Pride and Prejudice (2005, Joe Wright)

Happy birthday Joe Wright! To celebrate the occasion, I decided to review one of my favourite films, Mr Wright’s version of Pride and Prejudice. I also happen to be reading the book at the moment, so thought it would be fun to compare the film to the classic work of Jane Austen. Okay, so the film may have been released 7 years ago, but it’s truly fabulous and if you haven’t seen it then I suggest you get up and go see...but not before you’ve read this!

The story of Pride and Prejudice revolves around the heroine Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) and how she has to overcome her prejudices of the handsome – and conveniently rich – Fitzwilliam Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen). But as well as this, he must cast his snooty pride aside and bring himself to accept Elizabeth and her family, despite their poorer background and “indifferences”. Aside from Lizzie and Mr Darcy, the story focuses on the theme of marriage and the events encountered on the quest to finding a husband. So anyway, here’s what I had to say...

I love the opening of this film. The piano, the sunrise, the countryside setting – it’s lovely to watch and puts you in a good mood for the rest of the film. For all you filmmakers, look out for the variety of camera angles used – there’s a lot to say here about cinematography, so well done to Wright for that. Also, after the camera ‘explores’ the house (where we are introduced to all the Bennet family), no time is wasted – similar to the book, the news of Mr Charles Bingley arriving at Netherfield Park is immediately spoken of, sending the girls into a giggling frenzy. The final establishing shot of Longbourn completes the opening sequence, and not long after, we are thrown straight into a bustling ballroom, in which Mr Darcy, Mr Bingley and his sister Caroline are introduced.

Mr Bingley is one of my favourite characters in the story. With bouncy ginger hair, a tendency to start babbling and many a goofy grin, he is such a loveable character, and the complete opposite of his snobby sister. However, in the book Mr Bingley has another sister, Mrs Hurst, yet she doesn’t exist in the film – I think it may have been more interesting if she was there to see if she acted similarly to Caroline. Another character worth mentioning is the amusing but irritating Mr Collins (played brilliantly by Tom Hollander), the cousin of the Bennet sisters who is to inherit Longbourn when their father dies – this is why it is essential that the girls find husbands, as they must keep a roof over their heads. The Bennet family’s first dinner with Mr Collins when he arrives gives a clear image as to what they think of him – Mrs Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) looks bored out of her life and the girls are moments away from bursting into fits of giggles. Aside from them, his comments sent me into fits of laughter; “what excellent boiled potatoes...many years since I had such an exemplary vegetable.” He is annoying, but a great character to watch on screen.

One of the best parts of the film? There’s a few to choose from, but the scene with Darcy and Elizabeth in the rain, when he declares his love for her, certainly deserves a mention; “I love you! Most ardently.” I think I actually cheered at this moment – it’s a major turning point in the film for several reasons, but I won’t tell you why or the rest of the plot, as that’s for you lot to find out for yourselves. All that’s left for me to say is, go and give Pride and Prejudice a go – it is Joe Wright’s birthday today, after all! It’s a fantastic film and I think Jane Austen herself would be thoroughly pleased with how her novel had been transformed. Oh, and Mr Bennet (Donald Sutherland) has a slightly odd English accent, given that he is actually Canadian, but we’ll forgive him due to his great acting.

Rating: 4 stars – yes, buy the DVD, or challenge yourself even further and read the book!

Georgie

Magic Mike (2012, Steven Soderbergh)

Hey film lovers,
it's the turn of Magic Mike this week, which is currently in cinemas. It's still going strong since being released 11th July, yet it hasn't received entirely positive reviews. Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try and go see it anyway. What I found though, was that the negative reviews had been written for a reason. Harsh as it sounds, this movie wasn't really worth my time.

Magic Mike (played by a hunkalicious Channing Tatum) is a 30 year old builder at a construction site by day, with dreams of becoming a successful furniture maker. By night, he becomes a shaved, buffed and bronzed male stripper, dancing, shaking and winning more screaming women than a sold out Michael Buble concert. The first time we saw him on screen sent the whole cinema into one big squealing frenzy - you can imagine! It is Tatum's body, and some impressive dance moves, that make this movie. Sadly, not much else does.

Anyway, the story really begins when Mike meets young new worker Adam at the construction site (Alex Pettyfer - now this guy really has grown up. The blonde flowing curly locks have gone!) They run into each other that evening outside the strip club, and Adam convinces Mike to let him go in with him. This catapults Adam into the world of strippers, and he's desperate for a slice of it. Following an agreement between Mike and leading man Dallas (Matthew McConaughey, who reminds Adam that his role as a stripper is to be "the husband those women never had"), Adam - now introduced as 'The Kid' due to him being only 19 - is pushed out onto the stage to show Dallas what he's got. Despite a cringey attire at one point of baggy boxers and grey woolly socks, he joins the team, and away they go.

I won't tell you the rest of the story, not because I'll spoil it, but because it has unneccesary complications and some pointless parts. Either that or I'm just being a bit silly. I liked the stubborn character of Brooke, Adam's sister (Cody Horn), who Mike clearly has a thing for but she is reluctant to have anything to do with him at first. But throw in a chance to take the show to Miami, something about receiving 7.5% instead of 10% (didn't know what was going on) and a bust up at a house party involving drugs - one of the darker parts of the plot - oh, and a pig called Herman, and you have a slightly mismatched film with a bad plot.

Even the lead characters flexing their muscles gets old; we are treated to several montages of the gang performing various routines, but these are dotted around as though to fill some time, and they got boring. In fact, it was during one of these scenes that a woman on the front row - who must've been drunk, otherwise she should be very embarrassed - stood up and began to join in with her own cringey dance routine. As if it couldn't get any worse - it was hilarious though - she then decided to dive head first into the row behind her, causing Channing Tatum to be partly hidden from view due to this lady's legs waving around in the air whilst she struggled to get up. For me, this was the most entertaining part of the night - and she wasn't even in the movie!

