After looking at the IMDB top 250 films and checking out a few of the films listed that I'm particularly fond of, I stumbled across an article posted on the internet on October 1st 2009 by Alex Wagner, a film geek living in London. It easily sums up the injustice that is often rife at award ceremonies, in particularly at The Oscars, and in all honesty, actually made me laugh.
Even the most intelligent people in the world make mistakes. The brightest minds once thought the world was flat. Over the years I think there have been great injustices at the Academy Awards. Films that were not so deserving have walked off with the Best Picture Oscar. Actors & Directors have picked up that coveted statue even though someone better should have received it. Let’s take a look at some of those moments and of course as always, if you don’t agree or can think of a different time I haven’t covered feel free to let us know via the comments section...
Read the full story here
In my opinion, Alex Wagner is definately someone to follow for anyone interested in film and all that is motion picture based.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Shawshank Redemption - Best Movie of All Time?
Fear Can Hold You Prisoner. Hope Can Set You Free.
In 1994 the tale of Andy Dufresne, a man wrongly accused of the murder of his adulteress wife and her lover, that gets sent to prison for two life sentences in the notoriously harsh Shawshank Prison, was created. Released in the UK on February 17th 1995, the film follows Dufresne for more then twenty years during his incarceration; from the day of his sentencing to the day of his sudden and mysterious escape from Shawshank.
According to votes cast on IMDB, The Shawshank Redemption is the best movie of all time, with a current score of 9.2 out of 10 and 448,418 registered votes. The next film on the list, rated a 9.1, is 'The Godfather Part 1' a narrow 2nd place, behind by only 80,953 votes.
With an all-star cast; including Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman and Bob Gunton, and receiving 7 Oscar nominations, another 13 nominations and 11 overall award wins at various awards ceremonies, it's no wonder that The Shawshank Redemption has survived the test of time over the 15 years since it's production in 1994. The Shawshank Redemption has even managed to make it's mark on a global scale, particularly claiming a plethora of awards in Japan, including the 'Best Foreign Film' at the Awards of the Japanese Academy in 1996 and 'Best Foreign Language Film' at both the Hochi Film Awards (1995) and the Kinema Junpo Awards (1996).
The Shawshank Redemption holds the ability to move a grown person to tears, make you laugh out loud with the characters and skip a heart beat in apprehension. The ideology of friendship, ambition and hope is perfectly encompassed in this 142 minute film. The film is simple, yet portrays an everlasting message; hope is what gives us life, hope keeps human kind going, hope can set you free. There was also no need for director, Frank Darabont, to use any typical Hollywood special effects to make this a film you can't help but love, it relishes in the natural effects of life and emotion to keep the story alive.
Don't let the fact that The Shawshank Redemption has a run time of over two hours deter you from watching it. I wholeheartedly agree that it is one of the best films of all time. It truly is a film, fantastic.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Is Hollywood losing it's charm?
Nowadays, the cinema box office is dominated by the big Hollywood blockbusters from the likes of 'Universal Studios', 'Pixar', 'MGM' or, the ever popular, 'Disney'. Although no real complaints can be made since these mainstream films have provided hours of entertainment for cinema-goers worldwide, it has to be said that as time has passed these films have become very "samey", with storylines becoming [annoyingly] predictable and a lot of films now just being adaptations or remakes. The ability to make a good sequel has never really been found, whereas the one to shock audiences has now been lost; so why are feeble attempts at both still being made?!
It's not being said that all of the products of Hollywood from recent years have been below parr, but it is being said that with some of the abysmal excuses of films, such as 'Epic Movie' or (the just as bad) 'Disaster Movie', that have been released, motion pictures are losing their charm.
Obviously, there are still the exceptions to this. Not every film is bad and some of them carry just as much charm as the black and white classics from when cinema was young and films were still a cause for excitement. 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', '(500) Days of Summer', 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' and 'No Country for Old Men' are just a handful of films from the last decade with which Hollywood have really been on to something.
They say "things get better with time", but to be completely honest, it's doubtful that Hollywood has. Where is the modern day 'Psycho', 'The Godfather' or 'Casablanca'? Maybe in ten years time people will look back and consider today's films to match up to the old classics.
Maybe the mind of a cynic with nostalgia for the Hollywood Golden Age is too harsh on modern cinema.
Who knows.
It's not being said that all of the products of Hollywood from recent years have been below parr, but it is being said that with some of the abysmal excuses of films, such as 'Epic Movie' or (the just as bad) 'Disaster Movie', that have been released, motion pictures are losing their charm.
Obviously, there are still the exceptions to this. Not every film is bad and some of them carry just as much charm as the black and white classics from when cinema was young and films were still a cause for excitement. 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', '(500) Days of Summer', 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' and 'No Country for Old Men' are just a handful of films from the last decade with which Hollywood have really been on to something.
They say "things get better with time", but to be completely honest, it's doubtful that Hollywood has. Where is the modern day 'Psycho', 'The Godfather' or 'Casablanca'? Maybe in ten years time people will look back and consider today's films to match up to the old classics.
Maybe the mind of a cynic with nostalgia for the Hollywood Golden Age is too harsh on modern cinema.
Who knows.
Heath Ledger's last film. Released October 2009
After 'The Dark Knight' it was thought that Heath Ledger's film legacy was to end there; going out on a high in one of Hollywood's most eagerly anticipated films of 2008, if not the decade so far. This however, is not to happen. There is still one more film up Heath Ledger's sleeve from beyond the grave.
Terry Gilliam, the man behind classics such as 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' and the 'Monty Python' film saga, began filming 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' before Ledger died, and following his death, all production stopped. It wasn't until some very clever re-writing of the script and the agreeing of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law to complete the film in Ledger's role, that the filming of Terry Gilliam's latest vision was able to begin once more. The re-writing of the script has allowed the story to follow a man whose appearance changes a he travells through one magical land after another in an attempt to win a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick, that could save the daughter of Doctor Parnassus from a from a future most undesirable. As the film begins, Heath Ledger plays Tony, a man set on helping Doctor Parnassus in his quest to beat Mr. Nick, and as time continues and the characters go from land to land, Tony appearance changes to that of Johnny Depp, to Jude Law and finally Colin Farrell.
As a tribute to Heath Ledger, all of the income received by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law during the filming of 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' has been given to Ledger's daughter, Matilda Ledger, in order to ensure the security of her economic future.
'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' hits cinemas accross the UK on October 16th and really will be Heath Ledger's last film.
Terry Gilliam, the man behind classics such as 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' and the 'Monty Python' film saga, began filming 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' before Ledger died, and following his death, all production stopped. It wasn't until some very clever re-writing of the script and the agreeing of Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law to complete the film in Ledger's role, that the filming of Terry Gilliam's latest vision was able to begin once more. The re-writing of the script has allowed the story to follow a man whose appearance changes a he travells through one magical land after another in an attempt to win a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick, that could save the daughter of Doctor Parnassus from a from a future most undesirable. As the film begins, Heath Ledger plays Tony, a man set on helping Doctor Parnassus in his quest to beat Mr. Nick, and as time continues and the characters go from land to land, Tony appearance changes to that of Johnny Depp, to Jude Law and finally Colin Farrell.
As a tribute to Heath Ledger, all of the income received by Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell and Jude Law during the filming of 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' has been given to Ledger's daughter, Matilda Ledger, in order to ensure the security of her economic future.
'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus' hits cinemas accross the UK on October 16th and really will be Heath Ledger's last film.
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