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

The Runaways

'Dead end kids in the danger zone
All of you are drunk and stoned'

THE RUNAWAYS (Released August 26th 2010, UK)
Dir. by Floria Sigismondi
Starring Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon

The Runaways were an all-girl teenage rock group formed in LA in the 1970s and have now become the subject of a new film by Floria Sigismondi in her first major feature. The band had a short career, spanning from 1975 to just 1979, but released 4 albums, had a number of hits and toured all over the world. The film covers this career from the very formation of the group as producer Kim Fowley introduced rhythm guitarist Joan Jett to drummer Sandy West, both of whom had approached him with the idea of creating an all-girl group. And the rest, as they say, is history.

With an influx of musician biopics (Walk The Line, Control et al) over recent years it is perhaps tough for the latest in the genre to avoid the standard formula set forward by its predecessors. While The Runaways doesn't necessarily avoid this structure, it is set apart by the interesting issues it raises with regards to feminism in the 1970's. In many ways the film could be seen as a representation of 'girl power', of a group of young women making their voices heard and making their mark upon a male-dominated market. The band were, in this respect, hugely influential, encouraging a generation of girls to pick up electric guitars and immerse themselves in the practice of rock and punk genres.

But the film has its dark side, and does not completely shirk from presenting the exploitation of the band and the dramatic effect it had upon relationships within the group. Fowley, while undoubtedly a talented music producer, was seen by many as a monster and stories have emerged since about the extent of the verbal and sexual abuse the band suffered from him. Credit to him, he provided the group with everything they dreamed of musically, but in order to encounter such success Fowley exploited the gender of the group, sexualising girls perhaps too young to fully deal with the inevitably very adult effects of being a sexual symbol. This was particularly difficult for lead singer Cherie Currie, thrust headfirst into a grown-up world, and eventually led to her alienating herself from both Fowley and the rest of the band.

The film is based upon Currie's memoir 'Neon Angel' and thus hers is the only family backstory we are provided with. Currie's is undoubtedly the saddest story; she seemed so unready for the adult world and was therefore the one so easily exploited by it. Dakota Fanning is an absolute revelation in the role, building astonishingly upon her younger roles in, amongst others, War of the Worlds and Man on Fire. While her earlier performances were strong they also on occasion invited irritation amongst audiences, her bug-eyed cuteness adding a little too much sugar to dramatic films; there is no such problem here, Fanning providing a very real portrayal of a young woman losing her innocence. The girl has most definitely grown up. Kristen Stewart, meanwhile, invests her take on Joan Jett with a wonderful sense of teen rebelliousness and punk attitude, capturing Jett's swagger and natural boyishness. Stewart is becoming steadily, film by film, a young actress of genuine talent. The Runaways is another example of just what she can bring to a role more compelling and better written than that of Bella Swan, and may even be her most assured performance thus far.

With the band experiencing such an eventful 4 year career it is only necessary and expected that the film can only deal with so much. It can perhaps, therefore, be forgiven that so much emphasis is placed on Currie and Jett and so little on the other band members. Badly written though they may be, it is quite understandable that the filmmakers decided to focus on the two biggest personalities and in Fanning and Stewart they have two actresses perfectly capable of bringing them to the big screen. The film also skirts over some of the more scandalous events that took place during the band's career, including Currie's abortion, bass player Jackie Smith's suicide attempt and the extent of the sexual experimentations within the group. It does, however, have interesting things to say about the band; the moment Jett and Fowley write the band's biggest hit 'Cherry Bomb' on the spot prior to Currie's audition for the group is particularly revealing, as well as the explosive reactions the band received in Japan, which Jett compared to 'Beatlemania'. 'The Runaways' is a solid biopic lifted by all-round superb performances and a coming-of-age story constantly tinged with sadness at the loss of youth and innocence.
3.5/5

'Rock 'n' roll is a blood sport, a sport of men. It's for the people in the dark, the death cats, the masturbators, the outcasts who have no voice, no way of saying I hate this world, my father's a faggot, fuck you, fuck authority - I want an orgasm! Now, growl! Moan! This ain't women's lib, kiddies - the is women's libido! I wanna see the scratch marks down their fucking backs! Now, do it again. Again. Like your boyfriend just fucked your sister in your parent's bed. LIKE YOU WANT A FUCKING ORGASM!'