Word Cloud

Here's a word cloud of the films and people I've mentioned in my blog so far....

I'm Still Here Review (My incoherent ramblings on a film mainly about the incoherent ramblings of Joaquin Phoenix)

Quentin Tarantino Timeline

on Dipity.

Just for fun.....

Here's a photo collage of me with various film stars in Madame Tussaud's in New York....





(pictures are all my own)

Film Survey Results

A while ago, I published a survey asking people about foreign films and their general cinema habits. The results were quite interesting, so I'll have a look at them here.

The survey had 18 respondents, 14 females and 5 male. 13 were aged 19-25, one was 26-35 and four were 35-50.

What surprised me was that 12 out of the 18 had read a film magazine. I've always seen it as a bit of a niche type of magazine to read, but clearly they are more widely read than I thought, which makes sense, as almost everyone watches films. Just one respondent said they did not visit the cinema, whilst 12 of them visited once or twice a month.

I asked a question specifically about whether people had ever watched a foreign film and the responses were really interesting and unexpected. 78% had watched a foreign film at some point and there was a hugely diverse range of countries listed. The graph below shows all the countries mentioned, and indicates which countries were mentioned the most.




As expected, European films on the whole were most popular, along with Japan and China. But, the countries listed were extremely wide ranging and shows quite a diverse taste.

Top Five Film Soundtracks

Contagion (2011) Review

Contagion (2011) dir. Stephen Soderbergh,starring Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Matt Damon, runtime 106mins, cert 12a

A character in Contagion claims “No-one is immune to fear”. Stephen Soderbergh’s epidemic film shows how human nature can be almost as deadly as a fast-spreading disease. But, even with an
enviable cast, does Contagion go far enough to become an infectious success?

When Beth (Gwyneth Paltrow) comes back from Hong Kong, she rapidly falls ill with a deadly, unidentifiable disease. People close to her succumb to the virus, and when the number of fatalities from around the world increases, the World Health Organisation and Centre for
Communicable Diseases (led by Lawrence Fishburne) begin to investigate and
search for a cure.

Jude Law plays a freelance journalist who encourages people not to trust the government and official organisations and buy his ‘alternative’ cure – a herb named Forsythia. To the film’s credit, it seems quite balanced; it portrays Law’s character as both savior and villain, as he manipulates peoples’ fear of the disease to sell his miracle cure. At the same time, the scientists working to find a cure are shown in a similar way. Of course they are the obvious choice for the title of hero in this film, but their inconsistencies and selfishness are revealed as they tip off close friends to leave the city before the roads are shut and secure limited stocks of the vaccine for themselves and their families.

Jude Law’s Alan Krumwiede is Australian – not that you’d guess it from the majority of Law’s performance. For all but a few words, he speaks entirely in his natural English accent. That
Alan is Australian is not integral to the story, so it’s hard to see why the dubious accent was pursued. Vocals aside, Law plays an excellent villain – he is easy to hate but his motivations are clear.

As Dr Orantes, a World Health Organisation scientist investigating the spread of the disease, Marion Cottilard is interesting and appropriately dramatic. It’s a shame, then, that her story remains largely undeveloped and for a lot of the film it feels like filmmakers forgot she was in the start of the film, wrapping her story up almost as an afterthought right at the end.

The film is rated 12A, meanin anyone under 12 can see a film if accompanied by an adult, but this rating is misleading. Any child under (and perhaps over) 12 is likely to be traumatised
by images of convulsions, dead bodies, animal testing and disease, to name a few.

The film is also threatening enough for an adult audience: watching the way humans fight each other and cause stampedes to get basic supplies and medication is a chilling footnote to what
might have happened if recent health scares like SARS and Swine Flu became much more widespread.

Although this isn’t the best film out this autumn, the threat feels very real and the acting is good enough that, after the film, you will always look at a person coughing or sneezing with a
certain degree of suspicion.

(photo by Ian Muttoo on Flickr)

Film Survey: Please fill this out for me....

Business News Round Up

An excercise in video production for Digital Journalism

Tina and I talk about news.....

An exercise we recorded for our digital journalism class.....

Tina and Kayleigh talk about news..... by kayleighdeborahhooton

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011) Review

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark (2011) dir. Troy Nixey, starring Guy Pearce, Katie Holmes, Bailee Madison, runtime 99mins, cert 15

Before I begin, I just need to outline three things I've learnt from this film. 1) Never, ever live in a big scary house and, if you do, don't go in the basement 2) Cameras can be used as weapons by people other than paparazzi and 3) Always listen to children, they might be right and your life could depend on it!

So....as a big Guillermo del Toro fan, when I heard he'd written this I was quite excited to see it. Visually this film is very nice...it looks a lot like Pan's Labyrinth, although in my opinion Pan's Labyrinth was much better. But that's not to say this is a bad film.

