Super 8

Super 8. Explosive storytelling, amusing yet heartfelt.

When the explosive but obscure teaser trailer shadily appeared on the internet earlier last year, rumours were that Super 8 was the next chapter of the high-octane Cloverfield. Sure enough, both films adopted a similar, viral marketing strategy, and both seemingly included stuff blowing up but, in terms of substance, the comparisons stop there. Super 8 displays a heart-warming tale of nostalgia and finding one's own place in the midst of disaster.

As a strange but beautiful lovechild of super-cool director JJ. Abrams and seasoned veteran Steven Spielberg, Super 8 shows a winning combination in terms of director/ producer partnerships. It is hard to believe that Abrams hasn't looked up to Spielberg at some point in his career and, in this film, he seems to have collaborated extensively and creatively with the man. Super 8 a feels like a Spielberg film but directed by Abrams in a witty, post-modern fashion.

A truly Spielbergian sense of childhood naivety and wonderment is deeply rooted within the narrative of Super 8, giving a nostalgic nod to a bygone era. The period backdrop of the 70's providing an amusing yet reminiscent setting complete with homages to the Hollywood adventures of that generation. The young characters are lovable and down-to-earth, exchanging humorous banter and well-crafted dialogue. Abrams certainly succeeds in creating a yearning for a lost age of filmmaking, rich with thrilling storytelling.

With the intense special effects and nausea-inducing action scenes that seems the norm in most monster invasion films nowadays, Super 8 feels refreshingly original, with a well-paced, simple yet effective story. That is not to say it skimps on the thrill-driven scenes as we see plenty of explosions, tanks and guns – enough to comfort the action movie disciples of the audience. The train crash scene is a harrowing experience with breathtaking CGI that makes it seem to last forever. Long-time Abrams collaborator Michael Giacchino teams up with the director, providing a killer soundtrack for these gripping moments, making them all the more emotive.

Amongst a collection of summer blockbuster including the likes of Transformers 3, The Green Lantern and Captain America, Super 8 seems to be a rare and welcome treasure. The film is a poignant tale, providing a whole host of different emotional connections from laugh-out-loud moments to moments where you genuinely experience the characters' sadness. Although the film falls into many genres, Super 8 plainly sets a lofty bar for monster and alien films to follow, going far beyond its prior equivalents.

Lord of the Rings: Awesomeness Theory.

Lord Of the Rings awesomeness theory:

I was having a conversation with some people today about a very clever theory to determine the awesomeness of certain characters in the LotR movies. So the rules are as follows:

1. If you have a helmet, your awesomeness is decreased.
2. If you have facial hair, your awesomeness is increased.


For example, Aragorn, Borromir and Faramir have no helmets and all have beards, therefore are pretty awesome. The Men of Gondor all wear helmets and are mostly clean-shaven, and they get owned clearly showing their lack of awesomeness. Also Éowyn (The Rohan Chick) takes off her helmet before slaying the Witch King, therefore increasing her awesomeness.

Here is a simple graph showing the effect of this theory. 'Helmetness' refers to whether the character actually has a helmet and, if so, the quality of his helmet (As better helmets further diminish awesomeness).

Train Journey Movies.

So, today I took my usual train journey back home from Cornwall after being at Uni for a month. Happy to announce that I've just finished my first year of being a full-on film scholar and, man, it's been a good year. I've met alot of cool people and been involved in some projects that were really worthwhile.
Anyway, on the way back I regularly watch about 2 or 3 films on my laptops and I usually spend a good amount of time beforehand picking the right ones. My choices for the journey were 500 Days of Summer and Fantastic Mr. Fox.

500 Days of Summer:
When I first heard about this film I thought it would be ridden with cliche, dull and 'a bit lovey'. Fortunately, this is actually a really clever, quirky, indie spin on the conventional rom-com. It replaces soppy-sentimentalism for a more stylistic approach, using an almost hyper-real aesthetic in some parts. The narrative is intelligently crafted, thus displaying a unique way of watching these events unfold.
It's funny in a ironic and down-to-earth way, these are aspects of a relationship we can all relate to. A refreshingly pleasant indie flick.


Fantastic Mr.Fox
I watched this film for the first time today and had no preconceptions about it, just that it was an animated film with George Clooney doing a voiceover. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this film (directed by none other than Wes Anderson) was really funny, superbly animated and had some awesome voice talent. I particularly liked the character Rat who was voiced so very brilliantly by the sinister Willem Dafoe.
Having worked on stopmotion animation before, I know how terribly long and monotonous the process is. This, in my opinion, is a masterpiece of stopframe. The way the camera moves around the space and how the character interact so subtly is amazing. A must-see film that will probably appeal more to adults than it will to kids.

Driving Emotions in Documentary. TT3D, more than just a Motorbike Film.

The annual Tourist Trophy race which takes place on the picturesque Isle of Man provides the backdrop for the recent documentary film by Richard de Aragues, TT3D: Closer to the Edge. With superbikes hauling 1000cc engines and reaching speeds of over 170mph, you are undoubtedly in for a adrenaline-pumped and hair-raising experience. Focusing on the lives of the most skilled and seasoned racers in the world, the film is a tragic but inspiring story of break-neck speeds, spectacular crashes and what it means to be alive. And it's all shot in breathtaking 3D.

