Reviewlett #3

So Noah, or as I like to call it Raiders of the God Arc, came out just before Easter and I saw it on Easter.  So, it’s probably a little late to do this review then but God help me I got caught up in other things... sorry! 

So, for those of you who don’t know the story, Noah is about his guy called Noah who’s the only descendant to Cain and Abel’s brother, (Steve, or Stan... It began with an “S”), and lives in a world filled with the super evil descendants of Abel, who killed Cain because... well that wasn’t explained...

Anyway! Noah’s with his wife, supposedly a descendant of Abel but we don’t hold that against her, and his three young sons when he has some freaky dreams about blood and fire and a hell of a lot of water. At first he’s all like, “Er, what’s that now God?” because, let’s face it, God could have been a little clearer with his messages... but eventually Noah realises what God’s saying and it’s something along the lines of “Noah, people really suck,” which most of us know now anyway, “and I think I might just flood the world and start again.” So, Noah agrees with God (because he’s God) and makes an arc (the big boat kind not the Nazi­-face-melting kind) to save two of every animal- because God giving them each their own personal air bubble would just be too easy and he likes his creations to work for survival.

Anyway, surprisingly the other humans aren't too keen on God’s big plan and try to selfishly save themselves from the global super-flood and Noah, whose also gladiator and Robin Hood, uses his kung fu skills to stop them. Plus he has an army of big rocky angels. Plus he explains God creating the world with handy evolution themed slides. Plus he glosses over the whole thing about how three brothers, like his sons, managed procreate without a woman around... Other than their mum... Oh dear... Poor Eve.

Conversations with America

Before we get started, anybody seen Cap 2?

By which I mean Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier.

Because I have now seen it twice, and it was great! It’s a perfect example of how a comic book movie should be made- because it was a great action/thriller film and not just a comic book on the screen.

But this review isn’t about Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier. In fact I told myself when I started this blog that I wouldn’t be reviewing on my beloved Marvel films- nobody wants to hear how amazing it was when... and I loved it when this character did... or I can’t believe they didn’t say how he was meant to...

No. You don’t want that. I don’t want that. Nobody wants that!

So, why have I been talking about Cap 2: TWS for this whole time then? Because, dear reader, this review is on a film which inspired the Russo brothers, Joe and Anthony, to create the Political Thriller style Captain America film.*

Today we will be looking at Francis Ford Coppola’s political thriller The Conversation, to which Joe Russo said was “a huge influence” on them, just like The French Connection and Three Days of the Condor. These political thrillers provide the structure, style and even the occasional similar scenes of Captain America 2.

So, The Conversation is about, strangely enough, a conversation! But more importantly its about the subtext behind the conversation.

Harry Caul is a surveillance expert who has been hired to record a seemingly ordinary couple’s conversation, but when he begins to look a little closer at the situation Harry begins to suspect that his work is putting them in real danger.

Here’s a little film knowledge for you, more often than not films are structured in three parts, or Acts- a beginning, middle and an end- but you probably guessed their names, didn’t you? Now, while filming Captain America the Russo brothers decided to really try and spend some time letting us, the audience, know who Steve Rogers (Captain America) is- “We spent the better part of the first act of this movie on Cap," Joe Russo- and you know why? Because that’s how it should be done with a classic thriller, Joe Russo knew it, Anthony Russo knew it and, of course, Francis Ford Coppola knew it when he was writing The Conversation.

The Conversation spends so long looking at Harry Caul that the titular conversation takes a backseat for the first act while Caul demonstrates that original mix of loneliness and paranoia which makes him such an intriguing character. Caul is broken and deeply suspicious, which just makes the stakes higher in Act 3 when he has to make a choice- to defy his employer and risk his life or stick his neck out for someone he’s never met. Like Caul, Steve Rogers is given plenty of time to show that he is more than just a soldier and a boy scout- he’s lost, possibly friendless, and only has his work to fall onto... all this builds up to raise the stakes for Act 3.

Another staple of the 70s Political Thriller is the suspicion that comes round every corner. The line “trust no one” has been used in multiple occasions, not least by Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury in Cap 2. In the case of The Conversation the question is ‘why do they want this conversation recorded?’ and it is this question that sparks an obsession in Harry’s mind.  The employer, named simply The Director, is mysteriously out of town when Harry wants to talk to him leaving only his assistant, a rather threatening young Harrison Ford, to make sure the deal goes through. What’s clear is that there is something wrong with this assignment, but other than that we know absolutely nothing, which is just what Harry knows.

In a similar way Captain America begins to uncover a secret from within SHIELD, the worldwide intelligence organisation, and as the plot unravels it becomes clearer that friends and foes are incredibly hard to distinguish between in this new modern world. Who is behind this plot?

