Tarantino does cludeo and calls it 'The Hateful Eight'

 Actual Photo.


So where to start with this then? I have been a fan of Tarantino for ages, ever since I first saw Pulp Fiction many years ago, so you would think that every time he releases a new movie that I would be super excited to see it. That wasn't really the case with the Hateful Eight. Its not that I saw trailers and thought oh well that looks terrible, it was more that Tarantino's standards have somewhat dropped since his early days. He is a fine filmmaker and they are still enjoyable, but his most memorable films for me came in the 90s, though admittedly I enjoy the hell out of Inglorious Basterds.

But thats neither here nor there, so anyway, the Hateful Eight!

So the plot like any Tarantino film is quite episodic and told in non linear stages. But in short it concerns the fate of a murderer and gang member by the name of Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh) who is being escorted to the town of Red Rock by bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell). However due to a fierce storm, Ruth is forced to stay inside a wood cabin with 6 others including Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L Jackson - because obviously) and Chris Mannix (Walter Goggins) - the soon to be sheriff of Red Rock. The obstacle being that none of the men can trust each other as Ruth is sure that somewhere someone will try to free Daisy.I wont go through the twists and character interactions, because if you want that, then watch the film, but the majority of the action takes place in this one setting.

So what do I think?

Well... I wont say I was overwhelmed by this film, but I enjoyed it to a degree. Like I said, Tarantino remains a skilled man and this film is no exception. Its visually very creative, shot well and the soundtrack from Morricone is encapsulating as always. In many ways this film represents something of a throwback for Tarantino as like Reservoir Dogs the film largely takes place in one room and the interaction of the characters are the driving force behind the plot. This is what Tarantino does best - dialogue. If you are  a fan of Tarantino then this will satisfy you in that regard. Its punchy, its funny and clever.

However, I cant help but feel there was something missing and having waited a week before reviewing it, I think I know what it is, the cast. Though its an ensemble cast and that usually means you can get away with not having 'great' actors, I really felt that nobody in this movie stood out. Jennifer Jason Leigh has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance and I cant really see why. She isn't bad, but Oscar worthy? I don't think so. Kurt Russell is another who really does nothing for me, he plays the character well, but again its nothing more than OK. As for Samuel L Jackson, he has always been a bit hit and miss for me, he was great in Pulp Fiction and pretty good in Django Unchained, and to be fair is probably the stand out performer in this, however I just feel that the casting stalled the film slightly. Tim Roth and Michael Madsen are somewhat wasted and in the end I felt a tad let down by them all.

This isn't helped by the fact that the film is three hours long and so there is a lot of waiting around and even I as a complete idiot could see scenes that didn't need to be there. At least with the run time of Reservoir Dogs (99 minutes) you got a much better paced film that gave you what you wanted quickly and more easily. This film could probably have been 2 hours and who knows, maybe that would have made a big difference.

I just cant help but feel that Tarantino was stifled by the fact that he had to do certain re-writes when the script was leaked. I could sense that maybe some of the writing was rushed or compromised because it had to be changed.

I hate giving number ratings when talking about a film, but for arguments sake, I would put this in the 6/10 category. Its never terrible, but its never groundbreaking either. I have heard that this could be Tarantino's last film, and I really really hope that its not true because this would certainly be something of an anti climax.

God this review sounds bad doesn't it? It sounds like I just flat out hated it. I didn't but I suppose having watched all Tarantino's films I just know he can do better and I do expect him to stay on and do better, I think maybe he needs to get back to gangster films, because that's where he seems most comfortable. He should also use De Niro again so that the man can be saved from making Dirty f**king Grandpa.

Anyway, there's my advice Quentin, see what you think and email me if you have any questions.

Brooklyn - I get a bit excited here, just prior warning.

Brooklyn!


Ok so again I am a little late to the party as Brooklyn has been out for a few months now, but I thought I might as well offer you my thoughts and my thoughts are that this really is a fantastic film. Its just... so beautiful, its not what you would call innovative in terms of its plot, but its still a love story that you can completely connect to and immerse yourself in.

So yeah, as you can see, I quite like this movie, but what's it actually about I don't hear you say because we aren't having an actual conversation and the we in this context is a metaphorical person in my head. Sorry, I got off track there.

