Merry Christmas from Film Fanatic!

My apologies that once again I have been slack with the up keep of my blog but this is my chance before the new year to wish those that visit the site for film inspiration a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, with a promise that I will be giving the blog the attention it deserves in the new year 2012.

James

As a parting note for 2011, here are the 5 festive films I recommend for viewing this Christmas in between bursts of Slade's Merry Christmas Everybody, Shakin' Stevens and The Pogues and plenty of christmas nibbles and tipples.

Enjoy and feel free to leave any comments or additional suggestions...

1. It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, USA, 1946)

Always at the top of my list and celebrating 65 years this year since release, this is still one of the most heartwarming stories of the everyman's struggles to find meaning in his life. What appears at first to be cliched reveals itself, in fact, to be a beautiful premise given more gravitas due to the casting of the late James Stewart as George Bailey; one of cinema's greatest heroes. Essential viewing and incredibly remastered in high def on Blu Ray.

The film is showing at 2.00pm on Sky Movies Christmas on Christmas Day

2. Home Alone (Chris Columbus, USA, 1990)

Second on my list of essentials is this 1990 family comedy "without the family". It is clear to see why director Chris Columbus was chosen as the director of the first two installments in the Harry Potter franchise after his superb work on films like this. A beautiful score from John Williams and a lot of fun to be had.

The film is showing on Channel 4 on Boxing Day at 7.05pm

3. A Christmas Carol (Robert Zemeckis, USA, 2009)

Charles Dickens' age old classic has been told numerous times on screen but Zemeckis' fascinating deployment of 3D and Motion Capture animation coupled with his casting of Jim Carrey as the miserly Scrooge, who has to change his ways for the good of mankind, presents audiences with a vibrant new spin on the timeless tale. Highly recommended though some of the ghostly apparitions may be a bit scary for younger children.

This film is showing at 8pm on Sky Movies Christmas on Christmas Day

4. Love Actually (Richard Curtis, UK, 2003)

Yes it's schmaltzy, yes there's a few too many narrative junctions for its own good but there's little not to like about this funny, touching romcom. A star studded cast including Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Keira Knightley and genre stalwart Hugh Grant ensure this isn't a convoluted, sentimental mess.

This film is showing at 9.45pm on Sky Movies Christmas on Christmas Day

5. The Holiday (Nancy Meyers, UK & USA, 2006)

A rom com to leave you with a tingly feeling or two during the festive season. Lots of laughs and another great cast of UK and US talent including Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and the ever brilliant Eli Wallach. A beautiful score from Hans Zimmer compliments the film well.

This film is showing on ITV1/ITV1HD at 10.15pm on Friday 30th December 2011.

"As Tiny Tim observed, "God bless us, everyone!""

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 review

"Why are you here, all of you?"

"We never left"

So we approach the end of the decade long record breaking film franchise and it's time to say goodbye to Harry and company and Hogwarts. It is a shame therefore that Warner Brothers' tired, cliche ridden marketing campaign "It all ends here" does little to enthuse and satiate this feeling for moviegovers as we say adios to the boy wizard. Promotion aside, this is the final stand, and if you have found Harry's transition from page to screen somewhat lacklustre over the last 10 years, you might be in for a pleasant surprise.

Part 2 begins where Part 1 left off. Voldemort has secured the elder wand, one of the three Hallows of the title, and our trio are still hunting the remaining horcruxes that hide fragments of our snake snouted antagonist's soul. Our first reminder of the bleak state of the wizarding world is of Rickman's Professor Snape, the new Headmaster of Hogwarts, surveying marching students in the school courtyard as the clouds roll over ahead. As Neville announces upon our trio's return to the magical haven, "Hogwarts has changed". We fade from this to a sombre moment of Harry surveying Dobby's grave at the idyllic shell cottage. Though we are unfortunate enough not to have a scenic tour of the cottage's interior (screen time constraints and all that...) we get straight to the dialogue. John Hurt is suitably frail and ambiguous as wandmaker Ollivander but it is Warwick Davis as goblin Griphook who elevates the character from Rowling's novel and personifies him superbly on screen as the conniving creature we have come to expect.

