Spring Breakers - "Just pretend it's a video game. Like you're in a fucking movie."
Spring Breakers is tough to decipher, on the one hand you have a typical Spring Break film focused on four very different girls who are friends with loads of drugs, booze, tits & ass, & on the other hand you have a spiritual journey set in the confines of a sometimes thrilling roller coaster of a narrative. The film is essentially about four girls who are childhood friends that don't have enough money to go to Spring Break in Florida so they rob a diner with fake guns and balaclavas. This is initially very confusing because there was no hint whatsoever that these girls were the violent kind. So they get down to Florida and there is loads of cringe worthy voice over from all four girls about "finding ourselves" & "what it means to be a young girl in this day and age". So be prepared for some very realistic boring girl talk that means nothing, it's time filler and cannon fodder. The four girls are played by Selena Gomez (Faith), Vanessa Hudgens(Candy), Ashley Benson(Brit) & Rachel Korine(Cotty). Only two out of four have any depth and are actually tolerable, that being Brit & Candy, the wild cards of the bunch, the violent two, sex crazed, drug riddled & crazy. After some predictable Spring Break shenanigans they are thrown in jail for illegal possession of narcotics and are promptly bailed out by the man DJing at the party they were at the night previous. At this point we are introduced to James Franco in honestly his best role ever as "Alien". A Florida native drug dealing gangster with horrible grills in his teeth and shocking dreadlocks. He is the most charismatic and hilarious character in the film, in all honesty it's worth paying the price of admission just to see his performance.
Our not so awesome foursome become a fivesome and this is where the story really picks up. The film is shot in such a way that it's utterly hypnotic, the camera sways like a drunk person is holding it and the composition of each shot is superb, the cinematography is gorgeous it really lends itself to the Florida setting. Also surprisingly there are a number of musical sequences in the film in particular the Britney Spears montage scene is one of the funniest most clever montages I've ever seen on film, I want to believe it's poking fun at montages and that was the directors intentions but who knows when it comes to Harmony Korine's films, trying to decipher his intentions are impossible. As the antics of our scantily clad females become more & more extreme some of the girls grow weary of how far things are being taken, Alien is a non-stop gun toting ATM machine which the girls are addicted to (surprise surprise) and he enables them to feel invincible and drives them to act out their animal instincts. This film is labeled as an Art-House feature set within the confines of a sexed up teen film and it is exactly that, it's well directed however the script is very tedious. The constant repetition of girls voice over is excruciating as they say the same old shit over and over again. "I've found myself" "I feel so spiritual" "This is the best time of my life" and the problem with this is you believe every word because you've heard girls talk like this. It's definitely worth a watch, plenty of tits and ass, violence, drug use and hilarious over the top characters as well as some very realistic relatable characters, it's not perfect but it's unlike anything you've ever seen. 4/5
Bechdel test: There are 4 main female characters, they do talk to each other and most of the time it is not about men, they talk mainly of money, sing terrible pop songs and talk about finding themselves. The film passes the Bechdel test.
Thursday, 23 May 2013
Tuesday, 14 May 2013
Star Trek Into Darkness Film Review
Star Trek Into Darkness - "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I only know what I can do!"
Star Trek Into Darkness is every bit as riveting and exciting as its predecessor if not more so. The scale is grand, the story is cohesive and thought provoking & it's a visceral experience at the movies. All of the cast return as well as welcoming three newcomers Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain "John Harrison", Peter Weller as "Marcus" & Alice Eve as "Dr. Carol Marcus" (hubba hubba). All play pivotal roles that shape the focus of the film in ways that I didn't expect. Director J.J. Abrams is very secretive & protective of his scripts so few details were released before its worldwide premier, which makes for a rewarding time at the movies with all the twists and turns having their intended impact. The acting in film is unbelievable, Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain with that deep baritone voice is excellent, he's a much better villain than Eric Bana was as he actually poses a plausible threat to not only the USS Enterprise but the whole of Star Fleet. Chris Pine really had to step it up in this sequel and boy does he deliver, a very emotionally impacting performance & you really feel for him.
