How can you not have seen a Clint Eastwood film???

It's currently 5:09am on a Sunday morning so I apologise in advance if this post makes little sense, but having laid awake in bed for the last hour I decided to admit defeat and just get up...which is when I came across the following facebook comment from my sister-in-law:

Jude

Just watched True Grit and it occurred to me that I've never seen a movie starring Clint Eastwood. Any suggestions?

After picking my jaw back off the floor I read the other suggestions, which can only be described as the usual suspects ("The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", "Unforgiven", "Dirty Harry") Personally, I can think of no better film to recommend than "Gran Torino". (may contain spoilers)

Actior/Director legend Eastwood plays a Korean war veteran, Walt Kowalski, who can only be described as a racist, bitter and disgruntled old man. Since the death of his wife, Walt wants nothing more than to be left alone with his dog to sit on his front porch, drinking a few beers and waiting to die and bring as much inconvenience as possible to his thankless children and grandchildren.

When a Hmong family move in next door he thinks the neighbourhood is going to hell and the unrelenting visits from Father Janovich (Christopher Carley) only seem to prove it. The final straw comes when teenage neighbour Thao (Bee Vang), under pressure from a gang, attempts to steal his prized, mint condition,  1972 Gran Torino. Kowalski takes action and decides to teach the kid some responsibility and inadvertently takes him under his wing, soon becoming the families father-figure and protector.

If Clint Eastwood alone isn't enough to sell you on this film there are some beautiful performances from the supporting cast, particularly Bee Vang. The scenes between Eastwood and his neighbours are both touching and, at times, humorous, and I especially love the interplay between Eastwood and the grandma character. However, it's the  ending that, for me, just cements this film as one to watch, being both clever and completely filled with pathos.  

I can't bring myself to ruin the end for you all, but all I will say is that his dog makes me cry every time!

UK rating: 15

Year of release: 2008

Genre: Drama

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Christopher Carley, Bee Vang

Rating: 4.5/5

21 Jump Street

Wow! I was not expecting to enjoy  "21 Jump Street" at all, but it actually had me laughing the entire time.


The interplay between Jonah Hill  and Channing Tatum  was wonderful, and I was pleasantly surprised by Tatum's ability to play a comic role. The humour, while at times gross-out, was often subtle and satirical; broadening it's market appeal. I also loved the unexpected cameos towards the end, which, without wishing to give too much away, were a nice nod to the 1980s series by the same name.


Let's be honest, this is not a high concept film that's going to change the way we think about cinema, but if you need a good laugh you could do far worse!


UK rating: 15
Year of release: 2012
Genre: Action, Comedy
Director: Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube
Rating: 4 / 5

Hungry for more!

All too often I'll see a trailer and think "wow, that looks really good," only to be left disappointed when I discover that said trailer contained the only good bits of the film!


I've been looking forward to "The Hunger Games" since I saw the trailer a few months back and for once I haven't been left wanting...


The "games" are a fight to the death between 24 young people selected from the 12 districts of Panem. The story centres around Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) who volunteers to take her younger sisters place as tribute in the annual Hunger Games. Taken to the Capitol to be trained and paraded in front of influential and blood-thirsty viewers, Katniss and the other 23 are then thrust into the wilderness with limited supplies in the sure and certain knowledge that only one of them can survive to become this year's victor.


Given the nature of the story I was a little perplexed at the 12a rating, so my husband and I were careful to pick a showing during school hours to allow us a child-free viewing, (something I'd recommend if you have any choice in the matter.)  The story progresses at a reasonable pace with believable character development and some lovely performances from the likes of Woody Harrelson and Stanley Tucci. I was even pleasantly surprised by Lenny Kravitz!


As you'd expect the writers and director are careful to keep our heroine's hands relatively clean, in what could have been a blood-bath of a film. Thankfully, however, they weren't too shy of the necessary brutality elsewhere, showing just enough violence and gore to satisfy the storyline without pushing their rating up to a 15. All-in-all, it's left me hungry for more...


UK rating: 12a
Year of release: 2012
Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama
Director: Gary Ross
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Elizabeth Banks
Rating: 4.5/5

Ooh this should be good!

