Posted by Lewis in Reviews
24/11/10
To date I have watched more than what would be considered a ‘fair share’ of Soviet Montage Cinema. Yet, until yesterday, I had never found myself so completely at a loss as to exactly what was the point of a movie. The trailer may have pimped out newbie director William Monahan as the ‘Oscar winning writer of The Departed’ but as anyone with more than a passing interest in cinema will tell you, that story was really written by Alan Mak and Felix Chong (Infernal Affairs). Thus, when you tot up his remaining credits, i.e. Kingdom of Heaven, Body of Lies and Edge of Darkness you begin to wonder how Monahan actually scored such a sweet gig.
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Posted by Owen Nicholls in Blog
19/11/10
There are times as a writer when you know that with every word you type you’ll be making someone, somewhere very unhappy. Quite honestly this can be a lot of fun, especially when you set your sights on an entire fanbase. So without further ado, 5 of the best reasons to dislike Harry Potter.
1) “But if you’d read the book first!”
The number one excuse to any Potter criticism of weak characterization, rushed scenes and a general feeling of boredom is that I should have previously sat down and churned my way through 7 novels at over 400 pages each. My response. Fuck You! Why should I have to do homework before I watch a movie? It wasn’t necessary for me to read Mein Kampf before appreciating Downfall. I didn’t need to move to New York, offer people lifts and hang around with child prostitutes to see that Taxi Driver is a work of art. A good film should speak for itself. Teach you something you didn’t know. Not demand prior reading.
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Posted by Owen Nicholls in Blog, News
12/11/10
“In England, at any rate, education provides no effect whatsoever. If it did it would prove a serious danger to the upper classes, and would probably lead to acts of violence in Grovesnor Square”. Oscar Wilde said that. In 1895. 115 years ago.
It’s probably best not to applaud the small instances of smashing things up this week in the name of literacy, numeracy and the ability to dissect everything from frogs to movies, but to condemn the student protests as “deplorable” because a window was smashed and a bobby’s hat got knocked off seems a little on the reactionary front. Regardless of your standpoint that dick with a fire extinguisher is still a dick.
But let’s not tar all ‘yoot’ below the age of 21 as drug-crazed, morons with no purpose other than to kick off of a bit. Most of them, especially the one’s in movie-land, are pretty bloody wonderful.
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Posted by Owen Nicholls in Reviews
04/11/10
High school. That time of your life when you were pigeon-holed like no other. Nerd, jock, tramp, frigid, loser, fattie, rat faced boy, whatever single block children, and occasionally teachers, could fit you into was where you stayed. Hollywood has mined this for years, adding to the cliches until every on-screen character is a stereotype of a stereotype. Thank heavens then for Easy A. The most refreshing look at the social life of teenagers in years, with the most likeable teen star since Say Anything.
Following the rich tradition of placing a classic novel in the school yard (see also; Emma turned into Clueless and Taming of the Shrew becoming 10 Things I Hate About You) Easy A takes its inspiration from The Scarlett Pimpernel. Overheard in the bathroom placating her best-friend by falsely confessing to losing her V-plates, Olive becomes infamous as the new school slut. Instead of rolling over and playing dead until the rumour mill runs out of seed, Olive sees how far she can push the lie, assuming the mantle of UberSkank. Her motive; to monitor how her peers react. And react they do.
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