Lil Bengali Hustler

Anchorman 2: Ron Burgundy's official Goodwood Revival report #stayclassy

2013-09-13T14:27:00.001+01:00

It's Ron Burgundy, being sexy of course. #stayclassy

Gravity Trailer - Official Warners Bros. UK

2013-09-05T10:35:00.001+01:00

Holy fuck! This looks totally scary and brilliant all at the same time. I can't wait!

Man of Steel

2013-06-25T17:27:00.001+01:00

A modern day retelling of the Christopher Reeve 1978 classic Superman.

We should all know the story of Supes by now but here is a short synopsis. Man of Steel is the story of an alien from Krypton who is sent by his parents to Earth as a baby in order to save his race. We see flashbacks of a time when Kal/Clark was growing up and ostracised from society for being different. His earth adoptive parents support him and treat him like any other child. Knowing he is destined for greatness, they teach him to have a strong moral compass and how to harness his super powers.

The story takes off from him as an adult discovering himself for the first time and meeting Lois Lane, the journalist that will change his life.

Many I know that have seen this film didn’t like it at all and many that loved it. I am one of the people that liked it a lot. The first hour is a fantastic journey into Krypton. Russell Crowe, who is internationally lambasted for being acting cardboard, really does shine in the role of Dur El, Kal’s father. Strong and noble as you would expect from the man that fathers Kal El, his portrayal of the role is touching and stern alike. And while he is unable to do an accent other than his own, the tone of his voice add the gravitas that the role requires.

Henry Cavill is great casting although his image outweighs his acting talent. You don’t really get to see him really act. He is exceptionally good looking and fits the image of the perfect American really well (even though he is from Jersey). There is a lot of muscle and pec flexing (which is great for me) but not much flexing of the acting muscles sadly. The real standout exceptional performance is Michael Shannon as General Zod. I have been a fan of Shannon’s from some time for his roles in Take Shelter (my Take Shelter review being the second highest viewed post on the blog – thanks all!), Bug and Boardwalk Empire. He epitomises the power crazed Zod just with a twitch of his eyes, his face like thunder. I think I am in love with Shannon, especially after he did this (very NSFW).

The second half of the film descends into comic book madness and is a fair bit of fun but not to be taken seriously. It’s not worth watching in 3D as the action sequences are so fast sometimes, it can make you dizzy!

I want Henry Cavill and Michael Shannon for Christmas please Santa!

The Great Gatsby

2013-06-25T16:32:00.001+01:00

Baz Lurhman’s epic big screen and budget adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic novel telling the mysterious tale of Jay Gatsby.

The story is of a torrid love affair between Gatsby (Leo Dicaprio) and Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) and told through the eyes of true friend Nick Carraway (Tobey McGuire).

Gatsby is a man of real mystery, no one has ever really met him. Stories told are based on hearsay and Carraway gets to meet him by chance. He discovers a side to the real Gatsby that no one knows, providing his closest ally.

Set in the roaring twenties, we see glamour and true excess of the rich played out in full Lurhman glory. Its opulent, glorious and extremely sexy. Lurhman’s visual style plays on these excesses and everything is gilded with gold, filmed from up high to take in the whole party, bright colours and loud music. Dicaprio fits in this world with extreme precision. You can drop him in any film, any script and any character and this man will bring him to life perfectly. While this role is no Oscar winner, Dicaprio does shine in a couple of scenes with Daisy and Nick.

The film falls flat for me though. It was far too long and sadly as hollow as the rich characters in the film. It missed the soul of the book. McGuire and Muilligan were bad casting for Daisy and Nick. Joel Edgerton was the only real shining star of the film, really going hell for leather as the Daisy’s harsh whore of a husband Tom.

The sexiness of the book was missing too. It might win awards for costume design or production but certainly not for acting.

Official Anchorman 2 Trailer

2013-06-19T11:54:00.001+01:00

I am in a glass case of emotion right now. Ron is back and looking sexier than ever.

Say WHAAAAAAAAT?

Star Trek Into Darkness

2013-05-17T12:51:00.002+01:00

Star Trek – the one where we suffer the Wrath of Khan.

There is not really a lot I can say about this film and there are a lot of things that are great. The special effects, the casting, the action. The script however left a lot to be desired.

There was too much space between each set that it felt like it was the first draft before it’s cut down to the length it should have been. The film was too long and parts of it noticeably dragged on. I loved the first film, witty and funny, full of action and suspense. But this one had all that and stretched it out so the laughs had too much space to breathe.

Alice Eve – you are exceptionally good looking and everything but completely surplus to the requirements of the film. You don’t see Uhrua flaunting her wares all over the place? No, because she is smarter than that. I know the addition of a “fit girl” is for all the fan boys but it needs to be done right and this one was crap (rant over).

Excellent casting of Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan, I could listen to his mesmerising voice all day long. I just felt he wasn’t menacing enough for me. He is like a really angry Sherlock.

The film was fun but it was only okay and not as good at the first.

BAFTA 2013 TV Awards: Winners in Full

2013-05-13T09:51:00.003+01:00

It was a night of surprises and well deserved winners.

Highlight of the night for me was the wonderful Olivia Coleman's acceptance speeches. Cute and childlike, in complete shock at the recognition of her amazing talent. Perry Grayson looking fabulous in his dress and Romala Garai's refreshingly honest depiction of childbirth.

See them all below, do you like who won or think someone was robbed?