The film's first set piece is Gringotts, the wizarding bank. The descent to the vaults seems as if it has been lifted straight from the notion of theme park rollercoasters (the wizarding world theme park which opened to the public in Florida in 2010 was the clear inspiration) and is one of the few moments that benefits from the 3d transfer planted onto the film. The sequence is well realised and Helena Bonham Carter has Emma Watson's Hermione mannerisms down to a tee. The first evidence of Alexandre Desplat's captivating melodies for the final film comes from the swelling instrumentation of John Williams' signature theme for the series as the Gringotts' dragon soars out of the bank and flies across the clear blue London skyline. The attention to detail of the CGI in moments like this make you applaud the fastidious filmmakers.

The supporting cast, including some newcomers even at this late stage in the series, are largely terrific. Ralph Fiennes plays the rage and the vulnerability of Voldemort effortlessly, as if he wrote the character with his own hand. His slaughter of many at Malfoy Manor when he learns of Harry's escape is haunting, particularly in the short but effective shots of his bloodied bare feet and the striking use of subtitles as Voldemort converses with his snake. This is a man not to cross and in this final film Fiennes really demonstrates this antagonism well. Ciaran Hinds is welcomed to the Potter family as Dumbledore's brother Aberforth. Regardless of the regrettable fact that there is little screen time for this character and the Dumbledore family back story, he portrays the bitterness over his power hungry brother well and joins the fight for the wizarding world in style.

Within half an hour we have made it back to Hogwarts, once a safe sanctuary, now a battlefield, where the rest of this epic finale will unfold. Learning that Harry has been spotted around the Hogwarts grounds, it is once again Rickman's chance to stay centre screen and frown as the indecipherable Snape. Let battle commence. A sweet addition to the film is having Voldemort's echoing voice permeate the ears of all staff and students. The music is silenced, the air is still and there is a chilling sense of foreboding for what is to come. Though brief, the scene works brilliantly in capturing these characters' nerves and anxieties. Maggie Smith shines once again as Professor McGonagall and the moment that she brings the stone statues alive to guard the school with a smile is terrific.



The battle itself is played out on screen in a grand scale but it does not undermine character development. As we have discovered with the previous three films in the series, director Yates' interest is in the character development and the emotion of the story and without these elements and this focus we would not have a final product as engaging as this. For all the giants and dementors and wand battles there has to be sacrifice, loss and empathy with these characters that we have followed for the last 10 years. When characters lose their lives in battle we stop with Harry and their survivors to reflect and share their pain. It is these short bursts of emotion that put this kind of fantasy adventure series above the emotionless, bang for a buck Transformers movies, for example.

It is Alan Rickman's performance as Snape as Harry and the audience realise Snape's true intentions that provide the emotional core of not only this film but the entire series. In a beautiful eight minute sequence we realise Snape's motivations and share in his heartbreak at lost love. The scene is not only a testament to the remarkable nuances of Rickman's acting but also the power of Rowling's words on the page. The most intriguing character in the series gets the most bittersweet conclusion. Desplat's score, incorporating Nicholas Hooper's Dumbledore's Farewell theme from Half Blood Prince, additionally compliments and heightens the emotional impact of this pivotal scene.

Desplat's score for this final film could have been bombastic, loud and gratuitous and in the hands of an inexperienced composer it likely would have been so. As evidenced in Hallows Part 1 and countless other films however, it is clear that Desplat, like Yates, embeds his music into the emotional core of the narrative and the plight of these characters. Courtyard Apocalypse and the stunningly haunting Lily's Theme demonstrate a master at work and not even series stalwart John Williams could have bettered what we have here.

