One word review: Terrific
Full review:
Django Unchained is the latest film from Quentin Tarantino to reimagine history. Where in Inglourious Basterds he had the Jews taking out the Nazis, in Django Unchained he has a black slave rising up against the white slavers in the late 1850s just prior to the Civil War. And he does so in the most violent, uncompromising and frequently hilarious way.
The opening scene is incredible, as slaves shuffle their way across a cold Tennessee while their white masters ride in warmth. A cart appears and the driver, a dentist, approaches the slave traders to see if they have a particular man he is interested in purchasing. A conversation ensues and then a gunfight, and we see that the mild-mannered, well-spoken, slightly eccentric dentist is not who he seems and not a man to be trifled with. Christoph Waltz (so good in Inglourious Basterds that Quentin wrote this part for him) is absolutely perfect in this role as Dr King Schultz, German bounty hunter, and deserves every nomination and award he has received so far. Oscar here he comes!
Jamie Foxx is the slave in question, and he too is very strong as Django, who quickly embraces the opportunity Dr Schultz gives him to be a free man (the scene where he gets to dress himself for the first time ever provides a few laughs) and starts a quest to find his beloved wife and free her from slavery as well. It doesn't take long for Dr Schultz to get on board with the mission as the two become a very successful bounty hunting team and he figures it could be mutually profitable, but also when he discovers she speaks German thanks to a German mistress earlier in life. Kerry Washington has a difficult role to play Brunhilda since she is basically a victim most of the time but she does well to show why Django would go through so much for this woman.
The mission takes our two heroes across a series of Southern towns and plantations where white was right and black was less than human. It's definitely a period piece and doesn't shy away from depicting the way that black people were treated and spoken to, even by each other. The 'n word' is used almost non-stop but to not use it would be inauthentic and pointless, so don't be offended. The violence is strong from beginning to end, with bits of human flesh erupting into the air as bullets fly.
The situation comes to a head when Dr Schultz discovers that Brunhilda may be at Candie Land - a plantation owned by Southern dandy Calvin Candie (Leonard di Caprio) and ruled over by his black steward Steven (Samuel L Jackson in full ham mode as possibly the most evil character in the film - a black man who has served so long he thinks he's part of the white family and helps to oppress the other slaves). Django and Dr Schultz hatch a plan to get into Candie Land under pretence of buying some 'mandingoes' - slaves forced to fight each other for entertainment of the masters. It all starts quite well as Candie is fascinated with the idea of a free black man but things start to unravel as the suspicious Steven uncovers their true agenda. And then all hell breaks loose!
Quentin Tarantino insists this is not another revenge movie (a definite continuing theme in his films) but rather a hero's journey to save the woman he loves. I think it is a bit of both because there are definitely some pure "take that" moments in amongst the heroic action. It doesn't really matter though, because in the end it is a terrifically entertaining story, well told and strongly acted. There is a surprising amount of humour mixed in which helps lighten the serious subject matter - some of it is story related and others are just things that are funny for long-time QT fans. Detracting points for excessive length (2 hours and 40 minutes - don't see it on a Friday night when you're really tired after 2 nights of bad sleep like I did) and a few cheesy moments, I'd still give this a 4.5 out of 5. Let's hope this becomes another major success for QT and I hope to see him up on the Oscar stage getting a golden trophy for the screenplay (a strong possibility).
Monday 28 January 2013
Sunday 20 January 2013
Rise and Rise of The Album Tour
The rise and rise of the 'Album Tour' is continuing in 2013 and is showing no sign of slowing down. I've attended a few myself recently and I think that they are a definite winner for big fans of the bands but they can tend to alienate the casual fan.
What is an Album Tour? An album tour is distinct from a normal concert tour because the band will pick one of their albums and play that album in full, usually in the same order as the record. Album tours do vary though in whether the band chooses to play other songs as well, or just purely plays that one album. The trick with the Album Tour is figuring out what album is going to be popular enough to draw a large crowd in and keep them interested until the end, without playing many of your other songs. The element of surprise has also been removed, since most of the audience knows which song is coming next rather than having the enjoyment of recognition of a favourite track after the first few notes are played. A casual listener of a band would be happier with a 'greatest and latest hits' type of set as they will know more of the songs.
Our most recent Album Tour was Weezer, who came to Australia for the first time in a long time, to play what is affectionately known as The Blue Album but is officially titled 'Weezer' plus a greatest hits set. Weezer fans seem to be of the more 'diehard' variety but I'd say that the specialisation to their debut album did probably cost them a few ticket sales. The Brisbane Entertainment Centre was only half full but expectation was in the air. And we were not let down, as the band appeared and started off with a set of their singles and best tracks from each album, played in order from most recent to oldest back to the Pinkerton album, accompanied by frontman Rivers Cuomo's funny 'time machine' sounds between tracks. The band then took a brief intermission before a screen appeared and began to show photos. A long-time friend of the band gave a vocal commentary of the band's history and a few funny asides as we saw some quite personal photos and unique memorabilia. The band then re-appeared in fresh outfits and played through the Blue Album in order.
It was a ton of fun to hear Buddy Holly, Undone (the Sweater Song), Say it Ain't So, Holiday and Surf Wax America. Weezer's earliest songs are quite simple, insanely catchy and quite stupid sometimes. So which part of the set was the biggest winner? I don't think you could pick a winner here. The thing about the Album Tour is that usually the best song on the album is not the last track, so it can tend to end on a bit of a sour note with the song that's just filling in the time. Some people obviously felt this way as they left after about Track 7. And I'd have to say the biggest sing-along was on El Scorcho from the greatest hits section, much more so than anything on the Blue Album set. For me, it was a perfect concert since it had all the songs you want to hear and a great album played in full with tracks you may never have heard. We left on a high and had 'earworms' of the songs for days afterwards.
The biggest Australian example of the Album Tour that I can think of was The Living End's Retrospective Tour. This was a massive achievement for the band, who played all 6 of their albums in full all around this big country of ours over a couple of months. In each capital city except Melbourne, there were 7 concerts for 7 nights in a row. Each concert represented one album, played start to finish, and there were 2 nights for their beloved self-titled debut album. In Melbourne, the band's hometown, they played something like 11 shows in 10 days, doing extra nights when something would sell out. As a massive long-term fan of the band I enjoyed this like nothing else before, getting to see songs that have never been played live in the band's extensive live history. One of the best parts for me each night was the video played before the show which detailed what was happening in the world and around the band creating the album that was being played that night, and the video thanked their fans for their support. It brought a tear to my eye on the first night and filled me with pride every night after. I seriously thought nothing had ever been attempted like this before and I give massive kudos to TLE for their energy and commitment to what must have been a draining experience. But I recently discovered that American band The Bouncing Souls played a run of shows in America where they played all 8 of their albums in full, getting through 2 per night over 4 nights! Wow! The Album Tour is alive and kicking.