The account of the infamous 2010 race week revolves around the charismatic, rugged-sideburns Guy Martin, the racer which 'every man and his dog wants to win'. Martin is a likeable rogue, lorry mechanic by trade and superbike racer by obsession; the perfect character for the film. TT3D does an excellent job of evoking the sense of passion felt by these people who go to extreme lengths to follow their love of racing, even if it means paying the ultimate price. With emotional accounts from families, friends and other racers who have experienced the loss of someone, TT3D isn't just a high-octane film for petrol-heads. At its heart, it deals with a story of human emotion, something anyone can relate to.

Aragues uses the documentary medium expertly to portray this powerful and poignant tale. The coverage of the race switches between intense close-up shots of racers and stunning arial shots to display the fine line between the beauty and the perilous nature of racing. The race scenes are cleverly intertwined with anecdotal narratives which give the film a compelling and heartwarming edge. TT3D can seem a little slow at times, but this is only because the there is such a substantial contrast between the fast-paced brutality of the races and more protracted background stories. Ultimately though, it is the emotive factor that drives this film onwards not, ironically, the actual driving itself.

An uplifting film, the story ofCloser to the Edge can relate itself to anyone's personal journey. It follows the lives of people who watch their friends lose their lives to the notorious race, only to continue competing the very next day. It is a captivating insight into one of the most dangerous sports in the world and into the lives of the dedicated, impassioned racers.

Say Anything - ...is a real boy.

...Is a Real Boy is one of my favourite albums of all time, like seriously. I was first recommended the band Say Anything by my old guitar teacher when I was about 14. I wanted to get some cool new music for Christmas and asked him about what bands he liked and he immediately said, 'Get Say Anything's new album, it's amazing'.
He was right. This is one of the only albums I can listen to all the way through and enjoy every single song, it's a beautifully constructed album. Perhaps 'beautiful' isn't exactly the right word for this record but, overall, the songwriting, style and technical intensity is what makes it one of my favourites.

The album starts with explosively with the track 'Belt', a fast-paced, catchy, guitar-driven tune with a really awesome outing which includes the lyrics 'Let's say you, and all your friends, in the alley tonight'. As my first ever taster of the band, I was taken aback. My first thought was that I would never ever get into this band, it was all too raw and rugged (I had never really been into the Grunge or low-fi rock). After a few listens though, I was hooked. The songs are intricately designed, Max Bemis being a master of guitar and vocal hooks, with clever, witty lyrics smothered in a helpful dosage of biting, sardonic humour.
The raw production values make this album stand out from any of Say Anything's other material. Muddy mixes and crude guitar tones are an abundance, giving the record a stylistic, harsh character which is awesome. Bemis's voice has such a angsty, raucous edge to it, reflecting the tales of drug use and social anxiety of which the subject matter of the album covers.

A powerfully emotive record. Fierce at times with songs like 'An Orgy of Critics' but gentle and mellow in moments like 'I want to know your Plans'. Say Anything at their peak in my opinion, not to say I dislike their new albums. One of the albums of my early teenage years.

Essay Exert.

An exert from an essay I'm writing at the moment about the effects of the internet on Cinema:

In 1999, the 'mocumentary' horror film The Blair Witch Project was released. In the build up to its launch, a website was created containing clues in the form of documents, and posters to slowly form the elaborate hoax behind the film, generating a large amount of interest surrounding its production. It could be argued that the success of The Blair Witch Project is entirely based on its online marketing, causing it to have a cult following even before its release. Not only did the website have seventy-five million hits in its first week, according to Jane Roscoe, the website “created a community of The Blair Witch Project fans, who used the websites to communicate with each other and participate more broadly in virtual networks”(ROSCOE, 2000:1). This shows that as well as advertising the film, the website created a sense collective interest which was a fundamental part of the film's success. From this website, individuals began making dedicated fan sites in order to piece together the 'mystery' of the Blair Witch, display trailers of the movie and to communicate with other enthusiasts. The film is one of the first examples of the movie industry making use of the internet as a way of promotion and, in the case of The Blair Witch Project in particular, to create a whole world of interaction outside of the film itself.

Another notable film to use viral internet marketing tactics was J.J Abrams Cloverfield (2008) which, like The Blair Witch Project, created an interactive collection of clues and information on the internet, regarding the content of the film. The production and release of Cloverfield itself was shrouded in mystery from the beginning with an ambiguous teaser shown during the trailers to select viewings of the film Transformers (2007). After this, fake websites, companies and products began to emerge on the web that all linked somehow to the mysterious, unnamed film. For example, a iced drink product called Slusho appeared with a full website (www.slusho.jp) that gave clues about the content of reality surrounding Cloverfield. Slusho has since turned up in other productions connected to Abrams such as TV Series Fringe. This type of promotion using fake entities to send the audience on a trail is commonly called an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) because people are encouraged to delve into fabricated set of events.

Monsters DVD

Yay, just came in the post. Has a snazzy 3D coversheet as well :)