45 Years is unquestionably well-written and well-acted, to such a high degree that is literally impossible to argue otherwise. To say that Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay give two of the most emotionally effective performances of their long and illustrious careers is equivalent to saying that the sky is blue and the world is round; it is so plainly obvious, arguing in its favour seems like a waste of time, as the greatness is clearly there for all to see. Emotionally engaging from the opening minutes On paper, the film feels like the opposite of director Andrew Haigh’s previous film Weekend; that film was about two men who meet and fall in love over the course of (you guessed it) a weekend, after a one night stand turns into something deeper.
Let’s face it, you’ve been waiting for this one. Derek and Hansel are back and ready to blow your mind. Sadly, the trailer is just a teaser with no scenes from the movie.
Paper Towns is an adaptation of John Green’s book of the same name. You may already have read or watched his highly successful The Fault In Our Stars, and have come back for more. Why wouldn’t you, he’s John Green?
Although not without empathy, it is hard to argue against the statement that teenagers are some of the most self-centred people alive. I know this from being a particularly self-centred teenager, who at thirteen regularly made statements of self-loathing in order to gouge sympathy and attention from my peers. It was an attention seeking phase that I mercifully grew out of very quickly, but I can at least be forgiven for it for being young and stupid.
One problem with modern society at the moment seems to be an obsession with nostalgia, which is being milked by marketing companies. This has bled into the hipster movement and has lead to the larger debate of analogue vs digital as digital technologies develop. It is now bleeding into every aspect of pop culture, and it is one which can be seen in film.
In the previous two instalments of my speculative trilogy pondering the future of British cinema, I’ve explored how innovative, non-mainstream films will continue to get funded and whether or not filmmakers will change their style in order to get their films made. In this final article, the concluding chapter of this epic trilogy, I aim to explore how British films can get into British cinemas. If British films aren’t being funded due to worry about a lack of box office returns, is there any possible way for a business model that allows all British films the same wide releases as blockbusters in their home country?
Absolutely Anything is a comedy co-written and directed by Terry Jones, he of illustrious Monty Python fame. It stars Simon Pegg and a host of other recognisable British talent and comics. In addition to this, Jones’ fellow Pythons offer their vocal talents, as does the late, great Robin Williams.
Well, this was inevitable. After the huge success of Despicable Me 1 & 2, (both films generating a combined total of over 1.5 billion dollars at the US domestic box office) further expansion of the Despicable Me franchise was bound to happen.
Madonna is (was, depends on who you ask) at one point considered one of the biggest pop stars in the world, so it came as no surprise when she decided to try her hand at acting. I’m no person to criticize another person’s acting ability (particularly when I have crippling stage fright), but I’m just perplexed about how her films were critical and commercial disasters. If she was one of the biggest pop stars of her time, why didn’t her film career match that same success?
Unfortunately, in March of this year, we lost the great documentary film-maker Albert Maysles. With his brother David (who died in 1988), they made some quite important and influential documentaries such as Grey Gardens, Salesman and Gimme Shelter. Their style was using direct cinema; following a subject and shooting a ton of footage without any agenda or plotline planned and creating a documentary in post production.
Here is an interesting thought: Al Pacino is having something of a career renaissance. His last three major roles, including this year’s Manglehorn, are as far away from the go-to gangster’s early movies as can be.