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This Must Be Pop

2012-02-13T01:53:00.001Z

This blog is no longer being updated, but if you're a fan of amazing pop music please visit my other site This Must Be Pop.

Trailer: The Ten

2007-09-13T20:27:00.000+01:00

Adam Brody and Paul Rudd in one film? I'm there!

News

2007-09-09T14:03:00.000+01:00

The wonderful Swedish director Lukas Moodysson is currently hard at work on his first English-language film, Mammoth, and I was extremely excited to hear that it will star the beautiful and brilliant Gael Garcia Bernal! I could hardly dream up a better pairing so I'm bursting in anticipation to find out more and see the film when it's finished, although it sadly won't be out until 2009!

Now out in Europe is the new film directed by and starring the lovely Julie Delpy, best known for the ace films Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. It's called 2 Days In Paris and is a bit more of a mainstream comedy of culture clashes, but it still looks good and it seems to be doing quite well as well, so perhaps it will help some more people discover her previous work.

One of my favourite books of all time is Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, and the TV series of it is considered a classic, so the new film version has a lot to live up to. I'm sure Emma Thompson will rise to the challenge as Lady Marchmain, but I'm less sure of Matthew Goode, who was quite wooden in Chasing Liberty and Imagine Me And You, as the lead character Charles Ryder.

Trailer: Broken English

2007-08-12T12:57:00.000+01:00

This looks like a really nice film, but it's not helping with my extreme desire to meet a beautiful French boy to fall in love with. "I hope you find a penis!" made me LOL quite literally, but really there is no lovelier sound than a French man speaking English.

Trailer: Rocket Science

2007-08-12T12:38:00.000+01:00

This looks good! A sweet American indie film about a geeky teenager who gets into the school debating team. Sounds a lot like Thumbsucker but I liked that film so I'm sure I'll like this one too.

Trailers: British Film Special

2007-08-12T10:59:00.000+01:00

There are very few British films that I would count among my favourites, and I don't know if any of these will be joining them, but I do think they'll be worth seeing:

Atonement

I've not read the book but I've heard great things about it and that this film is a good adaptation, although quite unsurprisingly the focus has been increased on Keira Knightley's character. I love James McAvoy but I hated Romola Garai in Daniel Deronda, so we'll have to see if she can win me over.

Hallam Foe

Now this actually looks like the kind of film I'd normally see - something like Art School Confidential or Thumbsucker, but it's British. I haven't seen Jamie Bell in anything since Billy Elliott, so it'll be interesting to see how he is as an adult actor.

Review: Empire Records

2007-08-11T15:56:00.001+01:00

At this rate I'm going to run out of superlatives by the end of the week, because I've just discovered yet another favourite film. I can't believe this film has existed for the last 12 years and no-one thought to make me watch it, when it is so clearly one of the best films of the 90s. I'm not sure anything can oust Clueless as my fave 90s comedy, but it's definitely up with The Brady Bunch Movie.

I loved all of the characters in this film, especially Lucas, AJ, Eddie, Mark and Gina. Lucas was like Pacey from Dawson's Creek with a little of Seth Cohen's humour, so I wonder if either of those characters were inspired by him. AJ was adorably sweet and looked like Kavana did in the 90s, which is definitely a good look. Eddie and Mark reminded me extremely of some lovely friends of mine, and Eddie also made me want to watch White Oleander again because Patrick Fugit's character looks just like him. Gina is played by Renée Zellweger, and while I do like Renée as an adult actress, as a teenage character (although she was actually 26 in 1995) she was exceedingly ace.

Not very much happens in this film - in fact, it's all set within one day, but it's the strength of characters and humour which make it brilliant. Personally I prefer films like this, because although a fast-moving, exciting film can be thoroughly enjoyable, I find that a film with great characters and a general good vibe will stick with me and be fun to watch again and again. If a film is just about the plot's twists and turns, then once you've seen it once or twice it's too predictable and holds no interest. A film like this will never run out, and I am off to buy my copy right away. If you haven't seen it I suggest you do the same, or just search for it on YouTube because the whole movie is there!

Review: Paris, je t'aime

2007-08-08T21:27:00.000+01:00

I have rarely been as excited about seeing a film as I was about this one, so it was a bit of a worry that I might be disappointed, but I'm very pleased to say with absolute certainty that there was not a thing disappointing about this brilliant film project. The idea is that a selection of the best film-makers in France and worldwide would make a short film each about Paris and love and the love of Paris. It is a treat for Francophiliacs and film buffs alike, as you can spot all the most wonderful Paris landmarks while keeping an eye out for your favourite film stars and directors.

Paris Je T'Aime is an independent/world cinema-lover's dream. For me almost every section held some excitement, whether it was an actor from or director of one of my favourite films. Just to explain how exciting this was, let me list all the actors and directors I jumped for joy at the appearance of, and the reasons why: Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham), Gus Van Sant (Elephant), Gaspard Ulliel (A Very Long Engagement), Elias McConnell (Elephant), Steve Buscemi (Ghost World), Juliette Binoche (Chocolat), Ludivine Sagnier (8 Femmes), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko), Elijah Wood (Everything Is Illuminated), Emily Mortimer (Bright Young Things), Rufus Sewell (A Knight's Tale), Alexander Payne (Election), Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) and Natalie Portman (Garden State). Most of those films are in my top picks of all time, so if you are still reading this, can I ask why? If you're not racing off to buy your cinema ticket or at least pre-order the DVD, this is really not the blog for you.

This film is really a summary of every reason that independent and world cinema is so many millions of times better than the commercial blockbusters. I can't see why anyone would rather watch the latter when actors, actresses and film-makers like these ones exist. The film is mostly in French, even some of the sections with non-French directors and actors, giving it a properly French feel as opposed to packaging Frenchness for an outside audience. France is probably my favourite country for films (think Science of Sleep, L'auberge Espagnol, Amelie etc.) but it's even better to have the special French touch mixed in with a variety of the most talented film-makers and actors in the whole world. It's like a pick and mix of film brilliance, and I couldn't have made it up better myself!

The unusual format of the film may prevent it from getting all the critical acclaim it deserves, but I hope everyone who even slightly enjoys foreign or independent films will see this, because it will open up a whole world of brilliant but often hidden talent that is so much more exciting than the endless series of remakes and sequels provided by the mainstream film outlets. As a taster, here are some of my favourite sections, which I have found on YouTube:

Faubourg Saint-Denis - beautiful and inspiring! Stars Natalie Portman, playing a similar character to Garden State.
Père-Lachaise - two lovely English actors show how British cinema could be just as great as French if we tried.
Tour Eiffel - I don't normally like mime but this is hilarious and wonderful.

Bumper Film Review Post

2007-07-30T19:15:00.000+01:00

I've seen quite a few films lately as it's the summer and I'm not exactly bursting with busy-ness, but the holidays also have a tendency to make me immensely lazy so I haven't gotten around to reviewing many of them. I will now rectify this by providing you with my thoughts 'in briefs' (and the films will indeed be marked out of briefs, because I couldn't resist that highlarious pun) on some of the things I've seen in the past few weeks...

(NOTE: More briefs are good, not bad in the sense of the film being pants!)

A Good Year
I must admit it was the trailer that made me watch this, because it has Alizée's gorgeous hit single Moi... Lolita as its soundtrack, and it also stars one of the loveliest actresses around, Marion Cotillard (Love Me If You Dare, Innocence etc.). A Good Year was not a terrible film but it was not a very exciting one either. It did improve towards the end but compared to actual French films (as opposed to this which is only set in France) it captured only the beauty of France and its people, not their spirit. And where was the hot young Frenchman that all French films absolutely have to have? Couldn't they bring in Romain Duris or Gaspard Ulliel for a cameo, even Guillaume Canet would do!

Hairspray
Being a big fan of modern musicals, as I mentioned in my last post, it was no surprise I loved this film. It was interesting to see it just after Dreamgirls as it's set at a similar time and covers some of the same issues (for example songs written by black artists being given to white ones) but from a different perspective, as the main characters are white. The music is great and the whole thing is very jolly in a High School Musical-ish way - if you enjoyed that you'll definitely like Hairspray. My sister thought it was "too weird", which we now know (since she disliked Dreamgirls) is a very positive sign!

