Lord Don't Slow Me Down

In Edinburgh, went with Lanni, Kerr and Flo to see Roger Corman’s ‘The Trip’. Roger Corman introduced the film giving a small speech about how the film was made and his discussions with the writer of the film Jack Nicholson.

The film is the story of Paul (Peter Fonda) a TV commercial director going through a bitter divorce with his wife. Dejected and disillusioned, he decides to experiment with LSD recommended by John (Bruce Dern) to explore Paul’s inner self. John gives a good explanation of how to take LSD and what it will do for Paul. Max (Dennis Hopper) is the drug dealer who shows up in the movie to give some interesting commentary. Hopper gives an interesting performance and maybe expanding his character would have provided a better story.  Paul spends the next few hours seeing beautiful colours and patterns, becoming more enlightened and self-aware, in between getting freaked out and confused in a terrifying nightmare world he has no control over. 

The psychedelic "trip" and hallucinatory visions that Paul experiences are very well done by director Roger Corman. The style and flash cut editing is good and you can see the inspiration for ‘Easy Rider’ and maybe even an influence for ‘Fear and Loathing Las Vegas’ However, without more of a plot, it soon becomes slightly repetitive, but overall, it is entertaining filled with old film techniques that audiences will enjoy.

Cheers

Supersonic

Over the weekend, I watched the wonderful Oscar-winner for Best Documentary Feature in 1996, ‘When We Were Kings’ by Leon Gast.  An excellent film about the famous ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ (the boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire in 1974). The film included the history of the fighters, background of the dictatorship of Zaire and a walk through of the fight itself. The film focuses on different elements of the proceedings - Ali, Foreman, Don King, the chaos around the fight etc.

In April 1967, Ali lost the world title because he had refused to go to Vietnam, but he began a comeback in 1970 and in 1971 he had a shot at the title but lost to Joe Frazier in the ‘Fight of the Century’. This is very important to remember as in October 1974; Ali was fighting George Foreman, a person who obliterated Frazier in a couple of rounds. Nobody really thought Ali was going to win this fight, a fact made clear in the documentary. Nobody, from his training staff to the commentators, believed that the former champion could stop 'Big George', no one except the people of Zaire.

Everywhere Ali went, there were cheers of 'Ali, Bomaye!’ which means 'Ali, kill him!' Interestingly, in one interview with Foreman, he states that he wouldn't want people shouting that - a chant encouraged by Ali - but rather that the people would shout 'George Foreman loves Africa!' However in the eyes of the people of Zaire, Foreman represented America, while Ali was their champion.  

As well as old archive footage leading up to the match, there was a series of interviews with Norman Mailer, George Plimpton and Spike Lee describing their impressions of Zaire and Ali himself.  Lee's contribution is mainly the effect of Ali on the black community at the time - being a positive role model and also showing a different image of Africa.  Towards the end of the movie, Lee states:

“These kids, they are missing a whole lot if they don't know the legacy of Muhammad Ali because no matter what era you live in you see very few true heroes”.

The documentary featured the famous ‘rope – a – dope’ move, which caused Foreman to use so much energy that eventually lead to him to an 8^th round knockout and the ‘right hand lead’ a punch Foreman was less prepared for, but left Ali open to an attack and widely known as an insulting punch to your opponent.  Any kind of Sports movies and documentaries are brilliant to watch, whether it’s small documentaries on the legacy of Celtic’s Tommy Burns to films such as ‘The Natural and Filed of Dreams’.  ‘When we were kings’ is no different, it is a really moving documentary that is a real must watch.

Let There Be Love

Alright Folks,

During the Easter holidays, I caught ‘Gregory’s Girls’ as part of STV at the Movies weekend schedule.  Directed by Bill Forsyth, it tells the sweet and light hearted tale set in 1980's Glasgow and the adventures of Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) a gawky teen ‘fitba’ striker with as little luck with the girls as he has in front of goal. In fact, his coach (Jake D'Arcy) is so disappointed in Gregory's form that he moves him into goal and holds an open training session to find his replacement.  To Gregory's delight and surprise, his replacement is the beautiful girl Dorothy (Dee Hepburn) and Gordon falls instantly in love. Can Gregory score on and off the field or will someone else become Gregory's girl?

