The Daily Chronicle

Hello Everyone :-)

I’m always cautious of ‘Must sees’. I’m a great believer in reserving judgement till you actually see something and not always for in a good way, sometimes you can go expecting the world and be given something a bit wishy washy.
So it was with great trepidation that I embarked on a cinema trip to see ‘Chronicle’ based on the review of Ryan Lambie (follow him on Twitter, he’s funny and knows his films) from Den of Geek who said it was “the first must see of 2012”.

‘Chronicle’ is the story of Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) who is virtually friendless save for his cousin Matt (Alex Russell). When Matt talks Andrew into coming to a rave with him, the pair, along with future class president and all round Mr Popular Steve (Michael B Jordan), investigate a hole in the ground near to where the rave is. The three guys, after their encounter with a large glowing (presumably extra-terrestrial) entity in the hole, discover they have telekinetic powers.

The ‘found footage’ genre has felt like old hat over the past few years but I think ‘Chronicle’ used it quite successfully. The fact that Andrew documents everything on his camera prior to going into the hole means that it’s not too much of a leap of faith for the audience when he starts documenting their new found abilities. Also the fact the boys can levitate the camera with their telekinesis means that Josh Trank effectively solves the problem of ‘who’s holding the camera?’ when we can see all three characters at once. There is a moment towards the end where we’re lead to believe that all the footage is being filmed on people’s phones and the suspension of my disbelief would have been pushed to the limit had I not been thoroughly engrossed in the film by this point.

I really like the script. The characters talk in a believable way, none of the dialogue seems contrived. This is down to Max Landis (yes… son of John) so snaps for him.
There is a definite shift in tone. The first half of the film is a lot lighter, the bits about using their newly acquired powers to make Lego towers (what else would you POSSIBLY want to use them for?!?!) and stuff like that are fun and quite sweet and very ‘buddy movie’. After the house party scenes the tone shifts and, like a boulder down a hill, builds momentum to a massive, ‘let’s throw all we’ve got at it’ finish. I really enjoyed the OTT madness of it. I think the two halves work quite well on their own, but they don’t gel particularly well together. It was a bit like going over a speed bump, we were going fine, then a little wobble and then it was fine again.

As an idea (teenagers get superpowers), it’s not the most original one in the world, it’s how they tackle it that is so good. American teen stereotypes are all present and correct, the introverted loner, the school bully, the effortlessly cool popular guy, but they interact in a way that is really quite true to life, these are characters that could conceivably exist.
A lot of what’s enjoyable about the film is the way the three lead characters interact. DeHaan, Russell and Jordan make a nice trio that I genuinely thought could be friends. In fact one moment when Matt says he thinks a day might have been the best one of his life got me a little bit choked! With it being Andrew’s story DeHaan gets the most screen time and he does make him a very sympathetic character. I felt so bad for him, which is another thing that sets ‘Chronicle’ apart, there’s a blurring of protagonist and antagonist which makes it a nicely morally ambiguous film. Matt and Andrew’s relationship rings very true but what interested me the most was the relationship between Andrew and Steve; I think that was done really well.

This is a lovely surprise of a film; I didn’t think I was going to enjoy it as much as I did. It’s not like I thought I was going to hate it but it was no where near as cliché ridden as it could have been. I’ve not even mentioned the budget! It cost $15 million and it’s already made over $95 million back and I think it’s a darn sight better than a lot of big budget films that tackle similar subject matter. This is also Trank’s debut and by this standard he may well be one to watch for the future. ‘Chronicle’ is thoroughly entertaining, strangely realistic (considering the subject matter) and at 83 minutes it doesn’t outstay its welcome. I highly recommend it :-)

