tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25877756514875787422024-03-19T13:42:22.469+13:00Cinematic ParadoxFilm reviews and other stuff...Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.comBlogger1107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-24529297229037658472018-12-23T17:28:00.001+13:002018-12-23T17:28:46.952+13:00let's talk about my 15 favourite films of 2018 (so far)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2018 was something of a film renaissance for me. This could come down to a few things: a) I restarted my Letterboxd account after three years forgetting about the site, which helped keep me accountable for what I was watching; b) I moved cities and suddenly had triple the access to films (<a href="https://academycinemas.co.nz/">Academy Cinemas in Auckland CBD is a blessing</a>); or c) I started working in film distribution in August, which gave me even <i>more </i>access to (free) films and has taught me a lot about the fact that you really have to see a film in the first weekend because cinemas have to churn through the content quickly (unless you're <i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i>, which after eight weeks is still getting the pick of the plum session times). A bonus reason could be that I'm no longer studying film, so I feel like I can watch a film without thinking about semiotics and hidden meanings and Aristotelean rhetoric. That's bliss.<br />
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I've gone back to my classic Hollywood roots, I've watched all of the versions of <i>A Star is Born</i>, I've watched two too many trashy Netflix Christmas films...it has been a wildly unpredictable year as to what I liked and what I thought I would like. Weirdly, I've only given one film from 2018 a 5/5 rating (which'll obviously be number one on this list), but there's been plenty of films I wanna scream from the rooftops about.<br />
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As per, I haven't nearly seen enough (due to my own laziness or the fact that NZ won't get most 2018 films until 2020) but I kinda like this list because it isn't what I expected it to be. Nevertheless, these films deserve a little shoutout!<br />
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<b>15. <i>SUSPIRIA </i>(dir. Luca Guadagnino)</b></div>
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I'll be the first to tell you that I wasn't completely sold with this film as a whole (I wasn't entirely sure about the Doctor's storyline) but I'm not sure that any film rocked me to my core this year the way that this one did. Guadagnino's approach to horror is intoxicating in the way that you absolutely do not want to be intoxicated, and it is glorious. Plus, as my Instagram bio says, 'i just want the best for dakota johnson's career' - this is it, chief.<br />
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<b>14. <i>JULIET, NAKED </i>(dir. Jesse Peretz)</b></div>
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Possibly the most light-hearted film I saw at the film festival, this was the perfect antidote to a cold, rainy winter night. I <i>love </i>Rose Byrne as a comedic actress, and this film is yet another showcase of her talents. While it is quite a simple love story, I loved what the film had to say about mega-fans and how their idols don't necessarily live up to what they want them to be. I can see that I'll be rewatching this charmer a lot in the future.<br />
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<b>13. <i>YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE </i>(dir. Lynne Ramsay)</b></div>
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I feel like I don't really need to tell you how good this film is, because you'll already know that. Lynne Ramsay knows her way around a camera and a good story. This is an expertly crafted thriller by way of existential drama, with a strong central performance from unlikely hero Joaquin Phoenix. Was definitely worth the neck ache I got from sitting in the front row of a sold out session!<br />
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<b>12. <i>PRIVATE LIFE </i>(dir. Tamara Jenkins)</b></div>
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<i>Private Life </i>was unexpectedly unlike anything that I've seen before - a very honest, yet fully fleshed out narrative about a couple's struggle to have a baby. The characters in this film are its greatest asset, as you genuinely believe the situation that they're in because of the way their anxieties are pulled into it.<br />
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<b>11. <i>A QUIET PLACE </i>(dir. John Krasinki)</b></div>
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I'm quietly lol'n about the backlash this film is now privy to, but was there a better experience to have at the cinema this year? I don't think so. A ballsy move to make a film that relies on silence in 2018 - yet, I didn't hear a peep out of the audience during the entire film. That's rare.<br />
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<b>10. <i>CRAZY RICH ASIANS </i>(dir. Jon M. Chu)</b></div>
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This was the <i>only </i>film I saw more than once in theatres this year. What can I say, your girl loves her romantic comedies with instant-rewatch-appeal, and this film is perfect for that. It is funny, it is dramatic, it made me cry a few times, and Henry Golding is...ugh, I can't with that man. If you need me, I'll be holed up on my couch rewatching this 20 times a month.<br />
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<b>9. <i>THE FAVOURITE </i>(dir. Yorgos Lanthimos)</b></div>
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I only watched this a week ago, but the more time I've had to mull it over, the more I love it - I can envision it being a lot higher in another iteration of this list. It is probably the funniest movie I've seen all year, with vintage Lanthimos staging and a fascinating dynamic between three actresses on the top of their game - Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. The thing I weirdly loved the most was that the men in this film are so secondary to the women, and the film has fun with that.<br />
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<b>8. <i>AMERICAN ANIMALS </i>(dir. Bart Layton)</b></div>
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This was one of the most consistently entertaining films I saw this year. It was also a genius approach to retelling a story of people who made some poor decisions, playing with perception and form to make you both revile and root for the guys at the centre of the film.<br />
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<b>7. <i>MCQUEEN </i>(dir. Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui)</b></div>
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Alexander McQueen had a life plagued with tragedy, which could have easily been sensationalised in a documentary focused on the drama that shaped him. <i>McQueen, </i>instead, uses Alexander's unique fashion designs as the driving force of this film, and weaves the key points of his life into the fabric of the film. What results is a moving, full celebration of a fashion maestro who had an incredible ability to put his life into his art.<br />
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<b>6. <i>WILDLIFE </i>(dir. Paul Dano)</b></div>
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</b> For some reason, I'm particularly drawn to films about failing marriages, and <i>Wildlife </i>does it exceptionally well. The failing marriage is that of Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal's characters, but it is seen entirely through the perspective of their 14 year old son who is old enough to understand, but still naive enough to not fully grasp the rift between his parents. Mulligan absolutely commands this film as a difficult, impulsive woman longing for her youth.<br />
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<b>5. <i>SORRY TO BOTHER YOU </i>(dir. Boots Riley)</b></div>
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It took a hot minute to get this showing in NZ (I bought tickets six weeks in advance for the first screening at <i>the end of November</i>), but it was worth the wait. This film is <i>alive. </i>I couldn't even explain it if I tried, as it is went to some very unexpected places while still possibly being better than I expected it to be (I had high expectations). Also, where can we sign up Lakeith Stanfield to be in everything?<br />
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<b>4. <i>A STAR IS BORN </i>(dir. Bradley Cooper)</b></div>
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</b> This was possibly my most anticipated film for the year, with the original 1937 film being the first film that ever made me cry - I needed a good, emotional film at this point of the year. Despite knowing exactly what was around the corner, <i>A Star is Born </i>still hit those emotional high notes, mostly due to a couple of stellar performances from Bradley Cooper (who I have believed in all these years and he is <i>delivering</i>) and Lady Gaga.<br />
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<b>3. <i>ROMA </i>(dir. Alfonso Cuaron)</b></div>
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</b> Every man and his dog has been hyping this movie up and I'm not about to ignite the Netflix vs. big screen experience debate but <i>this movie. </i>I didn't expect it to absolutely wreck me in the way it did. This is an immersive film in every sense of the world - you become embroiled in Cleo's world, which makes the final act all the more of a rollercoaster.<br />
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<b>2. <i>WIDOWS </i>(dir. Steve McQueen)</b></div>
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</b> A movie directed by Steve McQueen with a script he co-wrote with Gillian Flynn with a cast like <i>that</i>? I was sold well before the movie even hit theatres. Even though my expectations were high, I didn't expect to spend the final act with my jaw dropped. This is an expertly made, extremely well-performed (FYC Elizabeth Debicki thank you very much), tensely crafted thriller that almost doesn't let up. It's like five movies in one.<br />
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<b>1. <i>LEAVE NO TRACE </i>(dir. Debra Granik)</b></div>
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</b> I was fortunate enough to see <i>Leave No Trace </i>with a sell-out crowd at Auckland's Civic Theatre, followed by a Q&A with Debra Granik and actress Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie. I knew from the moment the film ended that I had just seen the best movie of the year. Granik's commitment to capturing the life of people on the edges of society has never been more eloquent and rich than it is here. This is a film that doesn't offer any easy answers and lets its characters go through the motions, trying to assimilate to a normal life at different paces. <i>Leave No Trace </i>is a striking, complex work of art that truly doesn't get the love it deserves.<br />
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So what do we think? Any recommendations for films I should catch up on? What films have you been screaming from the rooftops about?!Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com186tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-37286827953485056752018-08-02T21:28:00.000+12:002018-08-02T21:28:09.846+12:00my favourite job was at a dvd store<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I worked in two DVD stores while I was in high school and university. I'm 22, so arguably on the fringe of not being able to say 'I grew up going to the DVD store', but I'm somehow a veteran of a business very much from the yesteryear. Growing up was coloured with trailer loop discs, monthly pamphlets, the death of VHS, being angry that the DVD library only stretched so far, and seeing the business literally disintegrate before my eyes.<br />
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It is a little strange to know that just three years ago, I was spending my spare nights and Saturday mornings allowing people to take home (potentially scratched) DVDs while watching the same trailers loop around every 45 minutes. With the way things in the world are now, the whole DVD store model was never built to last - never mind the fact that when you rented out videos you had to rewind the tapes yourself. Unimaginable.<br />
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Now, when I say that my favourite job was at a DVD store, there isn't really a lot of competition - I've not had the best run with employment since both of the DVD stores I worked at closed down. I <i>did</i>, however, learn a lot about myself while spray and wiping discs and trying not to judge people who actually rented stuff from the R18 section.<br />
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The most inconsequential lessons first:<br />
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<li>If someone has racked up over $40 of late fees, you're probably never going to see that DVD again</li>
<li>Bruce Willis and 50 Cent had a fairly fruitful straight-to-DVD career</li>
<li>The NZ distributed copy of the movie <i>Stolen Lives </i>(which stars a young Jessica Chastain) spells Jon Hamm's name as 'John Hammm'</li>
<li>The solution that is used in scratch removal machines (that business must have also gone down quickly) will dry your hands out like nothing else, gagging just at the thought of it</li>
<li>People usually hate the movies you like and aren't afraid to tell you about it and you'll judge them based on their rental history anyway (but anything starring The Rock or literally anyone else from the <i>Fast and Furious </i>franchise is sure to be a bonafide hit)</li>
<li>There's actually quite a few ways you can display DVDs on a shelf. My favourite is to showcase one and then stack the DVDs horizontally with the spines out. This works because a) it seems to be the least messy when customers touch it, b) you can quickly scan through the movies, and c) I could aggressively display <i>The Prestige </i>as being the main pick for a thriller starting with P</li>
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The more useful and applicable lessons:<br />
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<li>It kinda sucks when other employees don't care about the product as much as you do, but I genuinely think the people who are working in the few DVD stores that are left really actually care otherwise they wouldn't still be there</li>
<li>Working sole charge shifts until 10pm actually really sucks, especially when you're a girl who needs to catch a bus at that time in a really iffy suburb (but you do learn your street smarts and how to be over protective when it comes to security)</li>
<li>Being exposed to 1000s of trailers teaches you so much that you end up doing your Honours dissertation on how movie trailers actually tell you more about the industry than the movie itself - no, just me??</li>
<li>I know what it looks like when a business rapidly starts declining, and there's nothing that can be done to save it. I also know what it looks like when the franchise stops supporting the business, and all of a sudden its on its own. I've seen a lot of warning signs in the DVD store business that I've seen in a couple of other jobs I've been in - which is probably a very unique perspective to have</li>
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The most important lesson of all, though, was that actually believing in the product that is paying your wages is incredibly important. For me, anyway. It sounds so simple (especially if you've been reading this blog for a while), but it has been a long hard road for me to realise that some of the issues I've had with motivation at my other jobs weren't because I was bad at them, it was because I just couldn't bring myself to really care about the endgame. I'm definitely an all or nothing kind of girl, which could be a flaw as much as it could be a strength. I didn't really realise this too much when I embarked on my post-uni hunt for jobs and it got me in a bit of a corner, but I'll be starting a new job soon that brings me back to getting movies seen by people. Jury's out on whether it'll work out, but I have a good feeling about it, which is a start.<br />
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Really, though, had I not had a DVD store in my life, I wouldn't have known I had a passion for movies that would take some pretty bizarre forms. I attribute a lot of my successes to Blockbuster and I am happy that I have a few of those life lessons under my belt at such a young age. It is weird to think that there's a small handful of these institutions left in the country (let alone the world).<br />
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But also, the one plus side of not working in a DVD store is that my DVD collection pretty much stopped growing three years ago. Which definitely came in handy when I moved 3/4 of the way up the country. Even though my collection took up a good 1/5 of our carload. How on earth did I have the money to buy all of them and can I have it back please?<br />
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Sometimes you want to watch a film but you don't feel like streaming, or watching one you own, or purchasing one, or borrowing one from a friend, or finding one on cable, or driving down to the theater, or illegally downloading one, and that's where we come in.</div>
— The Last Blockbuster (@loneblockbuster) <a href="https://twitter.com/loneblockbuster/status/940648775818805248?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 12, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<br />Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com106tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-54759386988672691732018-07-08T17:28:00.002+12:002018-07-08T17:28:39.479+12:00a note on the past few years of not being here<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Woo...where to even begin with this.<br />
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Hello hello, it is me - <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveeTaylor">occasional tweeter,</a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/filmelle/">semi-aesthetic film Instagrammer,</a> and self-professed 'former film blogging child prodigy'.<br />
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I've spent my Sunday afternoon flicking through a few of my posts that I wrote on here before I abandoned it. I'm listening to Lana Del Rey's 'Born to Die' album, which was the soundtrack to everything I wrote from September 2012 until the end of that year - I like to think that was the heyday of my blogging years, where I had so many lofty ambitions for what I could do with my passion for film and when taking a week away from the blog was akin to taking annual leave from an actual job. I'm feeling a little sad, a touch mad at myself for giving up on all of this...especially, when I was told in the aforementioned heyday of this blog that I would one day lose my passion for film and writing at some point in my life. Anyone who knows me will know that I'm unusually stubborn - if I get told that my life will go in one direction, I'll do anything in my power to steer it in the other direction.<br />
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I did, however, lose my passion for film and writing somewhere along the way. And that's why I abandoned all of this.<br />
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It has been almost four years since I wrote my last post, an unusually strong review of the film <b>Predestination</b>, which features that performance by Sarah Snook that I will always and forever contest as one of the best performances of this decade. In those last four years, I graduated with two degrees in media and communication. I got a scholarship to study for a semester in Finland, which changed my life in the most unexpected ways. I've travelled to over 15 other countries, where I started a new passion: travel, but more specifically, travelling to Sweden. I've become obsessed with high end makeup - when I was last on this blog, I used to only wear poorly colour matched and blended foundation, but now I spend a large chunk of my morning routine blending a smokey eye. I moved 3/4 of the way up the country after I graduated to give myself better job opportunities, but they took a little while to come (more on that later, maybe). On the more serious side, I was diagnosed with a myriad of issues with my reproductive system - mild endometriosis, PCOS and PMDD - which left me grappling with an uncertain future for my fertility when I was only 19. My long ignored mental health issues also became increasingly difficult to deal with. I started having frequent and severe panic attacks when I was 21 (although the anxiety has certainly been there since I was a child, but we just put it down to me being shy and an overthinker). For the past year and a half, I've dealt with some fairly bad bouts of depression - that's something I wish I could explain, but it isn't exactly in the past and there's no simple answer for it.<br />
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And hey, all of these life changes can be expected. Even if I tried, I couldn't be the same 17 year old girl from a small town with big dreams that I was in 2012. Things became difficult/crazy/strange/different for me - as they do for everyone - and suddenly, I couldn't sit down and write about movies. In fact, I couldn't sit down and let myself write <i>anything </i>that wasn't a university paper for just about four years. I wanted it to be <i>perfect</i>, I wanted to have the hottest take on something, I wanted to understand a film better than anyone else did. But I wasn't capable of that, so I'd stop myself before I even tried to write about XYZ film. And then when I started struggling more with my brain, I could put on a film and absolutely not take anything in. That felt horrible, because it wasn't something I was deciding to do myself - I had no control over it. There was a period of time last year where I became extremely ill, which I'm told was potentially because I was having a nervous breakdown of some kind. In that time, I couldn't go to the cinema without feeling so anxious I was extremely nauseous. Great, I thought. One of my happiest of places was being taken away by the fact that my brain and my body didn't want to play ball. The first film I was able to see in cinema again was <b>The Disaster Artist. </b>I initially felt so nauseous I was about to leave, but the film made me laugh so much, and then made me so hopeful, that for a moment I felt like everything was going to be normal again. In terms of me and my movies, of course.<br />
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So it has been a little strange to read through some of the stuff I previously wrote and be like 'damn, I was actually a good writer'. I never thought much of what I was doing on this blog while I was doing it. I just enjoyed having a space where I could talk about the things that mattered to me, and people who dug that would be around to push the conversation. I didn't really worry about my writing having a 'point', I was just genuinely happy to be able to share my own connection with certain films. The moment when I became too hard on myself about this little passion project seemed to signify that I had completely lost the part of myself that was dedicated to this site, and it was never going to return.<br />
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I don't think I ever truly lost that part of myself. It was just buried under a tonne of self-loathing, sadness, illness, finding new things to be passionate about, trying to find myself (which has been very difficult for me to learn that this is an on-going process and not something that can be done by reading a few Tumblr quotes), and, well, life. So, maybe, if I try this out a little more, we can see how it goes. We can see if I can stop stopping myself from doing things just because I think that they aren't the most perfect, hottest takes on something.<br />
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I've been explaining this site a lot recently for some reason, and I'm always asked why I stopped, and then I'm told that I should get back into it. <i>If only it were that easy</i>, I tell them. Well, I just wrote this waffle in about 45 minutes. The whole 'Born to Die' album has just ended. I know this isn't going to be the thing that everyone wants to read. But it is here, etched on my little speck of the internet that has content that spans for almost nine years. And I'm going to work on that being enough for me.Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com130tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-19781259595295532112014-12-12T19:09:00.000+13:002014-12-12T19:09:19.182+13:00Predestination Definitely Isn't the Film You Think It Is<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Chances are you haven't seen - or maybe even heard of - <b>Predestination</b>. I'm not entirely sure when its planned release date is for wider markets, nor am I sure why it was released in New Zealand in mid-September, smack bang in the middle of an extreme dry spell at the multiplex. If you want a quick debrief on the film: its touted as a time-travel thriller directed by the Spierig Brothers (who last directed the equally underseen 2010 vampire flick <b>Daybreakers</b>) and stars man of the moment Ethan Hawke and breakout star Sarah Snook. I suggest watching the trailer so it becomes a little clearer as to why this movie is a little different and surprising, as it is the complete opposite to what they're selling.<br />
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It isn't a new phenomenon to have the trailer ramp up the intensity of the action to draw in the masses, nor is it new to have a trailer totally misrepresent a movie. What happens when a movie is totally unsellable, though? Because that's what <b>Predestination</b> is - something that can't be easily packaged into an appealing marketing ploy. Yes, it's a time travel thriller. But it has more in common with <b>Philomena</b> than <b>Looper</b>. So take that as you will.<br />
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For a relatively short 90 minute running time, the film spends the first hour explaining the story of someone who isn't Ethan Hawke - even though he is marketed as the main star of the film (again, not unusual for marketing to play up a star who has been around since the 90s, but you'd be surprised about how long it takes for his character to become anything important). Instead, we focus on the 'Unmarried Mother', played by Sarah Snook, who's story takes centre stage in the film and surprisingly isn't about time travel at all. The last half an hour finally gets to the time travel stuff you were wondering about originally, and all of a sudden the film transcends into a <b>Looper</b>-like, spirally thriller that eventuates into something that is a little predictable. You could say that the element of time travel - or just time itself (similar to what <b>Interstellar</b> did) - does gel together both of the different plots/different films and kind of makes it into something that undoes the cynicism the film begins with. It has been a little while since I saw it, but all I can remember saying about the film directly after walking out of the theatre was that it was 'a big ideas film.' Most of them centre around the character of the Unmarried Mother, some of them play with time, along with an element of revenge that is used to propel the plot. You could say that the film punches above its weight in its short running time, but it also manages to feel a lot longer than the 90 minutes. That's not to say that it is boring, it is just so unexpectedly strange. <br />