LEADING ACTOR

Ben Whishaw - Richard II (The Hollow Crown)
Sean Bean - Accused (Tracie's Story)
Derek Jacobi - Last Tango in Halifax
Toby Jones - The Girl

LEADING ACTRESS

Sheridan Smith - Mrs Biggs
Rebecca Hall - Parade's End
Sienna Miller - The Girl
Anne Reid - Last Tango in Halifax

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Simon Russell Beale - Henry IV Part 2 (The Hollow Crown)
Peter Capaldi - The Hour
Stephen Graham - Accused (Tracie's Story)
Harry Lloyd - The Fear

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Olivia Colman - Accused (Mo's Story)
Anastasia Hille - The Fear
Sarah Lancashire - Last Tango in Halifax
Imelda Staunton - The Girl

ENTERTAINMENT PERFORMANCE

Alan Carr - Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Ant and Dec - I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Sarah Millican - The Sarah Millican Show
Graham Norton - The Graham Norton Show

FEMALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME

Olivia Colman - Twenty Twelve
Miranda Hart - Miranda
Jessica Hynes - Twenty Twelve
Julia Davis - Hunderby

MALE PERFORMANCE IN A COMEDY PROGRAMME

Steve Coogan - Welcome to the Places of My Life
Hugh Bonneville - Twenty Twelve
Peter Capaldi - The Thick of It
Greg Davies - Cuckoo

SINGLE DRAMA

Murder
Everyday
The Girl
Richard II (Hollow Crown)

DRAMA SERIES

Last Tango in Halifax
Ripper Street
Scott and Bailey
Silk

MINI-SERIES

Room at the Top
Accused
Mrs Biggs
Parade's End

CONTINUING DRAMA

EastEnders
Coronation Street
Emmerdale
Shameless

INTERNATIONAL

Girls
The Bridge
Game of Thrones
Homeland

FACTUAL SERIES

Our War
24 Hours in A&E
Great Ormond Street
Make Bradford British

SPECIALIST FACTUAL

All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry
The Plane Crash
The Plot to Bring Down Britain's Planes
The Secret History of Our Streets

SINGLE DOCUMENTARY

7/7: One Day in London
Baka: A Cry from the Rainforest
Lucian Freud: Painted Life
Nina Conti - A Ventriloquist's Story: Her Master's Voice

FEATURES

The Great British Bake Off
Bank of Dave
Grand Designs
Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs

REALITY AND CONSTRUCTED FACTUAL

Made in Chelsea
The Audience
I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
The Young Apprentice

CURRENT AFFAIRS

The Shame of the Catholic Church (This World)
Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis (Panorama Special)
The Other Side of Jimmy Savile (Exposure)
What Killed Arafat? (Al Jazeera Investigates)

NEWS COVERAGE

Hillsborough - The Truth at Last (Granada Reports)
BBC News at Ten: Syria
Channel 4 News: Battle for Homs
ITN/Channel 4

SPORT AND LIVE EVENT

The London 2012 Paralympic Games
The London 2012 Olympics: Super Saturday
The London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isle of Wonder
Wimbledon 2012 - Men's Final

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMME

The Graham Norton Show
Dynamo Magician Impossible
Have I Got News For You
A League of Their Own

COMEDY PROGRAMME

The Revolution Will Be Televised
Cardinal Burns
Mr Stink
Welcome to the Places of My Life

SITUATION COMEDY

Twenty Twelve
Episodes
Hunderby
The Thick of It

AUDIENCE AWARD

Game of Thrones
Call the Midwife
The Great British Bake Off
Homeland
The London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony
Strictly Come Dancing

SPECIAL AWARD

Clare Balding

BAFTA FELLOWSHIP

Michael Palin

Daft Punk - Get Lucky

2013-04-19T11:29:00.003+01:00

I for one am very excited about Daft Punk's comeback and this song is perfect. Its summery, its funky and I am up all night to get lucky :)

Enjoy!

The Woman

2013-04-15T12:38:00.001+01:00

Going through a retro-review stage at the moment, thanks to Netflix! So enjoy!

A sadistic small town lawyer captures a feral woman from his local woods and decides to “civilise” her with the help of his unhinged family.

I think you can expect what happens in this film, a man (very much the man of the house too) spies a feral woman when he goes hunting one night. He doesn’t see her as a woman, but as a sexual beast that needs taming. He hatches a plan to capture her and imprison her in his home. He get his family to participate in the imprisoning, forcing a big divide in the household. Father and Son both think and act the same, horrid warped views of women in general. Mother and Daughter both unable to speak out, oppressed by the patriarch and going along with his disgusting plans.

It’s easy to predict what is going to happen off the bat, I knew in the first 5 minutes how this was going to go and felt like I had seen it before. It was predictable and a bit cheap. None of the gore was particularly original, casting rather poor although I did like the woman who played The Woman herself.

It could have been so much better and scarier I think but have enough originality to keep me riveted. Can take or leave this one. It was certainly an improvement from What to Expect When You’re Expecting (I chose The Woman as it was completely opposite to WTEWYE).

What to Expect When You’re Expecting

2013-04-15T11:42:00.003+01:00

Lots of couples expecting a baby and how they deal with their relationships during the 9 month gestation period. Starring Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Matthew Morrison, Elizabeth Banks and Chace Crawford.

Quite possibly the worst film I have ever seen. 90 minutes of crap jokes, terrible pregnancy acting and rubbish script. It was a lot of pretty people looking great while pregnant.

The only thing I got out of the film was the chance to stare lovingly at Chace Crawford for all of the 10 minutes of his appearance in the film.

Don’t waste time on this one. I hate Netflix for even suggesting it to me.

BAFTA TV 2013 Nominations: In Full

2013-04-10T10:07:00.004+01:00

Well, I am a day late to the party but here is the BAFTA TV nominations for the 2013 awards.
Who are your winners?

Here is a full list of this year's nominees.

