RECENT WATCH: 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE

Image Source: imdb.com

After a car accident, Michelle (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) awakes chained to a bed in an underground bunker. She meets two men who claim the air outside is toxic after a widespread chemical attack.

Like Cloverfield (2008), 10 Cloverfield Lane was filmed low budget and in secret. The marketing was fittingly secretive so it was the trailer for this film that really hooked me. I think it’s wrong to call 10 Cloverfield Lane a sequel. I have called it so up to now but it’s really more of a stand-alone thriller in the Cloverfield setting. The tagline “monsters come in many forms” was something I kept in mind when I was watching the film. This meant that I wasn’t disappointed when I wasn’t met with the monster movie that some might be expecting.

Image Source: imdb.com

10 Cloverfield Lane is a brilliantly crafted psychological thriller that makes you feel as claustrophobic and uneasy as the characters. It is tense and shock packed from the beginning to end but never predictable. Quite the opposite – the plot manages to get inside your head. You know that John Goodman’s ‘Howard’ is uncomfortably controlling and you fear him for his erratic behaviour and violent temper, but any prior knowledge of the Cloverfield premise is screaming at you to stay inside. Although it is a long time since I have seen the original Cloverfield which meant that I was unfamiliar with the specifics of the world outside the bunker. This weirdly benefited my experience as a viewer who wasn’t sure who to believe.

Image Source: imdb.com

Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s ‘Michelle’ is the perfect thriller protagonist. You want to root for her because her actions are so smart. Like the audience can also do, she picks up on the subtle but critical information to plan her escape. However, John Goodman steals the show. Flipping between fatherly and terrifying with ease. Shining in this antagonist role, his performance is truly unsettling for all the right reasons.

10 Cloverfield Lane’s exploration of monsters in human form makes an edge of your seat thriller that I loved and would definitely recommend.  

3 TRAILER TROPES I HATE

A trailer is the first glimpse in to a new release. It’s an opportunity for a studio to advertise the plot, tone and cast of a film. Often, this is the moment an audience first decides whether they are going to be heading to the cinema or not. Call me sad if you will but I like a good trailer, something that is well put together with fitting music and tells me what to expect in the feature is going to get my interest. That said, there are three things that I find especially grating in these two minute glimpses in to future releases:

Trailer Man Voice

You know the one, the overly excited voice that patronisingly explains the plot of a film. We don’t hear of him as much these days, Hooray!

They’re in it. That is all.

Star power is an obvious angle for marketing, the Tom Hanks’, Leonardo Dicaprio’s and Jennifer Lawrence’s of the world have a certain box office pull for sure but stop making trailers that just remind me how great they are. A film is so much more than its cast and a trailer should be too.

Here’s the whole movie

And finally, this annoys me so much. Why do studios shoot themselves in the foot by showing the whole plot of a film in its promotional material? From first, second and third trailers, teasers, featurettes and the release of ‘first ten minutes’ in some cases, do studios forget they are trying to get ticket money out of the audience? The worst part, there are so many offenders.

Nerd rant over. Happy Sunday!

THIS PAST MONTH: FEBRUARY 2016

2016 has had a serious lack of ‘This Past Week’ posts. You know the ones, a quick rundown of my week that goes up on a Sunday. But let’s face it, towards the end of last year I was doing well if I got the post up by Wednesday. Towards the end of January I decided that I did not want to continue my Sunday summary style posts. The reason being that I really struggle to write them, at first I loved it but as I wrote more, the enjoyment was dwindling. More often than not, my week doesn’t contain all that many things to write about. There are only so many posts I can write about nights out and roast dinner cravings.  I also want my blog to have more of a film and media focus and when I restrict myself to writing a personal post every week I don’t have as much time as I’d like to write film related content. Instead of posting about what I’ve been up to at the end of every week I’ve decided to write a post at the end of every month running through the important stuff from the last 30/31 days. So here we go, starting a new series of monthly posts. I hope you enjoy.

February was the month that University properly started again, it might officially start in mid-January but it’s in February when the module introductions stop and you remember that you actually have to do some work at University. One of the biggest things I am working on is an ongoing placement search. Next year I will be leaving the safety of campus for a year in industry and I never anticipated the search would be so hard. It’s well known that finding a job is a job within itself and the same should be said about looking for placements. The idea of having a year out of university to get industry experience is very exciting and I can’t wait until I have it sorted. I know a few people who have given up on finding a placement after small amounts of searching but I will not give up. It’s tough and stressful now but I’m determined to find the placements to fill the sandwich year of my degree.

At the beginning of February something quite crazy happened. While out recording vox pops for a TV News module my friend and I were approached by a lady who asked us what we were filming. We explained that we were media students and we were filming for our coursework, she then asked if we would like to come to her choir group to film for them. The next week we filmed the singing and over the course of the rest of the month, edited together the footage to create a promotional video package. From this I unveil ‘BG Productions’, a company name that we have created, with which we will be doing freelance video production.

What does BG stand for you may ask… it comes from my second name which is Blair and the G to my B is my friend Lucy Gilbert who I mention on here all the time. You can also read her blog here. On the very last day of February we filmed a band in Leeds, a particularly gruelling 12 hour studio shoot but the end product is going to be great. As you can imagine we are both very excited about the prospect of having our own small production company, we’re currently working on an online portfolio which will be found here.

Finally, I have loved how much good TV there is at the moment. The early months of the year are the perfect time to binge on much loved shows or try something new. Not only have TV shows come back for new seasons or after mid-season breaks (Suits, Girls, New Girl) but I have found new additions to my watch list. Over a weekend I caught up on the first season of BBC’s Happy Valley, it’s some seriously gripping stuff and I really need to watch more of series two.

