Review of 2010

Well here we are, 2010 is drawing to a close and 2011 is nearly upon us. Not a clue what happened to 2010 to be honest, I don't remember a year ever going by so quickly! But it was a good year for movies, and as more and more magazines, websites and bloggers choose their films of the year I felt compelled to write my own review of the movie year. Actually looking back on it, I was surprised how much has happened in the film world in 2010. Some writers have questioned whether 2010 has been a good year for films or not, but I think, looking back on the output from Hollywood and around the world, that it's been strong, and certainly an improvement on 2009. The summer was poor, admittedly (only Inception, Toy Story 3 and Scott Pilgrim made a real impact), with us unfortunate audiences being subjected to the dismal likes of Clash of the Titans and Prince of Persia, but either side of it we saw a number of terrific movies ranging from the small to the big, as well as some genuine, and much needed, originality. In one of my next blog posts I'll list my predictions for film in 2011- I have high hopes!

TOP 10 FILMS OF 2010 (I must confess that I have wimped out and chosen not to order these films. It was too hard to compare films that were so wildly different in genre etc. Therefore these are just the ten films that I most loved this year. I am also taking into account only the films' UK release dates, which means that there can be no place for films already out across the Atlantic but not out here till Jan or Feb. Films such as Black Swan, The King's Speech, True Grit, Blue Valentine, Film Socialisme and Biutiful may all find themselves in contention for my 'Review of 2011' post next year! Meanwhile, I hadn't seen Sofia Coppola's brilliant and rather misunderstood Somewhere until after compiling this list, and it may well have found a place in my 10. I was also disappointed to look afterwards and discover that I had included no foreign language films, so I've created a new category to try and amend this! Finally, it should be noted that Toy Story 3, Up In The Air, Let Me In and The Town were all very close to receiving a place) ---->

THE SOCIAL NETWORK - One of the best directors around (David Fincher), one of the best writers around (Aaron Sorkin), a hugely talented musician scoring (Trent Reznor) and some of the best up and coming acting talent (Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara) combined to create, forgetting the geek-speak, forgetting the making of Facebook, what was at its bare bones an incredibly effective character study of a young man blinded by the promise of power and wealth. We see the things he gains, but most importantly the things he loses. Intelligent and haunting stuff.

INCEPTION - The film that finally gave the summer blockbuster some brains. We may have all left the cinema slightly baffled by what we had seen, but we were also aware that we'd seen one of the greatest cinema spectacles in some time. Christopher Nolan showed that sometimes a huge budget really can be worth it, as he spent his millions crafting the idea that he'd had in his head for several years into the stunning visuals we were exposed to. Inception was more than just stunning visuals, however, and offered a dense and intriguing plot filled with cracking performances.

KICK-ASS - An original take on the comic-book movie with two of the most memorable characters in modern film history in Chloe Moretz's Hit-Girl and Nicolas Cage's Big Daddy. Managed to mix laughs and violent action well into this hugely contemporary, fast-paced geekgasm of a movie. Deserves to make stars of Aaron Johnson and Moretz, and Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman should have a very exciting few years ahead of them after this. Shows the level of film that can actually be created outside of the studio system.

WINTER'S BONE - Beautifully poetic indie flick set in the Ozark Mountains. Competently directed by Debra Granik, this gave us an insight into a culture near unseen on screen before- a culture dominated by crystal meth addiction and a mistrust of everyone around them. Following a young woman's efforts to track down her missing father, this featured one of the performances of the year from Jennifer Lawrence.

A SINGLE MAN - A delicately handled portrait of grief. Colin Firth's gay university professor begins a day expecting to be dead by the end of it, determined to end his own life with the gun he keeps in his house, stricken with grief at the death of his lover. During the course of this day, he runs into his neighbour (Julianne Moore) and a student (Nicholas Hoult) who force him to think about things. Incredibly stylish (as you'd expect from Tom Ford's debut feature film), this is a movie all about the small things in life and what a profound effect they can have upon us.

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT - Brilliant dysection of family life, as two children (Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) decide to get in touch with the sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo) who helped their parents (Annette Bening and Julianne Moore) to have them. Though this may be a pretty unusual situation, the surprise of The Kids Are All Right is that, when it comes down to it, it actually looks in at a lot of the problems that any family might encounter, and is funny and sad in equal measure. The film features quite possibly the best ensemble cast of the year, with Wasikowska, Hutcherson, Ruffalo, and in particular Moore and Bening (both fantastic, both deserving of awards) all putting in truly noteworthy performances.

ANOTHER YEAR - Mike Leigh's latest is one of his very finest. Split into four sections, for the four seasons, this is a simple and yet beautiful glance into people in the autumn of their lives- the happy Tom and Gerri (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) and the very much not happy Mary (Lesley Manville- awardworthy without a doubt). Scenes vary from amusing to absolutely heartbreaking, and in the Leigh tradition we leave with a lot to think about. One of those where not a lot happens, and yet everything.

THE ROAD - Shamefully underlooked, this film was well received by the critics but failed to ignite the box office and many of the critics that raved about it seemed to have forgotten about it by the end of the year in their 2010 reviews. It's hugely deserving of a place, though, with one of the most disturbing visions of an apocalyptic future ever set on film. Based on Cormac McCarthy's award-winning novel, this is one of the tonally bleak films I have seen in a long time, full of unrelenting darkness but very much necessary darkness. Viggo Mortensen's performance as The Father was 100% one of the very best of the year, his bearded, grizzled look unable to hide the haunting grief of his character. Kodi Smit-McPhee, meanwhile, is a revelation as The Son and should have a great future. Disturbing and depressing, but brilliant.

EASY A - Very funny and very quotable, Easy A might well be the best teen flick since 2004's Mean Girls, and the best chick flick that guys can like too as well. Should (and does appear to have, if her casting in the new Spider-Man film is any indication) make an absolute star of Emma Stone, so incredibly likeable in this as main character Olive who uses the school rumour mill to advance her social status. Stanley Tucci (a world away from his creepy appearance as the killer in The Lovely Bones this year) and Patricia Clarkson are brilliant as Olive's open and accepting hippy parents. Well worth a watch.

SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD - Included mainly for originality. Edgar Wright's big move to Hollywood paid off as he pulled together elements of video games, contemporary youth culture, laughs, frantic action and romance into a satisyingly fresh and very much of-its-time whole. A glorious mish-mash of a film which should, if justice is served, see Edgar Wright catapulted to the forefront of the Hollywood directorial crop.

ACTOR OF 2010 -- LEONARDO DICAPRIO, COLIN FIRTH (shared)

The first of a number of categories in which I was simply unable to choose between two very deserving contenders. Best Actor is shared between Leonardo DiCaprio (for his roles in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island and the summer smash Inception) and our own Colin Firth (for A Single Man and the upcoming The King's Speech). DiCaprio confirmed his true capablilities as a leading man this year and his place as one of the finest actors of our generation. His turns in Shutter Island and Inception (admittedly two very different movies) were both fine examples of characters haunted by their pasts, and DiCaprio manages to bring an intensity to his roles that many of his peers fail to reach. Firth, meanwhile, had perhaps been seen prior to 2010 as predominantly a bumbling English gent in such romatic comedy films as Love Actually, Bridget Jones's Diary and Mamma Mia. In 2010 we saw Firth gain real Oscar buzz at either side of the year, for the portrayal of a man struck down by grief at the loss of his lover in Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man, and for his much-lauded role as King George VI in The King's Speech (released in January in the UK).