The question that both films bring up, in very different ways, is ‘how can you stop a plan when you don’t even know whose behind it?’ For Captain America this means suspecting every friend to be the enemy until proven otherwise, but for Harry Caul things are a little more difficult. Caul isn’t super, he’s average. He isn’t threatening and he isn’t impressive. Maybe he should suspect everyone but he doesn’t and maybe he should be looking to make allies, but he doesn’t. This is what makes The Conversation so compelling, how very ordinary Caul is and yet he retains a sense of quiet mystery.

There are a great deal of similarities between Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier and The Conversation, something I suspect a lot of people would be surprised about. Joe and Anthony Russo made sure that the two where in some way comparable. Like how both films focus on the dangers of technology in the wrong hands, in Cap 2 its social media, satellites and weapons and in The Conversation it’s all about hidden microphones and bugging people. Or like the elevator scenes, those who have seen Cap 2 or even the trailer might remember a scene where Cap is standing in a lift as it gradually gets more crowded, he looks a little uncomfortable at first then proceeds in knocking them the hell out. Well this scene, minus the knocking them the hell out parts, is incredibly similar to one in The Conversation where Harry looks even more uncomfortable in a crowded lift.

Little things, but important to the feel of the film nonetheless!

So, yes, believe it or not the classic Coppola thriller The Conversation is almost like the granddaddy of the star spangled man’s second solo outing, The Winter Soldier, or maybe even the godfather... He-he Coppola references...

I hope that if you where a fan of the oldies you might look past all the CGI and explosions and see The Winter Soldier as it is, an intense Political Thriller. And, if you loved Captain America 2 then, fingers crossed, give The Conversation a go- you can even make a game of spot the similarities between the two films!

Oh how fun!

*Just as a note, the Russo brothers are the (dare I say it?) geniuses who co-wrote such great TV sitcoms as Arrested Development, Community and, one of my personal favourites, Happy Endings – which is cool “and that’s coming from a guy who wore a bandanna around his jeans leg in high school, so I know of what I speak.” –Dave, Happy Endings.

10 Sci Fi's to Explode Into 2014- Part 2

Got an itching for some good Sci fi's this year? Well worry no more because my Good-Sci-fi-O-Matic machine has just pulled ten perfect films from the future just for you!* Are you into the solitude of Space? Maybe Robots are your thing? Or perhaps Giant City Destroying Lizards? 

And now for the second half of this best Sci Fi's of 2014 list we have what I like to call the "Monsters, Monkeys*** and the Final Frontier"! Enjoy the spectacular sights of strange creatures, weird genetically enhanced animals and super space adventures all for 2014!


6. Godzilla

After years of hibernation an ancient monster awakens from a deep hibernation, its name- Godzilla. The mighty force of nature that is Godzilla is met with the full force of man’s corruption of earth and the awakening of an ancient enemy.

Is this new interpretation of Godzilla, no longer one born of radiation but instead a full force of nature, some kind of Hollywood version of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth? I mean, one that’s not The Day AfterTomorrow... All the themes are there- after “testing” some nukes in the pacific America awakens a walking natural disaster, talk about American Guilt. Forgetting the Man vs. Nature aspect of the new ‘Zilla, this flick has been made with the original Japanese heavily in mind-something that can already be seen through the recent posters. Not only that but Breaking Bad fans (plus Malcolm in the Middle and even How I Met Your Mother fans) will be happy to see Bryan Cranston taking on the lead (human) character with full force and a heavy conscience. Godzilla will be released in UK cinemas on the 16^th of March so be prepared for the full power of this behemoth of a monster movie

7. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

As lead Chimp Caesar’s ape-centric society begins to develop they are threatened by a band of some of the few human survivors of the devastating virus unleashed a decade ago. After a short lived peacetime the two factions are forced to go to war with each other but which will become the dominant species of Earth? Be warned there may be a spoiler to that question somewhere in the original Planet of the Apes!

 With Andy Serkis picking up one of his best as motion-capture characters “Caeser”, the ape protagonist of 2011’s Rise of the Planetof the Apes, and being joined by franchise favourite Gary Oldman this wartime ape-scapade is looking better and better every day it draws closer to release. This time we get to see a little more of the newly formed Ape culture and society, something which promises to be as enthralling as being introduced to an alien civilization... Excluding the fact that we know where this is leading... to a whole new Planet. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is due out on the 17^th of July in the UK.

8. Jupiter Ascending

Jupiter Jones is no ordinary future Earthling, born under the night sky with multiple signs predicting her great destiny. When Caine, a genetically engineered ex-military hunter, arrives on Earth Jupiter is forced to realise a destiny that has been drawn for her since birth. Jupiter’s genetic signature hides a connection to an extraordinary celestial inheritance which may alter the balance of the cosmos.

