andygoodliff

Films Watched in 2007

The Devil Wears Prada 3 out of 5
Poseidon 2 out of 5
Blood Diamond 4 of out 5
Marie Antoinetee 3 out of 5
The Last King of Scotland 4 out of 5
The Departed 3 out of 5
The Good Shepherd 2 out of 5
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 out of 5
The Last Kiss 3 out of 5
Little Children 5 out of 5
The Three Burials of Melquidas Estrada 3 out of 5
The Illusionist 3 out of 5
Night at the Museum 2 out of 5
Music and Lyrics 3 out of 5
Amazing Grace 3 out of 5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 4 out of 5
Joe Somebody 3 out of 5
A Perfect Murder 2 out of 5
Sunshine 3 out of 5
Raising Helen 2 out of 5
Knocked Up 4 out of 5
Atonement 5 out of 5
White Oleander 3 out of 5
Notes on a Scandal 4 out of 5
The Affair of the Necklace 2 out of 5
Becoming Jane 3 out of 5
Hitch 3 out of 5
The Wind that Shakes the Barely 4 out of 5
Spider Man 3 out of 5
Lions for Lambs 4 out of 5
Bobby 4 out of 5
The Painted Veil 3 of out of 5
The Alamo 2 out of 5
The Perfect Score 2 out of 5
The Bourne Ultimatum 5 out of 5
Say Anything 4 out of 5
Showtime 2 out of 5
Cold Creek Manor 2 out of 5
In My Father's Den 5 out of 5
The Golden Compass 3 out of 5
The Motorcycle Diaries 3 out of 5
The Terminal 1 out of 5
Transformers 2 out of 5

Disappointed with Golden Compass

Last night I saw the Golden Compass and was very disappointed. The reviews I have read are right. It's a poor film of a great book. It begins with a prologue, which in Lord of the Rings was necessary, but here felt unnecessary. The whole film is attempt to make everyone completely sure they know what is happening and why, which makes it boring. The book then jumps from scene to scene without any chance for a scene to breathe, so you don't get to know any character. The acting was fine, though not sure about the boy who played Roger. The attack on the Christian faith is so underplayed that it becomes annoying. For example at the end of the book, Lord Asriel explains to Lyra about dust and refers to the Genesis 2 narrative of Adam and Eve's disobedience. This is central to the story later as Lyra is modelled as a new Eve character. In the film this is reduced to Mrs Coulter mentioning some people long ago disobeying the Authority. I can't believe Pullman, as reported, is happy with the film. The writer and director, Chris Weitz did a good job on adapting About A Boy
for film, but here you just feel he's out of his league. The celebrated playwright and screenwriter, Tom Stoppard apparently wrote a draft screenplay, but it got rejected, I can't believe it was worse than this.

... All things Harry

I finished reading the final HP novel last week. There was much I enjoyed. My favourite chapter was The Prince's Tale, because the journey and story of that particular character has been the one that always interested me the most. Ben Myers is asking people to discuss the theology of JK.  The HP story has been great and although Rowling perhaps does not write as well as Tolkien or Pullman, there is I think within the stories as much to explore with regards to theology, philosophy and ethics. The final novel was a good way to end the series. It was more than simply an unravelling of the many threads, it also had a story in itself - again the backstory (the history behind the death hallows and the story of Dumbledore) fascinated me. It is in fact the story of the past that I found most engaging in each book - the little snipets in each book. The final chapter I would have left out. It was unnecessary.

I also watched the latest HP film today. And it was pleasing to see the series getting better and better. The choice of having a different director each time has brought a freshness to the last three films and the screenwriting in this one was in the main the best so far. I thought the portrayal of Dolores Umbridge was especially well-written and well-acted. I wish that each film was followed by an extended DVD version as was the case with the LOTR films. Like in some many films you notice the editing and sometimes I wish a few more scenes were allowed to breathe. I think this is the shortest running time in the HP films so far. The final explanation scene between Harry and Dumbledore could have done with being longer, as could the scenes between Harry and Snape, especially the one where Harry sees Snape's memories.

Forthcoming Films ...

Lots of new trailers out for autumn films. These are five I'm looking forward to:

1. The Golden Compass - the first part of Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials 

2. Margot at the Wedding - the new Noah Baumbach film (he previously wrote and directed the excellent 'The Squid and the Whale') starring Nicole Kidman, Jennifier Jason Leigh and Jack Black

3. Lions for Lambs - the new Robert Redford film which looks like a political thriller with Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford

4. August Rush

5. Invasion - Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig in alien thriller

Thundercats are Ho!

