Sunday 29 November 2009

"If You Look The Right Way..."


"...you can see that the whole world is a garden".


It may come as something of a surprise, but this and A Little Princess are two of my favourite films. Right up there along side Requiem for A Dream, Fight Club and Natural Born Killers. I know, right? But hey, I like to be diverse. It keeps things interesting. Plus no amount of drug-indiced trippiness or ultra violence can compare with the magical memory of seeing this childhood classic blossom into life (sorry) on the big screen.

I watched it with my mum on Sunday, the day before my 23rd birthday. She actually phoned me from downstairs to tell me it was on! I don't know whether it was the age-related self pity, rosy eyed nostalgia or the fuzzy depression of a hangover, but the delights of The Secret Garden made my wee day. Basically, it's about a pinched, embittered young girl, Mary, raised in India by her neglectful parents. When they die in an earthquake she is sent to live in England with her uncle in his cold, gloomy stately home (Misslethwaite Manor). Emotionally numb, her widowed uncle frequently takes trips away and she is left in the care of his strict, unfeeling housekeeper Mrs Medlock. She discovers her bedridden cousin, Colin, a pale, sickly boy of her own age who has been kept inside wrapped in his father's smothering emotional blanket. Lonely and cast aside, Mary befriends the servant boy Dickon, with whom she discovers her aunt's equally neglected garden.

Taking solace in her "bit of dirt", she plants seeds, and learns to develop relationships with Dickon, Colin and servant girl Martha. As her heart thaws, the garden blossoms into life, and eventually, too, her uncle learns to love again. After seeing his son walking whilst playing Blind Man's Buff, he realises he has been a ghost in the present, rather than treasuring his cherished memories of his beloved wife.

It's a testament to this film that it's revered as such a classic despite only being released in 1993. Sure, it's an adaptation of a classic book, but an adaptation doesn't necessarily guarantee a good movie. The film is driven by its central characters, who are three children- and their performances are wonderful. Kate Maberly, as Mary, perfectly depicts the unloved misfit who flourishes as her garden does. Cousin Colin, a spoiled brat who's never seen the light of day, is initially quite detestable but the two find something of themselves in each other. Local lad Dickon helps tend to the garden and as their friendship blossoms, we truly root for them (sorry again...) and their garden to survive the cold, dark winter- and warm the cold, dark heart of Misslethwaite Manor.


Despite its somewhat sugary-sounding themes, the film never once veers towards easy sentimentality and begins as cold as the characters themselves. As it unfolds, it thaws with the characters, which is why I think it's so easy to engage with them. When the garden starts to bloom, it's a wonderful, magical sight, and the last scene, of Mary, her uncle and cousin skipping in circles in the garden, packs a powerful emotional punch. It still makes me well up with happy tears despite seeing it...ohh....about 39284623 times?

The look and tone of the film changes as the characters and surroundings evolve, from the cold, icy blues and greys when Mary first arrives to the pinks, purples, reds, and every other colour in between. The attention to detail is superb and really captures the mood of the film. The costumes are beautiful, as is the drapery and wall hangings around the house-visually the film is just stunning.

The Secret Garden is, for me, one of those films I can put on whenever I'm feeling kinda bluse-y and it cheers me up in an instant. It appeals to both adults and children, as did the book it is sourced from. During the hefty, endless dreary winter, watching this film still makes me feel childish... but in a good way. A good way where that reminds me that it's not forever and, with a little bit of love, anything can flourish.

(...honestly, I make myself sick sometimes. Ah, well! It's Christmastime... the one time of year it's OK to indulge in over-sentimentality. So nyah!)

Monday 23 November 2009

Misty Water Colour Memories....

Aaaww, doesn't it look nice aw lit up like...






Right. We're a good, what, five weeks into our 'real' classes at RSAMD now (Creative Beginnings doesn't count a mon avis) so I figure it's time for a lil reflection. And not just because Andy mentioned something about a blog assessment....

Anyways. It seems like we've been here at the good ol' Academy for ages now, even though it's only been a couple of months. But at the same time, it's also scarily close to Christmas and it's dawning on me we're only a couple of weeks away from the end of term. I.e, halfway through first year. So what have I learned from all this? Well...

