In order to kickstart this website with daily content, I thought a weekly round up of all the films watched by myself was a good way to begin the posts.
I’m starting on a bizarre Wednesday as this is where the inspiration has come from, however I might possibly change the day of these posts to a Sunday or a Monday, depending on my schedule.
As I was so busy with starting up university last year, I didn’t get a chance to check out all of the Oscar nominees for the Best Picture award, and now, as university is finished for summer, I thought it would be a perfect time to catch up on some of the films of 2012 that I have heard many times being both praised and criticised. Therefore this week’s round up will feature last years Oscar nominees, and I’ll save the newer/older films I have watched this past week for my next round up (this isn’t only confusing me.. right?).
(Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro)
I was going into this film with a completely open mind. The only thing I had heard about it was that it featured some characters with mental illness’. I was perhaps thinking that the film would involve cliche performances and characters, following in the footsteps of many previous films dealing with the same issue (I do not rate Forman’s ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ at all).
I was excitedly surprised when watching this film, however. The stellar performances from both Cooper and Lawrence made the film extremely enjoyable to watch. These amazing performances combined with the interestingly dark, yet comedic script made for one of my favourite films of last year.
2. LIFE OF PI. dir. Ang Lee.
(Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan)
I think my appreciation for this film was slightly hindered by the masses of the public raving about its brilliance. Without prior praise, I would have said that the film was good, the CGI was incredible and groundbreaking and the acting was also good. However, after hearing all the positive reviews, I couldn’t help myself watching the film with my expectations higher than ever. And I really wish I could have changed this.
Starting off on the best part of the film, the CGI was absolutely breathtaking. Combined with amazing editing, this tiger who is not even a real creation has the audience sympathising through the emotion of his eyes. This film is, technologically, the most groundbreaking piece of cinema of our time and it would be ignorant to ignore that when reviewing the film. What was slightly under par was the story. I’m fully aware that this may not be the filmmaker’s fault as the film was an adaptation, but I felt that the plot lacked so much more depth that it could have held. I was losing interest, and I think that it was possibly due to the fact that we know Pi is going to survive from the outset. Perhaps featuring an older Pi at the start was a mistake, making all of his struggles out at sea not half as effective as they would have if the ending was not clarified.
Overall the film was beautiful and a pleasure to watch, fully deserving of the technological praise and awards it has received.
3. SKYFALL. dir. Sam Mendes.
(Starring: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes)
My enjoyment of this film was the one that surprised me the most. This is one of those films that I would never choose out of a bunch, but boy, am I glad I chose to watch it.
I am not an avid James Bond fan, in fact I have seen probably less than a handful of films featuring 007 himself. This film featured absolutely stunning cinematography by Roger Deacons and was a joy to watch. The excitement levels of the film were maintained throughout and the plot twists and turns more than a day at Thorpe Park. With stunning performances from Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw and of course, Daniel Craig, this film makes the audience gasp out loud both in awe of the brilliant action sequences and also with a sneaky cliffhanger at the end.
4. ARGO. dir. Ben Affleck.
(Starring: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston)
This film was a well deserved winner of the Oscars last year. The film gave me goosebumps several times and featured a closing half hour that is quite possibly the most tense of any movie I have ever seen. With absolutely amazing performances by all actors, a flawless plot and beautiful cinematography and scenery, this film ticks all the boxes and is a classic example of what a winner of the Best Picture award should feature.
This thriller is the best I have seen in a long time, with dramatic moments, comedic moments and breathtaking moments, there is no words that can do this cinematic masterpiece justice. Perhaps the film has so much effect as it is relevant in the terms of numerous uprising countries at the moment, giving the audience a lot of reason to empathise with the six escapees of the hostage situation, or perhaps the movie has mastered every technique of filmmaking and that is the reason behind the success. In any case, this film will definitely be one I will be putting on my favourites list and will be looking our for more of Ben Stiller’s work in the future.
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