Filmed in our very own Pinewood Studio, amongst other places of course, Jupiter Ascending is looking to be a fast paced intergalactic action Sci fi with the likes of Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum filling in the lead roles of Jupiter and Caine respectively. Jupiter Ascending looks to me as if it could go two ways- a spectacular adventure though space pulled off with exact precision ...or a repeat of the devastating flop that was John Carter. Fortunately with an ace pairing of directors, Andy and Lana Wachowski, and with Kunis and Tatum leading the Jupiter Ascending doesn’t look at all like it will head down the Carter road. Jupiter Ascending will be released in the UK on the 18^th July.

9. Guardians of the Galaxy

Finding himself the target of unrelenting bounty hunters after stealing a mysterious orb Peter Quill, or ‘Starlord’ as he likes to be called, is forced to join forces with a motley space crew. Dubbed “The Guardians of the Galaxy” (probably by Quill himself) this “team” comprises of a green skinned assassin, a super muscled warrior, a gun totting genetically enhanced racoon and... Well why not... a humanoid tree who can only say “Groot” – which happens to also be his name. But when Quill realises the true power of his orb this rag tag group of ex-cons has to become the true Guardians of the Galaxy.

One of the films on the list I am looking forward to the most –not least because it’s one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films (as in The Avengers) this film features the bravest ensemble of characters in any Marvel film to date. These “heroes” have been labelled as the “Rolling Stones to The Avengers’ Beatles” and, whilst I take umbrage at the idea that the Avengers are The Beatles, I must say The Guardians make the Iron Man, Hulk, Cap and Thor combo look like a girl scout meeting. This is the first of the MCU films to reach way beyond the stars (The Thor’s were still pretty earthbound) and the first to go against the standard idea of a superhero movie being good or almost good people saving earth. For those of you who, like me, are counting the days for this star filled film The Guardians of the Galaxy is released in the UK on the 1^st of August.

10. Interstellar

When a wormhole is newly discovered a team of explorers and scientists embark on a journey that may well help to transcend the limitations of human space travel. With a plot suspected to involve time travel, alternate dimensions and a rustic future version of earth Interstellar is by far the most enigmatic of all the films on this list.

Due to its distant release date, all the way on the other end of the year, little has been made known about the film, but what is known is that it will be another of Mathew McConaughey’s ever growing list of serious and emotionally complicated characters, a real juxtaposition to the hunks and Adonis’s of Sahara and Failure to Launch. Joining McConaughey will be Anna Hathaway and, a personal favourite of mine, John Lithgow (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Footloose(’84) and Barney’s Dad in How I Met Your Mother) and with Christopher Nolan at the helm it’s fair to say that Interstellar will be one to look out for when it’s released on the 7^th of November.

*The Good Sci fi-O-matic cannot pull "ten perfect films from the future" and is not capable of time travel. Please do not request films from the future otherwise I will be forced to use my Miniature Death Ray to eliminate you.**

** The Miniature Death Ray cannot and will not be used for elimination. The Miniature Death Ray is for bacteria killing purposes only.

***They are not Monkeys! They're Apes!

10 Sci Fi's Set to Explode Into 2014 - Part 1

Got an itching for some good Sci fi's this year? Well worry no more because my Good-Sci-fi-O-Matic machine has just pulled ten perfect films from the future just for you!* Are you into the solitude of Space? Maybe Robots are your thing? Or perhaps Giant City Destroying Lizards?  

So here they are, the first five in the Sci Fi list to keep you going until 2015... or at least December 2014... Part 1 is the 'Aliens, Robots and Time Travel' section so keep your eye augmentations fixed as I go through numbers 1 to 5!

1. Under the Skin

A mysterious, and voluptuous, alien woman combs the highways of Scotland for lonely or isolated men to take back to her lair where she seduces them and removes their humanity. But what happens when this sex-tra terrestrial (get it?) becomes too comfortable in her borrowed body?

This film adaptation of Michael Faber’s book by the same name is set to star Scarlett Johansson as an alien seductress sent to Earth to collect stray humans. Under the Skin is about looking at Earth with new eyes and will probably touch on themes surrounding the idea of humanity, such as mercy and snobbery, whilst also being a political satire on factory farming and big businesses with little social conscience. Set to be released here in the UK on the 14th of March it has been predicted to become an instant cult classic.

2. The Machine

Two computer programmers fall in love as they create the most advance piece of self aware Artificial Intelligence technology in existence designed to help humanity. However as their arduous project comes to completion tragedy strikes, in the form of a programming bug causing ‘The Machine’ to become an incredible fighting, and killing, machine.

Set in the near future, in a world where a Cold War with China has drained the West of its power, programmer Vincent McCarthy (Toby Stephens) creates Ava (Caity Lotz) with good intentions but soon his creation goes horribly wrong. Think Blade Runner combined with Frankenstein and you may be close to The Machine, but I have a feeling this British Independent film is going to be as original a film as any this year. Only a select few cinemas are showing The Machine it on the 21^st of March, but don’t worry because it will be out on Blu-Ray DVD on the 32^nd of March... I’ve already pre-ordered mine.

