New Moon

Yes, I know. And no, I’m not going to scream obscenities if you don’t like it. To be honest, I’m not THAT much of a fan myself. But what can you expect? The Twilight saga is sweeping everyone up in its colossal mudslide of domination, whether you blumin’ like it or not! And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, teenage girls being encouraged to get to grips with their sexual selves and all. But that’s for a more feminist blog, and I digress. The second film hath arrived! Which means even more hype than the first (doesn’t seem possible does it?) As you can tell by scrolling down, I have not reviewed the first film. There are many reasons for this, the main being, it was rubbish. I think many can agree that it was a very standard depiction of the book; it knew it would get fans either way and so didn’t seem to try at all. But this time around, there’s a new director in town, Chris Weitz and lo and behold, he’s done quite a splendid job!

As a film lover, you become accustomed to the idea of having to sometimes sit through not-very-good films, its part of the process (especially if you’re quite a picky film lover). So imagine my surprise when the very first shot of the film is one, very large, very absorbing, orange moon that stares you straight in the face. This moon then begins to peel back, agonisingly slowly, to reveal the title ‘New Moon’ and immediately, you can’t help but think quite enthusiastically ‘THIS is more like it!’. The acting, as to be expected, is fairly bog-standard, but not annoyingly so. The whole film seems much more rich and magical than its senior in the sense of its colour and effects. The wolves especially work very well, for example when Bella first glimpses one of the beasts and all that can be seen are two fierce eyes accompanied by a frosty breath in the dark which looks about as real as you could get. What also pulls the movie up to a much more respectable notch is the impressive and mesmerising sound track, which has a delectable fistful of atmospheric tunes that work perfectly in sync with each other or individually on their own. Listening to the much-acclaimed album is a dream-like experience that hypnotises and sums up the tone of the film brilliantly.

Obviously, the series isn’t a masterpiece. But would it really be as successful if it was? I’m pretty sure it’s the simply written books and love/danger filled themes that attract the teenage audience and not all the hidden meanings (because we all know there’s so many of them). And yes, maybe the whole Twilight shebang SHOULD be more sophisticated but really, who are we kidding? Sexy and dangerous vampires? A hot werewolf that wants to be more than just friends? An identifiable female lead? All this included in read-in-a-day books? No wonder there’s screaming teens at premiers with ‘bite me Edward’ scrawled on their faces. All I can say is, at least Weitz has attempted to include more than just the smitten fans in his audience, and make it enjoyable even for those not wearing fangs to the cinema.

Somers Town

Shane Meadows moves away from his hard and aggressive feature lengths to make Somers Town, a gentle, bite-sized film that targets many different underlying themes without actually bringing them into full view. Thomas Turgoose is used once again and proves that his talent continues from the hit This Is England, a factor that will most likely comfort the many fans of Meadow’s. Piotr Jagiello is introduced as a competent actor who works particularly well in the formula of the film as Turgoose’s more reserved other half. Somers Town is automatically realistic in its feel with the use of long scenes and improvisation. This way, the humour that creeps up once or twice does not feel over-rehearsed or thrown in for extra brownie points, but natural and reflective of the subtle and sarcastic comedy that is exclusively connected to the British way of life.

Despite the fact that Somers Town is an apt portrayal of the working class teenager in England, the film does have its flaws. Firstly, the plot seems unstructured and slightly unresolved at the end, which, of course, could be a positive thing, but it is hard to evaluate the film properly without some form of eventful narrative. Therefore, as a viewer, one has to connect solely to the characters which is difficult in such a short time span (the film lasts for a pint-sized 75 minutes). The change from black and white to colour feels a little too obvious in its message and perhaps slightly juvenile for Meadows in its blatant connotation. Other than this, the film is enjoyable and not attention seeking which makes for a good watch but perhaps not a classic for the already acclaimed director.

A Man Escaped or The Wind Bloweth where it Listeth

Robert Bresson 1956

A member of the French Resistance, Fontain, is taken into prison, where he devises a plot to escape.

The film is derived from complete fact, based upon the memoirs of Andre Devigny and is a minimalist, dark and yet very spiritual film. Bresson uses references to God and the Bible throughout, having some of the characters as priests and even naming the film after part of the Bible, John 3:8. However, the role of God and the spiritual are not overplayed as even the main character states that he will not wait around for the Lord to intervene. There is little dialect and the actors used are not actually actors but ‘models’ as Bresson called them; people with little to no experience in acting, a technique used in order to make the performances seem more authentic and legitimate. The fact that the models are not over-acting in order to better their role, means that the characters seem more rounded in the sense that they are going through motions and speech without much notice, a factor that is not only common in humans in captivity but also in the everyday person. Bresson himself expressed how he wanted to display emotion through no emotion, using the suppression of tension progressively from the study of minutia. This being displayed in continuous mundane activities that are repeated again and again.