Now I fancy some…

Reasons to be Cheerful
1. A little know bash called the Oscars happened the other night. It was hardly full of surprises but in case you wanted to know, click here to see a full list of winners. I’m really pleased for ‘Rango’ but at the same time sad for ‘Chico and Rita’ because it deserves some love. I’m unsurprised but over the moon that ‘Man or a Muppet’ won best original song because quite frankly the WORLD has been singing it for the past 5 months, I’m also unsurprised that the Artist walked away with as many gongs as it did but that doesn’t mean I’m not pleased for them. Jean DuJardin has set the bar for all acceptance speeches from now… from here on in if people don’t tap dance when they get given awards I’m going to be terribly disappointed…

2. But anyway… Oscars Schmoscars! Here at ‘Nerdy Rachel May’, I’m all about the Kermodes! I make no bones about it, I love the Good Doctor Kermode and agree with the vast majority of his opinions, none more so than the recipient of his ‘Best Actor Award’. See if you think his choices were better than the Academy’s (FYI the correct answer is ‘yes’).

3. Karen Gillan has been talking about her exit from Doctor Who. Gillan says it’s “the best ever” and I hope it is. I really love Amy and Rory and I will not be happy unless they are given a proper send off! Just as long as Rory DOESN’T die!

4. Series 3 of ‘Horrible Histories’ is now available for pre-order! You may have read that ‘Horrible Histories’ was my top telly pick of 2011 and this is that series over which I could not heap enough praise. Series 1 and 2 are RIDICULOUSLY cheap on Amazon so if you don’t want to take the plunge, get them first but I can assure you, you’ll love it :-)

5. ‘Kick Ass 2’is set to start shooting this summer. I adore ‘Kick Ass’ and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited to see those characters again :-) The future of the sequel was thought to be uncertain because Matthew Vaughn and Jane Goldman, the team behind the original, couldn’t commit to making it. This fact does scare me somewhat. I mean it might be fine but Vaughn and Goldman got it so right in the first film… I have my reservations. But, fingers crossed it’ll all be ok!

That’s all from me today!

Goodbye till next time :-)
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Silence is Golden

Hello Everyone :-)

It’s that time of year again, awards season! Awards season usually begets wider distribution for films nominated for Oscars and BAFTAs, which ordinarily wouldn’t be shown to as wide an audience. Think ‘The King’s Speech’. This year the ‘Oscar Effect’ seems to be working its magic on ‘The Artist’. I popped along to a screening to see what all the fuss was about…

‘The Artist’ (written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius) is the story of Silent movie star George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) and young ingénue Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo) from their first meeting in the 1927 up to 1932. The film charts Peppy’s rise to fame and George’s fall from stardom as the medium he knows and loves becomes obsolete.

There is much to be said about this film but we’ll start with the performances. Dujardin looks like a shoo-in to walk away with Best Actor at the Academy awards and that’s fine by me. Silent films bring with them the added challenge of just that, silence. I don’t think a lot of actors could adapt their performances to the extent that Dujardin has and he makes a potentially unlikable character very sympathetic.
Likewise Bejo has enthused Peppy with an effervescence that springs from the screen despite the disadvantage of having no audible dialogue.
There’s also a really lovely supporting cast. John Goodman, James Cromwell and Malcolm McDowell all have little parts that were charming and lovely.
Speaking of charming and lovely, if you only go and see ‘The Artist’ for one thing, go and see it for the Dog. I’m sure there are campaigns to get Uggie the Dog nominated for a ‘Best Supporting Actor’ gong, I think that’s a bit much but still, I love that Dog!

I say this is a silent film, that’s not strictly true. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone by going into detail but there is some sound and the smallest snippet of dialogue. I was fine with it and actually thought both the silence and sound were used to great effect. What surprised me was the lack of Intertitles. I imagined a film where lots of dialogue would appear on Intertitles but that’s really not the case, for large portions of the film you are left to work out what the characters are saying to each other. That takes a little time to get used to but ultimately, you hardly notice it.

Thematically, it borrows from a lot of brilliant films, one of which is ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ which is absolutely fine by me. If there was less ‘Transformers’ and more ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, the world would be a better place. Not that ‘The Artist’ is all daisies and sunshine like ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, because it isn’t. There are moments of genuine sadness and shock that give the whole film a slight melodramatic edge whilst still being comedic and romantic in every sense of the word. I think the closeness in theme to things like ‘A Star is Born’ and ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ has created a bit of a backlash but in my opinion it’s not a bad thing.

