Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging

My brief rant to Empire magazine:

After recently handing my girlfriend the August issue of Empire she was appalled to find such blatant misogyny in William Thomas’ review of her favourite childhood book; Angus, Thongs & Perfect Snogging. Several outrageous statements which in one instance referred to women as a separate ‘species’ demonstrated Thomas’ lack of insight and empathy towards the films aimed demographic. As a magazine you take great pride in being the best selling film publication in the UK. I feel this will be a title you will struggle to maintain when you purposefully alienate half the public. I expected better of such an established work. What is this? Nuts magazine or something?

WALL-E

Where's WALL-E?


DETAILS:
Released - 18 July 2008
Certificate - U
Running Time - 102min
Director - Andrew Stanton
Screenwriters -Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon
Producers -John Lasseter, Jim Morris
Production Design - Ralph Eggleston
Editing - Stephen Schaffer
Music - Thomas Newman
Theatrical distributor - Buena Vista
Country - USA


SYNOPSIS:
The last robot of his kind, WALL-E, has been accidentally been left behind on earth for seven hundred years. All alone he is still doing what he was initially assigned to do; cleaning the planet of its rubbish which has polluted the atmosphere. Longing for companionship he is overwhelmed when a robot from space named EVE appears. Although before long they are both whisked away onto a spaceship where all the surviving humans have been living. Here they must convince everyone that their planet is now hospitable as well as coming to terms with their true feelings for each other.

REVIEW:
There are several reasons as to why Pixar continues to dominate the children’s film market. At times their biggest rivals Disney and Dreamworks Animation Studios come close with the odd success but neither really threaten Pixar’s dominance. It is not just the skill of Pixar’s animation which is the key to their success but it is the fact their films have a heart. They are not primarily concerned with cheap childish jokes as they are more concerned that their films are touching as well as amusing on a level that appeals to both adults and children. This was true of Disney but it has since lost its identity that it has desperately tried to recapture through old franchises. Exploiting its legacy with countless sequels Disney are a shadow of their former selves. When Pixar first started they required Disney’s funding to function but now the tables have turned as without Pixar, Disney would not have as many successes affiliated with its name. With a huge boost in the amount of CGI animation films being produced and subsequent flops, CGI itself is not a guaranteed success. As Pixar continue to prove, it is in the quality of the storytelling that goes with it.

In this sci-fi, romance, Macguffin, comedy; Wall-E is a prime example to demonstrate such a theory. To begin with no dialogue is for uttered for forty minutes. In a nod towards silent cinema Wall E’s feelings are conveyed through nothing other than simple movement. A masterclass in animation Pixar have brought filmmaking back to its essential roots. Despite Wall E’s relatively basic features they are capable of conveying a whole world of emotion that dialogue never could. Despite such breathtaking cinematography such as Wall-E traveling through Saturn’s rings this merely comes second to Wall-E’s animation. It appears Pixar know they can produce the best CGI effects and subtly prove this now and again, but they are more concerned with Wall-E’s character over the extent of their animation skills.

But the greatest achievement of this film is in its underlying message. Despite its light hearted feel there is a serious recurrent message that lies beneath. I guarantee once you have seen this film you will begin to appreciate the small things in life we take for granted. No “children’s” film has ever been so powerful or touching for children and adults alike. Its messages about the environment and basic human emotions put things in real perspective without ever getting preachy. In a scarily dystopian vision the human race has become overweight and lifeless. Despite their power of speech they have become transfixed in a world of technology and are ignorant slobs who took their world for granted. This is a slight dig at American society and technology itself, both factors which allow Pixar to make these films in the first place. Therefore is a big risk of Pixar but it has paid off. They have really gone out on a whim and taken severe risks where they are not guaranteed profit which is the sign of true art.

TO SUM UP:
Pixar themselves are the real star of the film. Every single member of staff has contributed to this work of art that rightly deserves a best picture nomination. There are no self indulgent egos here begging for awards, just what Pixar want to do best. Wall-E is without a doubt the most likeable and selfless character to grace our screens. In a journey from pure innocence to experience, with the only ability to move his hands and eyes and speak three words maximum, nobody has ever felt this much for an inhuman species since Spielberg’s E.T.

The Dark Knight

Nolan's Caped Crusader Returns

DETAILS:

Released - 24 July 2008

Certificate - 12A

Running Time -152min

Director - Christopher Nolan

Screenwriters - Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan

Producers - Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas

Cinematography - Wally Pfister

Editing - Lee Smith

Music - James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer Theatrical Distributor - Warner Brothers

Country - USA

SYNOPSIS:

A year has passed since the vigilante named Batman (Christian Bale) first emerged on the dark streets of Gotham to strike fear into its criminals and maintain order. With the public in full support, and some dressing in bat suits of their own, the people’s faith is questioned when the Joker (Heath Ledger) comes to town. Uninterested in money his plan is to reaffirm the mob’s power and force Batman into publicly revealing his true identity thus plunging Gotham into sheer chaos. Batman’s allies; attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), lawyer Rachel Dawes (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Commissioner Gordon (Gary Oldman) team up to put the leading criminals behind bars and end the Joker’s reign of terror. However the Joker’s master plan is far superior than initially thought as all involved are individually targeted putting their relationships under great strain which just proves too much for some.

