Life as a Teapot
Books. Films. Tea.
Oscar Predictions
Feb 2nd
It’s officially Oscar season, and in a rare turn of events I’ve seen all but two of the Best Picture nominations. Unlike previous years they’ve expanded the category to ten films, maybe they weren’t sure they’d have six brilliant films by this time. As expected ‘Avatar’ has been nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects – I think the one it really deserves is the VFX one, although I’d be overjoyed if ‘Star Trek’ walked away with that one! If it takes home the ‘Best Picture’ I’d really have to question what exactly the ‘Academy’ are looking for, is ‘Avatar’ really better than these films? ‘The Blind Side’, ‘District 9′, ‘An Education’, ‘The Hurt Locker’, ‘Inglorious Basterds’, ‘Precious’, ‘A Serious Man’, ‘Up in the Air’, or ‘Up’?
Even though ‘Avatar’ was impressive, I would love for ‘Sherlock Holmes’ to come away with the award for art direction (and music, that score was fantastic!).
Okay so my predictions:
Best Picture: The Hurt Locker or Precious
Best Actor: Jeremy Renner
Best Supporting Actor: haven’t seen the pictures they’re all from, with the exception of Stanley Tucci, whilst I thought he was great I don’t think he was award worthy.
Best Actress: Gabourey Sidibe (randomly, why wasn’t the girl who played Susie Salmon nominated? She was excellent).
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique or Vera Farmiga
Best Animated Film: Up or The Princess and the Frog
Art Direction: Sherlock Holmes or Nine
Cinematography: The Hurt Locker or Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker or Less Daniels for Precious
Original Score: Sherlock Holmes
Animated Short Film: A Matter of Loaf and Death
Visual Effects: District 9
Adapted Screenplay: In the Loop or Precious
Original Screenplay: The Hurt Locker
(didn’t do all categories obviously, I haven’t seen any of the documentaries of short films this year.)
Getting Work
Jan 20th
I’m not big on making New Year’s Resolutions. There’s always the “loose weight” one, but due to my vehement dislike of exercise of any form (I’m serious here, during my years at secondary school I was very active – I played cricket, badminton and fenced regularly – but I was so demoralised by the PE teachers at school that I packed it all in, now I just walk a lot) it’s one of those “oh well, nevermind.” things – I’m actually pretty happy the way I am.
The one thing I am doing is actively seeking a new job. I’ve hit year four and due to some stuff that I don’t think is appropriate to write about on a public blog, it’s clear that this is the time to move on. Unfortunately though due to the ‘economic climate’ people aren’t moving around as much as they used to, they’re sticking with the show even if they’re bored out of their skulls or no longer enjoying what they do.
I’d actually like to get on a big show that’s opening soon, there’s more scope for building up a relationship with those you work with and getting them to take a risk by giving you something else. As I don’t want to work on a crew (and to be honest, because of my height it’s not something that would ever be offered to me) I’m limited to LX (which is fine, that’s what I want to do) but I don’t want to be tied to the same job – I spent 2yrs tied to the same ’spot on ‘Dirty Dancing’ before I got the board op. position (originally sold as ‘LX No. 5′ with more responsibility, boy was I gullible to believe they’d stick with what they offered!), now I’m tied to my desk (I actually like board op’ing, so that’s not too bad).
I’ve been reading Paule Constable’s blog about lighting ‘Love Never Dies’, the rig sounds massive and exciting to work with. I put my CV in at stage door but I have a feeling they’ll have crewed up whilst ‘The Rat Pack’ was there since the turn over wasn’t too long. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and it’s still early days, the hard thing about getting work is that it’s all about who you know, because I’m not a pub-goer I don’t casually encounter other chief lx/production lx’s.
I’m confident though.
Popularity Contest
Jan 17th
I’m starting to think that awards like the Golden Globes and the Oscars are really awards for most popular or highest grossing film, particularly the ‘Best Picture’ category.
