Lost In Translation Review

Lost In Translation (2003) - Focus Features, Tohokashinsha Film Company Ltd., American Zoetrope, Elemental Films

Directed by Sofia Coppola
Written by Sofia Coppola
Starring Bill Murray & Scarlett Johansson

You know when you're interested in a film and you ask your friends if they've seen it, and if they have, what they thought of it. When I asked people about Lost In Translation I got mixed responses which can basically be summed up as "It's a beautiful film" or "It's crap, nothing happens". Both are true.

Saying that "nothing happens" in this film is unfair because something does happen, it just isn't  a fast paced story driven by action sequences. It's a love story that isn't really a love story. It's just the story of two different people who have a connection whilst staying at the hotel, and that's all it is.

The real driving force of this film is Sofia Coppola's script and the two leads, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. It's a nice simple story, played with masterful class by the two lead actors, whose chemistry is electric. It's hard to believe that a young Scarlett Johansson can star opposite a veteran like Bill Murray without being completely overshadowed, but she pulls it off and makes it look easy.

Anyone who says that this film is "boring" may have a fair point, but I don't think it's fair. It's just that this isn't a film for everyone. It doesn't have a story that is going to appeal to every viewer and that's fine because they clearly weren't the right audience for this film. I can appreciate what they mean, because whilst I enjoyed watching this film, it probably isn't something I'd find myself reaching to watch often. It's something I'd have to find myself in the mood to watch.

The film itself is beautiful, I don't mean the story, but the visuals. The bright lights of Tokyo offer this film a very stylised look, and compliment the story well. This was my first experience of a Sofia Coppola film, but having studied film at college I was aware of her films, my class just didn't study them.

I don't really have much else to say about the film that hasn't already been said in countless reviews, and due to the fact that this film has been out for a while, you've probably already made a decision as to whether or not you're going to watch it. I'd say that if you enjoy a good story, but don't mind it being a bit slow and just appreciating the smaller moments, I'll think you'll find it makes for a good watch. You might fall in love with it, as I know lots of people have, I didn't, much like the film it was just a quick romantic fling. 

Progress...

So I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of being a grown up and all the shit that comes with it. I've expressed on here before, I think about a year ago, that I was worried about becoming an adult. I was right to be worried, becoming an adult is shit, it's like a second puberty except of taking your time it's like a one year intensive course of worry.

But I've come out the other side of what was quite possibly the shittest year of education I've ever had. And that includes all those lessons they spent teaching me shapes and numbers when I was 4. That has benefitted me a lot more in life than anything I picked up from my second year at university. Well, that's not fair, I have picked up a few gems of knowledge; most people are twats, and quite a lot of them are dicks (I don't know about how you rate swear words but in my book calling someone a dick is more insulting than a twat. Twats are just annoying people, dicks go out of their way to be annoying). But there are a select few amazing people that actually want to achieve something and are people I'm glad I've met, because if it wasn't for them I would have been gone. 

After all that I've now got the summer look forward to. Ha. All it is now is 4 months of not having enough work to pay for all the bills, considering I only have a part time job and they won't be able to afford to pay me for any extra hours I do (which is fucking ridiculous considering the amount of money I know our website alone generates For the business). Having said that, an opportunity had presented itself which looks quite hopeful, and having previous work at a sports stadium should hopefully play to my advantage, but I'm not going to get my hopes up, that way if I get it it's like a nice little bonus bit of happiness. 

In the mean time I've been making progress on my '50 Films I've Been Meaning to See' list. I've knocked off 5 of them so far; The Cabin in the Woods and The Hobbit already have reviews posted. The other 3 I've watched are Lost in Translation, Looper and Fast & Furious (All of which I will post reviews for in the near future). To see the next 5 I'll be knocking off the list, look below, otherwise I'll be back soon. 

