The Crow

Hello my lovelies,

What a miserable, rainy Wednesday it is. But you're getting two posts this week to make up for last weeks one. Today's film I have actually seen before but had been asked to watch it again so that it could go on the blog so here we go. However I don't feel like I have a lot to say about it as although I liked it, I still feel like I could've walked away and not been worried about missing much.

Directed by Alex Proyas in 1994, The Crow is a weird mix between fantasy and action with a neo-noir style. It's a bit of a very weird love story to be honest, the film follows a rock musician who is revived from the dead to get revenge on those involved in his murder and the death of his fiancée.

I can't remember what I thought of this film the first time I watched it many years ago, but I think I was still kinda young, so knowing me I would've found it scary for some reason, however it is definitely not a scary film. The Crow is more of a slightly creepy and eerie film at times, but also slightly funny in an odd way (maybe that's just me being weird).

At times it definitely felt like it was very much sex, drugs and rock & roll orientated and then at other moments it was just weird. I didn't dislike the film but I don't think it would make it into my list of favourites. I thought some of the camera shots worked well and I liked the way that Eric (Brandon Lee) was able to see through the eyes of the crow when looking for those to take revenge upon. The whole film is in very dull colour with the main ones being blacks and dark red and although the flashbacks were the same style they were brighter.

Towards the end of the film I found myself getting strangely attached to Eric and although I knew he was already dead in a way and would have to go back to being so at the end, I didn't want him to leave Sarah again. Personally the character that I liked the least is Myca (Bai Ling), I just couldn't understand the way she was. She was very strange and creeped me out quite a bit to be honest, no normal person cuts outs someone's eyes because they like them, just saying.

It's a good film and I may watch it again one day but I don't think its one that I would normally go out of my way to look for and watch. If fantasy action films are your sort of thing then totally give it a go, its definitely different and I hope you'll like Eric as much as I did.

Until next time, thanks for reading :) x  

'Hate is Baggage' - American History X

Hello my lovelies,

How are you all? Well I hope. I missed last weeks blog post due to making the crazy decision to go and get my nose pierced and spending that day with my best friends, then the rest of the week was filled with working so I apologise for not giving you any new reviews to read last week.

I'm still working on my long list of suggested films I've been given and due to a new project that I'm hoping to tell you all about soon, this weeks films was chosen for me to watch from this list.

Before watching American History X, I was told that it was a hard watch and that it was intense. I'd looked up a bit about the film but still didn't know exactly what to expect but wasn't thinking I'd enjoy it as much as I did, so I was surprised.

The 1998 American crime drama film directed by Tony Kaye is basically the story of two brothers and their lives as they are involved in the neo-Nazi movement. When looking things up about it prio to watching it, I saw it had been described as 'a brutal skinhead emerges from prison reformed and tries to show his neo-Nazi brother the error of his ways', and just by that sentence I was already interested in what this film had to show.

Throughout the film it switches between black&white and colour to show the difference between the past and present and I liked this. I thought it worked really well, almost as if to say the past was a bad, darker time in their lives so its not in colour but the present is better than it used to be so its brighter. It also helps to tell the story so that we are to understand why the younger brother, Danny (Edward Furlong), is the way he is now.

It is obviously the type of film that was made to get a reaction, and with the amount of racist, violent scenes there were moments that I didn't like what was happening but that's what its made to do so the film served its purpose well. American History X is both an interesting and surprising film. Interesting because it shows how you think some people can be so set in their ways of doing things or acting a certain way but that can always change and thankfully for the better in this film. Surprising because I didn't think I'd like it but I really got into it. Although it is nearly two hours long it held my attention and I was so gripped to the story and characters that the ending nearly made me cry.

The two actors that played the brothers Edward Norton (Derek Vineyard) and Edward Furlong (Danny Vineyard) worked brilliantly together. They seemed to bounce off of each other and have a genuine connection that could lead someone to believe that they were actually brothers. As the main characters in the film they were also my favourites. I loved seeing how Derek's actions effected Danny as he grew up alongside his older brother and then separately whilst Derek was in prison.

Although only in it for a short while at the beginning, the film also featured Elliot Gould which I liked just because he was also part of Friends to be honest.

I didn't find American History X to be a hard watch but I would agree that it is an intense film, some scenes more than others. I really liked it, it may even become a favourite. I would definitely watch it again and suggest to others to watch too, and with that I'll leave you to go and find it for yourselves.

Until next week, thanks for reading :) x  

'Nothing useless can be truly beautiful' - 24 Hour Party People

Hello my lovelies,

Hope you're all well and enjoying 2016 so far. I'm happy to be getting back to blogging and back to watching all sorts of films. I still have so many films to get through on my list that is forever growing. It always takes me ages to decide what to watch but today I went for 24 Hour Party People.

The 2002 British comedy drama focuses on Manchester's music community between 1976 and 1992 using Steve Coogan as Tony Wilson as a sort of centre of the film. It follows his career from being a television news reporter to setting up Factory Records. From there it follows the artists that Factory Records take care of such as Joy Division and New Order.

Throughout the film there were times when it would keep my attention but also times I'd feel myself not noticing what was happening. I don't think its a bad film, this particular one just might not be for me as I don't know a lot about the artists mentioned. I like films like this but I think if I had more of an interest in the artists focused on then I would enjoy it more so for fans of this particular music it would be great. Due to this I think the film felt a lot longer to me and its already a two hour long film.

However I do like the cast and I think it worked well with the story of the film. The casting adds to the comedy element of the film and distracts from some of the drama at times. Normally Steve Coogan winds me up a little when playing his popular character Alan Partridge but I think in this case he fits the role of Tony Wilson, although I still don't feel he's an amazing, interesting character. Its such a mixed casting with actors such as Lennie James (known for The Walking Dead), Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead), Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who), and Rob Brydon (comedian). For me the mix of the cast made the film better, although it was also interesting seeing the music move forward with the times.

With its use of old concert footage and the way that Tony Wilson talks to the audience through the camera, at times it felt a bit documentary like rather having so much of a story, making it a bit of a mocumentary style film, but I still enjoyed it. It seems to be a film I'll have to watch again at some point when I know more about the artists included, and with that in mind that's it for this post.

Until next time, thanks for reading :) x  

New Year, New Blog Posts!

Hello my lovelies,

How are you all? Well I hope. Just a brief catch up to start off the new year.

Now that Christmas is over and I've gotten rid of a horrible cold, I am back for the new year and ready to blog some more. I'm not one for the whole 'new year, new me' idea, but I am aiming to be healthier and to blog more when I get the chance to. Would love to know if you guys have made any new years resolutions and how they're going so far.

There are lots of films and programs that I want to start watching so you'll see some of them appearing on the blog. Right now I'm catching up with everything I missed whilst working over Christmas but I'll be back to reviewing things shortly. I also have something new coming up so when that's ready I'll let  you all know. 

Hope your 2016 is going well and that it brings great things for you all, but for now until next time, thanks for reading :) x