Just take a look at the nominations for the Best Drama Golden Globe: ‘Avatar’, ‘The Hurt Locker’, Inglorious Basterds’, ‘Precious’ and ‘Up in the Air’, which to you screams best drama? Is it the over-hyped visual MMO gamers wet dream, the powerful but disturbing ‘Precious’ (only read the book, not see the film), the clever and witty ‘Up in the Air’ or the tense war drama ‘The Hurt Locker’… (sorry haven’t seen ‘Inglorious Basterds’ so can’t comment as I know nothing about it)? Yes, you got ‘Avatar’ won for Best Drama! It also won Best Director, beating Kathryn Bigelow, Clint Eastwood, Jason Reitman and Quentin Tarantino!
The nominations for the BAFTAs are announced on the 21st Jan, lets hope that these don’t turn into giant popularity contests (although ‘Avatar’ has been long listed for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Cinematography as well as a ton of technical awards). Incidentally, the BAFTA long list is actually kind of interesting:
Best Film: Avatar, District 9, An Education, Gran Torino, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Basterds, Invictus, Moon, Precious, The Road, A Serious Man, A Single Man, Star Trek, Up and Up in the Air.
I think the five films we’ll be seeing in nomination list are: An Education, The Hurt Locker, Moon, Precious and Up in the Air. (I wish I could believe ‘Star Trek’ was worthy of a Best Film BAFTA, but much as I love it the sci-fi film that deserves that accolade is ‘Moon’).
Film Review: ‘The Road’ (2010)
Jan 17th
‘The Road’ is the latest of Cormac McCarthy’s novels to reach the big screen, and boy is it every bit as bleak as the book.
I first read ‘The Road’ back in 2008 after I heard an interview with one of the ‘Fallout 3′ ’s lead designers talking about how the novel had inspired the landscape of the game. As I’ve said before I’m fascinated with the post-apocalyptical tale and being such a ‘Fallout’ fan this was a book I looked forward to reading. I loved the book, but found it difficult to read because of the style, originally I thought that was a technique to go with the story – you know, everything we thought and understood is gone and now it’s about survival – but then I read ‘No Country for Old Men’, which is in exactly the same style and while I think Roddy Doyle does it better I didn’t find the style as frustrating as some have found.
Arriving on the big screen largely intact, the role of the Woman has been expanded upon in a way that doesn’t feel out of place, ‘The Road’ is visually startling with it’s bleak, forgotten and broken landscapes and takes a tight hold and promises a very uncertain ride. It’s hard to find hope in a place where hope no longer exists and no matter how hard you want the Man and the Boy to find safety, comfort, anything, you know that in this world it isn’t going to happen. In fact, the scene where the Man and the Boy discuss how to commit suicide might just haunt for me a good long time.
I wasn’t a huge fan of ‘No Country for Old Men’, I didn’t find it a very interesting film as, like the book, it didn’t go anywhere or have a particularly interesting story/characters (looked pretty though) so I was initially sceptical when I heard that ‘The Road’ was being adapted for screen but Joe Penhall did an outstanding job with the script, and Javier Aguirresarobe shot the film beautifully. Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee give stellar performances as the Man and the Boy, as does Charlize Theron as the Woman. The rest of the cast are brilliant and should be complimented on being able to bring some of the more unpleasant characters to haunting life.
If you’re a fan of the novel then you should watch this film, if you’re a fan of the post-apocalyptical tale then this is the film you should see, if you’re looking for a life-assuring happy tale then really, don’t.
Review: ‘Avatar – 2D’ (2009)
Jan 1st
I opted to see the 2D version as I’m not convinced that 3D is anything other than a gimmick that only lasts the length of the cinematic run, I mean seriously, what are they planning to do when it comes to releasing the film on DVD? At no point did I go “oh, this would look awesome in 3D.”
Anyhow…
‘Avatar’ is all fur coat and teeny tiny knickers (with great big modesty sucking holes in).