Leading Actor
Sean Bean - Accused (Tracie's Story)
Derek Jacobi - Last Tango in Halifax
Toby Jones - The Girl
Ben Whishaw - Richard II (The Hollow Crown)

Leading Actress

Rebecca Hall - Parade's End
Sienna Miller - The Girl
Anne Reid - Last Tango in Halifax
Sheridan Smith - Mrs Biggs

Supporting Actor

Peter Capaldi - The Hour
Stephen Graham - Accused (Tracie's Story)
Harry Lloyd - The Fear
Simon Russell Beale - Henry IV Part 2 (The Hollow Crown)

Supporting Actress

Olivia Colman - Accused (Mo's Story)
Anastasia Hille - The Fear
Sarah Lancashire - Last Tango in Halifax
Imelda Staunton - The Girl

Entertainment Performance

Alan Carr - Alan Carr: Chatty Man
Ant and Dec - I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Sarah Millican - The Sarah Millican Show
Graham Norton - The Graham Norton Show

Female Performance in a Comedy Programme

Olivia Colman - Twenty Twelve
Miranda Hart - Miranda
Jessica Hynes - Twenty Twelve
Julia Davis - Hunderby

Male Performance in a Comedy Programme

Hugh Bonneville - Twenty Twelve
Peter Capaldi - The Thick of It
Steve Coogan - Welcome to the Places of My Life
Greg Davies - Cuckoo

Single Drama

Everyday
The Girl
Murder
Richard II (Hollow Crown)

Drama Series

Last Tango in Halifax
Ripper Street
Scott and Bailey
Silk

Mini-Series

Accused
Mrs Biggs
Parade's End
Room at the Top

Continuing Drama

Coronation Street
EastEnders
Emmerdale
Shameless

International

The Bridge
Game of Thrones
Girls
Homeland

Factual Series

24 Hours in A&E
Great Ormond Street
Make Bradford British
Our War

Specialist Factual

All in the Best Possible Taste with Grayson Perry
The Plane Crash
The Plot to Bring Down Britain's Planes
The Secret History of Our Streets

Single Documentary

7/7: One Day in London
Baka: A Cry from the Rainforest
Lucian Freud: Painted Life
Nina Conti - A Ventriloquist's Story: Her Master's Voice

Features

Bank of Dave
Grand Designs
The Great British Bake Off
Paul O'Grady: For the Love of Dogs

Reality and Constructed Factual

The Audience
I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
Made in Chelsea
The Young Apprentice

Current Affairs

Britain's Hidden Housing Crisis (Panorama Special)
The Other Side of Jimmy Savile (Exposure)
The Shame of the Catholic Church (This World)
What Killed Arafat? (Al Jazeera Investigates)

News Coverage

BBC News at Ten: Syria
Channel 4 News: Battle for Homs ITN/Channel 4
Hillsborough - The Truth at Last (Granada Reports)

Sportand Live Event

The London 2012 Olympics: Super Saturday
The London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Isle of Wonder
The London 2012 Paralympic Games
Wimbledon 2012 - Men's Final

Entertainment Programme

Dynamo Magician Impossible
The Graham Norton Show
Have I Got News For You
A League of Their Own

Comedy Programme

Cardinal Burns
Mr Stink
The Revolution Will Be Televised
Welcome to the Places of My Life

Situation Comedy

Episodes
Hunderby
The Thick of It
Twenty Twelve

Audience Award

Call the Midwife
Game of Thrones
The Great British Bake Off
Homeland
The London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony
Strictly Come Dancing

Cloud Atlas

2013-03-26T22:15:00.002+00:00

Weeks after watching this film, I am still unable to write a review.

Not because I can't write, I can gas on about most things. But because Cloud Atlas so so damned confusing.

Supposedly telling many tales of the same crossing paths of destiny over many time frames and eras, I found it confising and unable to tell they story well.

Much like The Time Travellers Wife, the film never really executes the twisty turns of time as well as the imagination can whilst reading the book.

I had hoped the Wachowski Sibling's return to such a large and ambitious project would bring back the former glory of The Matrix, a film so steeped in timeshifts and alternate realities and still able to make sense, that perhaps Cloud Atlas would be spellbinding and mindbending.

Instead I thought it was boring much of the time with so many characters I didn't have enough time to care about and beyond stupid character choices. Seeing Halle Berry as a White Jewess, Ben Wishaw as a woman, or Hugh Grant as a Japanese pimp (complete with eyes slanted) was all too much of a joke.

All in all, its not for everyone and if you loved book, don't see it. Actually, no one see it, its crap.

Stoker

2013-03-08T11:19:00.002+00:00

Chan-Wook Park's first English speaking film is a story of gothic proportions and tells of a young teenagers sexual awakening after she meets her long lost uncle following the sudden and tragic death of her father.

India Stoker (excellently and subtly played by Mia Wasikowska) is a quiet and meek looking girl. Harmless looking but don’t let that fool you. Underneath all that is a meditative girl, one that studies everything and keeps her cards close to her chest. When her father dies suddenly in a car accident, she holds back on her emotions as her mother Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) publicly falls to pieces. Their relationship is not close by any means but when Charles (Matthew Goode) arrives in town for the funeral, that gap between mother and daughter is driven further apart.

Don’t be fooled by the title. I had expected this would be a modern day Dracula story. Stoker is more than that. And sexier than that too. Wasikowska is an absolute gem in this film. Having only seen her in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (2010), I had no real opinion of her acting talent. Wasikowska is not a showy actress, there are no theatrics in this film. She plays out every emotion through her eyes in a way I haven’t seen in a young actor in some time. And that is the essence of this film. It’s a really slow burner, you don’t really know where it’s going to sometimes. But all that time spent painting a bigger picture builds the tension so high that they pay off is immense.

Nicole Kidman may have made some turkeys in her time but she really knows how to act. She gets the over emotional, yummy mummy, sexy older siren thing down perfectly. While everyone else is trying to keep their emotions to a minimum, she plays her character loud and melodramatic. But it suits the story perfectly.

Matthew Goode is fantastic throughout this film and it’s a good chance this will propel him to big things. While he has been acting solidly for many years now and done some amazing roles (Match Point, A Single Man, Dancing on the Edge), this is the film we have seen him really shine. As the slightly creepy and sexy uncle Charlie, you want to fancy him but you keep him at arm’s length at all times. His character draws you in closer and closer until you can’t take any more. Like Wasikowska, Goode plays Charlie with his eyes.

