Visual Stunners - part i

I have a thing for pretty movies. It's not really much of a secret. If a film has been shot well, then I tend to forget plot holes and small errors and just enjoy it. This post has been sitting in draft since August 2013, and since it has taken so long for me to return to this blog, I don't think people will mind if I break it up into bite-size chunks.

This first film is one of my favourite films and I absolutely did not mind rewatching it a few times to perfect this post. The cast is wonderful, the design and cinematography is breath-taking and the story is told in exactly the right way, in my opinion.

A Single Man (2009) - Tom Ford



Tom Ford's directorial debut does not disappoint. In this category of beautiful and stylish films, A Single Man is the first that came to mind when I compiled a list of "visual stunners". It's hard to describe without giving anything away, but it is the tale of a man, George (Colin Firth), who is having to cope with the sudden death of his partner, Jim (Matthew Goode). Without his lover he has lost sight of his future, and the film is set on the last day of his life. With a 60s backdrop and a fashion designer directing, the film does not fail to impress visually. The film is comprised of flashbacks intertwined with the events that occur on this day, and his love story is unraveled as the story goes on.

Colour is used really well, which I felt was important for the viewer, especially with regards to the flashback scenes. George's memories are our only windows into his soul and the only way we can understand his strange behaviour and decisions. Colour plays an important part in this as it gives us an indicator as to how he feels about each moment. George's wardrobe is monochromatic; everyday he wears the same thing - a black suit, a new white shirt and a skinny black tie. This is a] what was in fashion (and still is), b] a suggestion that he likes things to be structured and now that Jim is not around there is nothing compelling him to be different and c] perhaps he is still mourning Jim? After all, Jim is the love of his life.

Generally, every frame, every word spoken and every word left unspoken is striking, and the fact that everyone is extremely well dressed just puts the icing on the cake. Tom Ford's eye for style and imagery s a real delight and makes the story stay with you long after you watch it - "Fashion is fleeting, but film is forever."

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Top 3: Musicals

I suppose I've always loved a good show, and as soon as they make a film adaptation I fall in love with it, simply because I can watch and appreciate it whenever I please. Not every adaptation can live up to the Show, but there are a few exceptions.



The first of these is Top Hat. I believe that this was a film first and was then brought to the stage. It's brilliant. I personally have a huge thing for the 1930s - everything about it intrigues me from the fashion and music, to the shifts in society to the economic crises (can you tell I'm a history student?). Astaire and Rogers are an ideal duo and their chemistry is brilliant. The film is exactly how I think most people look back and remember the 1930s, except not everybody could sing and tap dance. I went to go and see the show last year with my nan and thoroughly enjoyed it, and our favourite song was "Cheek to Cheek". It's wonderful and light, easy to watch, funny, beautifully performed and easy to sing along to. Well worth a watch.



A childhood favourite of mine is Bugsy Malone. When I was in year 6 we decided to do our own version of Bugsy Malone for our end of year assembly. Unfortunately, I didn't get to take part because I went on holiday so I painted sets and joined in the choir, and I still regret not taking part to this day, even though I couldn't do anything about it. I liked the idea that it was a bunch of children in an adult world. The gangster theme and the weirdly likeable characters made the whole film enjoyable, and the songs are brilliant. It's weird to think that Jodie Foster was Tallulah. Weird. Weird. Weird. Buy the soundtrack, watch the film. You won't regret it.



Last but certainly not least, is Moulin Rouge. I just needed to fit it in somewhere. To me, this film is the epitome of perfection. I am a fan of Baz Luhrmann's style and even though I haven't been able to fully appreciate it up until now, it's always been a favourite film of mine. Two beautiful leads, an odd but strangely fairytale-like storyline and some stellar performances; what's not to love? A day does not go by without "Elephant Love Medley" being sung dramatically by me.
Jim Broadbent, Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor are truly magnificent and the song selection is brilliant and perfect. Okay. Bye.

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Top 3: Chick Flicks that are so bad that they're good.