Visually I fell completely in love with the world of Pandora, it’s inhabitants (especially that spinney bioluminescent rainbow lizard thing) and it’s mythology. Everything looked real, it had solidity, movement and everything that a real world should have. It promised so much, but ultimately I was let down by a recycled, cliche driven and predictable plot that at times felt like nothing more than an inconvenient extended cut scene in a video game that I desperately wanted to skip in order to get back to the interesting stuff. I also don’t think I’ve seen flatter characters in a long time, only Dr Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) and the ‘copter pilot Trudy (Michelle Rodriguez) showed any real depth and I suspect that was more down to the actors abilities rather than the characters.
I’d also been led to believe that this style of animation was revolutionary, but the Na’vi looked more like computer game characters than the more ‘realistic’ Gollum from Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. Gollum looked like he had substance, he looked like he belonged within the world and I suspect this was more to do with the fact it was a completely had the advantage of real terrain whereas Pandora was completely CGI. I had a few issues with the movement of some of the land creatures, particularly the ‘horses’ – unlike the flying thingies they didn’t seem to move smoothly, I’m sure I’ve seen ‘horses’ in games where the movement has seemed fluid but these just felt like Ray Harryhausen style creatures.
I know it might seem I’m filling the ‘whiney hater’ role here but I despite all my issues with the film, I didn’t hate it. I loved the world, and James Cameron could have created one of the most visually stunning, realised MMO. Pandora seems a perfect candidate, with it’s rich mythology and energy that flows through the place offered one of the most creative storytelling ideas I’ve seen in a long time. Cameron had the perfect opportunity to make the greatest MMO known, but instead settled for a mediocre film with absolutely stunning visuals.
The future is 3D? I hope to hell it’s not.
Dec 28th
I saw one 3D film this year (‘UP’) and I couldn’t see the fuss (film was good, 3D pointless) – if you want to see 3D go to the theatre.
As a bit of a sci-fi geek I decided that I had to see ‘Avatar’ even though the trailers didn’t make me that fussed… so like every good sci-fi fan with a cinema membership I booked my ticket in advance, paying my extra £1.50 on top of my normal ticket price. When getting to the cinema I was told I had to pay an extra £1.50 on what I’d already paid extra in order to purchase the 3D glasses. What the hell? I’d already paid extra! What was the extra for? Not being prepared to pay more for a film I’d already paid more to see I got a refund.
3D is a gimmick that only lasts the films cinematic run, unless they’re planning to hand out 3D enabled TVs when ‘Avatar’ ultimately comes out on DVD I don’t see the point in bothering at all (especially as it’s also showing in 2D). Many film makers were saying that they were going to watch closely to see how ‘Avatar’ did before deciding on their own 3D ventures, by all accounts it’s doing brilliantly and will probably come away with a few technical awards during Oscar season but if this is the way cinema is headed then I might just hand back my cinema membership.
Many people believe that the existence of this new brand of 3D film making is to combat piracy, well you know what? I’ve never seen a more positive advert for film piracy. My local Vue is showing it in 2D and that’s where I will be spending my money (particularly as I have a free ticket to use there – technical problems during a film I saw there a few months ago).
Top Fives of the Year
Dec 21st
The year is drawing rapidly to a close and I feel that for the most part it has been a perfectly fine year. For the first time in about five years I felt like I had a home in London and was able to settle down and indulge in my many vices (mainly films). I wish I’d managed to read more books this year but I got a little sidetracked towards the middle of the year and wasn’t really able to get back on track again, however I have discovered a new love in graphic novels and found myself picking up more non-fiction (even if I haven’t quite got round to finishing them!). Finally, and more importantly, I was able to see some spectacular theatre productions that reminded me why I fell in love with the theatre in the first place.
My film top five is strictly inaccurate, as I won’t be seeing ‘Avatar’ until the 28th December and people do seem to be saying it’s their film of the year. I remain sceptical as nothing about it has struck that little bell that screams “THIS IS AWESOME!” based on the trailers, we’ll see though – my favourite James Cameron film is ‘The Abyss’ and from what I gather most people don’t think it’s all that. I’m seeing ‘Nine’ on the 29th December, and that’s another film that seems to be getting a lot of buzz – I have to be honest, the only song I like from the musical is ‘Be Italian and am a bit worried that, that’s the song they’re using in the trailer but it looks intriguing.
