Duplicity

Went with Wosog to see the film "Duplicity" with Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. The latter is quite "flavour of the month" just now, and we also recently enjoyed his film "The International". I've always thought Julia Roberts was a pretty good actor with one of those faces that looks beautiful one minute then not so the next.

Generally, with films like this, I have to rely on Wosog to keep me up to speed with the plot, but I think I followed most of it. All in all it was an entertaining little film that is worth a visit.

How to create a digital human in 18 minutes

Amazing TED talk about the technology behind The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Impressive stuff!

Revolutionary Road

Went with Wosog to see the terrific movie "Revolutionary Road" before finishing the evening with a curry. The film is basically about the dreams that you have as a young adult and whether you should, as most folk do, compromise when you get older or try to stay true to your dreams. This is the second Kate Winslet film we've seen recently (the other one being "The Reader") and her performances were brilliant in both. Leonardo DiCaprio's acting was superb too, although I find it a bit disconcerting that he never seems to get any older!

It's been a long time since we've seen so many films in such a short time, but we've not been disappointed with any of them.

Amazing Piece of Animation

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

This is an amazing piece of animation from Argentina. I have no idea how they did it.

High Tech Noon

I'm not a great fan of cowboy movies, but this video is really clever!

There Will Be Blood

Went with Wosog last night to see "There Will Be Blood". I had heard so much about the film and Daniel Day-Lewis's performance. I thought I knew what the story was about, but it took a rather different turn from the one I expected. Wosog and I both agreed that Day-Lewis's performance was impressive, but Wosog didn't think he was a believable character, and she didn't really enjoy the film. I suppose it comes down to whether you think someone could be as driven as this man undoubtedly was, and so ruthless in pursuing his ends. Personally, I thought the film was probably, in general, a pretty accurate account of the rush for oil in those days, and I'm sorry to say that I do think people as amoral as Daniel Plainview did (and do) exist.

Cutting Remarks

Wosog and I went to see the film Sweeney Todd last night. We've been to see quite a lot of movies recently. I've said before that we often have difficulty choosing films to go to together because our tastes differ. I like horror films, but Wosog doesn't. Wosog likes musicals, but as a rule I don't. This film has had such good reviews that I decided I had to see it. I really like Tim Burton's style of film-making, and for Wosog I think the fact that Mr Depp was in it might have had an influence!

I was under the impression that Sweeney Todd was a real person, but it seems this is not actually true. The Wikipedia entry on the subject is very informative. He certainly fits in with the modern obsession with serial killers, probably best exemplified by the Hannibal Lecter films. The theme of cannibalism is another one they share.

Anyway the film is a superb bit of cinema, and may be the one that finally gets Johnny Depp his Oscar. Helena Bonham Carter is great too as Mrs Lovett, and Sacha Baron Cohen has a surprisingly impressive cameo role. The whole look of the film is superb, as you would expect from Tim Burton. It even has the best film website I have ever seen!

As you will gather, I was pretty impressed! I suggest UK readers go and see this film while it is still in the cinema.

Munich

Went with Gdog to see Steven Spielberg's film "Munich" about the Black September attack on the Israeli Olympic Team in 1972, and its aftermath. I was 16 years old at that time, and I do remember the news footage of the masked figures on the concrete balconies of the Olympic Village. A few days before, I had seen a television documentary about the operation organised by Mossad to kill the individuals responsible and, assuming that the documentary was more historically accurate, the film took some quite significant liberties for dramatic effect!

One of the most important of these was the suggestion that the team responsible had previously had no experience of killing people. The documentary stated that the team were crack Mossad operatives recruited from organisations equivalent to our SAS. Certainly the impression that these guys were total rookies created a lot of dramatic tension in the film, and gave a reason why the Eric Bana character should be so angst-ridden, especially towards the end. This feature aside, I think the first part of the film is reasonably accurate, but as far as I can see the second half was much more loosely "based on a true story".

Overall, I though the film was excellent and even though it was quite long the time didn't seem to drag. The message that violent revenge is a futile exercise is certainly no less true today than it was then!

King Kong

Went with Gdog to see King Kong. Neither Wosog nor Gsog wanted to go, and Gdog had work that day so we ended up going to the 8.00 pm showing of the film. Since it famously lasts 3 hours, we didn't get out of the cinema until 11.30 pm, but it was well worth it.

The special effects are simply amazing, and were the main reason that I wanted to see the movie in the cinema initially rather than on DVD. The story was fairly basic, but I thought the acting performances were good with Naomi Watts a great choice for the heroine, Ann Darrow. King Kong himself is fabulous---producing a sympathetic character without stooping to too much anthropomorphism.

I presume Peter Jackson and co will be in line for some more Oscars here? It seems like another film I'll eventually add to my DVD collection.

In The Footsteps Of Hannibal....

I refer, of course, to Hannibal Lecter the medical genius and incredibly dangerous cannibalistic serial killer who was originally featured in the film "Silence of the Lambs". "What is he on about?" you ask. Well, the sequel to Silence of the Lambs, simply called "Hannibal" was set largely in Florence, and one of the things that we did when we got back was watch the DVD again, and spot where the scenes had been filmed. Thomas Harris, the author, probably got the idea of setting the second film in Florence because of a real serial killer who was given the name "The Monster of Florence".

Many of the scenes were filmed in the amazing Palazzo Vecchio, and the corrupt policeman Pazzi, who is supposed to be one of the ancient Pazzi family, comes to a sticky end on the balcony of the Palazzo. At one point in the film Pazzi washes blood off his hands in the Cinghiale Fountain. Many other famous bits of the city are featured, and it's good fun spotting them if you are at all familiar with the place. The film was directed by one of my favourite directors, Ridley Scott, just after he'd finished Gladiator. It's well worth watching, as long as you don't have a weak stomach!