Fabulous Films Galore
[UPDATED 24 FEBRUARY & 10 MARCH 2013]

My goodness me, these last few months have been an absolutely wonderful period for great films, especially those winning at the BAFTAs (already announced) and the upcoming Oscar contenders. Some of them we've already mentioned here, like Argo, which won the British Academy Best Film [see this post for our comments] and Beasts of the Southermn Wild, for which Quvenzhané Wallis is the youngest ever nominee for Best Actress in the Oscars - which she explained she had to figure out. Her name is Swahili for "fairy", which I think is very charming. [See here for our first reactions to the film and Alice's cogitations on Magical Realism.] And let us not forget the adventure which was Skyfall, already BAFTA crowned as best Outstanding British Film. Hurrah! That got our vote in the same 4 November 2012 post.

So, what have we seen so far in 2013? Which did we like best?

Django Unchained is definitely our favourite to date. It has been variously described as intriguing, provoking, dazzling, daring, articulate, brutal, appalling, exhilarating, scathing, hilarious, and astonishingly funny. Yes, it's all of those. Plus the acting was superb: Christoph Waltz got the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor. The relationship between his and Jamie Foxx's lead character is excellently portrayed, well developed, and often very amusing. Leonardo DiCaprio makes a brilliant and unexpectedly chilling villain. And the cinematography is stunningly beautiful.

Some people have complained the ending was too contrived and conventional. But it's a movie! Moreover, it's an homage to the Cowboy genre, complete with splashy titles and credits at the start, like the 1966 Django. Of couse the "n word" is used a lot - because it was, at that time in history.

Quentin Tarantino was awarded a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay, yet has been as much criticised as lauded for his graphic portrayals of violence.

He's exasperated by being asked about it over and over, when he's made himself quite clear many times already. We totally appreciate his take on it. It's realistic! When someone is shot, they don't fall over quietly with a small red stain over their heart. They scream, they writhe, and blood flies out all over the place. Yes, it's downright gory. Thank goodness some-one is honestly showing violence in all its horror, rather than romanticising it.

Alice calls it cathartic, or the "purging of our excessive passions" as Aristotle said of drama thousands of years ago. One reviewer even called the film Catharsis of the Year. A fascinating review, but don't check it out if you want to avoid spoilers. It's here. Me? I positively hated the cruel slave owners and loved it when they met their just comeuppance. Good word, that.

Zero Dark Thirty starts with a black screen and those now well-known sound recordings of the atrocity that was 9/11. That's quite enough to make us imagine the horribly familiar images of the falling towers and bodies. Despite knowing how it was going to end, we still found ZDT extremely exciting and our attention was held throughout. The sound and cinematography were excellent, as well as the calibre of the cast. 

Kathryn Bigelow has already proved herself an intelligent and fearless film director with the brilliant Hurt Locker. We were dismayed some people thought she was now condoning the use of torture. [Oops, I mean "enhanced interrogation techniques"!]  Just because it's shown, doesn't mean she approves. In fact it's made clear that the crucial information which finally led to Bin Laden's capture had already been obtained by other means.

She's also been criticised because some find her central character cold and emotionless. They must have missed Jessica Chastain's supremely subtle acting of a woman forced to keep her emotions in check - but nevertheless still feeling them.

A controversy  over "historical accuracy" has hit this film (and other Oscar contenders as well): see The Independent. It's a shame this might have hurt its chances of an Oscar. [It did get one for sound editing.]

By the way, Channel 4's 2011 documentary Bin Laden: Shoot to Kill, including an interview with Barack Obama, makes for an interesting comparison. You can still see it on 4OD [You need to register on the site to watch.]

Another film we'd have to give five stars was the talented Ang Lee's wonderful Life of Pi, for which he was named BAFTA's Best Director. It was not only an amazing visual experience (and we didn't need see it in 3D to appreciate that) but a super story as well. The young Suraj Sharma did a great job of the virtually solo part. I was really sad when the magnificent Richard Parker (that's the tiger, in case you don't know) walked off into the jungle without so much as a look over his shoulder.

Alice says I'm being stupidly sentimental. A wild tiger wouldn't do that, he'd be off to hunt down a decent meal. In any case, he was just a digital construction, admittedly most convincing. She sure knows how to spoil one's illusions... And I thought we were supposed to "suspend our disbelief" .