REVIEW:

Batman is a cultural icon. Ever since Bob Kane wrote his first Batman story in 1939 as part of the Detective comics his figure has been kept alive through various other comic books, cartoons, television shows and films. It was Tim Burton in 1989 who realised the darker potential of a cinematic adaptation and made a couple of landmark films. Sadly this was subsequently ruined when Joel Schumacher was given the role of continuing the series and thus brought it to an immediate standstill.

Years of development hell later including the idea of a Batman vs. Superman being thrown around the Warner Brothers studios Christopher Nolan brought the franchise back to its roots. What made Batman Begins so fantastic was the fresh look into Bruce Wayne’s origins, what actually compelled him to become the Batman? Nolan gave us an explanation that so many other works have glossed over. Bruce Wayne’s transformation was at the heart of Nolan’s film. It was groundbreaking in the sense that it proved comic book adaptations should not be judged by the amount and size of action sequences that can be crammed in. Thus a franchise was saved and a sequel was inevitable.

Usually a blockbuster or comic book adaptation is driven by its action finale. More often than not the entire film is a big build up waiting for a tet a tet between the protagonist and antagonist. This is not the case with The Dark Knight. It is the individuals themselves along with the people of Gotham who are central to the plot. Instead of an all guns blazing action finale the very minimal action set pieces only occur every now and then. This must be the closest you can get to having as little action sequences as possible in a blockbuster which still manages to grip you for 152 minutes.

The main difference between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is that Batman now has met his match; someone with an ego far bigger than his own. The joker completes Batman. He may be the opposite but he is there to compliment his attributes and emphasise his inevitable flaws. His colourful antics are there to counterbalance and feed off the grim darkness and seriousness that encompasses Batman.

When Heath Ledger was initially confirmed to play this role I was a tad sceptical to say the least. Typecast as romantic heart throbs how could he possibly rival Nicholson’s take on the character? Well he has silenced all scepticism with this monumental performance. Twinned with the work of the films make-up team ledger’s joker is the most effective evil character in cinema since Darth Vader and of all time. His performance is just so layered and when he leaves the screen we miss him. He is an unnerving, on the edge, amusing, troubled, brutal, sadistic, but believable character. We feel for him but at the same time we cower in fear at his presence. He has countless scenes which will go down in film history; in one particular case he dresses as a nurse which is so memorable in its disturbing but strangely hilarious feel. As good as Nicholson’s daft, camp and humorous comic Joker was, we soon realise that he has in fact been surpassed. Where Ledger brings the term ‘freak’ to a whole new inconceivable level, Nicholson was in fact really playing an emphasised version of himself.

Although with such attention on Ledger it is worth mentioning Oldman’s often overlooked performance. With a far more extensive part than in Batman Begins we see more of his talents. He adds a certain gentle humanism in amongst the colourful characters. He keeps the film firmly rooted to the grounds of reality. With his subtly emotionally charged performance he is definitely the character we feel for the most. With so much attention grabbing joking around it is just too easy to miss.

With so many main characters to focus on the film is essentially an ensemble piece. In order to explain each main character and maintain your interest each scene moves at such fast pace it is difficult to keep up. There is certainly an awful lot to take in before the film quickly cuts to the next scene or character. It does not breathe for a minute, you will have no chance to sit back and take things in. At first it feels a bit rushed but around half an hour in you become used to this unique form of blockbuster cinema. You just have no idea how events will develop as the plot flits between people. For a fairly long 2 ½ hours running time you never feel restless or bored. The time flies by and is just about right to fit everything in. There is just so much more substance and ideas to this epic than ever seen in any comic book adaptation before. The script itself is full of memorable and iconic lines offering questions open to audience interpretation. As soon as you have left the screen you will want to turn right round and go back into pick up on the things that you will definitely have missed.

With such a vast amount of ideas floating around there is not necessarily as much emotional engagement between the characters and the audience as the Nolan brothers would have liked. There was a real connection with Batman in the original but here with so many other characters I feel a bit has been sacrificed to fit them all in. There is just an ever so slight sense of detachment from everyone involved. I felt more admiration for the skilled filmmaking than perhaps real engagement with it.

Also with lots of new and more interesting characters than the Batman he is no longer the centre of our attention. The film might as well have been called ‘the rise and fall of two face courtesy of the joker’. The dark knight himself is overshadowed as he is just not exciting enough in comparison. Now we have seen enough development of him in the first film it is time to focus on his enemies. But it still all works though, it is all 'part of the plan’. With as many characters as Spiderman 3 this is certainly not as all over the place and remains focused on the vision, development and direction it is taking.

TO SUM UP:

This is certainly the best a blockbuster can get. Nolan has continued to save a franchise which was considered long since dead. However I wouldn’t mind seeing the brothers doing a more artistic production to let their talents go wild without the constrictions or limitations of mainstream cinema. Having said that they have certainly raised the bar and continue to change the super hero genre leaving marvel with a sold-out Sam Raimi and no Bryan Singer to slowly try and keep up. With the sheer amount of films they have planned I doubt any will fair against such an epic.