I'm not normally into fluffy pink things and princess dresses, but I can never hate a chick flick. Somewhere deep inside there is a little girl who wants a prince to help me out of a jam etc. And although I'm usually against the way that life is presented in such films, I always enjoy them. Here are a few that are truly awful.

CHASING LIBERTY



I have literally just finished watching this, which is why it's made it to my top 3. It was awfully cringey and so unrealistic that I almost wanted to turn it off. That's the thing about these kinds of films-they lack reality and it's really really annoying to someone like me (someone who actually thinks when they are watching). My summary of the film is this: president's daughter wants 'freedom', whines, bumps into a hot British guy (the beautiful Matthew Goode), and embarks on cheesy adventure to Berlin from Prague, via Venice. If you know the geography of Europe you'll understand why its worth mentioning where they go-it's not exactly the most direct route. I must say, though, despite the standard teenage rebellion and odd bursts of nudity, the heroine isn't a bratty kind of girl like in other films of this genre, she just says the same thing a lot which is why she's a bit annoying. But of course, one can not resist the love interest. He's perfect. Or at least to me he was. I particularly liked that he was incredibly sarcastic and cynical - much like myself - in a vain attempt to make him unlikeable. I can't tell if he was completely predictable or if I just had the exact same type of humour as he did, but he did get a lot of laughs from me, which is always good.

27 DRESSES



Normally, if I bring up "27 Dresses" in a conversations it's followed by a squeal or a frustrated grumble. It is your bog standard, typical, clichéd chick flick. There is a very attractive women who just can't find the right guy or has found the right guy but her feelings aren't reciprocated. Then another guy comes along, helps the lass get her guy, then she realises that she wants the new bloke instead of the old one that she's spent most of the film pining after. You can't even say "oh, Fiona, you've spoiled the film now" because YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. This film is a really easy watch, though, and if you're a chick who enjoys a good flick then "27 Dresses" is a great place to start. It's nice and cheesy, there's an opportunity to have a little sing and lots of chances to laugh and cry. If you're into that mumbo jumbo.

BRIDE WARS


This film wins the prize for most ridiculous chick flick in the history of ... everything.
It truly is, though. I'm not exaggerating. Two best friends get engaged at a similar time and then they want to have a better wedding than the other. They get so ridiculously competitive that I just turned it off. I watched the second half of it a few weeks later just so that I got some closure with it (and I wanted to see who's wedding was better) and I'd predicted the ending almost word for word. I am quite clever and know how these films work, but word for word? That's a bit bad. Not for me, for the film. The worst thing is, I can see this kind of thing happening with a few of my friends, which makes me fear for my hair. It threw me off the idea of ever getting married and going to weddings and being a bridesmaid and MARRIAGE (but if Mr Hiddleston ever wants to get married I'll be there in a heartbeat).

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Top 3: Comic book films

DON'T JUDGE ME FOR MY FIRST CHOICE OF GENRE.
It's not a proper-proper-genre, but I had a hard time choosing films so I've gone with really specific categories to ensure that all the best ones get a mention on here. Brilliant. Glad that that's out of the way.

Let us begin.

IRON MAN (2008)

This will probably be my favourite film in this category forever and ever. I have always had a soft-spot for Marvel (much to my friend Maariyah's dismay [she's a DC gal]) and have enjoyed every Marvel film I've ever seen. The fact that more are on the way this year makes me squeal with delight. The fact that the first of the lot is Iron Man 3 just makes me want to jump up and down and flail a lot until I've actually seen it.

The main thing about this film for me is how spot on the casting is. It's a widely accepted fact: Robert Downey Jnr is Tony Stark. The two are so interchangeable that sometimes I can't tell them apart. Or I choose not to. Gwyneth Paltrow stole my heart with her utter bad-assery and loyalty to Stark. I hated Obadiah (that's a good thing) - Jeff Bridges' over-charming-ness caused suspicion right from the start, and in the end was a pretty great protagonist. And if anything, the soundtrack to the film sold it to me. It's so fitting and appropriate and indescribably perfect...