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Review

© New Line Cinema - 2012

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) - New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Wingnut Films

Directed by Peter Jackson
Written by Fran Walsh, Phillippa Boyens, Peter Jackson & Guillermo Del Toro
Starring Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Ken Stott, Graham McTavish

So, Lord of the Rings decided to do a Star Wars on us and release a prequel trilogy explaining some of the backstory. Much like the Star Wars prequel trilogy, it seems a bit pointless (at least in my eyes) but there is a difference. George Lucas was working from the crazy story written by George Lucas, whereas Peter Jackson was working from a story written by JRR Tolkien. Even though he'd proven he could do it with the LOTR trilogy, I was a little sceptical going into The Hobbit, especially after the decision to spread it across 3 films.

I was always going to be a little disappointed in this film purely because I'd been so excited at the prospect of Guillermo Del Toro directing it. As I said a moment, Peter Jackson did an incredible job bring the original trilogy of books to the big screen, but I wanted to see a slightly different take on the world of middle-earth. It's hard to argue that The Hobbit is much more of a kid's adventure than The Lord of the Rings was. And Peter Jackson has clearly made efforts to make this look visually different to it's predecessors.

One thing I noticed in this film (though I may be wrong) was that there seemed to be a lot more CGI involved. No that I'm complaining, the CGI and overall visuals of the film were the most enjoyable part of the film, for me. The CGI creatures and backgrounds blend in perfectly with reality and it really helps to broaden the world of the film. One scene I found particularly impressive (which must have been a pain in the arse to shoot, and I hope they release extensive making of's with the extended edition, because I'd love to see how they did it.) was early in the film where the dwarves begin to arrive. The fact that that scene had a hobbit, dwarves and a wizard, all of varying heights and sizes (played by similar sized actors) in the same space, moving around each other was incredible and felt like it been lifted straight from the novel.

© New Line Cinema - 2012

As far as the story is concerned I wasn't massively impressed. It certainly isn't as complicated as The Lord of the Rings with most of the screen time spent focused on Bilbo and the company of Dwarves. Although similarly to LOTR it is very much about getting from point A to point B via plot points 1 through 10. I'll be interested to see how the story plays out across the next two films with the source material looking a bit thin to cover that much screen time.

But in reality no one was really concerned about the story being amazing with this one. Most people just wanted to see Martin Freeman playing Bilbo Baggins (I know that's why I was so excited). I think I can say that he fucking nailed it. Everything from the reluctant coward at the beginning through to the brave adventurer he becomes Freeman is spot on. The returning characters are all as perfect as ever, and again I'm looking forward to seeing more of them pop up in the remaining two films. One of my problems with this film was the dwarves.

Now this is slightly unfair to Peter Jackson, because I don't think anyone would be able to the dwarves justice on screen. Because there are so many of them it's difficult to give each of them enough time to make a lasting impression. What we do see of the larger company of dwarves is excellent and I really liked their singing and Thorin Oakenshield makes a nice new badass for the franchise to replace Aragorn.

© New Line Cinema - 2012

Overall I can say I really enjoyed the film, and if you're already a fan you're bound to like it. If you're not usually a fan of this type of stuff I'd say give it a go, the story isn't so heavy and Martin Freeman is always awesome. Everyone loves him.

It's only just come out so I picked up the DVD at the supermarket for a tenner. I'd say it was worth the price seeing as how we'd missed it in the cinema. If you've already seen it a don't it I'd wait and see what's happening with the extended versions. I'd imagine it looks even better on BluRay but the visuals on DVD were great.

'The Cabin in the Woods' Review

© 2012 - Lionsgate Inc

The Cabin in the Woods (2011) - Lionsgate, Mutant Enemy

Directed by Drew Goddard

Written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon

Starring Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams, Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford

I’ve made a pretty good start on my Top 50 Films I’ve Been Meaning to See list this week, having already knocked two off (including this one) and a third planned for tomorrow. My girlfriend decided to do some work on her university coursework, and whilst it would have been a good use of time for me to be doing the same thing, I decided to watch a film. So why start with The Cabin in the Woods? Well, I logged on to Netflix, and a friend of mine had watched it recently, so I pressed play.

