So when you watch a film one of the first things you'll list as the reason why you liked it will be a stand out performance by a certain someone or dynamic or chemistry between couples or groups. You notice these for the good usually how often do you really enjoy the the film and you think it was a good film, but the acting was a pile of bollocks. Its rare.
Who are the actors in this world who send us into dizzying messes when it comes to there performances, and I'm talking bad dizzying messes not good?
I will be adding actors and actresses to my list often stay tuned
Nicolas Cage
I think Nic Cage is a terrible actor, and after watching a video from youtube of him "losing his shit" he really isn't a good actor. He can't do wierd like Johnny Depp, he can't do straight down the line like Brad Pitt and his action roles are more Pink Panther than Bruce Willis. Yet his films do remarkably well... The remake of the wicker man was terrible, Season of the Witch hurt like a hang over and The Sorcerers Aprentice was also pretty awful. But Kick Ass stars Cage and I really enjoyed that. It is my belief that when he steps away from the lead role and lingers in the background he is far more watchable and enigmatic. He's like a room adouriser smells good, but too much in the air and your breathing deadly poisonous fumes.
Madonna
Not quite an actress, but she has got fairly substantial back catalogue of films to count as an actress, as well as earning herself some acolades (good and bad). The good; four films Desperatly Seeking Susan, A league of their own, Four Rooms and Evita. None of these bar Evita was Madonna the lead actress, which I believe helped her rise above the critisism she normally gets. I believe she was a great addition to A league of their own and no one else could have played Susan. Evita really is her stand out, perfectly sung, and an Oscar worthy performance. But a string of really bad film didn't help her ever morphing career and even cameos in Girl 6 and Die Another Day garnered enough critisism from joe public and press. Poor Madonna, when she gets it right, it's good, but when its wrong it is oh so wrong. Never watch Sanghai Suprise or Swept Away they are moments in your life you won't get back, however I actually enjoyed Who's that Girl which was panned by critics, so might as well give it a go.
Sunday 10 April 2011
Thursday 7 April 2011
Animate Yourself
It really is amazing when a film designed to entertain children can come come and entertain the masses. Films like that should be rightly applauded. Leading the pack in todays animation is Pixar, who have yet to do a film that is truly bad. Closely followed by Dreamworks and then finishing with Disney (and I'm talking pure Disney not Disney and Pixar). Back as far as I can remember it has always been Disney that have been the market leaders, their films are still historic and have passed down the generations suberbly. Everyone remembers the epic moment when the witch turns into the dragon in Sleeping beauty or the doggy spaggetti scene in Lady and the Tramp or bambi's mother not coming to the aid of her baby deer (what a tear jerker). Disney really went off the rails in their attempts to follow in Pixars shadow, they stepped out of their comfort zone and they were clearly a fish out of water with it. More recently they've gone back to doing what they do best fairytale fantasy, Princess and the Frog went back to 2D animation and pulled it off beautifully and even managed some old school disney music with it and made another hit with Tangled, 3D old school disney how wrong it could have gone, but it was done incredibly well and actually managed to combine old and new with amazing success.
Dreamworks still have a long way to go in my book. Antz was suberb, very simular to A Bugs Life by Pixar, but generally a really well done film, the humour may have been directed more towards adults, but there is no denying the quality of it. Antz was swiftly followed by Shrek, the one film that may have made Pixar quake in their boots. Shrek is a highly original and side splittingly funny afair that came at exactly the right time. Not every animation studio had converted to computer animation yet, so it still felt fresh and after years of disneyfied stories, a parody of them was a sure fire hit. Shrek 2 was a rare occasion when the sequel is the equal of the original. I believe this is due to Jennifer Saunders' devious fairy god mother which had a bite where Lord Farquad had a nibble. Shrek then went on into its third film and oh how the mighty do fall, despite a record breaking box office taking, Shrek the third was lackluster at best, lack of storyline being its main issue and the jokes between Donkey and Puss starting to wear very very thin. Dreamworks have done plenty since most mediocre, and any above mediocre not exactly memorable. Dreamworks seem to rely on star power more than story, so even when they get a good idea it seems to buckle along under the weight of the Hollywood movie stars providing the "characters" voices.
Pixar are by far the leaders in the animation world both critically and commercially. Toy Story 3 they're most recent work was in a word, incredible. Emotional, funny, exhilarating, sweet, scary quite literally everything you want in a film. Though I thought The Kings Speech was a great film I really felt as though Toy Story 3 was robbed of the Oscar it so rightly deserved. Up was also a tremendous work of film making, the montage at the beginning of the film could melt the hearts of even the most hardened exteriors. Wall.E. was a work of genius, if a little bit stilted for my personal liking, Monster Inc and Finding Nemo yet another emotional tug of war with more funny bits than intentional comedies. Their only mis-step in my eyes is Cars, though not the car crash it could have been in the hands of a less experienced film makers.
All in all Pixar are the defining film makers at the moment, disney do seem to be back on form and Dreamworks latest offerings have aparently been very good. Animation is not for children, its for everyone and anyone, it is film making brilliance to which many have failed at. Japanese animation goes to places that Pixar and Disney could only touch the surface of. Spirited Away is so beautiful and sweet and strange its a must see for people that like film. If you like film watch animation, if you claim to like film and dislike animation you do not like film... end of story.
