Can we talk about the on-the-line thing for a minute?: "The Internship" (2013)

An Ironic post to start blogging again with, I feel, as I have definitely not been on-the-line and posting for quite a while. Update on life, I'm becoming an accountant (fascinating). Update on film life, the last film I saw at the cinema was Bill Condon's "The fifth estate" (2013), which I will talk about at a later date I promise! In any case, I am still a poor blogger, and obviously not another year wiser after my birthday in July. So now that I'm back on-the-line here are a stream of posts of films I've been watching since I last posted. Sitting comfortably?

Director: Shawn Levy
Writer: Vince Vaughn and Jared Stern    Starring: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Josh Brener, Rose Byrne, John Goodman, Will Ferrell.

The story in a nutshell:

Nick:   You got us a job at Google?

Billy:   Well, not a job job.  It’s an interview for an internship that could lead to a job.  Nick, this might be the last chance that we've got.

The use of Alanis Morisettes classic song, 'Ironic' at the beginning of this film is perfect, as there is no better word to describe it other than ironic. The film does wonders to promote Google and all its services without directly promoting Google. The film reiterates the idea that the old style of selling is no longer needed in this 21^st century world but yet in the real world (outside film world), the only jobs that were available to me as a newbie graduate were in direct sales, (aka the old style) of marketing (door to door, cold calling etc). To add irony-to-irony the old fashioned way of selling is what helps the team win their final Internship challenge and gain jobs at Google.

The narrative revolves around two ‘old school’ salesmen, Billy McMahon (Vince Vaughn) and Nick Campbell (Owen Wilson) who lose their long time sales jobs as the company goes bust due to the fact that, as their boss says, ‘no one wears watches anymore’ (again ironic as Samsung have brought out the Galaxy Smartwatch and there are many designs for Apples Iwatch.)

Billy gets dumped by his long-term girlfriend and decides it’s time to go online to look for jobs. Inspired by the Google homepage, by the next cinematic shot he already has an interview for an internship, but not just for him, he also has an interview for Nick. One would think that getting an interview for an internship these days is tough enough, but Hollywood seems to make allowances, and is heavily implying that getting a summer internship for you and your best mate, at Google nonetheless, just happens by staring at the Google homepage. From now on I will forget about writing cover letters and updating my CV, I’ll just stare at the prospective company’s website.

So, I’ve been a bit cynical about the film so far but there are a couple of good points. It is easily watchable at only 113 minutes, it shows you beautiful parts of San Francisco, it has some great comedy lines, it teaches people the importance of teamwork, the importance of technology in todays society of connecting people with vital information, and most importantly it inspires even the so called ‘dinosaurs’ of society (the older generation) that it is never to late to change your job prospects.

Although lessons are learnt and relationships are well constructed, the narrative, acting and cinematography are average; it was difficult for me to find the mission (or message) of the film. Was it to promote Google? Smash the dreams of any graduate as they realize the prospect of working at Google is not as easy as the film makes it out to be? Was it a major step in Owen Wilsons and Vince Vaughs acting careers? Definitely not to the last question. I liked it, but won’t be buying the DVD and re-watching it any time soon.
Verdict: Meh.

The new vintage: "Populaire" (2013)

WARNING: This film is in french with subtitles. Just in case it's not your sort of thing.

Director: Regis Roinsard
Writer: Regis Roinsard, Daniel Presley, Romain Compingt
Starring: Romain Duris, Deborah Francois, Berenice Bejo, Shaun Benson

"America for business, France for love."

-Populaire (2013)

Well, that's not strictly true since the french film industry seems to be booming worldwide recently (whilst still maintaining the romance) due to the release of extremely popular films such as "The Artist" (2012), a major Oscar winner and "The Intouchables" (2012), which was a hugely popular Oscar contender but narrowly missed out. Their newest releases is being described as a mix between "Mad men" and "The Artist". With this in mind, I was already set up to enjoy this film (slightly biased I know). Sure enough when the opening credits of Regis Roinsards' "Populaire" started rolling with a 1950s/60s style I was already in love.

"Populaire" is the heartwarming story of Rose Pamphyle (Deborah Francois). A small town girl who having just graduated from secretarial school, is trying to find work outside her small family convenience store. She finds a job working as a personal secretary to, the supposedly smoldering leading man (although I think he looks quite creepy the majority of the time) Louis Echard (Roman Duris) who is impressed with her fast typewriting typing skills. Louis goes on to enter Rose into the annual typewriting championships and becomes her mentor as well as the object of her romantic affections. Basically, this film is your standard rom-com but with a vintage twist.