John Gordon Sinclair as Gregory is really funny and very likeable guy who falls haplessly in love.  Dee Hepburn as Dorothy is the eye-catching love interest and Claire Grogan plays the sweet and gentle Susan, who ultimately becomes Gregory’s Girl as the fast and slightly predictable ending, which sees Gregory left standing at the clock tower waiting for Dorothy who doesn’t turn up, as Gregory leaves with Susan whom walk each other home hand in hand.  The supporting performance by Robert Buchanan as Gregory's best friend Andy, almost steal the show, especially with quotes like the classic line:

"Nine losses in a row and what do they do? Sack the goalie and put girl on the forward line!”

The screenplay is very smart and very sympathizing with Gregory’s character.  The script plays a lot on his awkward personality and pays off very well.  The film has a strong balance of knowing and naivety in most of the characters.  This is a very sensitive movie that treats the teenagers very respectfully and allows for the sweetness of young love and avoids the seriousness through its sensitivity and serves each comedic moment up in the most warm way it can be. It's very natural and it captures best the way adolescence really is.  Also, I think it could have been a little inspiration in Napoleon Dynamite, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.  The film is good natured and worth watching for the Glaswegian banter.

Cheers

Cigarettes and Alcohol

Howdy!

Late on Sunday night after the victorious Celtic beat the so called 'mighty' Gers 2-0 in the CIS Cup Final (O’Dea ad McGeady - Leg-Ends!) and finishing off a few beers, I sat down to watch "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" directed by Terry Gilliam of the Monty Python fame and adapted by the Hunter S. Thompson articles / book.  A few of the bhoys from class mentioned the film and praised how good it really is. 

The story is a twisted, bizarre venture into the mind of a warped junkie, a reporter traveling to Las Vegas, Nevada in order to cover a Mint 500 motorcycle race, along with his Samoan attorney Dr. Gonzo (Benicio Del Toro, who gained a great deal of weight for the role). "We were somewhere around Barstow when the drugs began to take hold," is the line, which opens the movie as a red convertible roars from right to left. The vehicle's trunk is packed with large quantities of deadly narcotics. "We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, a whole galaxy of multicolored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers.  Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of beer, a pint of raw ether, two dozen amyls."



The narrator of the story is Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) a balding, stumbling man, constantly smoking or inhaling drugs.  He is in a permanent daze throughout the entire film, constantly consuming drugs every time the camera pans onto him.  After the race is over and unsure of whom actually won, he begins reporting on his typewriter, desperately trying to make sense of the seemingly frantic world surrounding him.

The film is really impressive both visually and storytelling.  You immerse yourself in their world so much that you feel like you were there with them on the "trip" in both senses of the word.  Terry Gilliam vision for the film is incredible, his use of his cinematography and backgrounds - the camera essentially takes on the role of a third person as it is constantly moving, positioned at bizarre angles against dizzying backdrops with psychedelic sounds that adds to the style.  The effect of this in the movie could be equal to getting high on acid, but on a lower, less dangerous scale. The 60s/70s soundtrack is a terrific addition to ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’ as it summarises the mood of that period.  The psychedelic sounds match what is seen on screen to enhance the audience's senses.  The script has lots of memorable quotes including:

Raoul Duke: Look, there's two women fucking a polar bear

             Dr. Gonzo: Don't tell me these things. Not now man.

Raoul Duke: One toke? You poor fool! Wait till you see those goddamn bats.