Dreamworks still have a long way to go in my book. Antz was suberb, very simular to A Bugs Life by Pixar, but generally a really well done film, the humour may have been directed more towards adults, but there is no denying the quality of it. Antz was swiftly followed by Shrek, the one film that may have made Pixar quake in their boots. Shrek is a highly original and side splittingly funny afair that came at exactly the right time. Not every animation studio had converted to computer animation yet, so it still felt fresh and after years of disneyfied stories, a parody of them was a sure fire hit. Shrek 2 was a rare occasion when the sequel is the equal of the original. I believe this is due to Jennifer Saunders' devious fairy god mother which had a bite where Lord Farquad had a nibble. Shrek then went on into its third film and oh how the mighty do fall, despite a record breaking box office taking, Shrek the third was lackluster at best, lack of storyline being its main issue and the jokes between Donkey and Puss starting to wear very very thin. Dreamworks have done plenty since most mediocre, and any above mediocre not exactly memorable. Dreamworks seem to rely on star power more than story, so even when they get a good idea it seems to buckle along under the weight of the Hollywood movie stars providing the "characters" voices.
Pixar are by far the leaders in the animation world both critically and commercially. Toy Story 3 they're most recent work was in a word, incredible. Emotional, funny, exhilarating, sweet, scary quite literally everything you want in a film. Though I thought The Kings Speech was a great film I really felt as though Toy Story 3 was robbed of the Oscar it so rightly deserved. Up was also a tremendous work of film making, the montage at the beginning of the film could melt the hearts of even the most hardened exteriors. Wall.E. was a work of genius, if a little bit stilted for my personal liking, Monster Inc and Finding Nemo yet another emotional tug of war with more funny bits than intentional comedies. Their only mis-step in my eyes is Cars, though not the car crash it could have been in the hands of a less experienced film makers.
All in all Pixar are the defining film makers at the moment, disney do seem to be back on form and Dreamworks latest offerings have aparently been very good. Animation is not for children, its for everyone and anyone, it is film making brilliance to which many have failed at. Japanese animation goes to places that Pixar and Disney could only touch the surface of. Spirited Away is so beautiful and sweet and strange its a must see for people that like film. If you like film watch animation, if you claim to like film and dislike animation you do not like film... end of story.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
Scream for me
With the and coming Scream 4 rearing its head, I beleive its a pretty amazing feat to have a horror film become such an iconic piece of cinema. Obviously many others are iconic as well, the shining is one that springs to mind. But that opening sequence in the first film is probably the only truly iconic scene from a horror film in the last decade.
You know how it begins a stray phone call to Drew Barrymore from an unknown caller asking the youthful "teen" what her favourite scary movie is, which then twists to her being a victim in her house and being told she'll be gutted like a fish if she hangs up the phone. And soon enough Drew Barrymore is no more and her parents arrive home to see there child hanging from a tree dead and stabbed.
One of my all time favourite scenes. But my problem is, ok there have been some great horrors released since Scream some are probably even better than scream, but none are as memorable as the above scene. Why is this?
I have to give Saw some kudos for the traps in the first one, but u don't remember the dialogue, or really exactly what happens. All u know is two men are trapped in a bathroom and they have to saw there legs off to get free. But Saw is so torturous and gory it makes it difficult to watch, I personally love the franchise but I'm a horror fanatic, I know many people will not watch Saw whereas they will watch scream. Therefore in being less gory and "horrific" it works. Saw has little feeling of dread unlike that of the Scream film and I think thats what makes it iconic. U don't need to see someone carve there leg off to get scared, because thats just gross. But Drew Barrymore being tortured over the phone is far more frightening, because you know she is going to come off this worse than the guy on the phone as well as Drew Barrymore being a pretty solid actress shame they killed her so soon.
Well my rant is over. The original Scream is fantastic and still gets the adrenaline pumping even now, horror is great genre and I hope Scream 4 will be as good as the first two and I also hope another horror film will take up Screams mantle for most iconic horror movie scene.
You know how it begins a stray phone call to Drew Barrymore from an unknown caller asking the youthful "teen" what her favourite scary movie is, which then twists to her being a victim in her house and being told she'll be gutted like a fish if she hangs up the phone. And soon enough Drew Barrymore is no more and her parents arrive home to see there child hanging from a tree dead and stabbed.
One of my all time favourite scenes. But my problem is, ok there have been some great horrors released since Scream some are probably even better than scream, but none are as memorable as the above scene. Why is this?
I have to give Saw some kudos for the traps in the first one, but u don't remember the dialogue, or really exactly what happens. All u know is two men are trapped in a bathroom and they have to saw there legs off to get free. But Saw is so torturous and gory it makes it difficult to watch, I personally love the franchise but I'm a horror fanatic, I know many people will not watch Saw whereas they will watch scream. Therefore in being less gory and "horrific" it works. Saw has little feeling of dread unlike that of the Scream film and I think thats what makes it iconic. U don't need to see someone carve there leg off to get scared, because thats just gross. But Drew Barrymore being tortured over the phone is far more frightening, because you know she is going to come off this worse than the guy on the phone as well as Drew Barrymore being a pretty solid actress shame they killed her so soon.
Well my rant is over. The original Scream is fantastic and still gets the adrenaline pumping even now, horror is great genre and I hope Scream 4 will be as good as the first two and I also hope another horror film will take up Screams mantle for most iconic horror movie scene.
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