a depth and three-dimensional nature which still isn't massively common in films. See the way they struggle with their morality and their hatred of the Nazis. Rather big themes are lightly touched as parts of the war, rather than parts of the story. I for one found the scene in which Goldberg's Stanley <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Mellish</span> declares his Jewish faith to the German <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">POWs</span> very powerful. For him, this is more than just a job. This is a battle against people which have <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">persecuted</span> and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">vilified</span> everything that he stands for. This is a moral quest for justice. Yet, the film never expands on it... it is just part of the day to day nature of the war.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film continues in this way.... setting up minor events which test and explore the group's characters until we come to the major event of meeting the titular James Ryan and one last big action scene. It is a film which doesn't shy away from death but which also tackles some interesting, and far tougher, themes such as survivors guilt. </div><div><br /></div><div>A big and powerful film, which I'm going to undermine by linking to an <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wX-wumVSbDQ">Adam and Joe sketch</a>:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-68790189713442798172011-05-23T08:23:00.000-07:002011-05-23T09:00:29.586-07:00Blessed be the one who sits down.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJlzPPSLWxgfZAjaLYcHme-_ObVyUwQ6qxFRcurkjNsO2feBSY72oPARKexUVviDFRNxl7FDCAJFCRHwia7f4mJbvdaCfsRi1rprv74-qpptOqzGFMd5WZ9I3xEisETdOAKlua7-W1xw/s1600/old+suits.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 213 - Songs from the Second Floor</b></i><div><i>Director - Roy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Andersson</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>It takes a good 30 minutes before anything bordering a narrative structure creeps into Songs from the Second Floor. Initially it seems that we're dealing with sketches. Returning characters with their own returning issues. Weird little middle aged members of middle management and their weird little life problems. The scenes don't seem particularly linked. We watch a magician fail to saw a man in half and that man subsequently be rushed to hospital. We see a man get fired and beg for his job. We see a man get <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">viciously</span> attacked as he searches for someone. The scenes seem barely interlinked, ranging from the weird <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">staccato</span> delivery of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKk2eFV5cqA">Lynch</a> at his most inaccessible to the weirdness of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecFBcpY9NHI">Monty Python</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJlzPPSLWxgfZAjaLYcHme-_ObVyUwQ6qxFRcurkjNsO2feBSY72oPARKexUVviDFRNxl7FDCAJFCRHwia7f4mJbvdaCfsRi1rprv74-qpptOqzGFMd5WZ9I3xEisETdOAKlua7-W1xw/s1600/old+suits.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJlzPPSLWxgfZAjaLYcHme-_ObVyUwQ6qxFRcurkjNsO2feBSY72oPARKexUVviDFRNxl7FDCAJFCRHwia7f4mJbvdaCfsRi1rprv74-qpptOqzGFMd5WZ9I3xEisETdOAKlua7-W1xw/s400/old+suits.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5609937151781630818" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 225px; " /></a><br /></div><div>And yet, as the film progresses, you realise that there is something happening. It may not be a story in any shape or form, but it is still a cinematic study and something very beautiful. There are scenes which are massively symbolic, The traffic which hasn't moved for hours as everyone is going the same way (and later the mass of people struggling with their baggage) is a sign of our own progress, likewise the old people sacrificing youth and still not getting what they want... it all seems to have a massive message of the futility and shallowness of our own times. How our common quest for progress leaves us standing still. How we destroy the young to get something... some gain.</div><div>How we sell hope and beliefs for a cheap buck.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whilst this sounds very bleak, bare in mind that this is only MY interpretations, and the film itself is darkly funny and at times incredibly beautiful. Songs from the Second Floor revels in the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">mundanity</span> in which these surreal exchanges and events take place. A suburban <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">dystopian</span> nightmare. But ones where there are moments of utter beauty.</div><div>I want to focus on two moments - both of which are musical. Its the music which really makes these moments shine. But it is also the simple, understated way in which they're presented. For me, the most incredible moment was the 'Silent Song' - an operatic frame within a commuter train service.</div><div><br /></div><div><iframe width="480" height="293" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/so5M8Mgf50c" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>It is just a lovely moment. The second moment is when one of the characters plays the recorder with his girlfriend. Again... it is simple, and beautiful.</div><div><br /></div><div>The film claims to be a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">filmic</span> representation of poetry by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Vallejo"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">César</span> Vallejo</a> - and there is much talk of poetry, and many repeated lines throughout. I have to admit, I don't know the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">fella's</span> poems so I can't really comment. What I can say is that the film is haunting, beautiful, at times hilarious and always always perplexing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Basically this is everything I hoped <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2t_reNMqRrc">The Temptation of St Tony</a> was going to be when I sat down to watch it. I was severely disappointed by old Tones. So this was a welcome joy when it comes to surrealist cinema.