Monday, 11 April 2011
Source Code ****
Source Code is an extremely engaging, entertaining, and ultimately surprisingly moving sci-fi thriller. To try and write a summary of it, however, takes all the fun out of it. Breaking it into its constituent parts makes it sound preposterous: Jake Gyllenhaal wakes up on a train in another man’s body; his reflection is not his own. Eight minutes later the train explodes and he wakes up in a mysterious pod, where he learns that by the power of the American army and quantum physics he is going to live those same eight minutes over and over again until he finds the man that bombed his train, thereby rescuing Chicago from another bomb that will happen later that day. This all happens in about the first ten minutes of the film.
The remarkable thing is that - despite sounding like Speed meets Groundhog Day - none of the above seems ridiculous at the time. (Though Speedhog Day is an amazing idea for a film, no? And there's merchandise available already). Duncan Jones directs Source Code with the lightest of touches, with a massive debt owed to master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock. The title sequence really reminded me of North by Northwest somehow, and the tension is wound as tightly as possible as we, along with Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, slowly unravel just what is going on.
This is much more than a genre movie, however. Yes, it's a sci-fi thriller - but, as with the very best sci-fi, it is so much more too. It is a philosophical exploration of the idea of fate, and about making choices; it’s a contemplation of what it truly means to be alive; and it’s a love story.
Source Code is sci-fi as Alfred Hitchcock would have made it - with a little bit of Keanu Reeves thrown in, just for fun.
PS. Tenuously linked pop quiz, hot shot: How great is the Speed trailer?*
Initial review here.
*The answer is that the Speed trailer is very great. Though it does basically show the entire film.
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Bronte, Oxford Playhouse, 24 March - 2 April
The play examines the rise of the three sisters, and the fall of their idolised brother Bramwell, played against a backdrop of industrial revolution and social upheaval, but set within the domestic space of their home at the Parsonage at Haworth.
The play may be set almost entirely in one room, but all life is here. Sibling rivalry, repressed passions, a desperate desire for life, but without the means. Anne says she writes to “turn life into words”, but the other two sisters find life from their words. Their soaring, intensely-felt inner lives become real through the characters they create, as fictional and real characters are mixed onstage. The play powerfully merges their novels with their lives: the passionate Bertha Rochester bubbling beneath the surface of staid Charlotte; the wild and elemental Cathy that Emily longs to be, mouthing along with her own words as she watches her creations take life in front of her.
All of the cast embody their parts perfectly. Emily is the most sympathetic sister – a free spirit who writes in order to exist, not in order to be known. Charlotte is the ambitious one, the one who recognises Emily’s talent but cannot bear to acknowledge it; who baulks at the thought that the world might think that she wrote such unhinged, uncouth subject matter. But though she is the colder, more aloof and business-like sister, her loneliness at the end is heartbreaking.
Perhaps I would have been moved anyway. The story of, and stories by, the Brontës are devastatingly powerful on their own. But the way the two are weaved together here is masterfully and beautifully done. At the end, Charlotte writes that she has finally managed to find contentment in the ordinary. This play is far from ordinary.
Original review here
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Killing By The Power of The Thigh: A Study
Once in a while, a film comes along and it stays with you long after the credits have rolled. Gandhi. Schindler's List. That Al Gore film about climate change that I haven't seen but I'm sure is the kind of thing I'm talking about.
And once in a while, a scene in a film comes along that stays with you long after another scene has come, and then a couple more, and then the credits have rolled. You think about it for days afterwards. You wonder if other films have similar scenes, and if so you want to see them, and see them now. For me, this was that scene:
(Sorry this clip of the profound and moving Lethal Weapon is a bit long. I personally think it's worth it, but if you don't have a whole 3 minutes 40 seconds to waste, I've chopped it straight to the good bit here).
