Review: Project X

Year: 2012

Director: Nima Nourizadeh

Screenplay: Michael Bacall and Matt Drake

Starring: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown

Synopsis is inconsequential is there doesn't appear to be a story. 

What the fuck ever happened to the Teen Film? I walked out of the Project X and that's the first thought that stuck me as I left the theatre. They never used to be as belligerent as this. From your the likes of Animal House (1978) to Ferris Bueller (1986) to my favourite film House Party (1990), there was always a certain element of charm and innocence to the films, lest not their leads. A reason to follow them and spur them on when they "get the girl".

Project X is what you get when you shoehorn a sub par American Pie direct to DVD sequel into a sub-genre that is getting overused at the best of times. But there's more. A liberal sprinkling of MTV reality T.V morals is added to the mix (fame is everything) just to show how insidious the undertones of this movie is. I would send a pox on this film, if it wasn't already so sickly.

Utilizing the trend of "found footage" - despite looking like an tediously over-long, slick music video half of the time, Project X details a weakly told tale of a boys birthday party gone wrong. The idea of lurid teen horniness, pranks and parties going array isn't really a big thing. Films like Superbad (2007) and T.V Series' such as Skins (2007) have their sticky foundation based on such elements. Even last year; one of the biggest British hits of the year was of course The Inbetweeners Movie, a film which managed captures the awkwardness of adolescence that was brought across in the T.V series before it. The thing is, all the above examples do well to at least try and counterbalance some of the more dubious morals on display. But then again none of the above examples have anyone as vile as Costa.

Costa is a character whose lack of remorse or care for anything except his love for "pussy" and "bitches" is a almost as off-putting as the dubious Jewish stereotype that's bestowed on him. But then again this is a character whose quick to use "nigga" in a film in which no black characters say anything substantial and yet hip-hop is blasted out of every audio orifice. This is no Inbetweeners Jay, who is clearly made the butt of the jokes due to his over exaggerations, but a loud mouth wannabe stifler character who garners far too much attention in a film like this.

Oliver Cooper clearly has talent however, as I do not believe for a second that the actor is as obnoxious as his fictional counterpart. Unfortunately it his the characters voice which sets the tone, and he's not even the lead character.

The tone is lots of drunken jailbait breasts bouncing around to loud music as events head way out of control. The plausibility of what happens isn't really the issue, it's the lack of empathy for these nimrods in a film that forgets the basic element of found footage: you have to be really good at making things look bad. To make things worse, the film takes overdone elements and wears them into the ground a little more, doing nothing to make them more interesting. The popular girl is a bitch, there's a blonde douchebag that turns up, the fat friend is also considered to be a little "special", "great stuff". When a car flies into the swimming pool in the films later half, I yawned. Not only was I immediately reminded of Oasis' third album (or The Who), but that even John Hughes was better at how he staged such scenes. He also understood the importance of consequence, character arcs and general entertainment. I fear now he is slowly rotating in his grave. If however you still find the idea of dogs humping amusing, you may find more than I did here.

Note: The film isn't funny either.

British Film Bloggers Circle: Winners

Just because the Oscars are over, doesn't mean that all the awards have finished! Not at all, as Yesterday the British Film Bloggers Circle winners were also announced! How does that make you feel? Happy? Joyous? Marginally indifferent? However you feel, I'm posting to tell you the winners and pass on some more shameless self promotion as I am part of said Bloggers Circle.


So without further to do, here's the list of winners:

Best Film: Drive

Best Director: Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive)

Best Actor: Jean Dujardin (The Artist)

Best Actress: Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk about Kevin) 

Best Supporting Actor: Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk about Kevin) and Christian Bale (The Fighter) - TIE

Best Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo (The Artist)

Best original script:  The Artist and Midnight in Paris  - TIE

Best adapted screenplay: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best film not in the English language: The Skin I Live In

Best British film: Submarine

Breakthrough: Jessica Chastain

So there we are. I will say that one or two results left me hurtling vodka bottles at the founders screaming that (Redacted Film) was robbed, and how I'm going to get Harvey Weinstein to promote my picks next year. However, as a selection of awards, I did find it more unpredictable alternative than a certain star studded event , save for the best film award perhaps. 

Next year, I do hope for a Best Documentary section to be added as many brilliant films such as Senna, The Interrupters and Beats, Rhymes and Life deserved to be seen by more people this year.

So there we have it. It may not have as much glam and glitz as the academy, but at least we won't bore you with a two hour fashion show before the event.

To learn more about The British Film Bloggers Circle here:

 

The British Film Bloggers Circle

As mentioned in my previous post yesterday, I've been picked as one of the bloggers eligible to vote for the British Film Bloggers Circle Awards. The winners will be drawn over the weekend and the list of nominations is here.


What I forget to mention, is what the British Film Bloggers Circle actually is! 


Here's some quotes from Laurent de Alberti, writer at Filmland Empire and one of the Circles founders:

"Spare a thought for  us, poor bloggers, tirelessly spending unpaid hours trying to share our passion and enthusiasm for cinema with the world, all this while being looked down by less charitable, well established journalists... Unlike what that infamous lines from the (godawful) Contagion stated last year, blogging is more than just graffiti with punctuation!"

"An initial idea formed from the lack of community, respect and standards within film blogging."

Now, the fact that I've been asked to be part of this group of  talented writers is is flattering. Unfortunately the mere fact that they've asked me; with my ridiculously low standards and respect for most things, negates their faction as complete insanity. However, as I'm a part of it, I will do my best to take it down from the inside. Especially as I was a big fan of Contagion.


Here's a link explaining more about the circle: 


As stated in the link a website is to follow.