Tommy Lee Jones

Quentin Tarantino graphically portrayed the American slavery situation: in Lincoln, Spielberg shows us the political side of the question. It gave you a really good idea of how the process worked, with bargaining for votes for the13th Amendment, and arguments about how and when to try and end the civil war. Apparently Mississippi has only just fully ratified it! Really.

There's no denying that Daniel Day-Lewis gave a marvellously convincing performance, to become BAFTAs Best Actor - but I thought Tommy Lee Jones as the outrageous Thaddeus Stevens was just as good, and much more entertaining!

Alice hates to admit it, as she "doesn't like musicals" apart from the great exception of  West Side Story, but she actually quite enjoyed Les Misérables. She's rather keen on Russell Crowe (and Ridley Scott too) so she recently bought the BD (we've just upgraded to Blu-ray) of the 2010 Robin Hood, and is quick to defend the criticisms of his singing in "Les Mis".

Although it's remarkably silly really, to have people singing mundane dialogue as well as songs, the cast all acted their socks off while singing live for each take with no pre-recording (see this official video) which made the conventions of the genre more acceptable. And Russell undoubtedly knows how to act!

We've also enjoyed Midnight's Children, plus Hitchcock,  Hyde Park on Hudson and Flight: all, if not altogether great films, were still well made and eminently watchable.

Aquarians and Alice's Birthday Treat

Happy Birthday to all you Aquarians out there! Alice had her birthday recently - though she forbids me to tell you her exact age. Old enough for her bus pass is detail enough.

Aquarius is a sign which indicates humanitarian ideals, eccentricity, and interests in anything out-of-the usual. Despite depicting the water carrier, it's an air sign, which means matters of the mind come easily. It's ruled by the planet Uranus, which is all about sudden change, electricity, communications, and thus computers and all that sort of stuff. So it does fit her, I have to admit.

She insists a proper horoscope isn't just about the Sun, but all the other planets as well, and if you want to know more, or are a sceptic like she was initially, go to www.astro.com, read the articles and put in your details. To buy astrological items in the UK, try the Astrology Shop. It's a great place to visit, too, if you're in London. Alice says anything by Liz Greene will be illuminating.

I'm afraid I don't know when I was born, as it were, so we can't look at my chart. Sigh. But I like to imagine I'm a Cancerian, warm and caring, with a secret hint of passion - something in Scorpio perhaps. Wish on...

Our Arthropodologist friend, who you will have encountered here before, took us out for Alice's Birthday Treat. We went first to see the film Flight. (More on that and other movies in our next blog.) I love the excuse of the cinema to be naughty and consume lots of unhealthy sweets, don't you?

Of course one pretends to regret  - later on.

Afterwards we ate a grand selection of lovely tapas in La Tasca, one of Alice's favourite eating places. This dessert was some delicious ice-cream with an amazing rich sherry to pour over it, called Pedro Ximénez Triana. There's a history to the name: go check out the link. My oh my, it was gorgeous. My what? I ask. [Oh, never mind!] The waitress brought these birthday candles with it, stuck into marshmallows. What a nice surprise.

Alice made a wish as she blew them out, but she didn't let on what it was about ...

Medicine, Metaphor, Music and Memories

Deary me, you may have noticed that we haven't been posting anything here for quite a while. It's because poor Alice has been what you might call under the weather. Another of those ridiculous human figures of speech. It makes me imagine a horizontal weather forecaster for the M.B.C. (Monkey Blogging Corporation). But the weather's always "over" us, isn't it?   After some online research, we discovered that this saying may be referring to the "weather bow" on a sailing ship, which was the windward side at the sharp end and recieved the worst of the storms. Another, related suggestion is that if sailors or passengers were suffering from sea-sickness due to rough weather, they might well retire below decks, where they would not be so violently tossed about. 

So it's really a kind of metaphor. 

Anyway, Alice has been somewhat unwell for the last couple of weeks, with a coldy-coughy thingy. A bug. A virus. Whatever. Which left her feeling particularly feeble. I did my best to be on hand with vitamins, pills, potions, tinctures and tissues - as well as that good old standby: hot lemon, honey and spirits. It does cheer you up, even if it doesn't work any miracles of recovery.

