All Nighter

So I've been doing a lot of those lately. My already ridiculous sleeping pattern has been kicking me in the head for the past few weeks, so I've gotten used to being up for 28 to 36 hours at a time, before sleeping for 12 to 15. We've been up to our ears in coursework and yet uni just seems to be winding down. A lot has happened, actually, that I wanted to mention in this blog post... but I can't remember any of it.

Can't have been that important.

I really want chips. Or pizza.

I'll just get on with it instead. I haven't been seeing as many films as I'd have liked, but the ol' cinema isn't always free, and there's only a few films on at the moment that I actually want to see. Not that I get to see all the films I want to see... I didn't get to see Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief. I feel a little ashamed at saying that.

Oh, and I lied to you:

THE ROAD.

I saw this film before Up In The Air and forgot that when I did the last post... which was some while ago now. Anyway, The Road was the third and final of the Post-Apocalypse films that I saw in a row. It was an odd run, but it made for good film. I've always loved post-apocalypse stories, there's something in me that likes seeing humanity reduced to the animals we really are.

I don't think I've ever seen a film to rival The Road. I mean that, I really do. It's not my favourite film ever, it's not better than anything I've ever seen... but I will definately remember this film, simply for the sheer artistry of the bleakness. What point is there in continuing? Why should we keep breathing in and out when all the world is ash around us?

The film truly conveys the sheer desperation that these two lonely travellers must feel, the utter hopelessness.

The story is simply. A man and a boy are walking to the south, where they hope it is warmer. That's it. That's all.

But it's simply devastatingly powerful, the jagged beauty of the ripped up world around them kicks the living crap out of anything that Cameron and his legion of programmer-drones could come up with and the horrifying situations that they find themselves in again and again are almost too much to watch. I was on the edge of my seat several times and that rarely happens.

Sterling performances all round.

Haunting settings and music.

Directing and writing worthy of so much.

This is one of the bleakest films I've ever seen, so don't watch it if you're feeling in the slightest depressed. Nothing really happens for 90 minutes, even more walking than Lord of the Rings, slightly corny dialouge... but all told, just perfectly bleak. I still can't quite get over it. See it. But see it when you're not feeling down, otherwise it could just tip you over the edge.

(Next time WILL be Up In The Air)

I'm Feeling... 'UNGRY!!

So, over the past week or so, me, Ad, a camera and as many actors as we can get our grubby mitts on have been running all over Southampton to capture the wonderous nature of my script on film. Oh yes, the long awaited 'Ungry is in production, people. Mutant Pig People will be hitting no screens near you soon enough!!

It's exhausting, actually. I remember vaugely the filming experiance from back in college, but that's pushing eight years ago now, and I'm feeling the strain, but it's so totally worth it. Knowing that my part is pretty much done, all I have to do is murder people on screen and Ad will take care of the rest. Oooh-Rah.

Fine out more at:
http://ungry.wordpress.com

THE BOOK OF ELI.

So, Denzel Washington is walking across a desert that is formerly the good ol' U.S. of A. and he's carrying a book. He seems to be as utterly badass as he can be (this is Denzel after all) and he moves with a mission, to carry the book into the west. Beyond that, the man is a mystery.

Now, there were a lot of people moaning about this film and I can see why, there were a few questionable sequences (especially thrown into criticsm when considering the BIG REVEAL at the end), but the one thing people complained about is probably the biggest waste of time I've ever seen.

The Book is a bible.

Now, I'm not criticising that plot choice. Perfectly valid, perfectly reasonable. The waste of my time is people complaining about it. 'Oh, it's so unoriginal...' or 'Oh, that's so oppressive to other religions...' or just that's not a book with a hollowed out middle that contains some uber-McGuffin that will save the world and bring me a naked Michelle Ryan and a bottle of whipped cream.

No, it's just a bible. I'm sorry, movie goers, but is that not enough for you? It's faith, it's reason, it's the oldest book to have spraed itself across the world and bring light to people's lives. But no, apparantly that's not enough. Faith alone isn't a reason to tell a story. It's not a great story, it's a pretty simple story, but it's a faithful story. Well, I liked it.

Gary Oldman's antagonist was pretty weak, the only really good thing about him was that he was played by Gary Oldman. The reason for him pursuing the Bible was sound enough (Religion in the wrong hands and all), it's just the execution, I think, that was lacking.

As it was, a fair amount of bitching concerning the BIG REVEAL at the end, some saying that it rendered the movie pointless, some saying that it makes him even more badass and some saying it pushes it to the realm of the supernatural. As for me... I thought it was too much. Just a bit. Just a little. But I coped with it. It wasn't a very wise move of the writer, but at least it was ballsy.

So overall, I liked it, but maybe wait for it to be £3 in HMV.

(Next time: UP IN THE AIR)