ACTRESS OF 2010 -- JENNIFER LAWRENCE

A tough one to call, this, (Lesley Manville and Noomi Rapace were close) but the female performance that stuck with me most this year was Jennifer Lawrence's in Winter's Bone, one that showed maturity far beyond her years and should rightfully cement a solid acting career ahead of her. She brought light to her character Ree who is trying so hard at such a young age to look after her siblings and her mother, all the while trying to track down her missing father. The plight of her character is so great that it was vital that Lawrence really made us feel sympathy for her, and she manages it with great aplomb.

DIRECTOR OF 2010 -- CHRISTOPHER NOLAN

2010 was a big year for Chris Nolan, as his grand-scale summer blockbuster Inception became one of the highest-grossing films of the year but also one of the greatest critical successes of the year too. It confirmed his status as one of the very finest British directors working today, and reminded people that he is capable of great work outside of the Caped Crusader. Some have been quick to call Inception his best film thus far, which seems perhaps slightly hasty considering this is the man behind Memento and The Dark Knight. But Nolan did manage to craft a blockbuster actioner that was genuinely original- a rarity these days. Hopes are absolutely sky high for his third Batman film, due out in 2012. Honourable mentions for this award should go to David Fincher and to Edgar Wright, both narrowly missing out.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF 2010 -- A PROPHET

The Beat That My Heart Skipped director Jacques Audiard's next film, four years on, was this epic crime drama about a young man who is sent to a French prison and gradually works his way up the ranks to become a mafia kingpin. Dark and gritty, A Prophet does prison-as-hell perhaps better than any other film that I can remember. The violence, the drugs, the sex, the corruption, and we see just what an effect prison life can have on a man. Beautiful direction, beautiful cinematography and a terrific lead performance from the unknown Tahar Rahim. Honourable mentions for this award should go to Girl With The Dragon Tattoo and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.

BREAKOUT STAR OF 2010 -- CHLOE MORETZ

What a 2010 it has been for Chloe Moretz. Firstly, hers was the standout turn in the terrific Kick-Ass, a ballsy performance as possibly the most memorable character of 2010- the potty-mouthed, bad guy ass-kicking Hit-Girl. Moretz followed this up with another brilliant performance in Hollywood remake Let Me In as the vampire Abby. Once again, the best performer in another film full of great actors and actresses. She spent the latter part of the year working with one of the all-time great directors, Martin Scorsese, on his latest flick Hugo Cabret, due out in December. The future seems very bright indeed for Chloe Moretz. Honourable mentions for this award should go to Andrew Garfield, Noomi Rapace, Tom Hardy and Emma Stone.

WRITER OF 2010 -- JANE GOLDMAN

Prior to 2010, Jane Goldman was still, for many, 'Jonathan Ross's wife'. This year saw her gain huge kudos in Hollywood after scripting one of the coolest and most-quotable films of these 12 months in Kick-Ass. The working relationship Goldman began with director Matthew Vaughn on 2007's Stardust and of course on Kick-Ass has continued with X-Men: First Class (Goldman's biggest gig so far) which is due out in 2011 and Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall, due in 2012. 2011 should be the biggest year for her yet, as along with the new X-Men film we will see her efforts on the Daniel Radcliffe-starring spooker The Woman In Black and a 60's set thriller The Debt, with Sam Worthington and Helen Mirren. Honourable mention for this award should go to Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network).

SCENE OF 2010 -- HIT GIRL'S FIRST APPEARANCE IN KICK-ASS & THE BREAKOUT SCENE IN TOY STORY 3 (shared)

Another tie. Both brilliant scenes, both worthy of an award. The standout scene of Kick-Ass (though there were many terrific scenes), Hit-Girl's arrival at an apartment in which our lead character Kick-Ass is about to get, fittingly, his ass kicked by five 'baddies', is a triumph of sharp editing, inspired musical choice, slick violence and the introduction of possibly the best character of 2010. The Dickies' song Banana Splits (or just La La La La La, if that helps jog the memory) plays out as Hit-Girl dispatches the bad guys in more and more ludicrous and violent ways. See it here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QberrwlFUNg.
The Prison Break scene in Toy Story 3, meanwhile, is a prime example of everything that has made this wonderful trilogy of films, as well as Pixar itself, so popular- brilliant animation, moments of genuine thrills and spills, horror and comedy rolled all into one genius scene as our favourite toys attempt a 'prison break' from Sunnydale. Spanish Buzz Lightyear, the cymbal-playing monkey, the monster that is Big Baby, and Mr Potato Head as Mr Tortilla Head- it's all inspired, superb cinema.

SCENE-STEALER OF 2010 -- KIERAN CULKIN IN SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD & TOM HARDY IN INCEPTION

Shared between two actors who managed to steal scenes from each film's leads- Culkin as the title character in Scott Pilgrim's gay roommate, and Hardy as the sharp-tongued associate of Leonardo DiCaprio's Dom Cobb. Culkin provided some superb comedy in Scott Pilgrim and some of the more memorable quotes (impressive in a film littered with memorable quotes), while Hardy, an actor with a very bright future indeed having been cast in, amongst others, the upcoming 3rd Nolan-Batman film, offers a much-needed comic edge to Inception and sparks off well with the other actors. Both used small-ish roles as effectively as they possibly could in order to standout in overall well-acted films- no mean feat.

SOUNDTRACK OF 2010 -- SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD

The Scott Pilgrim soundtrack, a terrific compilation of popular music, both new and old, from various artists, layers itself wonderfully over a movie where music is so important. A number of the songs (the ones actually performed in the film by the onscreen bands Sex Bob-Omb and Crash and the Boys) were written especially for the movie by Beck, who also performs himself the rather beautiful Ramona. Inbetween the rather amusing songs written for the film like Sex Bob-Omb's I'm So Sad, So Very, Very Sad, we have some inspired choices of popular music, with songs from Black Lips, T-Rex, Blood Red Shoes, The Rolling Stones and Broken Social Scene (Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl, one of my very favourite songs) brilliant in the film and brilliant on record. Honourable mentions for this award should go to Hans Zimmer's Inception score and Trent Reznor's work on The Social Network.

POSTER OF 2010 -- BLACK SWAN

There were a lot of good-looking film posters released this year, but this one is simple and yet very effective, creating a beautifully haunting atmosphere- something I very much expect from the film itself when it is released next month. Honourable mentions should go to Inception, The Social Network, Blue Valentine and True Grit.

TRAILER OF 2010 -- THE SOCIAL NETWORK

No competition in my mind, this was hands-down the trailer of the year. No other trailer made such a fantastic choice of music- the orchestral version of Radiohead's Creep was good enough that it probably should've made it into the film as well as the trailer, summing up through its vocals and its lyrics the poetic and unsettling mood of the film. The trailer manages to do what all good trailers should- explain what's going on in the film, without spoiling anything and while leaving us desperate to see more. It sets up the character of Mark Zuckerberg well, the themes and tone and geek-speak of the film and gets the ball rolling on a terrific promotional campaign for a terrific film.