When I first started at RSAMD I was interested in learning more about camera, since I'd always loved doing photography at college and thought cinematography sounded like a larf. I'd also done some veeeerrry basic editing on our video art piece for my HND, and thought I'd find it fairly easy. WRONNNGG. I didn't take into account the fact that I'm pretty much technologically retarded, and up until now I've found it kind of difficult to try and listen, take notes and follow directions at the same time... I'm rubbish at multi-tasking. In saying that I DID manage to edit a whole sequence without too much drama so maybe I'm coming along after all, albeit a bit slower than the rest...

Camera class with Ray has also been a bit of a struggle for me, mostly I think because I'm feart of the kit. When I'm holding a camera all I can think about is dropping it, or putting my foot through a monitor, or something going up in flames... Although considering I didn't even know what "calibrating a monitor" meant when I first started, I've actually learned alot more than I think. The cameras we used in college were basically regular cameras with a video function, so at times I feel a bit out of my depth. Tutorials an'that will definitely help though, and more than anything I just need to PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE...




As for the rest of our classes, they're going swimmingly so far. When the course started I had no internet and was working 5 days a week to pay off my lousy flat, so I couldn't really enjoy myself and get properly into the swing of things. Since moving back home though, I've been able to focus on what's really important, and that's getting my head in the game fer real.
It's helped me to concentrate on the fairly daunting workload without the added headache of dealing with 'grown up' stuff. There's alot of aspects to the course I'd never have expected- Andy's Introduction to Cinema class, for example, has shown us the basics in getting to grips with marketing strategies and the importance of advertising/ audience awareness. Also, I now know what a producer does, which I could never fathom before. I didn't really think about 'the industry' before, maybe I was a bit caught up in the artsy-fartsy side of it but it's actually pretty interesting. Obviously once we're in the big ol' world of the film and TV industry alot of it'll be about selling wurselves and I like that we're getting a wee taster of that from the beginning.

I'm also really enjoying content origination- I didn't really go out of my way to watch much TV before (which I remember saying in my interview and immediately afterwards wishing I could cram the words back into my stupid gub). In the past few weeks though, we've been introduced to Life on Mars and Being Human, which I'd heard of, but never seen. It ain't all just watching TV though- coming up with themes and premises for shows we've watched have helped when trying to come up with ideas of my own- it ties in with writing premises for film in Richard's class. I haven't done any 'creative writing' since school and found it difficult trying to write personally, and get my mind working 'creatively' again. Learning about story structure has made it alot easier though, and it's also made it easier to understand films I've seen too...
Coming up with ideas and reading them out also forces me to be less reserved, I don't feel stupid for reading anything out loud cuz everyone else is in the same boat.

On a less academicky note, being on this course has also co-erced me into going to the picutres again. I used to go all the time, but sadly I've neglected it in recent months...


Although I've now seen more pictures since starting at the academy than I did all of last year. It helps that now I'm in a class of like-minded people who want to go watch 'em as much as me. The only problem currently is my lack of income... just wait til I get my Cineworld card for Christmas (please, Santa/ Jewish Hannukah Santa/ Mum...)- there'll be no stopping me! Also it helps with some of the wee tasks we've been asked to do, like come up with a film we want to see in the next 6 months, or the group assessments we've to do about films released in the last three.

Annyywayy. What else can I say about life at the academy? It's been great so far. I got bored of university and doing dry, dry film studies. Art at college was fun enough, but it didn't feel like the right fit. I justs didn't have the passion or enthusiasm for it. Now that I'm on the DFTV course, I actually find myself enjoying being in first thing on a Monday, and even getting up so early it's still dark doesn't faze me. Whereas at college I was always looking for an excuse to skive or leave early. Or go for coffee. Or take multiple extended cigarette breaks. It's alot of work, yeah, but it doesn't bother me- I actually ENJOY it. Even writing blogs, which I originally thought were gonna be a total chore.

On that note, I'd better leave this here before I start getting all hyperbolic and sentimental and junk. There's work to be done- and I'm sad to say this includes the dreaded dumping ground that is Moodle. Wish me luck....

Sunday 22 November 2009

Lions And Tigers And Bears? No, Ta.

As part of our Friday screenings, we've watched a shortlist of five films which are considered to be The Best Movies EVER. Admittedly, I wasn't terribly thrilled when I found out what they were- of all of them, the only one I actually liked/had seen all the way through was Citizen Kane. However I figured I'd watch 'em all with an open mind and choose one I didn't know so well.



