My Thoughts On Films

Our Last Summer- I am Confused!

2008-09-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

My latest film is 'Our Last Summer', a film of two child best-friends meeting after years apart. It was inspired by 'different seasons', 'stand by me' and 'son of rambow'.

Now, before i uploaded it, I thought to myself- I'm proud of this work. I felt that for the first time I had managed to incorporate artistic photography smoothly, it was less pretensious and I had thought deeper into the message I was trying to coveil and the symbolicness of certain shots and moments. But hey, I can be a tad on the confident side!

When I uploaded it, and spread it around facebook, my first comment was 'this has homoerotic undertones', and to be quite honest, i thought, granted. It was unintentional, as much as I would love to say I was commenting on the repression of sexuality, I was not at all trying to give a homosexual feel. Well, in our society, this shouldn't be a bad thing however to make people uncomfartable is never a good thing.

And then, a lot of people told me that they didn't get certain points in the film and why they did what they did. In fact, one girl told me I needed critique, before telling me it was 'shit'.

What I do take comfort in though, is the fact that in comparison to the previous film were there was more than enough to moan about- sound, jumpy cutting, lazy cinematography at times, sometime off acting (which I take full responsibility for!), they are now complaining about the story and the charecters.

From this viewpoint, it shows that people are now respecting Stark Blues work enough to critique the plot and no just point out obvious flaw which, strangly, I am rather snug about.

The Film: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cjP1nh2bfxY

Jonathan Lavine- Hit and Miss

2008-09-06T01:39:00.000-07:00

When I rented 'All the Boys Love Mandy Lane' from "Virgin on Demand", I expected a tense, quick paced slasher which involved a lot of kids getting murdered and a fantastic twist at the end. well, not quite.

After 3/4 of an hour spent on them getting to the secluded house and watching their back-story, their was finally a murder. i can't tell you how much of a relief it was. Unfortunatly, as each one of them one horrificly murdered, their was no suspence and also, i felt no empathy for any of the charecters and therefore didn't care for their fate.

Ironically, the expected twist did come at the end. It was Mandy herself- she had made a suicide pact with the murderer. This made the plot all of a sudden interesting- why did she do this? at points in the film, she had shown lesbian tendancies- does that have anything to do with things? well no, that's were the film ends. It had potential- it was very artistic and had it;s own distinct style. Unfortunatly, the story was crap.

You can imagine therefore why, when I went to see Jonathan Lavines newest film- 'the wackness', why I was expecting more tripe. Well, it was actually rather good. Yes, the script was a little watery as he had wrote it himself- but had he had it polished by other scriptwriters, I feel that the film could have been even better. Josh Peck (yes, the guy out of "Drake and Josh") plays the protagonist, and he befriends a phyciatrists, whom he employs for exchange of drugs. Though nothing particularly happens in the film, and the subject matters are quite dark and deep, a felt quite light-hearted as i left the theatre.

That's why it's so wierd to thing he directed both films. Amazing, and amazingly boring. Let's just hope more from his 'Wackness' style films, eh?!

"The Fox and the Child"

2008-08-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

Most irratating movie... ever.

Yes, the shots were spectacular, creative and clever. Even the background sound added on helped create the scene brilliantly.

However, it did nothing for me. For a start, there was no plot; it was simply a case of a girl obsessing over a fox which only made me sympathise with her because she had no othe friends.

But then I thought, mabye it's purpous was not to entertain but to inform. Well no, it didn't do that either. It was not valid as a documentary because the fox was cleary a trained one and everything was set up. Neither was it valid as some sought of social realism drama, because though I am sure the director had something to say about society within film, the film was that boring i didn't care.

If that isn;t bad enough, the acting was god awful. The voice over and the girl's overdub made me further not believe, or care for that matter, about the film.

As sadistic and evil as it may sound, i was rather hoping that the girl would just fall off a rock and break her neck, or the fox was ran over by a car. I was both happy to the point of laughing when the fox fell out the girls window an died, only to be disapointed when it came back to life.

And the film is French. (Joke people, the french make good films- just not this one!)

"Stand By Me"- a moving masterpiece

2008-08-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

I have watched enough films to have been touched by them. Such as at the end of "Casablanca" when he lets the girl go to make her happy. Or even in the Adam Sandler movie "Click" when he runs out of the hospital. To move anyone to tears i believe is a huge achievement.

However, when I watched the movie "Stand By Me" I felt not only touched but moved. I did not cry, but for many days, all i have thought about is the film. Perhaps because it reminds me so much of my own childhood and brings back the feeling of innocence and ignorance which is simply beautiful.

It made me realise that as a 16 year old, i should not be striving to grow up ASAP, but cherish my very last moments as a child.

And then I discovered that the 'cool guy' in the film, river phoenix, had died of a drug overdose. Tragic. Also, ironic as in the film he dies in his later years tragically. It made me think more and more about those last lines in the movie, about how never again in your life will you ever have a friend as good as the one you had when you were 12 years old.

If you have not yet seen the move "Stand By Me", do so now. Yes, the cinematography is not arty, the acting is not Oscar winning and a youtube search has revealed to me many continuity mistakes, however it is a true, heart warming tale which i believe can touch, and move, anyone whom was once a child.