Awards, Nominations, Lists and Trailers

AWARDS -

The Social Network has made some big strides towards a possible cleaning up at the major awards (particularly the Oscars) this week, winning Best Film at the LA Film Critics Awards, Boston Film Critics Awards, New York Film Critics Awards and the Richard Attenborough Film Awards (The first serious acknowledgement of the film in British awards territory). So that's 4 major Best Film wins in the space of a week- not bad at all, and a clear indicator of what may come in the more serious Golden Globes (Jan 16th), BAFTAs (Feb 13th) and Oscars (Feb 27th). With the LA Critics, possibly considered the more important of those 3 Critic Awards, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin also triumphed with best director and best screenplay for The Social Network. Inevitably, and quite deservedly, Colin Firth won Best Actor for The King's Speech and Toy Story 3 won Best Animation. The Boston Critics gave Jesse Eisenberg the Best Actor award (although Colin Firth is probably a dead cert for the Oscars, Eisenberg deserves all plaudits that come his way) and Natalie Portman Best Actress for Black Swan (another film garnering a large number of award wins and nominations). They also gave Best Supporting Actor to Christian Bale for The Fighter, which was in a way overlooked during awards predictions but is steadily gaining more and more recognition in the nominations (and wins). The New York Critics went against both Firth and Eisenberg and instead plumped for James Franco as Best Actor for his tour-de-force performance in 127 Hours, but agreed with the Boston Critics on Best Actress for Natalie Portman (she seems the current favourite for the Oscars) and Best Supporting Actor for Christian Bale. The Richard Attenborough Film Awards tend to bring in slightly more mainstream fare alongside the arthouse cinema, meaning Christopher Nolan won Best Filmmaker, Chloe Moretz Best Newcomer (very much deserved) and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows part 1 Best British Film (not so deserved- compare it to something like Another Year and there is simply no contest). Colin Firth won Best Actor and, surprisingly but pleasingly, Noomi Rapace won Best Actress for The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo.

NOMINATIONS -

The 2011 Golden Globes nominations were announced this week and have produced more than a few surprises (in fact Empire Online features an article dedicated to the cock-ups they appear to have made this year). The King's Speech leads the nominations with a total of seven (including, unsurprisingly, Best Film and Best Actor), followed by The Social Network and The Fighter with six each. Black Swan, Inception and The Kids Are All Right all pick up four. Amazingly, the distinctly average likes of Alice in Wonderland, Burlesque and The Tourist have managed to pick up three each. Johnny Depp, admittedly a terrific actor, is an undeserving recipient of two acting nominations for the aforementioned Alice and The Tourist. The surprises don't stop there, as (Empire Online points this out specifically) the nominations seem to have completely missed out The Coen Brothers' upcoming Western True Grit. The Musical or Comedy category that the Golden Globes bizarrely continue to use, proves itself to be a complete non-worker once more with the above three odd picks combined with average flicks like Red and Love and Other Drugs (such movies may be entertaining enough but should not be considered awards-worthy). The Kids Are All Right should win by a mile in that category with such average competition. There are of course more pleasing aspects to the nominations- Inception breaks down the mainstream/awards barrier to receive a Best Picture nomination (though the winner is much more likely to be The Social Network or The King's Speech), the incredibly talented Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams pick up acting nods for Blue Valentine, and Emma Stone gets a fully deserved Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) nomination for her turn in Easy A.
In the Critics' Choice Award nominations, Black Swan reigns supreme with 12 nominations (a record amount for the Awards), True Grit (making its absence in the Globe nominations even more strange) and The King's Speech received 11, Inception got 10 and The Social Network 9. There are few surprises to be found.
Meanwhile, the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAGs) have announced their nominations for 2011, with The King's Speech and The Fighter leading the pack in the ceremony that rewards acting talent alone.

LISTS -

The American Film Institute have released a list of their top 10 films of 2010. The AFI's list, in no particular order, reads as thus- Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, 127 Hours, The Social Network, The Town, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter's Bone. No major surprises there, but nice to see Ben Affleck's rather excellent The Town gain some end-of-year recognition. Scott Pilgrim vs The World director Edgar Wright has announced his 5 favourite films of the year- The Social Network ('Hugely entertaining... [like] a gangster saga'), Black Swan ('Sinister, sexual, and captivating'), Toy Story 3 ('in the pantheon of dark Disney greatness'), Enter The Void ('A total out-of-body experience') and 127 Hours ('Ninety-five amazing minutes'). Hollywood's Black List (which details the ten best unproduced scripts of the year) for 2010 has been released, and you can read the short synopses of each one and their possible futures at http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/12/13/black-list-2010-best-unproduced-screenplays/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter.

TRAILERS -

Just a few trailers doing the rounds this week-
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - the big one this week. Looks like it could be a lot of fun, hopefully having more of a focus on Johnny Depp's superb Captain Jack Sparrow than the last two rather disappointing parts in the series had, while bringing in the talents of Penelope Cruz and Ian McShane. Trailer here- http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/pirates-caribbean-on-stranger-tides.html?showVideo=1#belowNav

2. Tree of Life - Terrence Malick's much-anticipated and much-delayed latest feature looks brilliant and bonkers, and features the acting talents of Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Trailer here- http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi612735001

3. Water For Elephants - A rather interesting looking circus-set drama, based on a novel by Sara Gruen, that stars Reese Witherspoon, Robert Pattinson and Christolph Waltz. Trailer here- http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi663197721/

December 2010

Just a few bits and bobs to mention, particularly as publications begin to release their 'best of 2010' list. At some point in the next couple of weeks I intend to blog my own 'best of 2010', including my top 5 films of the year, my actor and actress of the year, best newcomer, and best scene.


- SIGHT AND SOUND '2010: THE YEAR IN REVIEW' here- http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/polls/films-of-2010-intro.php

Sight & Sound's top 12 films of the year were, as follows-
1. The Social Network
2. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
3. Another Year
4. Carlos
5. The Arbor
=6. Winter's Bone
=6. I Am Love
=8. The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
=8. Film Socialisme
=8. Nostalgia for the Light
=8. Poetry
=8. A Prophet

An interesting list, which (being Sight & Sound and all) is slightly more alternative than Empire's (which I shall discuss in a minute) and features some intriguing selections. A Prophet, Winter's Bone and Another Year all seem like very strong shouts and will be equally strong contenders to make my top 5 list, while The Social Network is definitely a deserved victor, an underdog of a film (despite its impressive cast and crew) that shook off the doubters to prove itself a mesmerising representation of power and greed, the creation of Facebook told as Greek tragedy, anchored by a superb breakthrough performance by Jesse Eisenberg. Meanwhile it's fantastic to have watched Apichatpong Weerasethakul gain the credit he so deserves this year with his film Uncle Boonmee's success at Cannes (it won the Palme d'Or) and now a placing of second in this list. The Thai director is incredibly talented and if you ever get a chance to see Uncle Boonmee then take it, it's a weird and wonderful experience. Finally, since Jean Luc Godard's new release Film Socialisme is yet to be released I cannot really comment, though my university tutor saw it at the London Film Festival and said it was a bit mental but fantastic, so I eagerly await its release (if it is to get one in the UK). Check out the above link if you fancy reading Sight & Sound's reasons for picking each film.