</div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-6069361980447165902011-05-18T01:44:00.000-07:002011-05-18T02:22:30.758-07:00Do you even know why you're supposed to kill me? Look at us. Look at what they make you give.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGhFMFjBB_BxU9vlC9j1jhOX3ICFrSLoWghbWT-gFjPX2qJ_9E4e82YZzOr9V31zI01drBkjD2vX4X03800DjGnsSIwSdrbYZrCsYEPp3nvok0iJrWq4VF74NLscJ1ggAnsdtNYzZXhg/s1600/parkour.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 234 - The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Bourne</span> Ultimatum</b></i><div><i>Director - Paul <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Greengrass</span></i></div><div><br /></div><iframe width="480" height="27" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ISWOrI0WaLs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Yes... we've reached <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Bourne</span> Three, thus allowing me to start the blog on an EXCELLENT musical pun. Thank you.</div><div>Much in the same way that Bond always begins straight in the middle of the action, with a mission <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">that's</span> not been followed from the start, so to does this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bourne</span> adventure begin straight in the middle of a pursuit.</div><div>You have to feel sorry for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Bourne</span>. All he wants is to live a quiet life and slowly piece his identity together and he's always being chased. It doesn't even matter how many shady government agencies he topples - he remains on the most wanted list of almost every police force in the world. So here he is - broken, battered and bruised - on the run from the police. Same old, same old. Somehow he escapes and he makes it to lovely old London.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, what is it causing the shit to hit the fan this time? Its none other than Paddy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Considine</span>. This time we get our third mysterious government program - <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Blackbriar</span>, and it seems that the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Bourne</span> trilogy has finally got to the centre of what happened to its protagonist. There are lots of little touches within this film that also show how <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Bourne</span> has developed. He has always been a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">badass</span>, destroying squads of police with nothing but a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">biro</span>. But here, he is navigating the entire CCTV system of London <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Waterloo</span> as well as protecting a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">civilian</span> from an entire crack squad of government agents working for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Blackbriar</span> - the big bad, the heart of all Black Ops. </div><div><br /></div><div>It is otherwise business as usual for the film. We get a lot of running around. We get a car chase and many a fight scene and we get a look at a government agency that can <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">essentially</span> access and manipulate anything in the world. It is a conspiracy theorist dream.</div><div><br /></div><div>However, there is a new addition to the film - and it is something that seems to have become a legal requirement for modern action films. Ever since <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Parkour</span> exploded into the UK, it has appeared in almost every film. A foot chase isn't a foot chase unless you're leaping off walls, through windows and landing on perilous little ledges. Action sequences don't count unless you've got people jumping off buildings these days</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGhFMFjBB_BxU9vlC9j1jhOX3ICFrSLoWghbWT-gFjPX2qJ_9E4e82YZzOr9V31zI01drBkjD2vX4X03800DjGnsSIwSdrbYZrCsYEPp3nvok0iJrWq4VF74NLscJ1ggAnsdtNYzZXhg/s1600/parkour.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGhFMFjBB_BxU9vlC9j1jhOX3ICFrSLoWghbWT-gFjPX2qJ_9E4e82YZzOr9V31zI01drBkjD2vX4X03800DjGnsSIwSdrbYZrCsYEPp3nvok0iJrWq4VF74NLscJ1ggAnsdtNYzZXhg/s400/parkour.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607982015056745842" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 400px; " /></a>Ultimatum mostly takes place between the penultimate and final scenes of Supremacy... building around the idea of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Bourne</span> finding his real name and remembering everything. It is the film where (at last.....) <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Bourne</span> gets a bit of support as previous characters realise that maybe he isn't hunting them down. Maybe they should help him.</div><div><br /></div><div>There are echoes of the first two films which sit nicely within the film and don't take the audience out of the story. The question asked in this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">blog's</span> title is asked by <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Bourne</span> but was initially a statement from Clive Owen's The Professor. Albert <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Finney</span> takes on Brian Cox's mantle of the crotchety old man at the heart of the operation and the final shot is a glorious subversion of the first film's opening shot.</div><div><br /></div><div>Even <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Moby</span> has been tweaked about and reissued when we fade out to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Moby</span></div><div><br /></div><iframe width="480" height="27" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pRj7KpI1yRA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><div><br /></div><div>Incidentally.... there is talk of a 4<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">th</span> film. The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Bourne</span> Legacy. It will be starring Jeremy <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Renner</span> and it wouldn't actually <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">feature</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Bourne</span>. This sounds like risky business if ever I've seen it.