The casting is superb also.  Johnny Depp and Benico Del Toro are faultless - Depp manages to keep an element of believability in even his most flamboyant performance, while Del Toro can do no wrong.  The guy is fantastic in any role.  There are also numerous cameos from Tobey McGuire, Christina Ricci and Cameron Diaz. Personally, I think the film is very entertaining and would recommend it to everyone, a cult classic, but it could be one of those love/hate film depending on the audiences taste.

Cheers 

Sunday Morning Call

‘Eagle Eye’ is the story of Jerry Shaw (Shia LeBeouf), a young, intelligent teenager who has never applied himself to anything and is scraping by in a droll existence dodging his landlady and bluffing money in poker games in the back room of his copy store job. There is also the story of Rachel Holloman (played by Michelle Monaghan), a pretty, young and bitterly divorced woman who's trying to vicariously live out her wild youth through her friends, while dedicating her only strength and passion to her young son. These two seemingly total opposites are "activated" and sent kicking and screaming through a series of dangerous events by an unknown voice on their phones, who can seemingly track them from absolutely anywhere. Jerry is forced into it because he's been framed as a terrorist, while Rachel runs the gambit to save the life of her son. Together they try to stay alive long enough to figure out what it is they are supposed to accomplish.

The major problem with the film is there is no person on the other end of the phone. It's a computer called ‘Aria’, who was designed and built by the Department of Defense and is now on the warpath to eliminate the chain of command, all the way up to the President.  Aria is basically a female version of HAL from 2001.  The film itself is just trying to make 2001 into modern day civilization, but really fails to deliver, especially when films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Bourne Trilogy, I Robot, WarGames etc… are successful in telling the story and having a point.

The film is pretty much awful till it unravels the moment you are told everything is being run and designed by a rogue artificial intelligence system with the movie giving off a "big brother" fright tactic.  The whole thing felt unrealistic - No computer system would ever be created to plan an assassination plot on the whole US Presidential Cabinet.  This wasn’t anything new to cinema and the film is pretty unoriginal.  At least with the Bourne trilogy for example: there was pace, well-crafted dialogue and characters, decent action set pieces - here nothing seems realistic. 

Two scenes, which stick out are pretty piss-poor is the a super-computer controlling the electric cables attached to pylons so they can be used as instrument of death to an Iranian after handing over a package to Jerry and Rachel.  Zzzzzz! Then after a 10-car pile up at a crossroads, where cars pile into each other from every direction at speed, the drivers get out the cars without a single scratch.  C’mon! At least one member of the public must be in a serious condition from all that.  The film lacks originality and believability and I wouldn’t recommend it.  

Gas Panic!

Howdy!

            On Saturday night, I rented out ‘Felon’ directed by Ric Roman Waugh a really gripping and gritty prison movie about Wade Potter (Stephen Dorff) who is convicted of 1^st degree murder for trying to protect his family from a burglar.  After taking the rap for another criminal to protect himself inside, only to backfire, Wade is convicted for 3 years and must struggle to win the battle inside prison and also keeping his family together on the outside.

            The film isn’t as good as ‘Shawshank Redemption’ or ‘ Escape from Alcatraz’ or the TV series ‘Prison Break or Oz’, but it is up there and certainly worthwhile watching.  The plot is simple, but believable, but what draws the audience in is the characters.  Stephen Dorff plays Wade Potter,a man with two different sides to his character.  In the 1^st Act, Wade is a family man living the dream with his girlfriend Laura (an honest portrayal by Marisol Nichols) and their son Michael.  They have raised the funds for a new company and they are planning their wedding day.  Unfortunately, when he kills the burglar, he is sanctioned to he maximum-security wing controlled by ‘Lost’ Harold Perrineau, a brutal and aggressive guard who uses the prisoners for gang fights in the prison yard.  For Wade, his character changes dramatically. Wade becomes part of the prison set-up and his interaction between his cell-mates is ruthless and brutal.  Val Kilmer (also excellent) built like a tank plays John Smith, who was sentenced to life due to murdering the killers and their families for the death of his wife and daughter.  Kilmer and Dorff have great chemistry together and Kilmer’s character acts as a mentor with a great attitude and nature towards Dorff and the bond between them is like father and son during the course of film.             

