[UPDATED 24 FEBRUARY & 10 MARCH 2013]
So, what have we seen so far in 2013? Which did we like best?
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.]
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" .
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| Tommy Lee Jones |
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.