Running With Scissors
I finally got to see the film version of the best book I've read this year, and luckily it didn't live up to my cautiously low expectations. I didn't expect it to be as good as the book but actually I think it captured Augusten's unique perspective pretty well and did the book justice as much as possible. I even found myself not really hating Rachel Evan Wood, which was quite a shock, as you'll agree if you read my review of Thirteen. I would definitely recommend this film, but I recommend the book even more.

Review: Dreamgirls

2007-07-28T15:31:00.000+01:00

My expectations for this film weren't high as my sister had termed it "rubbish", but it turns out her taste is even worse than I feared, because this film is excellent! It's quite long, but needed to be if they were to include all the main songs from the original musical and still have a decent plot. Being a big fan of Motown music, I loved the songs and also enjoyed spotting all of the references to Motown stars such as Diana Ross and the Jackson 5. The characters and plot were good too, unlike many musicals where these aspects aren't important, and I can understand now why the musical did so well.

I hated Jennifer Hudson on American Idol, finding her truly unlikeable as a person, but she somehow makes a very engaging character of Effie White and her vocals certainly outshine Beyoncé, although that may just be because we're used to Beyoncé already - I've seen her sing live and you could not say her voice was anything but brilliant. The first half of the film is very much from Effie's perspective but Deena (Beyoncé's character) takes the lead both in the group and the film in the second half, which was the second act in the stage musical.

This has got me in the musical mood now and I'm off to add all the ones I haven't seen to my online rental list. Any recommendations would be great. There haven't been many musical films out in the 2000s that I haven't loved (The Phantom of the Opera is the only one I can think of that I saw and disliked), so I've compiled a top 10 of my favourites:

Moulin Rouge
High School Musical
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Dreamgirls
Get Over It
Camp
Happiness of the Katakuris
Save The Last Dance
Chicago
Bride & Prejudice

Narrowly missing the list were Honey and 8 Femmes, among others. Tomorrow I'm off to see Hairspray so I look forward to seeing how it will rank.

Trailer: Evening

2007-07-01T18:19:00.000+01:00

This film is written by the author of The Hours and A Home At The End Of The World, both brilliant books and films. This seems similar to The Hours and shares some of its stars, plus Hugh Dancy, although I'm not convinced by his American accent.

News

2007-06-28T19:22:00.000+01:00

I haven't read The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler but I might just see the film now I know that the main male star is lovely Will Young-alike Hugh Dancy! Also making an appearance is Kevin Zegers, who was great in Transamerica, and Emily Blunt, who I hated in My Summer of Love and The Devil Wears Prada, but perhaps she can change my mind... we'll see.

The Science of Sleep, one of my favourite films I've seen this year, finally came out on DVD this week. My imported copy has been promising to be despatched for weeks, so I think a trip to HMV is in order, and I strongly advise you do the same cos I can't see how anyone wouldn't love this adorable film!

I'm quite excited for a new film called The Go-Getter, which stars some of the acest young American talents of the moment, Jena Malone, Lou Taylor-Pucci (from Thumbsucker) and Zooey Deschanel. All I know is Lou plays the main character, going on a road trip of self-discovery after his mother's death. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on the IMDB page.

Jessica Goes Mainstream: A Daring Experiment

2007-06-10T00:30:00.000+01:00

I was in the need for new films to watch, so I hit alluc and skimmed the pages for something worth seeing. Where was the foreign film section? Or the independent releases? There was nothing of the sort, but desperate times call for depserate measures, so I decided to take a brave sojourn into a realm I, perhaps snobbishly, haven't frequented for many years now: films that actually played in the big cineplex in every local town, that got advertised on bus stops, that were reviewed in Heat magazine. I was going mainstream! And here are the results, with suitably unoriginal popcorns out of 5...

Stranger Than Fiction
This had the pull of lovely Brit Emma Thompson and quirky-mainstream Maggie Gyllenhaal, but the presence of Will Ferrell didn't put me at ease - Anchorman has to be one of the most over-rated cult hits, although it's not quite as horrendous as Napoleon Dynamite. I liked the tone of Stranger Than Fiction, and the idea of the plot was good, although they didn't even attempt to explain how Emma Thompson's character's character had come to life. We were meant to just accept that it had happened, as was she, clearly, as her disturbance about this event only seemed to last a few minutes of exclaiming "your nose! your jumper!" etc. There was also a bit of a leap of faith with the idea that Maggie's character would fall for Harold Crick. I did enjoy the film, though, and recommend it as long as you don't want to dissect it too deeply!

Zodiac
The other Gyllenhaal takes the lead role in this extremely lengthy crime drama, and it's probably his most mature role yet - I remember him as the cute teenager in The Day After Tomorrow, and here he is with children of his own. I can't say I've watched many crime films before, so I enjoyed this as a new experience, even if a friend had already told me the ending (and it is a true story so I guess quite a lot of viewers would know it already). There were a few disgusting moments, as the crime being investigated was a serial killer, but the plot remained interesting (complicated but still easy enough to understand) and only on a few occasions did I find myself drifting off.

Failure To Launch
I was intrigued by this because I've wanted to see the original French version for a while and haven't yet had chance, so I suppose this is second best. I was dubious at the beginning but I did get into it more as I went along. It's a very simple romantic comedy in a strange situation - think Along Came Polly, Two Weeks Notice, or most similar of all, How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, which also starred Matthew McConaughey and a blonde lady trying to trick him and trying not to fall in love with him. I won't tell you whether Sarah Jessica Parker succeeds in either of those tasks, but you can probably guess most of the film without seeing it. Still, the predictability is quite comforting and while this film didn't make my brain whir even once, this was quite a good thing after a week of exams.

I have to say this 'going mainstream' has been quite enjoyable overall, although this may be because I skipped past so many films I couldn't even bear to attempt to watch before settling on these slightly more appealing options. It was fun, though, and I'll probably do it again some time soon.

2007-06-09T21:56:00.000+01:00

Here, as promised, is the article I wrote for my university's magazine. It wasn't published, so now I have to hate the editor, even though he reads Popjustice and looks like Rufus Wainwright, damn him. It doesn't have a title, because said editor was not imaginative enough to think of one when I asked him to. A great journalist in the making, I am sure!

On questioning some of my fellow students on their opinions of European cinema, most responded with a tirade against the ancient French films they’d had to endure at school, or claimed they just weren’t patient or cultured enough to bother with subtitles. But perhaps they will change their minds when they hear of the hilariously bizarre storylines of Pedro Almodóvar or the stunning visuals of Jean-Pierre Jeunet. While the state of British cinema is practically an excuse to denounce my nationality, I have recently discovered that this is not the case throughout Europe – in fact our continental neighbours are currently creating some of the most enjoyable and innovative work of our time.

Browsing HMV’s DVD section on a dull half-term afternoon a couple of years ago, I wandered into the World Cinema section, and spotting the cool-looking cover of a cheap copy of Good Bye Lenin!, I took a chance of something new and within weeks I was hooked, allowing myself a once-weekly plunge into the lucky dip of half-price foreign movies. There were as many disasters (such as the impressively dull Double Life of Veronique and tediously trivial Summer Things) as triumphs, but I soon found myself an expert on all things European and spoilt for choice on holiday destinations. Should I visit Berlin’s Alexanderplatz, home of Good Bye Lenin!’s Kerner family, or relive Pot Luck in Barcelona?

Below are my four choices of directors whose work is not only excellent but easily accessible, whether you’re a world cinema addict like me or haven’t yet worked out where the subtitle button is on your remote control. Leave your preconceptions at the door and give these a chance – but beware, it might not be good for your bank balance!

Lukas Moodysson:
This Swedish poet turned writer/director had his breakthrough hit in 1998 with Fucking Amal (retitled Show Me Love in the UK), a sweet story of love between two teenage girls, which was bigger than Titanic in Sweden. He followed this with Together, a warm-hearted film set in a 1970s commune (soundtracked unsurprisingly by ABBA), and Lilya 4-ever, a bleak yet thought-provoking tale of an unfortunate Russian girl, which gained US critical success. In 2004, Moodysson, who is a strong socialist and feminist, released his most controversial creation yet - A Hole In My Heart, a subversive and disturbing commentary on the Swedish porn industry, of which he noted: "in a perfect world, this movie would not be made."