I first saw The Wizard of Oz when I was about 5... I don't remember too much about it, though, so I was keen to see it again from a grown-up's perspective.

I really wish I'd stuck with not remembering much and left the film in the past. It was PAINFUL. Don't get me wrong, I like 'happy' films. I'm a total Disneyphile. But The Wizard of Oz was soooo sugary I near enough slipped into a diabetic coma. The sets looked as if a good sneeze would blow them over, never mind a tornado. Yes, the film was made in 1939, but Citizen Kane was released only two years later and technically it's far, far superior. Oz looked like a crappy budget theme park and I never found myself being immersed in the film at all.

The acting is so mannered and unconvincing, it's difficult to engage with the characters at any point. I didn't really care if bratty Dorothy ever made it home or not. The characters all seemed like cardboard cut-outs with no depth whatsoever- they were as wooden as the shonky sets. One thing I do remember from childhood is being terrified of the dancing midgets... sorry, Munchkins... which is still true. I also felt like the whole moral of the film- "there's no place like home"- was a bit weak and there wasn't much of a plot. (Girl runs away- tries to get home- gets home- end). Overall then, a thumbs down from me. I'll stick with Return to Oz, thanks very much!

One thing I will say in the film's favour, though.... wasn't Toto cute???


Wednesday 4 November 2009

I Got My Festive Hat On!

Well, not really. It's only November, they're not on sale yet. Buuuuuut Halloween this year was a damp squib for me as I was sans costume/fundage, and my birthday shall more than likely be spent crying in a corner muttering about "the ravages of time". SO, forgive me if I want to indulge in a li'l Christmas cheer early, huh? I mean, the red cups are back in Starbucks!

Anyways, the whole point of that was... I've realised that all I've watched lately have been horror films and class screenings. Which is all well and good, but a bit of variety never goes amiss and as such, I have compiled a list of my Five Favourite Warm Fuzzy Christmas Movies to get me in the mood for the coming season...

First off is one of my favourite movies of all time, seasonal or otherwise- Muppet Christmas Carol!!! As a childhood Muppets devotee, this film has had a special place in my heart since I saw it in the pictures aged 6. I won't go into the plot in too much detail, as pretty much everyone's familiar with it- miserly Ebenezer Scrooge (a PERFECTLY cast Michael Caine, who retains his dignity despite starring alongside puppets) is visited by 3 ghosts on Christmas Eve, who warn him that unless he changes his ways he will be condemned to a miserable, lonely death and an eternity in chains.
What makes this different is the huge helping of humour courtesy of the Muppets, and songs which I dare anyone not to sing along to. Oddly for such a movie, the sets are fantastic- the opening scene where the camera likes over snowy Dickensian London, with the stirring theme music playing over the top, looks utterly convincig...in a Muppet-y sort of way.
The emotional elements are also handled sensitively, and despite this being a kid's Christmas movie it's not shmaltzy at all. For me, it's not Christmas unless I watch this film- one of the best feel-good films.
(One thing to look out for also, which I've only noticed as I've gotten older- when Scrooge throws the charity collectors Bunsen and Beaker out of his office, Beaker clearly flips Scrooge the finger- hilarious!!!)
Tragically though, my DVD version doesn't have the song Bell sings to Scrooge in a flashback... I'll have to dig out my tired old VHS copy for the full experience...even though it makes me cry like a little girl, which is NOT good for my image! In saying that, if this film doesn't invoke a tear, a laugh or squidgy warm feeling, you are clearly beyond redemption and DEAD INSIDE, y'hear???


Is it a Christmas film? Is it a Halloween film? Well, for me, I watched this for the first time on Christmas Day so it falls into the former- although it's one of the few 'festive' treats that can be watched any time of year. The jerky stop-motion animation suits the quirky, darkly gothic tone perfectly, and Danny Elfman's bewitching soundtrack is not only immensely sing-able but also carries the story. The problem with alot of musicals is that the songs are superfluous to the storytelling but here, they actually form a large part of the narrative. From 'This is Halloween', which opens the film, to Jack Skellington's 'What's This?' upon discovery of Christmas Town, to the sweetly melancholy 'Sally's Song'... it's one of my favourite soundtracks ever, as it rarely if ever hits a duff note.