3. Transcendence

When the foremost researcher in AI technology, Dr Will Caster, is shot by anti-AI extremists he wakes up as a digitised version of his previous self complete with his emotions, memories and overpowering drive for knowledge. 

Another AI based Sci fi? When you compare Transcendence to The Machine it’s quite clear that they’re going to be very different films, a Hollywood blockbuster vs. a British independent, Jonny Depp vs. a virtually unknown lead and above all the difference between humans interacting with machines and becoming the machine. Transcendence will no doubt be another film with a well made character for Depp to bring to life... figuratively speaking... and touches on both the concepts of human augmentation taken to the limit and human corruptibility when given power. No doubt this will be a popular one and for good reason. Transcendence is out in the UK on the  25^th of April.

4. Edge of Tomorrow

When Lt. Col. Bill Cage, an Officer with no combat experience, is dropped into a suicide mission of a battle field he is killed within minutes. But that’s not the end of Cage as he is inexplicable caught in a time loop and forced to relive the same brutal combat over and over again, becoming increasingly skilled as he goes.

Think Groundhog Day but in the gruesome confines of an alien battlefield. That’s Edge of Tomorrow or as it was originally named All You Need is Kill after the Graphic Novel it was based on. Tom Cruise will be playing right into his wheel house, a military type who becomes an expert at combat, and Emily Blunt will hopefully balance Cruise a little whilst proving her versatility as an actress. However it gets played out what is obvious is that both these characters promise to go through an pretty interesting journey so keep an eye out for that after its release on the 25^th of April.

5. X-Men: Days of Future Past

In a future where the Mutant race is being hunted to extinction the X Men, led by the newly resurrected Professor X, send the wild fury that is Wolverine back to the 70’s to stop the hunt before it begins.

As the first time travelling superhero film to hit the big screens X-Men: Days of Future Past has a lot riding on it but, with an almighty cast of past and present X actors and original X-Men director Bryan Singer on board, this is looking to be a real breakthrough in X-Men cinema. Over the years fans have grown attached to Patrick Stewart's wise and kind Prof whilst enjoying McAvoy’s young incarnation for his quick wit and surprising suave, and now we get to see them together, so win win! The same goes for Magneto (McKellen-Fassbender) and we get to revisit Storm (Halle Berry), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and two different Wolverines (70’s Hugh Jackman-Greying Hugh Jackman). So if you’re a fan then this ultimate X-film will be out on the 22^nd of May.

                                                                                       

*The Good Sci fi-O-matic cannot pull "ten perfect films from the future" and is not capable of time travel. Please do not request films from the future otherwise I will be forced to use my Miniature Death Ray to eliminate you.**

** The Miniature Death Ray cannot and will not be used for elimination. The Miniature Death Ray is for bacteria killing purposes only.

Heart of Oblivion

In a world where America lies under the rubble of time, where the Statue of Liberty is forgotten under icy cliffs and all that’s left of the Empire State Building is the very tip only Jack, a true Red Blooded American, can save what’s left of the world.

This is Oblivion, starring Tom Cruise, and of course Tom’s Jack isn’t going to let a little thing like America not existing get in the way of him being an American hero.

Yes, he has no recollection of America and, yes, he comes from a space station called the Tet and alright so he has to survey the decrepit remains of New York each and every day but he still finds time to talk about the Super bowl like any other good American.

This is another one of those "Tom Cruise loves America" films, where a hero belongs to an American system (grant it one that's no longer on American soil) and has to fight the enemy to protect American interests... Sort of...

It's Tom Cruise all over!

The "All-American Hero" whose life makes Action Man feel like a cub scout. "Save the country from an unknown evil, shoot a few people and celebrate with a big juicy steak and a couple of bruski's!"

They all are great representations of what America would like it's citizens to be, whether it's the “Salt of the Earth” 'average' American type such as Ray Ferrier (War of the Worlds), Vincent Lauria (The Color of Money) and Joseph Donnelly (Far and Away) or the "do anything for my country" military types such as Pete Mitchell (Top Gun), Ethan Hunt (Mission: Impossible), John Anderton (Minority Report), Nathan Algren (The Last Samurai) and Jack Reacher (Jack Reacher). 

Or Jack Harper of Oblivion who sort of fits into both categories. Both a regular techie engineer who fixes droids and a kick-ass military type Jack is the perfect representation for the Tom Cruise American Hero.

Even in the film Valkyrie, where Cruise played a Nazi officer, there was a distinctly American feel to the Nazi-turned-good-guy anti-hero Cruise played. Perhaps it was the brash attempts to kill Hitler which had a “one man against the world” feel to them or perhaps it was simply having an American play a Nazi- Although Liam Neeson played Schindler (Schindler's List) rather well and he’s far from German.

But how does Tom choose these Uber-Americans?

Does he base it on how much red meat they eat in a day or is it more to do with how often they go to baseball games? Or does he simply count how often they salute the American flag?