This film had made my Top 50 because I’d read about it and it sounded like a fairly interesting premise (although I was not prepared for what happened... more on that later). Plus Joss Whedon wrote and produced it so I was fairly certain I was in for something awesome. For anyone who hasn’t seen the film it basically takes the classic ‘group of teenager alone in the woods’ trope, so commonly used in horror films, and picks it apart piece by piece.

The first 30 minutes of the film follows the same beats as most classic horror films, but it’s so self aware you know that the film is going to take you to places you wouldn’t normally expect to go. A lot of laughs are to be had at the actors really playing up their “roles” (As TCITW puts it; The Virgin, The Whore, The Athlete, The Scholar and The Fool) early on in the film. What makes this film stand out from the very beginning is the alternate storyline being told of two office workers.

© 2012 - Lionsgate Inc

The two office workers (I’m terrible with names and too lazy to look it up on IMDB) were, for me, the most enjoyable part of the film. During the first 30 minutes of the film their dialogue is written so well that you often forget that you’re watching a horror film. The two characters are constantly (for lack of a better phrase) shooting the shit. They are just sharing general banter between co-workers with hints (some subtle, some obvious) dropped in as to what they are involved with. Pay attention because they drop some hints as to what will happen later on in the film.

I said just then that it often feels like you aren’t watching a horror film and I’d say just calling The Cabin in the Woods a “horror” film would be an insult to what it truly is. I can’t really say anything more about it without spoiling it so I’ll wrap this up.

© 2012 - Lionsgate Inc

The Cabin in the Woods is definitely a film worth watching if you get the chance. Running at just over 90 minutes it doesn’t lose it’s pace and keeps you entertained throughout, offering up so many twists it definitely welcomes itself to repeat viewings. If you’re a fan of horror movies, or you think horror movies are stupid, then this film is for you. Only avoid it if you’re not a fan of anything gory because shit goes down in this film. Cleverly written and brilliantly acted, with beautiful shots and good pace kept by first time director Drew Goddard.

Where to watch it - It’s on Netflix (both US & UK), you could rent it on DVD/Bluray, or it costs less than £10 in most supermarket bargain sections and online and if you’re already a fan of Joss Whedon then chances are you’ll love this so it might be worth just splashing out for the DVD and getting instant access to the commentary, I know I want to.

Messy Life

Me and Liv are both messy people. Which means that our flat is pretty much a pile of both everything and nothing covering all rooms, spilling from tables and sofas to the floor. We're trying hard to make sure all the chores get done, and now that I'm not so busy at uni it's getting better, but there is still a long way to go until it's properly perfect.

The one job we both hate doing the most is the washing up. It has gotten to points in the past where we just have piles and piles of dirty cups and crockery. We talked to some of Liv's family about this and they suggested that they we probably had too many plates etc. and we should just get one each and that way it would be easier to handle. So that's what we did:

Liv got a set of blue and I got red. Now we each have a dinner plate, side plate and bowl (Liv even managed to get matching cutlery for hers). And we decided to go out and buy a load of instant noodles so that we had something quick we could make ourselves to eat. Something we'd found ourselves doing was simply chowing down on crisps and chocolate, and while instant noodles may not be the most nutritious food, they've got to be a bit better than crisps or chocolate (you at least have to dirty a saucepan).

A small evening snack of Noodles to keep me going for a while until I can be bothered to get up and make us something properly substantial for dinner. I sound like I'm moaning but I'm really not. Simply having a new plate organisation system and something warm that I can prepare and eat quickly has really cheered me up. Not only that but Liv has turned me on to the most amazing new tea.

I'm not really one for fancy types of tea (and by "fancy" I mean anything that isn't every day tea or Earl Grey) with the "fanciest" tea I've indulged in being a blend called 'Sherlock Holmes' which was basically a smokey Earl Grey.