(Not in any particular order)
Top Five (new) Films:
1. An Education / Cracks
2. Star Trek
3. Doubt
4. The Hurt Locker
5. Up / Where the Wild Things Are
Top Film (old) Films:
1. The Haunting / In the Loop
2. Stand by Me
3. Chopper
4. Son of Rambow
5. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas / The City of Lost Children
Top Five Books:
1. The Terror by Dan Simmons / A Madness of Angels by Kate Griffin
2. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
3. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
4. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
5. The Haunting by Shirley Jackson / The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Top Five TV:
1. The Thick of It (especially episodes #3 and #7)
2. Dr Who: The Waters of Mars
3. Warehouse 13 season finale
4. Psychoville
5. Boston Legal finale.
Now this final one is in order because I’ve only actually seen five stage productions this year.
1. War Horse
2. La Cage aux Folles
3. An Inspector Calls
4. Waiting for Godot
5. Endgame
Review: ‘Time of the Wolf’ (Le Temps du Loup)
Nov 15th
I went to see ‘Time of the Wolf’ at the National Film Theatre, not because I’m a fan of Michael Hanke’s films (this is the first I’ve seen) but because I’m interested in post-apocalyptical scenarios. I’m intrigued by film makers (and writers) who decide to show a very bleak, fractured view of humanity as we descend into lawlessness with a breakdown in the fabric of society following a catastrophic event. I’ve never really understood why this is the prevailing view point but I suppose the alternative doesn’t make for good story telling or provide an opportunity to explore the darker realms of humanity.
Michael Hanke says he’s not interested in making science fiction but it seems to me that with this film it’s exactly what he’s done. The breakdown of society following a catastrophic geo-political event is not the sole domain of science fiction but often this is the genre that allows authors to explore society and asks us to consider our actions and questions our motives.
‘Time of the Wolf’ is a bleakly shot, mentally challenging film that asks you to be uncomfortable, the camera lingers on the graphic slaughtering of a horse whilst almost politely looking away when a man is shot without provocation during the opening moments of the film. The stark manner in which the film is shot, with it’s lack of background sounds and murky lighting, leaves you with a sense of unease, abandonment and hopelessness.
After the film I read the BFI’s notes and wondered if I’d perhaps misunderstood the film as at no point did I feel challenged to stay awake nor did I feel scandalised or punished by the film. I think the reviewer gives an unnecessarily harsh view of ‘Armageddon’ and ‘Independence Day’ asserting that they ‘inoculate us against the unthinkable by turning it into concretely imagined spectacle’ but this isn’t a review of the review and the seemingly snobbish elitism of some film critics is a rant for another day.
‘Time of the Wolf’ is worth seeing, particularly as it deals with very similar themes as Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’, although I do feel that ‘The Road’ does a better job at captivating a mood of hopelessness and sense of unease… and I only hope the filmed version does this justice.
Steph’s Movie Review Round Up
Nov 7th
Fantastic Mr Fox – 2/5
Lacked the charm, the darkness and the humour of the original book. Trying too hard to be clever and far too long. Not sure who Wes Anderson made the film for, I was bored and accidentally went during half-term and based on the moaning children I don’t think they were too engaged. Looked pretty though.
Plan B (3.5/5) (London Film Festival)
The basic premise was a guy dumps his girlfriend because he’s bored, sees girlfriend with another guy and hatches a plot to get back together again with the girlfriend by seducing the new boyfriend… the new boyfriend and the guy end up falling in love. A rather sweet, gentle film considering the plot could have turned malicious, it struggled towards the middle and the passage of time stills got a bit over-long. The characters were very believable and it was played very well.
