Category Archives: Genres

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A tie for Gravity and 12 Years A Slave at the 2014 PGAs

An image of Sandra Bullock at Comic Con 2013
An image of Sandra Bullock at Comic Con 2013

Star of Gravity, Sandra Bullock.

Last night, amid the hustle and bustle of awards season, the less popular, but equally revered among the film industry, Producers Guild Awards (PGAs) took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, in California.

While the fashion and A-list celebrity took a back seat this time around, the PGAs takes time out to celebrate the producers and visionaries responsible for bringing films from an idea to the big-screen.

The biggest news from last night was that for the first time in history there was a tie in the ‘Theatrical Motion Picture’ category. Both Gravity and 12 Years A Slave walked home with an award.

While that is great news to these producers, it throws a spanner in the works when it comes to predicting the Oscars which are announced in March.

Normally, around this time in the award season a front-runner has usually established itself, this year is the exception. Gravity has enjoyed huge oscar buzz since September, but has more recently lost out to 12 Years a Slave at the Golden Globes.

In the meantime, the hugely successful, American Hustle, directed by David O Russell was crowned winner at the Golden Globes (this time for Best Motion Picture (Comedy)) and also received the same award more recently at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

All these awards including, The Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild Awards, Producers Guild Awards and the Critics Choice Awards, are all an indicator to the most revered awards, The Academy Awards.

While in the past it can be seen that one film has dominated awards season all the way to the Oscars. But the big bash that takes place on 1 March this year, is sure the throw up some huge surprises.

What this means is that this year is the most exciting and unpredictable awards season.

To see the full list of winners click here.

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The most infamous film villains

A close-up of Darth Vader mask.

Remember at the end of last year I wrote the Inside Film top 5 film heroes list? Well, here comes the darker side of the list. Within you will find the most evil, most badass villains in film. Ready? Don’t be afraid.

5. Annie Wilkes

Annie Wilkes holding a revolver and a syringe.

Image via: frenchtoastsunday.com

For anyone who has seen Stephen King’s Misery, this comes as no surprise. Perhaps not the scariest of his film adaptations, but wow, it sure is creepy. This comes as no surprise. Annie Wilkes is one messed up chick. I don’t think I have ever been this scared of a middle-aged woman before. Worst moment? When Paul Sheldon is searching the house, and you just know she’ll be through the door at any moment…

4. Anton Chigurh

Anton Chigurh sat in a chair.

Image via: theparisreview.org

No Country for Old Men. What a film. Personally, I think it is made by the psychotic-perfection of this man. A gun-for-hire with a twisted devotion to chance. Silenced shotguns are super sinister too. Worst moment has to be the murder of Carla Jean. Talk about bloody.

3. Hannibal Lecter

Hannibal Lecter, played by Anthony Hopkins, stood by a door.

Image via: http://yourfavoriteserialkiller.com/

“Bowels in, or bowels out?” An insane genius who loves the taste of human. Pretty much writes itself here. Hannibal Lecter is perfected by Anthony Hopkins and his magnetic charm. He’ll get into your head and stay there, trust me. Worst moment has to be when he makes a drugged Ray Liotta munch on his own brain in Hannibal. Pretty messed up right?

2. The Joker

Heath Ledger's Joker holding a Joker playing card.

Image via: nerdsraging.com

The thing that makes The Joker so terrifying is that he has no aims. No goals for world domination, or personal gain. He just wants to watch the world burn, and that’s truly horrific. Jack Nicholson’s Joker gets an honourable mention here, but it’s the genius of Heath Ledger that gets our vote. Worst moment? The pencil trick in The Dark Knight– not even his own goons are safe.

1. Darth Vader

Darth Vader stood in front of Snowtroopers on Hoth, the snow planet.

Image via: fightersgeneration.com

The ultimate evil. Cloaked in black, a true personification of evil. Darth Vader wins by a long shot. The iconic breathing sound makes it all so tense, and the sheer power that he exudes makes him our top contender. Vader casts a shadow over all film villains, and none can step out from under it. At his most evil when he crushes the throat of a subordinate without a sound. Plus, you know, trying to kill his son.

So, any more ideas? Tell us below who you think deserves to be on this list of evil.

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Method behind the magic: Saving Private Ryan

Image features a still from the D-Day landing scene in the film Saving Private Ryan. The camera is looking over a German soldier firing at allied forces.
Image features a still from the D-Day landing scene in the film Saving Private Ryan. The camera is looking over a German soldier firing at allied forces.

Image via www.savingprivateryan.wikia.com.

Released in 1998, Stephen Spielberg’s magnum opus Saving Private Ryan is considered one of the greatest and most realistic portrayals of war ever produced. Rated #36 on IMDb’s all-time greatest movie list and a very high 93% on movie critic website Rotten Tomatoes, Saving Private Ryan received nominations for 11 academy awards, winning 5, including the Best Director award for Spielberg. Amongst many other accolades, the film also won awards at the Golden Globes, Grammy’s and the BAFTAs.

The poignant messages and emotional drive of the film launches the audience into world that is both dangerous and unpredictable. Although receiving some criticism, mainly for disregarding the contribution of several other countries to D-Day, Saving Private Ryan will forever be remembered for its realism. Brilliantly intense performances from Tom Hanks and Matt Damon particularly, allowed Spielberg to focus on the terror of the war, rather than the heroics of the men in uniform. However, he did not make it easy it portray.

