We love Jennifer, but can she really act?

I saw the advertisement for this on the side of a bus, and was forced to uneasily smile to myself knowing that it would be another film I definitely wouldn’t venture to the cinema for. Even with unlimited Orange Wednesdays.

Now it’s not that I dislike Jennifer Aniston, because like the majority of the public (or so it would appear, according to gossip magazines) I have a soft spot for her, in a kind of feel sorry for her way because some ruthless power woman named Angelina Jolie stole her husband.

But I love her in the same way I love the whole Friends cast, I love them because they’re in Friends, and not because they’re amazingly talented actors. I’m deeply upset that Channel 4 chose not to renew its contract of airing Friends repeats over and over again. Let’s be honest it made the best background TV, no matter how many times we watched the same episodes.  We could be napping, filling out job applications or necking back wine before a night out, Friends never fails to put us in a good mood.

All the actors were thrust into fame and fortune because of the unpredicted success of the show, but I really dislike the desperate attempts to make it onto the big screen. Why couldn’t they just have left it at Friends?

Aniston has probably remained the most in the public eye, both because of her split from Brad Pitt and because of her insistence in popping up in every romcom flop going. I tried to watch The Break Up with my boyfriend at the time, it was so bad, boring and depressing it definitely had the capability of causing a break up. I refuse to watch Marley and Me, mostly for the reason I can’t stand films, apart from Disney, that make animals the main characters, but also because Anniston and Owen Wilson working together could possibly be the death of me.

So what I am trying to say, is that as much as I like Jennifer Aniston, and would like nothing more than for her to settle down with a nice man, there’s a high probability I won’t watch an films she’s staring in. I just don’t see her as anything more than Rachel Green and as lovely as she is, I don’t want to see her everytime I head off to the cinema.

Unfortunately Miss Aniston doesn’t convincingly pull off any other characters, despite the decade she’s spent trying.

An Education – Not so inspiring

People seemed to go a little bit crazy with praise at Carey Mulligan’s performance in the 1960’s coming of age film; An Education. I saw a review on the Mirror website backing up what a huge hit the film is and have to admit, I may be going against the majority when I say that I wasn’t overly impressed with the whole charade.

I can’t remember the last time I watched a film with quite such a horrible relationship as the one this film focused on, that made me feel quite so upsettingly awkward, slightly queasy and like I should report social services all at the same time. I’m not denying that Mulligan didn’t do a pretty fantastic job at capturing the social expectations for a teenager in the sixties, because she did. She definitely made the film more bearable and I was a massive fan of her glamorous phase; living a life of heavily eyelined eyes, tailored dresses and a full fringe.

The Parisian scene was my favourite, but only because of the clichéd romantic beauty of Paris, especially during this period, and not for the horrible, unsettling interactions between the characters.

Obviously the film makes me glad that I’ve been bought up to expect a university education and a career, and that my life doesn’t consist of being married off whilst I’m still a teenager. However it doesn’t distract me away from my personal beliefs that it will always be more important to enjoy life in the moment, be spontaneous and regret nothing rather than worry about the future. After all, it could all end tomorrow.

Oh and for the record, Rosamund Pike was such a glitzy blonde, I love her.

Leonardo DiCaprio at his best.

My friend recommended Shutter Island to me with the words: “It’s amazing, and plus you’ll love it because it references World War Two constantly”. I’ll admit I do have a little tiny bit of a fascination with war films like Schindler’s List, but let’s all be honest here; you’d be a little bit crazy, not to mention insensitive, not to completely admire it. Now, I’m a big DiCaprio fan, and no it’s not just because of the way he looks (though that hardly decreases my feelings towards him). I find he’s part of a rare breed of actors that can  convincingly pull off a huge variety of characters, my personal favourites probably being What’s eating Gilbert Grape (his performance is outstanding for someone not yet out of their teens) and the very obvious, Titanic.

Although this film is noticeably well over two hours, it is never  predictable. It is dark and mysterious in places and without a shadow of a doubt, it is shocking. I found myself slightly confused the whole way through it, but not so confused i gave up trying to work out what was happening.

This film is an adaption of the 2003 Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, and although I’m slightly intrigued to see if it keeps me as captivated as the film, I think I’ll find it similar to when I attempt to read murder novels; they just don’t have the same shocking, jump out of your seat value.

I like this film in the same way that I liked Harry Brown; if I’d have read the plot i might have been scared off by its male vibes and pulled an unimpressed face if someone had suggested we rented it out at Blockbusters. But actually I really like it and I’m pretty certain (unless you’ve read the book and it doesn’t match up to your high expectations) that you’ll love it too.

Alice is definitely Wonderland.

