The Girl (2012) - TV

* * *

After hearing a lot of Hitchcock’s unconventional style of directing this film intrigued me and therefore this film is very interesting. It is a very one-sided portrayal of the story, and it is doubtable that it is wholly factual. This does seem to thrive off of the entertainment factor than an analysis of exploitation in the artistic workplace, but it has a Christmas-time release and therefore little else could be expected. 

This cannot be viewed as a factual documentary as it says at the beginning at this is based on Tippi and onlookers perspectives, not Hitchcock’s. This seems incredibly unfair as Hitchcock is presented as the villain in this and surely he should be allowed a voice. Historical documentaries, films or otherwise, should not be for entertainment and therefore should not present a villain and an innocent.

The look of this film is very stylised. It’s pretty but minimalistic so that you focus of the characters as they are the stars. There are some scenes that clearly are meant to emulate some of Hitchcock’s style, however they seem quite alien just thrown into this film. Hitchcock’s style, obviously, is used throughout the entirety of his films and this makes his films masterful; randomly incorporated into a different style they look odd and over dramatic.

The Hobbit (2012)

* * * * *

As a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings trilogy (but having never read the books) I was incredibly excited when The Hobbit films were announced, also as I grew up with The Hobbit as a regular bedtime story I felt a connection with this part of Tolkien’s work. 

As with The Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson remains faithful to the story. However, due to such a short book being transformed into three long films, there are extensions made on the story which turn into key plot points. This may be a necessity but it is still somewhat annoying, if there was not enough story in The Hobbit for three films, don’t make three films. The added storylines just seem to show how greedy the film industry is. Luckily Jackson is such a fan of the story that the edits allow for the basic movements of the books narrative to be followed.

It looks spectacular (seem in IMAX 3D) and the extensive use of CGI doesn’t distract or detract from the beauty of it. Some of the characters do seem to have been excessively made up though. Lee Pace as Thranduil looks incredibly odd and inconsistent with many of the other elves shown in the film. It seems as though Thranduil and Galadriel are really focused on as perfect beings while other elves are overlooked, such as Elrond and Haldir. Similarly the dwarves range from stubbled and attractive Kili to almost excessively bearded and nosed Bifur. The need for contrast between so many similar characters leads to caricaturisation.

It is funny, it is exciting, it is heart-warming and a little scary. It fulfils the brief of every fantasy film and has the added magic of great directors, writer, special effects teams, etc. The fear was not that this would be a bad film but that it would not be able to stand proudly next to The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I feel that it can happily be acquainted with the other three Tolkien films while also standing alone as a good fantasy film. Looking forward to the next two!

My Week With Marilyn (2011)

* * ½

This film rests on the fact it is about Marilyn Monroe and hopes that that can maintain the audience’s interest, rather than the story itself. This is a character analysis of Monroe and shows how damaged and troubled she was. This film is for fans of Monroe, those who want to know more about her and her life, rather than someone who wants to watch a good film. 

 

There are good performances in this film, everyone is playing real people and therefore have some references to work from. Michelle Williams does a good job in filling the heeled shoes of such an icon as Monroe and it is nice that she was cast rather than someone more obvious, such as Scarlett Johansson. Eddie Redmayne plays the character I’ve seen him do often; although he plays it well, it is a shame that he doesn’t branch out into more interesting roles than a loved-up doe-eyed young man.

This film is obviously made to look good, as Monroe herself if known for. From the sets to the costume it is stylised. Everything seems to revolve around Monroe and the style is classic and simplistic as hers was. This draws emphasis to her character and creates a film that not only narrates a section of her life but reflects an facet of her personality.

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

* * *

Possibly one of the most Hollywood affected films I’ve ever seen. Every line is a cliché, every shot is produced to look as dramatic as possible and the way it is created is purely for audience interest, not for effect. It is entirely filmed in front of a green/blue screen and with only very minimal sets. This is done as a promotional tool and to show how far technology has progressed in the 21^st century. Unfortunately the people working on this film seemed to not be the masters of CGI and the whole film looks quite horrible; this is then worsened as the actors don’t even look comfortable in their fake surroundings.

The reason this hasn’t got a lower rating is because I whole-heartedly believe that the makers of this film were aware of how bad it was and therefore exaggerated it. Everything is far too over the top; no one could have created a film like this without making some fun of themselves and it. Therefore the rating is 3 stars as long as it is taken with some humour; if it is deadly serious then I don’t know if I would even give it one star.
The acting is bad, not necessarily the fault of the actors but more because their situation is difficult. The script is bad because there was nothing original about it; even the characterisation was poor as, for some reason, they decided that every character should be strong and this just created constant clashes of characters. The film looked bad because it was poor CGI and everything that was meant to look magnificent simply looked fake. The plot was bad as it was way too far-fetched and just seemed to keep escalating until utterly bizarre.
Essentially the entire film was terrible but to the extent that it is impressively bad. You have to watch this film with a group of people and a light-hearted attitude. Do not think of how big its budget is ($40 million) or how big the stars are in it (Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow); just think of this film as entertaining and purposely so and it is enjoyable.

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)

*

This film feels so pointless. It is slow and has no clear plot or flow of narrative. Instead you are presented with incredibly long scenes and only a few seem to relate fully to one another; several of these scenes are just of leaves or the like. The script (in Thai) makes reference to certain political issues, etc. and can be pulled apart to reveal hidden depths but it is too boring for the audience to pay enough attention to really grasp the message. Every line is also spoken in the same manner, regardless of which character is speaking. Everything is overly controlled and emotionless, which is a shame.

The one positive about this film is its incorporation of magical realism. There are several scenes that used this technique and in such a starkly bare film the understated introduction of fantasy was a very welcome. The creativity of the magical characters, for instance their ghost is not a typical portrayal of a ghost and this is refreshing (especially recently with the obsession of the same monsters in popular culture).