Pedro Almodóvar:
While he is the most successful Spanish filmmaker of his generation, Almodóvar's work is not mainstream or conventional. Unlike the fantasy and surrealism of Spanish-language classics such as Pan's Labyrinth or Un Chien Andalou, Almodóvar's films are set in domestic contemporary situations with a focus on human relationships. Volver, starring Penelope Cruz, was arguably the biggest non-English critical hit of 2006 and depicted the strength and resilience of three generations of women in a La Mancha family. Other successes have included Bad Education (about child sexual abuse) and All About My Mother, where characters include a pre-operative transsexual, a lesbian actress and a pregnant nun. It is hard to imagine such subjects being treated with as much grace and tolerance in a British or American movie.

Hans Weingartner & Wolfgang Becker:
These directors, Austrian and German respectively, are responsible for two of the biggest German-language hits of recent years, The Edukators (2004) and Good Bye Lenin! (2003). Both films star the promising young actor Daniel Brühl and share an accessible political angle. Good Bye Lenin! is an entertaining yet thought-provoking story of a boy whose socialist mother falls into a coma, during which time the Berlin Wall falls and German reunification takes place. Fearing the news could cause a heart attack, her son goes to great, and highly amusing, lengths to prevent her finding out. The Edukators also sets out with socialist motives (three young activists disturb wealthy locals by rearranging their possessions when they aren’t home) but when one of their break-ins goes wrong they meet a man who gave up activism to start a family and a business, and find that they can learn as much from him as he can from them. These films convey valuable political messages in a light-hearted way, but avoid over-simplifying or outright propaganda.

Jean-Pierre Jeunet:
Beginning his career with dark fantasy films Delicatessen and The City of Lost Children, Jeunet went on to make what is surely the most popular foreign language film of recent years, Amélie. This idealised portrayal of Parisian life has done wonders for the city’s tourism and its quirkily beautiful star Audrey Tautou was the inspiration for many a chic new hair-do. Jeunet’s background in animation gives his films a uniquely dream-like appearance, not let down by the plot which is touching and humorous. He again worked with Tautou on his next film, an adaptation of the WW1-set novel, A Very Long Engagement, but Amélie’s success could not be matched. His next project is directing the film version of Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, another tall order since the imaginative philosophical novel has a dedicated following of fans.

Trailer: Paris, Je T'aime

2007-06-09T00:02:00.000+01:00

I can't wait to see this! Out 29th June in the UK.

2007-05-16T23:26:00.000+01:00

The Guardian recently counted down their readers' top 40 subtitled films. I didn't think much of their choices, so here instead are my top 10:

1. Good Bye Lenin!
2. The Science of Sleep
3. L'auberge Espagnol
4. Amelie
5. Russian Dolls
6. Fucking Amal
7. Together
8. Volver
9. The Edukators
10. Big Girls Don't Cry

I also recently wrote an article on European cinema for my uni magazine, and they didn't include it (idiots!) so I'll post it up here soon.

News

2007-04-06T16:54:00.000+01:00

Following the successes of Garden State and The Last Kiss, Zach Braff has a new romantic comedy coming out this summer. It's called The Ex and his co-stars include Amanda Peet and Mia Farrow, but this time Zach was not on directing duty. For that we wait til 2008 and his remake of the Danish film Open Hearts.

Two of my favourite European actors, Julie Delpy and Daniel Bruhl, are to co-star in a new film directed by Miss Delpy herself. It's called Deux jours à Paris, and Daniel plays Lukas, an ex-boyfriend of Julie's character Marion. It looks like it's going to be quite similar to her Before Sunset/Sunrise films, so should be worth seeing. But where is Daniel in the trailer?

Ali Larter is great as Niki/Jessica in Heroes, but her new 'caveman comedy' Homo Erectus looks completely terrible. Personally I'm looking forward to the show's buffest hottie Santiago Cabrera (Isaac Mendez) branching out onto the big screen, so he can play a less annoying character and I can worship him freely!

Review: Volver

2007-04-04T17:27:00.000+01:00

This was only the second Almodovar film I've seen, but already I understand the great appreciation he receives as a director. This is a clever and unusual film, but still accessible and easy to understand. The plot was dramatic and surprising, and typically Almodovar is its combination of shocking circumstances with ordinary domestic life. I don't want to give away too much of the plot, because its charm is how it reveals itself, but let's just say there's a lot of death and incest! Yet as shocking as that sounds, the film isn't about shocking its viewer, but instead endearing us to the wonderful characters.

The five female characters who lead the film are not perfect but all very likeable. They span three generations - Raimunda (played by Penelopé Cruz), her sister Soledad and their friend Agustina, plus Raimunda's daughter, Paula, and Raimunda and Soledad's mother, Irene. These women are strong and funny and inspiring throughout. The only men in the film are peripheral characters, and none of the women end the film being swept off their feet by some handsome bloke. This is really a film about the power of strong women when they work together, not against each other as they often do in films.

Volver is just as impressive visually as its dialogue and plot. The style is simple but so colourful, which gives it a vibrancy to match its characters personalities. Penelopé Cruz looks amazing in every scene, which does make it rather hard to believe that her character is just a poor working woman, but her acting seems good so she deserves the part. This film has a real feel-good charm, and it's the kind that even people who wouldn't normally watch arty or foreign films would still enjoy, as its dramatic storyline and engaging characters transcend language barriers.

Trailer: In The Land Of Women

2007-04-01T23:30:00.000+01:00

I was obsessed with Seth on The OC for the first series and a half, but one day I suddenly switched alliances to Ryan and I haven't looked back since. Still, I'm interested in what all of the cast members do next (except Misha Barton, who is rubbish) so I'll probably go and see this new movie starring Adam Brody as a young man torn between two neighbours of his dying grandmother's, who happen to be mother and daughter. It looks really cheesy and the trailer seems to give away pretty much the whole story, but for us OC die-hards it might be worth a watch. Adam is also in a film called The Ten which co-stars Paul Rudd, who I was quite obsessed with in the days of Clueless and Romeo And Juliet, so I think I'll be seeing that no matter what it's about! Probably won't be catching Smiley Face, however, but the trailer's worth watching to see Adam with dreadlocks!

Review: The Science Of Sleep

2007-02-26T22:07:00.000Z

I've been waiting to see this since I posted the trailer in September last year, so I was very excited to finally get the chance this evening at our wonderful local independent cinema. While one of my trusted friends had said it was "just OK" and I wasn't the hugest fan of Eternal Sunshine (this has the same director, Michel Gondry), after seeing the trailer I refused to believe that this wouldn't be a brilliant film, and my intuition was correct. It was superbly sweet and often hilarious, in the best way - kind of silly yet never too surreal or stupid.

I was expecting to love Gael Garcia Bernal's character, Stéphane, but it's Charlotte Gainsbourg (daughter of Serge) who is the new subject of my admiration - she's so quirky and ace! Why are people like Angelina Jolie and Cameron Diaz mega-stars when there are women like Charlotte available to be in movies? Of course she would never do Charlie's Angels or Tomb Raider, so perhaps her integrity is the better for it.

Visually this film is an absolute treat, and the dialogue is also fantastic. It moves between French and English, although Stéphane can speak neither well (leading to some very amusing moments), and is full of hilarious jokes which would seem like nonsense if you tried to retell them - "you just had to be there!", you'll say. Not everyone would love this film, as it is really super-sweet and twee at times, but it's never over-sentimental and I would definitely say it's one of the best romantic comedies I've ever seen, not that it's at all typical of that genre.

I recommend The Science of Sleep very highly, and I plan to get hold of the DVD as soon as I can (apparently it's been out ages in France, but if I buy from there all the English bits will be subtitled and not the French) in order to make it my new Test DVD i.e. the one I play to all potential new pals to find out if they are worthy of being my friend. If they like it, they are worthy, but if they don't I'll have to put them on probation until they change their minds!

Trailer: King Of California

2007-01-27T18:13:00.000Z

This looks quite interesting. Evan Rachel Wood keeps popping up at the moment, and I'm trying not to hate her because I want to love Running With Scissors, in which she stars. She seems OK in this so perhaps she will be in RWS as well.

News - British Special

2007-01-27T17:34:00.000Z

The film version of Brideshead Revisited is finally set to be made. It has been rumoured for years, with Jude Law linked to the role of Sebastian, but I think he is too old now so someone else will probably be cast. Filming starts this summer and other stars rumoured include the highly annoying Matthew Goode and Emily Blunt, and the lovely James McAvoy.

