'The Skin That I Inhabit'

Almodovar's latest looks like it is going be great!

The legend who made one of my personal favourite films of all time: 'All About My Mother', is returning with his latest film in which he is reunited with Antonio Banderas. The following clip from the film does not give away too much but it still gave me an intense desire to watch it, right now.

The synopsis is as follows: 'Ever since his wife was burned in a car crash, Dr. Robert Ledgard, an eminent plastic surgeon, has been interested in creating a new skin with which he could have saved her. After twelve years, he manages to cultivate a skin that is a real shield against every assault. In addition to years of study and experimentation, Robert needed a further three things: no scruples, an accomplice and a human guinea pig. Scruples were never a problem. Marilia, the woman who looked after him from the day he was born, is his most faithful accomplice. And as for the human guinea pig…' (Stolen directly from the Cannes website.)

Even though the trailer is so short, it is a strong reminder of the visual style, energy and effortless of his films. I can't wait!

I am interested to see what the reaction will be at Cannes when it premieres there.



Also, the film's poster looks amazing!

Dear Zachary – A letter to a son about his father.

This has got to be the saddest and most moving film I’ve seen in ages. This documentary made by Kurt Kuenne is about Kuenne’s close friend Andrew, who gets murdered by his ex girlfriend, Shirley after he ended their relationship. After being arrested she claims she is pregnant with Andrew’s child. This film documents Andrew’s life and the film is a loving memory in his honour and in order to try and show the man he was to his son, Zachary.

Besides being very emotional and loving, this film is an amazing and heartfelt documentary about love and hate. It is quite clear how much Andrew’s parents hate Shirley but in order to try and gain custody of Zachary they have to socialize with Shirley. The narration, done by Kuenne, is extremely true to heart and hearing him cry while narrating only adds to the harsh reality that is found within this film.

It definitely is not an easy film to watch for the mere amount of sadness that occupies the entire hour and a half of watching, Andrew's father contemplating killing his wife and then himself is one of those difficult moments. But through all this sadness, to find so much love and caring is rather astonishing. Instead of making a film completely focussed on only the good and bad parts, it tells the entire story. I will not reveal the ending as it is just too sad, but please DO watch the film.

Maybe bring tissues.

High Cost of Living.

Zach Braff is starring in this new film by Deborah Chow, it is going to be her debut feature film and the trailer makes it look like it could be walking the fine line between cliché sobbing or actually being a good drama film.

The film goes something likes this: A young pregnant woman gets hit by a car, driven by Braff's character, as a result of this she loses the child and then Braff feels all guilty and goes and follows her around a bit to make sure she is OK.

After seeing the trailer it sure reeks of being another one of those indie films which try to combine two people coming together in the most unlikely of ways and for both of them to learn something from this horrible situation, yadayadayada.
I will be amazed if it turns out to be something more than bog standard.

However what I find more interesting is what the hell Zach Braff has been doing for the past few years, Scrubs finished ages ago and he has not starred in a feature film in years. For him to return to the big screen in a feature film which is the work of a debut feature film maker I find to be rather confusing. Garden State is now 7 years old, but it seems he has started over again with this low budget film.

Check out the trailer here:


ttp://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/highcostofliving/

The State of Hollywood Cinema, OR; STOP FLUSHING MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN.

As I mentioned in my latest post I am rather discontent with the current state of Hollywood cinema, it has been a long time coming but it seems right now that they have given up on producing anything even remotely resembling a decent film.

That is not to say that currently there are no good films, the end of last year was a very good time indeed for Hollywood film, with releases such as Black Swan, The King’s Speech and The Fighter. It is just depressing how everything that is due to come out in the next year looks like it is mostly uninspired bullshit (re-remakes, sequels or even more comic book adaptations.)

I guess this comes as no surprise though that the Hollywood machine rather green lights another boring CGI filled piece of crap that is more likely to do well at the box office than a more risk taking film such as Moon or Precious for example. The industry is naturally focused on money; one only has to look at a studio such as MGM to see just how bad these major studios are having it. However, their inability to spend their money wisely is what frustrates me the most, a studio throwing $ 32 million at a film like Repo Men or even a more astonishing $ 80 million on Grown Up. How do these studio executives justify such extreme spending on films that should really not cost that much. Moon only cost $5 million and even though it only broke even, it is such an amazing film that is a great example of being creative due to a lack of money. So instead of throwing loads of cash at one thing hoping it goes well, how about being sensible with money for once and using the money more resourcefully. There is a higher chance of breaking even when the budget is lower and by having more money available you are able to give ‘’risky’’ films/directors a chance, which in turns could actually lead to more profit.

So please please please Mr. Big-Hollywood-executive-man, seeing as the film industry is a bit like gambling, how about being a smart gambler by betting more sensibly. Put a more moderate cap on spending for a film which is most likely to do well, and with the money spared open up new avenues and continue to push the creative side of the industry. Please.

Next week’s update: I will delve deeper into the lack of creativity in Hollywood by discussing the trend of comic book adaptations.