The typewriter will forever be defined as a symbol for all working novelists. There is something about the pressing of the hard keys and the swift jolt of the platen to begin a new line that modern keyboards today just don't have. Typewriters are classic, sure they're a bit messy, but definitely a step up from a Shakespearean quill. In addition the typewriter can also be the stepping stone for women into the working mans world- as, apparently, the keys where to small for a mans fingers to type with, so more and more women were employed in offices; although those offices probably resembled the set up of 'Mad men' where all the women sat in rows in the middle of a room and the men were in offices behind closed doors, the increase of more women in the office was a significant move to creating modern offices of today. In modern times, having the sole ambition of becoming the fastest typist in the world may be seen as silly, but in the 50s/60s, when the number of women in the office rose to over a million, and as demonstrated in the character or Rose Pamphyle this was an immense shift in womens' power in showing what they can do.

This film is one drop in a huge ocean becoming known, in my opinion anyway, as the New Vintage. It replicates the exact style of the 50s and early 60s rom-coms films with actors like Doris Day and Rock Hudson. "Populaire's" set up and cinematography makes you forget it was made in 2013, and the sex scene seems quite out of place. This era of such grand commercial change  is fascinating for modern times and still holds a massive influence on people today. From the colors, the set design, the 'costumes' (as it were), down to the way people supposedly' used to act- the New Vintage is gathering a huge following. Think about the success of "The Artist" (2012) a black and white, silent film which grossed c. $133,432,856 worldwide. So, in conclusion, going back to Roinsard's film, I expect it to be a success.

Are you prepared for the end of the world?: "It's a disaster" (2012)

Director: Todd Berger
Writer: Todd Berger
Starring: Julia Stiles, America Ferrera, David Cross, Erinn Hayes, Jeff Grace, Rachel Boston, Kevin M. Brennan, Blaise Miller

Good question. More importantly, has anyone been prepared for the mass influx of apocalyptic films that seem to be appearing at an alarming rate over the last few years? It seems clear that the end of the world is nigh, for real. Simultaneously, and maybe with some relief, there appears to be a rise in comedy spoofs of the apocalyptic genre being produced. Released at the same time this year comes James Francos' "This is the End", along with the famous duo Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, reunited in "The worlds end"; two films that commercially, I am sure, will be massive hits at the cinema. The audience loves a good parody (just look at the success of the Scary movie saga) and recently the apocalyptic genre is being targeted. Personally, I couldn't be happier about this for two reasons, firstly: because the serious 'I'm-the-only-man-left-on-earth-and-will-fight-for-the-human-race' theme gets on my nerves- you are going to die, don't fight it and waste your time, and mine for an hour an a half of ridiculousness, and secondly: because brilliant films like Todd Berger's satire "It's a disaster" (2012) can be made.

In a similar way to Polanskis' film "Carnage" (2011) I wrote about in a previous blog post, the

setting of the film is simple: it is all set in one house where four couples who are all friends have gathered for a couples brunch. Unlike Polanski's "Carnage," the incident that happens off screen is more than just a kid hitting another kid with a stick- its lots of full blown dirty bomb explosions that are slowly spreading their toxic gasses all over the world and killing its inhabitants. Time to take out your HazMat suits guys, this is not your regular couples brunch that you will attend in Bergers apocalyptic satire.

The film opens with a perfect rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture playing against a background of pictures in a slideshow of dated pictures of explosions. The camera then introduces the viewer to one of the couples as the Overture is coming to a close. As the couple walk up to the house it is clear that they are only on a second or third date as one is warning the other about the various friends and couples. A couples brunch is already an awkward situation, with people sitting around talking about their relationships and future plans, and it is clear that most of the characters don't want to be there on this particular occasion. They all have various issues: one is a serial dater, another has recently turned vegan so there is a massive problem on what food to make, one couple are getting a divorce, one couple can't set a date for a wedding, one couple are on drugs, some characters are having an affair, there are arguments about who paid the electricity bill, the men desperately wanting to find out the score of a sports game, an awkward interruption from a neighbor who is offended not to have been invited, one couple who turn up late for the whole party and finally, a surprising solution to the problem of the apocalypse from whom you least expect. This is no ordinary couples brunch- or at least- its definitely one of the most 'happening' that has ever gone down.

The ending of the film is dynamic in its execution- not in an action packed, final stand between the last man and zombies/aliens/natural causes in a demolished building, but rather in a more subdued way that the final, defying act of the characters doesn't actually seem to happen. The ending received a lot of criticism, it has been described as being 'unfinished' and leading the viewer to a massive anti-climax. Nothing is finalized, it is just left there in the open, but in reality who actually does know how the world is going to end- certainly not Berger that's for sure. In my opinion it is the perfect way to end a apocalyptic film. Throughout the movie you never see the destruction of the city, the bombs going off, people running and screaming; the only thing the viewer has been watching is the relationship between a group of  somewhat 'normal' people, in their final hours on earth. It is somewhat refreshing, thus making the satire, ironically, more in tune with reality than the more serious apocalyptic genre films themselves. Simply brilliant.

