Week 8

British horror!

Apparently occurring to Britishhorrorfilms.co.uk these are the top 20 best British horror films:

1. The Wicker Man 1973; Robin Hardy

2. Witchfinder General 1968; Michael Reeves

3. The Haunting 1963; Robert Wise

4. Death Line 1972; Gary Sherman

5. Theatre Of Blood 1973; Douglas Hickox

6. Don't Look Now 1973; Nicolas Roeg

7. Quatermass And The Pit 1967; Roy Ward Baker

8. Dead Of Night 1945; Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden, Robert Hamer

9. The Devil Rides Out 1968; Terence Fisher

10. Night Of The Demon 1958; Jacques Tourneur

11. Blood On Satan's Claw 1970; Piers Haggard

12. The Innocents 1961; Jack Clayton

13. Tales From The Crypt 1972; Freddie Francis

14. Frightmare 1974; Pete Walker

15. An American Werewolf In London 1981; John Landis

16. The Abominable Dr. Phibes 1971; Robert Fuest

17. Dracula 1958; Terence Fisher

18. Brides Of Dracula 1960; Terence Fisher

19. Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed 1969; Terence Fisher

20. Horror Express 1973; Eugenio Martin

I personally have seen none of these, mainly because I don't like horror but also because all of the films were released before I was born; however at looking at some of them like 'Brides Of Dracula' and 'Frankenstein Must Die' I now would love to see them. I would like to see them as they seem more Gothic than horror, which I really like. It is paranormal horror that I hate and horror films that are only scary due to jump scares, they are the worst! 

British horror I have seen:

Woman In Black

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPYMUnJGURI

28 Days Later 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eunaclr-WgU

Shaun Of the Dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIfcaZ4pC-4

28 Weeks Later 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr1Kwfyf22s

Let Me In (part British part American) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BA_USu7C2ZQ

Woman In Black review

I went to see The Woman In Black in the cinemas when it was first released  mainly because Daniel Radcliffe stars in it and I wanted to see how he was in another role. I also wanted to go and see it as I never normally see horrors and this film only got a 12 certificate, so it can't be that scary. However, I was wrong as this film had a lot of jump scares in it which is my personal downfall. The film is about a young Lawyer who decides to travel to a remote village where he comes across a vengeful ghost. For me the narrative was ok but I think more effort should have been put into that rather than the 'horror' element. I did enjoy the film due to the Victorian element and the old fashioned settings but I felt like the horror was purely based off of jump scares which is a disappointment for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzAu_o4nCkM

here is a review of the Woman In Black which I do mainly agree with.

Week 7

Doctor Who: The Day Of The Doctor

Here are the two official trailers 'The Day of The Doctor':

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z6FMCqYrBo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkq8pnvsnQg

- Enjoy

'From the looks of the footage, show overlord Steven Moffat has definitely gone for epic, with a proper look at the Time War between the Daleks and the Time Lords that has cast a shadow across the entire run of the series since it returned in 2005. It also appears to indicate that – spoilers! – John Hurt’s mystery Doctor comes from that period, and fits in between Paul McGann’s Eighth and Christopher Eccleston’s Ninth, thereby screwing up the numbering system something rotten.

Also fun are some brief glimpses of the Tenth (David Tennant) and Eleventh (Matt Smith)’s Doctors together, plus brief Snippets of UNIT war rooms, the Zygons, Rose Tyler (Billie Piper) appearing to go all Bad Wolf-y again and someone riding a horse out of the TARDIS.

It all looks like it could be fun, though will it be too OTT even for Moffat’s run on the series? Well, it is the 50th anniversary, you knew they were going to go bonkers with it. American readers will be pleased to know that BBC America plans to simulcast the show at 2:50pm ET/11:50am PT on November 23 (lined up with the Beeb’s 7:50pm screening) to cut down on piracy. And the Mark Gatiss-penned drama about the birth of Who as a series, An Adventure In Space And Time, is set for 9pm on Friday November 22 in America-land. For more on both the origin drama and the 50th anniversary special, land your TARDIS at any good newsagent or pick up the digital version of the new Empire. Allons-y!'

- From the Empire 

I personally am extremely excited for the 50th anniversary special: One because OHMYGODITLOOKSAMAZING and two because my two favorite 'Doctors' are going to be in it together Matt Smith and David Tennant. I WILL be seeing this in cinema and I am definitely counting down the days: November 23rd HERE WE COME !!!! Allons-Y!