I must doff my invisible cap to Mr Hazanavicius (this film is full of French names that are extremely fun to say…), he’s created something really rather wonderful. It would have been so easy to just throw it all together and not bother about the detail but he’s taken such care over everything. Not just costume and set design (which are gorgeous btw); the film was shot in 1.33:1 screen ratio and at the lower frame rate of 22 fps to make it look more authentic, he even took 4 months to write the screenplay… IN A FILM WITH TWO LINES OF AUIDABLE DIALOGUE! If that’s not commitment to quality I don’t know what is.

Cards on the table time; I like old movies (and not in an infuriating match.com advert kind of way) so I was always going to like this, what I didn’t realise was just how much I was going to like it. It is reverential to black and white silent cinema of the 20’s but it’s also beautifully shot, fantastically acted and at 100 minutes zips along at the perfect pace, I struggle to find anything bad to say about it. Please don’t be put off by the fact it’s a silent movie it is a delightful, joy of a film.

Now I think it's about time for some...

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)
1. The BAFTAs were on Sunday! The aforementioned ‘Artist’ (unsurprisingly) OWNED the night and walked away with 7 awards (see here for the full list of Winners and Losers). I was pleased ‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’ won best British film but really I wanted Gary Oldman to get best Actor, I’m not sad it went to Jean Dujardin because he’s great but because of the distinct lack of TTSS at the Oscars, it would’ve been nice. Also, this is my new favourite thing in the world :-)

2. HOBBIT NEWS! Billy Connolly has joined the cast of ‘The Hobbit’! I love this! I really like Billy Connolly and I’m sure you’ve gathered by now that I’m rather fond of ‘The Hobbit’. I approve!

That’s it for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)
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P.S I’ve been to see ‘The Muppets’, post is currently being written up… watch this space

Horsing Around

Hello Everyone :-)

I saw trailers and pictures for this towards the end of last year, thought it looked really pretty and was quite obviously Oscar bait (a premonition that has predictably come to fruition). With a stellar cast and some very enthusiastic reviews I was chomping at the bit (sorry!) to see what all the fuss was about and treated my Nan to a cinema trip to see ‘War Horse’.

‘War Horse’ is an adaptation of a book (which was subsequently turned into a play)
 by Michael Morpurgo. It is told from the point of view of Joey a thoroughbred horse that is born in Devon, raised by farm boy Albert Narracott before being sold to a young Army Captain (Tom Hiddleston) at the start of the First World War. The action follows Joey during his time at War, the people he meets and how the war affects them, all the while Joey is trying to get home to Albert.

Ultimately, the success of the film hinges on Joey being a proper character and not ‘just a horse’ and in that respect it works. Cynic that I am, I was very surprised with how invested I became in the story of Joey.  I was welling up when Topthorn lay down in the mud and when poor Joey got caught in barbed wire in no-mans land. Rationalist and cynical I may be, but it’d take a heart of pure stone not to feel anything in those moments.