British Film Bloggers Circle Awards: Nominations

Now, I'm not usually one for awards or lists. However, as a bit of fun, I've been asked to cast my vote on the first annual "Bloggies" awards. A bunch of U.K bloggers have got together, made some nominations, and have all cast a vote on our "best" of the year.  Below are the list of nominations which have been selected and the winners will be called over the weekend, which is of course Oscar weekend.  

It'll be interesting to see who wins.

Nominations:

Best Film

Drive

Midnight in Paris

Shame

Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy

The Artist

Best Director

Tomas Alfredson for Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy

Paddy Considine for Tyrannosaur

Michel Hazanavicius for The artist

Steve McQueen for Shame

Lynne Ramsay for We need to talk about Kevin

Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive

Best Actor

Jean Dujardin for The artist

Michael Fassbender for Shame

Ryan Gosling for Drive

Peter Mullan for Tyrannosaur

Gary Oldman for Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy

Michael Shannon for Take Shelter

Best Actress:

Olivia Colman for Tyrannosaur

Kirsten Dunst for Melancholia

Tilda Swinton for We need to talk about Kevin

Jeong-Hie Yun for Poetry

Michelle Williams for My week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor:

Christian Bale for The Fighter

Stefano Cassetti for Love like poison

Ezra Miller for We need to talk about Kevin

Corey Stoll for Midnight in Paris

Nick Nolte for Warrior

Best Supporting Actress:

Berenice Bejo for The artist

Jessica Chastain for Take shelter

Charlotte Gainsbourg for Melancholia

Carey Mulligan for Drive

Carey Mulligan for Shame

Best Original Screenplay:

Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen)

Take shelter (Jeff Nichols)

The artist (Michel Hazanavicius)

The guard (John Michael McDonagh)

Tyrannosaur (Paddy Considine)

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Coriolanus (John Logan, screenplay; William Shakespeare, play)

Drive (Hossein Amini, screenplay; James Sallis, book)

The ides of March (George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, screenplay; Beau Willimon, play)

Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy (Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan, screenplay; John Le Carre, novel)

True Grit (Joel & Ethan Coen, screenplay; Charles Portis, novel)

The skin I live in (Pedro & Agustin Almodovar, screenplay; Thierry Jonquin, novel)

We need to talk about Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, Rory Kinnear screenplay; Lionel Shriver novel)

Best film not in the English language:

Incendies

Poetry

The skin I live in

Trollhunters

Tomboy

Best British Film:

Shame

Submarine

Tinker, tailor, soldier, spy

Tyrannosaur

We need to talk about Kevin

Best breakthrough:

Richard Ayoade, Submarine (Director, Writer)

Jessica Chastain, The debt, The tree of like, Take shelter, The help, Coriolanus, Texas killing fields (Actress)

Tom Cullen, Week-end (Actor)

Andrew Haigh, Week-end (Director)

Tom Hiddleston Thor, Deep blue sea, War horse, Archipelago, Midnight in Paris (Actor)

Review: Young Adult

Year: 2011 (U.K Release 2012)
Director: Jason Reitman
Screenplay: Diablo Cody
Starring: Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson

Synopsis is here

I found myself quite shocked at the quite lacklustre amount of London cinemas screening Young Adult. Despite  a decent amount of buzz, awards and great reviews, the film only seemed to open in one or two places. In fact, bizarrely, it looked easier to watch the film outside of London than inside, with both of the shire areas (Bucks and Cambs) that I frequent, not only having cinemas showing the movie, but a decent amount of screenings in each.

I actually found myself, more shocked at the cinema situation, than Young Adult itself. The film is somewhat unconventional, with its lead performances, and has a roguish charm that comes through many of the scenes. Yet, by the end of it, much like Martha Marcy May Marline, I was only moderately satisfied. I have no issue with settling in with selfish, unlikable characters, but with Young Adult, I got the feeling that it said everything it needed to say quite quickly, and I had no other reason to stay.

The film follows the same route as previous Reitman features. We are given a character who is independent or at least believes they are, who when challenged, look for solace in al the wrong places. Reitman's film finds the same beats he's hit before and Diabio Cody returns (their previous collaboration being Juno) to play upon the same arrested development notes that did so well before. Only this time the vessel is a 37 year old mega bitch as opposed to a 17 year old snaky teen.

The character of Mavis is more than a little difficult to get to grips with, but not without a certain appeal. A deluded creature, trapped in a bizarre womb of bad reality T.V shows, diet coke breakfasts and doomed nostalgia. Much like so much of our culture recently, she is completely fixated on her perception of the past and will not let go of her childish, self serving attitudes of her childhood. Credit is due to Theron as she attacks the material ferociously, and accentuates the bitterness that such a person would hold on to. Her partner in crime, is Patton Oswalt whose Matt Freehauf is equally as damaged and regressed and the films sharpness is highlighted best in the scenes between the two.

There is a bitter-sweet nature to the whole of proceedings that litters many of the films scenes. A lunchtime scene scene at Mavis' parents has her seemingly serious cry for help laughed off, while Matt's telling line of "guys like me are born loving women like you" is one that should ring true to many a nerdy male ear. But the film's final third feels a little detached, as if it was hinting towards something before turning it's back. The films  final coda gives the clear notion that while Mavis' arc must end on a pitch that leaves some warm and fuzzy feelings left in the belly. Although if we ignore the voice over and look at Mavis' banged up mini for metaphor then life may take circular turn.

All in all, the film is quite simply not greater than the sum of it's parts. Reitman is not known for his visuals and does an OK job, but nothing helps the movie stand out. Theron and Oswalt show true quality in their displays, while Patrick Wilson puts in another shift as Mr J Bloggs. Cody's screenplay has bite but doesn't have the killer payoff to leave you reeling. This said the film will make you laugh and shift uncomfortably in your seat. It's just that, if your like me you may only have to see it once.