Maybe it's because it was made in the days when Mel Gibson was cool, before his, shall we say, 'difficulties' and 'other difficulties' with the police began. Maybe it's because the clip gives us a good look at Gary Busey's remarkable teeth (here is a facebook page dedicated to them. This discovery has brightened my day. Even more than the reflection of the sun glinting off Gary's teeth undoubtedly would). But as should be obvious, the real reason this clip is so amazing is because Mel Gibson nearly KILLS SOMEONE WITH HIS THIGHS.
Killing by the thigh. A tactic I hope to use if I ever get beaten up in the rain. I am tempted to start jiu jitsu lessons so that I can learn (this is never going to happen). If you want some not very sexy thrills, search for scissor hold on youtube. Shudder.
Scissor holds tend to be done by the ladies. I can't imagine why. A notable example is in Goldeneye, where Famke Janssen, playing Xenia Onatopp (hmm), attacks with her thighs rather a lot. There's a bit too much heavy breathing for me to post a link to the obvious scenes without feeling like a pervert, but here is a clip near the end where she attempts some not quite so pornographic thigh killing, and Piers Brosnan gets to say something 'hilarious' at the end.
There are occasional examples of men killing women by the power of the thigh. This one is from the classic film Anaconda:
There is so much to love in this. Jon Voigt's excellent unidentifiable accent. His words of wisdom. His face. The majestic leap to thigh killing glory. And the way he says 'baby bird' at the end, which very much makes me hope he was thinking of this during the squeezing.
The best film that I have discovered from my investigations however, is Double Impact starring Jean Claude Van Damme. There is a scissor hold in it, but this becomes very dull news when you learn that he plays a set of twins separated at birth, and fights himself. Killing by the power of the thigh is very exciting, but Jean Claude Van Damme fighting Jean Claude Van Damme? Why can I not buy this on amazon?
And once in a while, a scene in a film comes along that stays with you long after another scene has come, and then a couple more, and then the credits have rolled. You think about it for days afterwards. You wonder if other films have similar scenes, and if so you want to see them, and see them now. For me, this was that scene:
(Sorry this clip of the profound and moving Lethal Weapon is a bit long. I personally think it's worth it, but if you don't have a whole 3 minutes 40 seconds to waste, I've chopped it straight to the good bit here).
Maybe it's because it was made in the days when Mel Gibson was cool, before his, shall we say, 'difficulties' and 'other difficulties' with the police began. Maybe it's because the clip gives us a good look at Gary Busey's remarkable teeth (here is a facebook page dedicated to them. This discovery has brightened my day. Even more than the reflection of the sun glinting off Gary's teeth undoubtedly would). But as should be obvious, the real reason this clip is so amazing is because Mel Gibson nearly KILLS SOMEONE WITH HIS THIGHS.
Killing by the thigh. A tactic I hope to use if I ever get beaten up in the rain. I am tempted to start jiu jitsu lessons so that I can learn (this is never going to happen). If you want some not very sexy thrills, search for scissor hold on youtube. Shudder.
Scissor holds tend to be done by the ladies. I can't imagine why. A notable example is in Goldeneye, where Famke Janssen, playing Xenia Onatopp (hmm), attacks with her thighs rather a lot. There's a bit too much heavy breathing for me to post a link to the obvious scenes without feeling like a pervert, but here is a clip near the end where she attempts some not quite so pornographic thigh killing, and Piers Brosnan gets to say something 'hilarious' at the end.
There are occasional examples of men killing women by the power of the thigh. This one is from the classic film Anaconda:
There is so much to love in this. Jon Voigt's excellent unidentifiable accent. His words of wisdom. His face. The majestic leap to thigh killing glory. And the way he says 'baby bird' at the end, which very much makes me hope he was thinking of this during the squeezing.
The best film that I have discovered from my investigations however, is Double Impact starring Jean Claude Van Damme. There is a scissor hold in it, but this becomes very dull news when you learn that he plays a set of twins separated at birth, and fights himself. Killing by the power of the thigh is very exciting, but Jean Claude Van Damme fighting Jean Claude Van Damme? Why can I not buy this on amazon?
