A Firey End to an Epic Trilogy.

Film: The Dark Knight Rises
Year: 2012
Director: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Juno Temple.
Running time: 164 min.

Let me be straight-forward from the start: The Dark Knight Rises is the biggest film-event of my life so far. Sure, I've only had 16 years for films to compete for that title, but this film takes the cake by a long shot. That is not to say that The Dark Knight Rises is my favourite film ever. I honestly don't think it will have the mass effect that The Dark Knight had, with it making it's way to the top of IMDb's top 250 or anything like that. Simply put, The Dark Knight Rises isn't as good as The Dark Knight. But there's no denying that this is a grand-scale finish to what is probably the best trilogy of films that I have ever seen. The only problem that I have is that now the trilogy is all over. I guess that I can now properly understand how all of those Harry Potter fans felt when their series came to a close this time last year. Even though Christopher Nolan's Batman franchise and I didn't get off to the most conventional start, I can't help but feel a little nostalgic over the way The Dark Knight changed my perception of films when I was just about to leave primary school. Now I'm nearly on the precipice of leaving high school, The Dark Knight Rises has come along and reminded me of why I love Nolan's take on Batman, why I love Nolan's films in general, and why I love going to the cinemas. However, Nolan's closing the door on his Batman, even though he's leaving the door somewhat open for someone else to pick it up. Which I hope isn't the case, because I don't think anyone can do the superhero genre better than Nolan. Hell, this guy invented his own genre.

"Don't talk to anyone. Don't touch anyone."

Film: Contagion
Year: 2011
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Written by: Scott Z. Burns
Starring: Matt Damon, Laurence Fishburne, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Ehle, John Hawkes, Bryan Cranston, Elliott Gould, Sanaa Lathan, Anna Jacoby-Heron.
Running time: 106 min.

Contagion is exactly what I like to see as a film. When I go to the cinemas, there's a huge part of me that just wants to be entertained. Because, after all, that's the main purpose of films: to entertain the audience. But one thing that I like more than entertainment in films is to feel like I'm part of an experience. Like the world outside that cinema doesn't matter anymore. I am taken in by this film, drawn into the atmosphere it has created, only to be snapped out of it when the credits start rolling, and even then I take a bit of my experience away from me. Probably the only time that I've felt part of an experience with a 2011 film was when I saw Midnight in Paris. While it was not realistic in anyway, just the nostalgia and enchantment made me happy to be right with Owen Wilson meeting famous people from a bygone era. Even though Midnight in Paris is still my favourite film of the year, Contagion blew that cinematic experience out of the water. With this film, I was instantly drawn into the world of fear, paranoia and total destruction, and felt like I too could be running for my life. Now I'm constantly aware of when my hands are touching my face, or touching anything. I'm literally going to buy a box of hand sanitizer. Film-makers may be throwing lots and lots of money into making their movies into 3D so people can feel part of an 'experience', but that's only an artificial experience. Contagion, however, uses old-fashioned story-telling to show something that is perfectly realistic. And it is a great experience, indeed.

"You're in love with a fantasy."

Film: Midnight in Paris
Year: 2011
Writer/Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Marion Cotillard, Kurt Fuller, Mimi Kennedy, Michael Sheen, Nina Arianda, Carla Bruni, Alison Pill, Corey Stoll, Tom Hiddleston, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, Léa Seydoux. 
Running time: 94 min.
NOTE: This probably has spoilers in it. But by now you should have seen the film, really. If you haven't, I suggest you do straight away.

Let's face it: all of us, at one point or another, have wished that we were born in another era. I myself would have loved to have been around during the transition from silent to sound cinema, living in Hollywood. Gil Pender (Owen Wilson), Woody Allen's latest hero, wishes that he was around in 1920's Paris. While he accepts that he could never go there, he seems intent on creating a life for him and his fiancée Inez (Rachel McAdams) similar to his dream, and insists that they should stay in Paris forever, where they're currently on holiday. Gil is in love with this city, and decides to take a stroll at midnight. He is picked up by a 1920's style car, and transported to the world he has dreamed of. Along his journey he meets people like Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston and Alison Pill), Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll) and Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody), who all help inspire him while he is writing a novel. Gil goes back to this place every night at midnight, and ends up falling in love with Adriana (Marion Cotillard), who wishes that she was around during the La Belle Époque, which she thinks is the Golden Age of Hollywood, as opposed to 1920's Paris.

