Adventureland
Quite a humorous film, and I was particularly impressed with the performances. I was less sure about the story - another of those "coming-of-age" stories. I was also concerned that it's about the fifth film in the past year from the guys that brought us Superbad, but this proved to be unfounded. They're not quite out of steam. But at this rate, they will be soon!
London Film Academy: Breaking Down a Scene
At first I thought the London Film Academy sounded like a more advanced training institute than the RSAMD, potentially for post-grad courses. As it turns out, I think they're more like a foundation course, with courses equivalent to college. But the session was interesting. The director just rehearsed a scene with actors, and then shot it. Watching the rehearsal process, in-which they blocked out the scene and discussed the characters, was really useful. Then, however, it was locked-off as soon as they did their first take, and then the process of doing different angles and multiple takes became laborious and boring to watch.
International Shorts: Animation 2
International Shorts: Animation 2
An interesting mix of animations; some 2D, some hand-drawn, some stop-motion, and some 3D. I was really fond of a few of them. There were some really nice, simple stories in there - and generally these were the ones with strogner animation. Several of these were foreign language, but given the very visual story-telling often seen in animation there wasn't a lot of subtitling.
Running in Traffic
I was one of the people who thought that it would be good to see Running in Traffic, as not only would it count as our British Film, but it was also produced by Abigail. I did find that it was a rather complicated story to follow, and it doesn't help the reputation of Scottish films as depressing, cold and drug-themed. However, it does prove a point about the Scottish film industry - it is possible to produce a feature. Now we just need to do the same again with stronger script.
Outrage
I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary, which was about closeted politicians who vote against gay rights in order to cover up their secret lives. It was really well-made, and it's a very appropriate time for such an exposé, given the current shenanigans in the US (particularly the retraction of civil-partnership rights in LA). I found it interesting that they didn't try to make you hate the politicians involved, but in some cases feel sympathetic for them.
I thoroughly enjoyed this documentary, which was about closeted politicians who vote against gay rights in order to cover up their secret lives. It was really well-made, and it's a very appropriate time for such an exposé, given the current shenanigans in the US (particularly the retraction of civil-partnership rights in LA). I found it interesting that they didn't try to make you hate the politicians involved, but in some cases feel sympathetic for them.
Vinyan
I didn't really enjoy this film. It was well-made, but it was very slow and not hugely engaging. I couldn't really see anything unique about it. The characters were hard to like, the story was hard to engage with, and I just didn't enjoy it. Plus, rushing to see it meant that we missed a Q&A with the director of Outrage - which I think would have been far more interesting.
I didn't really enjoy this film. It was well-made, but it was very slow and not hugely engaging. I couldn't really see anything unique about it. The characters were hard to like, the story was hard to engage with, and I just didn't enjoy it. Plus, rushing to see it meant that we missed a Q&A with the director of Outrage - which I think would have been far more interesting.
The Girlfriend Experience
I think that the ITV2 series The Secret Diary of a Call Girl did a better job at this story; essentially showing the life of a high-class call-girl, and their extravagant life, whilst dealing with their own personal relationships too. I didn't like the style it was shot in though, and I didn't really see a story.
I think that the ITV2 series The Secret Diary of a Call Girl did a better job at this story; essentially showing the life of a high-class call-girl, and their extravagant life, whilst dealing with their own personal relationships too. I didn't like the style it was shot in though, and I didn't really see a story.
Antichrist
Another film about dealing with the loss of a child which ends with a shocking scene "exposing the depths of the human condition". Well, that's what some people say. In reality, I think it was an excuse to create one of the most visually explicit and disturbing scenes in cinematic history. I'm not particularly squeamish or disturbed by blood (unless I know that it's genuine), but I did feel that - given the reaction of the audience - it may have been a step too far. People always say less is more; the Jaws-technique of not actually showing everything and letting the audiences' imaginations create something scarier than could actually be shown. Antichrist, however, showed everything in those moments, and I think this is far more effective than what the audience could imagine. They're faced with a real image, undeniably a part of the film's world. I think that's worse. In fact, I now know that's worse... The one good thing about Antichrist is how it's allowed critics to become far more inventive and humorous in their attempts to tell people not to see it. Some of them have been quite amusing!