The principal trio are always scrutinised for their performances in these films. Either Rupert Grint is too gurning as Ron, Emma Watson tries too hard as Hermione or Daniel Radcliffe lacks the acting chops to deliver the goods as the reluctant eponym of the franchise but to give them their credit they are all fantastic in this final installment. Whilst Radcliffe still struggles to portray a multitude of emotions on screen, his performance in the Forbidden Forest scene where he is reunited with his family is beautiful to watch; understated and effective. Watson has little to do in this final film but we feel for Hermione when she hugs her best friend for what she believes is the last time as he walks to his fate. Rupert Grint has always seemed to have the finest grasp on his character and this doesn't wain at the final hurdle. He holds the trio together and is the warm hearted, genuine character straight from Rowling's pages.

As Voldemort fades away after being defeated in again another understated but engaging final battle, it is all about the main trio as the camera delicately pans away, framing them centre screen. When Harry says "together" to young Albus Severus in the film's touching epilogue, we are there with these characters, 19 years later, in bereavement that we will no longer be visiting Hogwarts and revelling in the magical world. The train departs, we wave goodbye and John Williams' stunning Leaving Hogwarts from the first film stays with the audience as they leave the cinema and return to their muggle lives.

Director Yates and the entire cast and crew of the Harry Potter series have ultimately closed the curtain on this magical world in a seemingly effortless, inimitable way. If you've been with Harry since the beginning you'll laugh, you'll cry and you'll wish you were heading on that train to Hogwarts. Thanks for everything Jo Rowling. A spellbinding ending to a memorable franchise.


Don't forget to check out my vlog on my Film Fanatic YouTube page. My video review of Deathly Hallows Part 2 is now available at the following link (please comment to let me know what you think):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=I33kPKHQD7s

Oscars blog 2011

James' Oscars blog 2011

The 83rd annual Academy Awards. Hosted by James Franco and Anne Hathaway. A night of some big surprises, a few sad errors in winners and a night for Britain to triumph!

The 3 hour marathon began with hosts Franco and Hathaway sending up some of the best films of the year in a funny montage - nice to see Inception being the main theme for this. The presenters seemed very natural - well, Hathaway was any way - Franco looked a little wooden for the majority of the time. The important thing was that fresh young blood revitalised this year's Oscars and made for one of the less tedious awards ceremonies in memory.

Original screenplay went to The King's Speech - the big contender in this category being Inception; adapted screenplay went to the film that has put Facebook back on the map - The Social Network, a film that would go on to scoop 3 of the awards at the ceremony.

Inception, joint with The King's Speech in winning 4 awards, bagged the technical awards - Nolan's snub as director is still bewildering - Visual effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Wally Pfister's cinematography all triumphed for arguably the best film of the last 12 months. It was a great shame to see Roger Deakins walk away empty handed, and True Grit in general, for a beautifully shot film.

Short live action film was won by God of Love, short animated film though it should have been the quite excellent Day and Night from Pixar was actually awarded to The Lost Thing. The 4 nominated Best songs were all performed excellently during the ceremony and Randy Newman took the award for the heartfelt We belong together from the brilliant Toy Story 3. The animated masterpiece also rather unsurprisingly bagged the best animated film - any other year without Pixar's influence the sublime How to Train Your Dragon would have won this. John Powell's stunning score lost out to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' irritating experimental score for The Social Network. This was one of the only awards of the night where I found myself getting angry.

Makeup was awarded to Rick Baker for his realistic work on The Wolfman, Foreign language film went to the Danes for In a better world. The Social Network picked up Best Editing - no real surprise there. Strangers no more took Documentary short subject and the infamous Banksy lost out in Documentary feature to Inside Job.

Costume design bagged a second Oscar for Tim Burton's mish mash of a film, Alice in Wonderland. Its other award of the evening was for Art Direction, an award I thought would certainly have gone to The King's Speech.

Onto the biggest awards of the night, Melissa Leo picked up Best actress in a supporting role for her role in The Fighter - her speech contained the only "Fuck" of the night! Actor in a supporting role went to Christian Bale also for The Fighter. Shame to see Geoffrey Rush not winning this for The King's Speech.