Verdict: Excellent film. Watch it.

How a cup of coffee and a slice of cobbler can cause carnage: "Carnage" (2011)

Director: Roman Polanski
Writers: Yesmina Reza (play), Roman Polanski (screenplay)
Actors: Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christopher Waltz and John C. RILEY

The name Roman Polanski always sparks controversy when brought up in conversations about film, or moral values for that matter. His sexual assault on an underage girl in Jack Nicholson's house twenty years ago has really not done him any favors but yet his film merits continue to grow. One must admit, no matter what actually happened that fatal night, Polanski is a damn good director. So while I wait to watch his new film "Venus in furs" (2013), that premiered at this years Cannes festival, I'll review his last longest production, "Carnage", which starred Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, Christopher Waltz and John C. Riley.

I really enjoyed this film. It can be classified as a drama/black comedy revolving around a simple narrative. The story is based on a French play by Yesmina Reza called "Le Deu du Carnage". The whole story is set in the living room of a flat in New York (although the film itself was filmed in Paris for if Polanski enters the US he will be arrested). The situation is this: two sets of parents are brought together in order to 'discuss' a violent incident that occurred between their children. The viewer is shown only a glimpse of what happened between the children at the start of the film but as they can't hear any dialogue, only the non-diegetic sound of drums building up suspense, the viewer just has to come to their own conclusion on the chain of events, in the same way that the characters do.

What I think I enjoy the most of this film is the fact that clearly neither set of parents like each other, but yet each act is held together by someone insisting they have a civilized coffee (later some whisky) and a piece of cobbler thus keeping all the characters in the same room for the duration of the film. It highlights the the human social need to be seen as polite and hospitable in the most awkward of situations. As the film progresses the viewer slowly watches the boundaries of a civilized society decay in what seems to be a "Lord of the flies" effect on both couples, but in an extremely comical way rather than a Golding cannibalistic way. Another reason why I enjoyed this film is because it demonstrates to couples everywhere how to have a successful couples therapy session without paying the big bucks. Both sides bring up issues that are relevant in modern marriages and clearly show two different approaches on how to bring up children. It is a wonder how either couple has managed to live and hold up so long in 'pleasant serenity'. Although all the characters may have exaggerated personalities, the viewer can definitely identify if not themselves then someone else they know who has these issues.

The film is rated 7.1 of imdb and 72% on Rotten Tomatoes. It is a slow moving film but every second gets better and better as the cracks emerge in both these seemingly perfect families. Packed full of tension, high class comedy, and dramatic moments throughout: Polanski, as a film director and writer, once again I salute you.

The British guide to maintaining the romance on a Caravan holiday: "Sightseers" (2012)

Director: Ben Wheatley

Writers: Amy Jump, Alice Lowe, Steve Oram

Actors: Alice Lowe, Steve Oram, Eileen Davis, John Hurt

Are you one of the 54% of holidaymakers who opted to embark on a Caravan holiday in the UK last year, instead of joining the other thousands of Brits on their annual pilgrimage to Majorca or Benidorm? Do you like to keep your vacations low cost? Maybe your an environmental aficionado who likes to maintain a low carbon footprint and/or just incredibly passionate about everything that the great country of the United Kingdom has to offer- so then you’d probably enjoy a classic British Caravan holiday: spending quality time with your loved ones. Moving on- however do you often find your Caravan to be to cramped, and the sight of your (hypothetical) partner after a week of living in such conditions makes you cringe at the sight of them? Well Ben Wheatleys 2012 film “Sightseers” will help you keep the romance alive on all your caravan travels. It is a British, very serious guide, to cohabiting in a caravan. The best part is it gives you extreme examples so you know how to handle everything (including what lingerie to pack, ladies) for your trip. Read on…

So Wheatleys protagonists include a travel virgin (who has never left the comfort of home), a professional serial killer (the word professional is the important part- obviously there’s no way you could travel with an amateur- as you will later discover), and a dog. Literally, what Ben Wheatley has done is taken all the possible issues one could face when setting out on or mid way through a Caravan holiday and shown an audience how to deal with them. I must warn you however, about 95% of the time the answer is to kill the person who has been a nuisance to you; so if you are not comfortable with this, then this is not the guidance you need.

Lets start at the beginning.