Park spends a lot of time with tight close up shots of faces and eyes so you can see each twitch of a muscle or tightening of the eyes. We see a lot of India’s hands on the piano, lovingly stroking the keys, almost flirting with it. At times I couldn’t tell if each shot meant something or was overdone. Sometimes the visuals were stunning and really played well with the slowness of the plot, but at times I wondered if it was trying too hard. I particularly loved the song on the end credits, Becomes the Colour by Emily Wells. Beautiful.

Worth a mention but the script was written by none other than the gorgeous actor Wentworth Miller of Prison Break fame. Not just a pretty face!

By the end of the film, I think the pay-off was worth it and overall makes a quite visually stunning and thoroughly creepy thriller.

Oscars 2013 - Winners in full

2013-02-25T09:20:00.001+00:00

Hi all!

By now you will have seen the winners all over the news, or you may have sat up late to watch the event live.
In case you were in the dark, here is the full winners list!

BEST PICTURE 
Argo
Amour 
Django Unchained 
Les Misérables 
Life Of Pi Lincoln 
Zero Dark Thirty 
Beasts Of The Southern Wild 
Silver Linings Playbook  
BEST DIRECTOR
Life Of Pi - Ang Lee 
Lincoln - Steven Spielberg
Amour - Michael Haneke 
Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell 
Beasts Of The Southern Wild - Benh Zeitlin
  
BEST ACTOR
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Denzel Washington - Flight 
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook 
Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables 
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained 
Alan Arkin - Argo 
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook 
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

BEST ACTRESS
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook 
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Quvenzhané Wallis - Beasts Of The Southern Wild 
Naomi Watts - The Impossible

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables  
Amy Adams - The Master
Helen Hunt - The Sessions 
Sally Field – Lincoln
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook
BEST ANIMATED FILM 
Brave
Frankenweenie 
ParaNorman 
The Pirates! In An Adventure With Scientists 
Wreck-it-Ralph
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 
Chris Terrio - Argo 
Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin - Beasts Of The Southern Wild  
David Magee - Life Of Pi 
Tony Kushner - Lincoln 
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Michael Haneke – Amour
Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola - Moonrise Kingdom 
Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty 
John Gatins - Flight
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Life Of Pi - Claudio Miranda 
Anna Karenina - Seamus McGarvey 
Django Unchained - Robert Richardson 
Lincoln - Janusz Kaminski 
Skyfall - Roger Deakins

COSTUME DESIGN 
Anna Karenina - Jacqueline Durran 
Les Misérables - Paco Delgado
Lincoln - Joanna Johnston 
Mirror Mirror - Eiko Ishioka 
Snow White And The Huntsman - Colleen Atwood

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 
Searching For Sugar Man
5 Broken Cameras
The Gatekeepers  
How To Survive A Plague
The Invisible War 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORTInocente Kings Point
Mondays At Racine
Open Heart 
Redemption

BEST FILM EDITING 
Argo - William Goldenberg 
Life Of Pi - Tim Squyres 
Zero Dark Thirty - Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg 
Lincoln - Michael Kahn 
Silver Linings Playbook - Jay Cassidy, Crispin Struthers

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM 
Amour – Austria
Kon-Tiki - Norway 
No - Chile 
A Royal Affair – Denmark
War Witch - Canada

BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
Les Misérables - Lisa Westcott, Julie Dartnell
Hitchcock - Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE 
Life Of Pi - Mychael Danna
Anna Karenina - Dario Marianelli 
Argo - Alexandre Desplat 
Lincoln - John Williams
Skyfall - Thomas Newman

BEST ORIGINAL SONG 
'Skyfall' from Skyfall 
'Before My Time' from Chasing Ice
'Everybody Needs A Best Friend' from Ted
'Pi's Lullaby' from Life Of Pi 
'Suddenly' from Les Miserables
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN 
Lincoln
Anna Karenina
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Life Of Pi

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Paperman
Adam and Dog 
Fresh Guacamole
Head Over Heels
Maggie Simpson In "The Longest Daycare" 

BEST LIVE FILM SHORT 
Curfew 
Asad
Buzkashi Boys 
Death Of A Shadow
Henry

BEST SOUND EDITING 
Zero Dark Thirty & Skyfall 
Argo 
Django Unchained
Life Of Pi 

BEST SOUND MIXING
Les Miserables
Argo
Life Of Pi
Lincoln 
Skyfall

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Life Of Pi  
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Marvel Avengers Assemble  
Prometheus  
Snow White And The Huntsman

Star Trek: Into Darkness - Motion poster

2013-02-18T16:37:00.002+00:00

Motion posters are the way to go and this is one of the best ones I have seen (and heard).
Benedict Cumberbatch has one sexy voice.....

BAFTAS 2013 - Winners in full

2013-02-11T11:16:00.002+00:00

In case you haven't already seen it everywhere, but the Baftas happened in lovely Covent Garden last night.

And here are the winners in full....

BEST FILM
*ARGO Grant Heslov, Ben Affleck, George Clooney
LES MISÉRABLES Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
LIFE OF PI Gil Netter, Ang Lee, David Womark
LINCOLN Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy
ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow, Megan Ellison

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
ANNA KARENINA Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker
LES MISÉRABLES Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer
SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin
*SKYFALL Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
*BART LAYTON (Director), DIMITRI DOGANIS (Producer) The Imposter
DAVID MORRIS (Director), JACQUI MORRIS (Director/Producer) McCullin
DEXTER FLETCHER (Director/Writer), DANNY KING (Writer) Wild Bill
JAMES BOBIN (Director) The Muppets
TINA GHARAVI (Director/Writer) I Am Nasrine