Ignoring Pink Floyd's "The Wall" tours back in the 1980s which probably were the beginning, I believe it probably has its origins in the "All Tomorrow's Parties" festivals, which is a festival which has happened in various locations around the world and involves one artist or group being chosen to curate the festival by selecting their choice of bands or artists to play. Since it began in 2005, the ATP people have run a number of "Don't Look Back" events which have featured iconic bands performing an iconic album, sometimes re-forming especially for that purpose. Past events have included performances from The Stooges ('Funhouse'), Belle & Sebastian ('If You're Feeling Sinister'), Gang Of Four ('Entertainment'), Ennio Morricone (classic film soundtracks), Slint ('Spiderland') and Sonic Youth, whose series of performances of the classic 'Daydream Nation' earned the title of Time Out magazine's Gig Of The Year 2007.
Other tours I can recall are The Pixies who have done the 'Doolittle' album, Helmet playing 'Meantime'. Bodyjar reformed and played 'No Touch Red'. A less successful attempt is Australia's The JD Set events, which bring out a band who play the full album of another band of their choosing, usually an inspiration to them. Good Charlotte playing Weezer's Blue Album was spectacularly unsuccessful, not because the band weren't doing justice to the songs, but because the crowd just didn't want it. The two bands are too different and the crowd was getting restless for some mindless Good Charlotte pop, so the set was abandoned after about 6 songs. Weezer playing Weezer was about 3000% better!
To support my claim that this phenomenon is gaining popularity, I present to you the fact that The Offspring have recently sold out 3 shows in Australia where they are playing their debut album 'Ignition' in full, plus a few greatest hits. These are sideshows while the band is in Australia to play the Soundwave Festival so that is a lot of people who want to see more Offspring. Given that The Offspring are widely regarded as a joke, a novelty band, sellouts, or just plain making bad music these days, these shows illustrate the power of the Album Tour very well. 'Ignition' actually is a really good album that deserves to be heard in full by the fans although I would have gone if it was 'Smash' instead. And the speculation is growing by the day that Metallica will be playing the album affectionately known as the 'Black Album' in full at Soundwave 2013, which would be an absolute winner. That album stands up right through to the last track and would have long term fans excited that it means less of the newer, tinnier songs in the setlist.
If this phenomon is indeed going to continue and grow over time, I'd just like to put out into the universe that I'd love to see Rancid playing 'And Out Come the Wolves', an album which has absolutely transcended place and time and is still on high rotation in the car to this day and where the last three tracks are as strong as the first three. Track 14 was probably my favourite for many years, a telling sign when most albums made struggle to have 6 or 7 really good songs that you know all the words to. Second on the wishlist would probably be to hear Rise Against do 'Siren Song of the Counter Culture' and third would be Metallica performing the entire 'Ride the Lightning' album.
Now over to you guys to tell me what great Album Tour gigs you've been to or what would be your dream Album Tour.
What is an Album Tour? An album tour is distinct from a normal concert tour because the band will pick one of their albums and play that album in full, usually in the same order as the record. Album tours do vary though in whether the band chooses to play other songs as well, or just purely plays that one album. The trick with the Album Tour is figuring out what album is going to be popular enough to draw a large crowd in and keep them interested until the end, without playing many of your other songs. The element of surprise has also been removed, since most of the audience knows which song is coming next rather than having the enjoyment of recognition of a favourite track after the first few notes are played. A casual listener of a band would be happier with a 'greatest and latest hits' type of set as they will know more of the songs.
Our most recent Album Tour was Weezer, who came to Australia for the first time in a long time, to play what is affectionately known as The Blue Album but is officially titled 'Weezer' plus a greatest hits set. Weezer fans seem to be of the more 'diehard' variety but I'd say that the specialisation to their debut album did probably cost them a few ticket sales. The Brisbane Entertainment Centre was only half full but expectation was in the air. And we were not let down, as the band appeared and started off with a set of their singles and best tracks from each album, played in order from most recent to oldest back to the Pinkerton album, accompanied by frontman Rivers Cuomo's funny 'time machine' sounds between tracks. The band then took a brief intermission before a screen appeared and began to show photos. A long-time friend of the band gave a vocal commentary of the band's history and a few funny asides as we saw some quite personal photos and unique memorabilia. The band then re-appeared in fresh outfits and played through the Blue Album in order.
It was a ton of fun to hear Buddy Holly, Undone (the Sweater Song), Say it Ain't So, Holiday and Surf Wax America. Weezer's earliest songs are quite simple, insanely catchy and quite stupid sometimes. So which part of the set was the biggest winner? I don't think you could pick a winner here. The thing about the Album Tour is that usually the best song on the album is not the last track, so it can tend to end on a bit of a sour note with the song that's just filling in the time. Some people obviously felt this way as they left after about Track 7. And I'd have to say the biggest sing-along was on El Scorcho from the greatest hits section, much more so than anything on the Blue Album set. For me, it was a perfect concert since it had all the songs you want to hear and a great album played in full with tracks you may never have heard. We left on a high and had 'earworms' of the songs for days afterwards.
The biggest Australian example of the Album Tour that I can think of was The Living End's Retrospective Tour. This was a massive achievement for the band, who played all 6 of their albums in full all around this big country of ours over a couple of months. In each capital city except Melbourne, there were 7 concerts for 7 nights in a row. Each concert represented one album, played start to finish, and there were 2 nights for their beloved self-titled debut album. In Melbourne, the band's hometown, they played something like 11 shows in 10 days, doing extra nights when something would sell out. As a massive long-term fan of the band I enjoyed this like nothing else before, getting to see songs that have never been played live in the band's extensive live history. One of the best parts for me each night was the video played before the show which detailed what was happening in the world and around the band creating the album that was being played that night, and the video thanked their fans for their support. It brought a tear to my eye on the first night and filled me with pride every night after. I seriously thought nothing had ever been attempted like this before and I give massive kudos to TLE for their energy and commitment to what must have been a draining experience. But I recently discovered that American band The Bouncing Souls played a run of shows in America where they played all 8 of their albums in full, getting through 2 per night over 4 nights! Wow! The Album Tour is alive and kicking.
Ignoring Pink Floyd's "The Wall" tours back in the 1980s which probably were the beginning, I believe it probably has its origins in the "All Tomorrow's Parties" festivals, which is a festival which has happened in various locations around the world and involves one artist or group being chosen to curate the festival by selecting their choice of bands or artists to play. Since it began in 2005, the ATP people have run a number of "Don't Look Back" events which have featured iconic bands performing an iconic album, sometimes re-forming especially for that purpose. Past events have included performances from The Stooges ('Funhouse'), Belle & Sebastian ('If You're Feeling Sinister'), Gang Of Four ('Entertainment'), Ennio Morricone (classic film soundtracks), Slint ('Spiderland') and Sonic Youth, whose series of performances of the classic 'Daydream Nation' earned the title of Time Out magazine's Gig Of The Year 2007.