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The problem with the film isn't that it was marketed to be something that it wasn't. It certainly isn't that the film is completely unsellable from a marketing point of view. I just think this film is an interesting experiment on audience expectations. Time travel films usually always end up the same - and yes, this film does wind up being the same by the end - and <b>Predestination</b> throws a new element (or character) into the mix brings her centre stage. It probably wouldn't have worked had it not been for the masterful performance by Sarah Snook, who crafts such an intricately multi-faceted character with ease. Looking for that apparently elusive 'well-written female character'? Look no further than this, and be amazed by the stellar work by Snook. It's a performance so other-worldly that it doesn't feel like it belongs in a supposed simple film about time travel. Looking back on it, this highlighted again how I felt about the strangeness of this film. It is so unique, only to fall back into something so predictable. It is so close to being something great before it does a 180-degree flip into the same paradoxical loop of time travel tropes. I'd say that <b>Predestination</b> is an interesting experiment in genre-bending. It mostly works. But its willingness to easily fall into normal audience expectations after completely shattering them was a little disappointing. <br />
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So yes - I'm not exactly sure of how to easily sum up <b>Predestination</b> for an Ethan Hawke fan or someone looking for <b>Looper</b> 2.0 or anyone who wants to see some classic stylish gun-toting. In fact, I'm not sure of how I could sum up <b>Predestination</b> for anyone. Which I guess means that <b>Predestination</b> was pretty successful considering most films these days can be summed up by a simple sentence. Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com460tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-46384898272306810832014-11-07T20:01:00.001+13:002014-11-07T20:01:49.194+13:00I Saw Interstellar, I am a Nolan Fan, It Is Not Perfect (and that's okay)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Of course, if you've been around these parts for a little while, you'll know that I've been a pretty huge Christopher Nolan fan since 2010. It has reached some pretty fanatical heights (why <i>yes </i>I do own two copies of <b>Memento</b>, a copy of the <b>Inception </b>shooting script and bought a special collectors edition of <b>The Dark Knight Rises </b>that came with little figurines), I may call him God from time to time and I do get exceptionally excited whenever I hear his name mentioned. So of course, once I heard he was doing a film with my favourite person ever Jessica Chastain, along with my other favourites Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, I was <u>very</u> excited. Levels of excitement included being a countdown for the film from April 6th, using procrastination time to watch the trailers over and over again and possibly just about amputating my boyfriend's hand whenever the trailer came on before the movies we saw at the cinemas.<br />
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You'd be expecting me to hightail into this movie with the "Nolan is God, he can do know wrong, #Nolanfangirl" attitude.<br />
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Thing is, <b>Interstellar </b>is not perfect. And that's okay.<br />
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I have a feeling there'll be a lot of talk about <b>Interstellar </b>over the next few days, so I'll keep this a little brief. I'd have to give this another watch to fully absorb it, particularly in the Xtremescreen format instead of just the normal cinema viewing (damn you, exams). But yes, everything you've heard about the technological achievements of this film are true - this film is probably one of the greatest visual experiences I have <i>ever had</i>. Nolan's new teaming with cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (the guy behind the incredible cinematography of <b>Let the Right One In</b>, <b>Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy </b>and <b>Her</b>) has produced some pretty incredible results, giving this film this weird blend of independent sensibilities - think <b>Memento</b>-era Nolan, with the polished pride of something like <b>Inception</b>. The visual effects work on the space scenes, along with the real locations used to represent the other planets are all absolutely <i>perfect</i>.<br />
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In terms of being compared to Nolan's other work - and of course, I'll have to give it another watch considering I've seen each of his films at least three times, with <b>The Dark Knight </b>being viewed over 25 times - I wouldn't say that this is one of his best. It lacks the completed narrative of <b>Memento </b>(and to be honest, I would take a <i>lot </i>for that film to be topped for me), the general magic of <b>The Dark Knight </b>and the cleanness of <b>Inception</b>. I'd currently place it somewhere in between <b>The Prestige </b>and <b>The Dark Knight Rises </b>if I were ranking his films, but since it is a little too early to tell, here's what I will say: <b>Interstellar </b>is in no way like any of his other films. Yet, in saying that, it isn't like he is departing from the style of anything he's previously done - it just doesn't neatly fit with the rest of his trajectory. Or any cinematic trajectory for that matter. The thing that stands out most about <b>Interstellar </b>is that it shows incomparable ambition that is <i>precisely </i>the reason why I love film so much.<br />
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Let's just take a second to appreciate how damn ambitious <b>Interstellar </b>is and for that reason alone it should be counted as one of the greats. Every single frame is dripping with ambition. Nolan has brought out <i>everything </i>in full force, and where we think that he'll step back in fear of going too far, he chooses to go further. He goes much further with this film than what is generally 'required' by a film, and maybe that won't be to everyone's taste but I was utterly in awe of what he was doing. The emotional strain of this film is absolutely beautiful, mostly due to the wonderful performances by Matthew McConaughey along with Mackenzie Foy and Jessica Chastain playing Murph at different ages. Apparently the scientific stuff was pretty interesting, but even though I didn't really understand some of it, it was still broken down in such a way that it was easy to swallow.<br />
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Again, the film isn't perfect - it is hard to pinpoint reasons <i>why</i>, but it is so very close to being a masterpiece. The <i>really </i>fanatical Nolan fanboys will tell you this movie is resoundingly perfect, and they could be right. The <i>really </i>fanatical Nolan haters will tell you that it is overlong and silly, and they could be right too. Even though I've been hyped up for this film for months, I am hesitant to say whether it lived up to my expectations, but I don't think they ever extended beyond me being generally excited to see my favourite actress in a film by my favourite director. It is going to generate some interesting discussion by being a bit divisive - and I think that's something we're lacking a little these days with films either being "good enough", "MASTERPIECE (that we'll inevitably forget about anyway)" or "wow that sucked". Above all, I'm still floored by the ambition and courage of this movie, but it isn't perfect by any means. And you know what? I'm not even disappointed that it wasn't perfect. I'm not even disappointed that it doesn't rank high among Nolan's best. I'm not even disappointed after months of waiting, it didn't completely change my world in a way that some of Nolan's films have. I'm grateful that it reminded me of love these stupid little things called film and want to make a career out of them - <b>Interstellar </b>is direct proof of how much ambition can be put into them.<br />
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If you really need proof of just <i>how </i>much I was affected by this film, I cried quite profusely four separate times during the film, characteristically cried at the sight of Christopher Nolan's name, then cried for a full fifteen minutes after the film. I'd like to say that I've grown out of Nolan's films emotionally wrecking me, but I haven't.Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com458tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-25886819847843178362014-10-27T21:36:00.002+13:002014-10-27T21:36:46.913+13:00Whiplash, or: How a Movie About Drumming is Possibly the Scariest Movie of 2014<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's a scene in <b>Whiplash</b> where Andrew (Miles Teller, gradually building up a pretty great filmography with his best work so far) tells his would-be girlfriend Nicole (Melissa Benoist) that he can't date her because he is too focused on his drumming. He refuses to not only allow himself to resent her for wanting to interrupt this focus, but also to stop her for resenting him because she'll only be second best. He reasons that he is doing this not because he wants to be "great", instead wanting to be "one of the greats."<br />
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There was something so strange about this scene. At the beginning of the film, Andrew coyly asked Nicole out after months of going to the cinema where she worked and thinking he might have a shot with her. This happens midway through the film, where Nicole could be the only really positive connection (besides his father) he has in life, and yet he chooses to pursue his dreams of being one of the greats. Usually, we'll have a love interest helping the wannabe hero on his way, but the film doesn't have time to waste on human connections. It only has time to spare to tell a story of blood, sweat and tears.<br />
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No, this isn't some action/thriller a la <b>The Equalizer</b>. Instead, this is a drama about a first-year student at one of the top music schools in America hoping to achieve his dreams and aspirations of being the next big thing in drumming. Stripped away of a love interest, a highly dramatised back story explaining why Andrew <i>must </i>achieve his dream and a tear-filled speech about how he'll overcome adversity, this film leaves us with the raw, unflinching core of achieving something great: perseverance. This portrait of perseverance is splattered with hands covered in blood and blistered and sweat dripping off cymbals, and also the dark and intimidating figure of Terence Fletcher (J.K. Simmons, who is terrifying and certainly deserves the Oscar buzz), a music instructor who will stop at nothing to achieve absolute perfection.<br />
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<b>Whiplash </b>is probably more terrifying and intense than your average horror fare. Who knew that a film about a guy drumming could have you coming out the other side feeling exhausted and hoping that your hands haven't spontaneously grown blisters like the ones that Andrew deals with. What you really come away with, though, is questioning what can truly make someone "one of the greats". We now live in a society where there are plenty of inspirational quotes to keep you going through life, all with the same kind of message: "just do it, don't let anyone get in the way of your dreams, you can do it no matter what." <b>Whiplash </b>presents a message that is somewhat the antithesis of that, showing a more discouraging side to achieving the big dream, mostly in the form of Fletcher. This is a guy who knows that musical perfection can exist out there, but this is only found by exceeding expectations. He isn't the guy that will tell you to practice until you physically can't take it any more, he's more interested in destroying you emotionally to see if you still want your dream.<br />
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The film begs the question: why would anyone keep going under the mentorship of Fletcher? He hurls chairs at Andrew while he's drumming, uses Andrew's own personal problems against him, he forces three drummers to drum non-stop for hours on end in order to find a tempo that seems unachievable. You can look at it this way: most of us would just give up and walk away, knowing that Fletcher's kind of discouragement is probably correct and maybe you're in the wrong career. Andrew sees Fletcher as a villain to conquer, perhaps as a human form of his own self-loathing. Andrew is driven to hell and back by Fletcher. Does it make him a better drummer? Maybe. Does it make him better as a person? No. Fletcher is the thing that Andrew must overcome, and is the <i>real </i>thing that keeps Andrew going. For that reason, the film is pretty conventional in its narrative, being a simple tale of the villain that must be overcome by the hero. Through the drumming context though, the film has a more unconventional way of telling an age old story.<br />
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Yet, the film carries a pretty heavy message. Andrew is so young and embarks on his new college life with plenty of ambition to be amazing, which I find is something that is severely lacking in people my age. This is a time when you're supposed to have lots of friends and get the girls and have fun, but Andrew is the person who ditches his one human connection for practising the drums into the wee hours of the morning. Perhaps he has a little too much of that fresh-faced optimism that people his age have, and that makes him such an easy target for Fletcher. But you have to wonder what writer/director Damien Chazelle is really trying to say about the power of being "one of the greats", particularly in the music industry, in times like these when anybody can become famous on YouTube or on any one of the many talent shows. Someone as young as Andrew isn't supposed to be great because he hasn't had a lot of experience, but with someone as discouraging as Fletcher, why would you want to get any more experience? Andrew doesn't seem to be a particularly great drummer at the beginning and is more in tune with his dreams rather than his raw talent, so will practising for hours on end help him achieve his dream or does he just lack the talent? <i>What is it that makes someone one of the greats?</i> Fletcher seems to think he knows, Andrew thinks that he has what it takes. The blood, sweat and tears are certainly indicative of Andrew earning <i>his </i>right to say "ya know what? I'm trying really hard and I'm putting in the effort to become great." And yes, we as an audience want to give him a gold star and yell at Fletcher for being too harsh on him. Because <i>that's </i>the society that we've become: one obsessed with rewarding people for looking the part and putting their participation flag up, instead of going beyond expectations.<br />
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I think what Chazelle is trying to say with <b>Whiplash </b>is that we're a society who barely allows someone to dream enough to become one of the greats, and because just <i>being </i>is enough. The ones who genuinely try, like Andrew, are destined to be discouraged by people like Fletcher who won't settle for <i>enough </i>in a society where you barely need to even be enough. He then punishes Andrew - who thinks he's enough - to the point where he longer wants to be any more than enough. Though the film doesn't stake a claim in showing how those who aim low will always succeed, it does show that those who aim high and destined to have a tougher time.<br />
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And that's what makes <b>Whiplash </b>possibly one of the scariest movies of 2014: why should my generation even bother having ambition or value a hard-working ethic? Why try too hard if it has little gain? <i>Will we even be capable of producing "one of the greats"?</i><br />
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Pretty scary stuff.Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com275tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-64053162900257120802014-10-21T18:38:00.000+13:002014-10-21T18:38:06.455+13:00Five Years Ago Today I Started This Blog (and now a soppy post ensues)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So here we are, at the five year anniversary of this little corner of the web. It is weird to think of this time five years ago where I would have been furiously tapping away at the big keys of my Dad's desktop PC to create my paragraph-long thinkpiece on <b>Let the Right One In</b>. Okay, so thinkpiece is a loose term for <a href="http://www.cinematicparadox.com/2009/10/18th-october-2009.html">this very vague review</a>. The ironic thing is, I wrote that review in my first year of high school. Just recently, I wrote an essay on the same film for my first year of university (which got an A, so apparently I'm smart). So why's this important?<br />
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Usually, I'd have some post to celebrate an anniversary with all of these thank yous and lists of movies that have meant a lot during the years. And believe me, I've thought about this five year anniversary and what I'd do for it for the last couple of years. But I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this blog has been a great way to track the way I've grown up. Through my changing movie tastes (hello not watching <b>Hannah Montana: The Movie </b>for 'fun') to the way my writing has developed to how my life went through all of these strange milestones. It was great for those formative high school years, figuring out all those weird questions of "who am I, what am I doing, what will I choose as my career when I can't even decide to have for breakfast this morning?"<br />
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Admittedly, this year has been a strange one where everything has changed in so many ways. Gone are the days of having to go 45 minutes to get to a cinema and instead I've been to the cinemas 37 times this year (so almost once a week). I've gone from only ever living in three different houses in my life to living in four different places in one year. I've learnt about the perils of referencing (can't we all just use one referencing style instead of jamming MLA, Harvard, APA and Chicago into one semester?!), how to put up with constant abuse from the engineers about the fact that my Arts degree 'will not get me a job', the weird feeling of being in a relationship with someone who is too good to be true. So while my blog has been the perfect thing through a whole lot of transitions, it hasn't been all that present this year as I've been making some of the biggest transitions in my life.<br />
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And believe me, it isn't like I haven't tried. I've written so many drafts for posts and just got to the point where it no longer makes sense, so I delete it. I would love to throw my hat into the rather expansive ring of thinkpieces about <b>Gone Girl</b>, but a) I'd just be fangirling over how perfect Rosamund Pike was and how David Fincher's direction was ON POINT, b) I'm still feeling guilty over dragging my boyfriend to see it twice and c) there's so much discussion on it, where do I even begin? I would love to tell y'all about how my life did not turn out like <b>Before Sunrise </b>or <b>The Spectacular Now </b>(actually, it kinda did...). I would love to write another post on how much I love <b>Shame </b>or how much I want <b>Interstellar </b>to be in my life right now or how much <b>The Equalizer </b>rubbed me up the wrong way.<br />
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Problem is, I don't. I'll always look back to posts I wrote in 2011/2012 and most likely think "damn, I was such a good writer, what happened?" Thing is, I'm not the same person I was back then. The blogging world is not the same sanctuary it was then. I used to be very clear about what I wanted this blog to be like when I wasn't so sure of what I wanted to do with my own life. I've kinda lost that now.<br />
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This makes it sound like I will finally cut the cords on this wee high school project, but that's something I don't really wish to do. Especially considering my degree is really all about writing and I'm happiest when I'm writing, this is a good little haven to come back to. It just might be that I'm ready to take a new direction and stop wishing that I could be at the same stage of blogging that I have been through the past five years. Yes, it is a great thing that I have an online record of how much I've changed throughout the years. And yes, it is a great thing that I managed to (loosely) keep up with it for five whole years. So even though this seems like I'm <i>moving on</i>, let's just see it as <i>moving forward</i>.<br />
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(allow for soppy story to ensue)<br />
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Through going to the cinemas so many times this year, it has easily become my absolute favourite thing to do. I admit to still looking up at the light coming from the projector like I used to do as a kid, loving the waft of buttery popcorn smell you get as you come up the escalator, and being so comfortable in the warmth of the glow from the screen. I've seen some bad films this year, and I've seen some great ones (behold the wonder that is <b>Boyhood</b>), but no matter what film it is, I always love this stuff. Especially having someone to share it with now. And something that I've found while being at university is that passion does matter and passion is the only thing that'll get you through. So of course, I'd hate to lose this little corner of the internet that allows to me to express my passion. I've been kind of awful at it in the last few months, and I may continue to be awful at it, but I'll still be here in some small way.<br />
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So finally, I'd like to thank the people who have come and gone or stayed at some stage through the past five years. It has been a great time growing up with you guys, and I look forward to sharing some more thinklings and discussions with you.<br />
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And if I don't, someone just kick me up the butt for some encouragement, huh?Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com83tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-23681162148809396362014-08-21T21:38:00.000+12:002014-08-21T21:38:24.680+12:0019th Birthday Post - My Favourite Films About Growing Up That I Watched While Growing Up<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Hi, I know, two posts in one week...damn the world must be headed for an apocalypse or something. Rather, it is my 19th birthday tomorrow. Which is interesting because I feel absolutely no excitement for this new age because it doesn't really mean anything. It is like being 17 - that awkward gap between sweet 16 and the big 18. So when it came time for me to think about doing a birthday post, I really didn't have anything to draw on because there's no such thing as R19 movies here (although there probably would be, considering that New Zealand's rating system is just ridiculous) and I've already "grown up" since I have to pay full adult price for <i>everything </i>now.<br />
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Seriously, it sucks having to draw my attention away from the kids menu at restaurants because I'm an adult so I have to get steak.<br />
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In my thinking, though, I came to the realisation that even though 19 isn't a particularly special milestone age, this is the first birthday in my "new life", you could say. Gone are the days of growing up in a small town, since now I've lived in Christchurch for over six months and passed my first semester of university. I no longer have to go grocery shopping with mum but I can buy chocolate whenever I want which is honestly the best part of growing up. Oh, and did I mention that I have a cinema five minutes bus ride away, with three others within a half an hour radius? If that's not cool, then I don't know what is.<br />
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In a way, 19 is a pretty important age to be. Whereas 18 is the age where you get slapped with the label "grown up", whether you're ready or not, by the time you're 19 you've done a spectacular amount of growing up. Well, I guess that's just how I feel now since a lot has changed since I turned 18 (I say this every year, but I could probably say now that just about every aspect of my life is so different from what it was last year). In celebration of that fact, here's a whole lot of films that taught me a bit about growing up while I was growing up. Don't expect John Hughes films (don't get me wrong, they had their influence), but more a bunch of films that came out at vital times in my life and gave me a bit of perspective. And yeah, things get mushy.<br />
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<b>An Education</b> - Earlier this year I <a href="http://www.cinematicparadox.com/2014/03/throwback-thursday-education.html">outlined my intense love for this film</a>, mainly because it shows the struggles of living up to unreasonable expectations in every way possible. I've always found myself to be a little bit of a Jenny, trying my best to do things that I don't really care for, working hard but hoping that there'll be a little bit of fun around the corner, and maybe being a little too 'pretentious' for my age (now I'm grown up and living with a whole lot of engineers, I'm just known as the weird Arts degree student). Just as the title suggests, it has always been a film that I go back to get an education, whether it be about getting a "real" education or an education from "the university of life".<br />
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<b>500 Days of Summer </b>- Just because it gives you a lot of perspective on idealising and relying on other people to make you happy. And relationship stuff. And that expectations/reality scene still hurts me to this very day. Also, it spurred my five year long crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is one of my favourite human beings on the planet and who inadvertently taught me how to be a better person. So I guess that counts as growing up also, doesn't it?<br />
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<b>Cemetery Junction </b>- This is an extremely underrated and underseen film, but one I've held dear to my heart since I first gave it a blind watch in late 2010. Most of the reason why I connected with it so well (and pretty much whoever else I showed it to) was the fact that I lived in a place very similar to Cemetery Junction, where people very comfortably 'exist' and don't really know what's going on outside of the town. It's something that I've always hated and found most gratifying when I got out of Dannevirke, because the idea of making do with what little is there and existing is not one that I've ever really enjoyed. Yet, the strange thing is that the people I grew up with became the new generation of people who could help Dannevirke be a better place, but we all left because we were so over it. And that's what <b>Cemetery Junction </b>is effectively about - those who outgrow their surroundings and what they've always done, vs those who are far too comfortable with it. Of course, this is a film by Stephen Merchant and Ricky Gervais so there's a bit of off-humour in there, but this film deserves a lot more credit than it ever got.<br />
