Films to be excited about...

Hi there, it's been a while! I've seen quite a few awesome films in the last several months, but so much has been going on that I've been unable to post much. Anyway, before I head on over to my local Odeon and catch some of this Summer's best films, I thought I'd chat a little about what I'm hoping to see...

The Inbetweeners 2 (dir. Iain Morris/Damon Beesley)

Okay, I am seriously beyond excited to see this film. I loved the original E4 television series and enjoyed the 1st film just as much, so I'm expecting big things from the sequel. Written and directed by the show's co-creators Morris and Beesley, this time we join the boys Down Under as Neil, Will and Simon go to stay with Jay on his gap year. But, if the boys' last adventure in Malia is anything to go by, obviously many cringey yet hilarious antics will occur. More often than not, sequels can be a bitter disappointment, but one watch of the film's trailer reassured me that this will not be the case for The Inbetweeners 2 - I can't wait to see it. Out August 6th.

Hector and the Search for Happiness (dir. Peter Chelsom)

Next on my list is a film that looks just as cute and feel good as the title. Plus, anything starring the legendary actor that is Simon Pegg gets my vote. Pegg is quirky psychiatrist Hector who, after feeling guilty that his clients do not appear to be getting any happier, heads off on a self-discovery type adventure in order to find out how to be happy. With this beautiful sounding storyline, alongside a stellar cast that also includes Rosamund Pike, Toni Collette and Christopher Plummer, I'm looking forward to getting all happy watching this. Out August 20th. 

What If (dir. Michael Dowse)

My third and final movie that I'm pumped about seeing is romantic comedy What If. And although I know that Daniel Radcliffe will always be Harry Potter to me, he looks promising in this film, playing medical school dropout Wallace who, after deciding to let his love life take a back seat, meets and ends up forming a close friendship with a girl named Chantry. I think this film will prove popular, given the theme of falling for your best friend has no doubt touched the hearts of numerous people. And I've often found a film a lot more enjoyable if you can relate to the characters' stories - not that I haven't seen some stunning work where this isn't the case. But the trailer got me giggling no end, so I'm sure that, along with Hector and the Search for Happiness, it'll be a great film to end the summer with. Out August 20th. 

Georgie

The Railway Man (2013, Jonathan Teplitzky)

Evening, everybody. Tonight’s post focuses on Prisoner of War drama, The Railway Man. It based on the memoirs of the late former British Army officer, Eric Lomax, and the torture he received from the Japanese after the fall of Singapore. Such a sensitive subject required a lot of careful thought on exactly what to say about this film, and I must admit I was struggling with exactly what to write. Anyway, this is what I managed to come up with...

An important message to note from this film, is that war leaves a mark. It is this significant quote that almost summarises what Lomax (Colin Firth) has to endure for the rest of his life. He gets incredibly distressed, frequently needs to be alone, and cannot forget the horrific suffering he endured whilst being forced to work on the Thai-Burma Railway – all for simply building a radio. Firth is, in my opinion, one of the greatest acting talents that Britain has to offer, and his performance in this film certainly lived up to my expectations. I have never seen him play a role poorly or been miscast, and I’m wondering if this could ever happen. Aside from his playing Lomax at his worst state with such sensitivity, the first meeting between Lomax and his wife Patti (Nicole Kidman), is adorably awkward yet sweet, and certainly made me smile.

The film flits between Lomax’s time as a Prisoner of War and the present day, and his younger self is played by Jeremy Irvine (War Horse). I felt that this was a good choice; he almost mirrors Firth in his portrayal of Lomax, which was altogether more realistic. What was also pretty realistic, were the torture scenes. Beware of these; if you don’t have a strong stomach, you may find them a little too much. Personally, scenes of this nature don’t faze me anymore; having seen a range of slightly stomach-churning films in the last few years (Amores Perros, City of God, Taxi Driver, This is England, to name but a few), graphic violence in films doesn’t bother me. Don’t get me wrong, these are utterly compelling works, but perhaps not for the faint-hearted. And the same goes for this film, so take a cushion if you’re not keen on that sort of thing.

Overall, I found this film to be engaging, deep, plus the outcome of the film (which I won’t give away, of course) really restores your faith in humanity. For a film with a subject that wouldn’t normally interest me a huge amount, I certainly enjoyed it – this film should be destined for good things at upcoming awards ceremonies.

Rating: 4 stars – even if war films are not usually your sort of thing, give this film a chance. You may be pleasantly surprised.

 

Georgie

 

 

American Hustle (2013, David O. Russell)

Hello there, film folk! This time of year can only mean one thing in the film world – yes, awards season is upon us once again. Exciting times, right? So, considering that American Hustle is up for several gongs this year (and already snapped up the top prize at the SAG Awards the other weekend), it seemed a pretty good idea to wander down to the cinema and give this film a go. Yes, I’m well aware that other films are also nominated for various awards (12 Years a Slave, for example), but as I discovered the film’s director David O. Russell last year with Silver Linings Playbook (read my review of the film here), I thought it might be fun to compare his previous work. And I certainly wasn’t disappointed.

Based on a true story from the late 1970s, the film follows two top con artists, Irv Rosenfeld (Christian Bale) and Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), who are forced into working for the government by overly curly haired FBI agent Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper) in order to entrap a supposedly corrupt politician. But, as you would expect from Russell, this does not run quite as smoothly as Rosenfeld’s horrific comb over. Irv has a wife, Rosalyn (the ever amazing Jennifer Lawrence, who very deservedly won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for this role), who I felt almost singlehandedly got all the laughs from the audience. She’s very jealous of Sydney – who Irv is hopelessly in love with – and suspicious of his work, which at one point leads him into danger. The other problem is that, really, it’s not just the con artists working to fool everyone; each character appears to be plotting against someone else, whether they love them or hate them, and usually for their own benefit.

What essentially gripped me about this film was the style. The music, the era, and the gravelly-voiced narration from Christian Bale seriously reminded me of Martin Scorsese’s brilliant Taxi Driver; in fact, much of the film had a touch of Scorsese about it. Even his frequent partner in crime Robert De Niro makes an appearance. Perhaps Russell is already following in Scorsese’s footsteps in reuniting with a similar cast (De Niro, Cooper and Lawrence all starred in Silver Linings). Well, if they’re fantastic actors, why change? However, what didn’t win me over so much was the length of this film – yep, it’s long. But in saying that, you have to concentrate pretty hard on the plot to understand it, so I think if many scenes were cut then I would have wound up very confused. That was the only snag, though.

To summarise; I hugely enjoyed this film. It’s fresh, sharp, with a star-studded cast, and definitely what the film world needed to shake things up this awards season.

Rating: 4 stars – if you find yourself with an afternoon to spare, head out to see it!

Georgie