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
*AMOUR Michael Haneke, Margaret Ménégoz
HEADHUNTERS Morten Tyldum, Marianne Gray, Asle Vatn
THE HUNT Thomas Vinterberg, Sisse Graum Jørgensen, Morten Kaufmann
RUST AND BONE Jacques Audiard, Pascal Caucheteux
UNTOUCHABLE Eric Toledano, Olivier Nakache, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Yann Zenou, Laurent Zeitoun

DOCUMENTARY
THE IMPOSTER Bart Layton, Dimitri Doganis
MARLEY Kevin Macdonald, Steve Bing, Charles Steel
McCULLIN David Morris, Jacqui Morris
*SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
WEST OF MEMPHIS Amy Berg

ANIMATED FILM
*BRAVE Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
FRANKENWEENIE Tim Burton
PARANORMAN Sam Fell, Chris Butler

DIRECTOR
AMOUR Michael Haneke
*ARGO Ben Affleck
DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
LIFE OF PI Ang Lee
ZERO DARK THIRTY Kathryn Bigelow

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMOUR Michael Haneke
*DJANGO UNCHAINED Quentin Tarantino
THE MASTER Paul Thomas Anderson
MOONRISE KINGDOM Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
ZERO DARK THIRTY Mark Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
ARGO Chris Terrio
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
LIFE OF PI David Magee
LINCOLN Tony Kushner
*SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK David O. Russell

LEADING ACTOR
BEN AFFLECK Argo
BRADLEY COOPER Silver Linings Playbook
*DANIEL DAY-LEWIS Lincoln
HUGH JACKMAN Les Misérables
JOAQUIN PHOENIX The Master

LEADING ACTRESS
*EMMANUELLE RIVA Amour
HELEN MIRREN Hitchcock
JENNIFER LAWRENCE Silver Linings Playbook
JESSICA CHASTAIN Zero Dark Thirty
MARION COTILLARD Rust and Bone

SUPPORTING ACTOR
ALAN ARKIN Argo
*CHRISTOPH WALTZ Django Unchained
JAVIER BARDEM Skyfall
PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN The Master
TOMMY LEE JONES Lincoln

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS The Master
*ANNE HATHAWAY Les Misérables
HELEN HUNT The Sessions
JUDI DENCH Skyfall
SALLY FIELD Lincoln

ORIGINAL MUSIC
ANNA KARENINA Dario Marianelli
ARGO Alexandre Desplat
LIFE OF PI Mychael Danna
LINCOLN John Williams
SKYFALL Thomas Newman

CINEMATOGRAPHY
ANNA KARENINA Seamus McGarvey
LES MISÉRABLES Danny Cohen
*LIFE OF PI Claudio Miranda
LINCOLN Janusz Kaminski
SKYFALL Roger Deakins

EDITING
*ARGO William Goldenberg
DJANGO UNCHAINED Fred Raskin
LIFE OF PI Tim Squyres
SKYFALL Stuart Baird
ZERO DARK THIRTY Dylan Tichenor, William Goldenberg

PRODUCTION DESIGN
ANNA KARENINA Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
*LES MISÉRABLES Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
LIFE OF PI David Gropman, Anna Pinnock
LINCOLN Rick Carter, Jim Erickson
SKYFALL Dennis Gassner, Anna Pinnock

COSTUME DESIGN
*ANNA KARENINA Jacqueline Durran
GREAT EXPECTATIONS Beatrix Aruna Pasztor
LES MISÉRABLES Paco Delgado
LINCOLN Joanna Johnston
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN Colleen Atwood

MAKE UP & HAIR
ANNA KARENINA Ivana Primorac
HITCHCOCK Julie Hewett, Martin Samuel, Howard Berger
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor, Rick Findlater
*LES MISÉRABLES Lisa Westcott
LINCOLN Lois Burwell, Kay Georgiou

SOUND
DJANGO UNCHAINED Mark Ulano, Michael Minkler, Tony Lamberti, Wylie Stateman
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Tony Johnson, Christopher Boyes, Michael Hedges, Michael Semanick, Brent Burge, Chris Ward
*LES MISÉRABLES Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
LIFE OF PI Drew Kunin, Eugene Gearty, Philip Stockton, Ron Bartlett, D. M. Hemphill
SKYFALL Stuart Wilson, Scott Millan, Greg P. Russell, Per Hallberg, Karen Baker Landers

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Peter Bebb, Andrew Lockley
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, R. Christopher White
*LIFE OF PI Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer
MARVEL AVENGERS ASSEMBLE Nominees TBC
PROMETHEUS Richard Stammers, Charley Henley, Trevor Wood, Paul Butterworth

SHORT ANIMATION
HERE TO FALL Kris Kelly, Evelyn McGrath
I’M FINE THANKS Eamonn O'Neill
*THE MAKING OF LONGBIRD Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson

SHORT FILM
THE CURSE Fyzal Boulifa, Gavin Humphries
GOOD NIGHT Muriel d'Ansembourg, Eva Sigurdardottir
*SWIMMER Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
TUMULT Johnny Barrington, Rhianna Andrews
THE VOORMAN PROBLEM Mark Gill, Baldwin Li

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
ELIZABETH OLSEN
ANDREA RISEBOROUGH
SURAJ SHARMA
*JUNO TEMPLE
ALICIA VIKANDER

Silver Linings Playbook

2013-02-06T17:13:00.001+00:00

After a short spell in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) moves back in with his parents and tries to be well in order to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets mysterious Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a sister of his friends annoying wife. Pat’s family are also a little dysfunctional with a father with OCD and an obsession with American football and gambling and an over emotional mother, we discover Pat has Bipolar Disorder.

Pat tries to work hard to get his “silver linings”, getting fit, staying off his drugs, trying hard to control his illness. When Tiffany enters his life, they decide to use each other to find the best in each other on the road to wellness.

Bradley Cooper shows a very different side to the actor/characters we have seen before. Here he isn’t the comedian or the good looking love interest, he is the mad fuck up, the unshaven unwitting hero in a story doomed to failure. And with that, he shines as Pat, all the bipolar tics and sudden switches in emotion are done to perfection. Some of the great comedic moments come from his sudden changes in emotion, from happy to angry and back again in a second.