Prometheus trailer
(Link above should open in a new window)  
Before things started to get silly and the Aliens met the Predators, an amazing cast met a brilliant director and 1979's "Alien" was the result.
Now I'm never usually a fan or prequels, they usually elicit a cry of "come up with something original for crying out loud" but this could actually be good...good ol' Ridley Scott is back, and despite some relatively inexperienced writers the project attracted a pretty good-looking cast including Noomi Rapace (of Girl with a Dragon Tattoo fame) Michael Fassbender and Charlize Theron.
Take a look at the trailer and let me know what you think...are prequels always a mistake?

Recipe for a psychological horror

1. Start with an isolated, slightly dilapidated, location - old manor houses work well for preference.
2. Take a few creepy looking children and film them in drab, shadowy lighting.
3. Throw in some well-crafted CGI effects.
4. Finally stir together with some music designed to amp-up the tension...


Now don't worry if the plot starts to look a little thin because the CGI and suspense will cover for that...and voi-la...


"The Woman in Black"...


The story sees solicitor Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe) travelling to a remote Northern village to settle the affairs of a deceased client. Once there he receives a less than friendly welcome from the villagers who clearly want him to leave. In spite of this he presses on and arrives at the isolated and run-down Eel Marsh House; complete with it's cobwebs and paintings of dreary-faced former occupants, the property even boasts its own cemetery....surely nothing bad could happen here...


Truthfully this is not my favourite genre of film. Personally I can handle the blood and guts that accompany most horror films, and I find serial killers and human violence fascinating, but give me a well told ghost story and some paranormal activity and my spine turns to jelly! That said, I did manage to sit through it, (albeit behind laced fingers part of the time) and besides an incident with my cat jumping on the bed in the middle of the night I suffered very few after effects from it...


The film had everything working for it, from the casting to the light-direction to the abundance of creepy children, but after the initial hit of fear you start to analyse the plot and things just don't add up: After the first incident in the house, even the most inept viewer is silently screaming "don't go back to the house" (but where would any horror/thriller be if the lead character behaved in a rational manner??) The whole story seemed to lack much plot development and flow, choosing instead to concentrate on increasing the tension with yet another ghostly incident. However, perhaps the worst piece of plot development came when Radcliffe decides to take a late night swim in the boggy water by the house. It's difficult to go into more detail without also providing a spoiler alert, but what character, in their right mind, would do that...at night...in the pitch black...with very little idea of the conclusion?


So, how did Daniel Radcliffe's first cinematic offering since the "Harry Potter" series, fair? Well, it was lovely to see an all-British cast in a British film, for a change, and Radcliffe held his own for the most part, but for me Jane Goldman's adaptation from the novel didn't flow as well as it could, so over-all worth a watch but not likely to be making any top 10 lists.

UK rating: 12a 

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Drama / Horror / Thriller

Director: James Watkins

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciaran Hinds

Rating: 3.5/5

Wanderlust; not quite wonderful...

Let me be clear from the beginning, I am not exactly Jennifer Aniston's biggest fan - (in fact,with the exception of "The Good Girl", back in 2002, I'm usually booing, internally, whenever she comes on screen) - I also, typically, avoid films starring Paul Rudd as I find them to be over-indulgent plays to the male ego with unbelievable male characters, vapid female ones and obviously plot development....however, I saw the trailer for "Wanderlust" some time ago and something about it made me hopeful, so this evening, my husband and I, went to see it...

I don't think I'm giving away too much by telling you that the story revolves around George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston), who, after losing their jobs, home and New York-lifestyle move to Atlanta to stay with George's brother. On the way they take the (obligatory) detour, which finds them spending the night at Elysium, a hippy commune by any other name, and of course hilarity ensues...or so the script writers hoped.

The film certainly boasts some colourful characters, and it's a joy to see Alan Alda back on the big screen, but for every laugh-out-loud moment there were at least two cringe-worthy ones...(I reference Paul Rudd's rant into the mirror in particular here.)

The plot followed the standard rules of the Rom-Com genre, with the usual suspects learning their lessons and getting us to the happy-ending we all seek from this type of film. The writers managed to skilfully avoid the pitfalls of  taking any political or serious standpoint on any of the issues raised within the film; the bad guy loses out and the hero & heroine go off into the sunset to live happily ever after...all-in-all "Wanderlust" delivered exactly what you'd expect...

UK rating: 15 

Year of release: 2012

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Director: David Wain

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda, Justin Theroux, Malin Akerman

Rating: 3.5/5

Something to look forward to!

