Tag: Film

This Is Not A Love Song: X&HT Saw Take This Waltz

In a lot of ways, romantic fiction is all about making excuses for infidelity. There are no end of stories out there that feature a main character trapped in a loveless marriage, only to be swept off her feet and out of the door by a dashing hero archetype. The spineless schlub of a husband shrugs, smiles and lets her go, content to let the caged bird fly. She's a free spirit and she deserves more than he can offer because… because she's the heroine, OK?

Sarah Polley's amazing new film Take This Waltz applies an overdue stress-test to the cliches, with a simplicity and honesty that's rare in the chick-flick world.

Continue reading This Is Not A Love Song: X&HT Saw Take This Waltz

A Swinging Time: X&HT saw The Amazing Spider-Man

Comics are soap opera. Characters don’t change. If they die, it’s hardly ever permanent. Their origins are constantly retold, reinforced, raked over for any new tiny scrap of resonance. Some critics have griped that The Amazing Spider-man, the fourth movie about Peter Parker and his penchant for going out in red Underoos, is a rehash of Sam Raimi’s 2002 film.

They’re missing the point. This kind of thing happens in the funny papers all the time. 

Continue reading A Swinging Time: X&HT saw The Amazing Spider-Man

Three Flash Film Reviews

I spent my Jubilee bank holiday in the most appropriate way possible: avoiding any and all Jubilee celebrations. I think the flotilla might have been on in the background while I was running a salsa playlist through Spotify. At least, I seem to have a memory of a very damp choir and a lot of boats moving extremely slowly down the Thames. Must have been riveting.

Anyway. As a result of successful avoidance tactics, I spent a lot of time in the cinema this week. Rather than drag out three long posts (in one particular example it would be very easy indeed to spin off into major rant mode) I thought I’d do a more condensed version. Three films, 200 words a piece. Here we go.

Continue reading Three Flash Film Reviews

Fairytale Of Le Havre

Sometimes, it’s tough not to come across as a film snob. I try to be inclusive and open – honest, really, I do. But in a pub earlier this week with MovieBrit Kate, I found myself uttering these immortal words about Aki Kaurismäki’s latest film, Le Havre: “I thought it was great. But you’d hate it.”

In my defence, I know Kate’s tastes. She has no patience for subtitled misery, and my delight in depressing foreign movies usually ends up with me on the wrong end of the finest display of lip-curling this side of Elvis.

But I do think I’m on safe ground when I say that Kaurismäki’s films are not for everyone. They’re deadpan, deliberately paced (oh, alright, slow) and deal with small stories set in poor locations acted out by sad, ugly people.

Tempted?
Continue reading Fairytale Of Le Havre

Introducing The Band: Against The Auteur Theory

When you start making film, you come to realise very quickly (or at least you do if you have the faintest scrap of self-awareness) that the auteur theory is bullshit. The very idea of a film being “by” one person is simply untrue.

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Without Subtitles, with added controversy

There’s an interesting twist to the tale of Simon Aitken’s latest short, Without Subtitles. It’s been summarily rejected for the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival.

This is, to put it mildly, something of a surprise. The SFC is famous for accepting a much wider range of films than you’d think, and it’s unusual for the committee to reject a film unless it’s overtly racist, pornographic or, in the words of the guidelines, has “no cinematic artistic value.” Yet Without Subtitles, which I personally think is one of Simon’s strongest works, was bounced back to him within 24 hours of submission – surprising for a festival that believe in letting film-makers sweat before letting them know if they’ve made the cut.

Simon and his writer and lead actor Ben Green pronounce themselves flummoxed by the decision. As do I. Simon has put a temporary link up to Without Subtitles, which I’ve embedded below. Any comments on why you believe the Short Film Corner should so quickly reject the film are welcome. Is it anti-French, or mysogynistic? As Simon points out in the comments, it’s based on a true story. Or is there another reason why Without Subtitles cannot be shown at the Cannes Film Festival?

(If the temp link is down let me know and I’ll endeavour to get you a new one.)

UPDATE: there’s a fan page on Facebook. Of course there is.

Martian Chronicles: X&HT Saw John Carter

It all comes down to preference. Critics will view a film, particularly one based on a long-standing franchise, in a certain way, fans in another. The general public will largely stay away, not willing to spend time on a property that requires knowledge of a back-story, or investment in a main character that may not be to their liking in the first place. It’s a common story that has bitten many potential money-spinners hard, and Andrew Stanton’s lush, expensive version of Edgar Rice Burrough’s Barsoom books has suffered more publicly than most this year. Which is a shame. Because there’s an awful lot to enjoy.

Continue reading Martian Chronicles: X&HT Saw John Carter