Monday 31 December 2007

End of My Year Review 2007


FILM


Kingdom of Heaven DEFINITIVE EDITION

The cinema version I saw back in May '05. I thought it was ok and then really forgot about it.
There was talk sometime later of a four disc directors cut which somewhat renewed my interest but when it appeared the price was laughably high. This November I saw it for an amazing price at hmv
in new packaging so I went for it. It's absolutely brilliant and not just because it has 40 minutes of extra footage, Ridley Scott has changed so much it seems like a different movie entirely.


Honourable Mention:

HairsprayTransformers & The Bourne Ultimatum


TELEVISION

Veronica Mars

I'm on the 3rd Box Set now and whilst a slight drop from the first two is still wonderful, I laughed joyfully at the opening teaser of the first episode because I'd forgotten just how brilliant it is.

Honourable Mention:

The Wire


COMICBOOK

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8

Honourable Mention:

Justice Society of America, Criminal, Scalped, The Immortal Iron Fist


SOFTWARE

Comic Collector

My comics had lain undisturbed for so long in 5 long boxes, one bookshelf and in random piles but finally I bought a bookcase large enough to house most of it. Now that I could get to see the stuff again I wanted to have a program to database it on my PC. I tried the free Comic Collector Live but went with the superior Comic Collector after using the trial version.

Tuesday 25 December 2007

Tom Brooks’ list of the top ten films of 2007

'07 Review: Tom's Top Ten
Often at year’s end Hollywood’s nattering nabobs of negativism are chattering away decrying the absence of any film with artistic merit. But this year there’s quite a lot of good work out there so here’s Tom Brooks’ list of the top ten films of 2007.

Ten: Atonement
A very fine British period drama in which an act of jealousy wreaks havoc in young lovers’ lives. It’s elevated the status of its leading man and leading lady but it was not easy work.

“I think every job is tough,” said Keira Knightley. “I don’t think you have an easy one, and I’m not looking for an easy job. This was tough but it was also incredibly rewarding.”

Nine: Michael Clayton
George Clooney starred in this thriller, uncovering corporate evildoing. It also featured strong performances from Tom Wilkinson and Tilda Swinton.

Eight: Eastern Promises
David Cronenberg’s noirish tale of Russian mafia shenanigans in London featured a standout performance from Viggo Mortensen

Seven: Sweney Todd
A beautifully discordant work from Tim Burton with this Stephen Sondheim adaptation. Yes, Johnny Depp can sing, and so can Helena Bonham Carter.

Six: The Bourne Ultimatum
The best Hollywood blockbuster of the year, made smart and gripping by British director Paul Greengrass.

Five: Persepolis
An ingenious animation that tells the story of a young woman buoyantly battling oppressive conformism wherever she might be, from the Iranian born Marjane Satrapi.

Four: No Country For Old Men
Not to everyone taste, but flawless cinema. A modern Western courtesy of the Coen Brothers that presents the unforgettable villain Anton, brought to life by Javier Bardem.

Three: Ratatouille
Masterly animation with attention to every detail. Exquisitely drawn characters clearly put together by people with an exact knowledge of how a French restaurant kitchen operates.

Two: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly
An expert fusion between cinema and content – content being the remarkable strength of a real person, the former editor of French Elle Magazine paralysed from head to toe who developed the ability to communcate by blinking.

One: There Will Be Blood
A masterpiece from PT Anderson working in an unexpected genre. This end of the 19th century California battle between an oilman and a preacher stars Daniel Day Lewis, who gives one of his best performances to date, and that is saying a lot.

Wednesday 19 December 2007

Enchanted

Cast
James Marsden
Amy Adams
Susan Sarandon
Patrick Dempsey
Screenwriter
Bill Kelly
Director
Kevin Lima
Running Time
107 minutes

The good news: animated Disney princess Giselle (Adams) has found true love with a prince (Marsden). Bad news: his stepmother (Sarandon) doesn’t want him to create a new queen, so she banishes Giselle to real-world New York, which doesn’t gel with her fairy-tale ways.

It was good but I was disappointed because I went in expecting it to be great. I thought it would be more of a musical and Amy Adams' performance, singled out in several reviews for high praise, again was good but I guess my expectations were too big.

Wednesday 12 December 2007

Stardust

Cast
Robert De Niro
Michelle Pfeiffer
Claire Danes
Charlie Cox
Sienna Miller
Mark Strong
Screenwriters
Matthew Vaughn
Jane Goldman
Director
Matthew Vaughn
Running Time
128 minutes

In Victorian England, the village of Wall borders the magical kingdom of Stormhold. When young Tristan (Cox) sees a star fall into Stormhold, he promises to retrieve it for the woman he loves (Miller). However, the star itself, in the form of a young woman, Yvaine (Danes), doesn’t take kindly to being kidnapped.

I did not see this when it first came out some weeks ago, I guess because the reviews were mixed. The choices this week were slim so I finally got to it and it's really great.