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-EMPIRE'S TOP 20 FILMS OF 2010

The January 2011 issue of Empire features their Review of the Year which contains within it their top 20 films of 2010. The list goes as such-
1. Inception
2. The Social Network
3. Toy Story 3
4. Up In The Air
5. A Prophet
6. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
7. Bad Lieutenant
8. Shutter Island
9. Winter's Bone
10. Kick-Ass
11. Four Lions
12. How To Train Your Dragon
13. A Single Man
14. Monsters
15. The Kids Are All Right
16. The Secret In Their Eyes
17. Exit Through The Gift Shop
18. Valhalla Rising
19. Lebanon
20. Precious

Takes in more mainstream efforts than Sight & Sound's list, best showcased by Christopher Nolan's genius sci-fi Inception taking top spot (I anticipate this will quite easily find a way into my list too). At number 2 though is Sight & Sound's top pick The Social Network, the greatest example of similarity between the two lists. This bodes well for the awards chances of Fincher's film; I for one would be delighted to see it achieve success at both the BAFTAs and Oscars. The only other two films that can be found in both lists are A Prophet (Jacques Audiard's unflinching portrayal of prison life) and Winter's Bone (which I reviewed a few blog posts back and definitely consider one of my films of the year). I can find few faults with Empire's list, and it is nice to see recognition for the two geek guilty pleasure hits of the year (Kick-Ass and Scott Pilgrim, though I would've swapped round the placing of them) which played a huge hand in making the multiplex cinema an unusually exciting place to be in 2010. Best of lists have a tendency to forget fantastic films released near the beginning of the year, so I am glad Empire has chosen to include Up In The Air, A Single Man and Precious, all 3 beautifully made, beautifully acted awards-friendly movies. Documentary rarely finds these lists either, but Banksy's highly amusing and fascinating Exit Through The Gift Shop is well worth its place.

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- So as I say, I'll be back with my own best of 2010 soon. Moving on, I must broadcast my delight that Shane Meadows has been given the greenlight by Channel 4 to begin work on the follow up to his completely brilliant four-part series This Is England '86, which recently finished on our television screens and is new to DVD. The new series will be entitled This Is England '90 and will reportedly feature 'a continuation of the same characters four years on, looking at rave culture and the World Cup. Shane is brimming with ideas and we are really excited' (the words of head of C4 drama Camilla Campbell). I will watch anything that the talented Shane Meadows makes but the idea of returning to the worlds of Sean, Lol and Woody is one that is particularly exciting.

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- The teaser trailer for Kenneth Branagh's eagerly anticipated comic book adaptation Thor, due out in June next year, has just been released to the world wide web and can be looked at here - http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=29704

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- I reported in my last blog post that the Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams starring drama Blue Valentine was struggling to lift the NC-17 rating (which drastically limits the number of theatres that will show a film) that the MPAA had hastily bestowed upon it. Happily in the last few days the filmmakers have won their appeal and the MPAA have reversed their decision, instead stamping Blue Valentine with the much more box office friendly R rating. Great news for the film, which looks terrific. However Scott Mendelson of hollywoodnews.com says that despite this reversal, the original trouble over the film's rating has shown cracks within the MPAA system, especially with regards to the NC-17 rating and what is considered 'bad' enough to receive it- http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2010/12/09/blue-valentine-demonstrates-the-problems-with-how-the-mpaa-is-implemented

Awards Season

Some upcoming film releases on my radar as movie awards season begins to heat up...


BLUE VALENTINE - Currently no UK release date

IMDb- 'The film centers on a contemporary married couple (Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams), charting their evolution over a span of years by cross-cutting between time periods'. A bit like a much more serious 500 Days of Summer, perhaps? And much much more serious by the sounds of it, with some controversy surrounding the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) awarding the film, due for a late December release in the States, an NC-17 certificate across the Pond. NC-17 is often seen as a death knell for a film's chances at the box office, and the Weinstein Company are campaiging hard to try and get this lifted and reversed to an R (worth signing their petition- http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/blue-valentine-mpaa-rating-appeal/). Fair play to first-time director Derek Cianfrance for sticking to his guns and refusing to cut material from his already much lauded debut feature, which is rumoured to include very frank scenes of sex and also an attempted abortion. Michelle Williams believes the MPAA's decision 'unmasks a taboo in our culture, that an honest portrayal of a relationship is more threatening than a sensationalized one', as though we almost have a fear of what is brutally honest and true to life and instead find our comfort zone in much more unrealistic and more obviously cinematically pleasing portrayals of life. The film is gaining some terrific pre-release buzz, with blog.moviefone.com calling it 'the most impressive and moving film at Sundance' and The Telegraph describing it as 'one of the stand-outs of the (Cannes) festival'. I'm a massive fan of the two leads and really do consider them two of the finest actors of their young generation (I could watch Ryan Gosling in pretty much anything), and their performances in this film have garnered some extremely positive early reviews. Grizzly Bear's music soundtracks the film. Blue Valentine is yet to receive a UK release date, but hopefully it won't be long before we see it on our screens! Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 9/10

127 HOURS - RELEASED 7 JANUARY 2011 UK

Danny Boyle's latest, based on the real life events of Aron Ralston, a young mountain climber who took on what should have been a relatively straightforward solo canyoneering venture in the Utah Mountains in 2003, only for his right arm to become trapped by a boulder (leading to him having to amputate his lower arm with a dull knife), has received extremely positive reviews thus far and debuts in UK multiplexes on the 7th January. James Franco's performance as Ralston has already been talked up as a dead cert for an Oscar nomination, his being the only face we see for so much of the film's running time. It will be testament to Boyle's brilliance as a filmmaker if he has managed to craft an entertaining and suspenseful movie out of a subject matter that generally requires its main character to spend a lot of time just (literally) hanging around. Reviews suggest he has managed it, though, and the film looks set to build on the critical, commercial and awards success he received with his last feature, Slumdog Millionaire. The amputation scene (supposedly shot in one take) should make particularly unsettling viewing but reminds audiences just what us human beings can be capable of when in such extreme circumstances. Trailer - EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10

THE KING'S SPEECH - 7 JANUARY 2011 UK

IMDb- 'The story of King George VI (Colin Firth) of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist (Geoffrey Rush) who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it'. The King's Speech, directed by Tom Hooper, is another film that has run into issues with the MPAA, who have bestowed upon it an unfair R rating based on swearing (used in a scene in which Rush's speech therapist gets George VI to do it in order to aid his confidence in talking). My excitement levels for this film have greatly increased in the last few days after reading Empire's glowing 5 star review, which calls it 'unexpectedly good' and 'the Oscar favourite'. It seems like it will play less like a standard, rather dull and sluggily paced period piece and more like a pleasingly straightforward tale of an underdog rising up to achieve success (think Rocky, think even Eminem's 8 Mile), with the twist of the 'success' being simply the test of someone trying so hard to reach the end of a sentence without error. Features the ensemble cast of, as well as Firth and Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Gambon, Derek Jacobi, Guy Pearce and Timothy Spall. Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10


TRUE GRIT - 14 JANUARY 2011 UK

New Coen Brothers film- need I say more? Well ok, I will a little... This is a new version of the 1969 film which won the legendary John Wayne his only Oscar, being more a new take on the original book rather than any kind of direct remake of the Wayne-starring film. 'A tough U.S. Marshal (Jeff Bridges) helps a stubborn young woman (newcomer Hailee Steinfield) track down her father's murderer'(IMDb). Bridges takes on the Wayne role of Rooster Cogburn- it's The Dude taking on The Duke. The film also features Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper and looks terrific. We'll know more when the reviews start rolling in soon though. Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 8/10