One of the many things I loved about the adaptation of Iron Man was it doesn't appear to be a typical, clichéd superhero flick at first. The first minute of the film introduces the Tony Stark that fans of the comics are familiar with (a lovable knob, who's rich and up himself in an amusing way) and then they suddenly chuck him into a really grim situation. Following a quick how-he-got-there section we follow a his struggle to do the right thing and survive doing so, with a stranger and a weird sciencey thing plugged into his chest to keep him alive. Then he gets out and it's all heroic and he avenges the death of the aforementioned stranger who helped him through the hard times and blah-di-blah. Considering how dark that part of the film is - what with the imprisonment, torture and general they-might-kill-him-any-second atmosphere - it's really easy to watch. Injections of comedy, which is normally just anything that Stark says, are placed in the right moments, and even though you know that he's one of those people that most of us tend to despise you can't hate him. 

And then the rest of the storyline is generally awesome! And what really makes the film great for me is that it is a brilliant way to begin the whole Avengers storyline. All of the films of the Avengers are interlinked and it's so beautifully calculated and executed that it must be real. It's easy to get invested into this series of films, and Iron Man starts it all off.

WATCHMEN (2009)

This slightly underrated film is another of my favourites. Watchmen is unbelievably true to the original material, and deserves to be remembered as a classic comic book movie. I watched the director's cut, and it was so long and dense that I thought I'd probably have to watch it in parts. When I first watched it, it was completely new to me - I had never heard of it but the trailer had intrigued me so I sat down and gave it a go. I couldn't turn it off. I find it easy to get into a film, but this time I was really conflicted. I'd started watching it at midnight, thinking that I'd turn it off at 1am, but 1am came and I couldn't bring myself to it. I needed to watch it and fit the pieces of the story together and absorb everything to understand what was happening. The beauty of the characters is that they are all just human. They don't have special powers (with the exception of Doctor Manhattan who is the big naked blue dude in the image above) and are just extraordinary people. Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias is a super genius with a muddled past, Nite Owl is the geeky good guy who plays by the rules and Silk Spectre and Silk Spectre II (mother and daughter) are the brilliantly heroic, sexy BAMF-y female heroes who are the only women in this gang of beefy hero guys. Not all of the goodies are goodies, however. The Comedian is very dark and antagonistic, despite being on the good side, and Rorschach is a vigilante with a creepy ink-blot style mask, sinister voice and an unhealthy determination to fight crime. It's refreshing to have personalities on different ends of the spectrum all in one group, and makes for very interesting interactions between them.

Other things that make it awesome:

-the fighting/violence is good. That probably sounds a bit odd, and, of course, that style of fighting isn't to everyone's taste, but I thought it was pretty decent. It's more graphic than the comics but that's no issue, really. If it's not what you like then just skip over it.

-the visual effects are marvellous. They managed to DESTROY NEW YORK CITY. AND BUILD A THINGY (I don't really know what it's meant to be) ON MARS. THAT'S, LIKE, A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLANET.

-one particular theme in the film made me think a lot about where I stand morally. Towards the end of the film the villain (I won't spoil the film for you) justifies his actions by saying something like "I've killed millions to save billions". I honestly couldn't say what my opinion on killing for the greater good is. It's tricky. Quotes like that made me question myself, and think WHAT IF THIS and WHAT IF THAT. It's really quite mind boggling. 

If you're willing to sit through 3 hours of intense crime-fighting drama and can cope with the flashback-ing then give it a chance. 

I'll end with a witty little quote.
"For someone that calls himself The Comedian, I can never tell when you're joking." - Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias

X-MEN: FIRST CLASS 

This is just a film that I could easily watch over and over again without getting bored of it. (Although, one day I probably will get bored of it, due to the amount of times it gets played on Sky Movies...) It's a brilliant reboot of the X-Men franchise that I was brought up to enjoy. I loved all the other films. Even that one where they ruin Ryan Reynolds' face. (Why would you want to do that?) But, as a teenager, this one is my favourite because it's so fun and quick paced and there isn't a time where you would want to skip over to the next bit because it's all relevant and good and and and stuff.