I like the idea of dreams. The way nothing makes sense, but if you’re lucky enough to remember them in the morning then it’s always fun to try to make sense of them and relate them to real life. Saying that, I think everyone will agree…. hearing about other’s people’s dreams makes me wish I didn’t have ears.

Alice in Wonderland is a famous story, about a dream, and I’m pretty sure everyone remembers watching the classic animated Disney adaption as a child. I for one, thought it was the scariest Disney film ever, after Pinocchio, and especially hated the Cheshire cat and his horrible, horrible smile. But this version changed everything for me.

At twenty, I am finally old enough to tackle the bizarre plot without having nightmares, despite it reminding me ever so slightly of a drug fuelled Narnia. Helena Bonham Carter was the best and most fiesty Red Queen ever, thought let’s be honest, she plays every role pretty damn incredibly, most notably for me, Bellatrix Lestrange. Little known actress Mia Wasikowska made a pretty believable Alice, although arguably she was a little pale and a little plain, but I liked her anyway. All the animated characters were strong and entertaining in their own right, though Mallymkun, the dormouse was a little bit stubborn and annoying, though obviously no fault of Barbara Windsor.

This film would terrify me if I ever decided to watch it whilst being really, really tired, so please don’t ever attempt it. Watching it in 3D was definitely a good move, and I would recommend it, despite making it that little bit more pricey. Though I’m not sure how much I appreciated watching the adverts in 3D as well.

My favourite thing about the entire film was the Cheshire cat, strange seeing as how much he used to terrify me. The oddest thing was that he really reminded me of myself, and I’m pretty proud of that, however weird it sounds.

Nine, worth the bad reviews?

I watched Nine at the cinema back in January and was pleasantly surprised. Whilst my friends are massive musical fans (I’ve had to endure Mamma Mia more times than I care to remember) I’m not really into this whole singing and dancing charade, unless it’s nicely placed within a Disney movie.

But this film for me was a bit different, maybe it was the 1960’s Italian setting which gave it the hugely appealing European romantic setting. Maybe even the near all female cast which made it quite seductive and alluring (especially Penelope Cruz throwing herself around in next to nothing). But I came out of the cinema having only checked my phone once to see how long I’d been sat down for, which was quite an accomplishment.

I could handle most of the singing, especially the ones set on the main theatre stage, which were actually quite exciting; maybe because they had a bit of a Broadway feel. But the song’s sung by Daniel Day-Lewis made me want to die, just a little bit. But i think,as with many of the musicals I’ve seen, that I’d actually prefer them if they weren’t musicals at all.

The film was labelled repeatedly by critics as “the biggest disappointment of 2009” and to begin with I disagreed. That was until I decided before writing this post to watch it again. I was bored the minute it started. Suddenly all the reviews about it lacking colour and excitement made sense. If you’re not really paying attention then you won’t get sucked into the romance and power of it all, and then, to be honest, it’s probably just a massive waste of your time.

Peter Jackson has done me proud.

After many failed attempts at going to watch this at the cinema, I succumbed to the temptation of just watching it online in the comfort of my own, warm bed. No giggling fifteen year olds on their phones, and the ability to pause for regular cups of tea. The downside of course is that it is not entirely legal, but that’s a whole other issue.

The Lovely Bones takes you into a surreal world, where the disturbing theme of child murder is lightened by the visions of heaven and the in-between. Peter Jackson has really directed this better than I could have ever imagined. One of my favourite moments is when the screen shot flicks between that of the murderer dumping Susie Salmon’s body and Susie herself being released and freed to go onto heaven, capturing the juxtaposition in both colour and mood.

I was hooked for the whole two hours, not just because there’s always that slight feeling of suspense, but because the characters were enchanting and bold, and the way their interaction changed after Susie’s death was subtle in places and stormy and loud in others. Despite the fact we know Susie’s going to die, it makes the lead up even more emotional and uneasy to watch. Though to me, the most awkward moment was the ‘romantic’ teenage encounter by the lockers, which quite honestly left me unable to look at the screen. In fact the hideous word I need to use is: “cringe”.

My favourite character is easily Grandma Lynn, and I think I fell in love with her eccentric charm and bad influence even more in the film, than i did the book. I like her unsuspecting way of keeping the family together, and  I don’t think the Salmon family would have the same close and passionate bond that draws the audience in.

It didn’t come as any real surprise that I enjoyed this film. But the truth is that it’s unlikely I’ll ever end up watching it again. Would I recommend it? Definitely. It’s such a surreal and yet fascinating watch, but it’s just a bit too distressing and strong to whack on in the background whilst attempting uni work.

The Princess and the Frog – WHAT A CLASSIC!

Fairytale romances, loyal talking animals and a happy ending; all standard Disney. Princess and the Frog delivers all three; in what I believe is Disney returning to its former pre-noughties glory.