To prepare his stars for the “hell on earth” mentality of war, Spielberg enrolled almost every cast member into a Ten Day boot camp with retired marine Dale Dye, who was given the responsibility of pushing the actors to the peak of physical and mental exhaustion. Dye would fire blanks from point blank range, conduct heavy combat and survival skills training and would only refer to the each person by their character name.

Dye later explained that “to the extent I can, I immerse the actors in that lifestyle: I take them to the field; I make them eat rations; I make them crawl and sleep in the mud and the cold and the dirt… And when they come out, if I’ve done my job successfully, they have an inkling of what people sacrifice to serve their country in the military.”

Not all of the actors had to take part however. Matt Damon, Private Ryan himself, was made exempt from the training, only to turn up at the very end holding a cappuccino, as the story goes. This was a deliberate decision from Spielberg, in a bid to create a sense of animosity between Damon and the rest of the crew that would be reflected in the film.

On the training, Vin Diesel stated that “To have to sleep under harsh rain conditions and be woken up after only a few hours following a really hard day-it was very rough. It was something I’ll never do again, but it was something that I’ll always be thankful for have been completed.”

Tom Sizemore also spoke about the training after the films, explaining that “Something happened. We learned that no one does anything alone in the war. It’s all about teamwork. We got a taste of that and it brought us closer together so when we started shooting the movie, we felt a bond that we had gone through something very difficult together.”

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Events, offers and releases 23/12/13

Ben Stiller in a still from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

 

Ben Stiller in a still from The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Source: The Guardian

Merry Christmas!

Yes we know, it’s almost Christmas and amid the last-minute present shopping and getting ready for the big day, going to the cinema is probably a distant dream far away in the future.

But for that lazy period between Christmas and New Year, on the days when you simply have no idea what to do, don’t worry, there is a solution.

While unlike the United States, which will see big blockbusters opening in cinema on the 25th (yes crazy, we know!) here in the UK, multiplexes across the country will all take the day off and reopen their doors on the 26th.

Two films, 47 Ronin and The Secret Life of Walter Mitty open across the country on Boxing Day, which could give you a much needed night out at the cinema, so sit back relax and enjoy the movies.

So if you’re looking for some real adventure, a time to escape into another universe, check out Walter Mitty which is directed by, co-produced and starring Ben Stiller.

It follows the life of Walter, a day-dreamer who one day is forced to take on the most incredible adventure that he could never even imagine.

If you fancy something a bit more violent and action-packed, 47 Ronin might be more up your street.

Starring Christian Bale, the movie sees 47 leaderless samurai vowing to seek vengeance and restore honor to their people after a treacherous warlord kills their master and banishes their kind.

To book tickets and find your closest cinema check out the Odeon Website.

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The all-encompassing Tarantino-verse

Quentin Tarantino holding a camera
The Bride swordfighting

Image via http://derekwinnert.com/

Sometimes you can flick to a film and just know whose it is. There’s that director footprint, like a seal of ownership, that you can identify within minutes of switching on. Sometimes it’s a visual style – you can tell a Pixar film from a mile off. Or maybe it’s the dialogue that’s distinctive. But what about the films of Quentin Tarantino? What makes them so, recognisable?

These films are incredibly indepth, with a ton of unique characters and brilliant ways in which they interact. But how do the films themselves do this? Tarantino has spent his life painstakingly crafting a spiderweb-like film universe, in which every character branches out to another somehow. This band of rogues overlaps in between his films in ways that are as weird and wonderful as his creations.

These aren’t plot related, mind you. These crossovers are more like Easter Eggs, teasing and giving little enjoyable in-jokes to only the most observant of fans. Film buffs say that good screenwriting is to give every character a backstory. Well Tarantino could dedicate entire films to his.

I’ll start with an easy one. Pulp Fiction‘s Mia Wallace tells John Travolta about her failed TV show, Fox Force Five. Sound like Kill Bill to you? Maybe it isn’t Uma Therman playing The Bride, but Mia Wallace? Coincidence I think not.

Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield holding guns

Image via http://handsomecitizens.com/

Speaking of John Travolta, did you know that Reservoir Dogs‘ Mr Blonde and Pulp Fiction’s Vincent Vega are related? Here’s a big hint – they’re brothers. Tarantino originially intended to write The Vega Brothers as a prequel but scrapped the idea when both Messrs Travolta and Madsen aged more than their respective characters.

Okay with that? Good, cause here’s where it gets a little deeper. Keeping with Reservoir Dogs, Mr White’s relationship with a woman known only as “Alabama” can be linked with the same girl from the Tarantino scribed True Romance. It’s also a safe bet to assume Detective Jack Scagnatti from the Tarantino penned Natural Born Killers is related to Seymour Scagnetti. Remember him? He was mentioned as being a parole officer in Reservoir Dogs by Mr Blonde.

Further down the rabbit hole we go. Tarantino himself has admitted that he writes two kinds of film; “movie movies” and the “Realer than Real” universe. These “movie movies”, From Dusk Till Dawn and Kill Bill are films that character from his other films would enjoy. So, in the drama Curdled, a character is seen watching the Gecko brothers from From Dawn Till Dusk on TV. This would explain both why there are suddenly vampires in a Tarantino film, and why no one in Django Unchained is worried about vampire attacks. The rest of his films are firmly in the “Realer than Real” category.

I could keep going endlessly with speculation and fanboy-driven ramblings, or you could go and watch the films and marvel at what Tarantino has created yourselves. Or, you could head to Cracked.com and check out their theory on the ending of Inglorious Basterds. It certainly blew my mind.

If that is true, then the man truly is a genius. Either way, you have to love how this guy’s brain works.