BLACK SWAN - 21 JANUARY 2011 UK

I've already written lots about how much I'm looking forward to Darren Aronofsky's (definitely one of my favourite modern filmmakers) latest, the twisted ballet thriller starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, so I won't go into it more. Currently the best reviewed film of those I've mentioned though, and Oscar nominations (especially for Portman, who is said to be superb) seem certain. Looks like psychological horror of the highest ilk, very much in the Pi and Requiem For A Dream vein. Trailer- EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 9/10

NEVER LET ME GO - 11 FEBRUARY 2011 UK

Already mentioned this one too. Carey Mulligan won Best Actress at the British Independent Film Awards last night for this film, Mark Romanek's sci-fi of sorts scripted by celebrated scriptwriter Alex Garland, and based on Kazuo Ishiguro's novel. Also starring Andrew Garfield (young actor of the moment, having been named the new Peter Parker in Marc Webb's new take on Spider-Man) and Keira Knightley. Early buzz is very positive, and I'm looking forward to this one. Trailer- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXiRZhDEo8A EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10

Honourable mentions should also go to Javier Bardem-starring Biutiful (28 Jan: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 8/10), David O Russell's The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale (4 Feb: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 6/10), Clint Eastwood's ethereal latest Hereafter (28 Jan: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 7/10) and the TV show satire with Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton, Morning Glory (21 Jan: EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 6/10) and romantic comedy with-a-twist Love and Other Drugs (EXCITEMENT LEVEL - 6/10). Should be a very exciting few months for cinema!

Some further reviews

Going to just write some short reviews of more films that I have seen in the cinema recently, starting with....

THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT - 4/5

Quirky, entertaining and thought-provoking comedy that is lifted by superb all-round performances, particularly from Annette Bening (who has been rightfully tipped for a nomination at next year's Academy Awards) and Julianne Moore as Nic and Jules, the couple who find their comfy little world rather turned upside down when their children (played by Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson) decide to contact their sperm donor (Mark Ruffalo). Though this situation is certainly ever so slightly more wacky than the general family set-up, really at its bare bones the film is essentially a cutting insight into family life, a trip into the home of a family and all the standard issues that come with it. Nic and Jules must deal with, for instance, the growing up of their children (Laser chooses his own friends regardless of their criticism, while Joni is off to college), same as all parents at some point must. Instead of senselessly finding comedic material out of the couple being a lesbian one, as a lesser film might, The Kids Are All Right handles this sensitively, bringing to light both Nic and Jules' contrasting and also complementary dynamics, and the problems that can come from two people in a marriage wanting two very different things from life. As Jules puts it in a moving speech towards the end of the film, 'Marriage is hard. It's really fucking hard. It's just two people slogging through the shit'. The Kids Are All Right hits all the right notes and is most successful in its creation of five incredibly human, imperfect and beautifully real main characters whose lives you truly invest in.

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LET ME IN - 3/5

Having seen the original film, the beautiful Swedish thriller Let The Right One In, and loving it, I find it impossible not to write a review of this Hollywood remake, directed by Cloverfield's Matt Reeves, without comparing it to its source. They can say what they want about it being a new take on John Ajvide Lindqvist's original book, rather than a direct remake of the film, but this version's creation almost certainly occurred as a result of the original film's success and, especially considering how close together their release dates come (just 2 years' difference), I cannot help but look at them both comparatively. It is within this comparison that Let Me In falters somewhat, as it disappointingly does away with a lot of the Swedish original's moving poeticism and instead goes for the feel of a more straightforward horror. As a film alone, and taken as a straightforward horror, Let Me In is actually very successful, and would've been more likely to receive a 4 star review from me. It gets the tone of a creepy horror right, while keeping the central relationship between young outcast Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and vampire Abby (Chloe Moretz) as the key. A wise choice, both as this was so important to the beauty of the original, with its quite cute telling of a young romance (of sorts), but also because Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Moretz are both fantastic and completely believable in their roles. They build on their superb performances in The Road and Kick-Ass respectively, showing themselves to be actors capable of versitlity and subtle emoting, and clears the path for them to be two of the most exciting young talents working in mainstream film today. One improvement upon the original is that that Let Me In does away with that film's awful 'cat' scene. It decides, as the original did, not to refer explicitly to the book's creepy and perverted relationship between Abby ('Eli' in the original and in the book) and her 'guardian', as well as also her past as a boy who was ritually castrated. Let Me In is also exceptionally well shot, to which credit must go to Matt Reeves and cinematographer Greig Fraser. Each scene looks absolutely stunning. It is just a shame that the beauty of not just the cinematography, but also the young romance, could have been carried over from the original.

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WINTER'S BONE - 4/5

Debra Granik's unflinching and atmospheric film, about a young girl living in the Missouri Ozark Mountains, invokes issues of community while successfully presenting a region of America generally untouched by cinema, and indeed untouched by modern civilisation. Their community remains probably not far from the way it was a hundred years ago; you cannot imagine anyone here knowing the first thing about iPods or Blu-Ray or indeed many things far less recent than that. Many of the community have developed a dangerous addiction to crystal meth. There is a prevailing sense of distust amongst the people and disputes are settled with cold violence. And in amidst all this bleakness, this stark landscape and its often unlikeable inhabitants, 17 year old Ree Dolly (played by Jennifer Lawrence) must take care of her two young siblings and her near enough mute and unmoving mother while undertaking a desperate search for her drug-making, drug-taking father who has skipped a court appearance and gone missing. Ree is sure in her heart that her father is dead and that that is the reason behind his non-attendance at court, but unless she can prove it and present to the police a body then her and her family will be forced to leave their home and find themselves out in the cold with no one to go. The bleakness of the film, its characters and its story, is essential in emphasising the warm spirit and loyalty that exists within Ree, allowing us to root for her and deeply empathise with her situation. Her face barely ever allows a smile to cross it; it seems that she has had to go completely without a childhood, and is now emotionally far beyond her years. The connection that we as an audience make with Ree is testament to the acting ability of little-known Jennifer Lawrence, who produces an Oscar-worthy performance of subtlety and deep sadness.

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HARRY POTTER AND THE BEATHLY HALLOWS part 1 - 3/5

Well, this is something- A Harry Potter film without Hogwarts. Or as the Empire review puts it, Harry Potter as road movie. Now how much you will appreciate this latest addition to the stratospherically successful series will depend on the general sort of film you enjoy. As a fan of darker, more psychologically engaging films, The Deathly Hallows part 1 works for me, far trumping the disappointing last two entries in the series and probably being one of the best transfers of a JK Rowling book to screen. People will still argue the point (other than commercially, of course) of splitting the book into two films; very little in the way of action actually happens in this film, and yet it is still 2 and a half hours long- kids may well get bored. This is by far the most grown up of the Harry Potter films; at times the tone of it is almost unsettlingly dark for a film essentially meant to be a family film. Hints of humour and lightness are rare. Though much improved since the early films in the series, Daniel Radcliffe is still no powerful actor, and this script that spends the vast majority of its time focused entirely on himself, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson exposes his flaws and his inability to realistically emote more than the last couple of HP films. One particular much talked about scene (completely non-existent in the book, added bizarrely by the filmmakers) features Radcliffe and Watson slow-dancing in a tent, and is the absolute epitome of cringeworthy-ness. Why they felt it necessary to include such an uncomfortable scene is beyond me. The film actually boasts easily one of the greatest collective casts of all time, including amongst others Bill Nighy, Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Robbie Coltrane, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Richard Griffiths, Julie Walters, Jason Isaacs, Timothy Spall, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, David Thewlis, John Hurt, Rhys Ifans, Imelda Staunton- it reads like a comprehensive who's who of British acting talent, which makes it very disappointing when so many of them have been reduced to such miniscule parts. What is refreshing about the Harry Potter series, though, is the fact that each film has been very different in many ways- in a series of 8 films, this is vital to its success. It looks likely that none of these 8 films will be viewed over the years as masterpieces, but The Deathly Hallows part 1 certainly offers enough to make it very much worth a watch.