50/50

50/50 was released in 2011 inspired by a true story, about a man who learns he has cancer and his struggle to beat the disease. The movie is a comedy drama and I think it mixes the genres fabulously. I watched the movie for the first time this week and I really enjoyed it. I think that Joesph Gordon-Levitt was an excellent choice to play Adam; he really made you believe and understand everything Adam was going through, for me there was not a moment in the film when i didn't fully 'get' Adam. The comedic side of the film gave the audience and me great light relief and made the film flow more naturalistic and realistic. I think without the comedy the film would flop as it would just be a sad film, however the sad parts in the film were still useful and added to the narrative of the film. For me it was one of the first film based around cancer/death that I thoroughly enjoyed in a long time. For me I would give this movie a 4/5 as I really did enjoy it, however some of the scenes were unnecessary and didn't add to the film, also I think the ending could have been wrapped up a lot better to give a more satisfactory close to the narrative. The film also featured Seth Rogen who I thought was hilarious but also a really supportive friend of Adam; he added a lot of depth and variety to the film which I really liked.

Trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMaJET7mD0M

Christian Bale has been talking about his successor to Batman’s cape and cowl, having apparently already contacted Ben Affleck to offer him some friendly advice.

“I wish him all the best,” said Bale in an interview with Access Hollywood. “He’s a very experienced actor and filmmaker and he’ll make it his own.

“Our thing’s finished, we’ve always declared it was finished and it should be passed on to another actor and it will be again after him.”

And as a man who has spent a long time trussed up in that suit, Bale has some practical advice to offer his replacement…

“The only thing I said to him is just make sure he can take a piss without anyone having to help him, because it’s a little bit humiliating when you have to have someone help you out of the costume. That was my main piece of advice for him.”
-total film

watch the clip of Christian Bale giving Ben Affleck advice!

http://watch.accesshollywood.com/video/christian-bale:-whats-his-advice-to-ben-affleck-for-playing-batman/2847049040001

I personally am devastated that Ben Affleck will be the new Batman, he just does not fit the role at all, however I will be going to see the film as every film deserves a chance and I loved the Dark Knight Rises and Man Of Steel. 

Week 6

New book to film adaptations coming out:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) 

The Starving Games (2013)

How I live Now (2013)

Ender's Game (2013)

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)

The book thief (2013)

I, Frankenstein (2014)

I think that there are so many book to movie adaptations coming out because the director/producer and film companies know that if the book has had a good release there will be a preconceived audience as people who have read the book will want to see the movie version as it is something they have already enjoyed in one art form. 
I want to see all of these movies apart from 'The Starving Games' as it is a spoof of 'The Hunger Games' and I never particularly enjoy spoofs; especially if they are of films that I enjoyed, like 'The Hunger Games'. However if they are on films that were ridiculous anyway I do enjoy them.
I do want to see 'Ender's Game' but I realise that there is a lot of controversy around it, mainly due to the author's opinion on same-sex-marriage. However, I think the film looks rather interesting so I will still want to see it.

New/Announced/filming/post-production films with Johnny Depp:

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

Alice in Wonderland 2

Into The Woods

London fields 

Mortdecai 

Transcendence 

Captain Phillips: Movie review

I thought that this film was a very realistic capture of the true events. Tom Hanks plays the Captain and I have to say say I think he did a brilliant job of portray the fear and fright of the situation he was in. The movie is about modern day pirates who are forced to board a ship and 'take over' it to gain money to take back to their home; it is a thriller which gets more dramatic as the film goes on. I thought it was an excellent film as the actor's really portrayed the right feelings to the audience and Paul Greengrass used Steadicam and hand-held throughout the film excellently, it did not feel  unprofessional, it seemed real and it added to the suspense and fright. Overall I would give the film a 3 stars out of five as I thought that I could have been shortened down and some elements of the film I did not enjoy. I am glad I watched it as it was something different and new and it widened my film knowledge. 

Here is a review of the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZI_cXt6Ag0

My Top 5 favorite animated films (in no particular order):

Spirited Away

The film's synopsis (on IMDb)

In the middle of her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches, and monsters; where humans are changed into animals; and a bathhouse for these creatures.

Howl's Moving Castle 

The Film's Synopsis (On IMDb)

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking home.

My Neighbor Totoro 

The Film's Synopsis (On IMDb)

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby.

Pocahontas

The Film's Synopsis (On IMDb)

An English soldier and the daughter of an Algonquin chief share a romance when English colonists invade seventeenth-century Virginia.

Coraline

The Film's Synopsis (On IMDb)

An adventurous girl finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

My favorite animated films tend to come from the company Studio Ghibli as I like the way they look and their story lines are always unusual and incredible, spirited away is my favorite animated film closely followed by Howl's Moving Castle, both of which are produced by Studio Ghibli.