Just saw X-men origins:Wolverine at the cinema. When I watch these kind of films I tend to reserve judgement. It was entertaining, a decent blockbuster to watch on the big screen but certainly not something I'll buy on DVD. Parts were unnecessary and some of the CGI was dodgy as hell but I did think the film stayed fairly true to the original story of wolverine from the cartoons. (I never read the comics). If you have nothing to do with your afternoon, go and see it. Also watched Inside man, and I must say that I liked it. I've heard a lot of bad opinions about this film but I thought it was clever and entertaining. It did fail to highlight a lot of issues that it was trying to point out about society which is usually done very well in a Spike Lee film. While it may not be his greatest work, (and also a bit of an ipod advertisement) I thought the script was catchy and the acting was good. Overall, I thought it was a cool film.

Havnt written in here for a while so a fair few things to talk about. First film worth mentioning is Brotherhood, a sort of Korean versio0n of Saving Private Ryan and it is absolutely fantastic. If anyone who likes war films has not seen this I recommend you watch it asap. Great insight into how that country was torn apart by political war and the characters are well acted and well thought out. I would say that the two brothers who are the main characetrs are really the opposite sides fighting the war and their family represents the country of korea. Even though they fight on the same side their personalituies start to collide in the same way that the political parts of the country collided. A truly brilliant film, and I wouldsuggest you watch this not as a rip off of saving private ryan but as a seperate film entirely. Been watching a lot of Flight of the conchortds too, and it is brilliant. Great strange comedy, an excellent show all round, great characetrs and stupid yet witty dialogue makes this utterly enjoyable. Heartily recommended. Also watched Kill Bill part 1 and 2 and forgot how much I liked these films, the 2nd one in particular. I think thios is posiibly Tarantino's most underated work and if you like your japanese samurai films and martial arts flicks, I think Tarantino did a great job of sticking to the way the old films were done while injecting his own style into the story. Also saw Dog Day Afternoon for the first time by Sidney Lumet. What a spectacular film. Incorporates so much of the issues surrounding America at the time and also makes a great observation of Al Pacino's characetr who almost cracks under everything in his life, which I think many people can relate too. Really stayed true to what happened asdwell, brilliantly shot and made with gritty realism. On another note, I've been watching some of the music videos by Rammstein, I know you might not like the music but I urge you to check out some of their videos, I didnt realise how well made they are from a filming standpoint. That will do for now. Time for lunch.

Went to see Gran Torino the other day. What can I say? An absolutely phenominal film. Clint Eastwood at his best more so as a director than actor and his performance is also fantastic. The great thing is no matter how many films he plays in, the man has just got great on screen persona. The characters he plays in every film are similar but somehow he just pulls it off so well. Best thing about this film is the amount of issues that it brings up about modern america. Religion, racism, prejudice, creed, it's all there. Truly my favourite film of the year and in my opinion one of Eastwood's finest pieces of work. Been watching a lot of My Name Is Earl recently. Do really like this program, pretty well shot and I think this is a great example of just how far you can stretch a good idea. The story is so simple but can keep going forever. Definite viewing for days were you night be hungover.

Watched Gone Baby Gone which I really enjoyed. Plot was excellent as was Casey Affleck's performance. I was sceptical about this one so I was pleasantly surprised. Kept me guessing throughout the story and the outcome is a good payoff. Have been watching a few good ads online recently as I'm still interested in shooting ads when/if I graduate. Honda Cog one is still one of my favourites. The banned Xbox baby advert is also good and so are some of the ads shot by David Fincher, the roller blade one for coca-cola in particular. If anybody is interested in this branch then I really urge you to check out some of his advertising work, and look into other directors and DOPs you like to see if they have shot some commercials. Often directors pioneer or experiment with visual ideas or particular shooting styles and techniques in advertising before they apply it in a film so they are comfortable with the technological demands. As as a side note, webpages/blogs from good Directors/DOPs are really worth a read.
Also saw Taken with Liam Neeson. Fairly entertaining but I'd seen the story, plot and characters in loads of other films so I was quite bored throughout. Surprising coz I usually quite like these sort of films. Work to do. Bye Bye

Today watched In the heat of the night. An enjoyable and noteworthy film. Excellent performances from Sydney Portier and Rod Steiger. First time a black slaps a white man in the face on camera I believe. What else? Oh yeah, watched Ricki-oh, a korean gore horror about some convict in a prison run by a militant warden with a fat stupid son. Entertaining but a terrible film, gore was laughable and a true low budget 80's film, nevertheless I actually liked watching this.
Also watched some mystery science theatre, a hilarious low budget TV show from the states, ithink from about a decade ago. A nice guy smart presenter with two foul mouthed crude talking robots. In the show they watch the worst film ever made and sort of make their own dialogue. I don't think many people would like this but I thought it was great!

Recently saw Step brothers for the second time, what a comedy. Will Ferral and John C. Reilly are a fantastic comical pair and are brilliant as manchild characters, good idea and well executed. As a result of this I watched Talladega Nights, the ballad of Ricky Bobby for the second time also. Loved this one too, especially the extended edition, some brilliant dialogue, especially from Ricky's dad (the actor's name escapes me). Liked these films coz they are ultimate feel good films and it's nice to occasionally have a break from all the serious stuff i sometimes watch. Also checked out the extended editions of the lord of the rings trilogy. Can't believe how much extra background is in these cuts, it makes the story much fuller and to me, more enjoyable. The making of documentaries are great to watch especially if you are studying film, I was especially intrigued by the script development process, which had some extensive work and high levels of stress from what I gathered.

I havnt written since term ended so there will be more posts to follow to review the things I watched during the holidays. Recently, watched Morgan Spurlock's Where in the world is osama bin laden? which I really enjoyed. There is a cartoon like humour to his documentaries that I enjoy, especially because he still makes a very strong point at the end of them. Hugely entertaining and always a pleasure to see the situations that he gets involved in. Also watched a documentary called sharkwater, which I recommend to anyone who has not seen it. (might have mentioned this doc in a previous blog, apologies) The guy who made it is annoying, especially when he talks about himself, but he really knows his stuff and you can tell he is passionate about sharks. The great thing about this doc is that it starts off being a doc about sharks and it ends up uncovering a huge sharkfin illegal market, and the guy gets involved in some seriously dangerous situations and he meets some fascinating people on the way. Grips you from start to finish and will really leave you thinking when it's over. I've also been watching the extended editions of lord of the rings, great to see the stuff that wasn't in the final product, much more story and detail that I missed from the book than in the released cuts of the films. The making of documentaries are also and excellent insight into the sheer scale of the project and I find it inspiring to see how Peter Jackson dealt with the films. Ocassionally repetetive though, and also a lot of material that made me press the fast forward button. Over the holiday I also watched Dodgeball with my mum who, bless her, is pretty much oblivious to modern filmmaking but has a vast knowledge of other world cinema. Was a good laugh to see her reaction and shows that a good comic idea can still make the older generations laugh hysterically. Have class now so have to get going, more blogs soon!