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ANOTHER YEAR - 4/5

First and foremost, Another Year is unlikely to win over many new Mike Leigh films. It is totally and completely a Mike Leigh film, its fly-on-the-wall social drama reminiscent of everything that he has done over his fabulous career, while returning to his usual darkly emotional character studies after the uncharacteristically sunny Happy-Go-Lucky. Focusing primarily on married couple Tom and Gerri's (Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen) happy move into their autumn years, while significantly less happy Mary (Lesley Manville) finds herself relying more and more on their support and friendship, the film is at times, just as in all Mike Leigh films, almost unbearably true to real life. Leigh should be commended for a career which has featured so many films unafraid to depict unflinchingly the problems, the embarrassments, the depression that can litter the everyday event. Where film is generally seen as a chance to escape real life for a couple of hours, Mike Leigh films are different- in them, you watch real life occurring right in front of your eyes. Another Year shows that this element is with Leigh more than ever- split into four titled sections, 'Spring', 'Summer', 'Autumn' and 'Winter', the film does not allow for our not previously knowing the characters, as they share private jokes which are lost on us, and attend a funeral of a character we have neither met nor heard of. All this adds to the startling effect that Leigh tries to create in each of his films, making us feel as though we are sat in the room with these very real, very human characters. The acting all round is wonderful. I consider Jim Broadbent to be one of the most fantastic British actors of all time and very much underrated, and he puts in another sterling effort here, totally and completely believable as Tom. All the plaudits, however, will be reserved for Lesley Manville, who has awards buzz steadily building around her and who truly does produce a superbly moving performance as the unhinged and desperately lonely Mary.

So, to November!

Long time, no blog. There seems to be such little time for anything at the moment! I have a to do list that is far too long but it will be nice gradually working my way through it, most of it will be enjoyable creative stuff. A fair bit of that nasty uni work too though! Howeeeeever... I'm kinda enjoying my uni courses this year. Only a bit mind.

Been making regular trips to the cinema of late...

THE SOCIAL NETWORK- 4/5 Being such a (on the face of it at least) departure for both Fincher and Sorkin, they handle this new material incredibly well. Sorkin works his way through the internet code jargon (which may lose a fair bit of the audience for a while, but it is not only worth persevering through but also demonstrates the level of Mark Zuckerberg's computer-savviness) and manages to create a world and characters in which we can invest ourselves, no mean feat with regards to a film detailing the creation of a website. Fincher has always been a master of the character study, and The Social Network is nothing if not an accomplished study of a character driven by the idea of success, a study of the psychology of greed and desire and its often hugely detrimental effect upon those around it. Jesse Eisenberg gives a fantastic performance as Zuckerberg, unveiling unseen depths as an actor and somehow managing to strike some empathy within the audience for such a deeply unlikeable character. It is easy to see why Mark Zuckerberg wasn't too happy about the release of this film, but whatever the truth may be about him or the court case, this is still a compelling film very much of its time. It is far from a perfect movie, but I would urge anyone to see it simply, if for nothing else, for the fact that it is a film that represents a whole generation, a whole movement towards a completely new social culture. And those that consider the creation of Facebook unsuitable for the plot of a film, think again, because it is an event that has quickly impacted massively on our culture, on our methods of communication, and has come almost to define a generation.
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EASY A- 4/5 Not only the best teen flick since 2004's Mean Girls, but also probably the chick flick most likely to appeal to male audiences since that Lindsay Lohan-starrer too. Emma Stone leaps from fantastic comic supporting actress (Superbad, Zombieland) to a bona fide star with her hugely likeable turn as Olive, a high-school student who finds her life paralleling that of the book she is reading in class, The Scarlet Letter, as one white lie spirals into an out of control assault on the high school rumour mill. Easy A is not only very funny, but also very smart, and could easily be said to sum up a generation as well as The Social Network has, its events almost intrinsically linked to the all-social networking, all-blogging world of today. The film also benefits from some great supporting turns from Amanda Bynes, Thomas Haden Church, Lisa Kudrow and Malcolm McDowell, though the most special mentions must go to Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as Olive's very funny and very open parents.
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I should be hitting the cinema to see The Kids Are Alright, Winter's Bone and possibly Let Me In over the next week or so, so I'll try and put up reviews of those soon too.

Finally, I've decided to start up a Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/dburtonwood), for my own personal pleasure but also so that I can begin to upload any short pieces of film I have shot, as I have maaaaaany ideas rattling around and ready to make the move onto camera. The first video I've uploaded was part of the larger project I began over the summer, but seemed to work quite well as this smaller piece, just showing myself and my friends waking up and getting ready after a (heavy) night out. Have a look!

Bye Bye Summer

Well I'm about to go back to uni, which means that somehow, inexplicably, summer 2010 is now over. Not entirely sure where the 4 and a half months went, but gone they are. I like to think that even though it seems to have passed by in a bit of a blur that it was a fairly productive one, that I got lots done, saw lots of people, went lots of places and made the most of my last student summer. Next summer it's going to be all change, with a lot less time for bumming around! I'm really going to miss my mammoth messy student summers. Anyway, I thought I'd have a little look back at my summer and all the things I got up to.

MAY --- I went to see Pendulum at Southampton Guildhall with Hugh and Griff. It was the second time I'd seen them live and they were once again fantastic. They brought out all the singles and best tunes from their first two albums while premiering some of the new material from their forthcoming new album, Immersion. Hearing the drop in The Island pt 1 for the first time was a pretty epic moment.
On the 20th I had my big summer term hand-in at uni- as per usual I finished my essays the night before! Was a MASSIVE MASSIVE relief to have it all over and done with though, and be finished for the summer. I celebrated with a lovely night out in Brighton, good old spot of Thursgay at Revenge!
I also started working on Saturdays. Nothing spectacular, just a washing up job, but enough to tide me over during the summer, providing my much-needed night out funds every week! Also made my weeks feel that little more productive.
Had my first Emsworth wanders and my first trip to The Fleet of the summer, and my first dip in the sea- chilly to say the least! Had a night out to Kaos in Southampton and also watched the very last episode of Lost- pretty emotional stuff!

