Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s writing credits speak for themselves;
they’ve had their hits with stoner and teen comedies and have decided to launch
their directorial career with an apocalyptic comedy that subverts their
personas, plays up to their critics and includes a cast made up entirely of
their friends. Sure, it’s indulgent but if you’re a fan of any of those
involved, it’s a playful, entertaining and amusing way to spend a couple of
hours.
This fresh and funny prequel to Monsters, Inc. sees Mike and Sulley on a college campus as they try to make their way through their studies to become fully fledged Scarers.
Attendance this year was a particularly special experience for me as I had been asked to take part on the AWFJ jury to vote for the best documentary directed by a woman.
You can read more about my experience, find out who the winner is and see my top picks from the festival here.
World War Z
comes to the big screen after a troubled production that led to
reshoots, extensive rewrites and an overblown budget (reported to have
reached $200 million plus), all of which unfortunately reflects on the
final product.
Unashamedly marketed as the ‘British King Kong’ and co-written and
produced by Herman Cohen, who updated its themes to include not only
man’s unquenchable thirst for power over nature but also over women,
Konga was one of the very first gigantic monster movies filmed in colour
(in SpectaMation and shot in London, including location shooting in
Croydon).
Handgun (Deep in the Heart) was originally
released back in 1984, it stars Karen Young, as a bright eyed woman,
living away from home for the first time and discovering all about life
and the Texas lifestyle. British Director Tony Garnett
tackles the rape/revenge sub-genre and explores the American Psyche from
an outsider perspective. Violent repercussion is not the answer here
though with Garnett choosing to use education and clever power play as a
means of revenge.
An exploration of masculinity and love that’s entirely sincere. Jeff
Nichols’ third feature exudes epic themes and masterful cinematography
with shots of the Arkansas backdrop fused with elements of Charles
Dickens’ Great Expectations and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn alongside a painterly touch reminiscent of Terrence
Malick. It both shines and sweats in its sparse southern setting
lingering comfortably in the trepidations and excitable mood of two
teenage boys’ journey of discovery.
In 2009, J.J. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek movie
franchise with a thrilling mix of emotion, humour and adventure in a
parallel universe where this crew have to find their own paths. Four
years later and he is taking us into daring and action-packed darkness
but also remembering to leave room for these characters to grow.
Exhilarating free falling, vibrant visuals, marvel and menace,
spectacular set design and spiralling starships deliver an immersive
high that will leave you buzzing.
My full review published in Starburst Magazine here.
Keeping with his usual dark themes, South Korean director Park Chan-wook
(Oldboy) makes an assured American debut with this stunning psycho thriller – a
cruel, calculated coming of age story that glides elegantly through topics of
sexual awakening and fractured family values. It pushes all the right buttons;
paying homage to Hitchcock whilst having a distinct, chilling ambience all of
its own.
In Spring Breakers Harmony Korine captures a neon-lit universe
where Britney is queen, Lil' Wayne is king and money is everything. Four
college girls are led into temptation by the bright lights and promise
of spring break and it’s up to them when the party stops.
Following the European premiere of documentary I Am Divine at the
London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, I look back
over the career of the actor, drag queen, performer and singer for The Quietus.
Brandon Cronenberg (son of
David) has written and directed an intense and disturbing debut film looking at
society’s increasing obsession with celebrity.Getting to the sick heart of this cultural disease, Cronenberg
has created a white walled world that delivers a claustrophobic film experience
with a mesmerising central performance from Caleb Landry Jones.
Zero Dark Thirty is
a breathtakingly brutal and powerful account of the hunt for Osama Bin
Laden, charting the ten years it took to capture him. Director Kathryn
Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) employs a race-against-time narrative
focusing on the investigative team, their extreme tactics and the
ramifications of a shifting political landscape during the course of
their probing mission. The gaze is mainly on CIA agent Maya (Jessica
Chastain) and the gender politics surrounding her career defining
assignment.
Jen and Sylvia Soska’s American Mary summons the spirit of Cronenberg’s Dead Ringers with classical music, cold instruments and red scrubs along with a dark Lynchian aesthetic. There are Asian and European horror influences too, yet astonishingly the film feels personal and unique.
I don’t usually write about TV (unless it’s Alex Mack…) but
Lena Dunham’s double win at the Golden Globes has prompted me to talk about women
in comedy.
For Best Performance by an actress in a TV series (comedy or musical), Lena was up against Julia Louis-Dreyfuss who apart from bringing us
the Elaine dance in Seinfeld
now leads the cast of Veep created by Armando Iannucci and
Miss Bossy Pants herself, Tina Fey, who created and stars in 30 Rock as the
secret snuggie wearing, night cheese eating Liz Lemon.
Fey added the phrase “I want to go to there” to my every
increasing quoting vocabulary and wrote the screenplay for one of the best teen
movies ever made, Mean Girls. Lena was also
up against Zooey Deschanel for her role in New Girl and Amy Poehler for her role as Leslie Knope in Parks and Recreation who
opened the show with Tina Fey.
I’m glad Dunham won the awards and her voice is being
recognised and celebrated. Even if you place no particular importance on awards
ceremonies her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes lays thanks to all of the
women in the category and “every woman who felt there wasn’t a space for her”.
On winning the best TV series (comedy or musical) she spoke of
the cast who have shown her “the meaning of bravery and nakedness both
emotional and physical” and it can only be a positive thing to have such a
talented, humble woman being a massive part of not only the TV world but the
filmmaking one too.
Dunham also spoke of the people who supported her and helped
her find her voice and made her feel “not like a cartoon character but a person
who could express emotions”. This made me think of the ever supportive LocoFilm Festival who are championing comedy. This year they have
collaborated with Underwire Festival with a focus on women in comedyand will be celebrating with the event Working Women on 26th January. If you’re having trouble finding your
voice this could be a positive and inspiring place to start looking for it.
2012 saw John Landis’ son, Max, put his hand to
writing a screenplay with co-writer and Director Josh Trank in the
extremely impressive Chronicle. Dolly Parton danced in the dark with the ghost of Kris Kristofferson and threw bread-rolls at Queen Latifah in Joyful Noise. The Muppets made a victorious return to the big screen. We were rewarded with the uplifting Damsels in Distress
in Whit Stillman’s long awaited return to filmmaking and Joss Whedon
achieved the admirable feat of making not only the best superhero film
out this year, in Avengers Assemble, but also a love letter to horror fans in The Cabin in the Woods. They all nearly made it into my top ten (apart from Joyful Noise) but not quite.
Once again my viewing schedule has been dominated by film festivals. I reflect on the best I’ve seen.
The last week of January, usually a blue affair, was cheered up by Loco Film Festival and their screening of The Muppets,
a vibrant, victorious return with Brett McKenzie penning memorable and
lovable lyrics with a hint of Hall and Oates magic. Their discovery
screen showed stand-out dark comedy Black Pond featuring the excellent line “who eats a banana before going to bed?”
Phantasm creator Don Coscarelli returns with his first film since 2002's Bubba Ho-Tep,
and it's a masterful manifestation of special effects, animation and
humour, all mixed to make a slithering sickly platter of hellfire,
damnation and demon-fuelled trippy aesthetics.