What was a highlight of your February?

MY ANTICIPATED FILM RELEASES: MARCH 2016

When I’m looking at the release schedule for the next month to decide what films I'm really anticipating I usually pick out the films based on what I've already heard of, seen trailers for or who is involved in the film. I aim to pick out three films but this month I've chosen only two. While there are plenty of interesting releases this month I've chosen two films that I am genuinely excited for and can’t wait to see in the cinema, any attempt to pick a third would be pointless as all my attention is on these releases this March.

Image Source: hollywoodreporter.com

10 Cloverfield Lane

UK Release Date: 18/03/16

I never thought I’d be so excited for a sequel to 2008 thriller Cloverfield, but I am. Not that I wasn’t a fan of Cloverfield, it’s an excellent thriller that expertly navigates the difficult waters of a found footage format to produce a character driven story that is equally terrifying. By the look of the trailers this sequel will not be found footage so I’m looking forward to a new Cloverfield experience. If you haven’t seen the trailer for 10 Cloverfield Lane yet, I urge to you to watch it below and jump on this excitement wagon.

Watch the trailer here

Image Source: forbes,com

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

UK Release Date: 25/03/16

I have been excited for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice since its announcement way back in 2013. It’s always exciting to see reinventions of such familiar characters. Ben Affleck has big bat shoes to fill but from promotional material he seems to bring a new dynamic to the character that a lot of Hollywood’s biggest actors have had a go at. I’m also one of the few people who have always been on board with Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor and Gal Gadot will be stepping out as wonder woman – the characters first big screen appearance. My hopes for this superhero showdown are that it will ride high on the Batman popularity after Christopher Nolan’s epic trilogy while bringing much needed likeability to the Man of Steel. However Zack Snyder has an uneven track record and his films are often more style than substance. Batman v Superman has also committed one of the worst crimes a film can make as it appears to reveal the whole plot of the film in the trailers. In the end, even with trepidations, I'm still going to be rushing to the cinema upon its release. 

Watch the trailer here

What will you be watching this month?

RECENT WATCH: PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES

Image Source: youtube.com

The five Bennett sisters seek husbands to avoid being left destitute on the death of their father, all while fighting an impending zombie apocalypse. 

As much as it pains me to say, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was very disappointing. After reading and watching other reviews my expectations were already low but I maintained the opinion that I would be seeing this film in the cinema no matter what. While I did walk in with very low expectations, I just couldn’t see past the many flaws of the film. With the clumsy pacing and questionable editing choices it comes across that the film doesn’t know what it wants to be. There are moments of horror, action, comedy and romance all with a sprinkling of Austen prose that don’t fit. Having the zombie apocalypse as merely a back drop the well-known love story doesn’t work. The story would have worked better if it had attempted to adapt the original Pride and Prejudice story to include a more a natural flow between decapitating the undead and proclamations of love. 

Image Source: moviestillsDB.com

Apart from Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy, there is no character development. Of course these two characters are the protagonists but anyone who has seen or read any other Pride and Prejudice will know the personalities of the supporting characters and their importance to the story. On the whole, the cast did their best with their characters; I specifically liked Matt Smith as Mr Collins and Charles Dance as Mr Bennett. Even with the array acting talent the delivery of the Austen dialogue is awkward and feels like every line should end with a knowing wink to the camera. The ongoing joke about the unlikely plot of the film is run in to the ground. The Bennett sisters crushing zombie brains in petticoats, we get it; now please find something else to joke about. 

Image Source: imdb.com

The film is lacking in grace and at times a bit lazy. In the first big fight scene with all of the Bennett sisters the action is hard to follow and so cartoonish that it becomes boring. Also, five kills in and not one of the swords had blood on it which was seriously distracting. 

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is less ‘Bloody Lovely’ and more ‘Pretty Terrible’. While we can applaud the attempt at something original, I’m afraid Jane Austen will be turning in her grave at this adaptation of her best loved novel. 

WHAT TO WATCH THIS GALENTINES DAY

Today is ‘Galentines Day’; you can keep your valentines. In the wise words of Leslie Knope, the 13^th of February is for celebrating gal pals. I have thought of a handful of my favourite films that are particularly great when viewed with pink wine and guilt free junk food. Enjoy!

The Mighty Rom-Coms

Image Source: imdb.com

Notting Hill (1999)

Richard Curtis is the king of the Romantic Comedy. Notting Hill is an undoubted classic with Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts, do I need to say more?

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He’s Just Not That Into You (2009)

He’s Just Not That Into You is like the Love Actually of dating. It’s a host of interlinked stories, so you’re sure to have someone to root for. 

The Literary Classic

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Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Joe Wright’s adaptation of the Jane Austen novel is not only my favourite adaptation but is one of my favourite films. Seriously, I have no idea how many times I have seen it and I’d happily watch it again this Galentines. 

The Iconic

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Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961)

Based on the novel of by Truman Capote; Audrey Hepburn is Holly Golightly, a New York socialite seeking a rich husband and enjoying bagels outside of Tiffany’s until she becomes interested in the young man who has moved in to her building.

 The Cautionary Tale

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Gone Girl (2014)

Take two seriously messed up people, who may or may not be compatible, add a media frenzy and tie it up with a murder mystery bow and you have the incredible tension of Gone Girl. If you’re looking for something that will distract you from everything heart shaped and social media displays of affection this weekend, anything from David Fincher should do the trick.