The cinematography is great almost like a 3^rd person view giving you the impression that you are actually part of the prison set-up and the director makes use of good close-ups to draw you into the plot.  Most of the shots are hand held, which adds to the intensity of the drama.  The film is a survival story and does offer a lot of violence and strong language, which can cause offence.  The low budget film factor adds to the impact of the film and after watching the making of, you find the director took a lot of the gang related stories in prison and based them in his film.

            Also, here’s some facts from the Guardian website about the winners and losers or the Oscars: 

(Website - http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/feb/01/oscars-winners-losers-speeches)

Most memorable speeches:

Most gushing 
Sally Field spawned a thousand parodies, gushing "I can't deny the fact that you like me, right now, you like me!" after winning the best actress award for Places in the Heart in 1985. "You like me, you really like me" became the catchphrase.

Longest Greer Garson forgot the rules at the 1943 Oscars and subjected the audience to a seven-minute ramble after winning best actress for Mrs Miniver.

Shortest Working on the assumption that brevity is the soul of wit, Alfred Hitchcock (Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award, 1967) and Joe Pesci (best supporting actor, Goodfellas, 1991), made do with a simple "thank you".

Most unfortunate Tom Hanks (best actor, Philadelphia, 1994) offered a tribute to his gay former drama teacher, inadvertently outing him in the process.

Most filled with love Cuba Gooding Jr exclaimed "I love you" 14 times when accepting the best supporting actor award in 1997 for Jerry Maguire; the last three were delivered over the top of the orchestra, who had begun playing to cut his speech short.

And the Oscar doesn't go to ...

• Citizen Kane may be one of cinema's greatest achievements but it was not considered good enough to win the 1942 best picture award. That went to How Green Was My Valley, a drama about a Welsh mining town.

• Brawn triumphed over brains in 1977, with Rocky knocking out critical successes Network, All the President's Men and Taxi Driver

• Academy voters had proved largely immune to Martin Scorsese, so it was little surprise in 1991 when his mob saga Goodfellas lost to Dances with Wolves

• Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece, Pulp Fiction, proved de trop for Academy voters in 1995, who opted instead for saccharine comedy-drama Forrest Gump

• It was a groundbreaking Hollywood portrayal of a gay relationship but that wasn't enough to carry Brokeback Mountain to Oscar success. Voters for the 2005 awards opted instead for Los Angeles ensemble drama Crash.

The big winners

Ben-Hur (1959) 
(starring Charlton Heston)
11 Oscars, 12 nominations.

Titanic (1997) 
11 Oscars, 14 nominations.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 
11 Oscars, 11 nominations.

West Side Story (1961) 
10 Oscars, 11 nominations.

Gigi (1958) 
9 Oscars, 9 nominations.

The Last Emperor (1987) 
9 Oscars, 9 nominations.

The English Patient (1996) 
9 Oscars, 12 nominations.

Gone With The Wind (1939) 
8 Oscars, 13 nominations.

From Here to Eternity (1953) 
8 Oscars, 13 nominations.

On the Waterfront (1954) 
8 Oscars, 12 nominations.

My Fair Lady (1964)
8 Oscars, 12 nominations.

Gandhi (1982)
8 Oscars, 11 nominations.

Amadeus (1984) 
8 Oscars, 11 nominations.

Cabaret (1972)
8 Oscars, 10 nominations

The sore losers

Samuel L Jackson is probably not the only unsuccessful nominee to have let out a discreet swearword when the decision was announced. But thanks to a well placed microphone, his reaction to losing out to Martin Landau in the 1995 best supporting actor category - a furious "Shit!" - became public knowledge.