Zachary Quinto returns as Spock, it was interesting to see another side of him, his character arc in this film is much greater as his human half plays a greater role than his Vulcan half. The story as a whole reaches deep into space and we finally get to see some of Star Fleets greatest enemies such as the Klingon's. But it's difficult to digress anything further without ruining the very well written plot. Michael Giacchino returns as composer and his score is prevalent. I really feel as if this is the Empire Strikes Back of the Star Trek franchise, whilst there's plenty of entertaining action it's the character arcs that are the big focus of this feature. Visually it's stunning, ILM return as the visual effects producers and the cinematography is gorgeous, especially in the space suit flight scene. What's great about this sequel is that all our favourite characters have already been fleshed out and introduced in it's predecessor so the story is what's most important. There are even moments where you could tear up a little, even with it being a science fiction film set 2000 years into the future, we as an audience can relate to it because the trials and tribulations of the characters on a personal level establish a reciprocal relationship. Particularly Spock and Kirk, whilst they do have some familiar banter it's more along the lines of "I'm your captain now, you're my friend and I need to have my back at all times if we are to succeed" which is where Spock's human half comes into play.
It's a Star Trek film for Trekkies and Non-Trekkies and just overall film lovers, it's thrilling, effective, emotional & highly recommendable. Chances are if you don't like this film you're dead inside and have no business going to the movies and your opinion is invalid. In all seriousness though go out and see it as it's a wonderful science fiction film with a terribly intimidating villain and a huge payoff in it's conclusion. It's also not white-washed the cast are a collective of races, black, white, Asian, Indian, Russian.....Alien it's for everyone as it should be. This can only install hope in Star Wars fans across the globe as J.J. Abrams gears up for Star Wars VII. 5/5
The Bechdel Test: There were 2 female characters Dr. Carol Marcus & Uhura however they did not converse.
Star Trek Into Darkness is every bit as riveting and exciting as its predecessor if not more so. The scale is grand, the story is cohesive and thought provoking & it's a visceral experience at the movies. All of the cast return as well as welcoming three newcomers Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain "John Harrison", Peter Weller as "Marcus" & Alice Eve as "Dr. Carol Marcus" (hubba hubba). All play pivotal roles that shape the focus of the film in ways that I didn't expect. Director J.J. Abrams is very secretive & protective of his scripts so few details were released before its worldwide premier, which makes for a rewarding time at the movies with all the twists and turns having their intended impact. The acting in film is unbelievable, Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain with that deep baritone voice is excellent, he's a much better villain than Eric Bana was as he actually poses a plausible threat to not only the USS Enterprise but the whole of Star Fleet. Chris Pine really had to step it up in this sequel and boy does he deliver, a very emotionally impacting performance & you really feel for him.
Zachary Quinto returns as Spock, it was interesting to see another side of him, his character arc in this film is much greater as his human half plays a greater role than his Vulcan half. The story as a whole reaches deep into space and we finally get to see some of Star Fleets greatest enemies such as the Klingon's. But it's difficult to digress anything further without ruining the very well written plot. Michael Giacchino returns as composer and his score is prevalent. I really feel as if this is the Empire Strikes Back of the Star Trek franchise, whilst there's plenty of entertaining action it's the character arcs that are the big focus of this feature. Visually it's stunning, ILM return as the visual effects producers and the cinematography is gorgeous, especially in the space suit flight scene. What's great about this sequel is that all our favourite characters have already been fleshed out and introduced in it's predecessor so the story is what's most important. There are even moments where you could tear up a little, even with it being a science fiction film set 2000 years into the future, we as an audience can relate to it because the trials and tribulations of the characters on a personal level establish a reciprocal relationship. Particularly Spock and Kirk, whilst they do have some familiar banter it's more along the lines of "I'm your captain now, you're my friend and I need to have my back at all times if we are to succeed" which is where Spock's human half comes into play.
It's a Star Trek film for Trekkies and Non-Trekkies and just overall film lovers, it's thrilling, effective, emotional & highly recommendable. Chances are if you don't like this film you're dead inside and have no business going to the movies and your opinion is invalid. In all seriousness though go out and see it as it's a wonderful science fiction film with a terribly intimidating villain and a huge payoff in it's conclusion. It's also not white-washed the cast are a collective of races, black, white, Asian, Indian, Russian.....Alien it's for everyone as it should be. This can only install hope in Star Wars fans across the globe as J.J. Abrams gears up for Star Wars VII. 5/5
The Bechdel Test: There were 2 female characters Dr. Carol Marcus & Uhura however they did not converse.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)