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<b>Young Adult </b>- This film isn't so much about growing up as it is about those who never grow up. Even though it never sets foot in a high school, it is just as much about high school as something like, say, <b>Mean Girls</b>. Mavis Gary may be somewhat successful, but everything she is about is all about who she was in high school. And that kind of fascinates me, since high school was generally a pretty okay time for me but you can't really apply any of the social things you learned at high school to real life. Basically - I don't wanna turn out like Mavis Gary. But she's a fascinating character nonetheless.<br />
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<b>Before Sunrise/Before Sunset/Before Midnight </b>- Basically because this film has given me a lot of conversations which I hope to have in the future. It isn't really about growing up, but more about living, and it is beautiful.<br />
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<b>The Perks of Being a Wallflower </b>- Obviously this was going to make the list. <b>The Perks of Being a Wallflower </b>was my go to movie last year. Through all of the good times and the tough times, it was always there. It was kind of a perfect film to have around when I was doing my final year of high school since most of it was about those final days (even if it was through the eyes of a junior) and those moments that make you alive as a teenager. Even at the risk of sounding like a little oversaturated Tumblr kid, the teenage years are the time to feel infinite. I kind of miss that feeling already.<br />
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<b>The Spectacular Now </b>- Just as <b>The Perks of Being a Wallflower </b>was there for my final high school year, <b>The Spectacular Now </b>came into my life right at the very end. It was just one of those movies that came along at a perfect time. As I've said before, <i>I am Aimee</i> and that scares me a lot but it has comforted me a little bit through some trying times. That's the real beauty of film in general - when you find a movie that you really connect with, they're the best at giving you advice on life because someone is actually thinking like you. Plus, I'm not gonna lie, but the final days of high school are actually pretty terrifying when you're not entirely sure of what you wanna do and you just wanna live in the "now". Even though pretty much everything is based on how well you do as a teenager, it is the time when you wanna live in the "now". <b>The Spectacular Now </b>is a pretty sad deconstruction of that, but it'll probably be the film I go back to in order to live these formative years.<br />
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<b>Boyhood </b>- I realise that I only just saw this last week, but the bottom line is: this film is actually like watching my childhood unfold because the course of the film runs parallel to the time which I grew up in. Also, I love this film a lot. That's really all I can say.<br />
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<b><i>What were the films that told you about growing up? Any thoughts on being 19?</i></b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com70tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-89455126248889182912014-08-20T10:43:00.000+12:002014-08-20T10:43:34.358+12:00NZFF Mini-Reviews: Frank, Locke, Maps to the Stars, Boyhood<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Good things about going to university: having a cinema about five minutes away instead of 45 minutes away. Bad things about university: everything had to be due on the week when the New Zealand International Film Festival hit town, but through some pretty intense time management skills gained last year I managed to get everything done while escaping to the cinemas on four different occasions. Which, of course, is better than having to very selectively choose one film to beg my parents to drive me over for. Still, some pretty selective choosing went on here and I ended up seeing a very interesting selection of films: <b>Frank</b>, <b>Locke</b>, <b>Maps to the Stars </b>and <b>Boyhood</b>. I won't bore you with too many more details, so here's what I thought about them here:</div>
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I must admit, it has been a little while since a film really 'clicked' for me. Not really a fault of all the films I've been watching, it has just been a little hard for me to really escape into a film. <b>Frank </b>was the one that changed it all, though. To be honest, I thought it was going to be a little jarring watching a film where Michael Fassbender has a giant head over his head, but it really didn't take anything way from his performance. He was so fascinating to watch, particularly in the film's final act. However, you can tell that he really let himself go when he was wearing the mask, owning his craziness which fit in perfectly with the way the film unfolds.<br />
The film zips and zaps from one extreme to the other with dizzying speed, becoming one of the darkest comedies I've seen in quite some time. It is made of all the tropes that would make your typical band road movie, but it is also a pretty interesting look at the connection between creativity and madness. While many have called out the fact that having the film centred on plain, wannabe musician Jon (played by the charming Domhall Gleeson who should probably be in everything), I thought it was a great way of grounding the material and always keeping the film in check. It isn't just Frank who is the eccentric one - his entire band is filled up with some pretty crazy characters who don't seem to be filtered. Jon provides a lens for keeping the film centred, and also, his reliance on social media is one of the better depictions I've seen of the internet in film (not sure why, but everyone always manages to get it wrong).<br />
Basically, I had a really good time with <b>Frank</b>. It was so dark in some places, so light in other places, and just generally a pretty strange film that wore its heart on its sleeve. And again: Michael Fassbender is everything. Best performance from him I've seen this side of <b>Shame</b>, I'd say.<br />
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I guess I went into <b>Locke </b>expecting something similar to <b>Buried</b>, except with Tom Hardy in a car. However, the film doesn't really take a thriller route where Hardy is left to fight for his life (or maybe keep his car moving to avoid death, a la <b>Speed</b>). Instead, it is a pretty complex character building exercise where Hardy plays construction worker Ivan Locke whose life is falling apart in pretty much every corner. He has made a major stuff up at work, a one night stand he had in the past is now having a baby which in turn means his marriage is disintegrating. He is left to try and navigate all of these problems on his commute to London to go and be with the woman who is having his baby, using his time to call all of the people who will either rip into him or help him and trying to destroy the demon that is his father. Which was all a little bit different to the original thriller that I was expecting and took me by surprise, but...I guess I liked it?<br />
Actually, I guess I'm a little on the fence about this one. I greatly admired the way it was shot and edited together, never taking the focus away from what was going on inside the car but also soaking up the cold night time atmosphere of the multitude of lights on the motorway. Tom Hardy, who has been taking a bit of a break from the screens which he was a permanent fixture of, delivers a commanding performance that provides a compelling portrait of a good man who has found himself in a few bad situations. However, it just left me feeling a little bit empty. The end was so abrupt and I don't really feel like it offered enough of a conclusion to the story. There were admittedly a few times where I found myself tiring of the material a little bit, hoping that something a little more substantial would happen to throw things a little more out of balance. All up, though, it was a pretty commendable achievement and an interesting experience. Definitely one to be savoured on the big screen. Considering night-time lights are pretty much my favourite thing ever, this movie was a visual dream.<br />
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I'm really not sure of how I felt about <b>Maps to the Stars</b>. Personally, I love films about Hollywood, particularly when they are <b>Mulholland Drive</b>-level fucked up. <b>Maps to the Stars </b>is a special kind of fucked up, though. I can't really tell you too much of the plot considering the way it unfolds and gives you something completely different to what you were expecting (whatever you are expecting when you go into the film is pretty much not what you come out with). What I <i>can </i>tell you, however, is that Julianne Moore absolutely kills it. Her construction of a jaded Hollywood starlet is quite different from the usual "oh pity me I can't get any jobs" sob story and more of a sad vision of someone who never really grew up.<br />
The film has multiple facets and I'm not really sure of how I felt about it as a whole. There's a whole lot of hallucinatory stuff which was a little bit overdone and was treated to be quite campy. But when the film was full on satirizing Hollywood, that's when it was at its best. The way it showed the unconstructed, messy parts of Hollywood and the clean, empty houses that the rich and famous inhabited was absolutely fascinating. It just gets <i>really messed up</i>. Maybe a little too messed up for its own good. Mia Wasikowska is terrifying in her role, but it echoed too much of her previous work in <b>Stoker </b>for it to be fully effective for me. Her character's motives and problems were bizarre and perhaps a little underdeveloped for one to believe the craziness that was happening. The cast also includes a bit of an annoying John Cusack, Carrie Fisher in an all-important cameo, Robert Pattinson driving around a limo (yes, this is better than <b>Cosmopolis</b> since I know you're all wondering) and not really serving a lot of purpose to the plot, and a brilliant Olivia Williams (just to point out again: this woman is great and needs to be in more movies).<br />
<b>Maps to the Stars </b>is a pretty intriguing look at Hollywood, but it gets a bit far ahead of itself too often. Don't get me wrong, I did like it a bit. However, that was mainly because of the phenomenal performance by Julianne Moore and the fact that I have a penchant for dark Hollywood stories. If the film was a little more spunky and a little more developed, I definitely would have connected with it more. For now, though, it feels like it could have spent a little more time in the editing room and a little less time throwing around bizarre ideas.<br />
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I can't really say anything different from what has already been said: this film is a masterpiece in every sense of the word. I think it came at the exact right time in my life, too. The time period that Mason grew up in is pretty much the exact time period that I grew up in, especially as this film came to be in my first year of university (and that's where the film ends). Which is pretty much perfect, because lately I've been reflecting on all of those formative years and <i>what do they all mean?</i> And all that philosophical banter. <b>Boyhood </b>is such a damn authentic way to show growing up. No, that's not just because they actually did film this over 12 years and allowed their actors to grow up naturally. But because it focuses on the little authentic parts of growing up that we tend to forget about: the music we used to listen to (I could always tell exactly where the film was at because of the music, it lifted the whole thing), the conversations we used to have, the people and things that were around and us and just disappeared.<br />
The authenticity is the best (of many) asset that this film has, because most of these "coming-of-age" films want to hammer home the whole "being a teenager is so hard because I don't know what to do with life" stuff that no movie can ever truly get right. It doesn't focus on one particular area, either. We don't have Mason's first love blown all out of proportion. We don't have his first experience with alcohol made into this big "don't drink alcohol it makes you stupid" fantasy. We see things as we see life. It isn't made up by one particular moment, it is made up of so many different facets that don't often connect into a fully-formed, tidy narrative. And I applaud Richard Linklater and his team for that. This film is the closest thing to a life experience that I've seen. That might just be because my life is pretty much parallel to the time period that the film took place in, but everything just felt so damn <i>real</i>.<br />
It may be a bold statement, but <b>Boyhood </b>is everything that I love about cinema. The way it can portray the little things in life that we don't often stop to take notice of, the way it makes you realise all of this stuff that you didn't really think about, and the way that a whole lot of people can act of something scripted and make it feel like your watching something that is so real (I know this is a fundamental thing in cinema, but I feel like this film really got it <i>right</i>).<br />
Simply put: I loved this film. I love what Richard Linklater was crazy enough to do here. This is cinema at its absolute raw perfection.Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-90588898281969752912014-07-31T20:18:00.001+12:002014-07-31T20:18:35.348+12:00Can We Take a Moment to Remember How Blue Valentine is Still Devastating?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>Few spoilers in this post, but I imagine most of you should have seen it back in 2011. If you haven't, grab the tissues and come back later.</i></div>
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Did you know that the most fun thing you can do on a Sunday afternoon before you go to work is rewatch <b>Blue Valentine</b> and spend a good 20 minutes crying over it?<br />
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Didn't know that valuable information? Well I can 100% confirm that while rewatching <b>Blue Valentine </b>may not be the most happy experience, it is an experience nonetheless.<br />
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A little bit of context: I first watched <b>Blue Valentine </b>when it first came out on DVD in July 2011, when I was a tiny 15 year old enjoying the last days of illegally watching R16s. I have not been able to go back to it since. Until there came a Sunday when I thought: "I've got a couple of hours to kill, let's watch the most depressing film in my collection this side of <b>Revolutionary Road</b>."<br />
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Apparently I didn't really remember the magnitude of absolute earth-shattering devastation that this film brought to my world. Or I was watching it with different eyes when I was 15. But holy heck is this film depressing.<br />
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One thing that really took me by surprise this time around was the way Derek Cianfrance loves playing with his narratives. One of my favourite films from last year was his sophomore effort <b>The Place Beyond the Pines</b>. Here was a film that easily could have been split into three parts, yet he expanded his narrative beyond what he could have. He didn't only show the cause, but also showed the effect. I talk about this a lot more in <a href="http://www.cinematicparadox.com/2013/10/ambition-but-not-gravity-kind-derek.html">my review</a> of the film from last year, but to put it simply: I really admire Cianfrance's ambition. We're too often brushing simple narrative ambition under the rug for the more complex, confusing narratives drawing in a plethora of realms (however, that does make for some damn good cinema when it's done right).<br />
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<b>Blue Valentine </b>is an ambitious film. Not as glaringly ambitious as <b>The Place Beyond the Pines</b>, but ambitious nonetheless. You couldn't really say that films about breaking/broken relationships aren't really hot topic, especially in the realm of independent film-making. Cianfrance expands his narrative here also, giving us two films in one: the film that shows the early days of the relationship between Dean and Cindy, and then also the latter days (or day, considering most of the action happens over the course of 24 hours). Instead of handing them to us in perfect chronological order to gulp down, he cross-cuts the two narratives together. Bittersweet or a bitter pill? Hmmmm.<br />
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I honestly think that the way that Cianfrance expands his narrative and then arranges it is the key to this film being so devastating. I recently rewatched <b>Revolutionary Road </b>again, which is an equally devastating story of a crumbling marriage set to the backdrop of 1950's suburban boredom. <b>Revolutionary Road </b>definitely goes to more extremes than <b>Blue Valentine </b>does, and comparing on paper, <b>Blue Valentine </b>has no right to be as devastating as it is. But just look at the final few minutes, which edit together Dean and Cindy's wedding day and the end of their marriage. The two parallel narratives are brought to a close together, giving a simultaneous happy end to one and a sad end to the other. And then there's that final shot of Dean disappearing into the distance and Cindy walking away with their daughter in her arms. Perhaps there's a little bit of cruel irony that Cianfrance chooses to set this scene with Dean walking towards the fireworks in the background, which then lead to the credits playing a slideshow of Dean and Cindy in happier times with fireworks all around them. After all, it is fireworks that start all of these things, isn't it? And Dean is walking right into them, even though the fireworks are all but gone from his life.<br />
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Just as Cianfrance does with <b>The Place Beyond the Pines</b>, showing both the cause and the consequent effect in the future, here he shows the process of falling in love and the process of falling out of love. Not exactly new concepts, but the way that Cianfrance treats them is with this startling mixture of a little bit of romantic whimsy that has developed in filmic love stories over the years and the gritty realism that has become cemented in films of this kind. Of course, the romantic stuff isn't a hard sell considering we have Ryan Gosling in the lead role. However, this is lightyears away from his most famous work as everyone woman's dream lover in <b>The Notebook</b>. The character development, along with the stunningly real performances from Gosling and Michelle Williams are key here - instead of the film focusing on just the relationship between the two characters, it also focuses on what makes the two characters separate entities. This is something that's always kind of annoyed me about 'romantic' films about relationships: they're always so concerned with marrying the characters together without realising that the characters can each stand on their own two feet. A considerable amount of time is spent developing the characters - particularly Cindy, which makes it a little easier to understand just <i>why </i>they fell in love and <i>why </i>they fell out of love. Instead of fabricating the <i>why </i>into these grand romantic gestures straight out of a Nicholas Sparks novel, Gosling and Williams are masters of subtlety. Sure, it's subtlety that could be blown out of proportion by over-romanticised Tumblr kids, but it is a little more believable than some of the other syrupy stuff we see. It also works both ways - apart from the end, the other most devastating part of this film (I think) is the scene towards the end where Dean tries to hug Cindy and she just resists him. This one scene doesn't pinpoint one singular reason as to why they had fallen out of love, but instead shows how time has completely worn them down. Whereas that hug would have been welcomed back in the early days, its pretty much the most repulsive thing that could happen now.<br />
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Since I've been watching <b>The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby</b>'s trailer at least 50 times per day (because THIS IS THE YEAR OF JESSICA CHASTAIN AGAIN!!!), I've been getting a few <b>Blue Valentine</b>-ish vibes from that one. Mainly because <b>Rigby </b>looks like the definition of an expanded narrative. But hopefully my heart has healed up by then thanks to this little rewatch of <b>Blue Valentine</b>.<br />
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Also, when you watch <b>Blue Valentine </b>and the remake of <b>Endless Love </b>almost back to back it kinda gives you a weird perspective on things. So I don't really recommend doing that. Not that any of you would be insane enough to watch <b>Endless Love </b>anyway.Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-37749852411720409412014-05-28T19:42:00.000+12:002014-05-28T19:42:37.119+12:00Late-ish 2013 Retrospective: Top 20 Best Films<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So, here it is. 2013 was a <i>damn </i>good year for films if I do say so myself. It was hard reducing this list down to just 20, because any one of my honourable mentions would have had a welcome place in my list. 2013 had some game-changers (in more ways than one), some rule-breakers, and some life-changers. There were plenty of films that came out that you could just tell would live on into the future. We had Alfonso Cuaron defying the restrictions of cinema, Spike Jonze defeating every other portrayal of love in cinematic history, and Leonardo DiCaprio destroying any notion that he's not a proper actor with a singular Quaalude-induced scene. What a time to be alive.<br />
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Alas, let's close the book on 2013 before we close the book on May 2014. Because there's no time like the present...<br />
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<b>Honourable Mentions:</b> <i>Spring Breakers, What Maisie Knew, Pain & Gain, The Bling Ring, This is the End, Fruitvale Station, Don Jon, Rush, Dallas Buyers Club, Drinking Buddies, Inside Llewyn Davis, Philomena, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Frozen.</i><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Every thing you do, someone out there can see."</span></b><br />
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Here's one of these films that slips so far under the radar that it is pretty much criminal. This film should be taught in schools. Sure, it gets extremely melodramatic in some places, but the general message behind it is about the <i>only </i>message we've desperately needed a film to cover. Not to mention it has some fantastic performances from Andrea Riseborough, Jason Bateman, Jonah Bobo, Alexander Skarsgard and Paula Patton. Very, very impressive.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"I think anybody who falls in love is a freak. It's a crazy thing to do. It's kind of like a form of socially acceptable insanity."</span></b><br />
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Just as <b>Disconnect </b>shows the dangers of the internet, <b>Her </b>shows the good things it could be capable of in the future...which is also doubled with the bad. This isn't really a film about a guy falling in love with his computer, but about love itself. As I said in my director's post, it was a damn brave film for Spike Jonze to make, and possibly one of the more realistic portrayals of love on film in recent times. Oh, and Scarlett Johansson. That's all.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"I'm not messy, I'm busy."</span></b><br />
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I really like simple films. <b>Frances Ha </b>is a very simple film. Yet, it is one that I constantly feel like watching. There's something special about watching a character who is built by the fact that she's directionless, and we just have to follow her as she resists the need to find a direction. Bolstered by a strong performance by Greta Gerwig, <b>Frances Ha </b>doesn't ask for much, nor does it do a lot, but there's so much to admire about it.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"I have infinite tenderness for you. I always will. All my life long."</span></b><br />
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Much has been said about this film, from the 3 hour running time to the way the director treated his crew to the explicit sexual content. Yes, this is a film worth talking about - but those three things aren't the most exciting things about it. Again, this is a film that works on account of it's simplicity, following a teenage girl through to her first foray into adulthood in such a way that never feels rushed, yet never feels like it is wasting any time. I'm glad that somebody thought that we needed to see Adele Exarchopolous doing a whole lot of every day things, because I could watch her forever.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Pray for the best, but prepare for the worst."</span></b><br />
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Purely because this is one of those films that I watched and straight after could say "damn, that was one of the best films I've seen in a <i>long </i>time." It doesn't tell a particularly new story (and I'm partial to being terrified by any kind of movie about abduction), yet the way it is constructed is something to behold. From the brilliant performances from an ensemble that includes Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello, Paul Dano, Viola Davis, Terence Howard and an unrecognizable Melissa Leo, to the careful direction from Denis Villeneuve to the absolutely stunning cinematography from the ever reliable Roger Deakins, <b>Prisoners </b>is a slow-burner that never loses its momentum.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"Do you know why she fell in love with that jerk? Because he looked like you."</span></b><br />
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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I envy the way that Asghar Farhadi can use words, and only words, to craft a thriller. Following up from his almost perfect 2011 film <b>A Separation</b>, <b>The Past </b>also retreats into the familiar territory of family problems, but in a way that only Farhadi could pull off. There's nothing astoundingly different about the story of the film, it's just the way he tells it. The way he explores the way the past can have an effect on the present, and the horrible ways in which people can cross paths. At the centre is a brilliant performance from Berenice Bejo, who you'd barely recognise in comparison to her energetic performance in <b>The Artist</b>. Quite disappointing how this one missed out on most of the awards contention.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">"It's only afterwards that it becomes anything like a story at all, when you're telling it to yourself or someone else."</span></b><br />
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This is one of the most clever films that we've had recently, narrative wise. Sure, we can fawn over the Nolanesque films that play with narrative structure, but this film is more about the threads that create the narrative. It's so incredibly moving to watch not only the intensely personal story of Sarah Polley's family, but also the way she ponders over the way these stories get told. Creative filmmaking at it's most underrated and also at it's finest.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"I'm tired of being funny."</span></b></b></div>