Limitless OR How the Hollywood machine keeps turning out crap.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3U9RsXeJ3w

This trailer actually had me quite excited for about, 20 seconds, it starts off rather good with a scruffy looking Bradley Cooper (The A-Team, The Hangover) explaining how he is a writer who seemingly hit a bit of a rough patch. The beginning is trailer is setting out to be a realistic drama or perhaps a comedy of some sorts as it is accompanied by a realistic colour pallet and arguably slow cuts. Perhaps it is going to be a film about the perils of being a write. But then suddenly my entire perception of it changed, an old friend gives the main character a new drug which is apparently FDA approved and he decides to try it, this is when the trailer suddenly shifts from being slow paced to incorporating a bright and sunny view on the new life of Cooper’s character. Even at this point when he unlocks his ‘’true potential’’ (by the means of medication) it still looks like it could be interesting in exploring cultural avenues; he learns Italian, writes his book in 4 days and gains a ‘’cultural appetite’’.

But then it goes even further downhill, he starts using this ability to make money, The film also features Rober De Niro, what De Niro is doing in this film I do not know as it all seems a bit shit for someone of his greatness but I guess he has been doing some terrible films recently (Fockers etc.) The trailer continues this fast pace and it just gets out of hande as we get taken on a mindnumbingly boring rollercoaster ride of stereotypes. Apparently Cooper needs ‘’a few toys’’ which are quickly provided for by De Niro (among them a private jet). We see Cooper walking in the sun with a group of slutty chicks, he buys a house without pondering and while the soundtrack kicks in (why they chose Kanye West makes no sense at all, but I guess neither does the trailer.) In the last part of the trailer we are just drowned in a seemingly endless amount of fragments which do nothing but make this trailer feel like it has no idea what the film is actually about. But instead of making me feel intrigued it actually makes me repulsed that something that sounds quite intriguing when read in a synopsis can be made so off putting in a trailer.

The reason I keep whining about this trailer is because it is such a good representation of the current state of Hollywood cinema, why and how I will discuss in a later update.

Del Toro leaves The Hobbit.

Guillermo Del Toro decided to resign as the director of The Hobbit. He said that this was the hardest decision he ever had to make. Reason for him to do is the the fact that MGM has yet to give the green light for the financial part of the project. MGM has been struck with a lot of financial misery recently - postponing the latest James Bond indefinitely for instance - and does not have the money to go ahead with the project.

Del toro moved to New Zealand with his family, especially for this project. He did not feel he could live there for 6 years after the original plan was only meant to be 3 years.

It is sad to see him go, as I was very excited after I heard he would be directing it. However he will still be co-writing it with Peter Jackson and Jackson's wife.

- Seb.

Releases to DVD [24th of May]

Films to look out for this month on DVD and Blu-ray:

Double Oscar winning film, Precious released on the 24th of May depicts the story of a young obese illiterate woman struggling with severe hardships. Raped by her father continuously, abused by her mother on a daily basis and now carrying her second child; she suffers enormously. Due to her second pregnancy by her father she is moved to a different school in the hope her life may go down a different road. Precious uses her imagination to escape her traumatic existence and becomes inspired by her teacher Blu Rain and confides in her social worker Miss Weiss who shows her both compassion and love. The film contains some superb acting and some very traumatic scenes, which does not shy away from the darkness of humanity. Mo'Nique's acting received world wide acclaim for her remarkable performance which won her a Golden Globe, a SAG and an Academy Award.
Precious is ultimately a very grim tale, full of complete desperation which is shockingly raw; yet it is also filled with hope and triumph and ended with an inspiring message.
Rating: 8/10

The Brothers which was released last week on Monday stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire, takes a look into a household dealing with the traumatizing psychological effects of war on a man and the actions taken on his family. The film follows a young marine (Tobey Maguire) who leaves his family to fight the war in Afghanistan, during his time out there his helicopter crashes and he is presumed dead, meanwhile back at home his brother (Jake Gyllenhaal) who was released from prison earlier in the year takes care of the marines wife (Natalie Portman) and daughters. However the marine has actually been imprisoned at a remote encampment and uncovers horrors unimaginable, so when he finally returns home he is left a very broken man convinced that his wife and his brother have been having a passionate affair.

Acting from Tobey Maguire is unexpectedly brilliant, which in turn got him nominated for a Golden Globe. Both performances from Gyllenhaal and Portman are striking and full of intensity. The film mainly focuses on the family drama and relationships of the characters, inter-cut with scenes of Maguire in action and imprisoned/tortured in Afghanistan. The progression of the narrative takes its time to develop, but it feels organic and realistic. While one could see the film as a criticism of war and the negative effects that war has on the family of veterans, the film is more a character-driven drama, and doesn't go into the politics of war. Instead to me The Brothers portrays an engaging, intense story about familial loyalty, redemption, and difficult relationships.

Rating: 6/10

Breathtaking apocalyptic tale The Road was released to DVD and Blu-ray last week, which includes outstanding performances by Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

The story follows a man and his young sun struggling with an unspecified cataclysm which has destroyed civilization. The Road uses little CGI, only some special effects used to remove greenery and tackle sky replacement, adding a more gloomy overlook of the landscape.

To create a world in severe trauma, director John Hillcoat used shots of coalfields, dunes, and run-down areas of Pittsburgh.

The Road is both haunting and heartbreaking, it comes across as a harrowing and powerful film receiving many nominations for its undeniably compelling story. However to me it was detached due to the hard translation from the book to the film and with it lost the warmth of great literature.

Rating: 7/10