When the academy awarded the 2004 best actor prize to Sean Penn, fellow nominee Bill Murray made no secret of his displeasure, refusing to clap and wearing the sort of expression that would have made his grouchiest characters proud.

A grim-faced Eddie Murphy made a swift exit midway through the 2007 Oscars after losing out to Alan Arkin in the best supporting actor category. His absence became all the more obvious when Jennifer Hudson, who appeared alongside Murphy in Dreamgirls, won best supporting actress later in the evening.

Posthumous Oscars

Heath Ledger, who died last January following an accidental overdose, is tipped for the best supporting actor award for his performance as the Joker in Batman film The Dark Knight. If he wins, he will join 13 others, all men, who have won Oscars after their deaths. Here are five of the best known.

Sidney Howard who adapted Gone with the Wind for the big screen, was killed in a tractor accident shortly after finishing the script. In 1939, the film won 10 awards including a first ever posthumous Oscar for Howard.

There have been seven nominations for dead actors, but Peter Finch is the only one so far to have to received a posthumous Oscar for a performance. He won the best actor award in 1977 for playing an ageing TV anchorman in media satire Network.

Following his death in 1991, lyricist Howard Ashman was nominated for three separate songs in the Disney cartoon Beauty and the Beast, winning an Oscar for the title track.

Two years after his death, Walt Disney won an award at the 1968 Oscars for animated short Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day to add to the 25 he amassed during his lifetime.

Producer Sam Zimbalist, who died during the making of Ben-Hur, received a posthumous award when the 1959 epic won best picture at that year's Oscars.     

Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life

On Sunday night, I got the chance to watch the Terry Jones directed, ‘Monty Python’s Life of Brian’, and it’s a film, which I love from the opening titles to the end credits.  The movie dealt with a lot of controversy from religious and political groups and it was / is accused of being blasphemous and disrespectful to Jesus and God, but personally I felt it wasn’t an attack to any religious figures, more a satire / comedy on the way some religious people follow their leaders without really thinking about it.

The movie's plot is about the life of Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), who is a poor Jewish boy born in Nazareth on the same day as Jesus.  Years later, Brian is now a young man who has grown hating the Roman occupation of his country while working at the local Arena. One day Brian attends one of Jesus' sermons and among the crowd he notices Judith (Sue Jones-Davies), a woman who leads him to the rebel group "People's Front of Judea".  Brian joyfully joins the rebels, but the missions given to him do not exactly end in the best way for the group. Things get complicated for Brian when after a bizarre series of circumstances, he ends up being confused with a messiah, and with this he gains a considerable amount of devoted followers.

As always, the Pythons are simply superb in their portrayal of the many characters of the movie. Graham Chapman only plays three characters this time, but he is Brian and as our main character he perfectly portrays the naiveté of the young idealist man.  John Cleese is also excellent in the many characters he plays, especially as the leader of the People's Front of Judea.  Director Terry Jones himself appears as, among others, Brian's mother, making a remarkable character with his peculiar voice.  You can't single out one actor as the best in the film, but Michael Palin's performance as Pontius Pilate is easily one of the funniest of the movie.  Finally, Eric Idle gives the icing in the cake as he sings the Python's most famous song, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".

There are so many scenes to choose, which stand out, but a few personal favourites include Brian writing out his slogan "Romans go Home" and is taught a spelling lesson by the Centurion on how to write it properly.  Another hilarious moment is when Brian shouts to the crowd that they're all individuals. They answer in unison: "yes, yes, we are all individuals" - and then this bearded fellow (think Eric Idle) pokes his head out and calmly states: "I'm not." That is just brilliant!  The rivalry between the `People's Front of Judea' and the `Judean People's Front’, is just so funny and finally, ‘Biggus Dickus’, the dialogue from that part of the film is so funny to watch.

This is without a doubt one of the best comedic films of all time. It challenged how far you could go in films and influenced a generation. Truly, the Pythons did for comedy what the Beatles did for music.

Cheers folks,