Thursday 17 December 2015

STAR WARS MEGA-REVIEW

December 17th 2015, or as it is now known, Star Wars Day. Luckily I got to see it at the midnight premier last night, because if I'd had to have waited any longer to see it, I would have literally burst.
With that in mind, I wanted to do something Star Warsy today as a tribute to one of the biggest and greatest movie franchises, but I don't want to spoil anything for anyone - because there are people who will have waited since 1984 to find out what happens to Luke, Leia and The Gang. So I'm going to review all of the other six Star Wars films in one mega-post,with a teensy footnote about The Force Awakens with no spoilers, therefore only spoiling things for people who have never seen any Star Wars before; and if you're one of them, it's been 30 years, you can't expect us to not post Empire spoilers any more...

Oh, and to make it even more exciting, I'll be reviewing them in the order that I watched them. Or rather, the order I was shown them in the first time, which incidentally is the wrong order. And to top it all off, I'll tell you people who have never seen it, what the right order is.

A whole lotta spacey stuff to get through... But we'll manage. Here is what I have to say on each Star Wars movie in the order that I first saw them.

Episode IV: A New Hope

I did this part right. The first Star Wars film I ever saw was the first Star Wars film period, in fact when it was originally released it wasn't called Episode IV: A New Hope, it was just called Star Wars. This is the original, the film the people in the 1970's started with, and the place where you definitely should start. Unless someone is super into the prequels, they'll always tell you to start at Episode IV. Despite that, this is the Episode that I have seen the least of (disregarding the prequels, obviously.) I've only seen A New Hope twice, years ago. I struggled to follow it the first time because I didn't know anything about the Star Wars universe, and it starts off quite slow - which is the main argument for watching the prequels first. But you meet Luke Skywalker, which is where the story definitely should start. Starting with Episode IV you get to see Darth Vader as everyone in 1977 did, as the scariest and most evil man in the galaxy. If you start with the prequels, he just doesn't have the same effect.

However, and I will stress this with all of the original trilogy films. If you have never seen this film before, try TRY to search for the original version, not the one that George Lucas went back and screwed with beyond repair. Watch the original and then, if you want, watch the super CGI'd edited version. But you'll thank me for telling you this. Overall I will rank A New Hope as my third favourite Star Wars films out of all 7. It may seem slow to Star Wars virgins but I promise that if you manage to get invested in it you will absolutely adore Episodes V and VI.

Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

Yup. This is where I messed up. I did warn you that the first time I watched the saga I did it wrong. But I can explain. The reason why I followed one of the best Star Wars films with the absolute worst one, is that I was dating a guy who truly believed the prequels were better, and was therefore angry that I'd started Star Wars from the actual beginning, instead of the fake beginning.

According to the Machete Order you're meant to skip this one completely. Watch all the others, and then come back to this one at the end if you really want to. But it genuinely adds nothing to the story, and you can easily live having never seen it. Anakin as an 8 year old boy is completely pointless, he's not even a Jedi at this point, he's just a kid. At least Episodes II and III show SOME character development (and I use that phrase lightly.)

My problem with the prequels as a whole is that when I first watched them all I was 19, unlike everyone else my age who saw the prequels in the cinema when they were kids. Meaning that unless you've gone back and re-watched them all, you probably have quite fond memories of them. But being 19 and watching the prequels means I was at an age where I was trying to understand all the council meetings and the trade federation and midichlorians, and I lost interest very quickly because it was so hard to follow and so needlessly complicated and boring. However, kids will have liked it - they probably will zone out in all the political parts, but the pod race is kind of cool... I guess? Overall, this is right at the bottom as number 7. Don't watch this film unless you really REALLY want to, and even then, try and change your mind.

Episode II: Attack of the Clones

More prequel tosh next. Episode II takes place 10 years after The Phantom Menace, again, highlighting how much we didn't need that film in the slightest because now Anakin is a whole new character. He's 18, he's a Jedi apprentice, and we could easily have just started here. So, if you do insist on watching the prequels first like the odd minority do, start here. Please?

George Lucas says that Episode II is "ultimately a love story", which would translate if the two actors had any on screen chemistry at all, and if the romance wasn't so forced. Other than the love story that is just shoe-horned in there is nothing else I can say about this movie that I didn't say about Episode I. I actually fell asleep towards the end of this film and then gave up with the prequels entirely until after I'd finished the original trilogy. Episode II comes in at number 6.

