Film Trvia

After winning a few film quizzes the past month, I have been trying to pick up as much film trivia as possible. To most people such things would simply not stick but for me it does. For some, films are just a way to pass a couple of hours. Others have a pretty good interest in film but don't care about the smaller more obscure films. For me it’s like an obsession, films are good. They can tell a story that is beyond your wildest dreams or they can relate to you for the simplest things. Each different fact I learn it sticks.
       Entering the film quizzes was just a way I felt to see how much I really know and although winning a few, I still feel that there is a lot to learn. The quiz master at the Vue knows some of the most obscure things but he is 29, im only 20. There is plenty of time for me to learn this

TV vs Film

After just finishing watching Boardwalk Empire, i have wondered that if many of the most critically acclaimed might be better suited for the TV rather than film. Now before, you start shouting and swearing hear me out.
 Boardwalk Empire is similar in style to Goodfellas. Goodfellas is an outstanding story which afterwards you feel that you know that character but it is only two hours? Can you really understand a character just after two hours? Boardwalk Empire season 1 is 600 minutes long. That is a lot longer to understand a character and see how it develops. Surely Goodfellas would be better suited for the small screen.

               Think about your favourite film and decide if you think it could work as a television show. Take the upcoming Avenger film; the TV equivalent could be Heroes? Let’s take this example. It worked well for the first two seasons. Everything felt fresh and new which was good. However the next few seasons just lost there way so perhaps only certain films would be good on the small screen.

Small films

 It has been a while since I last posted anything on here but for my journalism class in college, im looking at independent films and the funding they get. For some research about a month ago I started watching small budgeted films and have since became addicted. I feel that they are so much better than any big blockbuster Hollywood produces nowadays.
          Just take the recent John Carter. Made for 250 million. Yes that’s right and it is not even going to gross that back! No wonder the world is in financial ruins. As they had such a big budget, the film is all over the place. There is no control over the story and in all honesty it is just boring. The way I see it is the bigger the budget, the more rubbish it is. I admit there are exceptions but on the whole it is true.
     Now then take a film I just watched recently called Monsters. It was made by a Welsh man called Gareth Edwards and had as good special effects as John Carter did. The big difference was that this was only made for half a million. Incredible to think that when you are watching the film. It has more control over budget so everything is tight including the story and the special effects are incredible. Hollywood please take note.

         I have started looking for more independent films and have found that a lot of the most famous directors and actors started of with pretty small films. Michael Fassbender starred in Fish Tank before he hit the big time. Fish Tank is really good in my opinion; it makes you really care for the characters. Having just found independent films I am looking forward to finding more of them.

Oscars

This was written before the Oscars 2012.

The Oscars are upon us once again and I find myself desperately trying to see all of the nominated films for a second year running. This year I have seen 4 out of the 9. These are The Artist, The Descendants, Tree of Life and Midnight in Paris. I admit I could have seen all 9 but it's hard to judge what will be nominated and what shouldn’t way back in November. Such films as Hugo and War Horse have been and gone from the cinema which leaves me waiting for the DVD releases but unfortunately they are not released till March by which time the Oscars are over.
                     I never really got into the Oscars until a couple of years ago when I found myself wanting to watch good, interesting film rather than the same old rubbish that Hollywood produce. I admit they do make some good films such as Drive or anything by Nolan. But this is massively outnumbered with such films as Clash of the Titans, Transformers 2 and The Green Lantern.  Since then I have found myself watching films that my 15 year old self wouldn't. Just recently a couple of friends and I watched The Artist in a completely empty cinema which my teenage self would have had to have been dragged to see.
                I like to think that Martin Scorsese will win Best Director but The Artist and Meryl Streep are likely to sweet the board. There are some films that I think that should have been nominated but are not. Mainly Drive, I loved this film, the violence and style of it were fantastic. Just a thrill ride from start to finish but whatever happens at the Oscars, I just wish Drive was nominated.

Favourite Films

If I'm ever asked what my favourite film is, I struggle to decide between 4. To me these 4 films are the best I've seen. These films are Shawshank Redemption, Pulp Fiction, Lost in Translation and Goodfellas. Each is very different but yet I think they are outstanding.
          Shawshank Redemption is told very well and was one of the first films ever to make me go wow. The acting is superb while during the 2 hours, you feel every emotion you can at a film. One scene stands out in particular but mention it would spoil the film for whoever is to read this. Like I read somewhere “It is the film that spawned a thousand Morgan Freeman voiceovers
Pulp fiction was the first ever film I had seen of Quentin Tarantino. So many things stand out about this film. The non-linear time frame, the acting, the quotes, how well the script is written and of course the pop culture references littered throughout. I was amazed how it could turn from being really funny to suddenly really dramatic.
Martin Scorsese is the greatest director in my opinion. He knows how to tell a story. Goodfellas chronicles Henry Hill’s life as a gangster. I love how the Henry Hill character does a voiceover with the opening line having me hooked from the word go. I find it good how Scorsese makes the film seem so stylish and actually makes being a gangster seem fun.
          If someone pushed and pushed me to find out my favourite film then Lost in Translation would come out. Just. There is so much I like about it. It is set in Tokyo, a city I want to visit and shows the joy of such a place. I can relate to the characters and urge them to get together as they are lost in a strange country. This film has made me a huge fan of Bill Murray who is outstanding

Blockbuster

I love films to put it simply. It's the way they are told. The storytelling, the pictures and how you can immerse yourself in them. Steven Spielberg is not one of my favourite directors but is unquestionably a great storyteller. His films such as Jaws, ET and Jurassic Park are great mainstream films. Everyone remembers a film that they grew up with fondly. I bet you that the majority of people would say that their favourite film as a child had Steven Spielberg’s name attached to it. In ten years time will people say that they loved Michael Bay has a child? I highly doubt it.
 I love going to the cinema but the past couple of years i have gone less and less. Mainly because of the same, seen it before, type of film Hollywood produces. However I love it when a blockbuster film is really good. People like Christopher Nolan know how to make a good summer blockbuster without it having bad acting, zero plot and headache inducing CGI. Inception showed people that a film can be original and smart and people in their millions would still go to see it.
           Michael Bay is a pet hate of mine. He is like the chip you can't get of your shoulder. His films such as the Transformers series are just irritating. They are not very good but yet the third one made over a billion. One of only ten films to do so. I admit i enjoyed the first one but the second one was just too long, too much CGI, bad acting and hardly any plot. I seen the third one quite recently and although surprisingly not as bad as the second, was still hard to sit through. Don’t get me wrong, some people love his films. They enjoy the leave your brain at the door sort of film but it is not for me. Give me Spielberg any day