After the success of the film adaptations of Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility and Mansfield Park, it is now Jane Austen's life which is to be made into a movie. It is called Becoming Jane Austen, and she will be played by an American, Anne Hathaway, with other stars including Maggie Smith, Julie Walters and James McAvoy. Filming is completed and it should be out in a few months.

Another novel soon to be released on the 'big screen' is Ian McEwan's Atonement. It stars Keira Knightley, Romola Garai (who I must say I can't stand) and, guess who, James McAvoy! Is there anything he's not going to be in this year? I think it's deserved, though - he's a good actor and rather attractive too. I'm not complaining!

Review: Thirteen

2007-01-24T12:45:00.000Z

Having enjoyed Show Me Love and My Summer of Love, the next logical step was a viewing of probably the best known of these films about rebellious teenage girls, Thirteen, and luckily it's all on YouTube! As with the other two films I mentioned, Thirteen is mainly about two teenage girls who become friends despite one being far more cool and popular than the other, and although in this case there is no romantic love between them (although of course there is a bit of girl-snogging, just to get the punters in), they have a kind of obsessive friendship, both getting something from the other that is lacking in their own lives.

In Thirteen, Evie (played by Nikki Reed - Sadie in The OC!) is the experienced, sassy, popular girl while Tracy (Evan Rachel Wood) is the tomboy who in fact is equally fierce and manipulates her way into the cool gang, dropping her nice normal pals (including Vanessa Hudgens, who is even more adorable than in High School Musical!) in an instant to join in with Evie's life of thievery, drugs and sex. There are so many films where teenagers get into these sorts of situations, but thirteen really is very young and the girls do look like children rather than young women - it is inescapable that they are children and that is pretty scary. Two years older and we'd think little of it, just another rebellious teen movie, but their skinny arms and cuddly toy-filled bedrooms make their antics quite disturbing.

The girls' acting is very impressive for their age (either that or Evan Rachel Wood is genuinely very very annoying) and the film does have a great realism to it, but neither of the two main characters are at all likeable, in great contrast to My Summer of Love, which has the supremely endearing Mona, and Show Me Love where both the main girls are pretty ace (although I may be biased cos they like Robyn). However, it is a very interesting and thought-provoking film, certainly more of a social statement than the other two, which seem to function more as works of art, but all three strike a chord with me, being a teenage girl myself, and I think they will with many others. It just seems that Thirteen is a film about girls, and not really for us, while the others both really mean something to me and personally I would recommend them first to anyone, teenage girl or otherwise.

Review: Babel

2007-01-24T12:01:00.000Z

I wasn't exactly Miss Enthusiastic about seeing this film, but I did in fact enjoy it very much. The sound and visuals are fantastic and there are some scenes where you almost forget the story as you are just blown away by the viewing experience. My particular favourite was one in a Japanese club which really made me feel like I was actually there and more than ever I was desperate to visit Japan. The story is an interesting one, with a strange structure which isn't quite in chronological order but shows the same event from different perspectives. The film as a whole is connected by the running theme of understanding and communication between languages and cultures - sometimes achieved but more often not.

There are four simultaneous stories: the Moroccan kids who semi-accidentally shoot a bus, Brad Pitt and his wife (Cate Blanchett), who happens to be the one who gets shot, their kids who are having a drama of their own in Mexico (with the lovely Gael Garcia Bernal), and far off in Tokyo we meet a deaf teenage girl and wonder how she could be linked to the other stories - of course she is and all is revealed at the end of the film, although I warn you the link is quite tenuous.

Babel is a strange halfway point between blockbuster and foreign/arthouse. Each plotline could be a film in itself, ranging from the political drama in Morocco to the coming of age story in Japan, and cutting between them adds both some light relief for times when it gets a bit too heavy, and at other times extra suspense as we wait to return to the most dramatic storylines to find out what happens next. At many points a life hangs in the balance, but each story is compelling enough that I didn't find myself anxious to return to any particular one, although my favourite was that of Chieko in Japan.

Babel has already won a Golden Globe, and despite splitting opinion with some film critics, I'm sure it will continue to do very well in the other award shows of 2007. While it didn't make the impression on me that my favourite low-budget cutesy films do, I really enjoyed Babel and I would certainly watch it again, despite its immense length, if only because there was so much to take in, and of course to see that amazing Japanese club scene again, which was one of the best cinematic experiences I have ever had. Definitely recommended!

Bafta Nominations

2007-01-14T21:25:00.000Z

The best bits...

Little Miss Sunshine nominated for Best Film, Achievement in Direction, Original Screenplay, Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Arkin) and Actress in a Supporting Role (Abigail Breslin and Toni Collette).
Other deserved nominees include Pan's Labyrinth, Richard Griffiths & Frances de la Tour for The History Boys and Volver.

Review: John Tucker Must Die

2007-01-04T20:35:00.000Z

I missed this at the cinema so when I found it online I didn't hesitate, and within moments of the film beginning I was hooked. There's nothing particularly original or clever in John Tucker Must Die, but it reminded me of some of the best teen films I've seen and I'd say it's just as good as them too. The storyline echoes Mean Girls (nice girl joins popular girls, bringing down the most popular person in school) and Bring It On (presence of cheerleaders and adorable geeky brother), and in style it harks back to 10 Things I Hate About You, Saved, She's All That, Get Over It - all the greats!

It's both fun and funny, generally having a nice feel-good vibe - even when things go wrong it's not at all depressing. The film is also accompanied by one of the best soundtracks I've heard in ages - Stefy, All American Rejects, Click 5 and the Caesars are among the ace acts popping up in the film and making it even more jolly. John Tucker Must Die is really just like an extended episode of One Tree Hill completely made up of the fun, silly bits, none of the evil dads or dying mums, and with pop music instead of indie/emo.

I'm sure John Tucker Must Die won't win any awards for quality film-making but for its target audience of young teenagers it's brilliant and since I have the taste and mentality of a 12 year old, it's great for me too. If you're looking for something light and silly, you could do much worse than find a copy of this.

Review: My Summer Of Love

2007-01-01T22:26:00.000Z

I was always unsure about renting My Summer Of Love, as the trailer reminded me of the Australian film Somersault (starring Abbie Cornish, rumoured cause of the Witherspoon/Phillippe break-up), which I really didn't like, and it stars Emily Blunt who was rather annoying in The Devil Wears Prada. However, I regret that now, having seen My Summer Of Love, cos it's actually a very good film. The two young girls are so realistic, reminding me of many girls I've known, and they have great chemistry together.

The whole story is quite believable, never taking things too far, as other film-makers might do with Mona's brother's violence or the lesbian love scenes, the latter being treated with no desire to court controversy. Like A Home At The End Of The World, this is a love story like any other and it does not matter what gender the characters are. It's nice to see a film which is about a gay relationship, but isn't about homosexuality in general - it's just about two girls, their contrasting lives, and the summer they spend together.

From the trailer (particularly the music used, which does appear throughout the film too) I expected My Summer Of Love to be a bit depressing, but it isn't at all. The trailer makes it seem eerie and upsetting, but it's actually really funny, especially some of Mona's scenes, such as her devil impression and her plans for the future (at first she says she wants to be a lawyer, then decides she'll work at an abattoir). Being a Southerner myself, Tamsin is the kind of girl I meet every day, yet it was Mona who I felt drawn to, and I think that will be universal with viewers. Nathalie Press is compelling to watch and clearly a great actress, so I look forward to seeing more of her.

Trailer: Four Eyed Monsters

2007-01-01T17:03:00.000Z

Click to view

This independent release looks insanely cute, I can't wait to see it. Note the soundtrack, my beloved Oh Mandy by the Spinto Band! See also their MySpace with loads of ace things to watch.

Trailer: Half Nelson

2007-01-01T16:40:00.000Z

This film looks a bit slow, but Ryan Gosling has some serious magnetism on screen so perhaps he can carry it off? The film has received great critical acclaim, so there must be something special there somewhere.

News

2006-12-31T20:33:00.000Z

The History Boys now has a US Trailer, suggesting it will be receiving a wider release over the Atlantic in 2007. Note the omission of the word "fucking" in the first line, replaced strangely with the word "bloody", which Americans don't even use.

Nominations in 2007's Independent Spirit Awards include Little Miss Sunshine and Pan's Labyrinth for Best Feature (quite prestigious as past winners include Brokeback Mountain and Lost In Translation), while lovely youngsters Amber Tamblyn and Paul Dano are among those hoping to win awards for their acting.