So if you like Channing Tatum and other men taking their clothes off, then I recommend this movie to you. If however, you like Channing Tatum, but also a good film with a decent plot, then I suggest you don't bother with this one. You'll be disappointed.

Rating: 2.5 stars (not worth paying £8.30 for, I'm afraid)

Georgie

Submarine (2011, Richard Ayoade)

Hey film fans!
This week I've chosen to dazzle you with my views on the critically acclaimed film Submarine. It isn't incredibly recent, but it's one of my favourites and as director Richard Ayoade celebrated his birthday last month, I thought it a great occasion to let you all know my thoughts on it! Never heard of it? Hopefully you'll be desperate to watch it after reading this!

So, here's what's going on...
It's somewhere in Wales in the 1980s, and 15 year old Oliver Tate has two aims: to lose his virginity - hopefully to classmate Jordana - and to somehow keep his parents together, thanks to a weirdy Mystic arriving on the scene. Oliver is played by Craig Roberts ("who?" you may ask?) He's starred in The Story of Tracy Beaker, Being Human, and Young Dracula, to name a few. Ringing any bells yet? Yes? No? Maybe? Either way, his performance in this is utterly brilliant. But anyway, this is what I had to say about the film...

Many teen comedies portray a rather unlikely, spots-and-problem-free teenager’s life, often revolving around reputation, looks and sometimes school dances. However, Submarine is a near perfect example of typical self-consciousness and frustration that so many of us have experienced, told through the eyes of Oliver Tate. With his duffel coat, yearning for his love interest, pyromaniac Jordana (Yasmin Paige), and constant thoughts and questions, he gives off a rather awkward image which other teenagers can relate to. I also liked how the film is set in 1980’s Wales, and therefore the setting is more simplistic and allows the audience to focus more on the characters. However, despite the dark and bleak weather used being a good example of pathetic fallacy, I felt the colours could have brightened a little in some parts, although Ayoade made a clever choice to allow Oliver to comment on this mood and weather match; “I stare at the sea, and stay until the sky catches up with my mood”.

Despite the movie’s comic moments, it also explores darker issues; the breakdown of Jordana’s father over the early Christmas dinner breaks up the humour a little, plus this is possibly the most moving part of the film. Also, Oliver’s observations of his father’s depression also contribute to the film’s more serious side (Noah Taylor does a fabulous job playing this part). Along with the great performances of the actors, the mellow dulcet tones of Alex Turner - best known as the front man of Arctic Monkeys, oh and dating Alexa Chung for a while - compliment the movie and makes for an amazing soundtrack. Overall, this is a brilliant debut piece of work from a lesser-known director and definitely earns a 5 star rating from yours truly.

Rating: 5 stars - yes, buy the DVD!

Georgie

Hugo (2011, Martin Scorsese)

As I have reached the stage in my life in which I need to start making choices for university, deciding what my future is going to look like and just generally getting stressed about everything, it was a welcome break to immerse myself in a children's movie. But what surprised me, is that I was utterly mesmerised. Well, it is the work of the great Martin Scorsese after all. Having understood that he is not known for making child friendly films - I studied Taxi Driver for AS Film Studies - I wondered how he would go about creating a successful children's movie. What also surprised me, was that I was in for a treat.

The story begins with a shot of post-war Paris - yet it is seen as one enormous clockwork machine, giving a hint to the audience about what's to come before we've even met the characters. We are shortly introduced to young Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield - who I would gladly adopt) and how he searches out, or rather steals, pieces of clockwork in order to fix a mechanical man, left unfinished by his deceased watchmaker father (Jude Law, shown in flashback). This eventually leads him on a magical adventure into the history of cinema and, along with new friend Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), he discovers the secret of her grandfather's mysterious past. How? Because Isabelle's grandfather is none other than the film-maker Georges Méliès (Ben Kingsley), who runs the toy shop at the Paris railway station that Hugo steals clock parts from. This beautiful setting alone is astounding, giving no doubt as to why the film won a Bafta for Production Design and an Academy Award for Art Direction, among others.

Aside from the near perfect backdrop of 1930s Paris, the characters themselves are wonderfully portrayed, although Isabelle's persistant and overexcited "Bravo!" and other similar outbursts get a little tedious. However, the awkward but sweet relationship between the newspaper man and the lady with the cafe is another humorous aspect of the film that adds charm. Also, Sacha Baron Cohen as the stern but loveable station inspector is another fun element, far away from the horrors of Borat and other similar characters he has dreamt up over the years. He appears frightening due to the metal clasp around his leg where he was injured in World War One, but his frequent shyness and failed attempts to make conversation with the station's flower seller demonstrates his vulnerability, and also how he's just as human as the rest of us.

On a final note, don't be put off by the fact that Hugo is a children's movie. Yes, the story has a happy ending and revolves around a 10 year old boy, but the death of Hugo's father and the element of mystery keeps it from becoming too young. Also, the performances are fantastic and the film almost acts like a tribute to early cinema - see, it's practically educational! In fact, after watching I was left feeling considerably happy, if a tad nostalgic.

Rating: 4 stars - a must see! Yes, buy the DVD!

Georgie

Welcome folks!

Hey film fans! Welcome to my first post of Georgie Talks Film. I love watching and discussing movies with my friends, so I thought that I should maybe start writing about it. On here I will talk about the latest films that I love, maybe some that I didn't find so good, and just general gubbins about some favourites, however old or well known they are. Hopefully I can get people to try some different films and watch something new - who knows, you might end up loving a whole new load of films (I'm still not liking horrors though). So get reading future posts and grab that popcorn!


Georgie