Episode V: Empire Strikes Back

Finally we've reached Empire, everyone's favourite. The best Star Wars film, one of the best films ever made. I got bored of the prequels and went back to the original trilogy. Whether you follow either the Machete order or the release order, Empire follows A New Hope. It just makes sense, and it allows the story to progress in the best way possible following the destruction of the Death Star. And also, other than in Episodes IV and VI, the special addition changes aren't all that bad in comparison, so watching either versions will still make it your favourite.

We get to see Luke Skywalker using The Force, we get to see Yoda training him to be a Jedi, Han Solo and Leia's relationship develops, which unlike the prequels is a real love story that people enjoyed watching and Darth Vader is tracking Luke down with a vengeance after the Death Star. Most importantly, we see them fight against each other for the big reveal that - yup - Darth Vader is Luke's father. The film ends with nothing going right for anyone except the Empire, it's the perfect cliffhanger to leave on for Episode VI, and I wish I'd have been able to see it without knowing the big secret. Obviously The Empire Strikes Back is my number 1 favourite Star Wars film.

Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

Personally my least favourite of the original trilogy, but that is probably down to it having such a hard time following Empire Strikes Back. This was also the worst re-edited film, I was lucky enough to never see George Lucas' strange new creation, but I've heard it is the main reason why this film gets such a bad rep.

Luke Skywalker is a whole new character in this film, he's transformed into a true Jedi and he really is finally at one with The Force, and it's revealed that him and Leia are brother and sister - which we all knew already anyway, but still awesome. Leia is shown to be force-sensitive too, which would make sense as it runs in the family, she tells Luke that she always knew that they were siblings - and I've always really liked that even though she is susceptible to The Force she never actually uses it to the extent that Luke or Vader do, even in The Force Awakens.

There has been some dispute about the order that you are meant to watch Return of the Jedi in. Most people will watch the films in release order which means Episodes IV-VI followed by the prequels, but the Machete order is Episodes IV and V followed by watching II and III as a flashback, and then finishing with VI. I personally have never seen the appeal of watching the prequels as a flashback in the middle of the original trilogy for your first viewing, for people who don't understand the universe of Star Wars I wouldn't recommend the Machete order. But if you've seen them all already then definitely try it. Overall Return of the Jedi comes in as my fourth favourite. I don't like it as much as the other original films, but it still beats the prequels hands down.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

So after giving up on the prequels after the piss poor attempt George Lucas made with Episodes I and II, I attempted Revenge of the Sith after I'd seen and been able to appreciate the three genuinely good movies without Lucas taking a massive crap over my whole Star Wars experience. By default this is the best film in the prequels, but that doesn't mean it's good. Like, at all.

The one good thing this movie does is show the transformation from Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader, in the space of less than 10 minutes Skywalker abandons his Jedi teachings and becomes a child murdering Sith Lord. You hear Darth Vader's theme play for the first time and it did send a few shivers down my spine because this guy is truly evil. However, George Lucas also didn't learn that kids don't give a damn about government meetings, even at 19 seeing this film for the first time - as with the other prequels - I zoned out completely.

The romance is still there, shoe-horned in and still as awkward as ever. And Padme, who I thought would be a pretty cool character at first, ends up dying of a broken heart..? And the scene where she gives birth is just so poorly written and poorly acted out. I was so bitterly disappointed with the ending other than seeing Vader's suit for the first time. And even that was ruined by THAT moment that still haunts Star Wars fans to this day. You'll know what it is...

Revenge of the Sith is my fifth favourite Star Wars film, better than the other two prequels but nowhere near the original trilogy's standards.

And finally, that leaves us with Episode VII: The Force Awakens

I promised you that I wasn't going to give anything away about this film, so this will be short and sweet and I hope those of you who are yet to watch it really enjoy it. The acting is fantastic, including all the older stars (I was concerned that poor old Carrie Fisher wouldn't be able to hack it, but she did fabulously) and Finn and Wrey are both amazing, the perfect Star Wars heroes for the new generation. The humour is on point, and so nostalgic of the original trilogy, not the awkward jokes George Lucas added to the prequels that simply never landed. I thought at first that it was purely a film that existed for fan service alone but now I love it, I'm seeing it again in a few days and I can't wait. Everything is nostalgic of the films of the 70's and 80's but that is what is so amazing, it's not a cheap trick or laziness, it's a perfect homage paid to Empire Strikes Back. Also Kylo Ren is scary as hell.