I have a new favourite website - on Peekvid.com you can watch all the big US TV shows and loads of recent and classic movies for free. Perfect for students with no TV signal and lack of funds for new DVDs. Check out Accepted and Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants for starters.

Flannel Pajamas

2006-12-02T19:04:00.000Z

There are so many movies around that focus on the relationships of 20-something men and women, so they need to have something special to stand out. This one seems very simple, but the trailer, which has no speech, only music, is quite compelling, so I'll be interested to see if the whole film has this warmth and jolliness (without being too quirky) about it. Obviously I'll wait for the title to be spelt correctly first.

News

2006-12-02T16:40:00.000Z

Russian Dolls (Les Poupées Russes in French), the sequel to the brilliant French/Spanish film L'auberge Espagnole (or Pot Luck as it was titled in the UK), is finally set for UK release on 22nd January 2007. I've heard that it's just as good as the first film so I'm counting down the days already! If you can't wait check out Romain Duris' other recent film, The Beat That My Heart Skipped.

Tonight is the European Film Awards, where highly respected director Pedro Almodovar has 6 nominations for his movie Volver, which stars Penelope Cruz. His main rival is Ken Loach for Irish civil war drama The Wind That Shakes The Barley, while the only British film to get a nomination is Pride & Prejudice, for its music and cinematography.

Notes on a Scandal follows Starter For Ten to be the second book championed in Richard & Judy's book club to be released to the big screen, and with Judy Dench and Cate Blanchett as its stars it's pretty sure to be a hit. Here is the trailer, it's out on the 2nd of February.

Trailer: Sweet Land

2006-12-02T02:26:00.000Z

This looks so lovely! Take your mum.

Trailer: Backstage

2006-12-02T02:25:00.000Z

Click here to watch the trailer.

The French films I've seen have all been on quaint, timeless subjects, so it's interesting to see their take on a very modern subject, the obsession with celebrity. Lucie adores and emulates the singer Lauren Walks. This film shows the lengths she will go to in order to get close to Lauren, and the effect it has on each of them. I am interested to see it, but it has a harsh edge about it that I think I will dislike, and a lack of warmth which could make me engage more with the characters. However, I won't judge it until I see it and I look forward to doing so. It was released in the USA last week, although limited to New York, so hopefully a UK release will follow.

Review: What To Do In Case Of Fire

2006-12-02T01:11:00.000Z

Or 'Was tun, wenn's brennt?' in German. You may have noticed my fascination with films where a group of interesting people with similar political views (i.e. anti-capitalism/establishment) club together to try and make the world a better place, usually in rather unorthodox ways. Together and Edukators are the best examples, but the spirit is reflected in such films as Good Bye Lenin, L'auberge Espagnole and A Home At The End Of The World. I love these films because they leave me wanting to do something important, make a difference, and they give me hope that it is possible. Perhaps they romanticise the notion of 'the revolution starts at home' - in reality the closest I can find to this revolutionary spirit is university politics, which is of course a minefield of arrogant twats ignoring anyone's opinion but their own and using long words to intimidate any well-meaning ordinary student who makes the mistake of getting involved. There is none of the togetherness of Together, only the bad times in the middle where they all argue.

However, this isn't a blog about the rubbishness of other people, it is about the brilliance of films like this one. Unlike The Edukators there isn't so much time spent on the politics - What To Do... is more about the people involved and the effect their time as rebellious, communal-living Berlin anarchists in the 1980s has had on their lives. For some characters it is all in the past, while for others there will never be anything more important than staying true to their cause, so when a bomb the group planted 11 years before goes off, their responses differ greatly. Some want to turn themselves in or just hope the bomb won't be traced back to them, while others take this as ammunition for one last attempt to get revenge on the authorities who had caused the dispersion of their group in the first place, when one member had been run over during a protest. The latter group soon persuade the former and a plot to retrieve the evidence which incriminates them is put into action, with many heart-warming and hilarious moments along the way.

The plot-line maybe isn't the best thought out ever (we are after all meant to side with a group who like to blow things up) but the politics and moral questions are, for me at least, not the point of this film. To me it shows the importance of standing up for what you believe in, even if it's hard in the 'real world' to get together a group of people who are really willing to do so, and realistically there is just too much to lose by going against authority these days, when authority rules everything. However, they don't always make a good job of it and if this truly is a democracy, they can't rule us without our support, so it is never impossible to make a difference, and that is one thing that we must not let go. If more people saw films like this (if they could first get over their fear of subtitles), perhaps the romanticised notion would be realistic.

Trailer: Running With Scissors

2006-11-25T14:51:00.000Z

This is the film based on the autobiographical novel of the same name by Augusten Burroughs, which I have meant to read for a long time, so I'm looking forward to seeing the film (which from this trailer looks great) and if I like it perhaps finally getting around to reading the book.

Review: Happiness of the Katakuris

2006-11-22T21:47:00.000Z

This must be one of the strangest films I've ever seen but for once it was strange in a good way, and every odd thing about it only served to make it even more hilarious. With its Japanese-style cheesy cuteness and surreal randomness, it made a story which is actually just about lots of people dying, into a real feel-good film. It is a unique film, not just because it combines so many different genres of film (comedy, horror, romance, musical and animation, to name but a few!), but because it is uniquely Japanese and couldn't have been made in any other country. Hollywood could try and remake this but they would have to give up pretty quickly because it is simply impossible for something like this to come from anywhere but Japan.

However, it is quite different to other Japanese films I have seen. Although people die it isn't graphic or disgusting, and although people do fall in love at first sight it seems like a parody of the other Japanese movies and cartoons where this happens rather unrealistically often. The film has several great characters, my favourites being the little girl, Yurie, the grandad and the son, who reacted to every disaster by seeming to re-enact Michael Jackson's Earth Song video! I didn't dislike any of the characters, which is rare for me, especially in comedy films where I usually find at least someone to moan about not being funny.

The beginning of the film (see the picture above, also an example of the clay animation which appears sporadically) may confuse those of you who know what the film is about before seeing it, because it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the main plot, but it is quite hilarious nonetheless - what other film could start with the words "My uvula!"? In case you, like me, didn't know, that is the mucusy set of muscles that hang at the back of your throat, and in this case (I'm not sure if it's all) it's heart-shaped, and the first minute or so of the film is spent watching a young woman's uvula be pulled out and eaten by a strange little creature who then sadly gets eaten. And if that kind of unprecented strangeness appeals to you, then you will love Happiness of the Katakuris!

Review: The History Boys

2006-10-19T21:33:00.000+01:00

A cast made up almost entirely of intelligent teenage boys. An 80's soundtrack. University jokes. Frederick Neeshay. Rufus Wainwright on the end credits. STEPHEN CAMPBELL MOORE!!!! It was inevitable that I would love this film. The History Boys is the film version of the successful Alan Bennett play of the same name, and it's about a group of boys from a Sheffield grammar school in the 1980s who are trying to get into Oxford.

I love films about school/education (yes, I am ridiculously sad) and especially ones set in the '80s, and when you throw Stephen Campbell Moore, who I fell in love with in the acetastic Bright Young Things, into the mix you can't really lose. This one also happened to have many hilarious moments as well as very touching ones too, and a cast of great actors. In fact it's the exact same cast who played the parts in the stage version, which I now very much wish I'd seen.

The film wasn't entirely perfect - it was quite long and there were some scenes of discussion which needed either livening up or cutting. Still, I would completely recommend The History Boys and I really hope it does well. It's lovely to see a British film that is as fun and heart-warming as its European contemporaries, and I hope I will be able to say the same about my other eagerly-awaited British film, Starter For Ten, when it's released in a few weeks.

Trailer: Starter For Ten

2006-10-18T02:04:00.000+01:00

I absolutely loved the book of Starter For Ten when I first read it about two years ago, and it's one of the few books I can read multiple times and still enjoy as much as the first time, so I was excited yet concerned about the release of a film version. I'm sure it will never be exactly how I imagined everything in the book, but from the look of the trailer I'm relieved to say I think they've done a pretty good job and I will be going to see it as soon as its released.

Review: Innocence

2006-10-17T23:36:00.000+01:00

As my university runs a film appreciation society where you pay £2 to see a film a week for a whole year, I didn't hesitate to sign up, but sadly so far it's been all Danish crime and films about gangsters and slavery, so when I heard there was a French film on with no mention of guns or politics, my friends and I decided to go along and give it a try. It turned out to be a very strange film, far from the jolliness of your Amelie or L'Auberge Espagnole, but interesting and worth seeing if you have spare time.