“Mint me”

-       Chris, ‘Sightseers’ (2012)

Step 1) Be prepared to leave family behind.

Wheatleys example: Tina is going on her first ever holiday with her boyfriend, Chris. Her mum, is a doting mother, very over protective and is totally right (as mothers generally tend to be) when she calls Chris a murderer outright- no mother wants to see there baby go off with a killer. But the first step of setting out on your perfect holiday is risking this. you should take a leap, and defend the rumours, remember you are in love. As Tina says, the murder Chris committed was  only an accident.

Step 2) Pack the essentials for that romantic trip.

Wheatleys example: Tina knows what to pack. Chris has clearly been on Caravan holidays before so tells her to pack all the boring stuff, food, waterproofs etc. Tina adds one more, paving the way to any mans heart- knitted lingerie with easy access. Sexy. Ladies make sure you pack your best.

Step 3) Enjoy the scenery.

Wheatleys example: Tina and Chris had meticulously planned every stop of there trip and pin pointed all the places on a map, including some very exciting activities such as the Pencil museum. So I suppose step 3a is to make sure you organise exciting activities otherwise you’ll just get bored. Step 3b ENJOY IT. There is nothing worse than people who do not respect English heritage sites. There are several rules that you need to follow: do not litter, otherwise Chris will kill you; do not be overly pretentious about your caravan (some people may not have as much money as you) and if you do, Chris will kill you. Lastly, do not lecture Chris on how to respect English heritage sites; otherwise, he will kill you.

Step 4) Take inspiring photos.

This is the holiday you have been dreaming about so take good snaps to remind you of it. Wheatleys example: Chris steals an other persons memory card. This is so he can look through the photos and see what kind of angles they are using also for all kind of pictures, landscapes, romantic, sometimes you have to document these things. Use all your resources.

Step 5) Defend your partners honour.

On your journey you will meet a lot of people, some will be nice and pleasant who share the same interests as you and others will be dickheads. Wheatleys example: Chris kills for Tinas honour, he was defending her, obviously. Tina becomes Chris muse for his novel, this is a sign of respect in a relationship your partner should always be your muse, your inspiration  In addition Chris is helping the carbon footprint by getting rid of people and therefore lowering emissions. As a part b to step 5 make sure your partner is enjoying there holiday at all times ie Tina and Chris both ask each other at the end: “Have you had a good holiday?” thus making sure the experience is not to overwhelming and they have both had a good time. It's not so romantic if your other half is thinking about back home.

In conclusion Tina and Chris are pioneers of true love. If you follow all the examples above and watch Wheatleys film, you too, could have the perfect romantic British Caravan holiday. Good luck.

Verdict: watch this film. It’s a great black comedy and a barrel of awkward laughs.

 

This is definitely not 40: "This is 40" (2012) Review

So Apatow is on the scene again trying to tell everyone what life is like being 40 years old and after watching "This is 40"(2012) I would have to completely disagree with his whole perspective. I'm not a massive fan of his films anyway but thought 'hey, I'll give this one a chance, it might actually be funny' but ooooh I was so wrong. Then again what did I expect form a director whos filmography includes some of my least favourite films like "Pineapple express"(2008) and "Funny People" (2009)- I know these are films that people describe as brilliant comedies but they are just not for me, sorry. However Apatows filmography is so diverse that some of his films I quite enjoyed like "Bridesmaids" (2011) and "Knocked up" (2007). In my opinion "This is 40" completely missed the boat and overall the film drew out various emotions but mainly: disappointment, anger and the total disbelief that the film encompasses what it actually means to be 40.

The first annoying thing about this film: talk about keeping it in the bloody family! Apatow has cast his wife, Leslie Mann, and their two biological children in "This is 40" replacing himself (the father figure) with Paul Rudd- not quite sure what he is implying in doing so. Rudd really adds the only comedy in the film. Leslie Manns acting is fairly minimal, considering she is so upset about hitting 40. The eldest daughter is given random scenes throughout the film, that do not follow any continuous editing and seem quite out of place but yet all illustrating that she is going through a 'teenage crisis' and the youngest daughter just plays herself really, prancing around annoying everyone else.

"Knocked up" (2007) was praised for it's ability to convey real life issues focusing on the modern day relationship and single parenthood. The concept behind "This is 40" is very relative to modern life as most people think they are 'passed it' by age 30. Society dictates they should have already settled down, bought a house, maybe had/ having kids and in a well paid job- however this is no longer the reality and people are marrying later (if at all), and thus hitting 40 should not seem that old- I mean the retirement age has increased to 75! (In England). Unfortunately Apatow does not execute this concept well at all.