Aaaaanyway, Brooklyn is about a young Irish girl called Ellis Lacy (Saoirse Ronan) who senses that her life in Ireland isn't leading anywhere and with the help of her sister and a priest moves to Brooklyn in the United States. Despite initial homesickness Ellis soon begins to love her life in the States and meets a young Italian man called Anthony (Emory Cohen). However tragically for Ellis her sister Rose (Fiona Glasscott) dies and Ellis returns home and struggles to come to terms with whether or not to stay at home with her mother and her admirer Jim (Domhnall Gleeson) or return to Anthony.

And that's that really, its the sort of love story that has been told again and again, and yet this is not at any point a detriment to the film overall. This is down almost and I mean almost entirely to the performance of Ronan who is nothing short of mesmerising in the lead role. She is ably assisted by other cast members including Julie Walters who provides some of the more comedic aspects of the film, but it is Ronan who comes out of this film as the main attraction - for me anyway.

What really surprises me about her is her age, Ronan is only 21 years old - 20 freaking 1!! What's so special about that? Well honestly you wouldn't believe that someone so young could put in such a wonderfully crafted and understated performance. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that she looks older,just that she has a presence on screen that really defies her youth. I seriously cannot praise her performance enough, she makes want to find out what happens to her character, she pushes the film forward at a pace that never stalls and she makes you believe that love really does exist (OK I know that's mushy but honestly its true). I haven't yet seen the films which contain the other actresses nominated for the best performance Oscar, but based on what she did in Brooklyn it would be thoroughly deserved if Ronan was to pick up the award.*

I must also gush about the soundtrack a little bit because its fantastic. The score is subtle and just perfect for the images that appear in front of you and there was even one song that was sung in the Irish language that made me homesick. Please bare in mind that I watched this at home in England and I have no familial attachment to Ireland whatsoever and this song made me homesick. How on earth does that happen seriously?

I just cannot offer enough praise to this film, some readers (I know you exist somewhere) might think I am being over the top, but I am not often over the top when it comes to films and Brooklyn has elicited a response that is quite uncommon for me.

Watch it please!!





*Also, if you want another award, you can marry me Saoirse, not as good as an Oscar obviously, but I promise I will be like suuuuuuper good to you.

Hot Girls Wanted A.K.A sex is awful

German aristocrat Otto Von Bismarck once said 'Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made' - The implication being that if you see behind the scenes of every day things that form part of our lives you will form differing opinions of it. If you see how a sausage is packed with god knows how many different types of meat you wont want to eat it.

Now admittedly the law part of that quote is probably a much less disgusting metaphor, however I think having watched the documentary Hot Girls Wanted I feel like its appropriate.

Sorry, just a little segway here, that intro was clever wasn't it, I mean I used metaphor, I quoted a historical German politician and I feel like I made a pretty apt comparison. Just sit back in awe at my insight.

Done? OK I'll get on with talking about the documentary.

The film itself came out in early 2015 so I am probably a little late to the party, but I didn't actually know it existed until a couple of days ago when someone I know spoke about it.

The actual content of the documentary is fairly straightforward. It follows the lives of some new female porn stars, specifically teenagers between 18 and 19 years old. All of these girls are found through Craigslist by a guy called Riley who simply advertises for 'Hot Girls' - hence the title - by offering them a free flight and a promise of lots of money and good sex. Many of these girls arrive from small town America to pursue a career in something known as pro - amateur porn, which is what it sounds like, professional porn, made to look like it stars amateurs.

Now, to get away from the actual content of the documentary briefly, I will say that I have watched porn before, I am not a prude who thinks its should all be banned and that all these women are being exploited. However returning to my metaphor, after watching this and seeing what these young girls go through, it has managed to make sex look like the most unappealing thing imaginable.

A lot of the girls featured in the documentary were very attractive, they seemed fairly happy with the life they had chosen and they weren't the stereotypical dumb girl that you would probably expect to see.