The tea was called 'Butter Mint Sensation' and as far I'm aware is only available through Twinings (I found it half price at Sainsbury's). It tastes just like a Murray Mint and you should just try it because it's incredible. And if you drink your tea from a Breaking Bad mug, your awesome girlfriend got you for Christmas (pictured above), then it's a great way to spend 10 minutes. And then you can 15 minutes writing a blog post about it, like I did.

Top 50 Films I've Been Meaning to See

Recently I became a member of what is probably the coolest cinema I have ever seen. It’s called the Prince Charles Cinema and it’s just off Leicester Square, I’m going to write about it after my first visit. I was looking at they’re upcoming schedule and there were so many cool things they were showing and it really reminded me how many good movies I’ve seen. (As I’m studying Television Production I spend most of my time watching TV shows rather than films.) And how many movies I haven’t seen and when someone tries to talk to me about it I reply with something along the lines of “I’ve been meaning to see that” so I decided to make myself a little list of the Top 50 Films I’ve Been Meaning to See. I started by going to the IMDB top 250 films to give me some inspiration for the list and then it was over to LoveFilm to have a look at what I had waiting to come my way. So here below are the Top 50 Films I’ve Been Meaning to See and I will be working through it when I can. The aim is to have completed this list of 50 within a year of this post, as I work through them I will post a review on here and cross it off from the list. There are loads of films I want to see, I’ve just narrowed this down to the top 50, roll the film.

1. Leon
2. Apocalypse Now (& Hearts of Darkness)
3. Spirited Away
4. Django Unchained
5. The Departed
6. Amelie
7. The Prestige
8. Paranormal Activity
9. Oldboy
10. Howl's Moving Castle
11. Raging Bull
12. Heat
13. Point Break
14. Blade Runner
15. Fargo
16. Good Will Hunting Argo
17. Annie Hall
18. My Neighbour Totoro
19. How To Train Your Dragon
20. Groundhog Day
21. The Hobbit
22. The Graduate
23. The Wrestler
24. Attack the Block
25. Chronicle
26. Fast & Furious
27. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
28. Prometheus
29. Serenity
30. Source Code
31. Star Trek 2 - The Wrath of Khan
32. Taken
33. The Raid
34. Tower Heist  Super 8
35. Dredd
36. Brave
37. Frankenweenie
38. Chasing Amy
39. Desperado
40. El Mariachi
41. From Dusk Till Dawn
42. Looper
43. The Cabin in the Woods
44. The Evil Dead
45. Mallrats
46. Mars Attacks!
47. Moonrise Kingdom
48. Red State
49. V/H/S
50. Lost in Translation

Edited: 22/04/2013 - I realised I'd already seen Tower Heist, so I've replaced that with Super 8. And I decided I really wanted to see Argo so (not wanting to have too much Ben Affleck) I got rid of Good Will Hunting.

Guess Who's Back

Right, so there will be no one in the world to read this at the moment. I mean there will be people in the world, but there isn't anyone who really knows that this blog exists and I haven't posted anything on it since just before I went to see The Dark Knight Rises (Which I thought was awesome, by the way). So of course a lot has gone on with me since then and things actually seem to be maybe, kind of, but probably not, taking off. I've had some work that I actually got paid for and hopefully there will be some more of that soon because getting paid for doing something you love is just like the best feeling in the world.

So I've been working on a big project for university at the moment but I'm going to do a proper post about the next week after we have finished the series because I'll be able to give a whole overview, and I'd hate to do a halfarsed attempt at it now, because I'm getting ready for work. It would be better for me to tell you all about it once the whole thing is finished. But needless to say, that has been going well.

I'm going to be doing a lot more content for this website from now on because I want somewhere that I can refer people to if they have anything they want to know about me and it will all be in one lovely place. I'm going to do some work to make the blog look as good as I can but you'll just have to bare with me for know because I can't get it all done at once. And I said at the beginning of this piece, there isn't going to be anyone reading this. Maybe I'll start telling people about once there is something of interest on here. But for now it's just and me and you (no one).