My Film of 2010: Blue Valentine

Ryan Gosling. Michelle Williams. Non-Linear. Romance gone wrong. Cry. Fall in love. Be awed by Gosling's performance. Become skeptical of relationships. Agree you've seen a wonderful film. My pick of last year. Go Watch.

The Film That Changed My Life: Amelie (2001) Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet

I really wanted to start this post in a dramatic fashion; "it was a cold night in November 2001 when I stumbled across this peculiar looking French movie called 'Les Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Pou..."....which isn't too far from the truth to be honest. However, I'm going to ramble on in a more laid back fashion about why Amelie changed my life.

Saying a motion picture changed my life is a bold statement. But I'm going to stick with it. Prior to Amelie I had seen some pretty damn good films; some of which I'd probably say are better movies than Amelie. However at the time I wasn't exposed to the world of independent cinema and minus 100+ bollywood films in the background, this was the first foreign language film I'd watched. My love for cinema reaches most genres but I will be more excited about seeing the independent film that did well in Cannes as opposed to this year's Jerry Bruckhiemer explosion-fest.  I believe I have Amelie to thank for that. Upon first viewing, it blew me away. I'd never seen anything quite like it; the originality of the story for instance is a basically a loner's love story but presented in such a unique fashion. The look of the film is immediately recognisable as Amelie, thanks to director Jeunet's emphasis on green. The score is beautiful and corresponds with the film perfectly and is to do this day is the only film score I actually own and listen to frequently.  Even though the film is obviously centered around the character of 'Amelie', the rest of the characters are a wonderful assorted of the whacky, wise and (can't complete the alliteration, damn) and down right horrible; yes I'm talking about the grocery store owner. 

In a way, 'Amelie' got lucky. The film that could have changed my life could have been 'La Haine' (1995), an equally brilliant and movie film (also french) or even the Brazilian gangster epic that we know as 'City of God' (2002); all 3 films I saw roughly around the same time. Amelie came first, stole my heart and now I'm babbling about it 10 years on. For those of you that haven't seen it, well here's what Total Film said about it: "Quite simply, it's perfect". 

My Life in Films

Yesterday, I turned 25. That's a quarter of a century I've inhabited the world and roughly for the past 11 or so years I have been a film junkie. 25 to me at least sounds like a monumental age and therefore I have decided that I'm going to do a series of post's about the films that have had the biggest influence on me over the years. However in this particular post I'm going to just tell you what the first film I ever saw in the cinema was;

Paddy Considine: Top 3 Performances

I love Led Zeppelin. I believe they are the greatest musical outfit of all time. But they're not my favourite artist. They probably wouldn't even come in my Top 5. When it comes to actors I feel a similar way; if I was to do a Top 5 I'll probably go for the pretty obvious choices; Pacino, Nicholson, Brando, etc. But my personal favourite actor at the moment (and has been for a while) is Midlands born indie hero, Paddy Considine. Every film I have seen Considine in he outweighs and steals the show. Here are my top 3 Paddy Considine Performances:


'Morell' in A Room for Romeo Brass (1999) Dir. Shane Meadows
Paddy's debut in acting is undoubtedly one of his most memorable performances, playing Morell in this Shane Meadows indie classic. Morell is a confused oddball who yearns importance and companionship in his small district in Nottingham. Paddy brings out a laugh-out-loud funny performance whilst being genuinely scary at the same time.

 

'Richard' in Dead Man's Shoes (2004) Dir. Shane Meadows

Dead Man's Shoes has often been described as 'Taxi Driver set in the Midlands'. Rightfully so. Considine's portrayal as Richard is like having our very own Travis Bickle (who drinks tea instead of coffee). Hella intense, this is arguably one of the best performances I've seen, probably ever on screen. Considine more than often plays more comedic roles but in Dead Man's Shoes he's stone serious and we've never forgot about it since.

'Alfie' in Last Resort (2000) Dir. Pawel Pawilkowski 
A lesser known movie and lesser known performance by Considine; Last Resort is the story of a Russian woman and son who illegally come to England in hope to find her fiance. However, when he doesn't turn up she and her son are forced to live in political asylum. Considine plays Alfie, a well known man around the area however a soft and regretful man also. A more laid back performance than the previously mentioned however it shows Considine's humble side and he's ability to still deliver.

Pather Panchali (1955) Dir. Satyajit Ray

I once got re-tweeted by FilmFour because I urged to my twitter followers to watch their afternoon showing of 'Pather Panchali'. I also mentioned in this tweet that the film was one of the few films I have given a perfect 10/10 score on IMDB.

Pather Panchali is the first installment in the 'Apu Trilogy'; a trio of films that follow Apu from boy to man. This segment of the trilogy shows Apu as a impressionable and naive young boy . The film is seen through the eyes of Apu but it revolves around his mischievous yet aggravated sister, Durga. Based in early century Bengal, Apu's family are very poor; a ever-worrying mother with the contrast of a optimistic father furthers the struggle of everyday life for the family.

 Pather Panchali struck a nerve in me and still does every time I watch it. The poetic execution in portraying this story is subtly sublime. The characters each have a huge equal impact on the story and contrast a range of moods. Ray's execution is timeless; I cannot express how well he has used delicate visual imagery to depict the deepest of human emotions. Pather Panchali is a moving experience and a masterclass in film making.

Cinematography 101: 'Persona' (1966). Dir. Ingmar Bergman. Cinematographer. Sven Nykvist

The art of cinematography can sometimes only be explored intricately in films of great peace, calm and question. Bergman's 'Persona' is one such example.