Other tours I can recall are The Pixies who have done the 'Doolittle' album, Helmet playing 'Meantime'. Bodyjar reformed and played 'No Touch Red'. A less successful attempt is Australia's The JD Set events, which bring out a band who play the full album of another band of their choosing, usually an inspiration to them. Good Charlotte playing Weezer's Blue Album was spectacularly unsuccessful, not because the band weren't doing justice to the songs, but because the crowd just didn't want it. The two bands are too different and the crowd was getting restless for some mindless Good Charlotte pop, so the set was abandoned after about 6 songs. Weezer playing Weezer was about 3000% better!
To support my claim that this phenomenon is gaining popularity, I present to you the fact that The Offspring have recently sold out 3 shows in Australia where they are playing their debut album 'Ignition' in full, plus a few greatest hits. These are sideshows while the band is in Australia to play the Soundwave Festival so that is a lot of people who want to see more Offspring. Given that The Offspring are widely regarded as a joke, a novelty band, sellouts, or just plain making bad music these days, these shows illustrate the power of the Album Tour very well. 'Ignition' actually is a really good album that deserves to be heard in full by the fans although I would have gone if it was 'Smash' instead. And the speculation is growing by the day that Metallica will be playing the album affectionately known as the 'Black Album' in full at Soundwave 2013, which would be an absolute winner. That album stands up right through to the last track and would have long term fans excited that it means less of the newer, tinnier songs in the setlist.
If this phenomon is indeed going to continue and grow over time, I'd just like to put out into the universe that I'd love to see Rancid playing 'And Out Come the Wolves', an album which has absolutely transcended place and time and is still on high rotation in the car to this day and where the last three tracks are as strong as the first three. Track 14 was probably my favourite for many years, a telling sign when most albums made struggle to have 6 or 7 really good songs that you know all the words to. Second on the wishlist would probably be to hear Rise Against do 'Siren Song of the Counter Culture' and third would be Metallica performing the entire 'Ride the Lightning' album.
Now over to you guys to tell me what great Album Tour gigs you've been to or what would be your dream Album Tour.
Saturday 12 January 2013
The Oscars - a must-watch this year?
Oscars time again and for the first time in a few years I think the Oscars are going to be interesting to more people than just me! Why?
* Seth MacFarlane hosting. Yep, the guy who shocks the world regularly with Family Guy, American Dad and the recent huge hit comedy film Ted which he co-write, directed and acted as/voiced Ted. Looking comfortable and funny at the nomination announcement, things look promising.
* A fairly high number of the nominated films have come out here or will before the Oscars are held on Feb 24. This means you may have seen more than one film and can get right into the water cooler debates over who should win, who will win etc etc.
* A 50 years of James Bond retrospective will be included in this year's ceremony
* The films chosen are largely pretty mainstream compared to other years (except Beasts of the Southern Wild), increasing the chances of seeing more of them and creating more interest to see if your favourite wins.
* There have been a number of high-profile 'snubs' which will make watching the 'reactions' on the night very interesting. In particular, Ben Affleck is not nominated for Best Director for Argo despite it gaining noms for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. He'll be there but misses out on a nod for himself. Same for Kathryn Bigelow, whose 'CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden' pic Zero Dark Thirty is up for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay but no Best Director nod. Having won for Hurt Locker in vaguely similar territory a few years back, this is a surprise.
* Quentin Tarantino is nominated for Best Original Screenplay and I think has a reasonable chance of winning. His acceptance speech given the subject matter of Django Unchained is highly anticipated.....
* Will a 9 year old win the Best Actress award? Would be the youngest winner ever. And a very strong possibility, the reviews of Beasts of the Southern Wild have been extremely positive.
* Will Adele perform her wonderful Skyfall theme song? It is nominated....
Here are the 9 movies fighting for the Best Picture gong:
Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Amour, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Director Nominees: Steven Spielberg for Lincoln, Michael Haneke for Amour, David O Russell for Silver Linings Playbook, Behn Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ang Lee for Life of Pi
For a full list of the nominations, go to the Oscars website here
http://oscar.go.com/nominees
The Oscars website also has a fun ballot system where you can lodge your picks and see how you go compared to your friends.
For Aussies reading this blog, Hoyts Rewards has a staggeringly good Oscars competition running - see certain nominated films at Hoyts before Feb 22, flash your Rewards card and you will be given an email to select your picks in 19 categories. The highest number of points for correct guesses and you win a year's worth of movie tickets (2 tickes per week for 52 weeks). It's a game of skill! And in the event of a tie, you have 24 hours to say, in 50 words or less, why you should win the prize! Join up now people, that's a sweet prize!
More Oscars related posts to follow as we make our way through Awards Season and I get to see more of the films.
* Seth MacFarlane hosting. Yep, the guy who shocks the world regularly with Family Guy, American Dad and the recent huge hit comedy film Ted which he co-write, directed and acted as/voiced Ted. Looking comfortable and funny at the nomination announcement, things look promising.
* A fairly high number of the nominated films have come out here or will before the Oscars are held on Feb 24. This means you may have seen more than one film and can get right into the water cooler debates over who should win, who will win etc etc.
* A 50 years of James Bond retrospective will be included in this year's ceremony
* The films chosen are largely pretty mainstream compared to other years (except Beasts of the Southern Wild), increasing the chances of seeing more of them and creating more interest to see if your favourite wins.
* There have been a number of high-profile 'snubs' which will make watching the 'reactions' on the night very interesting. In particular, Ben Affleck is not nominated for Best Director for Argo despite it gaining noms for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. He'll be there but misses out on a nod for himself. Same for Kathryn Bigelow, whose 'CIA hunt for Osama bin Laden' pic Zero Dark Thirty is up for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay but no Best Director nod. Having won for Hurt Locker in vaguely similar territory a few years back, this is a surprise.
* Quentin Tarantino is nominated for Best Original Screenplay and I think has a reasonable chance of winning. His acceptance speech given the subject matter of Django Unchained is highly anticipated.....
* Will a 9 year old win the Best Actress award? Would be the youngest winner ever. And a very strong possibility, the reviews of Beasts of the Southern Wild have been extremely positive.
* Will Adele perform her wonderful Skyfall theme song? It is nominated....
Here are the 9 movies fighting for the Best Picture gong:
Argo, Zero Dark Thirty, Lincoln, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Les Miserables, Life of Pi, Amour, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook
Best Director Nominees: Steven Spielberg for Lincoln, Michael Haneke for Amour, David O Russell for Silver Linings Playbook, Behn Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ang Lee for Life of Pi
For a full list of the nominations, go to the Oscars website here
http://oscar.go.com/nominees
The Oscars website also has a fun ballot system where you can lodge your picks and see how you go compared to your friends.
For Aussies reading this blog, Hoyts Rewards has a staggeringly good Oscars competition running - see certain nominated films at Hoyts before Feb 22, flash your Rewards card and you will be given an email to select your picks in 19 categories. The highest number of points for correct guesses and you win a year's worth of movie tickets (2 tickes per week for 52 weeks). It's a game of skill! And in the event of a tie, you have 24 hours to say, in 50 words or less, why you should win the prize! Join up now people, that's a sweet prize!
More Oscars related posts to follow as we make our way through Awards Season and I get to see more of the films.