I'm going to be honest with you, I'm a huge fan of the Cherik bromance. The chemistry between all of the characters good and makes it so much easier to like all the characters. The sense of community is great, and even though there are immature conflicts between them, which is bound to happen to a group of people thrown together at random, they all support each other right until the bitter end. Kevin Bacon (known to non-X-Men fans as "that bloke on the EE adverts") was great - a deliciously smarmy villain who is simply fighting for his cause; the cause that is justified rather well by the people who believe in it, even though to us simple non-mutants is just evil. Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence shine brightly in the film, really pulling off their characters well and making them their own, rather than just lifting things from the other films. Costume and make up and effects are all great and not overdone, making the film believable and modest while boasting a fantastic cast and beautiful locations. 

Little things about the film really make me giggle. Some of the jokes in the film are great tributes to the other films and comics if you know what they are, then you appreciate the film for what it is - it may be a reboot but it's not a mimic of the other films, it's different and original and new. Also, Michael Fassbender's accent is just as confused as Banshee is when it comes to women; his Germish accent (German/Irish) leans more to the Irish side, even though his character is German. But when you wouldn't have questioned it when watching it because his performance as Erik is just so damn gripping and moving, even though (in my opinion) he's quite a disagreeable character. 

What I can never forgive them for is the cutting out of this scene. It's not very long, and was so hilarious and helped me to appreciate just how powerful Charles' telepathy is, how funny he is, and - for the odd people out there - gives an indication of how close Charles and Erik are. Who knows?

{I realise that I got a bit lost when giving my opinions about the films, but I'll post it any ways. I'll get better with time, right?}

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Fiona's week in film #1

My first term of 6th form is now over (finally!) and I've watched lots of films this week to celebrate that fact. The great thing about the last week of term is that normally we watch films and eat biscuits instead of actually doing work, so as well as a brilliant staff pantomime this year we watched some pretty good films, too!

Monday

...wasn't particularly interesting, as we were still "doing work", but when I got home and grabbed my Dad's iPad and starting watching "Cambridge Spies" (2003). "Cambridge Spies" is a four part BBC drama about 4 of the Cambridge Spies who, like, became spies and stuff... You get the gist. I only had time to watch Episode 1, but it was quite enjoyable, and had all the good elements of a BBC drama: humour, some sort of heart breaking romance, seriousness and SUSPENSE. I'll make an effort to watch the other episodes some time soon, it's worth watching just for the cast and the pretty Cambridge scenery (although, there will probably be less of that as the series goes on... *sad face*).

Tuesday

...In French we watched "10 Things I Hate About You" (1999), because, obviously, it's very relevant to French AS. It's one of those films that you can't not love; Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are adorable and most teenage girls cannot resist a romcom with good looking actors in it (I speak with experience). The only possible bone I have to pick with it is that it's based on "The Taming of the Shrew" and some things just don't seem right to me. I mean, obviously it's been modernised but Kat Stratford was not tamed much at all, was she? It was too romantic to be true to the original story. I don't know if that's the point but it bugged me a bit. Oh, but I did blub a bit at the poem. THE POEM.

Wednesday

...I watched "Wisdom of Crocodiles" (1998) at home. Nothing particularly special, it was a bit hard to follow at first - which may be because I was half asleep whilst watching it - but I'm into those kinds of psychological thriller films that can creep you out and make you think without the horror element in it too. Jude Law, who plays the main character, wasn't too bad, but overall the film can only be described as OK and little more.