Another achievement is that, considering Joey changes hands (geddit??? HANDS! As in the measurement used for horses…No? Oh…ok…) no fewer than five times during the 146 minute running time, I thought all the human characters were pretty believable. Hats off to Tom Hiddleston who A) is BREATHTAKINGLY beautiful, so gorgeous I actually gasped when I saw his face on screen and B) gives a really lovely performance in the small amount of time he’s given. Captain Nicholls isn’t in the film for very long but Hiddleston manages to deliver a very honest portrayal of an inwardly nervous army officer. Just as an aside, I’m super pleased Hiddleston isn’t being type-cast as bad guys after his awesome performance in ‘Thor’… he’s far too good for that.  
Toby Kebbell also does very well. Again, his screen time is brief and his little sub plot is the most unrealistic of all of them but I actually really liked his character (although it’s hard not to warm to those with a Geordie accent).
I thought Jeremy Irvine was quite good as Albert. He’s a conduit through which the audience meet Joey and Irvine does that perfectly well. I also liked (not sure if ‘liked’ is the right word considering the context but you get what I mean) the bit where he’s at the Somme. It’s hard for anyone that’s seen Blackadder not conjure up images of the last episode in ‘Blackadder goes Fourth’ when presented with stuff like this but I think it’s done well. There’s a good emphasis on the insanity of the situation and just how bleak it was in those trenches, considering how short those scenes are.
Emily Watson, as ever, puts in a brief but brilliant turn as Albert’s mum. I love this woman, every time she is on screen in anything I get a lovely sense of calm because I know it’s all in safe hands.
Also a special mention should go to Benedict Cumberbatch’s moustache because it steals every scene it’s in…

It is an unashamedly sentimental movie; in fact it’s the kind of film from which I would ordinarily run a mile. However, for me there was only one moment where it properly spilled over into mawkish, unintentional hilarity. I don’t want to spoil anything so I won’t go into specifics, but there is a scene where a recently blinded Albert walks towards the camera as an assembled crowd part like the red sea to let him through… I did do a snort of laughter at this point, much to the disgust of my sobbing Nan and Cousin sat beside me. I couldn’t help it! But, as I said, I was surprised by just how much of its syrupy sweetness I could take.

There is nothing in ‘War Horse’ to suggest that this is a Steven Spielberg film which disappointed me. I thought Mr Spielberg had hit his directorial stride again after I enjoyed ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ so much, but I don’t think this is the best vehicle to showcase his talents. He’s tugged at our heartstrings before (I can’t watch ET without being reduced to a sobbing mess and don’t even get me started on A.I), but I think Spielberg does best within a Sci-Fi or Action Adventure story (I exclude ‘Indiana Jones Kingdom of Crystal Skull’ from this because I’m trying to forget it ever happened) and I just don’t think ‘War Epic’ is the best genre for him.

That said, from a technical point of view the film is practically flawless.  Not only is every single frame beautiful (especially the ones featuring Hiddleston’s lovely face) but there are some absolutely knock out set pieces. The scene with Captain Nicholls and his regiment  charging towards the Germans is brilliant but the scene where Joey is running away from a tank through no-mans land is unbelievable. There’s obviously a point where they use CGI to create the horse but could I find the join? Could I buggery and believe me… I tried to find it. That entire sequence is spectacular.

It’s safe to say that if you don’t like horses you won’t like this (although I’m not overly keen on most things equine and I got on with it ok). It is undeniably, visually stunning and there is a part of me that wonders if I like it more as a technical exercise than I do as a piece of narrative and I think the answer is yes. The performances are brief but I never felt short changed on human involvement. I’m not a neigh-sayer (I’m sorry … I couldn’t help myself!) but I don’t think it’s a ‘must see’ either. As for whether it deserves it’s Oscar nominations (it’s received 6 in total) well… it deserves them more than ‘Secretariat’ deserved theirs, lets’ just say that…

And now…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)
1. ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ (that is definitely going to get on my nerves) is out this week. It was reviewed on last night’s ‘Film 2012’ and it sound like it’s good’un…

2. First image has been released for the new Bond film ‘Skyfall’ and… SHOCKHORROR it’s Daniel Craig holding a gun! Yeah, there’s not a lot to go on but still… it’s a lovely face isn’t it?

3. This ‘RTBC’ comes courtesy of Lesley aka @EnglishFolkfan. Nathan Stewart-Jarret is in a play that sounds mighty interesting. It sound a bit like it predicted the awfulness of shows like ‘I’m a Celebrity…” etc. Nathan Stewart-Jarret can next be seen on our screens in the fourth series of ‘Misfits’ or if you fancy it, go and see this!

If you have any ‘Reasons to be Cheerful’ tweet me and I’ll stick it in my next post!

That’s everything for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)
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