One of the most frustrating things about this film is that it is like a two hour long Apple product advert- the kids watch endless hours of 'Lost' on ipads, iphones, iMacs and other ishit products. Yet the viewer is supposed to believe that the family are 'poor' as they are having money problems. Seriously, just stop buying Apple! Idiots! Also they somehow can still can afford to pay an accountant (maybe its just my family but what normal person can afford to hire there own permanent personal accountant and still try and convince an audience that they are 'poor'?) In addition the father is a record label owner and the mother owns a shop supposedly giving them this modern 'bohemian' appeal and conveying them as down to earth people- Just, please, no, stop it.

There is nothing much else to add about this film. The story and the narrative flow like a bunch of shots shoddingly held together with moments of absolute disbelief in the characters and their lifestyle. This is definitely not 40 at all.

Verdict: Lousy.

Oscars 2013: "Anna Karenina" (2012)

Director: Joe Wright

Writers: Tom Stoppard (Screenplay), Leo Tolstoy (novel)

Starring: Kiera Knightly, Aaron Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfadyen, Michelle Dockery

If I was going to give an excuse as to why I neglected to write about the Oscar nominated films in advance, I would say that it was due to the fact that this years Oscars contained some long ass films. The cinema seems to be reverting back to the days when film would last for hours, when an audience reaction wasn't necessarily the main objective and it was more the fascination with people moving on a screen (ie ‘Birth of a Nation’) and had to be viewed in two sittings (sometimes even three). These days most cinemas don’t have an interval in the middle of the film so the viewer is stuck in a dark cinema or glued to the sofa (hypothetically speaking) for hours on end. Therefore it took time to watch all of the nominated films, dedication to writing notes, and then more time to attempt to provide a somewhat interesting overview on what the film was like and why one should choose to watch it. Okay so maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, basically I’m one lazy motherblogger. One of these long films, and the subject of this post, is Joe Wrights “Anna Karenina” (2012) starring Kiera Knightly, Jude Law and Aaron Johnson.

Out of the three Oscar nominations, ‘Anna Karenina’ won one for Best Achievement in Costume design (made by Jacqueline Durran). This year, Durran also won a BAFTA for her costume designs, as well as a CDG award from the Costume Designers Guild. Safe to say, the costumes in this period drama are pretty spectacular. After all, what kind of period drama would the film be without costumes? The film won another 12 prizes and has been nominated for 30 awards in total.

In addition to the costumes, another predominant feature of this film is the production design and cinematography.The combination of the two really set the scene beautifully for this period drama and essentially transport the viewer into Tolstoys mind, or for the literary critics out there, at least the audience saw Joe Wrights directional vision. The stage set up and the unique frame transitions using trains, a stage backdrop and theatre backstage area helped in providing a slightly claustrophobic atmosphere for the viewer- in turn emphasizing the rising tension in the film that runs parallel to the emotions of Anna Karenina herself as she becomes increasingly watched and judged by society for her sordid affair.

I literally prayed that Kiera Knightly (Karenina) did not pout her way through this film. In general, I admire her as an actress and there really is no one else who can do period dramas as well, but at times I worry whether she believes that everyone pouted their way through life from the 16th century (Pirates of the Caribbean) to 19th century. Anna Karenina begins the narrative as the Belle of St Petersberg society. In his novel Tolstoy managed to encompass a whole society at the height of Russian Imperialism; a vision that I believe Wright has managed to convey beautifully by using the stage where the whole of society seems to unite. The theatre is used to convey the illusion of a pretty, decadent and heavily embellished society given centre stage, that behind the scenes (scenes that have been shot in other locations) tell a very different story. At certain points throughout the story the audience do sympathize with Anna: she is married to a husband (Law) who treats her well, but is boring and more focused on his work. Therefore it is understandable that Anna is going to want to fall and experience a more passionate, different kind of love with Alexei (Johnson). Yet even after her affair she tries to maintain her self important reasoning believing she is above everyone else thus refusing to accept her new position in society and in turn becoming increasingly outcast.

Three quarters of the way through the film the tone seems to change from being 'steamy' and full of sexual tension to cold and empty, until eventually Karenina falls off her pedestal/ station platform. Overall the film questions many aspects of life, fantasy, reality, emotions, and human characteristics. It also makes the viewer question whether society today has changed that much since Tolstoys Russia. I know, unfortunately we do not endorse Oscar winning costumes everyday, but living in London where at least once every two months the tube and overground services experience major delays due to a person throwing themselves under a train, it does make you wonder what kind of life that person must of been living in todays society to drive them to do that.

Verdict: watch it! Knightly doesn't pout too much in this one, honest.