</div>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5556272090253461013.post-82571256792873271862011-05-18T00:59:00.000-07:002011-05-18T01:42:25.981-07:00The moment you got into her car. The moment you entered her life, she was dead.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxk9V4XJz-7-kTuUB74_dQWWn_TkQ1x38nX0-5_jo0bP5O-YtGLKX5ElvT9xQI8pMbvW16nQD703J7zCGxgqUr3b7ULSvkbu-pgEcsX_b6a-5Ulrwn-Sb1HTlQPhbpsChp7BnQ7ksDj8/s1600/michelle+monaghan.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"></a><i><b>No 454 - The <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Bourne</span> Supremacy</b></i><div><i>Director - Paul <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Greengrass</span></i></div><div><br /></div><div>Things ended on a happy ending for <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Bourne</span>.... but this is a trilogy of paranoid action thrillers, and so despite the BIG BAD being resolved at the end of Identity, it is time for a new government agency to be out hunting <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Bourne</span>.</div><div>This time, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Bourne</span> is tackling a far bigger problem. Not only is he still trying to piece together his memories and sense of self (though warped and blurry flashbacks show he's beginning to remember) - but he's also been framed for a fair amount of murder.</div><div><br /></div><div>So we're back on familiar ground. As <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Bourne</span> runs away confused, chased by an agency who think <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Bourne</span> is after them. When really all he wants is a quiet life.</div><div><br /></div><div>The first thing <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">that's</span> clear from this sequel is that there is a new director on board. Gone are the slower more paranoid shots and in are quick edits, jittery cameras and a state of CONSTANT FUCKING TENSION</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlitHegVXHuOLwaWKAebg7dIhkpBhgKAhvvx9UUx1hfHjmzxBP-yJDA8D0y09Tmcczj59MT4Caw9LoFT9GqzBE1keOU-O0A3U1iJV9LEb21D_3K2Ut12b57g-IDbfNMtEK0Xth9Sk-SQ/s1600/greengrass.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixlitHegVXHuOLwaWKAebg7dIhkpBhgKAhvvx9UUx1hfHjmzxBP-yJDA8D0y09Tmcczj59MT4Caw9LoFT9GqzBE1keOU-O0A3U1iJV9LEb21D_3K2Ut12b57g-IDbfNMtEK0Xth9Sk-SQ/s400/greengrass.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607965655113478754" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px; " /></a>This new visual style makes for a far more frantic film and is the style which became a staple of how to make a modern, exciting, action film. Other - more established - action franchises <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fl5WHj0bZ2Q">duly took note</a>. However, the issue which stems from is that action sequences become a lot more difficult to follow. Gone are the long lingering shots of Matt Damon stalking Clive Owen through the grass, and instead we get split second shots which change before you can fully register whats going on. It makes the whole experience of watching a film far more tiring. But, saying that,</div><div>the car chase where <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Bourne</span> is in a taxi is probably one of the most dramatic and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">exhilarating</span> car chases I have seen in a film.</div><div><br /><iframe width="480" height="293" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nUtINRG3pxk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>So what else is there to comment on? Well lets look at the good news. Julia Stiles is back and she ACTUALLY HAS SOMETHING TO DO! Yes, this time Nicky is dragged back into action and she gets to actually do stuff as well as get right in the thick of a very tense interview with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Bourne</span>.</div><div>But there is more, because hidden in the shadows of the new agency (fronted by Joan Allen in fabulous 'no shit important person' mode as Pamela <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Landy</span>) is none other than Michelle <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Monaghan</span>. She may have very little to do in this film, but it is always a delight to see her in a film.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxk9V4XJz-7-kTuUB74_dQWWn_TkQ1x38nX0-5_jo0bP5O-YtGLKX5ElvT9xQI8pMbvW16nQD703J7zCGxgqUr3b7ULSvkbu-pgEcsX_b6a-5Ulrwn-Sb1HTlQPhbpsChp7BnQ7ksDj8/s1600/michelle+monaghan.png" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDxk9V4XJz-7-kTuUB74_dQWWn_TkQ1x38nX0-5_jo0bP5O-YtGLKX5ElvT9xQI8pMbvW16nQD703J7zCGxgqUr3b7ULSvkbu-pgEcsX_b6a-5Ulrwn-Sb1HTlQPhbpsChp7BnQ7ksDj8/s400/michelle+monaghan.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607972408363834978" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px; " /></a>At the core of this film though is a man who realises he has done terrible things in his past. He is trying to write those wrongs, whilst the government he worked for still believe he is as ruthless and as deadly as he ever was. There are some touching moments, when <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Bourne</span> goes to visit the children of his former victims to apologise.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whilst the first film was all about the paranoia of not knowing who you are, this film is more about trying to right your past misdeeds. It allows Damon to relax into the role and helps create richer, more rounded characters.</div><div><br /></div><div>Hell... by the end we even know <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Bourne's</span> real name.</div><div><br /></div><div>Fade out to <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Moby</span></div><br /><iframe width="480" height="27" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pOuPqeHXMzQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>Timothy Goosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17901382595538750737noreply@blogger.com0