Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Argo... F@&k yourself

Ben Affleck has been considered to be a super hottie since Armageddon… But I never personally thought much of him.
I supposed I really didn't pay much attention to his acting career either. 


I don't remember much of Armageddon... I am a girl and it's disaster action film ....BUT! the awesome song by Aerosmith


How many weddings was this song featured at... One can only guess...

But back to Mr Ben Affleck

I must admit I am co-writing the blog about films and I have not seen Good Will Hunting....
 Well I did see Ben in 200 Cigarettes he was super lovely in that and awesomely funny Dogma.

After being a little traumatised by Killer Inside Me Casey Affleck became my favourite Affleck brother. Love him, such a great film but oh so terribly violent.


But then we went to see Argo… I believe I have not been that excited since… well for a very long time. It did however remind me of film Munich, I guess it is because it is also set on the real event, very scary events if anything. 

Mr Affleck was a very convincing as a CIA agent who works on how to get people out of sticky situations. Plot of this film made me think of Munich... True story, terrible situation, strong emotions...
I cannot say that Argo is better than Munich but Argo was easier to absorb and enjoy it. There are some funny moments in it. You do smile on occasion and it is less dark.
It was like Tailor Tinker got a funny make over and became less tedious...
Very funny and very terrifying at the same time. I couldn't actually believe this film describes such recent events…


We did not actually know what exactly happened and how, so the tension was super high… I was jumping up and down with excitement … I cannot go into much details as such it was more of the “emotions running high” kind of film… I was pleasantly surprised that Ben Affleck not only had a leading role but also directed it. Therefore I do not have a favourite Affleck brother anymore, I just enjoy Affleck brothers J
The film definitely had some super moments… The stressed people in the American embassy trying to leave Tehran  horrible scene when the hostages were brought down into the basement… And for about 2 weeks after seeing this film I was saying “Argo---f&@k yourself”

I do believe it was truly deserved that Mr Affleck got the golden globe for Best picture and best director. I truly hope that this film will get some Oscars… after all it is based on the true story and told with humor. Big thank you to President Clinton for declassifying this information…

 I mean it is still rather unbelievable that the fake movie will get people out of a very sticky situation. 

written by Daria while day dreaming about the scary spy adverntures

Friday, January 25, 2013

So Today My Favourite Film is....

So what is your answer when someone asks you what your favourite film is?

Some people will actually have an answer, a film that they watch over and over and no other film can touch it. I however don't. It's like asking me who may favourite band are. It all depends on my mood and where I am in my life at that time. There are some that are always in my mind such as..
Each have been my favourite film at one time or another. 

..and If you were to ask me what may favourite film is the day after I've been to the cinema then my answer may very well be the film I've just seen.

So when myself and Daria were thinking about this blog and she asked me what my favourite film was I said the first film that came to mind and surprisingly it was a film that I hadn't seen in a few years. But it made such an impression on me that it beat all the films (most likely with a hammer) to be the starting point of My New Favourite Film Is...

The film that I taking about is Chan-wook Park revenge thriller masterpiece Oldboy.



Oldboy is the 2nd film in Chan-wook Park's 'Revenge Trilogy' and was my introduction to both Chan-wook Park and Korean cinema as a whole. I had seen the DVD on a shelf in work and must have looked at it 20 times reading the back and thinking that it sounded interesting yet it took me several months to actually take the plunge and buy it. I took it home and watched it and my view of world cinema was changed forever. 

Oldboy starts with a man who is holding a poodle being dangled over the edge of a building by his tie by a man who's face is clouded in shadow. This mysterious man then says that he wants to tell poodle man his story and so I was introduced to one of the great characters in cinema Oh Dae-Su!

The film then jumps back and we are introduced to Oh Dae-Su and. When we meet him he is that loud annoying drunk who is making a fool of himself in public. 
   

Early Oh Dae-Su
 
He is not a likable character, he is that person you don't make eye contact with for fear that he will start talking to you. He is a long way from the mysterious man we saw on the roof top. Min-sik Choi who plays Oh Dae-Su shows straight away what an amazing actor he is in this scene with some of the best 'drunk' acting you are ever likely to see. 

Oh Dae-Su is then kidnapped and imprisoned in a room with a TV and no explanation as to where he is or why. The passing of time is represented by events in history on the TV and Oh Dae-Su goes a little crazy. 

See what I mean!
  
This section is told with such style it instantly hooked me in to Oh Dae-Su's story. I love the sound of the Korean language and Oh Dae-Su's narration. He speaks in almost a whisper as he recalls what he went through and the dialog has genuine laugh out loud lines. 