This is the closest I'm going to get....

... to having a millennium falcon. Now somebody please find me one.

I (heart) Minimalism

Right, I assure you I'm not trying to make my blog into archive of alternate movie posters but I had to post these. Over at totalfilm.com they are doing a 100 best minimalist fan-made posters; and quite frankly, they are excellent. Here's some of my favourites:

Check out all of them at: http://www.totalfilm.com/features/100-amazing-minimal-movie-posters

Brickwork

Get a load of these alternate movie posters in all their blocky hilarity.

.....and for anybody that is a hip-hop fan I highly recommend you check this link out: http://www.formatmag.com/features/lego-hip-hop-album-covers/

Playlist: Songs in Films (Obviously)

I love when popular music and films meet to make great results. Sometimes these hybrids become so unforgettable that we become guilty of saying "oh yeah I love that song...it's from Juno isn't it!". So here's a playlist I made (yeah I'm one of those people) of movie soundtracks I really enjoy.

1) Somebody to Love - Jefferson Airplane (A Serious Man)
Heard during: During the opening credits and throughout the film mainly through Danny's Earphones.

2) Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime - Beck (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
Heard during: When Joel is driving/having a breakdown during the start of the movie

3) I'm Shipping Up To Boston - Dropkick Murphys (The Departed)
Heard During: The opening credits (which in true Scorsese fashion occur about 20 minutes into the film) which is a montage scene also.

4) Perfect Day - Lou Reed (Trainspotting)
Heard During: Renton's drug trip where he sinks into the floor. Lovely.

5) Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon - Urge Overkill (Pulp Fiction)
Heard During: Vince Vega & Mia Wallace return to the Wallace residence post-dinner, post-dance contest, pre-overdose.

6) Don't You Forget About Me - Simple Minds (The Breakfast Club)
Heard During: At the start of the movie when the brat pack are all strangers to each other and then at the end when they become more than acquainted with each other.

7) Paper Planes - M.I.A (Slumdog Millionaire)
Heard During: A montage of the brothers traveling India via the country's notoriously busy trains.

8) Sea of Love - Cat Power (Juno)
Heard During: Juno giving birth in all it's slo-mo montage glory. Okay the scene probably isn't all that but this a beautiful rendition of the Phil Philips classic.

9) Just Like Honey - Jesus & the Mary Chain (Lost in Translation)
Heard During: Bob is on his way back to the airport when he spots Charlotte walking away in the distance. He catches up with her and murmurs those words that me and you will never know.


10) Across 110th Street - Bobby Womack (American Gangster)
Heard During: Montage of Lucas's Blue Magic taking over the streets of Harlem.

11) The End - The Doors (Apocalypse Now)
Heard During: The intro. Probably the greatest and most effective use of visual imagery and popular music ever.

Alternative Movie Posters: Psycho

I love alternative/homemade movie posters:

Don't watch this with your parents: 'Happiness' (1998) Dir. Todd Solondz

This is not a review. I'm not going to sit here and review 'Happiness'. Not that it's a bad movie by any means; it's just that I'm not featuring it for it's achievements in cinema. Instead highlighting the taboos it broke...or at least attempted to break. Just for the record, for those of you that have seen (or planning to see) Happiness, I am not approving of any of the "acts" that take place in the film (lol) but I do find it interesting the way Solondz has made a film here that shows these people and their way of life (if you will) from a neutral point of view. Obviously anybody who hasn't seen this movie will not know what I'm talking about but that's why I'm making a point here to watch it. I don't think I'm Mr. Anti-Mainstream but my heart lies in independent/world cinema because I'm interested in people and why people think or live a certain way; something "non-mainstream" cinema has always dealt with; often or not in extreme situations like in 'Happiness'.  So now, go watch it....but remember, only when nobody is home.

Chungking Express (1994) dir. Kar Wai Wong

Can I sell you this film with this still?

Mojo Reccomends: A Serious Man (2009) Dir. Joel & Ethan Coen

This is the best Coen Brothers movie; there you go I said it. After watching this for the 3rd time I came to the comfortable realisation that it really is their best work. I think I always knew it, I was just to afraid to say it. Kinda like fancying the girl with the glass eye.

The film is based in 1960's American suburbia where Larry Gopnik is a Jewish university lecturer who is about to face some life changing turning points in his life. A respected man at work; at home it's a different story. His wife isn't happy with their marriage, his daughter is stealing from him whilst having a pot-smoking son who is due his bar-mitz-vah and an oddball brother who actually might be a genius. The film shows Larry go through a series of life challenging tests in a very short period of time and his patience to deal with them.

Yes I'm aware that naming 'A Serious Man' as the Coens' best movie is saying that it's a better movie than 'Miller's Crossing (1990)', better than (my previous favourite) 'Fargo (1996)' and  mightier than academy award winner 'No Country for Old Men (2007)'. But I feel that ASM is a their most rounded work. It perfects their signature black comedy style as well their brilliantly quirky brand of storytelling.

Perfectly directed, great acting and ...well I'll let you decide about the ending. Just don't ask me what a dybuk (sp) is.

Msg Uno

So I've started to become a blogger; mainly because I feel like I should do something more practical with my passion for movies rather than constantly criticise (and sometimes praise) movies to loved ones (and strangers that follow me on twitter).

Also I was recommended to start a blog by my partner-in-crime, Christina. So do check out her blog;

http://christinaclarewalker.blogspot.com/

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