A young girl, Sally, gets sent to live with her dad (Guy Pearce) and his girlfriend (Katie Holmes) who are renovating a huge, old house, once owned by a famous artist who mysteriously disappeared. To go into too much detail in relation to the plot would be to give too much away, but suffice to say Sally discovers that the house has a few secrets of its own.

Horror films which have a child lead are always effective for me, I'm not sure why but I tend to be much more scared or shocked when a child is in a horror film than an adult. Bailee Madison is very good in the role of Sally and being able to see the world through Sally's eyes opens up a new spectrum of things to be scared of for an adult audience.

But, this film could have been so much better. It lacks tension in most places and the 'secret' the house holds could have been so much scarier. The reliance on CGI too often leads to laziness or lack of creativity, which means a film which had potential to be really scary falls a bit short.

The best bit of the film, as previously mentioned, is the design. The set of the house is amazing and the colours that are used in the film are rich and warm when it's right but harsh and cold in other places.

It's not a bad film, and it was certainly enjoyable, but it just wasn't as good as it could have been and didn't match up to other child-led horrors like Pan's Labyrinth and The Orphanage.

Needless to say though, I'll still eye the hole in the ceiling above my window with suspicion and have a quick glance around my room before switching the lights off for bed.

(Photo by brianfuller6385 on Flickr)

Ten Brilliant Things about Lars von Trier

After the Cannes controversy over his comments about Hitler (more about that later), Lars von Trier has announced he will make no more public appearances. Personally, I'm gutted because I think the man's hilarious (aside from being a brilliant director) and thoroughly enjoy reading his interviews or coming across new quotes he's made or scandals he's caused (a bit like Prince Phillip on a bigger, more offensive scale I guess). So, to commiserate, I've made a list of ten things I think are brilliant or amusing about the Great Dane (not necessarily in top-ten order).

(Disclaimer: I feel Melancholia should really be in this list, but unfortunately I've moved away from the film heaven of London and my beloved Cineworld Shaftesbury Avenue and being able to see lovely, non-mainstream films. I've yet to see Melancholia, a film I've been anticipating for months,something I'm very sad about and hope to rectify as soon as possible. If you've seen Melancholia and think it deserves to be on the list, add it in your mind.)

1. Idioterne (The Idiots)
I first watched this film as an A-Level student and have been forcing it upon people since. This film disturbed me more than any film I've ever watched, but it's also a very important piece of cinema and social comment. A group of young people living together in Denmark go out into the world pretending to be mentally disabled to make a comment on how society behaves towards such people. At first, my classmates and I were laughing uncontrollably but became more horrified and ashamed of our laughter as the film wore on. It's also part of an important film experiment, which brings me onto....

2. Dogme '95
von Trier set up this experimental movement with Thomas Vinterberg in 1995 where they had to stick to a 'Vow of Chastity' when making their films, which included terms such as they were only allowed to film with handheld cameras and on location with natural lighting. This website gives a pretty concise look at the 'vow' and the experiment: Films worth watching that came out of Dogme '95 (in my opinion) are Idioterne, Festen and The King is Alive.

3. 'That' Cannes press conference
(video courtesy of Telegraph TV)
Although I'm not condoning what he said and IN NO WAY agree with the comments he made, I think this was pretty hilarious and perfectly sums up why I love Lars von Trier.

4. He turned down Spielberg

After watching Europa, von Trier's triology of films with titles beginning with 'E', Stephen Spielberg offered him the chance to direct an American film. But, true to form, von Trier said no.

5. His self confidence

Following on from the above (as no-one who was even slightly doubtful of their filmmaking ability/ in their right mind would turn down an offer from Spielberg), von Trier has a level of self-confidence that is second to none. Following the screening of Antichrist at Cannes, von Trier proclaimed "I am the best film director in the world." More disturbingly, he also describes himself as "but a simple masturbator of the silver screen".

6. Antichrist

Another of von Trier's Cannes entries, Antichrist explores the idea of woman being the devil. Featuring a black and white, slo-mo, close up sex scene as the opener, the viewer is thrown right in and gets to see way more of Willem Dafoe than anyone needs to see. I've watched this film with friends and it didn't go down too well...but this film is as mad and horrible as any von Trier classic. Other 'highlights' include a talking fox, a tree of sex and the most explicit, painful ending that will have every viewer, male or female, covering their laps in horror.

7. He's sex- obsessed

Probably starting with Dogme '95 and the rule that all sex must be real, von Trier has become notorious for his use of unsimulated sex. In fact, he is credited with influencing several other filmmakers to use the same technique. Catherine Breillat's Romance and Michael Winterbottoms; 9 Songs are just two examples . Zentropa, von Trier's production company is also the only mainstream film producer to release porn films.

8. Dogville

A film made using only a black floor with rooms and houses chalked onto the floor as a set, in homage to the theatre, Dogville is a challenge for viewers who are used to massive production values and, true to form, there are several disturbing sequences. But von Trier is blessed with a good cast and, although Dogville feels very different from his different films, it's still brilliant and worth watching.