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Again, here's a case of a simple film ticking all the boxes. I was a huge fan of Nicole Holofcener's previous film <b>Please Give</b>, and <b>Enough Said </b>definitely has the same ingredients that make it work. Her sharp screenplay is given some extra zing from the great performances from Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini (with some solid ensemble work from the likes of Toni Collette, Catherine Keener and my girl hero Tavi Gevinson in her first film). It's such a bittersweet film, in all the best ways.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"The world is full of evil but if we hold onto each other, it goes away."</span></b></b></div>
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I've seen a fair few depressing films in my time, but I think that this may be one of the most depressing films I've ever seen. Because people absolutely <i>suck</i>. I don't think any other film has ever made me hate people so much. And that's all I have to say about that (but yes I realise it is quite strange to like a film so much that made me hate people so much).<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Depression is an inability to construct a future."</span></b></b></div>
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Here's another one of those films that I watched and could only say "wow, that's the best film I've seen in a <i>long </i>time." One of the rare early releases of the year that managed to make a lasting impression, this twisted psychological thriller from Steven Soderbergh was quite a clever one, even though it leaves one feeling a little exhausted by the end of it. To think <i>this </i>was the next film from the guy behind <b>Magic Mike </b>just proves Soderbergh's versatility and talent - and even though I refuse to believe he's retiring, I really don't ever want that to happen.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"All the bright precious things fade so fast...and they don't come back."</span></b></b></div>
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Hello, my name is Stevee Taylor and in 2013 I went through a harmful addiction to a certain film called <b>The Great Gatsby </b>which I loathed as an adaptation but loved as a film. Yes, I watched the film every month since I first saw it in June. I haven't seen it at all this year, though. I just really enjoy Baz Luhrmann's extravagance. And Leonardo DiCaprio's face. And Elizabeth Debicki's everything. But I'm getting over my addiction, slowly.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"If you ride like lightning, you're gonna crash like thunder."</span></b></b></div>
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This film threw me off a bit. I wasn't really expecting it to go into the places that it did, but I'm damn glad it did. I loved how this film was a triptych that explored every possible reaction instead of focusing on the main drama. I loved how damn ambitious it was, and not in the way that we usually throw the term "ambitious" to - it was ambitious in it's narrative. Also, we don't talk enough about how great Bradley Cooper was in that film.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Maybe in America, Irish, maybe in America."</span></b></b></div>
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Possibly one of my biggest surprises from last year. Tom Hanks is totally in control. Paul Greengrass is totally in control. Barkhad Abdi was probably one of my favourite discoveries from last year. And this is a film that I'm geared not to like - but it has had such a profound effect on me that I don't think I'll ever be able to watch it again.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Anxiety, nightmares and a nervous breakdown, there's only so many traumas a person can withstand until they take to the streets and start screaming."</span></b></b></div>
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95% of the reason why I love this film so much comes down to the amazing, awe-inspiring, intense performance from Cate Blanchett. It is easily one of the best performances we've had in <i>years</i>. She's an absolutely flawless masterclass in how to maintain control over an uncontrollable character. Not to mention that this film is a loose modernisation of <b>A Streetcar Named Desire</b>, so I was bound to love it from the very beginning.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"I like to think there's more to a person than just one thing."</span></b></b></div>
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Just call this my <b>The Perks of Being a Wallflower </b>for 2013. But mostly because I saw this film just as I had finished high school and found myself connecting to it in more ways than one. Aimee Finicky is literally me. It's so scary. Weird connections with my life aside, the film is an utterly beautiful rumination on the confusion of being at high school before you step out into the big wide world, and also the confusion of love as a teenager. Everything is so damn true in this film that it hurts.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"I apologize for my appearance. But I have had a difficult time these past several years."</span></b></b></div>
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Steve McQueen makes utterly perfect films and I want to know how. It doesn't need to be said that <b>12 Years a Slave </b>is one of the most important films ever made. The best thing is that it isn't so aware of how important it is and doesn't try to hammer its message home by dousing it in melodrama. McQueen directs it with a raw and unflinching power, backed up with performances from Chiwetel Ejiofor, Lupita Nyong'o, Michael Fassbender and Sarah Paulson that are a little bit soul-baring.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Look into my eyes so you know what its like to live a life not knowing what a normal life's like."</span></b></b></div>
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Again - <i>another </i>simple film. But a film that is so incredibly powerful. Destin Cretton's feature debut takes a look at the time he spent at a foster care facility, turning the experiences he had there into a film. At the centre is Grace (Brie Larson), a woman who cares for everybody before herself, who doesn't take her own advice and who is completely broken. Through her, we see an array of broken characters from broken homes, and we see how desperate Grace is to restore the peace in their lives. This is an extremely special film that never asks too much or creates too little. I can't wait until I can finally buy it and watch it over and over again and just cry for hours. Even Keith Stanfield's rap is enough to make me cry.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"But if you want true love, then this is it. This is real life. It's not perfect, but it's real."</span></b></b></div>
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We really underestimate Richard Linklater's status as one of the best working filmmakers around today. His filmography is so vast and prolific, and almost always great. <b>Before Midnight </b>is one of his best films in years, though, just as the whole trilogy is probably the biggest highlight of his career (though <b>Boyhood </b>may challenge that - GIVE THAT FILM TO ME NOW). If this is the end of Celine and Jesse for us, we can be happy. The film effortlessly portrays Celine and Jesse after all of the romance and instead shows them in their well settled life. The things they talk about are as always, absolutely beautiful. While this one is probably the most depressing entry to the series, it is probably the most realistic. As much as I'd love to see Celine and Jesse again in another nine years, this was enough.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Hey Ryan, it's time to go home."</span></b></b></div>
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Simply because I can't wait to be able to tell my grandchildren that I saw this film <i>twice </i>in the cinemas back when I was younger, and it changed my perspective on cinema. This is one of the few films that I'm happy to call "ground-breaking" in terms of the technology used, especially because Alfonso Cuaron uses everything available to him in the best possible way. For a 90 minute film, this feels like a marathon, which is something that we don't really experience too often. I can't bear to watch it on anything smaller than a gigantic cinema screen, but I will cherish the memories of experiencing this on the big screen. Even if that experience gave me serious anxiety issues.<br />
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<b><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Oh my God, the emperor of Fucksville came down from Fucksville to give me a pass!"</span></b></b><br />
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I seem to have to defend my love for this film an awful lot, but here it is: this film is one of the most perfect portrayals of society that I've ever seen. That scene where Patrick Denham (Kyle Chandler) sits on the subway after bringing down Jordan Belfort and realises that he's just another person is possibly the most unfortunately true realities of the world we live in. Who is really the hero here? Martin Scorsese has created a film that is so disgustingly fun that it's as equally easy to like as it is hard to like. The film is iconic and moronic, fun and sickening, mindless and mindful. Everyone is in control of this film even though it is telling a story that is wildly out of control. And just for one final time: LEO WAS ROBBED.<br />
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<b><i>What do you think of these choices? What were your favourite films from 2013?</i></b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-7149574700833016832014-05-24T19:52:00.001+12:002014-05-24T19:52:22.507+12:00Late-ish 2013 Retrospective: Top 10 Directors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /></b>Again, I don't have a huge disclaimer to put here. I know it's May, I know it's late, but hey, it is never <i>too </i>late to honour some pretty awesome directors, is it?<br />
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<b>Honourable Mentions: </b>Steven Soderbergh - <i>Side Effects, </i>The Coen Brothers - <i>Inside Llewyn Davis, </i>David Lowery - <i>Ain't Them Bodies Saints, </i>Abdellatif Kechiche - <i>Blue is the Warmest Colour, </i>Ron Howard - <i>Rush, </i>Lake Bell - <i>In a World...</i>, Joseph Gordon-Levitt - <i>Don Jon</i>, Ryan Coogler - <i>Fruitvale Station, </i>Asghar Farhadi - <i>The Past</i>, Richard Linklater - <i>Before Midnight</i>, Harmony Korine - <i>Spring Breakers.</i><br />
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<b>10. Spike Jonze - <i>Her</i></b><br />
<b>Her </b>is an incredibly brave film. Take it from one of the film's pivotal lines about love: "it's like a socially acceptable form of insanity." The way that the film ruminates on love is so beautiful, as opposed to sugar coating everything and having couples running of into sunsets and that kind of gooey stuff. Perhaps that's all because this is a film about a man having a relationship with his computer. Which is quite strange (it's quite hard to sell this movie to my friends), but Jonze does it in such a way that it feels completely natural. Not to mention, the futuristic world he creates is definitely a world that I could see actually happening, thanks to Jonze not over-saturating the film with ludicrous visions of the future. Even though the movie left me feeling extremely empty for a little while, this is a unique kind of beauty that I wish we could see more of.<br />
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<b>9. Denis Villeneuve - <i>Prisoners</i></b><br />
Fun fact: throughout many lines of ancestry, it's possible that in some way I'm related to this guy (I would have even had his last name once upon a time, which would have been nice). If that somehow means that I have an ounce of his talent, that would be fantastic. Even though I haven't seen <b>Incendies </b>since it first came out about two and a half years ago, it is still engrained in my brain - it's so hard to shake the deliberately cold, striking way the film was made. It's the same with <b>Prisoners</b>, which Villeneuve could make with a bigger budget, bigger names, and the magic touch of Roger Deakins behind the camera. <b>Prisoners </b>is a masterful, slow burning thriller that mixes the suspense of detective work with the emotional trauma created within the families. It's a puzzle that doesn't seem willing to be solved, but it is made in such a way that I wasn't sure if I ever did want it to be solved. Villeneuve is always in control of his material. I haven't seen <b>Enemy </b>yet (because who knows if it will even get a release here), but how crazy is it that he managed to make those two films in the same year? And here comes my trademark saying: I want to be him.<br />
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<b>8. Sofia Coppola - <i>The Bling Ring</i></b><br />
Sofia Coppola totally gets it. And she gets it in a way that is far more beautifully immaculate than anyone else. I wouldn't say that her work on <b>The Bling Ring </b>is her best - it's far from her best film - but she gets what it's like to be a self-absorbed teenager of the Facebook generation. She doesn't alienate her audience even though her characters are already alienated. That's because she doesn't let anything - her characters, her script, her film - pretend to be anything they're not. They're hollow, privileged brats making ill-informed decisions so they can up their cool points through the internet. This is a sad truth of the world, unfortunately, and Coppola both romanticises it through her pastel-coloured, airy style and criticises it through the fact that, well, the characters are not the brightest bulbs in the tanning bed. Also, she gets bonus points because I think we all secretly wish our lives could be as beautiful as a Sofia Coppola film.<br />
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<b>7. Paul Greengrass - <i>Captain Phillips</i></b><br />
I must admit, I was kinda worried about <b>Captain Phillips</b>: it looked like the kind of film where the camera would be zooming in and out, shaking everywhere and erratically moving from side to side without any real direction. However, Greengrass keeps it mostly under control, which is great considering he's working with minimal sets that are constantly on the move. Not only does he make this film a tense one, he doesn't scrimp on the emotional strain of the film that comes from both parties. Also, props to him for letting Tom Hanks go for broke in that final scene.<br />
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<b>6. James Ponsoldt - <i>The Spectacular Now</i></b></div>
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Maybe it's just because I'm obsessed with this film, but I find James Ponsoldt's follow up to the excellent <b>Smashed </b>pretty perfect direction wise. Probably because it feels so real and not all sugar coated like half of the teen films out there. He let's the simplicity of the story really speak instead of dressing it up. But really, the thing that I liked the most about the way he directed this film was the way he handled the relationship between Sutter and Aimee. All the awkwardity was still there, all of the jitters that come with being a girl like Aimee who is suddenly thrust into the attention of another guy. It was so damn beautiful and painful to watch.<br />
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<b>5. Sarah Polley - <i>Stories We Tell</i></b><br />
This is mostly because Sarah must have been fairly gutsy to make a movie about a difficult part of her own personal family life. Not only does she lay a whole lot of ugly secrets about her family out on the table, but she looks at how stories are told through the ages. It's so deftly clever and achingly beautiful to watch. Which is quite different to what I was expecting - anyone could make a film about their family story, but why would anyone outside of that family care? Sarah makes her film about so many things. You know that thing about there being so few female directors? Try look at Sarah's trajectory and not feel a little empowered.<br />
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<b>4. Baz Luhrmann - <i>The Great Gatsby</i></b><br />
I'm going to cop a bit of flak for this. Baz Luhrmann was both the right and the wrong person to adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald's beyond perfect novel. The novel is such an intricate, subtle piece of work that excels on the beauty of the words that Fitzgerald weaves together. And that is exactly why a good adaptation of the novel could never work. Luhrmann is the most over-the-top, extravagant director out there, and is the direct opposite to what this novel needs. In terms of an adaptation, Luhrmann does an extremely poor job in trying to emulate the beauty that Fitzgerald did. In terms of Baz Luhrmann making a Baz Luhrmann film? He does a bloody great job. It's all in that one scene where we meet Gatsby for the first time. The music, the fireworks, Leo raising his glass to the camera...even after seven times I still cry over the utterly perfect absurdity of it. You know what? Luhrmann knows how to use cinema to his full advantage. Yes, he likes to throw a lot of stuff at the screen but that's okay. It's a lot of fun to watch. And with the rather dull <b>Australia </b>being our only dose of Luhrmann since 2001, <b>The Great Gatsby </b>was a welcome return.<br />
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<b>3. Steve McQueen - <i>12 Years a Slave</i></b><br />
I love Steve McQueen. Each of his three films have been given 5/5 from me. While <b>12 Years a Slave </b>is probably my least favourite of his films, there's absolutely no-one else who could have made this film the way that McQueen did. It's raw and unflinching, and shies away from adding a bucket of melodrama to make the material go down easier. Again, I go back to that scene where Solomon is looking into the distance and for the briefest of moments looks directly into the screen - it's such a beautiful, haunting scene that only McQueen could get away with. He's on a roll now, so it'll be interesting to see if his next film lives up to the rest of his perfect filmography.<br />
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<b>2. Martin Scorsese - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i></b><br />
This film would have been very different if some young, hotshot director got a hold of this material. It would have been even more gratuitous, even more needlessly indulgent, and most importantly, would completely bypass the morality behind all of the immorality. Scorsese knows exactly how to handle this film, just like a circus ringleader who can serve up the spectacle, but will laugh at you behind the curtain that you're buying into this stuff. He knows how to both revel in the strangeness of Jordan Belfort's crazy life, but also take a step back and go "hey, fuck this guy." It's fun, yet it's sickening. Oh and yeah, Martin Scorsese is 71 and has more energy than me when I have a great night of sleep and a few energy drinks. Now <i>that's </i>crazy.<br />
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<b>1. Alfonso Cuaron - <i>Gravity</i></b><br />
There's absolutely no competition here. Absolutely none. <b>Gravity </b>is a masterpiece of cinema. It is a film that in my twilight years, I'll look back on fondly and go "hey, I saw that in a cinema and it changed my life." This is such a difficult project that requires so many different modes of technology to create the correct atmosphere, all the while not losing the vital human component at the centre of the film. Cuaron uses everything he can effortlessly. He fills up a cinema in a way that no-one has ever done before. <b>Gravity </b>isn't really a film, it's an <i>experience</i>. And if you thought it was okay to watch it on a laptop screen, my heart aches for you but hey, it's your own fault. You really missed out there, buddy.<br />
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<b><i>What do you think of these choices? Who were your top directors for 2013?</i></b></div>
Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-40150122151265963622014-05-14T09:07:00.002+12:002014-05-14T09:07:57.031+12:00Late-Ish 2013 Retrospective: Top 15 Male Performances<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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More 2013 retrospective goodness just to remind you that 2013 happened and 2013 was great! Don't really need to waste a whole lot of time explaining this, so here are my favourite male performances from last year...<br />
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<b>Honourable Mentions: </b>Bradley Cooper - <i>American Hustle, </i>Bradley Cooper - <i>The Place Beyond the Pines, </i>Ryan Gosling - <i>The Place Beyond the Pines, </i>Dane DeHaan - <i>The Place Beyond the Pines, </i>Joaquin Phoenix - <i>Her, </i>Steve Coogan - <i>Philomena, </i>Dane DeHaan - <i>Kill Your Darlings, </i>James Gandolfini - <i>Enough Said, </i>Miles Teller - <i>The Spectacular Now, </i>Matthew McConaughey - <i>Dallas Buyers Club, </i>Hugh Jackman - <i>Prisoners, </i>Daniel Bruhl - <i>Rush, </i>Michael B. Jordan - <i>Fruitvale Station, </i>Michael Douglas - <i>Behind the Candelabra, </i>Matt Damon - <i>Behind the Candelabra, </i>Leonardo DiCaprio - <i>The Great Gatsby, </i>James Franco - <i>Spring Breakers, </i>Jude Law - <i>Side Effects, </i>Jonah Bobo - <i>Disconnect.</i><br />
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<b>15. Dwayne Johnson as Paul Doyle in <i>Pain & Gain</i></b><br />
Let me preface this by saying that Dwayne Johnson may be my least favourite working actor. That's probably because I can't stand the fact that every single movie he is in, whether it is a cinema release or a straight-to-DVD release, will <i>always </i>rent in truckloads. Sad thing is that they're all exactly the same. I surprisingly dug <b>Pain & Gain </b>a lot against all odds (the Johnson/Mark Wahlberg/Michael Bay factor), but I was most surprised by Johnson's performance. He was obviously taking the piss out of his usual macho beef-cake persona, and in an alternate universe, he would be the perfect buff brother of Jordan Belfort who was nowhere near as smart as him.<br />
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<b>14. Jake Gyllenhaal as Detective Loki in <i>Prisoners</i></b><br />
We never really know a lot about Detective Loki. We're just offered insights into his existence. I think that's what I admire most about any film who can do it right: a script which only offers insights into a character's existence instead of an outpouring of their life, and an actor who can build that existence into something truly believable. Gyllenhaal hits all the right notes, even when the film isn't necessarily concerned with him. It's all in the scene where he eats this Thanksgiving dinner at a diner alone.<br />
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<b>13. Jared Leto as Rayon in <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i></b><br />
It's been a while since Jared Leto was on our screens, and what a comeback he makes. Sure, you could easily pigeonhole this performance as an easy way to get an Oscar: lose lots of weight, put on a dress and some makeup (which unfortunately didn't work for Cillian Murphy in either <b>Breakfast on Pluto </b>or <b>Peacock </b>which run rings around Leto's performance). Yet, Leto makes it into something that is truly heartfelt and heartbreaking, particularly in the scene where everything is crumbling around her. At any rate, it's just great to have Leto acting again.<br />
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<b>12. James McAvoy as Bruce Robertson in <i>Filth</i></b><br />
James McAvoy is pretty much the nicest, most harmless guy next to Tom Hiddleston in show business right now. Bruce Robertson was pretty much one of the most vile, repugnant characters to hit screens in 2013. What better showcase is that? The film doesn't completely back him up - it tends to go more for the strange and absurd without having any real point - but he is a little bit terrifying in his drugged up stupor. Plus, I really like it when nice actors play generally bad people. And after studying every single fibre of <b>Atonement </b>for English last year, it was kind of interesting to watch James in this and wonder where my favourite blue-eyed beauty went.<br />
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<b>11. Barkhad Abdi as Muse in <i>Captain Phillips</i></b><br />
I was surprised that people weren't hyping up Barkhad Abdi's spectacular story of how he went from limo driver to Oscar nominee more. However, this isn't a case of his fairytale being more interesting than the performance that heralded that fairytale. For a person who has absolutely no acting experience whatsoever and can scare the crap out of Tom Hanks and the audience is no mean feat. Hopefully he gets a few more opportunities. Sure, an Oscar nomination is a pretty good way to start, but he can still improve from here.<br />
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<b>10. Matthew McConaughey as Mud in <i>Mud</i></b><br />
Matthew McConaughey has been having a really good run. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. He may have got the Oscar for <b>Dallas Buyers Club</b> (which was...deserved, I suppose), but <b>Mud </b>was my favourite performance from him last year. It was a role that suited him down to the ground. I guess I should start reserving a spot for Matty M for these lists, because it's really only a fight for which performance I liked the most out of all of them (bring on <b>Interstellar</b>!).<br />
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<b>9. Benedict Cumberbatch as Julian Assange in <i>The Fifth Estate</i></b><br />
<b>The Fifth Estate </b>is an interesting case. It was the biopic no one really needed to happen <i>just </i>yet, but it held a lot of promise considering the great cast. Somehow, it all went wrong. The only thing that didn't go wrong, though, was Benedict Cumberbatch's performance. I've never fully believed the hype about this guy (but that's because I haven't <i>really </i>watched <b>Sherlock</b>), but <b>The Fifth Estate </b>was a pretty good showcase for his talent. It would have been better if the film was a heckload better and wasn't so first draft rushed. However, I applaud Cumberbatch for his dedication and his fairly good attempt at an Australian accent. If the film had served him better, he would have been the one up there collecting the Oscar. Alas, his transition into the film industry is still a bit stunted - especially considering only five people even saw this film.<br />
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<b>8. Ethan Hawke as Jesse in <i>Before Midnight</i></b><br />
I love Jesse. He is exactly the kind of man I want to marry in the future (and I'm a bit of a Celine also, so I guess the future is looking...interesting?). Just as Julie Delpy does, Ethan Hawke hits his highest notes in this instalment into the series. Just that look he has when he sees his son off at the airport, to that beautiful final scene. <i>Please </i>can we continue to see Celine and Jesse every nine years forever?<br />
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<b>6. Michael Fassbender as Edwin Epps in <i>12 Years a Slave</i></b><br />