I've given The Force Awakens an 8/10, that might change after seeing it again, but I really enjoyed it. It was hard to live up to everyone's expectations and I think it did better than we thought it would. And that is why I'm listing it as my second favourite Star Wars movie, after Empire.

Monday 14 December 2015

SPECTRE: Film Review SPOILER-FREE

IMDB synopsis: A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

Every review possible for this film is going to say the exact same thing, but I'm going to say it anyway because it's worth mentioning: the opening tracking shot in this film is amazing. It was beautiful, and was crafted and used perfectly. From that I was surprised, I was going into watching this film sceptical after the success of Daniel Craig's earlier Skyfall, there was no way it wouldn't pale in comparison. And from that opening tracking shot onwards, I was right.

I always look forward to the title sequences of James Bond films, naked silhouettes aside (which is a topic for another day) they're always so well executed and even though the style has changed through the years they all have the same feel to them. This one was no different, however Sam Smith's song just didn't fit as well as Adele's Skyfall. I think the people at Bond HQ knew that too, it wasn't advertised nearly as much as Adele's was, or Skyfall as a film in general. It's as if they knew no one would prefer Spectre.

On the whole, Spectre was a gigantic waste. A waste of beautiful cinematography, a waste of what we're told will be Daniel Craig's last Bond film, and a waste of a good villain. Seriously, who has Christoph Waltz in their film and only uses him for three scenes? He is an amazing actor, one of the best villains in the industry, and the character had the potential to be interesting enough - but there just wasn't enough of him! And we had to wait until the last act of the film to even see him, and understand his evil plan. Bond villains are always some of the best, and this just didn't cut it.

On top of all of that, and I hate to say this, the film dragged. I actually checked my watch during it - which I haven't done during a film since Jurassic World. I was bitterly disappointed, but I think that is just down to the amazing standards set by Skyfall and Casino Royale.

At least it was better than Quantum of Solace... I give it a 5/10.

Click on Dan the Hunk to watch the trailer!

Sunday 15 November 2015

#PorteOuverte #ViveLaFrance

The atrocious and inhumane attack on Paris on Friday the 13th of November is still hard to comprehend. Destruction and terror such as this is the stuff of nightmares.

There are no words I can find to describe what happened on Friday.

The only thing I can tell you is that it is times like this that we need to come together as a species.

Do not point ignorant blame at religions you know little about.

Terrorism has no religion and no race.

Do not cast hate at the many because of the actions of the few.

Please remember that over a hundred hearts stopped beating in Paris on Friday, do not use their deaths to excuse your own ignorance. Be considerate.

PRO-SEX FEMINISM and why it's AWESOME.

Female sexuality has always been a touchy subject even since the 60's when sex became "kind of okay". But there seems to be no logical reasoning behind it. Male sexuality is so deeply engrained into our culture that we have naked women on the front page of magazines, ready for young boys to see so they know exactly what to expect from women in their adult years.

Second wave feminism in the 1970's challenged these ideas surrounding female sexuality. Women were protesting for abortions, and in 1974 The Pill became readily available for young single women in Britain. Feminist writers such as Angela Carter appeared in the mid to late seventies publishing works explicitly exploring female sexuality; in such work we would see female characters who wanted to be dominated, menstruation was discussed like the norm that it is, and females actually enjoying sex.

In the 1980's sex-positive or pro-sex feminism became widely recognised following many protests against sex work, pornography and BDSM by some feminist organisations. Pro-sex feminism is the belief in the sexual liberation of women, following on from what was discussed in the late 70's.

Sex Work
Many feminist organisations disagree with sex workers such as strippers, exotic dancers and prostitutes. Sex-positive feminists believe that both men and women can have positive experiences in the sex work environment, providing that environment is not linked to abuse or trafficking. It is generally accepted by pro-sex feminists to not stigmatise or discriminate against sex workers, male or female.

Pornography
A lot of feminists find pornography to be sexually discriminatory to women, and a lot of women forbid their husbands or boyfriends to watch it as well as campaign to make pornography illegal. However pro-sex feminists believe that criminalising pornography violates female freedom of speech. There is nothing specifically degrading to women about pornography, and it is watched and enjoyed by men as well as women across the world. Also, professional pornography (as opposed to home-videos and revenge-porn) involve actors who have consented to be in the film.

BDSM
BDSM is the practice of bondage and sadomasochism and, like pornography, is enjoyed by both men and women all over the world. The mantra of the BDSM community is "safe, sane, consensual", meaning that true BDSM has to involve consent. With that said, discriminating against women who have chosen that lifestyle from themselves is more demeaning to their sexuality than the practice itself. Some feminists view BDSM as glorifying misogyny and rape, however roles in BDSM are not fixed to gender - males can be the submissive and females can be the dominant.