9. He was made a knight and gave it back

He was made a knight in 1997, but gave back the knighthood in 2007 saying the Danish royal family are just "simple people of bad quality".

10. His mum was as mad as he is

Von Trier's mum is reported to have conceived him illegitimately with a classical musician (who was also her employer!) so that he would have creative genes. At least we know where he gets it from....

Lars von Trier photo by PanARMENIAN Photo

Drive (2011) Review

Drive (2011), dir. Nicholas Winding Refn, starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, run time 100 mins, cert 18.

Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed character, referred to only as 'The Driver' in the credits, who is a part-time film stunt car driver/ part-time mechanic by day and a getaway car driver for hire by night.

He forms a close relationship with his neighbour Irene (Carey Mulligan) and her son, whilst her husband is in jail. However, when Standard (Oscar Isaac) gets out, The Driver gets mixed up in his criminal dealings, after a threat is made towards Irene and her son if Standard does not settle a debt. As The Driver deals with the fallout from a heist-gone-wrong, things turn gruesome and the reasons for the film's 18 certificate become very apparent.

The whole look of this film is beautiful (anyone who hasn't got the latest issue of film magazine Little White Lies should do so while they can - the magazine has based the issue's entire aesthetic around Drive), as is the soundtrack - with music from artists including Cliff Martinez, College and the Chromatics, the sound is loosely 80's techno and, whilst this seems to contradict the film at first glance, it is precisely this juxtaposition that makes it work so well.

The car chases and crashes are exciting and very well edited, so the viewer is kept interested but also gets to see all the important parts as the chase plays out. The Driver stays calm in these scenes, but shows just enough nervousness so the audience isn't sure if he'll pull it off and walk away alive.

On a couple of occasions, the violence in the film seems gratuitous and almost parodic - but when it's done properly it's gruesomely chilling. The low budget for the film meant fake blood had to be used for filming, with more digitally added in post-production, but on a whole the violence and injuries seem realistic which makes the film more shocking.

Those expecting to see Ryan Gosling in a 'romantic hero' role, similar to the one he plays in The Notebook, or (more recently) Crazy, Stupid Love, will be disappointed and most likely very shocked, but he plays The Driver very well. At first he seems withdrawn but kind towards Irene and her son, but as the story progresses a much darker side of him emerges, which Gosling deals with well. This role further demonstrates Gosling's versatility and with The Ides of March coming out at the end of October, hopefully audiences will get plenty of opportunity to show just what he can do.

Overall, Drive is a cold but beautiful look into LA's crime culture and the lengths people will go to protect the ones they love. Although sometimes a bit slow and very gory, it's worth sticking with Drive and seeing it through to the end.

(Picture by starbright31 on Flickr)

Digital Journalism 29/9/11

Today we examined different ways of utilising and organising social media/networking, as well as RSS feeds.

First, we looked at Google Reader, (www.google.co.uk/reader) which is quite useful and easy to access- you just need a google account. From there you can add RSS feeds from the websites you visit frequently (or not so frequently). It's just a simpler way to look at all the websites in one place, but you can sort it into categories if you find it easier to manage that way.

We then went onto Twitter, (www.twitter.com) looking at how to potentially increase followers, as well as finding interesting people to follow, for example through lists and followers of people we follow.

Delicious (www.delicious.com) is exciting (not to mention very useful), as it allows you to bookmark your sites in one place. Bookmarking sites on a laptop or personal computer is all very good, as long as you always use that one computer. Delicious allows you to access your bookmarked sites on whatever computer you're using, as long as it's connected to the internet. Just one username and password could save you from hours of re-searching for that really useful website you found. You can also view other people's bookmarks, in categorised lists: for example you could search 'lions' and then view websites about lions that other people have bookmarked.

Twitterfeed (www.twitterfeed.com) lets you post things you particularly find relevant from your RSS feed (for example on google reader) straight to your Twitter account. You can control this, on Google Reader there are various different categories or tags you can put your favourite pieces into and through twitterfeed control which of those goes to your Twitter.

Even though I frequently use a range of social media and networking etc, If This Then That (www.ifttt.com) is very exciting! It allows you to set certain actions to happen at certain times or when something else happens. I think perhaps the most useful bit is that you can set a certain action to happen at a certain time. For example, if you want to post a specific Tweet at 4pm every Tuesday, you can do that. Not sure how many people that would be useful for, but there seem to be a whole cavern worth of more features to explore when I have some spare time to see how I can utilise it best for me.

All these tools and new websites are good ways of managing all the information we get thrown at us every day, and quite vitally, a way to filter what we actually want to be seeing, which is personal for us. So on my Google Reader, I've got a lot of film magazines' websites, as well as the sort of news I'm interesting. It kind of reflects the people I follow on Twitter, but allows more content to be posted.

I'll probably spend some time in the near future looking at what's best for me, but maybe some of the web addresses will be forgotten by next week!