Saturday, 12 March 2011
Sweeney Todd - Pembroke College, 8-10 March
I went into Pembroke College to see Sweeney Todd with low expectations. I was sure that a student production of Stephen Sondheim’s complex musical, the notoriously gory story of the demon barber of Fleet Street, was bound to be a fake-blood-splattered disaster. Never have I been so pleased to be so completely wrong.
The musical tells the story of Sweeney Todd, newly returned to London after 15 years in Australia, due to transportation on false charges. After he discovers that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the judge who wrongly transported him, he vows revenge.
From the first scene it is clear that this is not going to be a shambling amateur production. It starts with just the piano, joined by the double bass, then solo singers build up until the full company is singing on stage, handling the intricate harmonies and rhythms with apparent ease. This powerful opening scene sets a high standard that the cast manage to maintain throughout.
In a stellar cast, extra special mention must go to the two leads. Both hold the audience’s sympathies, despite their dark deeds. Amanda Williams plays Mrs Lovett as a savvy business woman, just as immoral, and just as cunning, as the man she foolishly, and hopelessly, loves. Mrs Lovett’s song ‘Beside the Sea’, where she imagines the couple retiring by the seaside, presumably on the money they make from their human pies, is a definite highlight.
But star of the show, undeniably, is Liam Steward-George as Sweeney Todd. His presence on stage as the vengeance-obsessed barber is remarkable in its confidence and intensity. A very talented individual who I look forward to seeing in productions in the future.
Clever staging means that there are no awkward set changes, clever lighting means that there is no ridiculous gore (a trap too easy to fall into with this sort of play), and all in all this is the best student production that I have seen in Oxford by far. In fact, to call it a student production is to do it a disservice, as it could hold its own against the professionals easily. Catch this razor sharp show while you can!
Original review here
The musical tells the story of Sweeney Todd, newly returned to London after 15 years in Australia, due to transportation on false charges. After he discovers that his wife poisoned herself after being raped by the judge who wrongly transported him, he vows revenge.
From the first scene it is clear that this is not going to be a shambling amateur production. It starts with just the piano, joined by the double bass, then solo singers build up until the full company is singing on stage, handling the intricate harmonies and rhythms with apparent ease. This powerful opening scene sets a high standard that the cast manage to maintain throughout.
In a stellar cast, extra special mention must go to the two leads. Both hold the audience’s sympathies, despite their dark deeds. Amanda Williams plays Mrs Lovett as a savvy business woman, just as immoral, and just as cunning, as the man she foolishly, and hopelessly, loves. Mrs Lovett’s song ‘Beside the Sea’, where she imagines the couple retiring by the seaside, presumably on the money they make from their human pies, is a definite highlight.
But star of the show, undeniably, is Liam Steward-George as Sweeney Todd. His presence on stage as the vengeance-obsessed barber is remarkable in its confidence and intensity. A very talented individual who I look forward to seeing in productions in the future.
Clever staging means that there are no awkward set changes, clever lighting means that there is no ridiculous gore (a trap too easy to fall into with this sort of play), and all in all this is the best student production that I have seen in Oxford by far. In fact, to call it a student production is to do it a disservice, as it could hold its own against the professionals easily. Catch this razor sharp show while you can!
Original review here
Thursday, 10 March 2011
The Tempest *'
The Tempest. Most of us know at least the basic story: Duke Prospero is usurped, he and his daughter get exiled from his kingdom and end up on an island; twelve years later he conjures a tempest and his enemies end up on the same island; revenge plots and personal growth ensue.
Shakespeare has been done a million times, so if there is a new film version it must be for a reason, right? They must be bringing something modern and exciting to it, right? If I were a film executive, what could I bring to a film of The Tempest that would fit in with the twenty-first century? Make Prospero a woman, Prospera. That will get us some press.