Now I’m not saying I dislike the newer stuff, I just haven’t been inspired to actually want to watch them (apart from Bolt which was a last-minute thing whilst drunk on sweets). I much prefer the classic theme, with beautiful princesses swanning around in ballroom dresses, making bursting into song with a band of animals actually somehow believable.

I’ve been wondering when I was going to wonder into the Disney store and actually see a new princess lined up with the originals that would end up have a shelf like of longer than six months. Princess Tiani does, she’s feisty, kind and ambitious and despite being fictional I think she’s a damn good role model. Apart from Tiani, the jazz playing Alligator, Louis, has definitely become an all time favourite of mine and made me laugh out loud again and again.

There are too many things I loved about this film to list them all, but I can honestly say if you want something easy to watch that’ll leave you with a smile on your face, The Princess and the Frog will certainly do that.

I’ll even go as far as saying it’ll go straight up into my top five, joining The Lion King, A Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Pocahontas. SO WATCH IT!

Valentine’s Day?

If you’re after something easy to watch, something hopelessly clichéd and something that contains an unnerving amount of famous faces, than this is your film. Containing at least 16 household names, including everyone from Ashton Kutcher to Taylor Swift, there’s no getting away from the fact it has a pretty decent line up. The only real problem with so many characters and individual plotlines is the difficulty in connecting and identifying with them, therefore stopping yourself from becoming emotionally involved with the film.

It’s not dissimilar to ‘He’s just not that into you’ or ‘Love Actually’, however Love Actually works on so many more levels, mainly because it’s a festive favourite (and Valentine’s Day isn’t a real holiday) and has a predominantly British cast.

This is the film you’ll watch once, and then forget about, because you wouldn’t watch a Christmas film in July, so why watch a Valentine’s film in October? The chances are that by next year you’ll have forgotten this film exists, apart from when you’re bored on Wikipedia checking out people’s filmographies.

All in all? It’s a film for the girls, looking for something to use their Orange Wednesday’s on, that will keep them entertained for 125 minutes and leave them feeling perfectly content upon leaving the cinema.

The classic of 2009

What qualifies a film to be regarded as our favourite film of a year? Is it how much we enjoyed it? How clever we found the storyline and screenshots? Or how much we feel we learnt from it? Because this film, to me, has everything.

The strapline says it all: “This is not a love story, this is a story about love.” A film that focuses on romance with such a brutally honest and realistic angle is hard to find; as many writers instead try to please the audience with fantasy fairytale endings. There are films referred to as “feel good” that give you a temporary lift upon leaving the cinema, and then there are films that grab your attention in a different way, the ones that when the credits are rolling, you’re left thinking. Although the latter will not necessarily put a smile on your face, I would still choose them nearly every time because I actually believe that films, such as 500 days of summer, have the ability to alter the way we think about things.

This film works for many reasons. Firstly; the characters are not portrayed by Hollywood celebrities, although Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are hardly nobodies, which means the film instantly exceeds any expectations previously set. Secondly; the film has a clever set up; flicking between different stages in the relationship and effectively using split screens to provoke emotion and thought. Thirdly; the soundtrack, gentle humour and simple composition adds to the story, without intercepting it. Finally, the reason this film has become an instant favourite of mine, is because despite its painstakingly complicated take on love, making me feel like questioning everything I’ve ever wanted to believe in, it somehow manages to make me want to watch it again and again.

Harry Brown, not just one for the boys.

Agreeing to watch Harry Brown with my brothers, I thought I’d probably want to leave about ten minutes in, or I’d take a nap through it, or at the very least i would get horribly confused and bored by all the shooting, stabbing and fighting. I’m the first to admit I’m not usually jumping with excitement at the prospect of a crime thriller, well, unless it’s anything like CSI, which is a whole other kettle of fish.

This film makes an impact. It’s shocking in all the places you least expect and yet concentrates on fundamental current issues. Unlike many similarly themed films, it doesn’t drag on and doesn’t contain as many unnecessary scenes as it does necessary ones. Michael Caine is an absolute hero, both for his acting and the character he plays, and you can’t help but fall in love with him in a sort of proud grandchild type of way. The rest of the acting isn’t bad either, and even includes Cook from Skins (Jack O’connell) doing what he knows best; playing a turbulent and violent teenager.

Without spoiling the story; the film focuses on the ever-growing youth crime culture and is set on a council housing estate in Elephant and Castle, South London. It explores the intimidation and dangers faced by the residents, as the lead character (Caine) attempts to take the law into his own hands, in the hope of curbing crime and bringing justice.

Even the ending is good, with its drastic twists, deaths and clever mixture of fast paced fights and silent moments that make you hold your breath. Then when you finally get to sit back and take it all in, you’re consoled with “End Credits” by Chase & Status. Which, let’s be honest, is an absolute beaut of a song.