Sunday 6 January 2013
2012 in Movies - A Review
I enjoyed the comments on last year's review of the year before so here for your debating pleasure is my review of 2012. Please share your favourite movies seen this year as well.
My Top 10 Movies
1. God Bless America (apologies most of you won't have had a chance to see this Film Festival movie but I've got a copy on order from the US so I can share with my local buddies) - an angry little movie about what is so wrong with society and a rather extreme way of dealing with it but gosh it fulfils a few little fantasies that have crossed my mind!
2. The Avengers - a monster mash beautifully orchestrated by Joss Whedon to have heart and soul to go with the big bangs. Quick, someone give Iron Man and Hulk a buddy movie!
3. The Dark Knight Rises - thrillingly satisfying ending to an increasingly bleak trilogy that truly explored what is is to be a 'hero'.
4. Hugo - a beautiful film about the power of the movies and friendship. Scorsese at full power and fantastic visual effects and 3D.
5. The Adventures of Tintin - huge fun to kick off the year, I haven't forgotten it a year later. The chase scenes!
6. The Artist - hugely deserving of the Best Film Oscar this year, it had the X factor of being a silent film that still conveyed so much emotion.
7. The Raid - one good cop's struggle to take down an apartment building full of baddies - supremely well choreographed close fight scenes made a second watch on Blu-Ray still thrilling and wince-worthy.
8. Looper - vaguely sci-fi plot wrapped around an intelligent near future thriller with great performances from Bruce Willis and Joe Gordon-Levitt, my man of the year.
9. Moonrise Kingdom - an antidote to cynicism, sadness and sarcasm, just a pure delight and wise words on love and life.
10. Argo - high suspense in a nail biting thriller that also skewered Hollywood and taught us some possibly slightly exaggerated history.
Very close to getting in the Top 10 were Frankenweenie 3D, 50/50 (seen on DVD so no review), Sinister (scariest film in years but seen at the Film Festival), Pirates: Band of Misfits (Aardman kicking ass again), The Cabin in the Woods, Skyfall.
B's Top 10 (bit different than mine)
Least Favourite Movies of 2012
Not awful but didn't live up to my expectations or I didn't walk out going 'Yeah!:
1. Prometheus
2. Dark Shadows
3. The Campaign
4. That's my Boy
5. The Dictator
6. Kath and Kimderella
Most Surprising Movie Moments of 2012
The Hulk dealing with Loki. No, wait. The Hulk taking out some frustration with Thor. No, wait. The Hulk buddying up to Tony Stark. Hmmmm, can't decide. Let's just say "the Hulk" in Avengers.
Scariest Movie:
Sinister. One of the scariest films I've ever seen. Someone walked out! I wanted to but I also didn't want to. I love being scared.
Best Performances of the Year
1. Joel Murray as fed up Frank in God Bless America.
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in everything he was in this year! Huge star in the making in my view but he was solid in The Dark Knight Rises, amazing as a young version of Bruce Willis in Looper and touching as young cancer sufferer Adam in 50/50.
3. Tom Hardy as the elder Bondurant brother in Lawless - a masterclass in 'presence'. Not bad as Bane either!
4. Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller in the Artist. Living up to her character's name.
5. Jean du Jardin as George Valentin in the Artist. Old school Hollywood charm.
6. Charlize Theron as pure evil Mavis in Young Adult - A plus for acting 'ugly' again although this time it was personality only. A powerhouse as Queen Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman as well.
7. Liam Neeson as Ottway in The Grey - grizzled, gruff and going down with a fight!
8. Iko Uwais as Rama in The Raid - when you've got something to fight for, you are unstoppable! Amazing skills.
9. Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey in The Amazing Spiderman. Cutest couple by a long shot, both perfect for the roles and fantastic chemistry which spilled over into real life.
10. Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises - deliciously catty, tough but vulnerable and all in the tightest suit this side of Michelle Pfeiffer. Cool goggles!
......and the worst: everyone in Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 and newcomer Cody Horn in Magic Mike.
Top 10 Australian Box Office
Sequels and franchises ruled again this year. Props to grey-vote winning The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for hitting the Top 10 with an original story and no franchise power. Highest ranking Australian film of the year was The Sapphires in 22nd place, well ahead of Kath and Kimderella at 52 and A Few Best Men at 59.
1. The Avengers ($54 million,outgrossing Harry Potter finale last year)
2. The Dark Knight Rises ($44 million)
3. Skyfall ($39 million, and still on release so getting bigger all the time!)
4. Ted ($35 million)
5. The Hunger Games ($31 million)
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 ($28 million)
7. Ice Age Continental Drift ($28 million)
8. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ($25 million)
9. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ($21 million)
10. Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows ($20 million)
The full list of all 244 films released during 2012 can be found here http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/australia/yearly/?yr=2012&sort=gross&order=DESC&pagenum=1&p=.htm
Wish I'd seen: The Woman in Black, The Sapphires, Margin Call, Seven Psychopaths, Paranormal Activity 4, The Master, Chronicle, The Lady, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Margaret, Dredd.
US Box Office
The Avengers wiped the floor this year with highest box office by far and highest opening weekend ever ($207 million!) and it was the same story as Australia with sequels, prequels and franchise entries.
1. The Avengers ($623 million)
2. The Dark Knight Rises ($448 million)
3. The Hunger Games ($408 million)
4. Skyfall ($294 million)
5. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 ($287 million)
6. The Amazing Spiderman ($262 million)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($251 million)
8. Brave ($237 million)
9. Ted ($218 million)
10. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ($216 million)
My Predictions for 2013
1. Fantasy themed films with built in audiences from beloved book series or prior movies will gain the biggest box office for the year - led by "Oz - the Great and Powerful", "Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "Beautiful Creatures", "The Host", "The Mortal Instruments", "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" and "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".
2. We will be loving the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to full movie roles (see The Last Stand).
3. Seth MacFarlane will rock the Oscars hosting gig, restoring it to a must-watch event.
4. Comic book heroes will again dominate our cinemas. No sign of this juggernaut ending anytime soon as "Man of Steel" goes up against "Thor: The Dark World", "Iron Man 3" and "The Wolverine".
5. Movies based on the "Classic novels with a twist" genre will continue to tank critically and commercially. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter failed to excite anyone this year, so why they've made Hansel and Gretel: Witchhunters and Jack the Giant Killer I don't know. I loved Pride and Prejudice and Zombies the book, so leave it the hell alone Hollywood!
6. Warm Bodies will out-do World War Z as the zombie film of the year.
7. "Anchorman: The Legend Continues" will withstand being the most anticipated sequel of the year and deliver. Man I hope this one comes true.
8. Sequels will continue to be made for anything that is deemed a successful movie, but most of this year's batch are likely to produce diminishing returns through redundancy (Hangover 3, Kick Ass 2 - the original movies were perfect as they were and do not need sequels), coming way too late after the last (Sin City: A Dame to Kill for, Riddick), being too far down the line to get audiences interested anymore (Paranormal Activity 5, Fast and the Furious 6), or just completely unwanted (The Smurfs 2, Scary Movie 5) . "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug", "Star Trek: Into Darkness" and "Anchorman 2" not included.