Does he get to amp up the patriot factor in the films if they’re not the embodiment of America?

What's that reader? You want to know how Jack Harper can be that All-American Hero when America doesn't exist... and in fact isn't even mentioned as a country?

Well, let’s just have a look at just a few of Jack’s favorite things:

Sports: What American doesn’t love a bit of Baseball and Football? Of course it would help if there were any other Americans to play with in this post-Apocalyptic world but never mind!

Style: No American hero is complete without a baseball cap and a pair of really good Aviators (maybe a throwback to Top Gun). Just because the futures dress code requires you to wear impeccably white flight suits doesn’t mean you can’t accessorise, right?

Being a Happy Camper: What American doesn’t love escaping to a log cabin in the forest? Maybe if there were a few more people around Jack could even scavenge for a guitar and sing some campfire songs!

Living America: Being a New Yorker, albeit when New York is mostly underground, Jack gets to see such wonderful American monuments as (the tip of) The Empire State Building and (the torch of) The Statue of Liberty and maybe even the crumbling ruins of the stadium the last Super Bowl was played in.

This man lives in a time when America no longer exists, and perhaps hasn’t existed for years...

So how is he so very American?

Because, Reader, Hollywood Sci Fi's need Americanness. I don't know why, but they always have, ever since Planet of the Apes had the Statue of Liberty sticking out of a beach it's been a common staple of American Sci Fi's. 

We can't fight it... There's no point resisting.

So maybe my main issue with this film is its American-ness and the way Jack is portrayed, who I see as a pretty two dimensional character. That’s not entirely fair seeing as it’s actually a pretty well designed film; certainly somebody put a lot of time and effort in making the world of the film look good.

And it paid off. The action is precise and well choreographed so that every turn, every shot and every explosion feels necessary. There are no over doing the gun fights in this film. In fact Jack isn’t even a soldier in this film; he’s an engineer with a riffle for when things get sticky. Jack knows how to use a gun, no doubt, but he doesn’t always shoot first ask questions later.

Simple things like giving Jack and his entire tech a clean and sterilised white look whilst the creatures he is tasked to fight are clad in black armor made up of pre-war earth tech and with a strong warlord motif to them. A simple but very effective motif which comes in handy later when the many twists and turns begin...

Which brings me to my next point... And not a particularly positive point.

Oblivion has a good plot and an intriguing twist at its heart but that main twist is weakened by a handful of smaller twists each treated like a grand reveal. So when you finally get to the end and Jack discovers the truth (I won’t mention what that truth is) I was left feeling a little deflated... I’d guessed that twist half an hour ago!

The films whole plot was filled with deception and false faces so that half an hour after being told one thing you find out that it was a lie... Eventually you get used to it and none of the lies feel convincing enough to buy into them. A mass of twists makes one feel either confused and disorientated or cynical about any other twists to come.

I counted at least ten different “big reveals” which shook the foundation of the film... Am I supposed to gasp at all of them? Because I’m sorry but I’m worried I’ll hyperventilate if I do.

More than anything I found the ending a huge disappointment. When I watch a Sci Fi I expect the character to have gone through a massive and often painful personal journey... Blade Runner, Logan’s Run, Total Recall (1990)... All those films fit that grand personal journey of self discovery. There’s a philosophy behind it them which makes them feel like a nutritional meal... But Oblivion was like a nutrition bar; yes it did the trick but I don’t feel satisfied.

Regardless, somebody worked hard on it... those white clothes are so dazzlingly white they made Tom Cruises teeth look only very shiny. So well done to whoever provided the washing powder for the film! I applaud you.

Llewyn Davis’ Odyssey

Desert island tracks; Pick five tracks you cannot live without.

Why is that such an important question? I mean, it is. It’s incredibly important. Do you have five tracks, or even five artists, which you’d be lost without?

I don’t know about tracks but I’ve always said my top five artists are The Rolling Stones, Queen, David Bowie, The Who and Bob Dylan. Music I cannot make do without. They’re the soundtrack to my life so far.

And... as cheesy as that sounds, and frankly feels, it’s true. Sound tracking parts of our lives is an old tradition that dates back way before we could even record music. In some parts of Britain there would be Celtic Folk music, people singing about valleys or mountains that they long to see. In Middle America and the Deep South there would be Country Folk songs about heartache and loss. In the same place, toiling in the hot sun, the black slaves where singing what would one day become soul and blues. These songs are passed down from generation to generation and represent the raw emotions of the people who sing them.

They’re Folk songs.

Inside Llewyn Davis is about a singer of these folk songs, around the time that Bob Dylan was about to be discovered. Fortunately for many of us the film isn’t just about Folk songs. It’s not a Folkumentary... not that that’s real thing of course!

Inside Llewyn Davis is about the artist. It’s about Llewyn Davis and his relationship with music. As Davis says music is his “lifeblood”, it’s his profession. But it’s not just that. His music is also the thing that can break him. It’s his dream and his tragedy and he’ll alienate everybody around him before he gives it up. Like so many good Folk songs it’s about loneliness and about begging for help without a hope of getting it.