Friday 7 December 2007

Friday Night Lights Season 1 DVD Box Set

Cast
Kyle Chandler
Connie Britton
Scott Porter
Minka Kelly
Adrianne Palicki
Taylor Kitsch
Zach Gilford
Aimee Teegarden
Gaius Charles
Jesse Plemons
Creator
Peter Berg
Running Time
15 Hours 55 Minutes NTSC
Aspect Ratio
1.78:1 Anamorphic

TV’s hottest new drama, Friday Night Lights, touches down on DVD with all 22 Season One episodes in a 5—disc collection! In the small town or Dillon, everyone comes together on Friday nights when the Dillon High Panthers play. But life is not a game; and the charismatic players, new coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler), and the passionate fans find that their biggest challenges and obstacles come off the field in the compelling day-to-day dramas of their tight-knit community. From producers Brian Grazer (The Da Vinci Code) and Peter Berg (The Kingdom) comes the critically acclaimed TV series inspired by the best-selling book and hit theatrical movie. Discover why The Associated Press calls it `breathtaking in how it captures ordinary life set against extraordinary passions’.

I had seen and heard good things about this on and off for a while but resisted getting it even when it was going for a bargain price at Amazon for a long winded reason. Basically, some months before, I had seen a football clip where in the background there was clearly no crowd in the stands and I started thinking how silly it was to make a show where right from the beginning, given the time and resource constraints of TV it was obvious that the story could not be done right. The turning point was getting the film, which I don't think I knew existed, ex-rental from Blockbuster. It impressed me and I bought the box set. The film reminds me of that Sam Peckinpah movie Junior Bonner although not as good, in the same way L.A. Confidential is just not in the same league as Chinatown. That is really the only way I can describe it, there's just something about it that doesn't let it grasp the grandeur it reaches for.
The pilot episode is written & directed by Peter Berg as was the film and it has that same documentary feel to it. This shooting style is kept for most of the series which was shot around Austin, Texas until about the last quarter when it sort of resorts to the normal practice of talking heads on a set which coincided with what I would describe as the usual suspects turning up, guest stars like Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Alexandra Holden and Brooke Langton. Before that I didn't really recognise anyone other than Kyle Chandler [from catching some episodes years ago of that silly show Early Edition] and Connie Britton who was in the film and a few indie movies I saw over the years. It's not surprising with the twenty something actors playing the teenagers but the older cast I just didn't know and added to the unique look. Having said that I still liked it as much and the style does return, certainly with the last episode. The football scenes are quite short because it is mostly a melodrama, now I know very little about American Football but apart from the pilot, Mud Bowl episode and finale they are sort of weak points with the commentator voiceover sort of rubbing that in. It does seem strange they just wouldn't film whole plays from beginning to end in a single shot from the field and football is mostly not touchdowns but scrimmages which lead to nothing and more inclusion of those would have made me believe the scenes more. They did have spectators though which I guess in the last episode were mostly CGI.
It reminds me a lot of Party of Five in how most of the focus is on couples, where one of them has either a mental illness, physical illness/disability and/or is growing up with a less than two parent family depicted as severely dysfunctional.
Several of the cast including three of the younger actresses according to TV.com are former models which I have no problem believing. Minka Kelly slightly edges out Adrianne Palicki for me on looks but I do have a problem with her performance. It's not that it's a bad performance but that it's the wrong one, which doesn't suit her characters actions [spoiler] she sleeps with her boyfriend's best friend while he's lying crippled in a hospital bed. That is not the behaviour of a caring, loving human being but that's how she portrays the character. Surely she should have played her as a harder edged emotionally manipulative person who when she saw her plans were not going to work out fell apart and her true colours were revealed with disastrous results, which then ties in with Tyra's [Adrianne Palicki] attitude towards her right from the start.
Overall I really enjoyed it and will get the second season.
The extras are deleted scenes on most of the 22 episodes [presented with the scenes they come from but non anamorphic] and a short 20 odd minute featurette which I liked but surely could have been longer. There are no commentaries, which are usually deathly bad. Now that the writer strike is on it occurs to me whether this has something to do with the residuals they earn from DVD sales making those involved not want to support the medium.
There are 5 discs which aren't picture discs held in separate plastic trays the first four in twin stacks hinged on the right and the fifth as a single. They are attached to a three part cardboard gatefold which fits into a cardboard sleeve with a coverpage that opens to reveal a collaged cast photo.

Wednesday 5 December 2007

The Golden Compass

Cast
Nicole Kidman
Eva Green
Daniel Craig
Dakota Blue Richards
Ben Walker
Ian McKellen
Ian McShane
Jim Carter
Tom Courtenay
Charlie Rowe
Clare Higgins
Steven Loton
Sam Elliott
Screenwriter
Chris Weitz
Director
Chris Weitz
Running Time
113m 15s

When a spate of child kidnappings claims her friend Roger, Lyra (Richards) sets off to rescue him. This brings her into a battle between her world’s religious government and her only known relative (Craig), who’s set on (heretically) proving the existence of parallel worlds.

It's alright but I say that as someone who has not read the books. From the very positive word of mouth about them, in regards seeing the film I'm glad I have not because I would probably have thought much less of it. The source material is apparently a complex, rich story which on screen is presented as a magic based Spy Kids knockoff.