Overall, the sex-positive view of feminism is the one that will push the movement forwards. By restricting female sexuality and the exploration of this sexuality, is effectively pushing feminism back to pre-second wave. As a movement and as a community, man or woman, feminists should strive to move forwards towards complete equality. With the complete disregard for female sexual liberation from members of our own community, there is no hope.

Wednesday 4 November 2015

Twelve Twenty Three

"The last thing I saw was my alarm clock flashing 12:23 before she pushed her long rotting nails through my chest, her other hand muffling my screams. I sat bolt upright, relieved it was only a dream, but as I saw my alarm clock read 12:22, I heard my closet door creak open."

The story for Twelve Twenty Three came from a series of two sentence horror stories posted on Buzzfeed. We decided to use this incredibly short story because it gave us an interesting narrative idea, yet it left us a lot of room to expand. To make the narrative flow better on screen, I decided to show time passing throughout the day leading up to the male character's death, and this is shown through the use of a flashback. The watch is shown in multiple shots to show how time has passed. Throughout the day he notices a few suspicious things, foreshadowing the event that the viewer already knows is coming.

"In 'Friday the Thirteenth' and 'Halloween' the director uses a subjective camera in the stabbing scenes, which, essentially, makes the viewer the killer. The camera moves in on the screaming, pleading victim."

I took inspiration from these scenes in 'Friday the Thirteenth' and 'Halloween' for the shot of the male character in the bed when the female antagonist appears. The use of a shot from his POV as she slowly moves towards him like a shadow again subverts the horror genre gender stereotypes.

^ click me to watch!^

Tuesday 7 July 2015

My Favourite Game of Thrones Characters (Season 4) SPOILERS

Those who know me, know I am utterly obsessed with Game of Thrones. I'm currently up to season four, so thought I would share a few of my favourite characters and what I like about them. There are loads of really interesting characters (and some utter arseholes) in Game of Thrones, so here are my top five favourite characters! WITH SPOILERS!

5. Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion is awesome, and Peter Dinklage does a wonderful job of portraying him. Despite being a Lannister, he's not as inherently evil as his father, nephew and sister (and Jaime has his moments.) In season four he's accused of murdering Joffrey, and held prisoner before being brought in front of the King's Court including Cersei and Tywin. (I haven't got as far as hearing the results of his trial yet!)

So far he's proved himself as being kind and caring, the way he looked after Sansa following Catelyn and Robb's deaths, despite them both not wanting to marry each other. He was always the first person to tell Joffrey he was being an arsehole...

4. Daenerys Targaryen

Daenerys is a fierce teenage queen who has been travelling across the East freeing slaves with her army of Dothraki, Unsullied and her three dragons. She's already lost her husband and son, and is on her way to Westeros to claim her rightful place on the Iron Throne after building up a big enough army to cross the narrow sea. I love Daenerys because she transformed from being a timid young girl controlled by her brother, to being a kick-ass Khaleesi with an army ten-thousand strong following her. She knows what she wants and what is rightfully hers, it's just taking her a long time to get there.... (four series on and she's still not crossed the narrow sea)

3. Jon Snow

I love Jon Snow. I actually adore him. He's beautiful, he's noble, he cares about the family that never really truly accepted him. He struggled having to accept that Catelyn never loved him, and his bastard label makes life pretty tough for him. He had to travel with the wildlings to learn their plan of attack, and ended up falling in love with a wildling girl. And now he must lead the defence of Castle Black...

2. Theon Greyjoy (Reek)

I hated Theon at first. And I mean I literally hated him. When Ramsey Snow first captured him I felt he had it coming for sacking Winterfell, but then everything took a very dark turn and I feel so sorry for him. He has been castrated, and has become Ramsey's slave, a completely broken man now. His father even gets sent his severed penis and does nothing about it... Alfie Allen needs to win all the awards for his portrayal of Reek, and I mean that. It's so powerful to watch. The scene where his sister comes to rescue him was just too hard to watch...

1. Sansa Stark

My favourite Game of Thrones character from season four (and probably seasons two and three as well, with her father being my favourite from the first season - I just love Starks...) and she will probably continue to be my favourite for the next seasons. She's beautiful and she's strong, and she has the same loyalty that all of the Starks have. She was made to be engaged to Joffrey, and even after he wrongly killed her father she was still loyal to him even though it killed her to be. Now Joffrey's dead she's free to leave Kings Landing, and is whisked away by creepy Littlefinger to her crazy-arse Aunt and cousin in the Eerie. I know that Sansa will do some seriously awesome things in the next season, and I'm hoping that she gets some revenge on the Lannisters (an Arya-Sansa kill squad would be perfect.)