Frankenweenie Trailer


If, like me, you're a fan of Tim Burton's animation-creations you probably sat up and took notice of the trailer for "Frankenweenie" that's recently started doing the rounds. (Link above - should open in a new window)


In style, there's no doubting that this is a Burton creation, with obvious design similarities to his 2005 release, "Corpse Bride", and the use of the name Victor for his main character, but what else are we looking for in a Burton animation?


Personally I love his ability to blend comedy with horror and the use of Danny Elfman music is just the bow on top of the present, but it's his story-telling and narrative that keep me coming back for more. He weaves his special gift for the dark and melancholy into every story before livening things up with a song and a dancing Boogie Man. 


"Frankenweenie" is due for release, in the UK, in October, just in time for Halloween, and it'll definitely be making my list of must see cinema - what are you all looking forward to and why?

Redemption for an old favourite...

I’ve thought long and hard about what film I should write about first: Should it be the last thing I saw at the cinema? That would be “Safe House” and although I quite liked it I don’t think it deserves top billing. Perhaps the last film I watched at home? That would be the 2^nd half of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” which I watched while chopping onions for dinner the other evening…but this has the potential of marking me out as a Chick Flick kinda gal, and as I said in my last post my tastes run to the eclectic…

I thought that maybe I should start with a bad film and get you all acclimatised to my barbs and caustic sense of humour, but better you discover that over time…

So, at the risk of eliciting some groans, I’ll discuss one of my favourite films – “The Shawshank Redemption.”

This may be a phenomenon common only to Britain, but has anyone else noticed that the bigger a film gets; the more critical acclaim it receives and the more box office success it enjoys, the more we seem to parody and mock it later on? 

I’ll give you an example: “Titanic.” Raise your hand if you went to see it at the cinema back in 1997 and left feeling suitably impressed at the cinematography and stunts? Granted I also left feeling mildly irritated by Kate Winslet’s accent and James Cameron’s decision to cast, what looked like, a 13 year-old boy as the male lead. I was even bordering on annoyed with the choice of music, but I’ll give the film it’s dues, it was very impressive and it deserved the accolades it received. Fast-forward a few years and the criticism and mocking is rife.

When a similar situation occurred in the wake of “Avatar” I had hoped that this was a Cameron-specific occurrence, but alas I appear to have been mistaken as now even my beloved Shawshank receives groans and has apparently become a little hackneyed…well today I fly in the face of controversy and defend my choice!

Evolving from a short story by Stephen King, the film, set in Shawshank Prison, tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) after he is found guilty for the murder of his wife and her lover. Told from the perspective of “Red” (Morgan Freeman), a fellow inmate, we see the quiet, sometimes quirky Andy; use his skills from his past life to develop friendships on the inside.

There’s little I can criticise about this film. The writing, the choice of location, the acting, the soundtrack…it all just works. While the overall theme of redemption is brilliant with every viewing I find another character or plot device to love, but without fail Brooks Hatlen has me in tears every time.

Some trivia for those of you who also know and love this film, both Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford were considered for the role of Red, who was originally a red-haired Irishman, before director Frank Darabont cast the amazing Morgan Freeman in the role.

While I find it hard to believe that anyone hasn’t already seen the film, I won’t give any of the plot away; just watch it and thank me later.

UK rating: 15 

Year of release: 1994

Genre: Drama

Director: Frank Darabont

Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown, William Sadler

Rating: 5/5

Welcome!

Have you ever started to say something and then realised, “that’s a line from a film!”? Or better still, have you ever said something and thought, “That should be a line from a film”? This is something that happens to me all the time. Film and cinema not only influence me; they inspire me and make me wish I were involved in some way. Sometimes even the worst pieces of cinematic garbage get my creative juices flowing and for a brief moment I feel secure in the knowledge that I could have done it better…

In my mind I have critiqued, written, directed, cast actors, picked music and even, on occasion, acted, and for a short time this can be satisfying, but it always leaves me wanting more…and so welcome to my very first blog!

Here I will be reviewing, critiquing and admiring all things film. While I love a trip to the cinema I will be looking at the classics too…and sometimes pushing the definition of the word classic…I have a very eclectic taste so no genre is barred and I’m always open to suggestions for future viewing. Inspired by the film Julie & Julia I’m setting myself a target of at least 1 review a week, and in true High Fidelity style I’ll be throwing in the occasional top 5 list. My style can lean towards the sarcastic, and sometimes even caustic, but I do give credit where credit is due and I promise always to warn you if there is a spoiler coming up. So if this sounds like something you’d enjoy then please; read on, leave feedback and get involved!