Dancer in the Dark and Never Let Me Go

I can't believe May is almost over and I haven't fully caught up with all the films I watched. I have been watching, though mostly it was stuff for my final essays.

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows is an okay film. It is an okay Johnny Depp film. It is an okay Tim Burton film.

Teaser poster from IMDB

Apologies

Sorry for being quiet lately, I have just finished my final year of university! There was tonnes of work to do at the end but I'm back now and i've got T-shirts for everybody! (obligatory Reel Big Fish reference)

Sarah x

Kids on the Screen

I started thinking about this today while watching J.J. Abrams' Super 8, last years monster movie summer blockbuster. Kids in movies are a tricky business. Often they can come across overly performed or cloying or they just aren't given dialogue or things to do when that would be conceivable in real life.

Beautiful Student Film

Had to link to this lovely period drama. It was shot in only five days and it's a final year university project. Spread the love!

Sarah xo

100% Spoiler Free Avengers Top Ten

There has been a tiny bit of a lag hasn't there? Well, that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed Avengers as much as I expected to and in honour of that I have compiled my 100% Spoiler Free Top Ten reasons why you should see this film / best bits / fangirl squees.

The Turner Prize

The four finalists for the Turner prize have just been announced. It features two video/film artists, a performance artist and a painter. Luke Fowler is a Glasgow based artist specialising in documentaries and I hadn't heard much about him before the Turner Prize but then I am a fiction girl at heart rather than a documentary buff. Elizabeth is known for her video installations another area I must admit that I'm no expert in. in general I appreciate art but can't tell you diddly squat about it. However, reading about the nominations I was interested to see some of their work. The last installation I saw was a 20 min film about China at the Choreographing You show at the Southbank centre last year which was enjoyable. I like the interactive nature of installations, it's a nice change from the solo, introspective nature of film.

In other news: Congratulations to any Screnzy competitors who kept going until the bitter end yesterday. My own script was abandoned at fifty pages. I'm in mourning. To celebrate your victory:

3D Nightmares

I had to link to  this article from The AV Club that I stumbled across today when I was supposed to be studying. I loved the LOTR trilogy it was one of the first things that got me really interested in film beyond the casual level and since then I have harboured a secret desire to be a ranger. That aside, I was really looking forward to The Hobbit as soon as it was announced. Then came the details of splitting it into two movies, original characters and stuff that sound suspiciously like padding and I was still firmly holding onto the belief that I would love this film and honestly I still think that's the case mostly because even without this article there is no way in hell I would give up my hard earned cash to see ANYTHING in 3D so I plan to go and see The Hobbit in SD with the glorious filmic grain that is apparently missing.

I went and saw Avatar in 3D when it came out and a few others since but the novelty wore off fast to the point where I won't go and see the film if i can't see it in standard. The point about 3D is that good films are still good films without it while bad films seem plumped up and bloated. It doesn't add anything to the experience. Not to mention the uncanny valley effect that comes from slightly popped out people and objects. It's cold and lacks the texture of film. I don't have anything against digital, in fact I think it's great, but post production means we can still get the warmth of film even if that wasn't the medium used. Because of the distortion that comes with 3D, that isn't possible.

It makes me wonder, with big name advocates like Cameron and Jackson, how far the 3D wave will go and whether someone is going to turn around and say enough is enough.