I should point out that this picture wasn't actually taken during Alice's bout of sickness - she wasn't up to that much effort. But now she's feeling better enough to get back to our blog, she insisted on a photo shoot to create this image. It's purely "representative" - a kind of lie.

My goodness, I'm glad I'm not a real professional model. It was pretty tiring having to hold my pose and my expression of cheery solicitude, while she shunted the props about and kept flashing with her camera until she was satisfied.

Music 1: Runrig

We never got round to telling you how, before Christmas, we went to see a concert by the popular Scottish group Runrig, one of Alice's all time favourites. Loads of tracks on her iPod.

She's always going on about how she and some pals (with 50,000 more) got high, indulged in the munchies, and saw them do an open air gig on the shores of Loch Lomond. See this video for live footage. They had a wonderful time. It was in 1991, her much younger days. 

 

This time it was a more conventional concert venue, but the audience were just as enthusiastic, standing in the isles, clapping to the beat and joining in when invited to sing. A bit like this other video from Stuttgart. 

 

The supporting group, The Chaplins (after Charlie, not parsons) were great, too. "With their 1920’s dress sense and quirky, alternative bluegrass sound, The Chaplins are a unique addition to the music world." Look out for them...

 

Music 2: The Messiah

Peformance of The Messiah in Crystal Palace, 1857. See Wikipedia.

At the other end of the musical spectrum, in the New Year, Alice and a friend took me to hear Handel's Messiah. This was quite some event. Because it's so long, the interval is extended and the audience is invited to take a "picnic". We had some clementines, nuts, crisps, chunks of cheese and a Fudge bar. Very nice. But we saw some folk sitting in the august red-carpeted corridor, going the whole hog with fitted hampers, plates, glasses, and even champagne! Whole hog truely seems an appropriate metaphor here, I think.

Alice is telling me off for putting the picnic first: but it's what stood out for little me. And then everyone standing up for the Hallelujah Chorus - but not to join in and wave their arms about as we did for Runrig. Apparently it's an old tradition, going back to the London premiere in 1743, when King George II stood up, so everyone else had to. Why he did, or if he did, or was even there at all, is shrouded in mystery, however. But it's certainly the most rousing [hee, hee!] section of the whole thing. You can hear it online in many versions, but try the King's College one and be patient about the ad that comes first.

Alice says it's a wonderful composition, and one of her favoutie classical works. She had deep philosophical musings (as you may have realised she is prone to) during this performance: the words are all Biblical, and she's an atheist. The cynical part of her was thinking what a ridiculous fairy story it all is: Adam, Eve, Satan, the Apple, Sin, Hell, Vicarious Atonement, Redemption and Life Everlasting with God and the angels in Heaven. Just an invention by people who don't want to accept the finality of death. And the more mystical side thought how the music is so uplifting, and the story so beautifully seductive. She's recently read Nothing to be Frightened of by Julian Barnes, which starts with this striking sentence: "I don't believe in God, but I miss him." 

That's a sentiment with which Alice heartily concurs. She's relieved that atheism is more acceptable nowadays than it was when she became one as a teenager. It's almost fashionable, in fact. While rejecting the traditional tenets of Christianity, it can nevertheless include a sense of awe at the glories of the universe and a belief in the Oneness of it all. As the gorgeous Brian Cox points out in his new TV series, The Wonders of Life. Science made exciting without any dumbing-down!

Religion? Me? I just get on with life as it comes - and goes. But I like visiting cathedrals and gush along with Alice over the amazing images in The Fountain by Aronofsky. She has no trouble enjoying the arts inspired by religion. We're looking forward to Terrence Malick's new film, To the Wonder, as we loved his fantastical scenes in The Tree of Life. We promise a whole post soon on the many great movies already out in 2013.

Music 3: Bunkhouse Boys

You may remember Alice was hoping to get her father's recording digitised. Well, she has at last. It's a long story I won't go into, but you can listen and see three photos on YouTube, where a close friend has posted the video for us.

Don't forget to click on the images to see them larger. The biggest ones (which are only in some posts) display even better if you right click and open them in a new tab.