Everyone expected David Fincher to get Best Director for The Social Network but I'm happy to say that Tom Hooper received the award for The King's Speech. It wasn't until the last 20 minutes of the ceremony that The King's Speech found its feet. For a moment it was looking as if The Social Network might bag most of the big awards.

Actress in a leading role went to a fairly heavily pregnant, emotional and beautiful Natalie Portman for her haunting performance in Black Swan. The Oscarshave done away with the sycophantic nomination process of getting 5 actors and actresses to come out on stage and sing the praises of the nominees. This time Mr Cool Jeff Bridges awarded Natalie Portman with the golden statue. Actor in a leading role was the biggest given of the ceremony. Colin Firth triumphed for Britain with his portrayal of King George VI in The King's Speech bagging the award. His speech as always was one of the highlights. Sandra Bullock awarded Colin with the Oscar.

Finally, after a night of lots of glamour and some beautiful stage scenery with backdrops from classic Oscar winning films, The King's Speech beat the odds and won its 4th award - the most important - for Best Picture.

Overall, a night of surprises, loads of glamour and some great achievements for two of the most deserving recipients - Inception and The King's Speech.

The 83rd Academy Awards - February 27th 2011

My blog begins here. My predictions are highlighted in red. The winners will be in blue.

BEST PICTURE

Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech - WINNER

127 Hours

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Javier Bardem - Buitiful

Jeff Bridges - True Grit

Jesse Eisenberg - The Social Network

Colin Firth - The King's Speech - winner

James Franco - 127 Hours

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Christian Bale - The Fighter

John Hawkes - Winter's Bone

Jeremy Renner - The Town

Mark Ruffalo - The Kids Are All Right

Geoffrey Rush - The King's Speech

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Annette Bening - The Kids Are All Right

Nicole Kidman - Rabbit Hole

Jennifer Lawrence - Winter's Bone

Natalie Portman - Black Swan -winner

Michelle Williams - Blue Valentine

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Amy Adams - The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter - The King's Speech

Melissa Leo - The Fighter

Hailee Steinfeld - True Grit

Jacki Weaver - Animal Kingdom

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

How To Train Your Dragon

The Illusionist

Toy Story 3 -winner

ART DIRECTION

Alice in Wonderland

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I

Inception

The King's Speech

True Grit

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Black Swan

Inception

The King's Speech

The Social Network

True Grit

COSTUME DESIGN

Alice in Wonderland

I am Love

The King's Speech

The Tempest

True Grit

DIRECTING

Darren Aronofsky - Black Swan

David O'Russell - The Fighter

Tom Hooper - The King's Speech -winner

David Fincher - The Social Network

Joel and Ethan Cohen - True Grit

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Exit Through The Gift Shop

Gasland

Inside Job

Restrepo

Waste Land

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

Killing In The Name

Poster Girl

Strangers No More

Sun Come Up

The Warriors of Qiugang

FILM EDITING

Black Swan

The Fighter

The King's Speech

127 Hours

The Social Network - winner

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Biutiful (Mexico)

Dogtooth (Greece)

In A Better World (Denmark)

Incendies (Canada)

Outside The Law ((Hors-La-Loi) (Algeria)

MAKEUP

Barney's Version

The Way Back

The Wolfman -winner

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)

John Powell - How To Train Your Dragon

Hans Zimmer - Inception

Alexandre Desplat - The King's Speech

A.R.Rahman - 127 Hours

Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross - The Social Network

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)

Coming Home (Country Strong)

I See The Light (Tangled)

If I Rise (127 Hours)

We Belong Together (Toy Story 3) -winner

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)

Day and Night

The Gruffalo

Let's Pollute

The Lost Thing

Madagascar, carnet de voyage

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)

The Confession

The Crush

God Of Love

Na Wewe

Wish 143

SOUND EDITING

Inception - winner

Toy Story 3

Tron: Legacy

True Grit

Unstoppable

SOUND MIXING

Inception - winner

The King's Speech

Salt

The Social Network

True Grit

VISUAL EFFECTS

Alice in Wonderland

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I

Hereafter

Inception - winner

Iron Man 2

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)