"All I could think at that moment was that the man in the room next door only had one chopstick"

So 15 years past and then one day Oh Dae-Su is let go and told that he has 5 days  to work out why he was imprisoned and by whom or someone will die. I do not want to say anything else of the plot as part of the joy of the film is the twist and turns it takes and the journey of discovery you go on with Oh Dae-Su who is a long way from the drunk idiot that you met at the start.

A truely iconic image!

So instead I will tell you why this film has found its way firmly into my Top 5 films of all time list. Oldboy has a style that is different to nearly every film that you are likely to have seen. It manages to mix a dark tale with moments of genuine humour and tenderness. An example of this can be found when you compare two scenes one with a hammer (which I will talk about more later) and one with a hairdryer.

The scene with a hammer is a brutal ballet of violence which is balanced out by the one with the hairdryer which is a touching moment of innocence. Again I don't want to go into details as I don't want to spoil the film and if you want to know what I'm going on about I guess you will have to watch the it :)

Chan-Wook Park has a thing that all directors want which is a unique style that runs throughout his movies. Some have it in a bad way...Micheal Bay I'm looking at you!! But Park's is as far from Mr Bays as you can get. I urge you to seek out his other work as well and I wouldn't be surprised if I end up writing about one here in the future.

Another thing that a good thriller needs is a good bad guy and Oldboy has one of the best in Ji-tae Yu's Woo Jin-Lee! He is crazy but in the most calm way possible. His relationship with Oh Dae-Su is fascinating to watch unfold and much like other Park films even though he is the villain of the piece it is hard not to like him in some strange way.


'What I am isn't important. WHY is important'

Now I hinted earlier to a certain Hammer scene which I think is a stand out scene in the film. It is something that 'Hollywood' could never do in my opinion, they would have to throw in a special effect! It is all done in one shot as Oh Dae-Su walks down a corridor taking on an army of thugs armed only with a hammer. There are no special effect used here just an incredibly choreographed bit of acting. 

That hammer fight!

I also have to also mention the music with Hyun-jung Shim score being different from anything I had ever heard. This could be due to the fact it was my first taste of Korean culture but still it suits the mood of the scenes perfectly.  The use in the hammer fight is an a prime example it adds a slightly sad and desperate air to the scene.

Park keeps the film moving along at a good pace with some clever editing and adds in some beautiful cinematography with uses of vivid wide shots and intimate close ups. It all flows nicely along with the mystery of why he was imprisoned being unveiled at a satisfying pace all the way through. Characters like Mido and Lee's silver headed henchman Mr Han are interesting characters but are always in the shadow of the two leads who steal every frame they are in. The final scene is quite incredible and at times hard to watch but in a very good way. 

I left the film satisfied with everything about it. It didn't leaving me wanting in any way and had me thinking about it all the next day until I finally got home from work and watched it again with my girlfriend who shared my love for it.

It is a film that I recommend to everyone I can but I am aware that some will most likely not like it. It is violent and it is very dark with some pretty tough to take themes. I understand why people may not get on with Oldboy but still I want to make as many people aware because for every one that doesn't like it I think there is someone who will love it. I hope that if you do watch it you are someone who loves Oldboy and to anyone reading who has watched it....how grim was the octopus scene!

So those are the reason why Oldboy is my favourite film. I'm sure he will be toppled soon by another film (I have been meaning to watch Drive again) but for now he stands proud as My New Favourite Film...


'Laugh and the world laughs with you. Weep and you weep alone'

Written by
Owen While watching Oldboy for the 25th time :D

So my fav film at this moment is...


How hard it is to think about the favorite film… There are so many… 

Indiana Jones, not the last one… 

Harrison Ford is such a delight in a fedora.. I mean how can one not fall head over hills with him as Dr. Jones?

Chocolat…


Give me Jonny Depp covered in chocolate any day! 

Amelie… 


French.. oh so French!

Whip it…


Girl power and roller derby!

 Dan in Real Life…


Steve Carell is an amazing actor! This film is so sweet... 


 Oh it is super hard... But I must say, at this moment in time I must say my favorite film at this moment in time is Under the Tuscan Sun.
It’s surly not a new film or the story of the woman being betrayed by a man and getting her life back on track… It is not a new film either and Diane Lane is truly divine as Frances/Francesca! I would love to read a book soon.


You really feel for Frances who is an amazing writer lady who cooks and reviews books (how awesome is that, by the way) when her marriage crumbles and she is left to realise all these horrible things about that affair in her attorney office. One really feels super excited to meet Catherine and her fab hats, who is all the time raving about Frederico Felini and the dread of getting a villa Bramasole… But as the house comes together so is her life…
This film is actually one of the real reasons I want to go to Italy. The location is truly breath-taking, I always wonder if Bramasole actually exists, and are there owls in Tuscany?!

I watch it over and over... I can probably recite it by heart... yet I'm never bored of it....