I've already professed my love for Tim Burton on a previous blog, so I won't bore you with it again, but I truly think this is a classic movie. It's spooky enough for adults, whimsical enough for kids, and the budding romance between the two lead characters is refreshing as Jack is actually pursued by scientist's assistant Sally. Despite being a cartoon character she's actually a strong female lead with an agenda other than getting a man to notice her.

Sexual politics aside (did I really just say that about Nightmare? I'm reading FAR too deeply into this...), this is a Christmas treat with several tricks up its sleeve- original, edgy, sweet and dark, it strikes a perfect balance. The perfect movie for an 'alternative' yuletide!




Perhaps an unusual addition to the 'Favourite Christmas Films', what with it being a high-concept, explosions-packed 80s action movie. Not traditionally the kind of thing you'd watch with your nan after turkey and crackers, but it's set at Christmas time, therefore it is eligible for my list!

I'm not usually a fan of action movies- I usually find them brainless, far too masculine (kind of homo-erotic, really) and alot of the time big explosions are shoe-horned in to replace decent storytelling and bland characterisation. However, Die Hard has been a firm favourite of mine for years. Bruce Willis brings credibility and razor-sharp wisecracks to the role of NYPD cop John McClane, who's visiting his estranged wife in LA for 'the holidays'. What he didn't count on was the arrival of Curiously Attractive Older Man Alan Rickman, and his rag-tag band of hostage takers. Brucey Baby is the only one not in the room when the gang arrive, and so *in voice of omnipresent gravelly-sounding trailer man* it's up to him to fend off the bad guys and make sure help arrives in time. Amazingly, he does it all without shoes! What a man!

Even if you don't usually like this kind of film it's worth a watch- more intelligent than most, with some eye-popping action and sterling performances. In fact, even the sequels are worth a watch (Die Hard 4.0 NOT included).


Here's another musical- there's just something about this time of year that brings out the closet singalong fan in me, what can I say. Also, it's another Dickens adaptation, although quite different to the last! Lionel Bart's classic adaptation of Oliver Twist is just brilliant. A huge, epic, all-singing, all-dancing ensemble affair that you just don't see anymore.

Oliver Reed's mad-eyed 'Bill Sykes' and Ron Moody's 'Fagin' are to me, the best portrayals of their respective roles- I attempted to watch Roman Polanski's version and it just wasn't the same...in fact, I felt a little bit dejected after watching, and wanted to put on Oliver! straight away to rectify my mood!

Again, I know every word to every song, and it always cheers me up the instant I hear Artful Dodger's 'Consider Yourself'... I always wanted to be him as a kid, but in my school's Christmas version I got stuck as one of four Nancys...disappointing. Ah, well. It doesn't diminish the film at all, it's one of the all-time classic family films and not one to be watched alone.


And finally, the 5th film on my list- the classic, Home Alone 2-Lost In New York. This is one of the few films which I actually prefer to the original- I reckon for every one time I've watched Home Alone, I've seen this about 3. This film has alot to do with my developing an obsession with New York from a young age. It's a triumph of 'lost kid takes on bad guys' that I loved as a child, I only wished I could be as inventive as Kevin McCallister.

I absolutely love this film to this day, I think because it resonates so much with my inner child. I mean, who wouldn't love to run wild in New York with an unlimited credit card? Especially at the age of 10! Sadly though, my parents always remembered to take me on holiday with them...*sigh* There are so many magical scenes, like when Kevin befriends Pigeon Lady in Central Park, or when he enters the big toy store for the first time... Yes, the plot's pretty much identical to the first one, but so what? It's still laugh-out-loud funny, and it's always fun to watch a kid outsmart two grown up (completely incompetent) baddies. This is one film to silence your inner cynic- and probably as far removed from Die Hard as a Christmas film can be!


ANYWAY. That took a fair bit longer than I expected and if you're done reading, it's probably somewhere around New Year. I'm off to make mulled wine and mime along to Mariah Carey while wearing a reindeer jumper. Maybe. Ho ho ho!

