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Showing posts from December, 2013

Film Review: What Maisie Knew

This films tells the story of a young girl who's parents divorce and what occurs in the aftermath. What I found interesting, is that the story echoes not just the themes of the films Wah Wah and Irreconcilable Differences, but also that they focus on what the child can see, and tell the film from their point of view .     For such a film to work well, the actress/actor portraying the child has to be capable of essentially carrying the film on their shoulders, as that is where the audience, hopefully - has most of their attention focussed. In the films referenced above, Zac Fox/Nicholas Hoult and Drew Barrymore  respectively, do a more than excellent job in that respect. Onata Aprile who is portraying Maisie, does this in spades.  Her almost constant fighting parents, portrayed by Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore, before, during and after the divorce proceedings, become more and more vicious, low and neglectful of their daughter. Ms Moore's character, bringing her daughter

Article on Film Scores

Recently, I found an article online, with a list of 115 film scores in contention for the Academy Award nomination of Best Original Score. It was a long and varied list and I decided to go through and pick ones I think should be given serious consideration. Here are the ones, narrowed down to a much shorter list of nine. As you can see, it is a mix of the complete list, old favourites like Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard and Howard Shore, mixed with some new faces. All well and truly deserving of some Oscar attention. Gangster Squad: Steve Jablonsky The Great Gatsby: Craig Armstrong The Hobbit - Desolation of Smaug: Howard Shore The Hunger Games - Catching Fire: James Newton Howard Man of Steel: Hans Zimmer The Mortal Instruments - City of Bones: Atli Orvarsson Rush: Hans Zimmer Short Term 12: Joel P. West Star Trek into Darkness: Michael Giacchino.

Film Review: Catching Fire

When a film adaptation of a book is done, not just adequately but really well, it is something quite special. It adds a whole other layer, not just to the book, but to the entire series. Everyone involved in bringing the second in Suzanne Collin's trilogy to life, cast and crew - have done a spectacular job. The cast from the first film, Jennifer Lawrence, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Josh Hutcherson, Donald Sutherland, Liam Hemsworth, Lenny Kravitz and Elizabeth Banks, all return for the second, an essential element whenever a sequel is involved. New characters are here, portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jena Malone and Sam Claflin. Needless to say, all give their characters life and despite their varied intentions, interesting to the audience. Ms Lawrence's character, Katniss Everdeen, is a seriously well adapted character. Ms Lawrence brings her to life completely, her many strengths and her weaknesses, since considering the horrors that Katniss witnesses in the f