The setting is a boarding school of very young French girls, but it is obvious from the start of the film, when a girl arrives in a coffin, that this is no ordinary school. There are adults there (including teachers played by Marion Cotillard from Big Fish and the new movie A Good Year, with its enticingly Alizée-soundtracked trailer), but the girls seem to look after themselves and each other. The story switches between following different girls, and this can sometimes be confusing as they all dress the same and look very similar.

At times the film is sweet and endearing, and it's not as scary as the coffin arrival might suggest. In fact, any frightening moments (for example the drowning of one of the main characters) is treated so calmly you hardly feel any different to the rest of the film - never entirely at ease because you're always expecting something terrible around the corner, but never quivering on the egde of your seat either. The film continues at a very constant pace, with no major events or plot conventions, and at the end I only knew it was the end because a) I was starving so I knew I'd been sat there for ages, and b) there was bubbling water, just like the beginning of the film.

I would not warn you against seeing this film, but if you are not someone with a lot of patience or an obsession with European cinema, then I wouldn't call it a 'must see' or anything of the sort. I enjoyed the visual side of it much more than I did the pretty non-existent plot and it's an interesting way to pass a couple of hours, but it does seem like twice as long and if I had been watching in my living room I highly doubt I would have reached the end.

Review: The Devil Wears Prada

2006-10-15T00:21:00.000+01:00

There are loads of great films coming out at the moment (Stick It, The Last Kiss, The History Boys and Starter For Ten are just a few of those I'm desperate to see) but it was this one that my ace new international student pals and myself chose to see today. It was a safe choice as all our friends who'd seen it loved it and we'd all heard several other positive reviews, and this was really reflected in the film. It was entirely inoffensive but not in a bland way, just jolly in a mainstream, non-quirky but nonetheless very enjoyable way.

One problem I did have with the film was the idea that Andie (played by Anne Hathaway) was actually that unfashionable in the first place - she dressed better than most people I know and this is England, where people have way better fashion sense than America (it's a fact and can't be denied, Americans just don't 'get' fashion). But I guess the film isn't supposed to be hugely realistic, and it is a bit more believable than Anne's last successful film, The Princess Diaries. She is certainly less annoying in it, and Meryl Streep is pretty good channeling Cruella DeVil as the fashion magazine editor.

Overall, I did like this film and there were some really jolly parts, but it was quite predictable and I didn't fall in love with any of the characters. Adrian Grenier is a buff hottie and I liked Andie's style when she had her makeover, but apart from that I wasn't bowled over. It's still a nice way to spend an afternoon seeing this film, and if you want something that will satisfy a group of girls or boys in touch with their feminine side, then this is the perfect answer.

Trailer: Accepted

2006-10-07T23:50:00.000+01:00

I saw this film for free at the cinema on my university's campus, and I must say I wouldn't have gone if it hadn't been free, but I actually really enjoyed it and so did all of my fellow students. I even made 2 new ace pals during the show, so you should go and see it if only for the chance of that. It has a bit of slapstick to it but it's no American Pie, it has a conscience and is way more interesting and likeable than you might expect.

Review: Little Miss Sunshine

2006-10-07T16:12:00.000+01:00

One of the first trailers I posted here was the one for Little Miss Sunshine, and I was very excited about seeing the film. Finally last weekend I arranged a trip with my wonderful French film student housemate to see it at the cinema. Having watched the trailer a silly amount of times, I wasn't very surprised by the content of the film, but there were still many great moments that were new to me, for example the hilarious ending (I won't spoil it for you, but if anyone leaves this movie not in fits of giggles there is something wrong with them) and the running joke of the family having to run and jump into their van each time they got it started.

Something you can't fail to notice in this film is the amount of yellow. Anything that could be yellow is yellow, from the family's van to the teenage son Dwayne's t-shirt - very fitting for a film called Little Miss Sunshine, and in fact there may never have been a better suited title for a film because this really is the most uplifting film I've seen in a long time. It is sunny and smiley and it's only a shame I emerged from the cinema to find the aftermath of a small tornado! If you ever need cheering up, then a viewing of Little Miss Sunshine should easily do the trick.

I wouldn't say that Little Miss Sunshine is my favourite film ever or anything of the sort, but it's the type of film I love (eccentrically jolly) made for a more mainstream audience and it's great to be able to share the pleasure this kind of movie gives with more people. Perhaps it will inspire them to go and see more of this kind of film and soon Hollywood blockbusters will be wiped out and replaced with this sort of heart-warming thought-provoking magnificence.

Trailer: Stick It

2006-09-16T17:29:00.000+01:00

It's not called Gymnicetics! This new US film from the makers of Bring It On seems to be a mix of said cheerleading phenomenon and that other cult teen girl classic of the 00s, Mean Girls. I can't wait to see if it lives up to its predecessors.

Review: The Squid and the Whale

2006-09-16T00:17:00.000+01:00

After reading several positive reviews of this film I was really looking forward to watching it, so I am very sad to say that it turned out to be quite a disappointment. There were similarities in plot to Me And You And Everyone We Know (teenage boys whose parents split up and the boys involving themselves in some bizarre sexual experiments) but where that film was wonderfully brilliant, this one was tragically crap. OK, so maybe that's an exaggeration - the first half of the film sped by as I was intrigued by the characters and plot, but I soon found myself not caring about what happened and severely disliking both parents, with the children faring little better.

You can usually bet on geeky teenage characters getting my approval but here the older one (I actually can't even remember their names) was an insensitive brat and the younger one just didn't have the sweetness or humour of the adorable Robby in Me And You. The film was short, which I usually would be pleased at because I dislike it when they go on too long, but in this case I would have liked more depth and explanation to go into some of the events which just didn't really have the effects I presume they were meant to.

Maybe it was trying to be more realistic, but I feel that a few clichés would have added a bit more drama and fun to this strangely pointless film - maybe a bust up between the dad and the sports instructor the mum has an affair with, or at least some resolution about what happens to the poor cat! They even failed at being realistic as the older son manages to win a talent contest by pretending to have written a Pink Floyd song, and no-one finds out until days later - surely someone in the seemingly large audience would have noticed and heckled or something? It was just stupid, and so is this film.

Review: A Home At The End Of The World

2006-09-12T18:40:00.000+01:00

I never thought I'd be praising a Colin Farrell movie but the day has come and I didn't just like this film, I loved it. It is a simple (and surprisingly short at around 85 mins) romantic movie but it breaks all the conventions of such a film. There is polygamy but with no moral message against it and homosexuality with no reference to people getting offended or the partakers being afraid or regretful of their actions - it is treated as a completely natural kind of love and this is very refreshing.

The story is of two boys who become extremely close friends as kids and the path their lives take as they grow up. Bobby (Colin Farrell), during his 1970s childhood loses his brother (in an accident that made me gasp rather loudly, not unlike the actor Ryan Donowho's later character, Johnny from The OC) and both parents, and Jonathan's (Dallas Roberts) loving family take him in as their own, with Bobby creating a close bond particularly with Jonathan's mother, Alice (Sissy Spacek). The film then skips to 1982 when Bobby goes to join Jonathan in New York, where he lives with a girl called Clare (Robin Wright Penn). Although Jonathan is gay and has several one night stands (also both he and Bobby seem to have strong feelings for each other and attempt some sexual experimentation early in the film), he and Clare have a very close relationship, so when Clare gets together with Bobby, Jonathan finds it too upsetting and returns home.

However, a few months later Jonathan's father dies and Bobby and Clare go to visit him and Alice in their Arizona home. It is then that Clare announces she is pregnant and proposes that the three of them become what she terms a "funny family". So, the rest of the film shows how these three people manage to create a family that suits their situation. They don't even care that what they're doing is abnormal and neither do the people around them. It shows that any number of people who genuinely love each other can have a happy relationship which functions just as well as a conventional monogamous heterosexual relationship. Of course you'll have to watch the film to see if it lasts.