48 Hours In The Life Of My TV

Usually, writing down everything I watched on TV in 48 hours would be a piece of cake. Unfortunately moving home has meant I don't get free reign on the TV anymore, and as a result my viewing quota is a little bit lower than usual... As a result, this isn't so much everything I watched in 48 hours, more "What I Watched Over A Few Days Condensed Into 2



First up was last week's episode of Flashforward (Five), which I watched on Sunday (1/11/09)- I missed it when it was originally aired last Monday, all I can say is thank God for endless catch-ups!

It's not often I get engrossed in TV dramas beyond the first few episodes... I gave up on Heroes halfway into Season 1 (what seemed like the climax was actually the series' midpoint, after that it was just boring). I didn't get into Lost at all, and BBC3's Harper's Island seemed promising, but was let down by a cast I'd happily have all seen killed off.

Flashforward though, is the exception. It's had me gripped from the beginning as it has a genuinely interesting premise. I really want to see how the series plays out, considering we've already seen the future through everyone's 'flashforward' in episode 1.

It's a twisty-turny type of programme, so I tend to watch it on my own- otherwise I end up distracted and missing parts which, knowing me, are always crucial to what's going to happen next. Such is my dedication to this show, however, I've even set up a series link on Sky+ to make sure I don't miss a thing. Commitment!!





By this point it was getting late and I was in the mood for some easy viewing- roll up, American Dad! (BBC3). I've grown a li'l bit tired of endless repeats of Family Guy, so I was most excited when the Beeb started showing new episodes of creator Seth McFarlane's more recent cartoon.


It's edgier and alot more satirical than Family Guy, and the humour is alot less scattered- whereas with FG you tend to remember clips and specific jokes rather than full episodes, with American Dad! the storyline seems alot more coherent. Also, there are fewer American pop-culture in jokes than its predecessor. Kind of odd considering the title, but the humour seems to be alot more political. This definitely gives has a broader international appeal than US sports and TV references which, try as I may, do not understand. They poke fun at hot-button subjects, like American attitudes to terrorism, and the rivalry between Liberals and Democrats. It's silly in a grown up kind of way- a grown up kind of way that makes me feel slightly better about spending the evening watching cartoons...



On Monday 2nd, I only really sat down to watch Flashforward episode 6 (Five). After the nail-biting climatic shoot-out of last week, I didn't think the show could make me into any more of a fangirl than I already am. I was wrong. Just over 1/4 of the way through the series and already the lives of some characters are echoing those of their visions. For some, the frightening and somewhat unwelcome prophecies are becoming more and more intrinsic in their lives. For others, their visions couldn't be further removed from current reality. Tightly plotted, fast paced and with great performances all round -this is a taut, tense thriller and one I reckon everyone should check out. (Start from episode 1 if you can though- my mum tried to watch this episode to see what the fuss was about and gave up after 10 minutes of me attempting to catch her up. Ah, well).




OK, confession time- I only saw the original Halloween for the first time a few days ago. I loved it (OBV), and so The Boy recorded the Rob Zombie remake for me the next day (Sky+ from Sky Sci-Fi/Horror). I'll save my full analysis for a proper 'film blog', but I will say that this 're-imagining' left me with mixed emotions. Initially we were glued to the screen- for the first 20/30 minutes we get alot more of Michael Myers' back story, and he kills more people in the opening scenes than he does in the entirety of the John Carpenter original. It's a gleefully gory slash 'n' stalk, and Mr. Zombie stamps his trademark style all over the first half-hour. However, once the "re-imagining" part is over, we're introduced to Laurie and the film becomes a retread of the original- which is when we stopped paying quite so much attention and played an almighty tournament of Switch. (10-8 to me- he won't be so cocky next time!).


Another big American import which I've fallen for is Lie To Me (Sky 1). I missed most of the first season since I didn't have Sky, but again thanks to the magic of Sky+ I've managed to see all of season 2. Tim Roth plays Cal Lightman, who's basically a human lie detector. He and his colleagues at the Lightman Group assist in enquiries with third parties- kind of like private investigators. It's an interesting concept, similar to fellow ex-pat Hugh Laurie's turn in House.

This week's episode saw Lightman held hostage by a man accused of murdering his wife. Desperate to clear his name, he forces Cal to investigate the case without involving the police. There was genuine threat as the group, in a race against time, detected the man's shift from anxiety to extreme anger and irrationality... would he make good on his threat? You'll have to tune in and see....