16 Days of Birthday, Day 6: My Favourite Female Performances

This will be pretty much the same as last night's post, but of course, tonight I'll be focusing on brilliant performances by members of the female species. The first 20 picks I have are all performances which I really liked, but aren't the big mammas of performances (they're all in alphabetical order because I'm lazy). The last 5 are my 5 favourite performances as of today, the 12th of August, a whole ten days before my 16th birthday. They're in order, because they're easy to put in order.

Performances in which I liked:

Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential

Ingrid Bergman in Gaslight

Cate Blanchett in The Aviator



Vera Farmiga in Up in the Air

Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married

Katharine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story

Kate Hudson in Almost Famous

Nicole Kidman in Moulin Rouge!

Rinko Kikuchi in Babel

Diane Kruger in Inglourious Basterds

Julianne Moore in Boogie Nights

Carey Mulligan in An Education

Natalie Portman in Black Swan

Noomi Rapace in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Sissy Spacek in Carrie

Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity

Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada

Jacki Weaver in Animal Kingdom

Olivia Williams in The Ghost Writer

 

Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

 

And here are my five favourite female performances...

5. Amy Adams in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

You all know that I love Amy. But you may ask, why not Enchanted? Why not Junebug? What about Doubt? You didn't like her in The Fighter? Truth is, I love her in everything she's starred in (okay, maybe not the bits I saw of Cruel Intentions 2). But I gotta say, when it comes down to choosing my favourite performance of hers, it has to be her one in Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. The movie itself is a very light and fluffy rom-com, but it's, well, done right. Her performance, as up and coming actress/singer who is currently courting three different men, is so mind-blowingly delightful and filled with glee. Seriously, her charm is infectious!

4. Bette Davis in All About Eve

There are so many other Bette Davis performances that I could have picked, but this is by far her best. She takes bitchiness to a whole other level, with her fierce portrayal of a fading actress at war with a sneaky younger actress. The title may suggest that this film is 'all about Eve', but really, it's all about Bette Davis.

3. Marion Cotillard in La Vie En Rose

Many actors and actresses have tried their hand at portraying a famous figure in the world of music, but few have succeeded as well as Marion Cotillard. Here she plays French singer Edith Piaf, basically for most of her lifespan. Marion put her body and soul into this movie, and even though she didn't actually sing the songs, her lip-syncing was spot on. It's absolutely impossible not to be in awe of what Marion achieved with her amazing performance, and I'm sure as hell glad that she got the Oscar that year!

2. Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream

Even months after seeing the film, I am still traumatised by Ellen Burstyn's brilliant performance. Her story is the one that I think it the most heart-breaking out of all of them, mainly because Ellen portrayed the differences in her character - thanks to drugs - so well. I think she made me cry the most, too. I mean, when she was going through shock treatment: I cried. When her friends saw what had happened to her: I cried. When she had that one last dream about the game show: I had finished the entire box of tissues. And that all important line "I'm going to be on television!" still echoes through my head every now and again, reminding me of how lucky I am not to be addicted to drugs.

1. Vivien Leigh in Gone with the Wind

I had such a hard time deciding which was my most favourite performance of Vivien's out of this and A Streetcar Named Desire. Scarlett only just beat Blanche. As some of you may know, I'm a huge fan of Vivien Leigh. Have been ever since I watched...you guessed it, Gone with the Wind. Her performance in this film is just impeccable. She adapts to Scarlett's unlikeable traits and still makes sure she comes out as the heroine in the end. Scarlett O'Hara is a damn good part, and Vivien took the opportunity in both hands and did some amazing things with it. All I can say is thank goodness David O. Selznick has waited until literally the last minute to cast his Scarlett, because even though Vivien was British, she was pretty much the most perfect thing about this film.

Now it's over to you: what are your favourite female performances?

It's been a year since I first saw Inception...time for 52 things I love about Inception!