And what do the kids like? CGI! CGI is a gift to a director wanting to portray a character like Ariel, an androgynous spirit of the air. So, we’ll get the lovely Ben Whishaw, make him a little bit see through, give him some breasts for half of the film, and have him run about in the sky. And then, since that’s just a bit too subtle and we want to remind everybody how clever this computer imagery business is, when Prospera is doing her magic we’ll get some of the naffest looking graphics possible, and put Whishaw’s face on a frog, or create some dogs that are even less convincing than the awful monkeys from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and whoosh them out of the end of Prospera’s staff. And then we’ll chuck some songs in, because I don’t think the audience will have cringed enough yet.
There is some good: the Shakespeare bits, obviously. The speeches are delivered beautifully, as one would expect from the likes of Helen Mirren, Tom Conti, and Alfred Molina. Russell Brand does a good impression of Russell Brand. Miranda and Ferdinand are very pretty, though a bit wet. The costumes are pleasingly zippy…
When zippy costumes are one of the best things about a film, I think you know you’re not watching a classic. Our revels now are ended? Thank goodness. I think I’d rather have not gone to the party
Shakespeare has been done a million times, so if there is a new film version it must be for a reason, right? They must be bringing something modern and exciting to it, right? If I were a film executive, what could I bring to a film of The Tempest that would fit in with the twenty-first century? Make Prospero a woman, Prospera. That will get us some press.
And what do the kids like? CGI! CGI is a gift to a director wanting to portray a character like Ariel, an androgynous spirit of the air. So, we’ll get the lovely Ben Whishaw, make him a little bit see through, give him some breasts for half of the film, and have him run about in the sky. And then, since that’s just a bit too subtle and we want to remind everybody how clever this computer imagery business is, when Prospera is doing her magic we’ll get some of the naffest looking graphics possible, and put Whishaw’s face on a frog, or create some dogs that are even less convincing than the awful monkeys from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and whoosh them out of the end of Prospera’s staff. And then we’ll chuck some songs in, because I don’t think the audience will have cringed enough yet.
There is some good: the Shakespeare bits, obviously. The speeches are delivered beautifully, as one would expect from the likes of Helen Mirren, Tom Conti, and Alfred Molina. Russell Brand does a good impression of Russell Brand. Miranda and Ferdinand are very pretty, though a bit wet. The costumes are pleasingly zippy…
When zippy costumes are one of the best things about a film, I think you know you’re not watching a classic. Our revels now are ended? Thank goodness. I think I’d rather have not gone to the party
Original review here
Sunday, 20 February 2011
I Am Number Four trailers
There I was, minding my own business and watching something on channel4.com/4od -
-I must interrupt myself already. If we are to get on, I fear I must be truthful, however shameful it might be. If you trust me enough to read my blog, I should trust you enough to admit my secrets. I was watching, and enjoying, How I Met Your Mother. I'm sorry. I quite like the undemanding Friends-but-with-added-mild-swearing-and-sexual-references vibe it's got going on. But, back to it-
I was watching 4od, when two teaser trailers came on, back to back. They were for the same film, but very cleverly edited to clearly appeal to two distinct audiences. Something I imagine I wouldn't have noticed, had I not watched one straight after the other. Surely that was not part of the marketing strategy? Anyway, the film is I Am Number Four, but what is it about?
Trailer #1:
Wow, it's a boy's film, it's fire, it's fighting, it's samurai sword leg chopping, it's about walking away from explosions and escaping death. It's high octane thrills, who even cares if there's a story anyway? But wait...
Trailer #2:
It's the girl from Glee! It's Adele in the background! He's a mysterious hunk who can ride water skis and do back flips off waterfalls! He reminds me of Edward Cullen from Twilight but oh, he doesn't have the twinkly skin, what a shame. But he does have magical glowy hands! Squeal!
So what have we learned? I Am Number Four looks like flashy big budget nonsense with a hint of romance, so who will be able to resist? Well, me, I expect. But this is coming from a How I Met Your Mother fan, so who would respect my opinion anyway?