Finally, it was time for some light night-time viewing before dropping off. Unfortunately it was rather late and the only thing I hadn't seen that looked remotely interesting was Hostel Part II.


I haven't yet watched the first Hostel movie, but I was assured it didn't require much explanation to understand the sequel. It didn't. I watched a whole 43 minutes and changed the channel. I'm not really a huge fan of this new genre of 'torture-porn'- it just seems like gore for gore's sake. Not even 'Quentin Tarantion presents...' could entice me to watch any further. The characters are obnoxious American tourists (yaaawwwwn...) who were so irritatingly stupid that I found it impossible to root for them and actually found myself rolling my eyes and tutting at the TV. Like a cranky old man. Goodnight!

Tuesday 3 November 2009

"They Are Neither People Nor Animals..."


"...but something in between"

Yes that's right, I'm talking about WEREWOLVES. In anticipation of the release of The Wolfman next year, and because, y'know, it was Hallowe'en, I decided to investigate a classic of the genre from 1981- The Howling.

Although somewhat overshadowed by the better known American Werewolf in London, I'd definitely recommend this film first. It opens with popular TV anchor Karen White (Dee Wallace, aka Elliot's mum from ET, fact fans!) as she tracks down notorious serial killer Eddie the Mangler to a porno shop in LA. After a traumatic encounter he is shot dead by police, and Karen is left physically unharmed but severely mentally scarred and unable to remember what happened. Following a breakdown live on air, her psychiatrist Dr. Waggner recommends she and her husband Bill re-locate to his remote resort in the country, known as The Colony, to relax and hopefully piece together her ordeal. However, after hearing howling in the middle of the night, and discovering the mangled corpse of a sheep the next morning, she discovers that all is not what it seems in the idyllic retreat. As it happens, The Colony is home to a pack of....WEREWOLVES!! Eeek!

I'm always a bit dubious about horror films involving things like werewolves. Older films tend to look clunky and, well, a bit crap, while modern films are so over-CGI'd that it's impossible to feel remotely scared because it feels like you're watching a computer game. I mean, where's the threat in that? Van Helsing is one such film which suffered badly from CGI-saturation. Good premise, terribly executed, and oh-so-painfully slick. Silent Hill suffered a similarly tragic fate, although it's let off on the grounds that it's actually based on a video game (and a bloody good one at that).
No such problems with The Howling! It's a genuinely frightening gem, which fully deserves its reputation as the film that revolutionised the genre.
The human-to-werewolf transformations alone make it worth the watch- bearing in mind this was made almost 30 years ago, before the dastardly dawn of computer special effects (as you can probably tell I'm not a fan). A werewolf transformation sex-scene is a mid-point standout. As the human character's nose grows into a snout and his teeth into snarling fangs, you can see why the film earned is revered as such a classic of its time.
The atmosphere of The Colony is captured perfectly by the cinematography- the eerie crackling darkness, the lingering fog, the neon lights of sleazy downtown LA... The editing is also really good, keeping the pace slow and creepy when Karen is tracking down Eddie, and fast paced and frantic when she's stumbling around the woods or trying to escape.
The story is tightly plotted and keeps us hooked even beyond The Final Reveal. The twist at the end, where Karen reveals the truth about what she's learned on air, is spectacular, and I genuinely didn't see it coming- it was a proper "WTF?!" moment, and I've not witnessed one of them in a horror movie for quite a while. The only area where the film stumbles is the somewhat patchy acting, but then again, I didn't watch this film expecting a Laurence Olivier masterclass- I watched it to be scared. And I was.
All in all, I can't recommend this film highly enough. A masterpiece of its time, and genre, it's easy to see why it paved the way for the onslaught of 80s horror which ensued. It has the right mix of horror and delicious irony, tongue in cheek but genuinely fearty at the same time. (to give an inkling, and perhaps a gentle introduction to the style, director Joe Dante went on to helm Gremlins).
Apparently the sequels are terrible but, like Psycho, The Omen, Hallowe'en and The Exorcist, I've chosen to stick with the original. Definitely perfect full moon viewing! (....sorry, had to shoe-horn that in somewhere...!)
CIAO FOR NOOOOOOOWWWWWW! <---that's a howl by the way. It's funnier when you hear it, honest...........