Tension and hope fluctuate frequently throughout the film, from the activities of Fontain being drawn out endlessly while the audience becomes increasingly aware of his looming death sentence and to the fact that ‘the escape’ is imminent as the past tense 'escaped' of the title implies. However, the viewer still manages to find themselves tense as the situation unfolds , leading up to a climax when the ritual door locking of Fontain's room is at last shown from the outside. A mesmerising, if slightly understated film which I give 4 Stars.

(500) Days of Summer

And so my very own ‘Summer’ ends with one last outing to the flicks to see a long awaited (500) Days of Summer. The one-sided love story about boy, Tom (Joseph Gordon- Levitt) who meets girl, Summer (Zooey Deschanel). Boy falls in love and girl does not. An interesting take on the rom-com and ultimately, a very satisfying film.

Not all of the movie is spot on, though. The narration at the start and end of the film for example, doesn’t seem to fit with the Indy, self-made feel. However, there are many key moments within (500) Days that really stick with the viewer long after seeing the movie. A few of these being, the outings taken to Ikea and the real sense of fun that the actors portray while creating fantasy worlds for themselves, the spontaneous break into dance that Tom experiences after his first night with Summer and the cut-to-the-core scene in which Tom’s hopes are displayed next to reality. Throughout the film, you are constantly having a number of your own thoughts mirrored back at you, like how often you have seen an event going one way only to find it turns unexpectedly in another. Both main actors play their parts well, with Deschanel playing ‘the bitch’ as many of my friends have put it, when really she is a very rounded character who is neither good nor bad, just undecided. And Gordon- Levitt, who rides easily over the wide spectrum of emotions experienced in a relationship, from elation to bed-ridden depression, and all with a sweet, naïve air and very agreeable visage.

What makes the movie seem so fresh and unique (I believe) is that this kind of romantic story has never really been portrayed as a narrative on its own before. It is about the relationship that usually comes before ‘the one’ and has often been overstepped so that a more satisfying story can be told. However, this portrayal of something that will ultimately happen to most of us is an idea to actually be quite fond of, as it is relationships like these that help to create the very fabric of our own personalities.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

It is not frequently that you find yourself (at the age of seventeen) watching a film at the cinema about wizards and magic for the second time in a row. And yet, this time around, the Harry Potter saga has appealed to me quite considerably. Could this be because I feel inclined to see if any of the characters have become more attractive? Possibly. Or that I have nothing better to do now that my long and fairly uneventful summer has started? Almost definitely. Or, it could be that I have begun to realize just how closely me and others my age will feel connected to the characters/actors because I am in fact, ‘growing up’ at the same pace as them.

On reading other reviews, it has become clear to me that most people fancy the film to be unsuccessful in the tricky task of keeping audiences entertained as we reach the climax of the series. Although more often than not, it appears that certain reviewers forget that the movie is not necessarily designed for every person’s taste (it being about spells and teenage angst after all). After running through the first couple of H.P’s before seeing the movie, I am incredibly conscious of just how much the films have gradually evolved to include slicker cuts and better visually appealing scenes. I am not ashamed to say that I believe that this is the best, so far, of all the Potter films because of its simple, yet endearing moments such as when the star and his peer, Professor Dumbledore venture into a cave that has such an eerie mise en scene that even disruptive children in the cinema are awed into silence. This does however, lead me onto a somewhat negative point. Who are the films now aimed at? Children who may have liked the mystifying, if basic, first renditions of the book could now get easily lost in the plots or even affected by some of the more harrowing scenes that are now frequently used in the ‘darker’ Harry Potters.

The answer to this, I think, was answered back in my introduction. The reason I am so inclined to these films all of a sudden is because somewhere in my daft, teenage brain, I have made the connection that I too, no longer look how I did when I started secondary school, have continuous thoughts about the opposite sex but, more importantly, I am now facing huge decisions in my life (granted, these do not include the help/hindrance of a Lord of dark magic) and I find it refreshing that I am able to see film star equivalents go through the same in a fantasy world of wonder.

Enjoying the sunny weather..

As I have explained before, I get bored very easily. So I decided to make use of the sun last weekend and make this video with my dearest chum Lesley. Just a bit of sillyness really :)

Okaaaaay

So. This is my first blog. My blogging cherry has officially been popped (sorry about the imagery there, I was merely setting the tone.. ha! I just used the word merely!) Back to the point. Blogging. This may be quite hard, as I don't find myself particularly interesting and I'm pretty damn sure that not much interesting happens to me. At all. Ever. I mean really, I need to get some hobbies.

You might be wondering who I am. My name's Julia and I am at the ripe old age of 17 (eww, ripe). I tend to have fairly fleeting interests because I get bored VERY quickly. However, I do love photography, films and stories and combos of all three. If I ever do any more of these (which is unlikely as my memory is ridiculous but if I do I swear I will try to cut down on the brackets. Honest) I will probably bring up more sad little things about my life which you really don't want to know.

So anyway, I will only bore you (whoever you are) with my ramblings if I have anything interesting to say which I assure you, will be extreeaaaamly rare. I'll go now, I'm annoying myself.

Julia x