127 Hours

The Social Network - winner

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)

Another Year

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids Are All Right

The King's Speech

The History of The Oscars - Best Picture

1927 - Wings

1928 - The Broadway Melody

1929 - All Quiet on the Western Front

1930 - Cimarron

1931 - Grand Hotel

1932/33 - Cavalcade

1934 - It Happened One Night

1935 - Mutiny on the Bounty

1936 - The Great Ziegfeld

1937 - The Life of Emile Zola

1938 - You Can't Take It With You

1939 - Gone With The Wind

1940 - Rebecca

1941 - How Green Was My Valley

1942 - Mrs Miniver

1943 - Casablanca

1944 - Going My Way

1945 - The Lost Weekend

1946 - The Best Years of our Lives

1947 - Gentleman's Agreement

1948 - Hamlet

1949 - All the King's Men

1950 - All About Eve

1951 - An American in Paris

1952 - The Greatest Show on Earth

1953 - From Here to Eternity

1954 - On The Waterfront

1955 - Marty

1956 - Around the World in 80 Days

1957 - Bridge on the River Kwai

1958 - Gigi

1959 - Ben Hur

1960 - The Apartment

1961 - West Side Story

1962 - Lawrence of Arabia

1963 - Tom Jones

1964 - My Fair Lady

1965 - Sound of Music

1966 - A Man for all Seasons

1967 - In The Heat of the Night

1968 - Oliver!

1969 - Midnight Cowboy

1970 - Patton

1971 - The French Connection

1972 - The Godfather

1973 - The Sting

1974 - The Godfather Part II

1975 - One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1976 - Rocky

1977 - Annie Hall

1978 - The Deer Hunter

1979 - Kramer Vs. Kramer

1980 - Ordinary People

1981 - Chariots of Fire

1982 - Gandhi

1983 - Terms of Endearment

1984 - Amadeus

1985 - Out of Africa

1986 - Platoon

1987 - The Last Emperor

1988 - Rain Man

1989 - Driving Miss Daisy

1990 - Dances with Wolves

1991 - The Silence of the Lambs

1992 - Unforgiven

1993 - Schindler's List

1994 - Forrrest Gump

1995 - Braveheart

1996 - The English Patient

1997 - Titanic

1998 - Shakespeare in Love

1999 - American Beauty

2000 - Gladiator

2001 - A Beautiful Mind

2002 - Chicago

2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2004 - Million Dollar Baby

2005 - Crash

2006 - The Departed

2007 - No Country for Old Men

2008 - Slumdog Millionaire

2009 - The Hurt Locker

2010 - ?

Best Oscar moments

The History of the Oscars - The Best Moments

With the 83rd ceremony upon us in a matter of hours (8.00pm American time, Sunday Feb 27th 2011), I thought it would be good to get the Oscar talk going with some classic moments from the ceremony over the years. The Oscars is a chance to look at the glam, the sophisticated and the brilliance of Hollywood, its actors and actresses and the amazing movies brought to our attention year on year. There have been some debatable winners and losers of the prestigious golden awards over the years, but these are indisputably some of its best moments.

Firstly, one of the most deserving awards went to Spielberg for his monumental work on Schindler's List, still the director's best work to date. Just look at that standing ovation.

Next, Jack Nicholson appears truiumphant in the year that One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest picks up Best Picture by winning the Best Actor gong.

Cuba Gooding Jr picks up his award for Jerry Maguire and enjoys the moment!

The legendary James Stewart receiving an honorary Oscar from the just as legendary Cary Grant.

Saving the best till last, here is the brilliant moment that Charlie Chaplin received an honorary Oscar for his outstanding contribution to film. One of the longest standing ovations in memory.

Check back to Film Fanatic shortly for more Oscars buzz ahead of the 83rd Academy Awards.