The interaction between him and his father played again rather skilfully by Robert De Niro is so tender and harsh all in one. And the tension between Lawrence and Cooper at times were electric, the emotions bubbling under the surface and in your face all at the same time.

Great to see Anupam Kher as Dr Cliff in a major Hollywood feature, not seen him since Bend It Like Beckham!

I didn’t know what to expect from this film, I am no Cooper fan and tend to avoid his films in general. But this was a cute little film that took me by the head and shook it around a little. Some great performances, some unintentional hilarious laughs and a few little tears. It won’t win any Oscars in my book but it’s a great underdog.

Paperman, the Oscar nominated short from Disney

2013-01-31T10:30:00.001+00:00

Pixar have a great tradition of heading all their great movies with bold and emotive short films beforehand. The fantastic and Oscar nominated Wreck It Ralph had the now Oscar nominated short Paperman. I didn’t get to see this when I went to see WIR, but so glad I have. It's really cute and is now one of my favourites.

If only “love at first sight” really worked like that.....

Django Unchained

2013-01-25T12:10:00.002+00:00

Directed by Quentin Tarantino, this is the incredible story of one man free from slavery and his heroic and violent attempts to rescue is enslaved wife with the help of a bounty hunter.

Tarantino, famous for his uber-violent homage’s to film styles gone by, takes on western and blaxsploitation and mashes them together to create a hilarious set of circumstances that brings this film together neatly. And its unmistakably Tarantino with bright colours, excessive swearing and comic book bloody violence through out.

Jamie Foxx is Django, a man rescued from slavery by Christoph Waltz’s Dr King Schultz, a bounty hunter disguised as a dentist. Schultz is looking for his next criminals and knows Django can help him find them. Suddenly freed from slavery and given a job as Schultz right hand man with the same respect as whites, Django goes on a road to discovery of himself and of his wife Broomhilda, sold into slavery far away. Off starts an adventure of bounty hunting, murder, and comical calamity.

Both Waltz and Foxx are amazing in this film although I do feel like Waltz outshone our named hero. His comical timing is excellent throughout. An absolute star turn from Leonardo DiCaprio, he realise how much of a method actor he is when you see him! There were some fun cameos from Don Johnson and Michael Parks and even QT himself.

As much as I loved this film (and I really did) I was really irked by the Broomhilda character. While acted well by Kerry Washington, I felt that it was a bit of a cop out to have the damsel in distress character that didn’t try to defend herself. QT is has always been excellent at writing and directing some feisty and strong female characters (Kill Bill, Jackie Brown etc), it would have been better to see Brromhilda rise up and perhaps grab a gun and shot one of her white captors.

There was so much comedy in the film, I did wonder if the film was making any point about slavery or America in that time. It was almost like QT used these as a premise to laugh at and not go into the slightly deeper issues with it. Hence his real reluctance to talk about it in interviews.

Many have also talked about the excessive use of the “N” word in the whole film. Many get upset about it, many find it abhorrent. It’s a fact that it was used very liberally at that time, but the film shows us each iteration of the word means different things. It was used in different contexts to mean different things and at times it could be funny, affectionate, as well as derogatory. That’s not to say it’s right, I certainly wouldn’t say it but I found it an interesting approach to the word itself.

I did find that I was one of a few that laughed throughout the film. The majority of the people in the cinema were incredibly uncomfortable with the level of violence and the use of the N word, but loads of people were chatting about it once it had finished.

There were some really great songs in the film and as always QT knows how to pick them to fit just perfectly in the right scene. I loved Rick Ross’ number “1000 Black Coffins”, excellently written by Foxx himself.

I loved this film and really want to watch it again, It’s up there with Jackie Brown for me. QT’s finest hour. Go see it if you get a chance!

Les Miserables

2013-01-21T17:55:00.000+00:00

Les Miserables is a long running, well established stage musical, now retold for film. Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway lead the cast in this epic sing off, almost as long as the musical itself.

A petty thief Jean Valjean (Jackman) comes out of jail after a long spell inside only to continue his crime spree. When a chance encounter with a Priest who lets him off from stealing all his silver, with the proviso that he uses all the stolen silver to change his life for good. Valjean takes this one in a lifetime chance and becomes a model citizen, runs his own business under the new guise of Mr Le Mer. When a young lady is fired from his factory because of the jealousy of the other female workers, thus starts a long walk down into hell as we watch Fantine (Hathaway) fall into prostitution to get any money for her young daughter Cosette (Amanda Seyfried).

Valjean agrees to take on destitute Fantine’s burden after she falls terminally ill, thus forging his new relationship as father to Cosette. All of this happens in the midst of the French Revolution. We then see Cosette in the future falling in love with a revolution warrior Marius (Eddie Redmayne).

I love a musical but this interpretation has made me love it on stage more. It just doesn’t translate on film. The constant singing even in conversation does grate on my nerves. Jackman and Hathaway are fantastic in this film, they act to the 100^th degree, musical theatre dripping from their pores. Some great acting from Redmayne and Samantha Barks as his unrequited love interest. Unfortunately the good parts together do not make a completely amazing finished product. Seyfried’s shrill singing was so high and out of tone, I thought all the glass in the cinema was going to shatter. Just not necessary at all.

Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen were not required in the whole film, it’s a bleak story and we don’t need some light entertainment in there. It was just stupid and bought the whole film down.

If you like this kind of thing, go for it but personally it was a bit average and I have seen better.

Golden Globes - Winners in full

2013-01-14T12:24:00.002+00:00

Awards season is in full swing now and the Golden Globes are no exception. The Globes are usually a good indication of how the Oscars will perform, but this threw some curveballs.

I am very happy Ben Affleck got the recognition he deserves for Argo and that Girls showed all the other comedies how to do it.