The White Space (3/5) (London Film Festival)
A teacher in Italy gives birth to a three month premature baby, and the film is set in the premature baby unit at the hospital where the mothers wait for their babies to be ‘born’. A very different sort of film, nicely shot and with a very intriguing plot. In a way it made me think of Pedro Almodóvar’s films in that women are the central characters and it’s about them rather than the people around them.
Glorious 39 (3/5) (London Film Festival)
Stephen Poliakoff’s return to film. A very televisual tense second world war conspiracy thriller. Great performances from the cast, interesting story with a twist that even though I could see coming didn’t feel forced. Did feel a little long in places and felt like it would have played better as a two part TV drama but that’s not exactly a criticism. It goes on general release soon and I think it’s worth checking out, good Sunday afternoon flick.
ASSA II (3.5/5) (Russian Film Festival)
I’m afraid I don’t know how to describe this film, other than it’s a follow-up to what I believe is a generation defining Russian film (ASSA). Bizarrely compelling, amazing visuals and one hell of a soundtrack (I think Shnur is kinda the REM of Russia… I think). I don’t even think this is going on general release in Russia but if somehow you can get hold of a copy it’s worth giving a go… I saw it last Sunday and I’m still mulling over how I felt about the film. I’d really like to see ‘ASSA’ but it’s hard to find.
9 (3.5/5)
Very intriguing plot with some very interesting ideas, visually it’s absolutely amazing – steampunk fun! It’s not the best film I’ve seen but certainly something I would like to see again because the ideas are very big, and the story is… pretty dark. Worth seeing, but whether or not you see it at the cinema is another matter… might be worth it just for the design.
An Education (4/5)
A very British sort of film, with a compelling plot and interesting characters. The lead actress is being tipped for an Oscar and I think that if she got it (or was even nominated) it would be very deserved. Definitely a film to watch on an evening out with the other half.
More films at the LFF
Oct 25th
‘Cracks’ is the début feature from Jordan Scott, Ridley Scott’s daughter. It’s an adaptation of the book by Sheila Kohler, with the action transported to Ireland and changes the time period to the 1930s – having never read the novel I can’t comment on whether this works but I plan to track a copy down. ‘Cracks’ tells the story of a group of girls at an isolated boarding school, they’re coached on the swim team by the incredibly charismatic ‘Miss G’ (Eva Green) who tells exotic stories of her life and tells the girls the act and think freely. The status-quo of the group is upset by the arrival of a new girl from Spain, Fiamma (María Valverde) which leads to a betrayal, seduction and ultimately tragedy. It’s a mesmerising dark film, beautifully acted and wonderfully shot.
A question from the audience accused Jordan Scott of continuing the stereotype of the ‘mad, sad and bad’ lesbian and I feel that there is a tendency from the LGBT community to see things that aren’t really there. The film is not about a lesbian relationship, it’s about obsession, about desire for what you can never have and a betrayal. The fact that it leads to a very uncomfortable scene where the deeply flawed Miss G seduces the unconscious 16yr old Fiamma does not make it a lesbian film. Nor do I feel that the character of Miss G character is a lesbian – she’s someone who has never (despite her stories) lived beyond the closeted walls of the school, living very much through other people and wanting to become Fiamma, who has lived the life Miss G can only dream.
The film goes on general release in December and it’s one I recommend catching.
As for the ’surprise film’ which turned out to be ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’ – I was thoroughly disappointed in.
Michael Moore documentaries are things you make an informed decision to see. A little over 2hrs is a long time to tell us that congress is ruled by Wall Street, that people have been screwed over by high risk mortgage lenders and that some companies are not the most conscientious of employers. If I didn’t already dislike Michael Moore’s documentary style, I certainly do now. I took a gamble on the surprise film and it didn’t work out for me… will I think twice next year? Probably.
I checked the trending topic on Twitter and noticed that Guy Ritchie’s ‘Sherlock Holmes’ was being suggested as the surprise film… would to be honest, much as I hate the idea of it, would have been fun to see early – get a review up on my Holmes blog before the other Holmesians can 
(plus it couldn’t be worse than a Michael Moore documentary could it?
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