There is a lot of talk about female empowerment and liberation in the documentary, which is an argument often seen in porn. Its a fair one in my opinion, a persons choice is their own and if a woman -  or anybody for that matter -  chooses to do porn then fair enough, however I felt myself being really challenged by this documentary because despite these girls choosing what they do, it really really reallllllllllllly seemed like pure exploitation. For example, according to the various facts presented in the film, a large part of the porn market is something ill paraphrase as 'abusive porn'. These are films in which a girl is maybe tied down and fucked, or forced to give a guy a blowjob until she vomits and then has to lick it up afterwards.... So yeah, I've honestly never seen something like that, but what the fuck! I mean, in the documentary the girls defend this type of porn by simply saying its acting and if someone wants to pay them for a short amount of discomfort then more fool them. One girl even said, she would rather someone watch her acting as if she is getting assaulted then have them go out and really hurt someone. Again that's a good point I suppose, but I just cannot suspend myself from the fact that these girls are being abused, acting or not. In fact, one girl was speaking after a forced blowjob scene and she comments on how did she didn't vomit because she didn't eat breakfast and so nothing came up. Now, I just cant see how that scenario is OK ever? Seriously, whether the guy really intends to hurt her is surely irrelevant? I don't know, I just found it really fucked up, and this girl was only 18 if I remember right. At 26 I don't think I am old enough to really judge a young person, as I haven't really 'lived' enough, but I felt genuinely concerned for her well being.

That to me is the main aim of the documentary and I am full of praise for the way Jim Bauer and Ronna Gradus (the directors) handle it. The film is never gratuitous, if people who haven't seen it are expecting some free nudity, then you will be disappointed. The focus really is on the girls and their struggle to justify what they do, and I am not talking from a 'moral - all porn is bad' sort of way, but more in the sense that the girls seem to struggle with the fact that they have a 'shelf life'. By the end of the film, 2 of the girls who feature have left the industry after less than a few months of being porn stars, and its indicated throughout that this isn't unusual. Porn really does seem to have a revolving door policy when it comes to women especially and then the girls are just discarded. Fortunately for the girls who leave there is some hope and the audience isn't left completely dejected, but still.

Overall I think Hot Girls Wanted should be seen because if anything it exposes more about these women than any porn scene possibly could. I realise I probably sound like a pretentious twat and maybe it comes across that I am trying to tell women what they should be doing with their bodies, but honestly that couldn't be further from the truth. Like I said, I appreciate that some people will make choices that I or others cant understand, but I don't think that means I am not allowed to talk about those choices if they seem detrimental to seemingly good people.

Anyway, sorry this blog is so long, I could have gone on and on (that probably shows, considering how sloppily this is written) But I just think this is an important documentary on a divisive subject that approaches its material objectively and with care for its participants.

Byesey bye!

The Revenant A.K.A Leo Di Caprio's Christmas adventure.

            Leo's face when Fassbender gets the Oscar for playing a rich asshole.

So! Here we go, my first movie review in about 5 years or so. I bet you are excited aren't you? Yes you are, but please take your hands out of your trousers until the end at least you disgusting person.

Oh, and by the way, SPOILERS ahead.

Set in the United States during the period where it was like Australia today (crazy temperatures, every animal looking to kill you) the story focuses predominantly on Hugh Glass (Leo Di Caprio) a fur trapper with a half native American son. Almost immediately Glass and the rest of the expedition he is part of are attacked by a tribe of Arikara Native Americans who want to steal the fur for themselves. Outnumbered Glass and a few of the party escape, amongst them is John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) who is much more concerned with getting the furs back to wherever they need to go.

Once they are safely away from the hostiles the group decides to stash some of their payload to return at a later date, much to the annoyance of Fitzgerald who insists that they are wasting time and basically attempts to undermine the authority of everyone he can, including the Captain of the expedition Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson).

Things take a turn for the worst as Glass is mauled by a bear and left close to death. Once it is realised that it is too hazardous to carry an injured man, Henry asks for volunteers to stay behind with Glass and give him a proper burial when the time comes. Fitzgerald as well as Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Glass's son Hawk (Forest Goodluck) remain with Glass. Fitzgerald though decides it would best to kill Glass and get it over with, only to be stopped by Hawk who gets stabbed to death for his efforts. With Hawk dead, Fitzgerald persuades Bridger to leave and Glass is left for dead, only to survive and eventually seek his revenge.

