Film 2008 with…
As Jonathan Ross is currently on unpaid leave you’ll have to make do with or very own movie buff Marie Kemplay instead.
A cinematic review of 2008
Batman
Although it’s impossible not be influenced by his tragic death and that inevitably coloured my judgement, Heath Ledger’s performance as the Joker really stole the show from Christian Bale, who despite playing the lead character of Batman was just plain bland. But I’m in danger of flogging the film as a one trick pony and there is much more to it than Ledger, for example the undercurrent of dodgy financial dealings is one we are now unfortunately only too familiar with, a dark film for dark times, yet highly entertaining nonetheless. Unlike everybody else I also thought there was the perfect number of false endings, I would have felt cheated had I not been tricked a few times.
There Will Be Blood
In terms of aesthetic quality There Will be Blood has to be high on the list, the rich black oil bursting forth from the parched and arid earth of California is deeply beautiful. The black stuff has an almost Midas-like quality to it, corrupting everything it touches and I guess that is the underlying message…maybe. Confusion is what prevents me from really enjoying the film, I don’t really understand what message is being conveyed, oil is evil? Really you don’t say! Overall the film gives the impression of complete futility, and after investing 2.5 good hours of my life, I would like a bit more than that. The ending especially threw me, I just don’t understand why Daniel Day Lewis kills the priest there is of course some kind of message about the hypocrisy of the church and the new religion being wealth and capitalist greed hidden in there but still…WHAT? Overall, Imagery: spectacular, Acting: fantastic, plot (excuse my French) crap.
Cloverfield
I really enjoyed Cloverfield, I put it down to my age, it has an intentional badly made student film vibe. Perhaps the greatest thing is that it unapologetically leaves you with no real resolution, we never found why this weird monster appeared or what happens next. I never mind being cheated out of answers if the plot is gripping enough. Although those American accents become somewhat grating – I’m thinking multiple “OH MY GAWDs” here - I can’t imagine a British equivalent being quite as plausible. If a British man’s love interest was trapped at the top of building with little chance of successful rescue and a giant monster was ripping through the streets of London I would expect his reaction to be: “anybody fancy a pint?” It was good old fashioned scary movie; no hint of government conspiracy, terrorism, etc a perfect hiding behind the sofa flick. It’s the kind of horror film that rather than leaving you unnerved allows you to sleep well at night and put the weird Godzilla-like monster in the same mental box as you put the wicked stepmother and big bad wolf when you were a child.
“W”
I think W deserves a place if just for the sole reason that it finally allows us to celebrate George W Bush’s departure in glorious technicolour. Although in my opinion the film has arrived 8 years too late, I think it would have been far more useful before he came into office to give us a clue about the kind of disastrous policies we could expect. But of course without the good old Iraq war and years of gaffes and unfortunate choices of words it is unlikely anybody would have paid much attention. So as it is this film is one giant sigh of relief that he’s on the way out, allowing us to have one last laugh at him but also unexpectedly to maybe even empathise with him, I know, it surprised me too. Overall nothing too revolutionary about the film and some of the acting is quite questionable, Tony Blair for example is pretty ludicrous. I also think Oliver Stone missed a trick by not covering the whole Florida recount fiasco which got Bush into the White House in the first place.
Sex in the City
And finally, allow me my foolish indulgence, as a female I tend to go weak at the knees over dresses, designer labels, jewellery…anything that would provoke the opposite reaction from a bloke. I think the Sex and the City movie is perhaps the ultimate polarising film, for women it champions all the best things about being a modern woman: being gorgeous, having a great job, and most importantly shoes and handbags. It’s a film about having it all basically, and while it’s wholly unrealistic it’s nice for a few hours to escape the dreary streets of Britain to uptown Manhattan. However for a bloke I can see the film is anathema, but I reckon it might be a good pulling trick, I’m willing to bet if you quoted a line from the film the ladies would be putty in your hands…here’s a good one: “You fancy ‘Colouring’ sometime?”
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