JUNE --- Celebrated my Mum's birthday with a meal at Chimichangas, which I LOVE. Met up with Dan in Havant for a nice Spoons beer and burger! Watched a lot more people make fools of themselves on the new series of Britain's Got Talent. The line-up for the final though, was genuinely full of talent and the winners Spellbound were, well, pretty spellbinding. Poshed up for Griff's Mum's wedding reception in Emsworth and managed to stay fairly respectable. Unlike Gemma.
Enjoyed a great cocktail night at Que Pasa with Tasha- Cosmopolitan, Purple Rain, Sex on the Beach and my personal favourite MOJITOOOOO! Me and Tasha also discovered the pure joys of Happy Hour at Pizza Hut- pizza, a side and a drink for £4, can't say fairer than that! Took advantage of that on several occasions. Enjoyed some Chichester shopping and some Priory Park with Phina. Got the football boots back on for a few games at the park. Had the first Liquid Monday of the summer on the 14th and it was also undoubtedly one of the best of the summer, setting the path for a succession of really good Portsmouth nights out.
After 4 years of huuuuuge anticipation, the World Cup in South Africa finally got underway on the 11th June. While the disappointment with England was of course massive, the tournament itself was entertaining as always, full of some great football but also some great shocks and surprises. The poorness of France and Italy, the awesomeness of a previously unfancied Germany, the misfortune of Ghana, the steadily growing power of Spain, the much-talked about Jabulani ball, the Lampard goal that wasn't- it was a month of great football and great talking points.
Played tennis with Tasha. Enjoyed a couple of lovely film nights at my house, in which such joys as Superbad, The Departed, Gone Baby Gone, Anchorman and Memento were viewed. Helped make a fabulous boob cake for Griff and helped celebrate his birthday with an epic night out to Fleet and Liquid. I started work on my summer film, shooting some stuff with Tasha, Wigsy, Taylor and Hugh at various points.

JULY --- Took in some trips to Portsdown Hill for Mick's quite fabulous cheesy chips. Went to the 'Help The Heroes' event at the White Horse with Taylor, which got particularly entertaining when the next door neighbour decided to throw a hose over the fence and soak all the guests! Took in some further emo vampire loving with Twilight:Eclipse at the cinema. Met up with Emma and enjoyed a drink and some World Cup round at the pub.
Had an AMAZING holiday in Crete with Tasha. Not a lot left to be said about it, but I had a really good week in the sunshine and cannot wait for my next holiday abroad (hopefully it'll be real soon!). But yeah, definitely the summer highlight and well worth the wait. The day after our return to dreary old England I went to Chichester with Hugh, Taylor, Kieran, Phina, Bayliss, Ben and Toby to see my film of the summer- Inception. Just such a great cinema experience, I'd have seen it more than twice if I could! While on the cinema side of things I also enjoyed a trip to see Toy Story 3, another fantastic film and a fitting end to such a magical series. And I saw The Ghost at New Park, which was a strong enough political thriller with Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan.
On the 26th I had possibly my best night out of the summer, which took in the usual Fleet V Bar and Liquid spots with an added bit of Spoons thanks to Toby's not so tactical Fleet chunder. It was gloriously messy, everyone, literally EVERYONE was fantastically drunk and not much was remembered in the morning. Totally the way it should be. Did some filming with Taylor and Griff and then a couple of days later had a nice filming day with Tasha and RT, taking in Stokes Bay, Fareham Spoons and Portsdown Hill.

AUGUST --- Had a nice little film night round Kieran's, taking in a spot of Phone Booth and Liar Liar. Enjoyed a really good pub trip with a good size crew for Hugh's last night with us before his six weeks in Kenya. He was missed! Took in quite a few trips to Southampton with Tasha- lots more shops and Pizza Hut! Discovered I'm not too shabby at Scrabble. Played some mini golf at Gosport. Enjoyed some McDonalds drive-thru at Chichester with Phina. Went to a house party with Tasha's friends which was most fun. Had plenty more Emsworth wanders in the sun, and did some more filming with Kieran, Taylor and Griff. Caught the Gosport ferry over to Portsmouth with Tasha and had an amazing lunch at Water Margin. Took in some more football. Went to Charles Dickens' Birthplace for the first time which was pretty damn interesting! Enjoyed some drinky-poos in Taylor's garden.
Got a fair bit of scriptwriting done. Went to MONKEY WORLD! Which was, of course, amazing. Saw numerous monkeys poo, and what else could you want from a day? Got to go back to Durdle Door where I spent many a weekend in my youth, nice little nostalgia trip! Went to the cinema with Tasha RT and Luke to see Scott Pilgrim, which I've already reviewed but I'll just say again, was awesome! Another house party, this one in Gosport. Went round the Emsworth Bank Holiday Show with Griff and Taylor, which brightened up when we saw some rather cute owls, followed by a sheepdog rounding up a load of ducks, as instructed by a hilariously Welsh man. That evening we all hit Liquid for Phina's birthday.

SEPTEMBER --- Became a proper country lad for a couple of days, picking apples from my garden and going blackberry picking along a lane near mine. Watched England begin to get their act together again in the first couple of Euro 2012 qualifiers. Read Frankie Boyle's autobiography, which was quite the amusement. Drove to Hayling with Tasha, looked around the fair and walked along the beach. Went to pub quiz at the White Horse and came 5th- not too bad really! One day we'll win it. In about 40 years. Had a night out to Tiger Tiger with a few people- the club was far too big and busy, but an enteraining night was had nonetheless. Crashed at Bayliss' place afterwards and shared some fabulous drunken banter. Enjoyed some more Mick's. Had the last Liquid Monday of the summer on the 13th, and it was a fitting end to the summer Mondays- great fun had by all! Went to see Wicked in London with Tasha, which was amazing. Celebrated our 2 year anniversary! Laaaavely meal at Bella Italia for it. Had a wander with Taylor who was back from Oxford for a few days.
Went in Emsworth Museum! with Griff, Taylor and Emma Bailey, was quite the experience. Caught up with Hugh upon his return from Kenya. Watched the first few episodes of the new series of The Inbetweeners. Had 3 nights out for Tasha's freshers week in Southampton, to Audio, Kaos and Bliss. After returning from Southampton I enjoyed/suffered in equal measure my 4th night out in a row, going to Fleet and then Liquid for Gemma's birthday. The following week it was Freshers' Week at Sussex so I went to stay in Brighton at Kieran's new house for a few days which was great- had a couple of great nights out there too, one to Digital and then a foam party at Honey Club. Had a nice man-date wander round the pier with Wigsy, had an awesome Mexican meal and bought my (very expensive) course readers for uni.

All in all, a quite amazing little summer. 10/10!

The State of Affairs

Well it's a fair few weeks since I last updated this so it was probably about time I got round to a new post. Though I'm going to take a break from the film-related stuff slightly and just write some stuff about, well, me. All that's occupying my head space right about now.

- Summer 2010 is drawing to a close (big sad face) and it's only a couple of weeks till I'll be back to university for my third and final year (big scared face). Since I know I haven't really given my first 2 years my all I feel like this year I should go all out and try and do myself proud. Academic wise uni hasn't really been all that I'd hoped it would be but I'm thinking if I give my third year a good go then maybe I'll be able to squeeze some enjoyment out of it. The start of the third year will also mean getting to spend some time in Brighton again which is always good. I'm hoping that in the first couple of months of the autumn term I'll be able to move around a bit as well, see some of my friends in various places and experience some new nightlife. I should, all going to plan, be able to fit in visits to Southampton, Bournemouth and Oxford in the coming months.