I find it hard to believe that this time a year ago, I was sitting in the cinemas after months of watching the trailers over and over again, having mini heart attacks every time the word 'Inception' was uttered, watching every other Christopher Nolan flick, and then spending this day shaking excitedly at school, because every minute gone was a minute closer to seeing the film. Just so you know, this was the only time I've ever been so excited over a films release, and yes, even I admit I was a bit obsessed. But do you know what the best thing was? The film topped my sky-high expectations. Which is probably why, after 365 days and nearly 15 watches, I still absolutely love this movie. It hasn't been just a 'film' for me, it's actually meant a lot to me.

So, if you don't like Inception, go to the left. This is my time to share 52 reasons why I think this movie is amazing, and I don't really want any crap comments ruining it. I get that it isn't as good as what it was a year ago...even I don't find it as amazing as I did. But, you know, I still love it to bitty bits. Okay, are we good? I hope so.

Anyway, here we go, 52 reasons why I love Inception (one for every week since my first viewing, not in any order either):

1. "You mustn't be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling."

2. All of the totems

3. ...but especially the cheeky one at the end.



4. Blasting up '528491' in my headphones at full volume, because that is freaking epic.

5. Cillian Murphy crying.

6. Arthur's wardrobe.

7. This is completely original Nolan - not adapted Nolan.

8. Oh yeah, and this is directed by Nolan. 

9. Yusuf. You should never forget Yusuf and his crazy driving skills and his cats.

10. That spinning hallway scene.

11. Cobb is the director, Arthur is the producer, Ariadne is the production designer, Eames is the actor, Saito is the studio, and Fischer is the audience.

12. Michael Caine's in it for like three minutes and he still gets top billing.

13. When Cobb finally shoots Mal.

14. The fact that 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien' is my alarm and it's the best alarm ever.

15. Even the posters are awesome.

16. Tom Hardy.

17. Ellen Page shooting Marion Cotillard because of the 2008 Oscars.

18. The suit porn.

19. This film required a food stylist and an assistant food stylist...(When I found this out, I actually listed all of the food in the movie. Hell, if this means you can take part in a Nolan flick, I want to be a food stylist.)

20. It won as many Oscars as The King's Speech.

21. This is the third Nolan flick that Cillian Murphy has spent a considerable amount of time hidden beneath a cloth sack.



22. The track 'Time' which is at the end of the soundtrack. Simply beautiful

23. The name Ariadne. 

24. "You're waiting for a train. A train that'll take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you. But you can't know for sure. Yet it doesn't matter. Because we'll be together."

25. When the little kids finally turn around so Cobb can see their faces.

26. Saito and his carpet.

27. Blowing up Paris. Because that's a cool way to get friends.

28. Oh, and folding over Paris. Because that's a cool way to get an architect.

29. "Un café! Un café!" - That's how you try an disguise yourself in a chase through Mombasa.

30. The awkward moment when Ariadne finds out Cobb's wife is actually dead.

31. Pete Postlethwaite. Always great.

32. "I bought the airline...it seemed neater."

33. The Eames/Arthur relationship.

34. Fischer's many 'bitch, please' looks.

35. Ooooh, freight train in the middle of the street.

36. Finding out the real story about Cobb and Mal.

37. When Eames turns into a chick. Hahaha.

38. "Paradox."

39. The world that Cobb and Mal built. I can see myself living there.

40. When the van hits the water. 

41. The looks exchanged with Cobb as he walks through the airport.

42. "I know you were disappointed, that I couldn't be you." "No no no. I was disappointed that you tried."

43. Saito's aged look.

44. The fact that it wasn't made in 3D.

45. Mal's dress in the Japanese castle scene.

46. In fact, that castle was beautiful.

47. It's a family affair: Nolan's cousin plays the flight attendant, and his son plays Mal and Cobb's son when he is 20 months.

48. The fact that I can't say 'defibrillator'...but I do like their defibrillator.

49. Arthur's good driving skills.

50. Fischer's wallet has $500 in it, and the wallet is worth more than that.

51. The way the movie starts.

52. The way the movie ends. The screen goes black, the audience gets pissed off, and then the track 'Dream is Collapsing' starts as the title comes up. And then Christopher Nolan's name comes up, and I always cry because I can never be like him.

So there are 52 reasons why I love this amazing film, which has been with me for a year. Why do you like it?