See the full list below:

FILM AWARDS

Best motion picture - drama

Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Zero Dark Thirty

Best motion picture - musical or comedy

Les Miserables

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Moonrise Kingdom

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Silver Linings Playbook

Best director

Ben Affleck, Argo

Kathryn Bigelow, Zero Dark Thirty

Ang Lee, Life of Pi

Steven Spielberg, Lincoln

Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained

Best actor - drama

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master

Richard Gere, Arbitrage

Denzel Washington, Flight

John Hawkes, The Sessions

Best actor - musical or comedy

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Ewan McGregor, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Bill Murray, Hyde Park on the Hudson

Jack Black, Bernie

Best actress - drama

Jessica Chastain, Zero Dark Thirty

Marion Cotillard, Rust and Bone

Helen Mirren, Hitchcock

Naomi Watts, The Impossible

Rachel Weisz, The Deep Blue Sea

Best actress - musical or comedy

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Emily Blunt, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Judi Dench, Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Maggie Smith, Quartet

Meryl Steep, Hope Springs

Best supporting actor

Christophe Waltz, Django Unchained

Alan Arkin, Argo

Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Tommy Lee Jones, Hope Springs

Best supporting actress

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables

Amy Adams, The Master

Sally Field, Lincoln

Nicole Kidman, The Paperboy

Helen Hunt, The Sessions

Best screenplay

Django Unchained

Zero Dark Thirty

Argo

Silver Linings Playbook

Lincoln

Best original score

Life of Pi

Anna Karenina

Argo

Cloud Atlas

Lincoln

Best original song

Skyfall, Skyfall

Safe and Sound, The Hunger Games,

Suddenly, Les Miserables

Not Running Anymore, Stand Up Guys

For You, Act of Valor

Best foreign language film

Amour

Rust and Bone

The Untouchables

A Royal Affair

Kon-Tiki

Best animated feature

Brave

Frankenweenie

Rise of the Guardians

Wreck It Ralph

Hotel Transylvania

Cecil B DeMille lifetime achievement award

Jodie Foster

TELEVISION AWARDS

Best TV Series - Drama

Homeland

Breaking Bad

Downton Abbey

The Newsroom

Boardwalk Empire

Best TV Series - Comedy

Girls

The Big Bang Theory

Episodes

Modern Family

Smash

Best Miniseries or Motion Picture made for TV

Game Change

The Girl

The Hour

Hatfields & McCoys

Political Animals

Best Actor - Drama

Damian Lewis, Homeland

Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom

Jon Hamm, Mad Men

Best Actress - Drama

Claire Danes, Homeland

Connie Britton, Nashville

Glenn Close, Damages

Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife

Michelle Dockery, Downton Abbey

Best Actor - Comedy

Don Cheadle, House of Lies

Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Louis CK, Louie

Matt LeBlanc, Episodes

Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory

Best Actress - Comedy

Lena Dunham, Girls

Zoey Deschanel, New Girl

Tina Fey, 30 Rock

Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Best Actor - Miniseries or Motion Picture made for TV

Kevin Costner, Hatfields & McCoys

Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock

Toby Jones, The Girl

Woody Harrelson, Game Change

Clive Owen, Hemingway & Gelhorn

Best Actress - Miniseries or Motion Picture made for TV

Julianne Moore, Game Change

Nicole Kidman, Hemingway & Gelhorn

Sienna Miller, The Girl

Jessica Lange, American Horror Story

Sigourney Weaver, Political Animals

Best Supporting Actor

Ed Harris, Game Change

Max Greenfield, New Girl

Danny Huston, Magic City

Mandy Patinkin, Homeland

Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Best Supporting Actress

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Sofia Vergara, Modern Family

Sarah Paulson, Game Change

Archie Panjabi, The Good Wife

Hayden Panettiere, Nashville

Oscars 2013: Nominations in full

2013-01-10T14:23:00.005+00:00

Well its been a big week in film with the BAFTA Nominations causing a stir, but the OSCARS are no different. A coouple of bold choices here, although I am personally offended that Ben Affleck didn't get nomination for Best Director!

But so very pleased for Beasts of the Southern Wild, well deserved nominations all round!

So here they are!

BEST PICTURE

Amour

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Django Unchained

Les Misérables

Lincoln

Life of Pi

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln

Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables

Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

Denzel Washington – Flight

Actor in a Supporting Role

Alan Arkin – Argo –

Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook

Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln

Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty

Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook

Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Quvenzhané Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams - The Master

Sally Field - Lincoln

Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables

Helen Hunt - The Sessions

Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Animated Feature Film

Brave

Frankenweenie

ParaNorman

The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Wreck-It Ralph

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anna Karenina

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

COSTUME DESIGN

Anna Karenina

Les Misérables

Lincoln

Mirror Mirror

Snow White and the Huntsman

DIRECTING

Amour - Michael Haneke

Beasts of the Southern Wild - Benh Zeitlin

Life of Pi - Ang Lee

Lincoln - Steven Spielberg

Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

5 Broken Cameras

The Gatekeepers

How to Survive a Plague

The Invisible War

Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short Subject

Inocente

Kings Point

Mondays at Racine

Open Heart

Redemption

FILM EDITING

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Zero Dark Thirty

Foreign Language Film

Amour

Kon-Tiki

A Royal Affair

War Witch

MAKEUP and hairstyling

Hitchcock

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Misérables

Music (Original Score)

Anna Karenina

Argo

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

Music (Original Song)

Before My Time - Chasing Ice

Everybody Needs A Best Friend - Ted

Pi’s Lullaby - Life of Pi

Skyfall - Skyfall

Suddenly - Les Misérables

Production Design

Anna Karenina

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Short Film (Animated)

Adam and Dog

Fresh Guacamole

Head over Heels

Maggie Simpson in “The Longest Daycare”

Paperman

Short Film (Live Action)

Asad

Buzkashi Boys

Curfew

Death of a Shadow (Dood van een Schaduw)

Henry

SOUND EDITING

Argo

Django Unchained

Life of Pi

Skyfall

Zero Dark Thirty

SOUND MIXING

Argo

Les Misérables

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Skyfall

VISUAL EFFECTS

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Life of Pi

Marvel’s The Avengers

Prometheus

Snow White and the Huntsman

Adapted Screenplay

Argo

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Life of Pi

Lincoln

Silver Linings Playbook

Writing (Original Screenplay )

Amour

Django Unchained

Flight

Moonrise Kingdom

Zero Dark Thirty

Bafta 2013: Nominations in full

2013-01-09T09:23:00.007+00:00

Here are the BAFTA 2013 nominations in full. Who are your winners?

