Ben Lamb's Film Reviews

13/01/2009

Is this the most annoying acceptance speech of all time?

WOW you somehow forgot Angelina’s name, how AMUSING! It’s not like she was your greatest competition in this award or anything.

It surprises me how such a talented actress can give a speech which is so obviously sickly and fake. I'm guessing her performance in Revolutionary Road isn't this see-through. I am not buying this 'girl next door' persona she still seems to be milking. It's not like she hasn't been doing this sort of thing for the past 10+ years. I have much more respect for someone who can just give a simple thank you and actually just be themselves. The Coen Brothers acceptance speeches at the 2008 Oscars were genius!

The fact she is playing a character within the holocaust as a device to primarily chase awards means Ricky Gervais was a little closer to the truth than we initially though in his sitcom/satire Extras.

Although despite its toe-curling annoyingness, this PR stunt means her award win inevitably will go down in history. Mention a female acceptance speech and everyone remembers Halle Berry’s emotional breakdown on the Oscar podium, but at least this seemed relatively genuine and was in fact entertaining, albeit in a weird way.

Ultimately I cannot blame Kate for salvaging the moment at the expense of everyone else’s impatience, it is the globes after all. She might as well try and give the ceremony some significance as the world has got their eyes on the real prize, the Oscars.

12/01/2009

Channel 4's Insensitive Commissioning

As fairly entertaining as the 2001 movie Domestic Disturbance is, it just seemed mildly inappropriate to watch. In a film where John Travolta's character fears for the safety of his on-screen son, the subject matter was a little too close to the bone in places given the recent untimely death of his own son. Channel 4's commissioning was a tad insensitive and in bad taste as there are simply far more just as entertaining films out there that could have been broadcast in its place.

11/01/2009

John Lasseter as the new face of Disney

Former Toy Story Director turned Pixar mogul was granted one of the most powerful positions in the movie business two years ago; head honcho at the Disney animation studios.

That is of course USED to be one of the most powerful positions in the film industry. A recent back catalogue of second rate CGI disasters and an endless tirade of straight to DVD prequels and sequels meant Disney's main revenue rested on Pixar relations and High School Musical films. This has in fact left skeptics considering this position a step down for Lasseter.

Although recapturing the magic Disney once had, which seems to have bypassed an entire generation, and re-establishing its status as a movie giant against new rivals Dreamworks Animation Studios will not be a challenge for Lasseter in the slightest. No one is better suited for this position than the man who is responsible for changing the face of children's animated cinema and initially knocking Walt's empire from the top spot.

The only problem I put forward is this; has he been recapturing Disney's lost identity or simply reworking Pixar's formula within the Disney studios? Or on the other hand, without Lasseter being at the helm of Pixar will the company find itself struggling to bring out masterpieces after its peak Wall-E?

Well with the first Disney film produced entirely under Lassetter's watch named Bolt receiving much critical praise and The Princess and the Frog being the first 2-D animated Disney film since 2004 to be released this coming Christmas 2009, it appears all is well at the House of Mouse.

09/01/2009

Is DVD browsing fast becoming a thing of the past ?

First WoolWorths then Zavvi and now Blockbuster fighting a constant battle to keep its stores open there are increasingly less and less shops out there to browse for DVD's.

Although I managed to work on my Ron Howard collection by seeking out Cocoon for 80p at Woolies and Backdraft for £2.40 at Zavvi this doesn't really compensate for the lack of choice now out there with the collapse of prominent distributor Entertainment UK.

It's all well and good having a DVD in mind when you order it from the cheaply priced bottomless pit that is Amazon, but with the art of browsing comes the discovery of cheap DVD offers and films you had forgotten existed or films you have not heard of before which improves your knowledge. This is all something that is lost online.

For me when I am dragged to the shops or need to pop out for a few things it also provides some light relief in the form of shopping I actually enjoy.

I just hope our future doesn't turn into this seething dystopia where by all the jobs available are in website warehouses and everyone has to do their shopping online, thus never leaving the house and living putrid meaningless existences stewing in their own juices. Not a happy thought, but a possible one!

Kermode threatens to quit!

You heard it here first folks, that is of course under the presumption you didn't hear his Radio 5 Live show this week!

Kermode was nothing other than appallingly dismayed by the unfunny chick flick that contributed towards kicking off this months mediocre releases, namely Bride Wars. In comparison to the sheer brilliance of the releases this time last year he stated that if Bride Wars doesn't make his top ten worst films of the year by the end of 2009 then he quits!

Honestly I think he was being a bit over dramatic as usual. These amazing films that were released last January; No Country for Old Men, Juno and There Will Be Blood weren't exactly released this early. Plus with Milk, Slumdog Millionaire, Che, The Wrestler and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button all due out it can hardly be considered a bad month for film.

Personally I think he'll make sure that it'll make his end of year list after such a statement! After all who's going to turn down watching films for a living, no matter how bad they are!?!