All in all I would have to say that this movie lived up to the hype surrounding it. When I first saw the trailer I did wonder if this was your typical Oscar bait, and there probably is an element of that, however not enough that it distracts from the actual film itself.

Innaritu is quickly establishing himself as one of the worlds most notable directors and from this film its quite easy to see why. The direction is smooth and sensitive to the subject material and the use of natural lighting adds to the immersion and sympathy for Glass's struggle. Innaritu doesn't seem afraid to go all out for a scene to get the best reaction from his actors and by proxy the audience. I am thinking in particular of the scene where Glass sleeps inside a dead horse for warmth.

In terms of the acting its fair to say that this is probably Di Caprio's best performance for a while. He is never bad, but I think this film probably will earn him his Oscar once and for all. If not I really feel worried for the guys health, I mean he ate an actual bison liver for goodness sake! Just let him have the statue!

Other than that the rest of the cast do a great job too. Tom Hardy really excels at playing the villain in general and this is no exception. He is mean and relentless in his douchebaggery he really gives Di Caprio a run for his money, I wouldn't be surprised if he got the Oscar nod as well.

If there were any criticisms they would be minor ones like the films run time which stands at 2 hours and 36 minutes. I just felt that it really didn't need to be that long, I was never bored by it, but it felt as if it was only that long to justify the scale of the movie rather than because it had a complicated story to tell.

There were also some problems with the sound, though this may have just been a problem with the cinema I saw it in, but often when the Native Americans spoke the dialogue didnt match up with their mouths.

In conclusion then I would definitely recommend this film, its perhaps not for the squeamish, but everyone else is safe.

Oh and p.s. How many yacths must Domhnall Gleeson's agent have now. That's Ex Machina, Brooklyn, Star Wars and now The Revenant in the last year or so!

Bye now

Foreign Cinema!

Hey there!

So, I like foreign films, now, when I say foreign I am talking about films that are made and produced in a language other than English. So despite the United States technically being a foreign country for me the films I am referring to are the ones that require subtitles to understand the dialogue and despite what this lady above says I have plenty of time fo dat.

Why do I love foreign films? Well for one it makes me better than you, I would much rather watch a Swedish horror film about a child vampire than watch Chris Evans and his massive breasts CGI punch a load of villains I don't care about in a Captain America movie. I am being facetious of course, but only a tad.

To be honest I think the main reason people avoid subtitles is the view that I just jokingly adhered to above. There is a general attachment of pretension to films that use subtitles. People feel as if the filmmakers are trying to separate the less intellectual audience members by making them read instead of sitting through, oh I don't know, a Michael Bay movie about watches that explode (not the best example, but there is a watch on my desk). Anyway, this is what puts people off I am sure of it. My love for foreign cinema has seen the phrase arty farty thrown my way, always in jest, but yet I think this is what foreign cinema has to deal with in terms of a wider audience response. 

Then again, maybe people feel like they cant experience the necessary escapism because they are being forced to concentrate harder than perhaps they normally would. Though my response would be that surely the heightened concentration helps you to become even more immersed because you are forced to enter into a cinematic space where there are no distractions to stop you reading the dialogue. This for me is one of the most appealing things about subtitled films. Admittedly I used to avoid them because I couldn't be bothered. Much like a puppy I can have a rather short attention span, often when watching an English language film, regardless of whether I am enjoying it or not I will drift off onto my phone and take my eyes away from the screen. I can still hear whats going on so I probably wont miss much, but at the same time I get annoyed at myself for not paying more attention.

However contrast this with foreign film and I am a totally different spectator. When there are subtitles to be read drifting off is not an option because one missed sentence can really take you out of the film and leave you wondering whats happening. By concentrating harder I feel like I get more out of the film. I can better understand the nuances and motivations of the characters and appreciate the themes and importance of the plot. 

Crucially it has also led to a much better appreciation for language itself. Despite not speaking a second language, watching foreign films has really helped me see just how amazing human language is. It might not seem true, but there really is a difference between hearing something said in English and hearing it said in French. Even the stereotypically harsher languages such as Russian or German become poetic when used the right way.

Above all else, foreign cinema has given me a much better understanding of film as a whole, it has taken away some of the restrictions that I once had about the types of films that I saw and opened up a whole new cinematic world to me, and I would implore others to explore films worldwide for that very reason.