-I must interrupt myself already. If we are to get on, I fear I must be truthful, however shameful it might be. If you trust me enough to read my blog, I should trust you enough to admit my secrets. I was watching, and enjoying, How I Met Your Mother. I'm sorry. I quite like the undemanding Friends-but-with-added-mild-swearing-and-sexual-references vibe it's got going on. But, back to it-
I was watching 4od, when two teaser trailers came on, back to back. They were for the same film, but very cleverly edited to clearly appeal to two distinct audiences. Something I imagine I wouldn't have noticed, had I not watched one straight after the other. Surely that was not part of the marketing strategy? Anyway, the film is I Am Number Four, but what is it about?
Trailer #1:
Wow, it's a boy's film, it's fire, it's fighting, it's samurai sword leg chopping, it's about walking away from explosions and escaping death. It's high octane thrills, who even cares if there's a story anyway? But wait...
Trailer #2:
It's the girl from Glee! It's Adele in the background! He's a mysterious hunk who can ride water skis and do back flips off waterfalls! He reminds me of Edward Cullen from Twilight but oh, he doesn't have the twinkly skin, what a shame. But he does have magical glowy hands! Squeal!
So what have we learned? I Am Number Four looks like flashy big budget nonsense with a hint of romance, so who will be able to resist? Well, me, I expect. But this is coming from a How I Met Your Mother fan, so who would respect my opinion anyway?
Monday, 14 February 2011
Doris (Valentine's) Day
Valentine's Day. A day for eating heart-shaped chocolates. A day for receiving flowers. A day for being cooked a romantic feast by your loved one and drinking too much fizzy wine and singing I Got You Babe at each other. (Oh Tim and Emily, you crazy American shiny-toothed fake laughing kids). A day for returning to the blog and writing about Doris Day romantic comedies because, erm, not because I've got some spare time on my hands this evening. No, I'm just more of a Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves fan when it comes to Cher. Especially when she looks like this. Crikey.
I've seen Lover Come Back, with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and That Touch of Mink, with Doris and Cary Grant. These are films very much of the 60s. Some would say dated, I would say, well, yes, dated, but in a very heart-warming way. In That Touch of Mink, Cary Grant wants to sleep with Doris Day, whilst she wants to marry him first. That is basically the entire plot. If it were made today, there is no way that Cary Grant's character could seem anything but sleazy, and Doris Day's would just seem prudish and slightly insane (she does want to marry him after about five minutes of knowing him. Yes it is Cary Grant, inspiration of some rather excellent youtube tributes, but even so, this seems a bit hasty). But somehow, both are completely charming.
Lover Come Back is also utterly ridiculous, and utterly lovely. In this one Rock Hudson and Doris Day are both advertising executives, competing over an account. There's a bit of mistaken identity, Rock Hudson being a loveable playboy, Doris Day being Doris Day, and some truly spectacular hats:
I love Doris Day. I would always choose her over romantic meals like this. (Unless my date looked like Cary Grant or Rock Hudson, in which case only a fool would say no to free cheese).
Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
I've seen Lover Come Back, with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, and That Touch of Mink, with Doris and Cary Grant. These are films very much of the 60s. Some would say dated, I would say, well, yes, dated, but in a very heart-warming way. In That Touch of Mink, Cary Grant wants to sleep with Doris Day, whilst she wants to marry him first. That is basically the entire plot. If it were made today, there is no way that Cary Grant's character could seem anything but sleazy, and Doris Day's would just seem prudish and slightly insane (she does want to marry him after about five minutes of knowing him. Yes it is Cary Grant, inspiration of some rather excellent youtube tributes, but even so, this seems a bit hasty). But somehow, both are completely charming.
Lover Come Back is also utterly ridiculous, and utterly lovely. In this one Rock Hudson and Doris Day are both advertising executives, competing over an account. There's a bit of mistaken identity, Rock Hudson being a loveable playboy, Doris Day being Doris Day, and some truly spectacular hats:
I love Doris Day. I would always choose her over romantic meals like this. (Unless my date looked like Cary Grant or Rock Hudson, in which case only a fool would say no to free cheese).
Happy Valentine's Day everyone.
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