The art of true villainy is a lot harder than some would suspect. But Michael Fassbender is truly terrifying in this film, never verging on self-parody. His eyes are so tortured. Just everything...he needs to make every single film with Steve McQueen forever. Then again, I do find it kind of annoying that this was the film to give him his first Oscar nomination, because I'm pretty sure I spent the entire awards season pretending that it was consolation for that <b>Shame </b>snub that I'll <i>never </i>get over.<br />
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<b>6. Mads Mikkelsen as Lucas in <i>The Hunt</i></b></div>
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Because people suck and Mads does a perfect job of conveying that in his face. There's really nothing else I can say about it.</div>
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<b>5. Jonah Hill as Donnie in <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i></b><br />
Sure, "two-time Oscar nominee Jonah Hill" does sound a little bit weird, but man did he deserve it for <b>The Wolf of Wall Street</b>. So much sass. So many teeth. So many great scenes that he's involved with, from the "emperor of fucksville" to the "I'll chop your fucking credit card, how about that?". Oh, and his part in the Quaaludes scene was pretty great too.<br />
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<b>4. Oscar Isaac as Llewyn Davis in <i>Inside Llewyn Davis</i></b><br />
Oscar Isaac needs to start getting some credit for his great work, because it's starting to become a bit of a crime that he's not getting any. Especially for his performance in this film, which is damn masterful. He plays melancholy and down-trodden so well that you just want good things to happen for Llewyn, even though there's no possible way for things to go right for him. Hands up for who's excited for <b>A Most Violent Year</b>? Oscar has set an impossible benchmark for himself, but it is all up from here.<br />
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<b>3. Tom Hanks as Richard Phillips in <i>Captain Phillips</i></b><br />
Just because that final few minutes is the finest acting I think I may have ever seen. <i>How </i>he even could convey that much emotion which can not be faked (or at least I didn't think it could) is absolutely beyond me. But the performance doesn't rest on those final few moments: Hanks keeps the momentum up throughout the entire film, without ever retreating into the movie star charm that I've found to be somewhat problematic with his most recent films. Let me just end this with one word, though: SNUBBED.<br />
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<b>2. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in <i>12 Years a Slave</i></b><br />
There's a scene in <b>12 Years a Slave </b>where Solomon is held in a medium close-up, looking off into the distance, then looks directly into the screen for a second and then looks up. This scene in particular has stuck with me since I watched it, simply because of the tortured, battered, soul-bearing look that Steve McQueen is able to capture on Ejiofor's face. His performance doesn't rely on anything he says or does, it is all about the look. It's such a quietly commanding performance, adding to the trio of fantastic lead performances that McQueen has put at the fore of all of his films.<br />
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<b>1. Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i></b><br />
There was obviously nothing that was ever going to beat this performance. It is flawless. It is controlled yet out of control. It is vile yet somehow attractive. Leonardo DiCaprio <i>is </i>Jordan Belfort. If you watch interviews with the real Belfort, you can see just how immersed Leo was in the role - it's almost impossible to tell them apart. Jordan Belfort is not an easy sell, but Leo is possibly the best salesman in show business. He's utterly engrossing, maniacal, hilarious...everything. I honestly can't see how he'll top this, but of course, I have no doubt that he can.<br />
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<b><i>What do you think of the actors in this list? Who were your favourite male performers of the year?</i></b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-4343165173629057332014-05-05T20:53:00.001+12:002014-05-05T20:53:16.803+12:00Late-Ish 2013 Retrospective: Top 15 Female Performances<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you've been following ze blog for a few years, you know that I don't deal well with watching movies from the year before until we're halfway through the next year. Hence my top lists of 2011 happening in July 2012 and my top lists of 2012 happening in August 2013. However, this year has been kinda different: I spent a lot more time watching good stuff (because I had so little time I didn't want to waste it) and I moved to a place with a cinema three months ago which meant I could catch up with a lot more. I haven't seen films like <b>Nebraska</b>, <b>Saving Mr Banks </b>or <b>August: Osage County</b>, but I'm pretty confident with the lists I have at the moment. So over the next few days/weeks/whenever I sit down at my laptop and actually blog for once, I'll be unleashing my top lists of 2013, beginning with my Top 15 Female Performances. Usually I don't go for 15 in the list, but there was <i>so much goodness </i>in 2013 that I didn't want anyone to miss out. People still missed out though. Which sucks, but hey, yay for cinema! </div>
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<b>Honourable mentions: </b>Berenice Bejo - <i>The Past, </i>Amy Adams - <i>Her, </i>Amy Adams - <i>American Hustle, </i>Jennifer Lawrence - <i>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, </i>Jena Malone - <i>The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, </i>Judi Dench - <i>Philomena, </i>Sarah Paulson - <i>12 Years a Slave, </i>Carey Mulligan - <i>Inside Llewyn Davis, </i>Brie Larson - <i>The Spectacular Now, </i>Olivia Wilde - <i>Drinking Buddies, </i>Lake Bell - <i>In a World...</i>, Amanda Seyfried - <i>Lovelace, </i>Scarlett Johansson - <i>Don Jon, </i>Melonie Diaz - <i>Fruitvale Station, </i>Octavia Spencer - <i>Fruitvale Station, </i>Onata Aprile - <i>What Maisie Knew, </i>Greta Gerwig - <i>Frances Ha.</i></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">15. Andrea Riseborough as Nina Dunham in <i>Disconnect</i></span></b></div>
<b>Disconnect </b>is one of those films that works well mostly on the basis of the solid acting from an ensemble cast that includes Jason Bateman, Paula Patton, Alexander Skarsgard and Michael Nyqvist, but no one stands out as much as Andrea Riseborough. I've long been a fan of Andrea's work since her brief role in the oft-forgotten <b>Never Let Me Go</b>, and she's pulled in some great work since in otherwise dull films like <b>W.E.</b> and <b>Shadow Dancer</b>. In <b>Disconnect</b>, though, she plays the part of an over-ambitious news reporter terrifyingly well, with the role fitting into her oeuvre perfectly - does she have one of the most underrated filmographies ever? She literally walks into this film and lights up the screen, even as her character goes through some pretty dark stuff. And yet, even as it becomes apparent that perhaps her character's storyline isn't the most exciting in the multi-stranded plot, she makes the plot last until the very end. Seriously, someone needs to line her and Rosamund Pike up and get them some great roles.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">14. Sally Hawkins as Ginger in <i>Blue Jasmine</i></span></b></div>
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Another ever-dependable performer, and definitely someone who turns a relatively thin role into a layered, beautiful performance. <b>Blue Jasmine </b>works on the merits of its pairing of Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins, who compliment each other in a way that I couldn't imagine any other actresses doing a better job of. Ginger is fiery, flighty, the exact opposite to Jasmine, and Sally is able to nail every single thing about the character that makes her different from Jasmine.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">13. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Eva in <i>Enough Said</i></span></b></div>
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You know that feeling you get when you feel like you're watching a character that is the real deal? Julia Louis-Dreyfus does exactly that in <b>Enough Said</b>. Bolstered by a pretty perfect script from Nicole Holofcener, Julia gives us a big screen leading lady debut that just feels very much like a real person. And the special kind of comedic realism that Julia is so perfect at in this film is something that is severely underrated by Hollywood.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">12. Scarlett Johansson as Samantha in <i>Her</i></span></b></div>
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If only because Samantha never felt like the voice of a computer. She felt like a real person. It really felt like she was there. No wonder Theodore fell in love with her.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">11. Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker in <i>The Great Gatsby</i></span></b></div>
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I will champion this performance (and this film) until the end of time. I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Jordan Baker was by far my favourite character in the book and Elizabeth gets every single thing about her perfect. From the very beginning, her performance perfectly mirrors what Fizgerald originally wrote about the character, which is a bit of a rarity in the otherwise bold and brash Baz Luhrmann take on an otherwise subtle novel. The biggest crime was that she wasn't given more screen time, because she actually takes the film and runs away with it. Hollywood, listen up: here's your next big thing, please give her literally <i>all</i> the roles. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">10. Julie Delpy as Celine in <i>Before Midnight</i></span></b></div>
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Sometimes I sit back and think, what would Julie Delpy do? It takes a special woman to create one of the most complicated women characters and let her stretch her legs in three films over the space of 18 years. The Celine in <b>Before Midnight </b>is definitely the most complicated Celine we've had, and it is the perfect showcase for a modern woman in all her glory. I definitely wouldn't be surprised if I continue asking myself in the future, what would Julie Delpy do?</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">9. Lupita Nyong'o as Patsey in <i>12 Years a Slave</i></span></b></div>
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We all fell in love with her through Oscar season. Lupita Nyong'o is somewhat of a rarity. She's a classically trained actress who somehow made her debut film role an Oscar winning one, all the while winning the hearts of the entire world. Not only is Lupita one of the most beautiful, graceful women to ever live, but her performance that introduced us to her was one of the most devastating roles of the year, or perhaps ever. Not many people could do this role with the quiet intensity that Lupita did. She could have descended into melodramatic overacting, but she's never <i>too much</i>. Her suffering feels very real, and I'm never quite sure of just how Lupita was able to convey that so well. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">8. Lea Seydoux as Emma in <i>Blue is the Warmest Colour</i></span></b></div>
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Apparently Lea studied the mannerisms and posture of Marlon Brando and James Dean in order to play Emma, and you can definitely see that coming through. She goes through a complete transformation in this film, but we're never quite sure of exactly <i>who </i>Emma is. And that's quite refreshing, because Emma never has to answer for herself. The final scenes that she has are actually pretty heartbreaking, too.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">7. Rooney Mara as Emily Taylor in <i>Side Effects</i></span></b></div>
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Anyone who thinks that Rooney Mara is a one-trick pony should seriously reevaluate her career. Yes, Lisbeth Salander is a big role, and it's a big performance for her, and while whatever she does may remain under the shadow of that role, she's still creating some pretty perfect work. 2013 has been a pretty good year for her, with the Malickian drama <b>Ain't Them Bodies Saints </b>proving her power as a single mother trying to make her own way, and <b>Her </b>showing her as both the luminous lover and bitter divorcee. <b>Side Effects </b>is an entirely different beast, though. You're never quite sure of Emily's motives, which makes the ending so much better. Rooney nails the crippling effect of depression to Emily's crippling obsession with capitalism in one of the most interesting, underrated female characters of the year. Thankfully, Rooney's schedule is filling up and we get to see some more of her unique talent - and <b>Side Effects </b>definitely has me excited to see what height she can hit post-Lisbeth. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">6. Shailene Woodley as Aimee in <i>The Spectacular Now</i></span></b></div>
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I can't tell whether I'm holding her in such high regard because Aimee Finicky actually <i>is me</i> or whether Shailene Woodley is practically perfect in the role. I think it is definitely both. Shailene doesn't ever make this character descend into the familiar "ah I'm a teenager and my life sucks" kind of thing, she makes Aimee a painfully real character. The way that she reacts when Sutter tells her that she's beautiful is a beautiful thing in itself - so natural, so real and so far away from being the floaty manic pixie dream girl that the character could have been. I just really hope that Aimee had a fantastic life after high school, because God knows she deserved it.</div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. Margot Robbie as Naomi in <i>The Wolf of Wall Street</i></span></b></div>
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It is still extremely shocking to me that Margot Robbie got next to no love for her perfect performance in <b>The Wolf of Wall Street</b>. For one thing, I watched this girl on <b>Neighbours </b>every weeknight at 5.30pm for <i>years</i>. And then I see her pop up in this film, going toe-to-toe with Leonardo DiCaprio, and it is hard to believe that this is the same person. Everything from her accent, to her Brooklyn barbie doll look to the scenes at the end where she fights for her children is electrifying and magnetic. You'd almost expect a 23 year old woman in a Martin Scorsese movie with Leonardo DiCaprio to wilt and fade into the background, but Robbie is a force of nature in this film. Not to throw around comparisons, but she did the whole wife of a conman thing so much better than Jennifer Lawrence in <b>American Hustle</b>. Which is why I'm still baffled that it wasn't Robbie there getting her deserved Oscar nomination. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Adele Exarchopoulos as Adele in <i>Blue is the Warmest Colour</i></span></b></div>
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Like Shailene Woodley, Adele Exarchopoulos had the incomparable task of creating a realistic teen performance that wasn't alienating in any way. Not only that, but Adele had to chart her character from her young teens to her young adulthood and show all of the confusion throughout that time. Luckily, she did a pretty perfect job of it. It's such a raw performance that really requires her to let go a lot more than other actresses would probably want (or be allowed) to. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Sandra Bullock as Ryan Stone in <i>Gravity</i></span></b></div>
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I really would like to know how Sandra Bullock does it. How the hell could <i>anyone </i>be floating around in a green box for months, conveying every single emotion <i>ever</i> and not come up with a performance that verges on over-the-top self parody? Truth is, no-one could do this like Sandra did. It is a role that demands a lot of physical work, but the emotional work by her is what really carries the film and doesn't let it become a standard movie about floating around in space. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. Brie Larson as Grace in <i>Short Term 12</i></span></b></div>
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How in heck's name this performance got so little love by awards season is completely beyond me. This performance is beyond perfect. The thing that got me about <b>Short Term 12 </b>was how little it actually felt like a movie. It was just so simple and straightforward, telling a simple and straightforward story without embellishing it with needless melodrama. Brie Larson's performance is an acute reflection of that. She never misses a beat in conveying a woman who is such a guardian angel to everyone else but doesn't listen to her own advice. What's impressive is that this isn't the only great performance that Brie had to her name in 2013: her supporting turns in <b>The Spectacular Now </b>and <b>Don Jon </b>were highlights of each of those films. Again, Hollywood: please cast her in everything. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Cate Blanchett as Jasmine French in <i>Blue Jasmine</i></span></b></div>
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This is one of those rare occasions where I agree with every single accolade that has been given to a particular film/performance. Watching Cate Blanchett in <b>Blue Jasmine </b>solidifies the fact that she may be one of the best, if not <i>the </i>best, working actress today. <i>Just watch her face. Listen to her voice. </i>It is possibly the most masterful female performance since Vivien Leigh in <b>A Streetcar Named Desire</b>. I really can't say any clearer why I love this performance as much as I do, other than it is literal perfection and it's going to take a while before anyone can come close to topping it. </div>
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<b><i>What do you think of these choices? Who were your favourite female performers of 2013?</i></b></div>
Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-5670608800833910042014-05-01T14:18:00.000+12:002014-05-01T14:18:28.992+12:0010 Years of Mean Girls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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No, I didn't see <b>Mean Girls </b>10 years ago when it first came out. I do remember it popping up in all of the little pre-tween magazines that I used to hoard, but I never saw it until it popped up on TV one day in 2007. I recorded it off the TV on one of those gigantic fossils we used to call videotapes. Unfortunately, the first three minutes cut out of my recording, so I never saw those first three minutes until I bought it on DVD a year later. Yet, I didn't need those three minutes. <b>Mean Girls </b>was, and forever will be, my favourite high school comedy of all time. Hell, probably even my favourite comedy of all time. Why?<br />
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Because 7 years since I first saw it, I'm pretty positive there hasn't been a day go by that I haven't quoted it in some way. Like seriously, there is a quote for every life situation:<br />
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When someone does well with something: "You go, Glen Coco!"<br />
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When someone asks someone else why they're white: "Oh my god Karen, you can't just ask people why they're white."<br />
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When you're a mother: "I'm not like a regular mom, I'm a cool mom."<br />
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When it's raining: "There's a 30% chance that it's already raining!"<br />
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When you don't want to go out with someone: "I can't go out *fake coughs* I'm sick."<br />
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When someone annoys you: "Boo, you whore."<br />
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Possible valedictory speech: "I'm sorry that people are so jealous of me...but I can't help it that I'm so popular."<br />
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When needing to do a rap: "Yo yo yo all you sucker MC's ain't got nothing on me! From my grades, to my lines you can't touch Kevin G! I'm a mathlete, so nerd is inferred, but forget what you heard I'm like James Bond the third, sh-sh-sh-shaken not stirred - I'm Kevin Gnapoor! The G's silent when I sneak through your door. And make love to your woman on the bathroom floor. I don't play it like Shaggy, you'll know it was me. Cause the next time you see her she'll be like, OOH! KEVIN G!"<br />
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Literally the entire script is quotable. The <i>entire </i>thing.<br />
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But why is it that <b>Mean Girls </b>stands the test of time and feels as fresh as it did 10 years ago? Why is it that we can quote it on a daily basis even after all of this time? Because <b>Mean Girls </b>is still very real. You may think that a film with such overdrawn caricatures such as a plastic surgery obsessed mum, the regulation gay best friend and the dumb blonde couldn't be aiming for realism in the slightest. However, it is the simplicity of the characters that makes this movie work so well. Each character is exactly who they are. Regina is the bitch. Gretchen is her loyal follower. Karen is the one who is too dumb to know what's going on. And Cady is built up by this.<br />
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Cady, for better or for worse, is the epitome of a teenage girl. No matter what people tell you, you can't be yourself at high school. Unless you're completely sure of what you wanna be. Cady is the one that gets gobbled up and spat out by everyone around her. Yes, this is a comedy. But it is also painstakingly true.<br />
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Oh, and let's not forget that it is based on a non-fiction self-help book. Just as everything is quotable from the script, everything also has a certain shred of truth to it. I'm not sure how much help it would provide as a survival guide for navigating cliques at school (my school wasn't even big enough to have a clique problem), but I'd say it is a pretty good place to start. It shows you the people to avoid, the mistakes to avoid, and how to tell if you have ESPN or something.<br />
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I could wax poetic for years on why <b>Mean Girls </b>is the best thing that ever happened to 12 year old me who stayed home sick from school one day and first saw this grace her TV screen. And it is still about the best thing that happens to 18 year old me watching it for the fiftieth time on a rainy afternoon in Christchurch. You know those movies that you grow up with? <b>Mean Girls </b>has left an indelible mark on my life in ways that I can't really explain. And even though I'm out of my high school years, I can honestly see me watching this movie for another ten years and my view wouldn't have changed.<br />
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All I can say is thank you, <b>Mean Girls</b>. Thank you for the quotes. Thank you for launching the careers of people like Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried and Lizzy Caplan. Thank you for giving us Lindsay Lohan's best performance. Thank you for keeping it real.<br />
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But lastly, here's a question: how many of you have felt personally victimised by Regina George?<br />
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<br />Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-9742004897271162372014-04-01T23:44:00.000+13:002014-04-01T23:44:41.074+13:00Did Darren Aronofsky Keep Our Trust with Noah? (+ podcasting on The Matineecast)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Christopher Nolan that made <b>Following </b>and <b>Memento </b>is not really the same Christopher Nolan that made the Dark Knight trilogy and <b>Inception</b>. He's got more money, more trust, more opportunities. Yet, there's a clear connection running through his body of work, the identifiable Nolan-ism that makes us realise that <b>Following </b>and <b>The Dark Knight Rises </b>are made by the same person, instead of feeling like a rote blockbuster made by the same guy that's made 20 blockbusters before that.<br />
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And this is the case with Darren Aronofsky and his biblical epic/passion project, <b>Noah</b>. I must admit, had this been made by another person, I wouldn't have been at all interested in it. But because this is a film made by the guy who has given us films like <b>Black Swan</b>, <b>Requiem for a Dream </b>and <b>The Wrestler</b>, I was excited to see how he'd fare when he was given a few more dollars in his back pocket and the opportunity to tell a tale that would get the tongues wagging - perhaps more so than ever before.<br />
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<b>Noah </b>is indelibly a Darren Aronofsky film. It doesn't feel like it's cut from the same cloth as Aronofsky's other films, but it makes a nice addition to a nice enough patchwork quilt. Aronofsky is the kind of director that we could trust with anything - even <b>The Wolverine</b>, had he chosen to make this film - but <b>Noah </b>seems like the biggest thing we've trusted him with yet. Or is it the biggest film that we've trusted anyone with yet?<br />
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<b>Noah </b>very much seems like another blockbuster that takes on a familiar story - think <b>Alice in Wonderland</b>, Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy etc - and gives it a dark spin for the 'new age'. And in a way, it kind of is. This isn't the colourfully illustrated story filled with animals from near and far that we were taught when we were starting out in school. Also, it's not <i>just</i> the story that we were taught. Aronofsky and his frequent collaborator Ari Handel have filled in some gaps, and then added another plot line. And that plot line is the thing that could either make or break the film.<br />
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I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say, it's a storyline designed to make you feel like a terrible person (hey, Darren, didn't <b>Requiem for a Dream </b>do that anyway?). And it gets really melodramatic, really fast. All of a sudden we have Russell Crowe, who was pulling in some really solid work beforehand, revert back into angry, telephone-throwing Russell Crowe mode. We have Jennifer Connelly only serving the purpose to yell at Russell. We have Emma Watson crying constantly. I don't really have an issue with the direction that Aronofsky was going with this (because it did give me a lot to ponder over), but I do have an issue with the way it was executed.<br />
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One word: melodrama.<br />
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Not only is there anger, crying, yelling, there's also a sharp turn in the way that Clint Mansell scores the film, going from a thing of beauty to all of a sudden going "BAD THINGS ARE HAPPENING." The film that was so indelibly a Darren Aronofsky film dangerously dips into the kind of rote blockbuster that this film looked like it was going to be, and I felt, for a moment, that Darren was letting us down. Not only that, but the character that Logan Lerman plays, Ham (who is Noah's son), is rather annoying because all he wants is a wife. I can totally see where he's coming from, because it does kind of suck if everyone is hooking up around you and you have no one, but he felt like a character that needed to be in another film. To put it frankly: he built an ark, and he should have gotten over it.<br />