The cartoons of my youth all seem to be finding their way to the big screen these days. This summer its Transformers and the news just in is Warner Bros are looking at a Thundercats script. Will this mean Bravestarr, Belle and Sebastian, Willy Fogg, Dogtanian and MASK (which if you didn't already know is an acronym for the Mobile Armored Strike Kommand!!) also ripe for a cinema comeback?

Little Children

Little Children is written and directed by Todd Field, whose previous film was In the Bedroom.  The film is about an affair between Sarah (Kate Winslet) and Brad (Patrick Wilson), who meet in children's park with their children. In the background of the story is a subplot about a sex offender who is living in the area and the reactions to him. This is
a brilliant film, well-written and well acted. The characters have depth and there are some brilliant moments. I recommend you rent it.

more on Blood Diamond

This is a violent film, the wanton destruction of life I found difficult to watch. This is not the popcorn violence of Bad Boys 2 or Mr and Mrs Smith.  Having seen the film and now watching the news about a third murder in South London of a young person, you are left searching for answers. Surely the answer is not to open two more prisons. The recent stories of  African countries - Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Dafur, Zimbabwe are stories of violence, of senseless violence. How do we respond to this violence? Blood Diamond is not a horror film, but there is something horrific about scenes involving children playing soliders. Here we see children given the ability to take life, who are told that a gun will give them the respect.  Again this is the reality of some children's lives, and we encourage children to literally play games (the latest being a supposedly 'Christian' game). Brodie gives one way of responding.

Blood Diamond and films about Africa

Films about Africa, especially conflict and war are coming think and fast from Hollywood in recent years. We've had the Rwandian genocide (Hotel Rwanda, Shooting Dogs), pharmaceutical corruption in Kenya (The Constant Gardener), truth and reconciliation in South Africa (In My Country), the story of Ugandan Idi Amin (The Last King of Scotland), and civil war in Nigeria (Tears of the Sun). There was also Beyond Borders, about aid workers in Africa. Apart from the latter film, these films have been generally compelling and served as important reminders to us as the West of our moral failure as nations (especially in 1994 Rwanda). Blood Diamond is the latest and continues the trend. The backdrop to the story is the 1999 Sierra Leone Civil War. There are some great performances all round and the script is generally well written. Fernando writes a good review here. What other films have there been about Africa? Cry Freedom, the story of Steve Biko. The Power of One, about an English boy growing up in 1930s-1940s South Africa. I guess parts of Amistad and Black Hawk Down.

Films Watched in 2006

I've watched quite a lot of films this year. I love watching films. Some of the were released this year, others are older, but the first time I've seem them. I'll probably catch a few more over christmas and add them to the list. I've given them an 'goodliff' rating.

Munich (4 out of 5)
Shooting Dogs (4 out of 5)
The Inside Man (3 out of 5)
The DaVinci Code (3 out of 5)
X-Men 3 (2 out of 5)
Pirates of the Carribean 2 (3 out of 5)
Serenity (3 out of 5)
Syriana (4 out of 5)
A Cock and Bull Story (2 out of 5)
Failure to Launch (1 out of 5)
V for Vendetta (3 out of 5)
Memoirs of a Geisha (3 out of 5)
Shopgirl (3 out of 5)
Fun with Dick & Jane (2 out of 5)
Brokeback Mountain (4 out of 5)
The Producers (1 out of 5)
Anchorman (3 out of 5)
Remember the Titans (2 out of 5)
A History of Violence (4 out of 5)
Killing Fields (4 out of 5)
Lord of War (4 out of 5)
Flightplan (3 out of 5)
Cinderella Man (3 out of 5)
Madagascar (2 out of 5)
Little Miss Sunshine (5 out of 5)
In My Country (3 out of 5)
Confetti (3 out of 5)
The Matador (2 out of 5)
The Inconvenient Truth (5 out of 5)
The Colour Purple (3 out of 5)
Goodnight and Goodluck (4 out 5)
The Libertine (3 out of 5)
Mission Impossible III (3 out of 5)
The Prestige (4 out of 5)
Casino Royale (3 out of 5)
Superman Returns (2 out of 5)
Sense and Sensibility (5 out of 5)
The Hours (4 out of 5)

Casino Royale

Casino Royale is certainly one of the better Bond films. Daniel Craig, after the first 20 minutes of getting used to him makes a good Bond. The film is at its best in the scenes between Bond and Vesper Lyn (Eva Green) and at its worst for the last half an hour, where it's as bad as The Return of the King for multiple endings. It ties up all the loose ends, where I think it would have be been better to leave a more unsatisfactory ending. The problem with Bond films is the story always feels secondary to the pre-conceived action scenes and so character and plot suffer. There is little of the kind of humour that you expect from a Bond film. The funniest bit is strangely in the torture scene. Bond's move from cold hearted killer to falling desperately in love with Vesper Lyn doesn't seem real. So I came away with a mixed response.