Thursday

...In French we watched an actual French film, "L'arnacoeur" (Heartbreaker). I'd already seen it before by the recommendation of my film maestro and fabulous French partner, Sophie, so I already knew that I was going to enjoy it. We ate the film with cloudy apple juice, lemonade, cakes, biscuits and cherry loaf and laughed at the utter cheesiness which oozed out of every pore possible throughout. The soundtrack is particularly uplifting, and (as a big fan of Dirty Dancing) I approved of shirtless dancing and fluffy romance, as well as witty humour throughout. Je l'aime.

On top of that, in General Studies the majority of our year - bar the unfortunate people who take Critical Thinking - got to watch The History Boys "because of the famous quote about general studies". Having not watched the whole film the whole way through before, I was very excited to finally see it. Despite it being hard to watch due to a bunch of unenthusiastic chatterboxes sitting behind us, I thoroughly enjoyed the 40 minutes we got to watch. As soon as I got home I watched it 'till the end, and honestly cried because the ending lacked Dakin/Irwin sexy time. Dominic Cooper is great at the whole charming sleazeball thing, so I'm glad that I share the name of his girlfriend/friend with benefits. And Stephen Campbell Moore is wow. I just loved his character so much.

Friday

...We watched the second half of L'arnacoeur and swooned over Romain Duris' dancing. A great way to spend the last lesson of the term.

I also managed to watch the first 10 minutes of "The Holiday" (2006), which is one of my favourite Christmas films - I still consider it to be a Christmas film despite it's lack of Christmassy content. It's got Jude Law in it, who can complain? It's sad to think that I have had an Iris crisis (yes, I just made up that term) in my life so far, and possibly still am. When Kate Winslet cries over a guy, you want to cry with her, although not necessarily for her guy this time. I'm a big fan of Rufus Sewell but he's a lot more charming without the curly mop thing. If you haven't seen it, see it. You'll want a Mr Napkinhead in your life, too.

Saturday

...I watched "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" for old times' sake. Unfortunately noticed how ridiculously bad the younger cast members were (except Tom Felton. He wasn't too bad, probably because he'd been in two films prior to Harry Potter). But, of course, my inner Potterhead didn't care. Wingardium leviOsah.

The other film I managed to watch was a film called "Never Let Me Go" which was fascinating. I do adore Carey Mulligan, and Andrew Garfield with his English accent does make me giddy. Then Keira Knightley is there too. It's got a really interesting plot, and the beautiful images throughout the film made it pleasant to watch even though the story is somewhat dark.

Sunday

...I don't know what I was thinking. I just thought "Oh, that Jeremy Irvine is a cutie, I need more of him in my life." and decided to put "Now is Good" on. I'd had a long day, dropping my brother off for a squash course in Coventry, wheeling my Nan around M&S in the panicked Christmas shopping crowd, the busiest shift at McDonalds I've ever had (and apparently the restaurant had ever had, too). I'd already watched the Homeland finale, which was HELL. It just started off so happy and beautiful and ended HORRIBLY (the story, not the episode, Homeland is always flawless, no matter what). I was a mess, mentally. So I whacked on the film thinking that Irvine's face would cheer me up.

I've read the book that the film is based on, and loved it even though some of the content in the book was like WOAH GIRL CALM YO'SELF. The film was much more appropriate, but it completely broke my heart. It wasn't necessarily the best film in the world, but it's one of those films that requires some chocolate and a humongous box of tissues to be handy. The story is about a 17 year old girl who has suffered from leukaemia and decides to stop treatment and live the rest of her short life to the max. I didn't expect much from Dakota Fanning considering she's American *shudders* but she pulled off the accent, so I couldn't really fault her performance. She wasn't quite who I'd pictured playing Tessa, but she didn't do a bad job, so I shan't complain. I absolutely fell in love with Adam (Irvine), and you just have to watch it to understand why. He's just utterly perfect. A girl's dream. My dream...

To me, though, the chap who plays Tessa's daddy, Paddy Considine, deserved the biggest pat on the back. He's really great, he managed to shine brighter than most in the film and I just wanted to hug him by the end of it. If I could see him through my tears.

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