9. We will see a 50 Shades of Grey movie, it will be a huge hit but 75% of the female audience will be disappointed with the actor chosen to play Christian. No way of testing this prediction of course....
10. The re-release of movies to the cinema in 3D versions will not make as much moolah for the studios as they are probably hoping. The Star Wars, Titanic, Lion King and Finding Nemo versions haven't done too well so far, so just stop now and leave it for home theater. Everyone's got a 3d TV now don't they?
2. The Avengers - a monster mash beautifully orchestrated by Joss Whedon to have heart and soul to go with the big bangs. Quick, someone give Iron Man and Hulk a buddy movie!
3. The Dark Knight Rises - thrillingly satisfying ending to an increasingly bleak trilogy that truly explored what is is to be a 'hero'.
4. Hugo - a beautiful film about the power of the movies and friendship. Scorsese at full power and fantastic visual effects and 3D.
5. The Adventures of Tintin - huge fun to kick off the year, I haven't forgotten it a year later. The chase scenes!
6. The Artist - hugely deserving of the Best Film Oscar this year, it had the X factor of being a silent film that still conveyed so much emotion.
8. Looper - vaguely sci-fi plot wrapped around an intelligent near future thriller with great performances from Bruce Willis and Joe Gordon-Levitt, my man of the year.
9. Moonrise Kingdom - an antidote to cynicism, sadness and sarcasm, just a pure delight and wise words on love and life.
10. Argo - high suspense in a nail biting thriller that also skewered Hollywood and taught us some possibly slightly exaggerated history.
Very close to getting in the Top 10 were Frankenweenie 3D, 50/50 (seen on DVD so no review), Sinister (scariest film in years but seen at the Film Festival), Pirates: Band of Misfits (Aardman kicking ass again), The Cabin in the Woods, Skyfall.
B's Top 10 (bit different than mine)
The Dark Knight Rises
Prometheus
Sinister
The Avengers
Hugo
Moonrise Kingdom
Looper
Cabin in the Woods
That's my Boy
The Rum Diary
Least Favourite Movies of 2012
Not awful but didn't live up to my expectations or I didn't walk out going 'Yeah!:
1. Prometheus
2. Dark Shadows
3. The Campaign
4. That's my Boy
5. The Dictator
6. Kath and Kimderella
Most Surprising Movie Moments of 2012
- Magic Mike not sucking as a movie, even though with Steven Soderbergh at the helm this should not have been expected
- Prometheus sucking (Empire magazine agrees with me even if nobody else does) - huge gaps in logic, stupid dialogue, a fairly pointless outcome, and too much 'spirituality' talk derailed the good suspense
- A silent film being made and achieving moderate box office success, then winning the Best Picture Oscar along with Best Actor and Best Director.
- Girl with the Dragon Tattoo came out simply 'meh' neither better nor worse than the original and largely pointless
- Channing Tatum's hitherto unknown comedic skills, displayed in 21 Jump Street
- Remakes of earlier films didn't rake in the big bucks this year (looking at you Total Recall)
- An oddball animated kids' film about Dracula preventing his daughter from dating a human (Hotel Transylvania) did far better for Adam Sandler than his latest live action 'comedy' "That's my Boy" which by comparison to his earlier films was a fairly large flop for him. Have the one-two punch of crap films "Jack and Jill" and "Grown Ups" taken the sheen off Sandler comedies?
The Hulk dealing with Loki. No, wait. The Hulk taking out some frustration with Thor. No, wait. The Hulk buddying up to Tony Stark. Hmmmm, can't decide. Let's just say "the Hulk" in Avengers.
Scariest Movie:
Sinister. One of the scariest films I've ever seen. Someone walked out! I wanted to but I also didn't want to. I love being scared.
Best Performances of the Year
2. Joseph Gordon-Levitt in everything he was in this year! Huge star in the making in my view but he was solid in The Dark Knight Rises, amazing as a young version of Bruce Willis in Looper and touching as young cancer sufferer Adam in 50/50.
3. Tom Hardy as the elder Bondurant brother in Lawless - a masterclass in 'presence'. Not bad as Bane either!
4. Berenice Bejo as Peppy Miller in the Artist. Living up to her character's name.
5. Jean du Jardin as George Valentin in the Artist. Old school Hollywood charm.
6. Charlize Theron as pure evil Mavis in Young Adult - A plus for acting 'ugly' again although this time it was personality only. A powerhouse as Queen Ravenna in Snow White and the Huntsman as well.
7. Liam Neeson as Ottway in The Grey - grizzled, gruff and going down with a fight!
8. Iko Uwais as Rama in The Raid - when you've got something to fight for, you are unstoppable! Amazing skills.
9. Andrew Garfield as Peter Parker and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacey in The Amazing Spiderman. Cutest couple by a long shot, both perfect for the roles and fantastic chemistry which spilled over into real life.
10. Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle in The Dark Knight Rises - deliciously catty, tough but vulnerable and all in the tightest suit this side of Michelle Pfeiffer. Cool goggles!
......and the worst: everyone in Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2 and newcomer Cody Horn in Magic Mike.
Top 10 Australian Box Office
Sequels and franchises ruled again this year. Props to grey-vote winning The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for hitting the Top 10 with an original story and no franchise power. Highest ranking Australian film of the year was The Sapphires in 22nd place, well ahead of Kath and Kimderella at 52 and A Few Best Men at 59.
1. The Avengers ($54 million,outgrossing Harry Potter finale last year)
2. The Dark Knight Rises ($44 million)
3. Skyfall ($39 million, and still on release so getting bigger all the time!)
4. Ted ($35 million)
5. The Hunger Games ($31 million)
6. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 ($28 million)
7. Ice Age Continental Drift ($28 million)
8. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ($25 million)
9. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ($21 million)
10. Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows ($20 million)
The full list of all 244 films released during 2012 can be found here http://boxofficemojo.com/intl/australia/yearly/?yr=2012&sort=gross&order=DESC&pagenum=1&p=.htm
Wish I'd seen: The Woman in Black, The Sapphires, Margin Call, Seven Psychopaths, Paranormal Activity 4, The Master, Chronicle, The Lady, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Margaret, Dredd.
US Box Office
The Avengers wiped the floor this year with highest box office by far and highest opening weekend ever ($207 million!) and it was the same story as Australia with sequels, prequels and franchise entries.
1. The Avengers ($623 million)
2. The Dark Knight Rises ($448 million)
3. The Hunger Games ($408 million)
4. Skyfall ($294 million)
5. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 ($287 million)
6. The Amazing Spiderman ($262 million)
7. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ($251 million)
8. Brave ($237 million)
9. Ted ($218 million)
10. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted ($216 million)
My Predictions for 2013
1. Fantasy themed films with built in audiences from beloved book series or prior movies will gain the biggest box office for the year - led by "Oz - the Great and Powerful", "Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "Beautiful Creatures", "The Host", "The Mortal Instruments", "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters" and "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".