It’s not all sad, I promise, it’s filled with stifled laughter and silent chuckles. But it’s a realistic story. The Coen Brothers, who wrote and directed it, have made a film that’s got pain, humour and above all gritty realism. It’s about real people, despite being largely fictional.

But despite the great story which comes from its BAFTA award winning screenplay the thing that really got me was, unsurprisingly, the music. Firstly because I know that none of the songs where pre-recorded and dubbed over, like with most songs in film. They where sung by the actors at the time of the filming. There’s something incredible about that, something earnest and true which you don't get with most films. Grant it, as an audience we may not notice it especially but that doesn’t matter. It’s one of those things that just make it more organic.

Secondly because the film is about music as a person’s blood and voice. Llewyn Davis is trying to sell his music, yes, but he’s chosen Folk because it says what he wants to say. It’s his voice speaking through the voices of so many other musicians before him. 

On top of that it makes for a great soundtrack!

The soundtrack is totally unique and speaks with the films voice perfectly, in a way that only a soundtrack from a film that’s about a musician can really do.

In fact the only other film soundtrack that I’ve considered this good was for the Jeff Bridges Country film Crazy Heart. About a whiskey drinking, washed up country star whose protégé is now a sensation whilst he plays a bowling alleys for a few drinks. The soundtrack was a mix of original songs and incredibly old country classics (and one Mexican country song). It feels like it was put together by someone who understands what it’s like to grow old waiting for a Heart of Gold.

And Inside Llewyn Davis is to beatnik Folk music what Crazy Heart was to Country; a heartfelt but honest ballad to the people who made the music we now consider a staple part of who we are.

Folk is about how the oldest things- love, loneliness and loss- will never really get old. Lines like "Life 'ain't worth living without the one you love" just seem to stick with us. We’ll always know them and they’ll always feel new to someone.

Bob Dylan Changed the world with Folk Music, he made it a part of popular culture. 

The Rolling Stones, Queen, David Bowie, The Who and, of course, Bob Dylan all have Folk in their blood. Some of it is Soul and Blues Folk some is Country Folk and some is Celtic Folk... But it’s all Folk.

For those of you who don’t know, “If it was never new and it never gets old it’s a Folk song”. At least that’s what Llewyn Davis says.

So It’s Fare Thee Well, My Darlings True.

At least for now.

P.S. The above song is the first in the soundtrack to Inside Llewyn Davis, "Hang me, Oh Hang Me", a traditional Folk song sung by Oscar Isaac (Llewyn Davis)... Enjoy!

Reviewlett #2

“Oh dear... Oh no... Well, that’s awful” is what the woman who sat next to me during the film 12 Years a Slave kept saying. Now, obviously I could go on and on about those special people who just have to let the whole cinema know how they feel... and I really want to... but that’s not what this is about.

Truth be told this woman pretty much summed up the film. I don’t mean that it’s a bad film, it was spectacular, but the things that happened in it where simply... awful.

And that’s what makes the film so great; it’s a “hold no punches” look on the reality of slavery. Obviously none of us feel like we need a reality check on slavery, we know it was and still is a terrible thing but as it turns out there are a few realities that many of us did not know. Such as the fact that even before the American Civil War there were a few free black men, women and families living happy lives in New York City. This is important because if there were no free black men at this time then there would be no kidnapping of free black men and subsequently no enslavement of said free black men and even subsequently-er no plot line for 12 Years a Slave.

So reality check; the few free black men were only as free as the white men said they were.

Second reality check; there was no holding back on beatings.

That’s what makes this film so great, the director, Steve McQueen, knew that the man holding the whip wouldn't pull his punches so why should he? It’s about honesty, brutal honesty.

So, if you can stomach the brutal and bloody violence that comes with an honest slave film like this then I recommend seeing it whenever you can, but if not then... Well, I say still see it (but maybe close your eyes when the whipping starts).

Journey to the Center of Tiffany's

What kind of film is Breakfast at Tiffany’s?

On IMDb it says "romance, drama and comedy"... On Wikipedia it says "Romantic Comedy"... Well that’s just ridiculous. I mean a romance? Really?

Holly Golightly is possibly the least romantic woman in Cinema!

Okay so that’s a bit of a stretch, I’m sure there are plenty of less romantic women... I mean the Witch and from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe wasn’t exactly waiting for her price charming to rescue her from the nasty Aslan. 

But regardless Miss Golightly is not romantic; in fact she’s not a whole lot more than a flirt, a gold digger and a user. In fact, if she was famous in our time then Okay Magazine would have readers drooling over the beautiful scandals that she creates!