                                                                                                                              

I thought here I would add a short list of foreign films that I have enjoyed that are well worth a watch:

13 Minutes AKA - Elser – Er hätte die Welt verändert - German

The Raid 1&2 - Indonesian

Let the right one In - Swedish 

Ju - On AKA The Grudge - Japanese

Tsotsi - South African 

City of God - Brazilian 

Breathless AKA A bout de souffle  - French

Oldboy - Korean

Y Tu Mama Tambien - Mexican

L'Aventura - Italian

Taxi - Jafar Panahi's Taxi - Iranian - Haven't actually seen this yet, but its supposed to be amazing.

There are more, but I think that's a good list to get you going.

Adios!

Uh oh, here we go again

Guess who? (don’t just read my name or personal description, it ruins the game)


I’m back, of course this was hotly anticipated, probably, someone must have wondered where I went, or at least I like to think so. Fact is I have been pursuing other interests…. For four years. I got my masters in film, went on holiday, played a lot of XBOX, but most importantly I watched A LOT of movies and having decided that I want to get paid to do that, or at least have someone other than myself read my reviews, I am starting up my blog again. I can’t promise how regular the updates will be because unfortunately in those 4 years I was unable to perfect my future telling device. At the moment it just makes toast, don’t ask me how, like I said I couldn’t perfect it. Any who, at various points I’ll try and add things for people to read, or to see the link on Facebook, like it and then not read (hey I don’t judge) and maybe just maybe my stupid writing will get someone’s attention and they will literally run through fire to hear me impart my *wisdom*


Cheers Andrew
(I am saying cheers from me here by the way, I am not just thanking myself)




 *Wisdom not guaranteed*

The long awaited Amanda blog

So hello avid readers and people who have accidentally stumbled across my blog and are just reading the first sentence to see what its about, you can go now.

Some of you may remember that I wrote a blog about a year ago about friendship, in it I described the difficulty I had had in making friends whilst still at school and how I had made some new ones once I started university. The problem with that is that I kinda sorta forgot to mention someone, this someone happens to be one of my closest friends and I literally cant believe that I forgot about her. The only excuse I can I can offer is that I wrote the last blog in about ten minutes and It was mainly about people who I had seen that day, I am sticking to that excuse Amanda so please don’t hurt me.

Anywayyyys as I said the person I am talking about is called Amanda and I have literally known her forever, like seriously man. Our parents were friends before we were both born and so we technically knew each other from when we were babies, though I can’t quite remember that because I have pushed most of the childhood memories out of my brain and replaced them with funny cat videos. What I do remember however is that I always liked Amanda, however I will admit this now, I was always a little bit scared of her because she was a girl, there I said it! I was always really shy around girls when I was younger and so spending any extended amount of time with them which I often did with Amanda wasn't easy. However as I have got older it turns out that I much prefer hanging out with women anyway, though not in a gay way, sorry boys…

I also remember the many times we would spend around each other’s houses, normally on New Year’s Eve, it became sort of a tradition and it always made the New Year that bit more special J

Amanda is literally one of the easiest people to get along with that I know, first things first she appreciates my geekiness and that fact that I am not really that cool, which is just perfect for me because honestly I am kind a nerd, not that I mind that though because nerds will inherit the earth one day. She also for some reason finds me funny, now I don’t know if she takes ecstasy every time she talks to me, or she is just fake laughing but either way I certainly appreciate the sentiment, I am a bit like Chandler from friends and its important for me to be funny even though I'm not actually that funny, its kind of a vicious circle really. So Amanda I love the fact that you laugh for me and you must keep it up.

Oh also recently I learned that I can drink you under the table, after four glasses of wine you were pretty drunk, whereas I reckon I could have driven and operated heavy machinery if I wanted to.

I'm sure I have forgotten some things, but my memory isn't what it used to be, and I am sure you will remind me of them and make me recognise my shame for not remembering, such as the time I didn't invite you to see Lee Evans which wasn't by choice, but lets not get into that again. There can always be an Amanda blog part 2 anyway, maybe even 3 or 4 even 5, the numbers are endless...

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