2. We will be loving the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger to full movie roles (see The Last Stand).
3. Seth MacFarlane will rock the Oscars hosting gig, restoring it to a must-watch event.
4. Comic book heroes will again dominate our cinemas. No sign of this juggernaut ending anytime soon as "Man of Steel" goes up against "Thor: The Dark World", "Iron Man 3" and "The Wolverine".
5. Movies based on the "Classic novels with a twist" genre will continue to tank critically and commercially. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter failed to excite anyone this year, so why they've made Hansel and Gretel: Witchhunters and Jack the Giant Killer I don't know. I loved Pride and Prejudice and Zombies the book, so leave it the hell alone Hollywood!
6. Warm Bodies will out-do World War Z as the zombie film of the year.
7. "Anchorman: The Legend Continues" will withstand being the most anticipated sequel of the year and deliver. Man I hope this one comes true.
8. Sequels will continue to be made for anything that is deemed a successful movie, but most of this year's batch are likely to produce diminishing returns through redundancy (Hangover 3, Kick Ass 2 - the original movies were perfect as they were and do not need sequels), coming way too late after the last (Sin City: A Dame to Kill for, Riddick), being too far down the line to get audiences interested anymore (Paranormal Activity 5, Fast and the Furious 6), or just completely unwanted (The Smurfs 2, Scary Movie 5) . "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug", "Star Trek: Into Darkness" and "Anchorman 2" not included.
9. We will see a 50 Shades of Grey movie, it will be a huge hit but 75% of the female audience will be disappointed with the actor chosen to play Christian. No way of testing this prediction of course....
10. The re-release of movies to the cinema in 3D versions will not make as much moolah for the studios as they are probably hoping. The Star Wars, Titanic, Lion King and Finding Nemo versions haven't done too well so far, so just stop now and leave it for home theater. Everyone's got a 3d TV now don't they?
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey - Movie #1 of 2013
Last night we went to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first film in what is now a trilogy of films based around the book The Hobbit and leading into the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The first thing I'll address here is the High Frame Rate (see earlier post "A word of warning on The Hobbit High Frame Rate version for background). I was nervous about seeing the film in the HFR version off the bat as I had planned to see it in 24fps first then 48fps second for comparison. Not to be though as the boy only wants to see it once and in 48fps. The very first scene of older Bilbo writing his memoirs seemed very smooth but my worst fears were realised straight after as the opening flashback scenes of Smaug the dragon brutalising the dwarven city of Erebor looked terrible. The HFR undoubtedly does create a smoothness, clarity and beauty to the visuals but it also brings a new level of real-ness. This means that the CGI stuff looks even more CGI and fake than it did in the standard 24fps. Uh oh, I think I'm going to regret seeing this version. However, for some reason the rest of the action scenes didn't seem as bad and in any other scenes I thought it was definitely a superior technology. I don't think I suffered too much in the way of being distracted by the detail (a common criticism I've seen) though the boy says he noticed a lot of the sets looking more artificial but I did not notice this at all. For me I think I'll reserve judgement on HFR until we see more movies, it definitely shouldn't be used where you want realistic action scenes that are created by CGI.
Now, the movie. I really liked it and think it is the perfect way to start another trilogy of epic fantasy films. For those one or two people not familiar, The Hobbit follows a quest by a group of dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, to reclaim the city of Erebor from the dragon Smaug and provide a true home for their people. This quest is not going to be easy though and the dwarves have got Gandalf the Grey on side but he thinks they need another piece in the puzzle, someone who may be able to get into places unnoticed. His approach to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins though is a little too subtle and it takes the whole troop of 13 dwarves to convince him to leave Hobbiton and go on an adventure with them. Once the group sets off, a whole series of scrapes and misadventures occur as they encounter many foes and friends, and some who may be either.
An Unexpected Journey is part one of this tale and covers the beginning of The Hobbit but also mines some detail out of the Appendices to the Lord of the Rings book. Some have complained that this film is unnecessarily long and goes off on tangents and that 3 movies are not needed. However, I disagree. I believe that this film does a great job of setting up the quest and the characters, getting to know the different dwarves and our hero Bilbo. Without getting to know the characters so well, I feel that you would not care very much about what happens to them. This is a key part of why a film succeeds and becomes something you watch over and over again. Having watched Snow White and the Huntsman the night before, I know the result of stringing together a decent story and bunch of action scenes but giving you no reason at all to care about the lead character or understand why relationships form between certain characters. The result is that the movie falls flat and you don't feel like watching it again.
The so called tangential scenes are good because they are basically setting up the events of the Lord of the Rings (as Gandalf and other powerful people in Middle Earth start to see signs of a dark power starting to take hold of the land) which should provide fantastic continuity for the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and Sauron's return once we have a chance to watch all the films in chronological order in 2014. The scene where Bilbo meets Gollum, finds the One Ring and escapes with it after a battle of riddles is already rightfully being mentioned as a highlight, and I think it's largely due to the continuity angle and deeper exploration of the familiar characters.
So we get a long scene at Bilbo's house as the dwarves try to persuade their new friend to join them, a flashback to how Erebor was lost and how Thorin encountered Azog the Defiler (head orc), meet Radagast the Brown (another powerful wizard) and see his exploratory trip to Dolghuldur where the scary Necromancer is biding his time, and sit in on a meeting of the White Council (Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman) to decide whether to allow the dwarves quest. All of these scenes enhance and expand the Middle Earth universe no matter how slow you may think they are. I for one enjoyed it all.
The adventure scenes are all great fun, with the escape from the Goblin Kingdom being particularly fun and the pursuit and running battles with Azog and his army of wargs and orcs being pretty scary. Azog has a personal beef with Thorin and will not give up until he has the dwarf's head. As with LOTR, Gandalf keeps the magic in check until absolutely necessary which gives the dwarves a chance to wow us with their swordplay, fist-fighting and bow and arrows.
While seeing the familiar faces is comforting (and the effects team have done a great job of de-ageing Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee and Cate Blanchett by 60 years) , it's meeting the new fellowship that creates magic. Richard Armitage imbues the leader Thorin Oakenshield with gravity, fierceness and mistrust of outsiders - particularly the elves which provides a few comedic scenes - but mixed with a strong belief in his cause and concern for his group, it's a winning combination. The actors playing Kili and Fili have described them as "the Prince William and Prince Harry" of the group and it's very apt. Bifur (James Nesbitt) is funny as he joins in with Kili's teasing of Bilbo by describing all the ways that the quest can go wrong. Dwalin is the enforcer and Balin is the older and wiser who gives us some history lessons. Ori is the youngest and most trouble prone. So far Bofur, Bombur, Nori, Dori, Oin and Gloin (dad of Gimli from LOTR) haven't made much impact but this should change as the series wears on. It's a fun group and there are a lot of laughs to be had. Martin Freeman has the tough role of Bilbo Baggins and does a brilliant job. Watching as the shackles of Hobbit habit fall off is fascinating and his courage and fortitude even in the face of Thorin's open distrust is admirable. This could just be how the character was written by Tolkien, but Freeman also contributes with a good line in humble bravery and impish enjoyment of the adventure.