In the original novella, which is extremely different to the film, Holly is actually little more than a prostitute and really, although she is also a New York Socialite, she’s pretty much given the same arrangements in the film too. She’s often given "a fifty for the powder room” and the men she brings back to her house are always expecting a little more than she gives them. If she doesn’t see herself as a prostitute then it’s probably fair to say that the men she “dates” do.

The film doesn’t even have a lot of romance to it, there are of course the final scenes, but for the majority of the film Hepburn’s character is totally uninterested in love, in fact it barely comes up as a topic. What does come up is the need for money, duty towards family and being given money for “dates”. Other than the family bit there’s not a lot which suggests ideas of love.

So it’s surprising that this film has been categorised as a romance so often. You could say that the romance is between Holly and her man friend Paul (called Fred by Holly) and that would make sense, what with them sharing a few kisses and ending up together, but right from the beginning Holly wants him to be her friend, in a very childlike way. Her exact words were, “We’re friends that’s all... We are friends aren’t we?” which to me is reminiscent of a self-conscious little school girl trying to make friends with someone she really doubts will like her.

Actually she’s very childlike in the way she acts, despite all the sexy outfits and flirting with rich men. For example she often says things like “It can’t be four thirty, it just can’t,”  showing a childish disbelief in the time or the day or just disagreeing for the sake of it in a very whimsical and light hearted way. She’s erratic, moving from one thing to the next without much thought, and has a need to have as little possessions as possible, so that she can take her leave whenever she needs to. She’s a confusing, exciting and altogether quite crazy woman who has a hidden past and, in her words, doesn’t like snoops.

To me Breakfast at Tiffany’s isn’t a romance, though it has romantic moments, or a comedy, though it can be quite funny, but is more a mystery.

Not a murder mystery, of course, or anything of that sort, but more a personal mystery. It’s much like Hitchcock’s film Marnie, which Hitchcock himself labelled as a “Sexual Mystery”. Marnie is about a young woman whose past has caused her to want to steal from men and avoid relationships at all costs. There is a mystery in her past as to how she got this way and the audience, and Sean Connery’s Mark, are left to piece together what that mystery may be.

Breakfast at Tiffany’s, although much less brazen about sex, works in a very similar way. There is something wrong with Holly Golightly, she’s too carefree, she’s too money obsessed and she needs people to like her so she flirts with everyone regardless of how it will affect them, or her. The mystery lies in the question of how she got this way.

It’s something many of us ask ourselves from time to time I’m sure. We do something monumentally stupid or selfish and we think, “I’d never have done that a year or two or ten, or however many, years ago.” At that leads us onto the question of, “What happened that made me like this?”... And if you haven’t ever thought about that then maybe you’ve seen a character say it on TV, probably over a whiskey or something.

Now normally it’s a stupid self-pitying question which really doesn’t have to be asked because there’s nothing wrong with you, I mean it’s just a stupid mistake, right? We’re just beating ourselves up.

But Holly doesn’t ask herself that question. She knows its there but she’s hiding from it. You can see it when Paul leaves her after the famous line, “It should take you exactly four seconds to cross from here to the door. I give you two”. She’s pushed him away and she doesn’t really know why, but she can’t ask herself why either.

Maybe she can’t ask herself that question because it’s too painful, or maybe because it’s our jobs as the audience to make that judgement, or maybe because that’s what Paul is there for. Either way it makes Holly seem even sadder and the mystery even more important.

The important thing to remember when watching, or thinking about or talking about, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is that it is not simply another Rom-com, or a Romance, or a romantic drama (although that’s closer than the other two). It’s not a “girly film” or a “chick flick” (not that I have anything against chick flicks). What Breakfast is more complicated than that. It’s about character, it’s about mystery and more than anything it’s about those people who need to be liked but never want to be loved and about why someone might be like that.

It’s complicated... It’s incredibly complicated!

I mean, it's a "Romantic-Mystery Drama-Comedy with psychological thriller-like parts and a philosophical take on the morality of gold digging"!

Or to put it in a simpler way... it’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s. 

Reviewlet #1

"Sex, Drugs and Suits &Ties". That's what Leo and Marty's The Wolf of Wallstreet screamed to me. A true Scorcese film in all its glory Wolf was fast paced, exciting and above all really funny! In the same way that Anchorman gets a lot of its humor from grown men acting completely stupid, insane or outright random Wolf was just as stupid, just as insane and just as random, except when these Wallstreet guys did it you knew why... They where snorting mountains of coke every minute of every day just to get them to the next board meeting.

This is my first of what I hope to be a series of mini-reviews which give you an idea of the best reasons to see a film, or not see a film, and there is none better to start with than The Wolf of Wallstreet. Far from being a stuffy film about finance and politics it is a crude, rude and very real account of a near psychopathic man who for a while was the epitome of the American Dream.