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However, all is forgiven when you see what a spectacle this film is. Particularly in the evolution scenes, which were, hands down, the most beautifully done montages I had ever seen. It was just one of those moments where I wanted to stand up and clap and bow down to Aronofsky's vision. We've seen the evolution of the Earth so many times in film, but the two scenes in which Aronofsky time lapses through thousands of years is just achingly beautiful, particularly in the last one. His vision, though it is definitely roughened and toughened for the cynical new world, is something of beauty and a sad kind of relevance.<br />
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Yet, would I have Aronofsky continue on the blockbuster path? No way. The Aronofsky I like best is the one that made <b>Black Swan </b>and <b>Requiem for a Dream</b>. But it's good to see what he can do with a larger canvas - here's hoping he gets a few more opportunities to wield a bigger paint brush.<br />
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If you wanna here me actually speak about my experience with <b>Noah</b>, along with <b>Vigil </b>and <b>Ben-Hur </b>and various other tidbits about myself, make sure you head along to The Matinee to listen to <a href="http://www.thematinee.ca/episode109/">this week's episode of The Matineecast</a>. Ryan had to get up at 5am for it, so we deserve a heckload of listeners!Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-36568844434375790592014-03-14T20:44:00.002+13:002014-03-14T20:44:31.275+13:00Being a Feminist is Hard, and Other Thoughts from a Filmic Female DreamerPrepare for a post full of paradoxes. About time I gave meaning to the shitty, nonsensical title I gave this blog when I was 14 and impaired by my <b>Inception </b>obsession.<br />
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I swore I would never write a big post on the state of feminism/females in the film industry. But after Ryan, who will forever be the rabbit I chase (not insinuating you are a rabbit, Ryan, but you get the metaphor I'm heading for here), <a href="http://www.thematinee.ca/dearlenadunham/">posted a piece on Lena Dunham</a> not pushing her case for females being given opportunities in the whole entertainment industry hard enough, I chimed in on the comments section. And hey, in the two hours of lectures that came after that comment, I decided I want to make a post on this ongoing saga.<br />
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I've never seen anything Lena Dunham has done apart from <b>This is 40</b>. <b>Girls </b>has been on my watchlist but considering I still haven't seen <b>Game of Thrones </b>season three, I don't think I'll be getting around to it any time soon. So really, I can't judge her standings on anything, but she did raise some valid points at SXSW where she noted that Adam Driver is getting some great role offers, yet the central female cast are not. Ryan said that Lena should aspire to write about more females rather than the ones she knows of. Fair points all round.<br />
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<b>This is where I stand on feminism</b>. You probably know by now that I want to be a filmmaker. It's leaning more towards writing screenplays because I want to write about females. The reason that I want to be a filmmaker stems back to the literal moment that Kathryn Bigelow won an Oscar for Best Director in 2010 (though she did win for a largely "male" film, which critics are quick to point out, but AT LEAST IT HAPPENED). Late last year, likely due to procrastination, I found myself reading Indiewire religiously, especially the Women in Hollywood/other pieces on women. Anything else I could find on the internet about this topic, I would read. I still do it. However, as this is inspiring and fuels my aspirations more, it's also poisonous.<br />
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I don't claim to know what it is like in the film industry for a filmmaker, and maybe in 20 years if I ever do achieve my dream my tune will be changed. But I feel like all we ever do is <i>talk </i>about these problems. Sure, it's great to talk. It's what I'm doing right now. If I were to ever become famous enough to do a Ted Talk or something (which is one of my many weird aspirations), <i>this </i>is what I'd be saying:<br />
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Continuing to talk about these problems with a low rate of females in the film industry is like that eight year old girl who begs her parents to let her have a pony but she lives on the 10th floor of an apartment building in the middle of a city. But she wants one just because that’s the thing you want when you’re an eight year old girl. If she were to have the pony, she’d have to go live on a farm, go back to the grassroots, and work hard to look after that pony. What we need to do is go back to the root of the problem and start again. Work hard to preserve what we want if we want it enough. Creating the opportunities instead of settling with the opportunities made available to us. Because that girl is never going to get a pony on that 10th floor. If she really wanted it, she’d have to create her own opportunities and work hard to preserve it. I'm not saying that the eight year old girl can go out and buy a farm, but it's not <i>entirely impossible </i>either. Her parents may keep telling her no, and then all of a sudden when that girl is able to buy her own farm, she no longer wants to have a pony. If we keep pointing out the flaws in the system, we're going to stop wanting to fix them.<br />
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Perseverance is key. The uncompromising power that you threaten the normal with is key. <b>Creating the opportunities that <i>you </i>want to see, instead of talking about them for many people to go "hey, cool idea kid", but they don't actually do anything about them.</b><br />
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</b> But hey, who am I to talk? I'm not a filmmaker. I don't even fully believe in my dream (thanks to other poisonous ideals that come with the film industry). If I still persevere with this dream, this is the change I'd like to see. All I have to do is think back to moments like Kathryn Bigelow winning an Oscar, Cate Blanchett outing the sexism in Hollywood in her Oscar acceptance speech, Jessica Chastain's character in <b>Zero Dark Thirty</b>, the filmographies of the likes of Blanchett, Chastain, Katharine Hepburn, Meryl Streep, Amy Adams etc etc etc to see that great stuff has happened, <b>so instead of complaining, let's persevere</b>.<br />
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And yet, the biggest flaw in the system is that we constantly have an arrow in the back of these mythical "strong female characters". You wanna know one of the most underrated characters of 2013? Margot Robbie as Naomi in <b>The Wolf of Wall Street</b>. Here we have a film clearly about misogyny, and an extremely misogynistic man, and in the middle of all this we have this woman who fits Jordan Belfort's misogynistic ideals. People were quick to comment on the fact that Margot doesn't wear much in the way of clothing, but here's what she has to say:<br />
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<i>"As for my character in particular, the nudity and the sexual side to her is her main power over Jordan. She uses that to manipulate men to get what she wants. That’s her form of currency in a world where she’s surrounded by millionaires, and she’s come from nothing. She didn't have any money whatsoever. That’s how she became a millionaire, you know? So she definitely wouldn't see it that way. She wouldn't feel sorry for herself for having to take her clothes off. She would do that willingly. In fact, she would pity the men that are dumb enough to fall for it. It’s her form of power, so it wouldn't feel exploitative for my character at all."</i></blockquote>
She's just as materialistic and money-obsessed as Jordan, just in a different way. And at the end of the film, the domestic violence comes into play and that became a big controversy, but does that mean that Naomi loses her power over Jordan? Is she weak? No and no. She's a fighter, Jordan is a heinous and disgusting man. And yet, all anyone wanted to talk about were all her nude scenes, and how that weakened her "feminist standing". She made a complete fool of Jordan and his stupid ideals! Also, it was a perfect deconstruction of the "trophy wife" being a part of the prized American Dream. We see her right from her introduction into the dream and how she gets out of it.<br />
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The "strong female character" is something that makes it so hard to be a feminist. Critics are quick to say that Katniss Everdeen is a great female character because she's strong, but she's weakened by her love triangle. <i>As soon as men come into play, females lose their "strength".</i> Maybe it's because of an over-saturation of romantic comedies. But, I don't know, just because I'm a female who might be in love with a guy, does that all of a sudden mean that I'm a weaker human being? Feminism and the "strong female character" seems bent on erasing males. If it's equality you're looking for, you may as well show how they can balance and co-exist and stop trying to have them in a power play that's all based on strength. Weak women are interesting. Powerful women are interesting. Weak women pretending to be powerful are interesting. WOMEN CAN BE INTERESTING. You <i>just need to give them a chance to be interesting.</i><br />
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Also, "strong female character" is basically a synonym for "female character given male qualities to be seen as strong". Can we stop with this notion that males are the end all of strength? MALES AND FEMALES ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PEOPLE. This does not mean that they aren't equal. Just because a woman puts a lot of effort into her appearance, is scared of breaking her nails, dyes her hair all the time, wears lots of make-up does not mean that she isn't strong. In fact, actresses are the strongest of all because they have to put up with the bullshit Hollywood standards. That's another post in itself (because the tabloid industry is just ridiculously sexist). Just don't ever think for one second that making a female character with solely male sensibilities will make them a "strong female character". A woman can break down crying if she wants to (case in point: people who didn't understand why Maya was crying at the end of <b>Zero Dark Thirty</b>). A woman can pin all her hopes on a man if she wants to. A woman can yell and scream until she gets what she wants. The moment you start looking for the qualities of a "strong female character", you've lost a good female character.<br />
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Let's stop pretending like females don't happen in Hollywood. They have before, they are now. Let's keep persevering and stop poisoning.<br />
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Otherwise, people like me won't want to write films about female characters because we don't want them to be so dependent on males. We want to make them appropriations of all of these contradictory feminist ideals, so much so that they aren't human. Everyone's so quick to say that there's a right and wrong way of writing female characters. And it's awfully restricting.<br />
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We are never going to have a perfect balance. We are never going to have equal opportunities. But to have people actually trying is better than nothing.<br />
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One last thing: it isn't the fault of women that they're under-represented in films. If we spent all of our energy waiting for the person at fault to fix their wrongs, we're going to be waiting an awful long time. Be the change you want to see. That's all there is to it.Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com119tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-267400170245100892014-03-06T20:39:00.001+13:002014-03-06T20:39:50.466+13:00Throwback Thursday: An Education<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I really shouldn't start a feature, because as seen in the past, I've been terrible at keeping them up, but I've had this one milling over in my head quite a bit over the past few months. Anyway, the simple premise of "Throwback Thursday" is not to share cute photos of myself frolicking in fields with horses when I was five and putting them on Instagram with the dubious #tbt. Instead, it is to kinda...look back on films that aren't all that talked about any more. But mostly, films that I once loved upon release (or if I delve into classic films, probably the films that had a huge influence on me a child) and how I feel about them now that I've had some distance and am re-evaluating them. Or it could just be random movies I just watched that aren't in IMDb's top 250 or every best of list of all time.<br />
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Whatever, it's mostly just films that were not made in the past couple of years. Even though half of you are probably saying that now the Oscars are over, films like <b>Philomena </b>are irrelevant. Because that's generally how awards season works. But that's another post.<br />
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Anyway, the subject of this week's throwback is Lone Scherfig's <b>An Education</b>, which, after three years (and I used to watch this <i>all the time</i>), I finally gave another watch. Mainly because every time I used to watch this film, I wanted to bury my head in books and study, and last night, I needed some motivation to jam my dome full of knowledge about Indian independence.<br />
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Instead, I found myself ruminating over things like: a) why do we not talk about this film more? b) what happened to Carey Mulligan? c) what happened to Peter Sarsgaard? d) why is Rosamund Pike not a huge star? and e) FEMINISM.<br />
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A great deal of what I like about <b>An Education </b>comes from the fact that it occurs in the right part of my life. From when I first saw it back in 2010, I was in the throes of the big "what am I going to do with my life?!" question, and it's been that way since. I've been working hard, like Jenny, to attain my grades, to be the perfect candidate to be the first choice for everything. And now I'm at university, because it feels like the right choice in order to live a successful life and all that stuff.<br />
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But what struck me as quite interesting about the film this time around was the really interesting issues with feminism and the right of a female and all of that kind of stuff. That's mostly because I've been reading way too much about the issues of females in film, but <b>An Education </b>tells quite an interesting story.<br />
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The predicament that Jenny is presented with is this: she works her ass off to get an education at Oxford University, or she marries David and lives happily ever after as a housewife. Of course, the latter option is a trope that feminists will denounce, and we do seem to be a little past this 1960s way of thinking, but Jenny feels as if she'll have a lot more fun not "dying" in the education system. Until she finds out that David screwed her over, and she has to revert back to her old plans of going to university.<br />
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The most interesting character in this film is not Jenny herself, but her father. Her father who begins the film by demanding that Jenny leading a perfect life so she can get into Oxford: getting top marks in everything, having an "interest or hobby" mostly as a convenience to make herself sound more interesting at her Oxford interview, forcing her to participate in the Youth Orchestra in order to make herself look like a "participant". When she doesn't do so well in Latin (despite her best efforts), private tuition is suggested - but her father doesn't want to do that, because his entire existence revolves around money, to the point that it is far more important than Jenny's education. Then David comes into the equation, who, at first, Jenny's father is somewhat reluctant to let Jenny hang out with because it will interfere with her study. And as David's considerable charm and commitment to Jenny are revealed, her father's dreams of her daughter being an Oxford girl drip away. To the point that once David proposes marriage, her father seems quite happy to have his daughter married off because David has her covered with money.<br />
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And this kind of thing is age old. You either have someone to provide for you, or you get an education - which may not wind you up with a job anyway (I should know, I'm doing exactly this with my Arts degree). So limiting. Such oppression. But also, Jenny herself has the predicament of whether she should go to Oxford and not have any fun, or live life while she's at it with David.<br />
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That's what is the true beauty of this film: such a simple story, with simple storytelling, but it tackles such a big issue. Not the kind of biopic/historic/struggles of the world "big issue", but a big issue which I've found particularly troublesome over the past few years. While times may have changed a little bit since the 1960s, it's still such a timely film, especially since the apparent necessity for an education at any cost seems to be at an all time peak.<br />
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But, to the other questions: the careers of those in the film. Carey Mulligan was nominated for an Oscar for this, which was quite an inspired choice. Without her, this film wouldn't work at all. The strange thing is that she was so perfect for this role she is almost impossible to fit anywhere else. Sure, she's great in films like <b>Never Let Me Go</b>, <b>Drive</b>, <b>Shame</b>, <b>Inside Llewyn Davis </b>and <b>The Great Gatsby</b>, but in each of those she either feels miscast or underused. Jenny is a lot to live up to. Carey does seem to be a versatile actress, but no one has found the right way to utilise her just yet. Peter Sarsgaard was also perfect in this film, and has done very little since, apart from a really creepy turn in the otherwise ineffective <b>Lovelace </b>and a brief spot in <b>Blue Jasmine</b>. And Rosamund Pike should have been nominated for all of the awards for her performance as the ditsy, airheaded Helen in this movie. Just the <i>things she says in this movie</i>. And how she truly believes the stuff she's saying. Jenny is way too smart to be like her. Alas, Pike has <b>Gone Girl </b>coming up this year, which should be all kinds of exciting.<br />
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So yes, I would say that I'm quite a fan of <b>An Education</b>, still. I don't know where I'll stand on it in a few years when I'm out of the education system, but for now, it is so blisteringly relevant it continues to scare me.Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com147tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-74956399316233587282014-03-02T21:43:00.000+13:002014-03-02T21:43:00.422+13:00Annual Awards Nerdism: Ranking the Best Picture Nominees<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I think I've done pretty well this Oscar season, seeing all but one Best Picture nominee - <b>Nebraska</b> - before Oscar time. And I must say, the quality has been high. Not 2010-2011 Oscar season level high, but pretty close to it. So here's my ranking of all of the films I've seen that are nominated:<br />
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<b>8. American Hustle, Dir. David O. Russell</b><br />
To be honest, <b>American Hustle </b>is probably the only Oscar nominee from this year that I didn't really like - it's skating someone in between a 2.5/5 and a 3/5. I just couldn't stand the sprawling nature of it and how the improvisation was so indulgent and distracting. Otherwise, it was fun enough and offered a few interesting insights, and had some stellar performances from Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper. There were parts of it that were great, and some not so great parts...it was a mixed bag that I struggle to understand how so many people loved it, but hey, everyone seems to love David O. Russell so that's cool. I do think that it'll end up going home without an Oscar to it's name, though.<br />
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<b>7. Dallas Buyers Club, Dir. Jean-Marc Vallee</b><br />
Now here's a film that would be nothing without the dedicated performances from Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. It tells a fairly basic story in a fairly basic way (and yes, it could fall into that dreaded 'Oscar bait' territory) but it manages to be touching, relevant and actually worthy of the gold bestowed upon it because of the two central performances. I wouldn't say that it is particularly memorable and will have a loud, proud place on the hall of fame, but since it's here right now, it is worth celebrating a little bit.<br />
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<b>6. Philomena, Dir. Stephen Frears</b><br />
This seems to be the dark horse to the awards, since it just showed up and it's just <i>there</i>. In fact, I wasn't even sure that I wanted to make the trip to the cinema to see it, but I'm glad I did. I'm also glad that Stephen Frears is back in the fray, because his last few films - <b>Cheri</b>, <b>Tamara Drewe </b>and <b>Lay the Favourite</b> - slipped under the radar even before they came out. <b>Philomena</b> is a devastating little film, which shows film-making and it's most plain but most able to tell a good story. Which I think is an achievement in itself, because good, simple storytelling is often overlooked for so many other aspects. Oh and yeah, I cried throughout the <i>entire </i>thing.<br />
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<b>5. Captain Phillips, Dir. Paul Greengrass</b><br />
I'm still not at all over this film. I found the clip of Tom Hanks' final scene in this film and it is still as emotionally scarring as it was the first time I watched it. To say that the entire film hinges on that one scene wouldn't be a compliment to the rest of the film, but that final scene is probably the best acting I've ever seen on film. However, the rest of the film is so intense and expertly made, that it brings true meaning to cinema being an experience. Plus, there's the incredible debut from Barkhad Abdi, who has justly been earning his share of accolades. And it's also great how unpatriotic this film is. Had it been in the hands of anyone else other than Paul Greengrass, this film could have been a two hour lovefest towards America, the land of the brave.<br />
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<b>4. Her, Dir. Spike Jonze</b><br />
I only saw this yesterday but it already has a special place in my heart. Probably because it made me happy and depressed in equal measure. Is it a sweet film? Yes. But is it a sign of worrying times? Yes. It manages to be so many things at once, much like Samantha herself. It's really difficult to sum up this film, other than to say that it tells a strange story and makes it strangely relatable. Such an endearing little film with perfect production design. So much to love.<br />
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<b>3. 12 Years a Slave, Dir. Steve McQueen</b><br />
If <b>12 Years a Slave </b>wins tomorrow, I'll be emphatically happy. Mostly because Steve McQueen is a perfect director, and while this film is my least favourite of his, it still warrants a 5/5 rating from me. I can't help but feel like this is our <b>Schindler's List</b> and much will be said about this film in the future. And honestly, Steve McQueen did an almost perfect job of making this film (I really wasn't a fan of the early editing and Hans Zimmer's score, but the rest of it was amazing), making an utterly brutal, unflinching portrayal of something most filmmakers would shy away from. It's so, so, so great. I can't wait to see Steve McQueen up there accepting the award.<br />
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<b>2. Gravity, Dir. Alfonso Cuaron</b><br />
<b>Gravity </b>is the other favourite to take the award and I wouldn't mind seeing this one win either. Mainly because it is another film that is pretty much our generation's phenomenon: we'll be talking about it for years to come. It is masterful filmmaking of the highest order, it has changed things in cinema, it has reminded us that cinema is alive and kicking...and when you think about it, it is part of a very select group. So if it wins, I'll be very, very happy. There's nothing between both <b>12 Years a Slave </b>and <b>Gravity</b>, which makes things ever so exciting.<br />
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<b>1. The Wolf of Wall Street, Dir. Martin Scorsese</b><br />
This doesn't have a shit show of winning (unless all the voters are on ludes, but we know they're all prudes, dude). But upon another watch this film became my favourite film of the year, and definitely a strong representative of our times. And, well, even though it is three hours long, every second is perfect. From the batshit crazy performances from Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill and Margot Robbie (along with the amazing ensemble), to the wonderful screenplay, to the electric direction from Martin Scorsese, just...everything. This movie is probably scarier than all of the horror films from 2013 put together.<br />
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So, the big prediction:<br />
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Yessir, all bets are placed on <b>12 Years a Slave </b>to take the big prize, with a little bit of competition coming from <b>Gravity </b>and (ugh) <b>American Hustle</b>. However, I doubt anything will be able to take down Steve McQueen's masterpiece.<br />
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<b><i>What say you? Are you on the 12 Years a Slave camp? Guess we'll find out tomorrow!</i></b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-37786303897073787952014-03-01T21:42:00.000+13:002014-03-01T21:42:44.795+13:00Annual Awards Nerdism - Oscar Predictions (with poetry) - Acting and Directing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well lookie here, I'm back to my world famous (okay, maybe not), fantastic prediction poetry that everyone loves. I am not a poet, nor do I have any intentions of becoming one, but normal predictions do bore me a little bit and spinning a rhyme is one of my favourite things to do. It is dry stuff, but hopefully you find some joy in it...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Directing </span></b></div>
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Alfonso Cuaron - <i>Gravity / </i>Steve McQueen - <i>12 Years a Slave / </i>David O. Russell - <i>American Hustle / </i>Martin Scorsese - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street / </i>Alexander Payne - <i>Nebraska</i></div>
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Without <b>Paul Greengrass </b>it's not really the same,<br />