Suspend any cynicism, pack a good lot of supplies (2 hours and 50 minutes plus previews and ads) and get to your local cinema for this journey that is every bit as good as you could have expected from the man who gave us the epic and much loved Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The first thing I'll address here is the High Frame Rate (see earlier post "A word of warning on The Hobbit High Frame Rate version for background). I was nervous about seeing the film in the HFR version off the bat as I had planned to see it in 24fps first then 48fps second for comparison. Not to be though as the boy only wants to see it once and in 48fps. The very first scene of older Bilbo writing his memoirs seemed very smooth but my worst fears were realised straight after as the opening flashback scenes of Smaug the dragon brutalising the dwarven city of Erebor looked terrible. The HFR undoubtedly does create a smoothness, clarity and beauty to the visuals but it also brings a new level of real-ness. This means that the CGI stuff looks even more CGI and fake than it did in the standard 24fps. Uh oh, I think I'm going to regret seeing this version. However, for some reason the rest of the action scenes didn't seem as bad and in any other scenes I thought it was definitely a superior technology. I don't think I suffered too much in the way of being distracted by the detail (a common criticism I've seen) though the boy says he noticed a lot of the sets looking more artificial but I did not notice this at all. For me I think I'll reserve judgement on HFR until we see more movies, it definitely shouldn't be used where you want realistic action scenes that are created by CGI.
Now, the movie. I really liked it and think it is the perfect way to start another trilogy of epic fantasy films. For those one or two people not familiar, The Hobbit follows a quest by a group of dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield, to reclaim the city of Erebor from the dragon Smaug and provide a true home for their people. This quest is not going to be easy though and the dwarves have got Gandalf the Grey on side but he thinks they need another piece in the puzzle, someone who may be able to get into places unnoticed. His approach to the hobbit Bilbo Baggins though is a little too subtle and it takes the whole troop of 13 dwarves to convince him to leave Hobbiton and go on an adventure with them. Once the group sets off, a whole series of scrapes and misadventures occur as they encounter many foes and friends, and some who may be either.
An Unexpected Journey is part one of this tale and covers the beginning of The Hobbit but also mines some detail out of the Appendices to the Lord of the Rings book. Some have complained that this film is unnecessarily long and goes off on tangents and that 3 movies are not needed. However, I disagree. I believe that this film does a great job of setting up the quest and the characters, getting to know the different dwarves and our hero Bilbo. Without getting to know the characters so well, I feel that you would not care very much about what happens to them. This is a key part of why a film succeeds and becomes something you watch over and over again. Having watched Snow White and the Huntsman the night before, I know the result of stringing together a decent story and bunch of action scenes but giving you no reason at all to care about the lead character or understand why relationships form between certain characters. The result is that the movie falls flat and you don't feel like watching it again.
The so called tangential scenes are good because they are basically setting up the events of the Lord of the Rings (as Gandalf and other powerful people in Middle Earth start to see signs of a dark power starting to take hold of the land) which should provide fantastic continuity for the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and Sauron's return once we have a chance to watch all the films in chronological order in 2014. The scene where Bilbo meets Gollum, finds the One Ring and escapes with it after a battle of riddles is already rightfully being mentioned as a highlight, and I think it's largely due to the continuity angle and deeper exploration of the familiar characters.
So we get a long scene at Bilbo's house as the dwarves try to persuade their new friend to join them, a flashback to how Erebor was lost and how Thorin encountered Azog the Defiler (head orc), meet Radagast the Brown (another powerful wizard) and see his exploratory trip to Dolghuldur where the scary Necromancer is biding his time, and sit in on a meeting of the White Council (Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman) to decide whether to allow the dwarves quest. All of these scenes enhance and expand the Middle Earth universe no matter how slow you may think they are. I for one enjoyed it all.
The adventure scenes are all great fun, with the escape from the Goblin Kingdom being particularly fun and the pursuit and running battles with Azog and his army of wargs and orcs being pretty scary. Azog has a personal beef with Thorin and will not give up until he has the dwarf's head. As with LOTR, Gandalf keeps the magic in check until absolutely necessary which gives the dwarves a chance to wow us with their swordplay, fist-fighting and bow and arrows.
While seeing the familiar faces is comforting (and the effects team have done a great job of de-ageing Ian McKellen, Hugo Weaving, Christopher Lee and Cate Blanchett by 60 years) , it's meeting the new fellowship that creates magic. Richard Armitage imbues the leader Thorin Oakenshield with gravity, fierceness and mistrust of outsiders - particularly the elves which provides a few comedic scenes - but mixed with a strong belief in his cause and concern for his group, it's a winning combination. The actors playing Kili and Fili have described them as "the Prince William and Prince Harry" of the group and it's very apt. Bifur (James Nesbitt) is funny as he joins in with Kili's teasing of Bilbo by describing all the ways that the quest can go wrong. Dwalin is the enforcer and Balin is the older and wiser who gives us some history lessons. Ori is the youngest and most trouble prone. So far Bofur, Bombur, Nori, Dori, Oin and Gloin (dad of Gimli from LOTR) haven't made much impact but this should change as the series wears on. It's a fun group and there are a lot of laughs to be had. Martin Freeman has the tough role of Bilbo Baggins and does a brilliant job. Watching as the shackles of Hobbit habit fall off is fascinating and his courage and fortitude even in the face of Thorin's open distrust is admirable. This could just be how the character was written by Tolkien, but Freeman also contributes with a good line in humble bravery and impish enjoyment of the adventure.
Suspend any cynicism, pack a good lot of supplies (2 hours and 50 minutes plus previews and ads) and get to your local cinema for this journey that is every bit as good as you could have expected from the man who gave us the epic and much loved Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Saturday 5 January 2013
Movie #31 - Samsara
Sore head from too much partying over Christmas and New Year? Here is the movie tonic to soothe your pain and make you think a little bit deeper about life....
Samsara is a visual treat, a documentary of images with no dialogue, no subtitles and no explanation. Just a guide to the world around us, filmed over a five year period in 25 different countries. It opens with some stunningly beautiful images of structures built in remote locations, followed by Mother Nature at her peak, and traverses through several different facets of modern life such as workers in an industrial factory, pilgrims praying at Mecca, outback Australia, an American family with their guns held proudly (little bit shocking after the recent gun debate in the US), sprawling housing estates bordering onto the Egyptian pyramids, poor people digging through mountains of rubbish for treasures, fishing villages, Buddhist monks making art, luxury hotels, ladyboys in a dance off on stage in Thailand etc etc. It circles back around at the end for some lovely green scenery and back to our Buddhist monks.
