Well the rain is falling & the sky is grey, that's right I'm back in London for the holidays. I'm just relieved to see that the worst of the snow has gone away.
This will be a relatively brief (and no doubt typo heavy) post, as I need to prepare to go to my Aunt's house for Christmas Eve very shortly. Fortunately my mum is in the shower so that gives me the excuse I need to procrastinate online. I'll be doing a post soon about how it feels to be a visitor in your home town but I think I might need to be back in Australia to really be able to look back on the experience. It does feel odd at times though.
So the focus of today's post is a couple of reviews.
I went to see Avatar at the Empire Leicester Square yesterday. I definitely recommend that if you go and see it, you see it in 3D. It is a visually stunning film & I can really understand why a lot of marketers in the film industry are touting it as completely breakthrough. It is taking Hollywood movies to the logical next step, with the imagery becoming even more realistic and a movie becoming an increasingly visual feast. But, and this is quite a significant but, what stops this being a truly great movie was the fact that the same dedication & originality was not applied to the script. The sub plots were insubstantial & did not make the most of a fabulous support cast.
The main story has been told so many times, in more original ways. It was almost as if the film makers felt that the audience could not have their cake & eat it too. You either get beautiful, ground breaking visual effects or a great story. They won't give you both. As a writer I do find that this lazy story-telling is discouraging. It is disappointing that we can't have the best of both worlds. Don't get me wrong, overall I did enjoy the film. Please go & see it and I would love to hear what you think of it. However I did walk away feeling a little hollow, as it is very much an example of style over substance.
On the other end of the spectrum I went to see the National Theatre production of War Horse at the New London theatre on Tuesday night. Clearly it is to theatre that we have to turn to see a wonderful combination of effects & amazing story telling. Those who know me won't be surprised to hear that I cried, at least twice. I'm a big soppy moo. But it was a truly fabulous adaptation of a classic book. The acting was spot on, the staging amazing and the script sang! I wish that I had this wonderful sensation of having seen something that will stay with me forever more often when leaving the cinema. If you haven't see War Horse & live anywhere near London, I thoroughly recommend it. Please try to see it while it is still on, it is definitely worth the ticket price.
Well those are my two reviews, I'd better go de-stink myself in the shower before heading off to celebrate Wigilia with my family. I'll tell you all about the wonderful tradition that is Wigilia when I next have a chance to post. Have a wonderful Christmas!!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Lovely Bones
Ok I admit it, I've been hopeless at updating my blog recently. Work has been crazy using up my daily allocation of brain cells. As a result I had very little left over to use in my personal life. There have been many spare moments where I could be found drooling and staring at the wall. It's nice to escape that particular circle of hell!
But that is enough with the excuses and on to the blogging. Tonight I went to see The Lovely Bones, I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Australian premiere. I do enjoy sashaying up a red carpet, so I was ready for a great night out. The lovely Natalie Meadows joined me, which made for a good mix of impressions as she hasn't read the book while I have.
I remember that I loved the book by Alice Sebold but my memories of the specifics are hazy as I read it many years ago. All I could remember was a general sense of what happened & most importantly how the book made me feel (sad, frustrated, inspired). So I won't be able to say if it was true to the details of the book, but it was definitely true to the emotions.
The casting is inspired. Particularly Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, Stanley Tucci as George Harvey and Susan Sarandon as Grandma Lynn. Their performances were phenomenal & while I single them out I really don't feel that any of the cast put a toe, let alone a foot, wrong.
Peter Jackson's vision for the film was striking. He really threw the full breadth of his mammoth imagination into creating the "in between world" that Susie finds herself in. Saying that, it is probably that one element that polarised Natalie and I. I really enjoyed the visual trip that was created but Natalie felt that it was a bit too much. I can see her point, there were moments when those in-between-world scenes did feel a tad self indulgent on the part of Jackson, however the visuals are so lush and stunning that it is a self indulgence we can all enjoy if we let ourselves go with it.
As I write this post The Lovely Bones has a very healthy 8.2 score on IMDB. I think this is a very well deserved high score as I really was inspired by so many aspects of this film. Not for those that want a "cookie cutter" (to quote Jackson) movie, but perfect if you want to really enjoy a wide spectrum of emotions.
I cried several times across the course of the film, but whenever I felt that it was just too sad, something would happen to change the mood. The arrival of Grandma Lynn is a perfect example of this. I was laughing with the tears still fresh on my cheeks.
A beautiful, cathartic film. I give it a 9/10. Go see it when it appears at cinemas near you (well if you want to, I'm not threatening you or anything)
But that is enough with the excuses and on to the blogging. Tonight I went to see The Lovely Bones, I was lucky enough to get tickets to the Australian premiere. I do enjoy sashaying up a red carpet, so I was ready for a great night out. The lovely Natalie Meadows joined me, which made for a good mix of impressions as she hasn't read the book while I have.
I remember that I loved the book by Alice Sebold but my memories of the specifics are hazy as I read it many years ago. All I could remember was a general sense of what happened & most importantly how the book made me feel (sad, frustrated, inspired). So I won't be able to say if it was true to the details of the book, but it was definitely true to the emotions.
The casting is inspired. Particularly Saoirse Ronan as Susie Salmon, Stanley Tucci as George Harvey and Susan Sarandon as Grandma Lynn. Their performances were phenomenal & while I single them out I really don't feel that any of the cast put a toe, let alone a foot, wrong.
Peter Jackson's vision for the film was striking. He really threw the full breadth of his mammoth imagination into creating the "in between world" that Susie finds herself in. Saying that, it is probably that one element that polarised Natalie and I. I really enjoyed the visual trip that was created but Natalie felt that it was a bit too much. I can see her point, there were moments when those in-between-world scenes did feel a tad self indulgent on the part of Jackson, however the visuals are so lush and stunning that it is a self indulgence we can all enjoy if we let ourselves go with it.
As I write this post The Lovely Bones has a very healthy 8.2 score on IMDB. I think this is a very well deserved high score as I really was inspired by so many aspects of this film. Not for those that want a "cookie cutter" (to quote Jackson) movie, but perfect if you want to really enjoy a wide spectrum of emotions.
I cried several times across the course of the film, but whenever I felt that it was just too sad, something would happen to change the mood. The arrival of Grandma Lynn is a perfect example of this. I was laughing with the tears still fresh on my cheeks.
A beautiful, cathartic film. I give it a 9/10. Go see it when it appears at cinemas near you (well if you want to, I'm not threatening you or anything)
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