Especially as his place went to <b>Alexander Payne</b>,<br />
Remember that film <b>The Descendants </b>with the Cloon?<br />
I think everyone forgot that pretty soon,<br />
<b>Nebraska</b>'s chances here are pretty grey<br />
(yeah, thinking of that joke took me all day)<br />
Since this time the Cloon is out in space,<br />
And <b>Alfonso Cuaron </b>is likely to win this race,<br />
Meaning there could be a Pic/Director split,<br />
But I don't think <b>Steve McQueen </b>will quit,<br />
It's great to see him getting notice for <b>12 Years a Slave</b>,<br />
Even if I'm pretending it's really for <b>Shame</b>,<br />
And then there's Oscar favourite <b>David O. Russell</b>,<br />
Getting his third nomination for <b>American Hustle</b>,<br />
Which is great for making an easy rhyme,<br />
But I didn't find the movie to be a good time,<br />
Yet, my loyalties lie with <b>The Wolf of Wall Street</b>,<br />
With <b>Martin Scorsese</b>'s direction being no mean feat,<br />
Because his direction is terrifyingly fun,<br />
And better than anyone else could do at 71.<br />
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All I can say is that I want <b>Alfonso Cuaron </b>to win because <b>Gravity </b>is easily the best directed film of the decade, but then I want <b>Steve McQueen </b>to win because <b>12 Years a Slave </b>makes the third out of three movies of his that got 5/5 from me. But I also want <b>Martin Scorsese </b>to win because his direction of <b>The Wolf of Wall Street </b>is so amazing because he is taking the piss out of <i>so </i>much and it is beautiful. And yeah, I haven't seen <b>Nebraska </b>so I can't comment on <b>Alexander Payne</b> and well...not a fan of either <b>David O. Russell </b>or <b>American Hustle</b>. Apart from the fact that they rhyme. Whenever I say "<b>American Hustle </b>by <b>David O. Russell</b>" I automatically feel like putting my hood up, getting out my grills and corn rows and start an underground rap career.<br />
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At least I took something away from that movie...<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role</span></b></div>
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Sally Hawkins - <i>Blue Jasmine / </i>Julia Roberts - <i>August: Osage County / </i>Lupita Nyong'o - <i>12 Years a Slave / </i>Jennifer Lawrence - <i>American Hustle / </i>June Squibb - <i>Nebraska</i></div>
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Remember when <b>Jennifer Lawrence </b>fell up the stairs?<br />
Let's hope that doesn't happen for a second year,<br />
J-Law seems to be a bit of a chance,<br />
Even if her performance is a bit of a farce,<br />
But all hopes are pinned on <b>Lupita Nyong'o</b>,<br />
Who is absolute perfection in her first screen go,<br />
There's also <b>Hawkins</b>, <b>Roberts </b>and <b>Squibb</b>,<br />
Who won't be the ones whom the Academy give,<br />
Still, the race is neck and neck,<br />
And <b>Nyong'o </b>is probably the smartest bet.<br />
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Well...all I can hope is that <b>Jennifer Lawrence </b>doesn't prematurely win <i>another </i>Oscar. I'm still not over her winning last year for <b>Silver Linings Playbook</b> (again, I love the movie, but I didn't love her performance at all), and I can honestly say that she was my least favourite performer out of the big five in <b>American Hustle</b>. However, it definitely does look as if she remains a 50% chance to take this award, with <b>Lupita Nyong'o </b>being the other 50%. And I just hope more than anything that Lupita does win, because her speech will be absolutely beautiful and I'm still emotionally scarred by her performance in <b>12 Years a Slave</b>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role</span><i> </i></b></div>
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Barkhad Abdi - <i>Captain Phillips / </i>Bradley Cooper - <i>American Hustle / </i>Jonah Hill - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street / </i>Michael Fassbender - <i>12 Years a Slave / </i>Jared Leto - <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i></div>
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<b>Jared Leto </b>seems to have this race all but won,<br />
But let's pretend there's a little surprising fun,<br />
Even though it's not for the amazing <b>Shame</b>,<br />
It's great to see the Fass finally getting Oscar fame,<br />
<b>Bradley Cooper </b>has nomination number two,<br />
For being my favourite of the <b>Hustle </b>crew,<br />
<b>Jonah Hill</b>'s also back for a second round,<br />
How weird does that sentence sound?<br />
Even cooler is the guy who's the captain now,<br />
<b>Barkhad Abdi</b>'s screen debut sure does wow,<br />
With a BAFTA in his hand he could surprise,<br />
But the winner will be <b>Jared Leto </b>in disguise.<br />
<br />
Yeah, <b>Jared Leto </b>is almost definitely going to win this one. Which is absolutely fine, because it is great to have him back on our screens and he's a wonderful Rayon. However, there is every possibility that <b>Barkhad Abdi </b>could be the captain now with this one, since people can't resist the story behind his sudden rise to fame and how wonderful his performance is. I may just be speaking as someone who loves Abdi dearly, but if there's anyone who can contend with Leto, it is him. This category is crazy good, though, with <b>Jonah Hill </b>being my second favourite thing about <b>The Wolf of Wall Street</b>, <b>Bradley Cooper </b>being my favourite thing about <b>American Hustle </b>and <b>Michael Fassbender </b>being my favourite thing about life. Actually - in my English lecture yesterday, we were talking about slavery and the lecturer brought up <b>12 Years a Slave</b> and then all of a sudden he said "who loves the Fass?" Seriously, Canterbury is my favourite place.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Amy Adams - <i>American Hustle / </i>Cate Blanchett - <i>Blue Jasmine / </i>Sandra Bullock - <i>Gravity / </i>Judi Dench - <i>Philomena / </i>Meryl Streep - <i>August: Osage County</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<b>Amy Adams </b>gets her first nom for being a lead,<br />
And it's nomination number 18 for <b>Meryl Streep</b>,<br />
Everyone has won before,<br />
Apart from Adams who has missed out x4,<br />
This doesn't seem to be her year,<br />
For no-one seems to compare,<br />
To the brilliant work by Queen <b>Cate</b>,<br />
Who makes a Jasmine to love and hate,<br />
While she's impossible to beat,<br />
<b>Sandra Bullock</b>'s <b>Gravity </b>performance has some heat,<br />
<b>Judi Dench </b>is an outside bet,<br />
Considering all the love the Brits usually get.<br />
<br />
There's no way that <b>Cate Blanchett </b>won't be winning this. Which is perfect, because she'll be accepting the award off <b>Daniel Day-Lewis </b>and it'll probably become one of my top five Oscar moments because both of them are flawless royals of cinema. I'm probably more excited about <b>Daniel Day-Lewis </b>presenting this award than I am <b>Cate Blanchett </b>winning it (because God knows when we'll ever see the guy again), but seriously, Cate will become one of the most deserving actress winners ever. She is <i>perfect </i>in that film.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Christian Bale - <i>American Hustle / </i>Bruce Dern - <i>Nebraska / </i>Leonardo DiCaprio - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street / </i>Chiwetel Ejiofor - <i>12 Years a Slave / </i>Matthew McConaughey - <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
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<br />
Sorry, I can't put this category into poetry. It is hard enough doing a prediction for it. But here's how I think this'll go down:<br />
-<b>Christian Bale </b>has absolutely no chance because he is where <b>Tom Hanks </b>should have been.<br />
-<b>Bruce Dern </b>could easily go in for the upset but no one has really been talking up <b>Nebraska</b>, but maybe I'm just turning a deaf ear because I haven't seen the film.<br />
-<b>Matthew McConaughey </b>is currently the favourite and that's good because the McConnaissance is my favourite thing to be living through and I like to imagine this is all for <b>Killer Joe</b>. But I just don't <i>believe</i> he can win yet.<br />
-<b>Chiwetel Ejiofor</b>, however, I can see winning. I've actually laid awake thinking about him winning for several nights in a row. I think he can just pull it out of the hat.<br />
-Buuuuuuut there's <b>Leonardo DiCaprio</b>. Who I <i>still </i>believe has every chance of winning. I know that it is hopeful and maybe a little delusional, but can people ignore that this is his best performance ever? <i>Everyone </i>is saying so. And I feel like I just have to predict him as the winner. Because his performance is my favouite of the year by far. And I just want to see him win for this performance.<br />
<br />
This category is tearing my soul apart. SO MANY DIVIDED LOYALTIES. But yeah, I'm predicting <b>Leonardo</b>. Haters gon' hate. Can't be tamed. Never learn. Yolo. All that stuff.<br />
<br />
"When life gives you lemmons, turn it into an Oscar."<br />
<br />
<b><i>Anyway, what do you think about these categories? Who do you think will come out on top? Anyone have as much faith in Leo as me?</i></b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-11738759976884756352014-02-28T21:14:00.001+13:002014-02-28T21:14:34.242+13:00Annual Awards Nerdism - Oscar Predictions - Visuals, 'Bests' and Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
I won't go into a whole lot of detail, but tonight I'll be predicting the winners for the 'visual' awards (<b>Best Achievement in Cinematography</b>, <b>Best Achievement in Editing </b>and <b>Best Achievement in Visual Effects</b>), the 'bests' awards (<b>Best Animated Feature Film of the Year, Best Foreign Language Film of the Year </b>and <b>Best Documentary, Feature</b>) and the writing awards (<b>Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen </b>and <b>Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published</b>). Remember: Red = the longshot, Orange = the predicted winner, Green = who I want to win.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">
<b>Best Achievement in Cinematography</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Emmanuel Lubezki - <i>Gravity / </i>Bruno Delbonnel - <i>Inside Llewyn Davis / </i>Phedon Papamichael - <i>Nebraska / </i>Roger Deakins - <i>Prisoners / </i>Phillipe Le Sourd - <i>The Grandmaster</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
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Remember that time when <b>Emmanuel Lubezki </b><i>didn't </i>win best cinematographer for <b>The Tree of Life</b>? Does anyone remember that travesty? The Academy has a lot of atoning to do, and I can definitely see them righting their wrongs this year by giving him the award for his brilliant, transcendent work in <b>Gravity</b>. I still haven't seen <b>Prisoners </b>but maaaaan, Roger Deakins must be getting fairly annoyed with all these nominations he's getting without actually winning. I still can't believe he lost for <b>Skyfall</b>, but, well, this looks like another year that he'll go empty handed.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Editing</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>12 Years a Slave / American Hustle / Captain Phillips / Dallas Buyers Club / Gravity</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>
Finally! A category that I can fully comment on because I've actually seen all of these movies! And it is an interesting category indeed. To be honest, I was a little disappointed in the editing of <b>12 Years a Slave</b>, particularly at the start where we had all of those fade in/fade out splicing together of scenes...it just didn't feel very Steve McQueen at all. But that's about the only thing I didn't like about that film. Editing <b>American Hustle </b>would have been a tough job considering all of the improv that came into play but yeah, wasn't very taken by it. <b>Dallas Buyers Club </b>is a rather odd choice to have in this category - particularly over the brilliant editing of <b>The Wolf of Wall Street</b> - but if that floats anyone's boat, then that's okay. I'd say that this is very much a race between <b>Captain Phillips </b>and <b>Gravity</b>, both of which have brilliant editing. I'm more inclined to give the edge to <b>Gravity</b>, since I'm 98% sure that the Oscars will be a <b>Gravity </b>sort of night.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Visual Effects</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Gravity / The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug / Iron Man 3 / The Lone Ranger / Star Trek Into Darkness</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>
Again, I can't <i>wait </i>to see the news crying over how <b>The Hobbit </b>won't be winning this award. This is the one they'll be most upset about, too. But this is all <b>Gravity</b>'s.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Animated Feature Film of the Year </span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The Croods / Despicable Me 2 / Ernest & Celestine / Frozen / The Wind Rises</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
Usually I'm well versed in this category, considering they're the only ones that actually come out before the Oscars happen, but I haven't seen any of them. I considered getting out <b>The Croods </b>and <b>Despicable Me 2 </b>several times but I just...didn't. And I'm like, the only person ever who hasn't seen <b>Frozen</b>. So yeah, I can't offer up anything worthy about these films, but I do hope that <b>Frozen </b>wins because yay for girl power and all that stuff.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Foreign Language Feature Film of the Year</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The Broken Circle Breakdown / The Missing Picture / The Hunt / The Great Beauty / Omar</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
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<br />
I've only seen <b>The Hunt</b>, which is probably my favourite foreign language film of 2013 (with <b>Blue is the Warmest Colour </b>and <b>The Past </b>close behind), so I'm campaigning for this all the way. I do think that it could pull through with a win, but <b>The Great Beauty </b>seems to have this all locked in...even if I haven't actually heard of anyone who liked it...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Documentary, Feature</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>The Act of Killing / Cutie and the Boxer / Dirty Wars / The Square / 20 Feet From Stardom</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
My documentary watching has been really down this year, and my favourite (and also one of my favourite's of the year), <b>Stories We Tell</b>, was not nominated. So I don't have any preferences here, but I could see this being very much a race between <b>The Act of Killing </b>and <b>20 Feet From Stardom</b>.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Eric Warren Singer, David O. Russell - <i>American Hustle / </i>Woody Allen - <i>Blue Jasmine / </i>Spike Jonze - <i>Her / </i>Bob Nelson - <i>Nebraska / </i>Craig Borten, Melisa Wallack - <i>Dallas Buyers Club</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
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<br />
I can see <b>American Hustle </b>winning for it's non existent script but I'm going to keep an open mind and say that it isn't going to do that. I still haven't seen <b>Her </b>(tomorrow! tomorrow!), though I'd really like to see that win, if only because Spike Jonze is adorable and his speech would be equally adorable. After recent events, I definitely can't see <b>Blue Jasmine </b>winning, even if it does have the best screenplay of the pack. <b>Dallas Buyers Club </b>is a bit of an outside and <b>Nebraska </b>will likely go home empty handed.<br />
<br />
<b>Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published</b><br />
Richard Linklater, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke - <i>Before Midnight / </i>Billy Ray - <i>Captain Phillips / </i>John Ridley - <i>12 Years a Slave / </i>Terence Winter - <i>The Wolf of Wall Street / </i>Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope - <i>Philomena</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<br />
Gaaaaaaah, this is probably the toughest race we have at the Oscars. Out of all of them, I'd definitely say that <b>Before Midnight </b>has the best screenplay of all, but considering that this is the only nomination it has (how?!), it might be a little tough to see it win. <b>Captain Phillips </b>won the WGA, so that gives it a wee bit of an edge. If <b>12 Years a Slave </b>wins Best Picture, it could get a little bit of a boost here, because the Oscar loves the completist party. <b>The Wolf of Wall Street </b>hasn't gained an awful lot of traction for it's screenplay, but then again, it does have a pretty awesome and definitely extensive screenplay that makes sure it isn't an outsider. <b>Philomena </b>got the BAFTA, which, judging by the craziness of this year's victors at that awards ceremony, that could mean absolutely nothing. However, I do have a sneaking feeling that <b>Philomena </b>could come out on top. The screenplay itself is fantastic, and I don't think the Academy will be able to resist this British delight, because they never can. A bit of a risky prediction, but this is seriously anyone's game.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Phew - that was a big list. Tomorrow will be dedicated to the actors and the directors (#prayercircleforleo), and then the day after I'll be ranking the Best Picture nominees. We're almost there! Anyway, who do you think will come out as winners in these categories? Particularly the adapted screenplay race? Let me know in the comments!</i></b><br />
<b><br /></b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-15976373093241357092014-02-27T21:12:00.000+13:002014-02-27T21:12:30.701+13:00Annual Awards Nerdism - Oscar Predictions - Soundies and Design<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Forgive me if this year's awards nerdism has been a little slight compared to previous years. Normally I'd attribute this to not being able to watch most of the films before the Oscars, but since I finally moved to a place that has three multiplexes and three other smaller cinemas, I have no excuse (except in the case of <b>Nebraska</b>, which is only playing in Auckland and Wellington so I won't see that until DVD time). And unlike the past couple of years, I've been much more into this year's awards season because I think there's a few races that remain wide open - even the bigger categories (I still have my prayer circle for Leo going, just tweet out something with #prayercircleforleo and we can make a movement). So yeah, as per usual, I'll roll out my 55% informed predictions, but I don't have the usual pictures to go with them (like Smiling Silva, 'Overjoyed' David and Loopy Looper) because I'm lazy and couldn't be bothered figuring out three photos for them. Instead, I have colours, because that's totally original. To add to the originality, they're traffic light colours, and here's how they work:<br />
<br />
Red - The longshot, the outsider who pretty much won't be getting their name called out.<br />
Orange - The real prediction, the one who will probably get their name called out.<br />
Green - Who I really want to win.<br />
<br />
Tonight, I'll be looking at the Sound categories (<b>Best Achievement in Sound Mixing</b>, <b>Best Achievement in Sound Editing</b>, <b>Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Song</b>, and <b>Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Score</b>) and the Design categories (<b>Best Achievement in Production Design</b>, <b>Best Achievement in Make-Up and Hairstyling</b>, <b>Best Achievement in Costume Design</b>). As we get through the predictions, I promise there'll be some of my famous prediction poetry. Because I'm secretly Shakespeare.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Sound Mixing</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>Captain Phillips / Gravity / The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug / Inside Llewyn Davis / Lone Survivor</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
I'm not sure about anyone else, but did anyone kinda forget that <b>Lone Survivor </b>was a thing? It comes out in NZ today, and I was genuinely surprised at when the trailer popped up before a couple of movies I went to go and see. It was strange to see it pushed so much for awards contention, considering it looks like just another Mark Wahlberg film, and well, it came out on the other side worse off, and has it's place in the two sound categories. Will it win big? Unlikely. This is definitely going all to <b>Gravity</b>, because the sound in that is INSANE. It is probably in my top three aspects of that film (there's a long, long list of stuff I love about that film). Just as a side note: isn't it sad how little love <b>Inside Llewyn Davis </b>got? I just saw it yesterday and while I wasn't taken by the whole film, it was impeccably made and Oscar Isaac gave a perfect performance (then again, the acting category was so packed this year).<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Sound Editing</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>All is Lost / Captain Phillips / Gravity / The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug / Lone Survivor</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i><br /></i>
All <b>Gravity</b>. And just putting <b>The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug </b>as the longshot because I can't <i>wait </i>to hear on the news after the Oscars that <b>The Hobbit </b>didn't win any Oscars. They even did that for the bloody Baftas. Only one more year, one more year.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Song</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<strike>"Alone Yet Not Alone" - </strike><i><strike>Alone Yet Not Alone</strike> / </i>"Happy" - <i>Despicable Me 2 / </i>"Let It Go" - <i>Frozen / </i>"Ordinary Love" - <i>Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom / </i>"The Moon Song" <i>- Her</i></div>
<i><br /></i>
<br />
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Yes, I did just put <b>Alone Yet Not Alone </b>as the longshot because the rest of the songs are so close together, it is hard to pick a longshot. So let's just have a moment of silence for the rescinded nominee, who's song was actually terrible, and the movie looks equally terrible, and which should have been replaced by a song from <b>The Great Gatsby </b>(ANY ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE DONE FINE THANK YOU). Alas, this is a pretty tough race, and I'm going with <b>Frozen </b>to take the award, even though any one of them could take it. And even though <b>Happy </b>has been played on the radio here a ridiculous amount of times, I'd be, um, happy if that wins.<br />
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But for the last time, let's tell a few <b>Alone Yet Not Alone </b>funnies:<br />
-Nominated Yet Not Nominated<br />
-Weirdest Possible Oscar Performance Ever Yet Not Weirdest Possible Oscar Performance Ever<br />
-"Friendly Campaigning" Yet Not Friendly Campaigning<br />
-"Distributed" Yet Not Distributed<br />
-etc etc etc<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures - Original Score</span></b></div>
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John Williams - <i>The Book Thief / </i>Steven Price - <i>Gravity / </i>William Butler, Andy Koyama - <i>Her / </i>Thomas Newman - <i>Saving Mr. Banks / </i>Alexandre Desplat - <i>Philomena</i></div>
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Seems to be many of the usual suspects here. Like, John Williams could just hit a single piano key and then he'd have a nomination. However, I'd say he's the long shot here, and first time nominee Steven Price will probably get the award for his brilliant scoring of <b>Gravity</b>. Because <b>Gravity </b>will probably win all of the awards, y'all.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Production Design </span></b></div>
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<i>12 Years a Slave / American Hustle / Gravity / The Great Gatsby / Her</i></div>
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Let's just call this the section where <b>The Great Gatsby </b>wins all the awards because Elizabeth Debicki still deserved a supporting nod and if <b>The Wolf of Wall Street </b>wasn't so brilliant, Leo would be flying the Gatsby flag too. But yes, I've accepted the fact that I'm one of a small minority who thinks Baz Luhrmann and his Gatsby are the best, so I'm excited to campaign the shit out of it being nominated for a few awards. And it'll probably win. Why? Because for the 50 millionth time, Gatsby is awesome.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Make-Up and Hairstyling</span></b></div>
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<i>Dallas Buyers Club / Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa / The Lone Ranger</i></div>
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This category kind of confuses me, but I'd say that <b>Dallas Buyers Club </b>because it has the rest of it's big nominations behind it and Jared Leto's make-up in particular was quite good. But yeah, it is really anyone's game. I wouldn't be surprised if <b>Bad Grandpa </b>won, but then again, it would be weird if <b>Bad Grandpa </b>was an Oscar winner, y'know?<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Best Achievement in Costume Design</span></b></div>
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<i>12 Years a Slave / American Hustle / The Great Gatsby / The Grandmaster / The Invisible Woman</i></div>
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Yeeeeeeah, some more <b>Gatsby </b>love for me to campaign the shit out of. But the costumes were actually amazing, weren't they? Especially that dress that Daisy wears to Gatsby's party that is made from crystals, and everything that Jordan wears, and Gatsby's pink suit...ugh, they're all so pretty. I'd say that <b>Gatsby </b>does have the most expansive and exciting costume set out of them all, but they may just give <b>American Hustle </b>a bit of love here (but I'm banking on <b>American Hustle </b>being completely shut out, just to spite David O. Russell).<br />
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<b><i>So there's tonight's set! Tomorrow I'll look at all the "Bests" categories (Animated, Foreign...) and the "Visuals". Who do you think will win big in these categories?</i></b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-66797795470006739512014-02-26T22:02:00.000+13:002014-02-26T22:02:12.307+13:00You're Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone: Blue Jasmine and Side Effects (Motifs in Cinema 2013: Economics and Money)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is the long-awaited final entry into my series about money, and also my entry into Encore's World of TV and Film's blogathon "<a href="http://encorentertainmnt.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/presenting-motifs-in-cinema-2013.html">Motifs in Cinema</a>", where I've obviously chosen the "Economics and Money" motif. Here's a little more info here: <i>Motifs in Cinema is a discourse across film blogs, assessing the way in which various thematic elements have been used in the 2013 cinematic landscape. How does a common theme vary in use from a comedy to a drama? Are filmmakers working from a similar canvas when they assess the issue of death or the dynamics of revenge? Like most things, a film begins with an idea – Motifs in Cinema assesses how various themes emanating from a single idea change when utilized by varying artists.</i><br />
