La Haine  (1995)

Dir: Mathieu Kassovitz

This is one of my favourite films ever made, I got this film about 2 years ago and was lucky enough to study this film in depth for my A level exam. 

What I love most about this film is the way its filmed so beautifully, it has some truly stunning shots. I love black and white film it brings a whole new dimension and beauty to film overall, and Kassovitz uses this to build this gritty atmosphere throughout the film which I love. 

The opening is fantastic for me it really sets the whole film up and shows the reality of the film, The film is cast perfectly the three main protagonists Vinz (Vincent Cassel) , Said (Said Taghmaoui) and Hubert (Hubert  Kounde). Vince Cassel is charming and I character I personally fell in love with.

I haven't been able to blog in ages and have finally found some time too keep writing!

Within the time space:

• I got into university and am now an official film studies student at the Sheffield Hallam university which I am really excited about! 
• Been working at least 4 days a week (a reason why I haven't been able to blog)
• Haven't really seen any great films lately which is disappointing. 
• Cancelled my Cineworld card finally- If you don't live within 20 mins of the Cineworld cinema I'd say they aren't worth it, you have to go at least 3 times a month for it to be worth it, plus Cineworld times are always weird...
• Considersing whether to see 'Brave' or not...I have a lot of love for Pixar but I'm afraid 'Brave' doesn't  look great...Im not sure..but Im always open to watching any film. 

Top 10 favourite films of 2010

2010 was a great year for film! Here's my favourite 10...

1.The Social Network - One of the best films I've ever seen, so disappointing when it lost out on the 'best           picture' Oscar to 'The Kings Speech' Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield's performance is so underrated in this film! Just another fantastic Fincher film that didn't get the recognition it deserved.

2.Inception -  Nolan is probably one of my favourite directors and like everyone else I was blown away by Inception it has a phenomenally strong cast and a fantastic narrative!

3.Kick Ass - Chloe Moretz is such a strong actress and is in my top 10 for favourite actresses this is the film that really made me fall in love with her, just how a comic book superhero film should be like!

4. Toy Story 3- I grew up watching Disney films and they're a big part of my life really.... I cried many times watching this film because its the end of an era. I just love Pixar im a big kid at heart!

5. Submarine - This film is really cute and quirky, the soundtrack is beautiful Alex Turners voice just goes perfectly with the narrative and film. Quintessentially very British but worth a see!

6.Four Lions - Really enjoyed this comedy and thought it was really funny, some great British talent showcased!

7. Never Let Me Go- quite a controversial film as I know a lot of people who didn't enjoy it, I personally felt the 3 protagonists (Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Kiera Knightly) were great, this film moved me and I really didn't expect the twist within the storyline....

8. 127 Hours - I love Danny Boyle and this film didn't disappoint, think the soundtrack was fantastic and really uplifting! 

9. Remember Me (guilty pleasure) - I have a big soft spot for Robert Pattinson... although this film was very cheesy it was interesting, I think Rob Pattinson was brilliant but Emilie De Raven was irritating and wrongly cast...

10. Easy A- Wasnt very optimistic about this film to be honest I dont usually find American comedy that funny especially ones that are aimed at teenage girls but I was pleasantly surprised and found it really funny, Emma Stone was great shes a brilliant comedy actress!

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2012 (Dir: Marc Webb)

My rating- 6/10

Contains so beware!! (Apologies for any spelling or grammer mistakes)

I love Andrew Garfield as an actor, in every film I have seen him in I have been thoroughly impressed and cant say I was disappointed when seeing this film! Garfield was cast perfect for this role he had great energy throughout and felt the pain of Peter when his uncle dies and not gonna lie he looked great in the spider man costume...
One thing I felt was lacking was the chemisrty between Gwen Stacy and Peter Parker I didnt like the awkwardness between them and frankly found Emma Stone really irritating. I think Emma Stone is a brilliant comedy actress but I felt she was very false, the scene in which Peter and Gwen are 'awkwardly' on the balcony felt like it went on forever and I just didn't like the awkwardness between them...
I really enjoyed the story itself and found The lizard/Dr Connors creepy what I also liked was the transition of Peter Parker to Spiderman as he discovered his powers and the costume finally formed. This film is definitely worth seeing despite its flaws and in my opinion is 100 times better than Spider-man 2002 (Dir: Sam Raimi) with Tobey Maguire (who was boring and soppy)!

Little bit about the blog..

I have decided to start a new blog and just give my review on films I have seen lately or just really enjoy (or not) from my DVD collection, I hope you enjoy the reviews but we obviously all have our own opinions so leave a comment if you like!

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES 2012 (Dir: Christopher Nolan)

 My rating - 9/10

Contains spoilers so beware!! (Apologies for any spelling or grammer mistakes)

The expectation and wait for The Dark Knight Rises was extremely high, for months and months and months my friends and I have been discussing and predicting plots within the film (in which  a few of them were right). The anticipation and wait between the Dark Knight and the The Dark Knight Rises was absolutely worth it. 

The opening sequence really built the tension as we were straight away introduced to the antagonist Bane, the fast paced editing wowed the audience as we given an insight into the mindset and animosity of Bane. Tom Hardy gave an outstanding performance as Bane for an actor to have been restricted to just his eyes and voice was challenging but he proved what a great actor he is and found Hardy's use of voice chilling. The physicality of the performance also showed the strengths of Hardy as an actor. A problem I found was Banes death it really let the film down the anti climax was disappointing as we waited about 15minutes for Bane to return to our screens then we see him and he is killed and that’s it, SO FRUSTRATING. There was a lot of pressure on Hardy to give such a performance after Heath Ledgers outstanding Joker portrayal in the Dark Knight but personally I felt that both were as strong as each other in different ways, there's no way you can compare them. 

In the past I have never rated Christian Bale, I found the use of his 'batman voice' irritating and very hard to understand but actually it worked well you could understand the majority of what was said!! Bale was strong and played both Batman and Bruce Wayne brilliantly. One thing that I felt was lacking from this film was the chemistry between Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and Bruce Wayne, the scenes that depicted the ‘attraction’ between the two were rushed and almost a bit childlike I did feel myself slightly cringing at points...But saying that Anne Hathaway’s performance as Selina Kyle /catwoman  (which she wasn’t directly referenced as catwoman, ) was flawless and is totally forgiven for her  horrific/poor/ dodgy acting in ‘One Day’ 2011 (Dir: Lone Scherfig). Unfortunately the same can’t be said for Marion Cotillard, for me I felt Nolan cast her wrongly and throughout she was very wooden.

The story itself was great I couldn’t keep my eyes off the screen as every moment there was another twist, the fact that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Robin was slightly predictable but was a brilliant ending for a fantastic film!