Another thing I have to praise is the acting in this delightful film. Colin Farrell is a surprisingly convincing American and creates Bobby as a sweet, slightly naive character who seems to accept everyone and everything, with a very positive attitude to life despite the way it treated him in his early years. I was also very pleased to see Robin Wright Penn turn up in the film as she stars in one of my all time favourites, White Oleander, and she made Clare a very likeable character, which was important if she was to come between the 2 main male characters and not cause the viewers to dislike her. The film is actually based on a book by Michael Cunningham, so next time I am free of English course books, I will definitely be tracking down a copy of this amazingly heartwarming story.

Trailer: The Science of Sleep

2006-09-06T17:45:00.000+01:00

I was a bit disappointed in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but this film by the same director looks much more promising with some really lovely scenes and the gorgeous Gael García Bernal pretending to be French.

Review: All About Lily Chou-Chou

2006-09-05T20:56:00.000+01:00

On hearing that this film was about a group of Japanese teenagers obsessed with a pop star named Lily Chou-Chou, you will not be surprised to learn that I ordered it straight away and many of you may be tempted to do the same. However, I must warn you to keep your mouse away from Amazon, at least until you've read my review, because all is not as it seems. Lily herself makes no appearance in the film, except for on some big screens near the end, and her music is not what I'd call poptastic - it's way too serious for that. This is not the Japanese version of Josie and the Pussycats, in fact it couldn't be much more different.

The film focuses mostly on two boys, Hasumi (later being known by his second name, Yuichi) and Hoshino, who become friends at school and share a love of Lily. The film is mostly about the boys and their other classmates, particularly the objects of their respective attraction, Kuno and Tsuda. It's a rather confusing film and I had to read the plotline on Wikipedia and IMDB before I fully understood what I'd seen. However, it is an interesting and unusual film which was never boring, but if you are looking for an insight into Japanese teen culture you may want to look elsewhere as this film creates a pretty negative and depressing picture and includes scenes of rape and suicide. It's certainly not for the faint-hearted and I am quite surprised in retrospect that it only has a 15 certificate as I certainly wouldn't want my impressionable 15 year old sister watching this!

Despite the shocking scenes, the film is clearly not just aiming to make waves - it also really makes you think and empathise with the characters as there are some incredibly heart-wrenching moments. The characters all just seem to be so terribly unhappy, and this is either taken out on others with horrific bullying, even of former close friends, or shown in the other characters' passive acceptance of the bullies' orders. This is not a film that will leave you with a big grin on your face, but what it will do is intrigue your mind so you are thinking over what was going on in those teenagers' minds for a long while after the film has ended.

All About Lily Chou-Chou is a lengthy film with a jigsaw narrative and many characters with similar looks and names, so it can get pretty confusing but if you're willing to do the work you will be rewarded for your time and effort. If you're not used to foreign language cinema then you should definitely not start with this one, but if you're feeling a bit 'emo' and want something to dwell on then this is perfect.

Review: Run Lola Run

2006-09-05T12:58:00.000+01:00

Having just recently been on holiday to Berlin, and being a huge fan of German films such as Goodbye Lenin (as recently reviewed on this blog), I thought it was time to finally watch this critically acclaimed German cult hit. The film, first released in 1998, stars flamen-haired (at least for this movie) Franke Potente who has since gone on to be quite a well-known actress in both German and English language films, such as The Bourne Supremacy and Blow, not that I've actually seen either of those, but her role in Run Lola Run (or 'Lola rennt' as it was originally titled) has certainly made her name in Hollywood.

When I started watching the film I was extremely confused as the characters were all speaking English in painful London accents, then I noticed the words were out of synch with their mouths and luckily found a way to turn the very distracting dubbed English off so I could just have subtitles. The film itself is quite confusing to begin with as Lola sets off on her task (finding 100,000 Deutschmarks to save her drug-dealing boyfriend from being killed by the man he owes it to) which is supposed to take 20 minutes but after about 10 minutes in real time the 20 minutes in film time are up and I can't help but wonder what the hour or so left of the film is going to be about, especially since the main character is now dead! However, my confusion is soon quelled as we are taken back to the beginning of the story for an alternate version, and this is repeated a few more times until we finally learn of Lola and her boyfriend's fate.

I have to admit I was slightly disappointed by this film, after hearing so many recommendations for it and having loved most of the German films I'd seen previously. It wasn't a bad film exactly, but I didn't really find it very exciting and with the constant returns to the beginning I found myself not particularly caring about the ending. I didn't find Lola a particularly likeable character and her boyfriend didn't really seem worth all her trouble. I'm glad I saw the film just to have seen it, but I wouldn't particularly recommend it or bother to watch it again.

Trailer: I'm Reed Fish

2006-08-22T20:31:00.000+01:00

Here's a new independent US film starring two lovely young actresses, Alexis Bledel from Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (among other more grown-up things) and Schuylar Fisk, who you may recognise as Kristy from the Babysitters Club Movie! It's a meeting of teen book-to-film stars old and new, but which one will get the guy? We'll just have to watch and see.

Trailer: Bring It On: All Or Nothing

2006-08-13T18:40:00.000+01:00

If you're a fan of the fabulous teen cheerleading movie Bring It On, you may have seen it's even tackier and so-bad-it's-almost-good follow-up Bring It On Again. Well, it seems that wasn't enough for the original film's cult following and there's another follow-up just come out on DVD in America with again completely new stars. The 2nd film stars Haley from One Tree Hill (in which she seems to be putting her cheer skills into use at the moment) and Luke from The OC, so I look forward to doing some star-spotting (if you can call them that) in the new one if it ever comes out here. I already know it has Solange Knowles in a lead role and Rihanna doing a cameo, so it should be fun!

Trailer: The Last Kiss

2006-08-07T14:16:00.000+01:00

Being a big fan of Garden State I'm looking forward to this new film which seems to be along the same lines, also directed by and starring Zach Braff with an ace young female co-star, this time Rachel Bilson aka Summer from The OC.

Review: Good Bye Lenin!

2006-08-07T12:41:00.000+01:00

Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp? You can keep them. I'd choose Daniel Bruhl any day, and he's at his most adorable in this amazing German cult hit. There are few films more moving and it's very funny too. The whole idea is so cleverly thought out with endearing characters and a real sense of unstoppable familial love - Bruhl's character Alexander will do quite literally anything for his ill mother. When she has a heart attack and falls into a coma for 8 months, during which the Berlin wall falls and East and West Germany are reunited, Alex shows the extent of his dedication by making sure his socialist mother doesn't find out that capitalism and the West is rapidly taking over her beloved East Germany, to protect her from the shock which may cause her illness to worsen.

At first his plan is simple. He ensures that her bedroom looks exactly like it did before the coma and hopes that she will be better by the time she finds out what's happened. However, as capitalism takes hold in the East it becomes more and more difficult to hide, with a Coca Cola sign being displayed outside her window, Eastern brands of food becoming nearly impossible to find and a walk outside while Alex is sleeping leads his mother to see the old statue of Lenin being taken away by helicopter! Alex creates many schemes to protect his mother and explain these strange events, even employing his co-worker Denis to pretend to be a newsreader and the first German in space, Sigmund Jahn (who is now a taxi driver, but not in real life) to pretend to be the new German president!

If you're not used to foreign-language films this is a great starting point because it's just so lovely with humour and emotion which in fact transcends language and culture barriers. It's also a great insight into German culture and modern history. If you enjoy this you should also look for similar German films The Edukators (also stars Daniel Bruhl) and What To Do In Case Of Fire (Was Tun, Wenn's Brennt? in German), which is another fun and thought-provoking film set in Berlin.

News

2006-08-06T15:16:00.001+01:00

For those of you who like me were obsessed with the Nancy Drew book series in the olden days, you'll be excited to hear that 2007 will bring us a new film version! Emma Roberts (niece of Julia Roberts and star of Aquamarine) will play Nancy with other stars including Tate Donovan from The OC and Rachel Leigh Cook who played the lead in the fabulous film Josie and the Pussycats.

If you enjoyed the documentary Spellbound you might want to book your tickets for a new film released in the UK this month (the 18th to be precise) called Akeelah and the Bee. It looks like a really sweet feel-good film as much for adults as kids, so if you've got some babysitting to do over the summer this film might just save the day!

While looking up what Mandy Moore's been up to lately I found a very interesting film project starring a huge list of ace people including Mandy, Amber Tamblin (Tibby from Travelling Pants), Paul Dano (the Nietzsche fan from Little Miss Sunshine), Michelle Williams, Kelli Garner (Rebecca from Thumbsucker) and even the highly amusing singer Nellie McKay. All I know so far is that it's an 80s-set teen movie named Safety Glass which follows a group of students whose teacher commits suicide - I'll certainly keep you updated!