- On Wednesday I took my girlfriend to London to go and see Wicked at the Apollo Victoria for our anniversary (on Monday). It was an awesome day and Wicked was amazing! Will definitely have to go see again. Considering I didn't really know the songs or a huge amount about the story I was impressed with how much it all took me in. The songs turned out to be terrific, the story successfully interweaving the events told in The Wizard of Oz and the performances across the board were superb. Rachel Tucker as Elphaba has a masterful stage presence and an astonishing voice, particularly on the high notes. It reminded me just how much I love West End musicals and how much I need to go again soon! I still haven't seen The Lion King and would love to so maybe that can be next on the list.

- I've applied to be an extra in the new X-Men film, so I will have to wait and see what they say when they get back to me about it. Having already had to turn down Captain America and an earlier extra role in X-Men: First Class, it will be nice if one of these opportunities finally works out! If it's not this one then I will keep searching as it seems like something that would be fantastic experience for me, not to mention good pay and something very much worth putting on the CV.

- Motivating myself at the moment is proving tricky (I'm still very much in lazy summer mode), but I'm trying to overcome this and get some serious scriptwriting done. I'm aware that nothing is just going to fall into my lap, I'm going to have to work for it and this all starts just by writing lots and eventually, hopefully, coming out of it with something I'm really proud of. I still have the ambition to film a couple of short films over the next couple of months so hopefully if I get something decent written and come across any actors then that will be possible.

- Something else on my radar at the moment is the More4 show 'Southland'. It's a cop show set in LA, is into its second series now and I definitely recommend it. Southland deviates from the usual police show formula and offers a more gritty and realistic portrayal of life in the force, as well as depicting a very different Los Angeles to the one we're used to seeing on TV and in films. The performances from all the main cast are strong, including that of Ben McKenzie, who is gaining some serious indie credibility since his days in The OC. I suggest checking the show out on 4od for sure!

- So, on the current to-do list for autumn/winter 2010- Get a full-length film script written, write and possibly shoot a couple of short films, take on my uni course headfirst, enjoy Brighton life as much as possible, visit Southampton, Bournemouth and Oxford, have a fantastic and beautifully messy 21st birthday with all my mates in London, write read and watch as much as I can, have a day out in London, go to at least a couple of gigs, and enjoy being a student while I still can. And I would love love LOVE to be able to book a holiday for this Christmas holidays, a city break to somewhere suitably awesome like Paris or New York. We shall see.

- I'm currently listening to... Philip Selway, Pulled Apart by Horses, Kanye West and the Wicked Soundtrack. Hopefully I should be writing a couple more posts in the near future, one relating to my 'Summer 2010' and one about the growing pile of films I desperately want to see in the cinema this autumn/winter.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

'Bread makes you fat?!'

Based on a series of graphic novels by Korean-Canadian cartoonist Bryan Lee O'Malley, with the first being released in 2004, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is the latest in the nerdy-teen-becomes-hero-action-comedy genre after the success of Matthew Vaughn's Kick-Ass. Whether this lives up to the quite fantastic Kick-Ass is a matter of opinion (for me, not quite, but close) but it does represent another terrific addition to a young film nerd's collection. It doesn't aim for a typical blockbuster audience or for Academy Awards or an attempt to be artsy. It is a film made by a geek, for geeks. In the most awesome way possible. That geek being, of course, British director Edgar Wright, the man behind Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz and the cult TV series Spaced. Finally provided with the scale and scope and finances necessary to fully render his immense talents on the big screen. This is by far his best work so far, and a loud announcement of his arrival in Hollywood. Aged just 36, the man should have quite a film-making future. And Scott Pilgrim is classic Edgar Wright, littered with pop-cultural references of various film, music and gaming items and capably mixing entertaining action sequences with humour-led character interaction. The film plays almost like a big-budget Spaced, which is of course very much a compliment.

In that respect the film is very much a mash-up. It's an action film, a comedy, a romance, and much more besides. It's bursting with ideas, making it the sort of movie you immediately want to see again, knowing just how many references and minor jokes you must've missed out on first time around. There's almost a little too much going on, as though Wright has somewhat overdone the sheer number of ideas he has stuffed into Scott Pilgrim's make-up. It's just fortunate really that the ideas that it has are largely inspired. Visually the film is superb, evidence of what Wright is capable of with a larger budget and a story that calls for such flamboyant and innovative flourishes. The film is at times a comic book- brightly coloured 'thwaaaacks' eminate from punches within the fight scenes, a similar 'bring-bringgg' from a ringing telephone, and one sequence is rendered, Kill Bill-style, in a cartoonish animation based upon that of the original graphic novels. It is also at times a video game- main character Pilgrim (Michael Cera) gains extra 'lifes', enemies are dispatched by exploding into coins. The film is literally full of such moments; it is, for the most part, very intelligent in its silliness. Some of these moments work better than others, of course, and some take the silly levels that little bit too far. But in that way, you can't help but commend Wright and all the other people involved in Scott Pilgrim; it is, if nothing else, experimental. And I'm all for that.

Prior to the film's release there were some doubts voiced about Michael Cera's ability to pull off the lead role in an 'action' film, but his part in the action scenes is probably less important than that of the awkward group and romantic scenes for which we know Cera best. In this way he is perfectly cast as Pilgrim; he does little in this film to prevent the critics who describe him as 'one-note' and 'lacking range' but he does tick the majority of boxes required for such a character. No one can do romantic awkwardness or a humourous social ineptitude like Cera. And, in fairness to him, he takes on the fight scenes gamely. Cera is given solid support from Mary Elizabeth Winstead as the girl of his dreams Ramona Flowers, Winstead managing to portray well the character's aloof nature and her perceived 'coolness'. I think, to paraphrase the film itself, that I may well be in lesbians with Ramona Flowers. She can form my new film crush until the next Ellen Page film comes out. The seven evil exes are brought to life well by humourous turns by Chris Evans, Brandon Routh and Jason Schwartzman, amongst others, and there is a scene-stealing performance from Kieran Culkin as Pilgrim's gay roommate Wallace Wells. The music in the film was put in the hands of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, and is often hilarious, nearly always fantastic- I strongly recommend the soundtrack. Beck and Broken Social Scene were both involved in creating the tunes for the various bands in the film.

'You punched the highlights out of her hair!'

Thus far Scott Pilgrim vs The World has, confusingly to everyone, performed very disappointingly at the US box office. Trying to grasp why, particularly after the film has received a very positive critical reception, is rather tricky, but this article on the Vanity Fair website looks into it and urges people to pay to see the film in the cinema- http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2010/08/go-and-pay-to-see-scott-pilgrim-right-now.html. I can certainly recommend this film to everyone- Edgar Wright deserves wide audiences paying for Pilgrim tickets after putting a huge amount of work and talent into the film's production and post-production. The film certainly isn't perfect, and certainly isn't for everyone (there will be many who simply won't 'get it'), but give it a go, because there's worse things you could spend a few quid on.

'I want to pee on her'

4/5

Here is a quite awesome Scott Pilgrim/The Matrix mash-up trailer that someone on YouTube has cleverly made and which has gained a fair bit of internet buzz- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RsZErYEXz8&feature=player_embedded
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A couple of posts ago I mentioned Danny Boyle's latest, 127 Hours. The trailer for the film has just been released and is worth a look, though it holds back on much of the horror of the story it tells- http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi298255897/