But if all that doesn't sway you then know this; if you don't see this film you'll be missing out on a chance to see Matthew Mcconaughey in one of the best parts he has ever played (possibly save for his upcoming film Dallas Buyers Club). Mcconaughey, whose lost an amazing amount of weight for Dallas Buyers Club in which he plays a man suffering with AIDs, was the biggest surprise to me. It wasn't a huge part for him but it had character and made me believe that Dallas Buyers Club will be a film to be reckoned with.

So if you get a chance watch The Wolf of Wallstreet, but I suggest you don't watch it with your mum because it will get weird!

(Dallas Buyer's Club comes out on the 7th of Febuary)

No Wolfman is an Island

Do you hear that howling? That, my friends, is the sound of a Werewolf in London. That’s right, tonight is a full moon and through happy coincidence, or ill-fated happenstance, today’s review is on that howler of a monster movie, The Wolfman (2010). I say coincidence since originally I chose this film because another monster movie is due to be released on the 29^th, I, Frankenstein. With Aaron Eckhart portraying the Frankenstein Monster some 200 years after its creation I do not know whether to class this as an adaptation, a sequel or a reimagining of Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel. Perhaps on the 29^th we’ll find out but for now we have The Wolfman (2010) a remake of the original Universal Pictures monster movie, The Wolf Man (1941), to focus on.

The Wolfman (2010), much like the original, is about dealing with parents, resisting new urges and, of course, growing hair in strange new places... in a lot of ways it’s a lot like puberty. Unlike the typical teenager, however, the main problem that Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), aka The Wolfman, has to deal with is that of his own sanity. After all, becoming a Man-Wolf hybrid can put something of a toll on one’s personal image. On the one hand having someone you trust can really improve your day when you learn that you’ve contracted an ancient curse/disease but on the other hand the whole “I turn into a slobbering dog-man” has never been a great pick up line. So love can be a little tricky for a Wolfman.

In An American Werewolf in London David Kessler (David Naughton) had his Nurse, in Wolf Will Randall (Jack Nicholson) had his bosses daughter and in The Wolfman (2010) Talbot has his brothers grieving widow; it seems fair to say that Wolfmen have a habit of getting involved with women who they have no right to get involved with.

But how do you know the one you love will be safe? Just because you love her doesn’t mean the beast inside you feels the same way. So what do you do? Do you lock yourself up; send her away or... if all else fails... put a silver bullet in your brain. Talbot quickly decides to send the woman he loves away, back to London, but, as you might expect, good love is hard to be rid of.

The love that Talbot and his brother’s widow, Gwen (Emily Blunt), share is founded on the isolation they feel in his father’s home on the moors and grows through Talbot’s attempts to discover the secret behind his brother’s death. Through a shared feeling of not belonging and a little bit of the “woman tending to a wounded hero” scenario they grow close, without actually becoming intimate until Talbot escapes from Bedlam Mental Asylum. I imagine that “psychotherapy” like electro-treatment and being tied to a chair and plunged into an icy pool probably gave him that handy push he needed to make that relationship a little more physical.

So, let’s talk about insanity. As we all know the first sign of madness is hair on the back of the palms. The second sign is checking for hair on the back of your palms.

That’s a joke I heard in the playground when I was about 9. It was a long time ago but it stuck with me. Werewolf films are all about that “first sign of madness”. Whether it’s a werewolf trope or just sensible thinking the hairy hands are often the first thing the main character sees change in his transformation. Who wouldn’t think they’ve gone loopy when their hands are growing more hair than on a bearded woman’s face? In The Wolfman (2010) this madness is a huge problem for Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro) and has been ever since his dad sent him to a mental asylum.

But the hairy hands are not the first sign of potential madness for Talbot. Far from it, Talbot has spent a lot of his childhood in Bedlam Mental Asylum because of that whole “mother’s suicide” issue. It’s his time in Bedlam Mental Asylum which makes Inspector Aberline (Hugo Weaving) begin a line of inquiry which ends with Talbot being sent back to Bedlam for some extreme “treatments”. This section of the film is where The Wolfman (2010) could have been really original.

If only the psychological trauma had been pushed as a theme this film might have been a pioneering film for Werewolf Cinema. A scene in which the main character is electrocuted, tortured and plunged into an icy pool all for his sanity's sake might have become the focal point for a whole new journey for the character. Had his reconditioning worked and the doctors removed his “delusions” of lycanthropy Talbot might have been forced to look at himself in a new way which would make this film as much about madness as about the Wolfman. But there is no deep thought past this scene. No questions of sanity. No werewolf delusions or moments of mental clarity. Instead what we are given is a werewolf wrestling match.

It’s like the writer stopped after writing the Asylum scene and said to himself, “Ooh, careful, you’re dangerously close to making this clever... let’s put some werewolf fighting in. That ought to fix it.”

In truth, whilst The Wolfman (2010) isn’t an awful film, it does seem to put more effort into creating an exciting gothic style rather than improving upon the substance that could have put it up there with An American Werewolf in London. 

That hairy man-wolf look wasn’t great either... a little too “Teen Wolf” for my taste.