Trailer: Art School Confidential

2006-08-06T15:16:00.000+01:00

One of the acest movies I've ever seen is Ghost World, the unique and thought-provoking teen comedy starring Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch, based on Daniel Clowes super-cool comic of the same name. Now Mr Clowes has teamed up with the same director for a new movie called Art School Confidential starring John Malkovich and Jim Broadbent as well as several lesser known younger actors playing the students who are the main focus of the film. I'm doubtful that it will be anywhere near as brilliant as Ghost World but I still think it will be very much worth seeing. It was released to US cinemas a while ago and will be out on DVD in October so hopefully there will be a cinema or DVD release at some point this year in the UK.

Review: The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants

2006-08-02T19:37:00.000+01:00

You may wonder why I'm reviewing a children's film, but if it is acceptable and in fact almost expected for adults to have read Harry Potter, then there's no reason I can't read the Traveling Pants series and of course see the film. Although the film is not entirely faithful to the book, it was very enjoyable, having at least the same light-hearted fun-loving spirit. It's cheesy but in a very endearing, heart-warming way. If I was 5 years younger it would be my fave film of the year but as it is I still loved it.

The story focusses on four teenage girls who've been best friends since before they were born (their mums met at a pre-natal aerobic class) and each girl has their own story. Lena (played by the lovely Alexis Bleidel) is visiting her grandparents in Greece but ends up spending the time with someone far more interesting, Carmen (America Ferrera) feels neglected when she visits her dad and new step-family, Bridget (the highly annoying Blake Lively) heads East for football camp, although sports are the last thing on her mind, while poor Tibby (Amber Tamblyn) is stuck at home working at Wallmans and making a documentary about the town's biggest losers.

The stories are tied together by their interactions by letter and sending the pair of jeans they share (which magically fit all of them, but clearly they just bought 4 pairs the same in different sizes) between them so they can all wear them at important moments during the summer. Although the story centres around a supposedly magical pair of jeans, it's still a fairly realistic storyline, compared to finding out you're a princess or switching bodies with your mother, for example. The girls all look 16, the age I think they're supposed to be, even though they actually range from 24 (Lena) to 18 (Bridget), although must have been about 2 years younger when it was filmed. Overall, there were no amazing effects, no award-winning performances, just a simple, fun film that really can't be disliked.

Trailer: Little Miss Sunshine

2006-07-26T14:53:00.000+01:00

This film looks really sweet and the Nietzsche name-dropping seals the deal. According to Yahoo! it will be out here in September.

News

2006-07-25T16:38:00.000+01:00

If, like me, you've read and enjoyed the book Starter For Ten by David Nicholls about eccentric Kate Bush-loving university student Brian Jackson, you'll be interested to hear that a film version is on the way. James McAvoy plays Brian, a casting I'm a bit unsure about since he's much older than the character is meant to be, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and definitely go and see it at the cinema.

The best bit about the 2005 movie Me And You And Everyone We Know were the cute kid scenes, and new US release The Motel, which has the same producers, seems to be a whole film of it. It was well received at this year's Sundance festival and has a cast of unknown mainly Asian-American characters. This is not a glamorous makeover of teenage life, it's simple and realistic and looks very sweet.

Justin Timberlake's musical comeback seems to be going well, but he's probably not quite so proud of his film career which so far consists of recently reviewed embarrassment Longshot and the straight to video all star flop Edison. However, things are looking up as his upcoming release Alpha Dogs seems quite interesting and he has a small part in the 3rd Shrek movie which is an obvious huge success - perhaps he'll just have to stick to kids' films!

Trailer: C.R.A.Z.Y

2006-07-25T15:49:00.000+01:00

Click here to watch the trailer for the French-Canadian film C.R.A.Z.Y which will be out on DVD in the UK on 21st August. I've never seen a French-Canadian film before but this one looks like a lot of fun with great visual appeal from the colourful fashions of the retro time setting. I'm a big fan of these 'coming of age' movies and particularly those from other countries because it's interesting to see teenage culture from a different angle.

Review: Everything Is Illuminated

2006-07-24T21:25:00.000+01:00

One thing I hate doing is seeing a film after I've read the book. It changes my perception of the book, sometimes ruining characters I once loved, and it's hard to enjoy the film without noticing bits that have been added or missed out. As good as any director might be, their version will never be exactly the same as what you imagined when you read the book. However, I love it when I see a good film and find out it's based on a book, because I can then read the book and find out more about the characters I already love from the film. Everything Is Illuminated is a great example of this, as I'd heard very positive things about the book but never got around to reading it, so I rented the film and within minutes I knew I'd be ordering the book!

I had been slightly hesitant to see the film as I knew it covered the subject of the Holocaust, and although I like films that are emotionally moving, I don't want anything too harrowing from my light entertainment. However, I thought Everything Is Illuminated got the balance just right, beginning with the most hilarious part of the film and my favourite, the introduction of the young Ukranian Alex, played by quirky singer and actor Eugene Hutz, who is super-cool in a way that only those for whom English is not their first language can be. As those who've read the book will know very well, he has his own idiolect which seems to have been created by replacing every other word with a synonym randomly plucked from a thesaurus.

The other main character is an American Jew called Jonathan (or 'Jonfen' as Alex endearingly renames him), played by world famous hobbit Elijah Wood. He and Alex are joined by Alex's grandfather and his 'seeing eye bitch', Sammy Davis Jnr Jnr, on a voyage to find a woman named Augustine from a photo Jonathan has of her and his deceased grandfather. There is much amusement along the way as they are surprised and intrigued by each other's cultures, for example Jonathan's vegetarianism seems unbelievable to the Ukranian characters and leaves him eating a single peeled potato for his dinner on their first evening together, more of which is eaten by the dog than any of the human characters!

Having an interest in Eastern European culture certainly increased my enjoyment of this film, but as the huge success of the book has shown, it is simply a great story with throughly lovable characters and since it only costs £7.99 on Play.com you've no excuse not to see it right away!

Trailer: Russian Dolls

2006-07-23T19:46:00.000+01:00

This is the follow up to the brilliant film L'auberges espagnole (or Pot Luck as it was known in the UK). It stars Audrey Tautou (Amelie), Kelly Reilly (Mrs Henderson Presents and Pride & Prejudice) and a lovely French man called Romain Duris. It looks fab from the trailer, I can't wait to see it.

Review: Longshot

2006-07-22T23:21:00.000+01:00

A film starring Britney, *N Sync, O-Town and Justin Timberlake's mother? How could I resist! Longshot is quite famous for being the unsurprisingly failed attempt by Lou Pearlman to move into movies, and after reading the cast list on IMDB and finding a brand new copy for less than £3 on Amazon Used & New, I had to make a purchase. So, a few days later my copy of Longshot arrived, I set my DVD player to multi-region, printed off the cast list and pressed play.

The film begins with some of the worst acting I've ever seen by reality TV boyband O-Town. I'm not sure if this was on purpose or if they really cannot act (Erik has no excuse, his father being a 70s TV star), but it's equal parts amusing and frightening to watch. After some embarrassing joking around, the actual film finally begins. The main storyline focusses on two basketball playing (hence the title) brothers, who are played by unknown actors. It's a very bizarre story involving the older brother suddenly finding himself on a spying mission and at one point it seems that the younger brother has fallen in love with an 80 year old woman.

Cameos include Justin Timberake as a valet parker, Britney as an air hostess (perhaps the inspiration for the Toxic video) and Devin from LFO as a Chippendale stripper! And it's not just 90s popstars who make appearances, as everyone from The Rock to Art Garfunkel is involved somehow. At times the film is quite knowing, with in-jokes such as Justin mocking an *N Sync song and Lance saying the plane is "out of sync". I guess the idea was to create an American answer to Spice World and although they clearly weren't successful in the sense that hardly anyone has seen this film, it is no less worth seeing because it really is one of the most hilarious films I have seen in a long time, and if you were a fan of the acts who star in the film then you will certainly love it.

Hello!

2006-07-22T21:55:00.000+01:00

Welcome to Lights Music Camera Action! This is my new blog about films, named after the early brilliant Girls Aloud b-side. It will be a bit like Dirrrty Pop and Into The Groove but with film reviews, news and trailers instead of music. If you like it, please tell your friends and come back soon!