BEST FILM

Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

LEADING ACTOR

Ben Affleck - Argo
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master

LEADING ACTRESS

Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard - Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Dame Helen Mirren - Hitchcock
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Alan Arkin - Argo
Javier Bardem - Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Amy Adams - The Master
Dame Judi Dench - Skyfall
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions

DIRECTOR

Ben Affleck - Argo
Kathryn Bigelow - Zero Dark Thirty
Michael Haneke - Amour
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained

RISING STAR (public vote)

Elizabeth Olsen
Andrea Riseborough
Suraj Sharma
Juno Temple
Alicia Vikander

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

James Bobin (director) - The Muppets
Dexter Fletcher (director/writer) and Danny King (writer) - Wild Bill
Tina Gharavi (director/writer) - I Am Nasrine
Bart Layton (director) and Dmitri Doganis (producer) - The Imposter
David Morris (director) and Jaqui Morris (director/producer) - McCullin

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Amour
Headhunters
The Hunt
Rust and Bone
Untouchable

DOCUMENTARY

The Imposter
Marley
McCullin
Searching for Sugarman
West of Memphis

ANIMATED FILM

Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Amour - Michael Haneke
Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino
The Master - Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty - Mark Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Argo - Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild - Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi - David Magee
Lincoln - Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell

ORIGINAL MUSIC

Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

EDITING

Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

COSTUME DESIGN

Anna Karenina
Great Expectations
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Snow White and the Huntsman

MAKE UP AND HAIR

Anna Karenina
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln

The Impossible

2013-01-07T12:09:00.001+00:00

An incredible true life account of a family of 5 who get caught in the Thailand tsunami while on holiday in 2004.

Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor are young parents with 3 young sons who go on holiday to Kao Lak in Thailand for Christmas. A few days into the holiday, the now famous tsunami violently hits the coast, firstly hitting the beach side resort they are staying in. This happens within the first 10 minutes of the film, the devastation hits you like a hammer to the head. You see the family split, the oldest son with the mother and the 2 younger sons with the father.

The 30 minutes that follow shows the true horror of the tsunami, cars and houses broken and swept away, palm trees uprooted and washed with the swell of the water. 230,000 people died during this torrent, and having watched the film it’s amazing anyone survived such hell.

The family story is of true survival, trying to live so that the children can have the hope to live too. The 3 child actors were truly amazing and created some of the more touching scenes in such a harrowing tale. Down to the smallest touch where a young child who has lost its parents gently touches the head of Watt’s character and caresses her arm as if to care for this woman he doesn’t know but is all he has in the world at that time.

This film had me in floods of tears and at times I was in shock at the horror of the tsunami itself. How they created the tsunami is quite amazing and definitely makes you realise just how horrible it was. My only criticism was the excessive use of the score to create emotional music that pull on the heart strings even more. The plot and the tsunami were the stars of the show, surely we as viewers can feel sadness and horror without screechy violin strings telling us what to feel?

Some are saying its McGregor’s finest hour and I am inclined to agree. He acted his socks off, the constant look of pain and yearning for his family surrounded by true devastation. For me the 3 children actors were just fantastic, their innocence in such a unimaginable hell really shines through throughout the film.

This film will make you want to hold your kids a little bit tighter after watching it. Life is precious and nature can be a beast.

Life of Pi

2013-01-02T12:46:00.002+00:00

Yann Martel’s book Life of Pi is a seminal read for many who read this book in their youth. Many find this book profound much like The Alchemist. Such a book can be a challenge to make an adaptation that is true to the book without receiving backlash from die-hard fans. Ang Lee took this challenge and brought this film to life.

A story of a simple young man Pi (Piscine Patel) named after the French word for swimming pool because the word reminded his father of his brother. Pi grew up in the French part of India called Pondicherry. His father owned a zoo making his childhood full of adventures. Naturally inquisitive, Pi converts to all religions believing it is all one, all of them bringing you to a higher state of consciousness.

Due to economic pressures, his dad is forced to sell the zoo and picks up his whole family to move to Montreal. When the perfect storm capsizes the ship he is on, Pi manages to survive on a small rescue boat with only a Bengal Tiger called Richard Parker for company.

Now, I wasn’t a fan of the book at all. I suppose I had read it too late in life, the lessons already learned from my own life experiences but I can see how so many found it incredibly life changing. The film however spoke to me in a way that the book never did. It was a visual delight of absolute beauty. It’s hard to take on such a book with amazing imagery and create something so beautiful from it in the way Lee had the vision to do so skilfully.

Yes a lot of it is CGI, but the visuals he created are so simple that is feels like it has never been done before. The Bengal Tiger is just amazing, so majestic and scary. The relationship blossoming between Pi and the Tiger are just so charming to watch and very well acted by newbie Suraj Sharma. I also can’t tell you how lovely it is to see dark skinned Indians in a Hollywood film like this. Much of the Indian film industry is filled with light skinned Indian actors that dark skinned actors are usually cast as villains or characters in the background. Here we see a hero and friend, acted with such sensitivity and comedy at times.

I have read that some didn’t like the story that much and the film is just visual effects. I say that it doesn’t matter how much the story twists and turns, sometimes you have to stop, take stock and enjoy the view.