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.