Once I catch up with season five I will do my favourite characters from that season too! They might change. I'm hoping we get introduced to some cool new ones or maybe some minor characters get a change in the spotlight.

Thanks for reading!

TOTD: All Time Low - Something's Gotta Give

Tune of the Day: 07/07/15 All Time Low - Something's Gotta Give

I was completely obsessed with All Time Low when I was in school, and I've loved this song since it was released. It's like I'm 15 all over again!

Follow link on photo to music video!

Sunday 28 June 2015

Why You Should Watch: Game of Thrones [SPOILER FREE]

Game of Thrones very quickly became my favourite TV show of all time. I'd never even seen the first episode or knew remotely what it was about until March, when the first episode was screened to me in a lecture on cinematic television. I instantly became hooked and, if you've never seen it before, you will too.

The first episode gives you everything you can expect from the series as a whole: picturesque landscapes, amazing characters, breasts, incest and cliff-hangers. One of those doesn't sound as appealing as the others, but that's part of the show: the shock factor. There are some gruesome elements in GOT, lots of gorey battles and disgusting deaths. I've never been one for gore, but its just excusable in this show...

Wiki Summary for 'Winter is Coming': King Robert Baratheon majestically arrives in Winterfell, the home of his old and trusted friend, Eddard Stark, Warden of the North, with an important offer.

On the eastern continent, the exiled Princess Daenerys Targaryen marries Khal Drogo, a warlord of the Dothraki with tens of thousands of warriors at his command. Her brother, Viserys, callously plans to win Drogo's allegiance with the marriage, so that he may return home to Westeros and reclaim the Iron Throne, which was seized by force from his father by Robert.

In the frozen lands, beyond the Wall, the wildlings are on the move to the alarm of the Night's Watch. But something else is stirring even farther north.

Click on Jon Snow (swooon) to watch the first episode.

TOTD: Scroobius Pip vs. Dan le Sac - You Will See Me

Tune of the day: 28/06

Scroobius Pip vs. Dan le Sac - You Will See Me

This song made me have a really weird kind of epiphany. Warning: it will make you feel really weird. It brought a lot of feelings to the surface, and, I did cry a little!

You have been warned!

Also, the video is amazing!

Click photo for link.

Monday 22 June 2015

TOTD: Bleachers: I Wanna Get Better

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A81Z6hGjGJQ

Tune Of The Day: 22/06
Bleachers - I Wanna Get Better

This song couldn't have found me in a better time of my life! It literally sums up everything I've been feeling for the last week going through a break-up which was stressful to say the least.

Upbeat and funky, definitely one to cheer you up.

Follow the link on the photo.

Dirty Girl Review

IMDB Synopsis :A comedic story of the search for identity and the redemptive power of unexpected friendship. Danielle is the dirty girl of Norman High School. When Danielle's misbehavior gets her banished to special ed, she teams up with an innocent closet-case and together they head out on a road trip to discover each other and themselves through a funny and serendipitous friendship.

Rating: 4/10

Dirty Girl was a film I was excited to watch. I knew the premise, and I'm a huge fan of Juno Temple. I was expecting it to be a film to tackle the homophobic views of America, as well as the issue of shaming sexual women. It tried... But left a lot to be desired.

The name itself is misleading, Temple's character is not "dirty". I was expecting this to be a film to take an overly sexual young woman and show how that's not such a bad thing to be. However, the only time it is implied that Temple's lead Danielle is being sexual is a brief encounter at the beginning in a parked car, and a slightly risque comment in a classroom.

Set in the 1980's, Danielle's mum is married to a Mormon man, who wants to adopt Danielle and change her "sexual" ways. However they don't show the extent that these families will go to to protect their daughters innocence. It would have been a much better film if the jokes surrounding her alleged promiscuity were turned into a hard-hitting drama about what women like this had to suffer.

Her gay best friend could have been done a lot better too. The overall campness and cheese of the film, including a scene with the pair singing and dancing in the car, as well as two horrible choreographed strip-scenes, makes his sexuality a mockery. It would have been a much better film if it had shown these very different teenagers struggle to live in the "man's world" that they do.

Emily Rose