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Also in the series about money: <b><a href="http://www.cinematicparadox.com/2014/01/we-might-be-hollow-but-were-brave.html">We Might Be Hollow, But We're Brave: Spring Breakers and The Bling Ring</a> </b>(young girls and money) and <b><a href="http://www.cinematicparadox.com/2014/01/baby-youre-rich-man-wolf-of-wall-street.html">Baby, You're a Rich Man: The Wolf of Wall Street and Pain & Gain</a> </b>(men and money). And for those wondering why I haven't/am not going to cover <b>The Great Gatsby </b>in this 'series', unbelievably I've had enough of <strike>incessantly making a case for</strike> talking about it and that's all about old money and stuff so yeah. There's a bit of spoilerage here for <b>Side Effects</b>, but y'all should have seen it by now.<br />
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I'm a big "past" person - always looking back at things and internally crying that they are no more. Alas, I don't think I have such a problem with the past as Jasmine French does in <b>Blue Jasmine </b>and Emily Taylor in <b>Side Effects</b>. Why? They used to have money. And they miss it now it's gone.<br />
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<i>"Imagine everything you ever wanted shows up one day and calls itself your life. And then just when you start to believe in it - gone. And suddenly it gets very hard to imagine a future. That's depression, right?"</i><br />
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Who knows if Emily Taylor came from a place of wealth before she met her husband, Martin, who gave her all of the riches she needed. But once it's all gone, she isn't terribly interested in reverting back to a life without wealth. No, she doesn't go off and rob celebrity houses or hook up with a guy with cornbraids and shorts in every colour. Instead, we have the rather intricate and complicated plot of <b>Side Effects</b>, which takes a sharp turn three quarters of the way through the film and gives us a twist which was pretty unexpected. Let's just say, it is an elaborate twist, which involves faking depression to the extent of being put in a home, driving stock prices and a lesbian relationship between Rooney Mara and Catherine Zeta-Jones.<br />
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Let's just say, Emily <i>really </i>wanted her money back. She even killed her husband (who lost the money for her) just to do it. Yes, that's crazy. But the crazy thing is that she's doing it for revenge. While Martin isn't offered a lot of screentime, you can see that he's trying to make the effort to get the money back, and they're living a pretty comfortable life together. Emily, however, seems bent on getting revenge on her husband for making her life miserable and moneyless for a couple of years. Not a long time in the grand scheme of things, but it shows where her loyalties lie: it's all about the money, who even cares about the husband who got all the money for her in the first place?<br />
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In <b>Blue Jasmine</b>, however, we have Jasmine French, who was introduced to an extravagant and opulent life by her husband, who in turn was arrested for ripping off a whole lot of people and hung himself in prison. Jasmine lost everything - but it was her own doing. Serious mental issues aside, Jasmine will do anything to get her old life back, which she thinks will happen if she goes back to school to study Anthropology. However, as all of us students know, that study life isn't cheap so instead she decides to become an interior designer by learning how to on the internet - but she needs to learn how to use a computer first. To stay afloat, she works as a receptionist for a dentist. Which is all very well and good, because she's taking a more practical approach towards getting her money back than Emily Taylor, but what I find most interesting about Jasmine's approach is that she still looks like she has money - taking every opportunity to stand out in her designer clothes and to point out that her luggage is indeed Louis Vuitton. And that's the way she defines herself. She doesn't have any applicable real world skills that would allow her to make her own money, but she has her clothes to give off the appearance that she's highly successful and elite, which is just where she wants to be.<br />
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<b>Blue Jasmine </b>and <b>Side Effects </b>are both about how money can manipulate. <b>Blue Jasmine </b>is more about how money can manipulate consumerism, and how it is way cooler to have expensive labels to adorn you than actually be a good person. And <b>Side Effects </b>shows you how a person can be so manipulated by having money and then losing it, and the power of manipulation to get it back. Jasmine and Emily aren't particularly taken by the idea of actually <i>earning </i>their money, but instead manipulating everyone around them to get it. <b>Side Effects </b>definitely had the extreme way of going about it - but it is joining the leagues of films from 2013 that showed that money isn't always a good idea.<br />
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Of course, it isn't a new idea, and yeah, it's sometimes a bit hard to swallow when the people who make these cautionary tales have their fair share of money (but in saying that, they worked hard to earn that). It's hard to ignore that 2013 has been the year of the construction and deconstruction of the American Dream. The year of the "money doesn't make you a good person". The year where money, consumerism, materialism, excess and debauchery were put under the spotlight, in several completely unique ways. We have <b>The Bling Ring </b>and <b>Spring Breakers </b>giving us teenage fantasies of money, with <b>The Bling Ring </b>focusing on the celebrity obsessed culture that enraptures teenagers, and <b>Spring Breakers </b>showing teenagers who are chewed up and spat out by the American Dream which comes in the form of the maniacal Alien, who introduces the girls to the violent side of getting what you want. This is also explored in <b>Pain and Gain</b>, one of the more underrated films of this wave, which was mostly about the violence and how movie culture influences what people do to get money ("I've watched a lot of movies Paul, I know what I'm doing!"). <b>The Wolf of Wall Street</b>, which is probably the King of these movies, perhaps served us the biggest cautionary tale of all: how Jordan set up his wealth at the expense of others, and the ensuing controversy on whether or not the film glamorises the corruption and debauchery. I could go into book-length detail on what a test on society that film is, but it's hard to deny what a terrifying symbol Jordan Belfort is for our generation. And then we have <b>Blue Jasmine </b>and <b>Side Effects </b>both exploring what happens on the other side of money - one in a modern Hitchcockian thriller kind of way, and the other in a Woody Allen way.<br />
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But if there's one thing these films have in common, it's that they're fuelled by this appearance driven society, where success isn't measured by who you are and what you do, but by who you appear to be. And every single one of them has characters that believes that success is money, and appear as heroes because of the money they have. Lately, I've been to a few leadership conferences where they say that success is achieved by doing what makes you happy. And in the purest form, that's what it is. But it is getting harder and harder to ignore the fact that now, in 2014, success is measured by money. These films all try to show disdain for this notion, but they're all signs of the time.<br />
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On the bright side, though, for any of you people who don't think that cinema is offering us anything that'll be particularly memorable in a few years - I can see this little movement of 2013 films being studied in a few years...Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-66579359802839340092014-02-23T21:48:00.000+13:002014-02-23T21:48:11.453+13:00Award-Worthy Oscar Party Tips (Guest Post)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Can you believe it is almost a week until the Oscars? Even though I've been howling about Leonardo DiCaprio for what feels like months, we're just around the corner from seeing if he can seal the deal with Oscar. Which would, of course, be amazing. Like many blogs around here, it is going to be all about the Oscars for the next few days - so do grin and bear it. However, I have a guest post on here from <b>Morgan Gray</b>, who shares her tips on what makes an Oscar party awesome. Really makes me want to throw one myself! So here you go -<br />
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My friends and I trade around who gets to host, and this year it's my turn—and I couldn't be more excited! I have a lot of ideas to make for a great party.<br />
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<b>Food and Beverages</b><br />
When it comes to the food and drinks—one of the major parts of any party, especially an Oscars party—I like to put in a lot of effort and run with a theme. For example, last year when <b>Silver Linings Playbook</b> was up for awards, I made mini Philly cheese steak sandwiches to bring to my friend’s potluck party. This year, I'm going to make<b> Nebraska</b> the theme, so I'll be making hors d'oeuvres like cornbread, mini chicken-fried steaks, and mashed potatoes and corn in Mid-West style.<br />
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The beverages are also key. This is another great place to make a theme run, but this year, I want to give my guests a lot of options. Thus, what I've decided to do is put together a bar they can run themselves and make their own drinks! I came across this fun infographic from <a href="http://www.redenvelope.com/blog/bar-cart-anatomy">RedEnvelope</a> and it’s a good starting place. The drink of choice this year is the San Francisco Cocktail for <b>Blue Jasmine</b> (I'm a sucker for anything Woody Allen), but I also found a list of “<a href="http://oscar.go.com/blogs/party/classic-oscar-cocktails">classic Oscars drinks</a>.” I'll ask people to bring a bottle or two of alcohol to make it fair for everyone, less expensive for me, and fun to let people take what they want home afterward!<br />
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<b>Décor</b><br />
I absolutely love dec-ing out my place for any party, but the Oscars give us a chance to go full-out. To make my guests feel extra-special, I'm going to make up some Hollywood Stars for them with their names on them and hang them around (I'm bracing myself in advance for the selfies). I'll also cut out the Hollywood sign from white paper and paste it on a black sheet with lots of star confetti to add a glimmering effect. The tablecloths will all be glittery black, with white- and gold-colored plates and plasticware to make everything look especially classic and clean-cut.<br />
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Since I'm having friends with children come this year, I've decided not to do a red carpet because I don't want the kids tripping on it. So what I've decided to do instead—and I've given myself a pre-emptive pat on the back for this—is bake a large batch of red velvet cupcakes instead! Why buy a cheap streamer-like carpet from the party store when you can make tasty treats that everyone will enjoy so much more?<br />
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<b>Costumes</b><br />
What we've done in years past is have the traditional Oscars ballots, where everyone votes for the films they think will win different awards. This has always done well (the winner normally gets a nice bottle of wine or a small cake), but I've decided to take it one step further this year. We're going to have a costume party! Having the children come is what inspired this idea, but then I figured—why wouldn't my friends want to dress up too? I'm going to ask that my guests come dressed in some fashion for their choice of Best Picture (my friend Dave is going to dress as Christian Bale's character from <b>American Hustle</b>) and that can count as extra points in the ballot race. I think this one will work very well this year!<br />
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Throwing a party can be stressful for sure, especially when there's pressure to keep up with the great parties in the past. However, with some tried-and-true tricks, some new ideas to keep things fresh, and a lot of black cloth and glitter, you can be sure to have a great Oscars party!<br />
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<b>Do you have any ideas for an Oscar themed party? Leave a comment and with all these ideas, someone could have the best Oscar party ever!</b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2587775651487578742.post-26776501790836564602014-02-05T23:14:00.002+13:002014-02-05T23:14:37.750+13:00Everyone Knows Someone From Lord of the Rings, And Other New Zealand Fun FactsTomorrow is Waitangi Day - which, as you likely don't know, is a national public holiday in New Zealand to commemorate the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi (if you want to know more, attend any kind of school in NZ). So I thought, what better way to celebrate than tell you a few home truths about the country I've lived in for my entire life. Because you've always wanted to know more about New Zealand. I suppose.<br />
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<b>1) Everyone knows someone who was in Lord of the Rings. </b><br />
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</b> If you watch <b>Lord of the Rings </b>(as most NZers are required to do and required to like), then yes, you're essentially watching a nine hour long tourism video for our vast green landscape and mountains. And then you add in the nine hours of <b>The Hobbit </b>and wow, that's <i>18 hours </i>of tourism endorsement from Peter Jackson. Seriously, it will take most of you 18 hours to fly here, so you may as well just spend that time watching Middle Earth because all you can really do here is make like a Hobbit and go walking around on mountains and stuff. But anyway, one of the coolest things is that in those 18 hours, literally everyone in NZ can go "hey, I know someone who worked on this". I know several jockeys who were a part of the big horse riding scenes. And just recently the guy who was used as a height scaler (because he is over two metres tall) for scenes where Gandalf and the Hobbits are together just moved into Dannevirke, and now he lives next door to my sister. I have him a membership at Blockbuster, and he is besties with Peter Jackson. Plus some guy from my high school did effects work on <b>The Hobbit</b>. So yeah.<br />
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<b>2) If you're going to do anything in the film industry, you are going to be Peter Jackson.</b><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zCidf5uUYUY/UvIIJ5AI76I/AAAAAAAAOi0/_Qrc0rVdv5g/s1600/peter+jackson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zCidf5uUYUY/UvIIJ5AI76I/AAAAAAAAOi0/_Qrc0rVdv5g/s1600/peter+jackson.JPG" height="330" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br />
</b> I get this a lot, because this is currently a scene out of my life:<br />
<br />
"So what are you off to do?"<br />
"I'm going to Canterbury to study Cinema and English."<br />
"<i>Cinema</i>? How do you study cinema?"<br />
"I want to be a filmmaker one day *nervously laughs because it sounds so stupid and ambitious and crazy when I say that and people don't understand*"<br />
"Oh my gosh! Like Peter Jackson?!"<br />
<br />
I've had this exact conversation at work, at school, sober driving people at 12am, on the streets of Dannevirke, at cafes...if I had a dollar for every time someone said "you're going to be the next Peter Jackson!" to me then maybe I'd be able to afford university. I kinda want to be the next Jane Campion instead, but that's all good.<br />
<br />
<b>3) We don't all personally know Lorde, nor are we all related to her.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvtmOP35KLA/UvIIfoIL_XI/AAAAAAAAOi8/fYbCOQ0Q0_I/s1600/Lorde1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SvtmOP35KLA/UvIIfoIL_XI/AAAAAAAAOi8/fYbCOQ0Q0_I/s1600/Lorde1.JPG" height="326" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br />
</b> No, just because Lorde is a year younger than me and because New Zealand is apparently so small that we all know each other (4 million is not <i>that </i>small), does not mean that I'm best friends with her. I mean, I wish I was, just so I could sap some of her perfect writing skill, but no, I do not know Lorde. It is kinda funny though, because "Royals" came out around this time last year, and I thought it was sung by a 30 year old. And we were all kind of debating whether we liked the song for a while. Then we found out she was 16 and we all cried because how was a 16 year old more successful than all of us? So yeah, even though we all secretly hate her because she's doing so much better than all of us, we love her because her card once declined for Subway that was $8 and she does weird dancing on stage but she's literally the best thing that happened to NZ.<br />
<br />
<b>4) To be successful in the entertainment industry you have to be a child prodigy.</b><br />
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</b> <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WWTvOhWp-Aw/UvIJL6hci_I/AAAAAAAAOjI/9353uIa5BQ0/s1600/anna+paquin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WWTvOhWp-Aw/UvIJL6hci_I/AAAAAAAAOjI/9353uIa5BQ0/s1600/anna+paquin.jpg" height="292" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br />
</b> Okay so this is really only true in three cases but these guys have Oscars (and/or nominations) and Grammys to prove that talent is really only bestowed on young New Zealanders. Anna Paquin won an Oscar for her performance in <b>The Piano </b>when she was 11 years old, becoming the second youngest ever person to win an Oscar. Keisha Castle-Hughes was nominated for her performance in <b>Whale Rider </b>at age 13, which made her the youngest actress to be nominated in the Best Actress category until Quevenzhane Wallis showed up. And yeah, Lorde just won a couple of Grammys when she was 17. I also won Lammys and stuff when I was 15. Just don't grow up in NZ, because once you hit age 10 and realise you haven't won an Oscar it doesn't do good for your psyche.<br />
<br />
<b>5) Lord of the Rings isn't the only notable in the film industry.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GgCyO1XrA-g/UvIKBx6ZCbI/AAAAAAAAOjQ/hSkbAHI5SOA/s1600/Russell+Crow.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GgCyO1XrA-g/UvIKBx6ZCbI/AAAAAAAAOjQ/hSkbAHI5SOA/s1600/Russell+Crow.JPG" height="346" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br />
</b> We sure like pretending it is, but there are some cool people out there who hail from these shaky isles. Russell Crowe was born in Wellington (our capital) and moved to Auckland later, but now Australia have claimed him (though he did throw in a shout out for us in his Oscar acceptance speech for <b>Gladiator</b>). Andrew Niccol, the guy who wrote and directed <b>Gattaca </b>(and <b>The Host </b>but we like to forget about that) and was nominated for an Oscar for <b>The Truman Show</b> comes from Paraparaumu, which is just up the road from Wellington. Richard Curtis, writer of all your favourite romantic comedies, was born in Wellington to Australian parents, and was once Head Boy (see, I'm part of a legacy). Andrew Adamson, who directed <b>Shrek</b>, was born in Auckland. Martin Campbell, who directed <b>Casino Royale</b>, was born in Hastings, which is just up the road from Dannevirke and where I'd often go to the horse races. Zoe Bell, who you could probably tell with that accent in <b>Death Proof</b>, was born in Waiheke Island, which is around Auckland. Melanie Lynskey, best known for <b>Heavenly Creatures </b>but also for being bloody Aunt Helen in <b>The Perks of Being a Wallflower</b>, was born in New Plymouth. Karl Urban, who was in <b>Star Trek </b>and the majorly underrated <b>Dredd</b>, was born in Wellington. And Bret McKenzie, who wrote my favourite shower song "Man or Muppet" for <b>The Muppets </b>is the son of Peter McKenzie (who was also in <b>Lord of the Rings</b>), who used to train racehorses and was friends with my father. So yeah, it is a small group, but we do have a bit more to offer than nice looking landscape.<br />
<br />
<b>6) Don't associate us with Australia, they're always trying to claim our shit.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NixnkZ_TbX0/UvIKVebuLHI/AAAAAAAAOjY/8eyo01jMb1Y/s1600/phar+lap.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NixnkZ_TbX0/UvIKVebuLHI/AAAAAAAAOjY/8eyo01jMb1Y/s1600/phar+lap.JPG" height="330" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br />
</b> Okay, while I'd love to claim stuff like Margot Robbie, Baz Luhrmann, Elizabeth Debicki, Cate Blanchett etc, we as New Zealanders play fair. However, Australia is always stealing out shit. For one thing, don't confuse our accents. Ours are softer and kind of nice to listen to if you like listening to irritating accents. For another thing, there was once this horse named "Phar Lap" back in the 1920s/30s - if you ever need to know <i>anything </i>on this horse, I know <i>everything</i> - who, while trained in Australia, was born in Timaru (down the road from Christchurch) so technically is <i>from New Zealand</i>. There's this dessert called the "Pavlova", named after ballerina Anna Pavlova, which was invented in New Zealand, but because it tastes decent, Australia wants to claim it to. But hey, at least we don't say "sex" when we're trying to say "six", Australians.<br />
<br />
Sorry if you're Australian. I like Australia a great deal. And half of New Zealand moves to Australia every year so all good.<br />
<br />
<b>7) We have no native mammals, just native birds.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--wb6tQNf_8w/UvIKmkK5U4I/AAAAAAAAOjg/1v3QZmby7R0/s1600/kiwi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--wb6tQNf_8w/UvIKmkK5U4I/AAAAAAAAOjg/1v3QZmby7R0/s1600/kiwi.JPG" height="334" width="640" /></a></div>
<b><br />
</b> So here's something interesting if you're into biology (which apparently I am, because I got top marks on a biology exam question). When Gondwanaland broke up and we were left with the Zealandia continent, most of what is now New Zealand was underwater so mammals, you know, had a hard time living on that. Anyway, New Zealand surfaced and there was a lot of plant life (and I mean a lot, where I live now used to be known as the 90-mile bush), and then birds flew here, interbred, and we got lots of native birds that included Moa and Kiwi. Because there were no predators at the time, many birds filled a vast range of ecological niches, including the ground floor, which was handy for the Kiwi since they were flightless. When NZ became populated with humans (we were one of the last land masses to do so), those humans brought mustelids such as stoats, ferrets and possums, which killed the easily targeted Kiwi and have left them on the brink of extinction. If you ever do come to New Zealand, make sure you go to Mount Bruce, which is a couple hours from Wellington, because they have a white Kiwi named Manukura, and seeing it will actually change your life.<br />
<br />
<b>8) This isn't the best place to come if you're scared of earthquakes.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Of0Unf0RUU0/UvILRW1Ys_I/AAAAAAAAOjs/oEkkAGv7LzI/s1600/chch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Of0Unf0RUU0/UvILRW1Ys_I/AAAAAAAAOjs/oEkkAGv7LzI/s1600/chch.jpg" height="182" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture was taken just after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake...terrifying stuff.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Because of the many faultlines that run through New Zealand, we are otherwise known as the "shaky isles". There's a faultline that pretty much runs parallel to where I live. I'd say that aside from snakes, earthquakes are my greatest fear on Earth. Which is great, because I'm moving to Christchurch in a week, which, as many of you know, was devastated by two earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 (from a faultline no one knew existed), and the aftershocks there still continue. But that's okay - when I first went there in early 2010, I fell in love with the place, and even though the earthquakes temporarily put me off, it is actually the best place in New Zealand, because it is the only place where things are changing and are different. If you go on <a href="http://geonet.co.nz/">Geonet</a>, you can see that there's an earthquake somewhere every few hours, with the most recent big one being around 30kms from where I live and resulted in me turning into <b>The Wolf of Wall Street </b>in front of customers at work and swearing often. They're not fun things.<br />
<br />
<b>9) Just some pictures to make yo' all jealous that you don't live in Middle Earth/the middle of nowhere.</b><br />
<b><br />
</b> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OO07jX_xuQg/UvIGgURwg5I/AAAAAAAAOiY/gemr6cPRWT8/s1600/3southernalps.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-OO07jX_xuQg/UvIGgURwg5I/AAAAAAAAOiY/gemr6cPRWT8/s1600/3southernalps.JPG" height="337" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Southern Alps. I can't wait to fly back and forth between home and Christchurch in the winter to see these babies covered in snow.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pp9j5HfyzPM/UvIG34lYaJI/AAAAAAAAOig/crLSlI6xrQM/s1600/3waiotapu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pp9j5HfyzPM/UvIG34lYaJI/AAAAAAAAOig/crLSlI6xrQM/s1600/3waiotapu.JPG" height="336" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland in Rotorua. It really stinks here (like all of Rotorua smells like rotten eggs) but some of thermal stuff is crazy.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mMLvOz6zw6M/UvIGL0jK9tI/AAAAAAAAOiQ/yxe6EpQZBSM/s1600/3abeltasman.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mMLvOz6zw6M/UvIGL0jK9tI/AAAAAAAAOiQ/yxe6EpQZBSM/s1600/3abeltasman.JPG" height="352" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Abel Tasman National Park in the South Island, where most people from my high school go for camps when they're Year 10. It is literally heaven on Earth.<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>10) New Zealand humour is actually the best.</b><br />
<br />
More specifically, <b>Jono and Ben at Ten </b>humour is actually the best. It makes me sad that not everywhere in the world gets to see this program. Here's some of my favourite videos from it:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sme9QbBOT9U" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ALtMG5ZDJIM" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/S7reQks42qw" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
And here's a couple for all us movie people (like you are all legally required to watch these):<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/fomViMUIOXY" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/YLUpucs-kek" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<b>So yeah, that's NZ in a nutshell, both filmic and not. Anything else you could possibly need to know? Like what our Prime Minister John Key is really like from that ten seconds of meeting and photo time I once got from him? Or how there's enough sheep in New Zealand for every single person to have 12 sheep each? We're a treasure trove of fun facts!</b>Stevee Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12284769251750574447noreply@blogger.com9