The film literally gives you no indication of where or what you are seeing, prompting you to make your own assessments and let your mind wander at will. The soundtrack, when they are not using silence to underscore the power of the image, is beautiful (featuring Aussie Lisa Gerrard quite a bit for those who know her) and stirring. There is definitely an agenda here around spirituality and vegetarianism, but the message is so subtle that some may completely miss it and it's not rammed down your throat. Here's a link to the movie's website if you want to read a little more about it and see the trailer - ttp://barakasamsara.com/samsara/about
What I got out of this movie was a greater appreciation of my work (I'll never say my job is boring after seeing what some people do for what I imagine is very little money), the country we live in (clean, democratic, still relatively close to nature) and the thought that maybe there is more we should all be doing to stop the world being destroyed by our own waste, violence and urban sprawl. It also gave me an idea of a few places I'd like to visit soon, possibly before they disappear or are degraded. But there is also still so much beauty in the world too.
If you want something a little different and have the patience for just under 2 hours of images (I have to admit, the orderly part of my mind wanted a little sub-time with the country and city of each place and I struggled against the urge to play the guessing game each time) then I highly recommend seeing this movie in a cinema with a good screen and sound. Immerse yourself in the world outside yourself and you will see some of the most powerful images you might ever see. There are certainly a couple I don't think I'll forget for a long time, particularly those of some very unique individuals who are filmed just staring into the camera.
Samsara is a visual treat, a documentary of images with no dialogue, no subtitles and no explanation. Just a guide to the world around us, filmed over a five year period in 25 different countries. It opens with some stunningly beautiful images of structures built in remote locations, followed by Mother Nature at her peak, and traverses through several different facets of modern life such as workers in an industrial factory, pilgrims praying at Mecca, outback Australia, an American family with their guns held proudly (little bit shocking after the recent gun debate in the US), sprawling housing estates bordering onto the Egyptian pyramids, poor people digging through mountains of rubbish for treasures, fishing villages, Buddhist monks making art, luxury hotels, ladyboys in a dance off on stage in Thailand etc etc. It circles back around at the end for some lovely green scenery and back to our Buddhist monks.
The film literally gives you no indication of where or what you are seeing, prompting you to make your own assessments and let your mind wander at will. The soundtrack, when they are not using silence to underscore the power of the image, is beautiful (featuring Aussie Lisa Gerrard quite a bit for those who know her) and stirring. There is definitely an agenda here around spirituality and vegetarianism, but the message is so subtle that some may completely miss it and it's not rammed down your throat. Here's a link to the movie's website if you want to read a little more about it and see the trailer - ttp://barakasamsara.com/samsara/about
What I got out of this movie was a greater appreciation of my work (I'll never say my job is boring after seeing what some people do for what I imagine is very little money), the country we live in (clean, democratic, still relatively close to nature) and the thought that maybe there is more we should all be doing to stop the world being destroyed by our own waste, violence and urban sprawl. It also gave me an idea of a few places I'd like to visit soon, possibly before they disappear or are degraded. But there is also still so much beauty in the world too.
If you want something a little different and have the patience for just under 2 hours of images (I have to admit, the orderly part of my mind wanted a little sub-time with the country and city of each place and I struggled against the urge to play the guessing game each time) then I highly recommend seeing this movie in a cinema with a good screen and sound. Immerse yourself in the world outside yourself and you will see some of the most powerful images you might ever see. There are certainly a couple I don't think I'll forget for a long time, particularly those of some very unique individuals who are filmed just staring into the camera.
Tuesday 1 January 2013
Movie #30 - Wreck-It Ralph!
"Wreck-It Ralph" is a new movie from Disney who have surprisingly taken this long to try to leverage video games into the movies. It follows Ralph, who is the big bad guy that destroys everything in an arcade game similar to Donkey Kong. Fix-it Felix is his nemesis, the shiny hero who fixes everything he breaks and gets all the kudos from the apartment dwellers in the game. But Ralph is sick of being the bad guy, lonely and unloved and living in the garbage dump. He longs to be a hero, accepting medals and having friends. Even his bad-guy support group (a fantastic play on AA and one of the best scenes that was sadly given away in a lot of the trailers) can't shake his feelings and Ralph decides to 'go turbo' and find another arcade game where he can be a hero. This leads him into a series of adventures through other games, mainly the first-person shooter 'Hero's Duty' and Mario Kart style 'Sugar Rush', as Ralph tries to figure out his true place in the world.
The graphics are pretty amazing in this, and I didn't even see the 3D version (planning to). The concept is extremely well thought out - what happens inside the video games when the arcade is closed and we're not looking - and provides so many jokes and nostalgic feelings for gamers. I think non-gamers would still get a lot of enjoyment from the storyline though, which has a lot of heart. The movie was directed by Rich Moore, who has never made a movie before but has helmed some pretty popular episodes of the Simpsons and Futurama, so you know you're in good hands. The voices of John C Reilly (Stepbrothers, Talladega Nights) as Ralph and Sarah Silverman as lil racer Vanellope are perfect for their roles, as are most of the other main characters as well. I was watching 30 Rock the other night and sadly now when I see Jack McBrayer (Kenneth the page) I am just thinking of Fix-it Felix instead.
Any adults in their 20s, 30s or 40s who have wasted away time in a video arcade or playing the early 8-bit games will definitely find a lot to love in "Wreck-It Ralph", as will older kids who will love the graphics and bright colours. Young kids might be a little bored, as a lot of the jokes and action will sail straight over their heads. I took my 5 year old nephew to see this, he's already a Nintendo kid who loves Mario and Sonic along with being obsessed with Angry Birds anything (hilariously he bought his dad Angry Birds pyjamas for Christmas this year). He got a bit bored in places where there was more talk than action, and thought it was long, but he was good and didn't ask to leave. He still said it was cool. Not enough Sonic the Hedgehog! A huge sugar rush and a good holiday film.
The graphics are pretty amazing in this, and I didn't even see the 3D version (planning to). The concept is extremely well thought out - what happens inside the video games when the arcade is closed and we're not looking - and provides so many jokes and nostalgic feelings for gamers. I think non-gamers would still get a lot of enjoyment from the storyline though, which has a lot of heart. The movie was directed by Rich Moore, who has never made a movie before but has helmed some pretty popular episodes of the Simpsons and Futurama, so you know you're in good hands. The voices of John C Reilly (Stepbrothers, Talladega Nights) as Ralph and Sarah Silverman as lil racer Vanellope are perfect for their roles, as are most of the other main characters as well. I was watching 30 Rock the other night and sadly now when I see Jack McBrayer (Kenneth the page) I am just thinking of Fix-it Felix instead.
Any adults in their 20s, 30s or 40s who have wasted away time in a video arcade or playing the early 8-bit games will definitely find a lot to love in "Wreck-It Ralph", as will older kids who will love the graphics and bright colours. Young kids might be a little bored, as a lot of the jokes and action will sail straight over their heads. I took my 5 year old nephew to see this, he's already a Nintendo kid who loves Mario and Sonic along with being obsessed with Angry Birds anything (hilariously he bought his dad Angry Birds pyjamas for Christmas this year). He got a bit bored in places where there was more talk than action, and thought it was long, but he was good and didn't ask to leave. He still said it was cool. Not enough Sonic the Hedgehog! A huge sugar rush and a good holiday film.
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