Twinkle Twinkle Little Star Ratings

If you regularly read my film reviews – and if you don’t then why not – you might notice I don’t do star ratings. I did them in my very first reviews on here, of Cloud Atlas and I Give it a Year (4 and 3 stars respectively) and then stopped after that. The Guardian does them, The Times and Empire all do them, and when I’m looking for a film to watch I’ll look up the Rotten Tomatoes score if I haven’t heard of it. I just have a problem with prescribing them myself.

Take the two films above for example. I’ve decided that Cloud Atlas is better than I Give It a Year. But I saw I Give It A Year first, so set the bar with the first film, without Cloud Atlas to compare it to. This is a problem that can go on forever until you’ve seen all the films for all eternity and work out how you’re ranking your Godfathers against your Grace of Monaco’s.

Now, clearly, this isn’t possible and I’m exaggerating. But if you were to see one film, and decide to give it 3 stars, say, The Talented Mr Ripley, and then you saw the similar but better Catch Me If You Can, you’ve got to give that more stars. Even if really you only think it’s a 3 star film and poor old Mr Ripley is only a 2.

Star Ratings can be handy if you’re only glancing at a review, and want to get the point quickly – if a film has 1 star you definitely won’t be bothering but if it has 4 you might take a punt. But for me, I don’t feel comfortable coming to a decision that final. Often I’m not entirely sure of my thoughts until I’ve written them down and read it back. In a review you can talk about the nuances of a film, the good points and bad points in a way that explains your view of it without revealing anything which would spoil enjoyment.  As Frankie Boyle put it on Twitter last September:

The way you judge one film is going to differ from the way you judge another, (as it should) and you can’t, for example, compare a silent 1927 Hitchcock film within the same parameters as something like a 2014 Michael Bay film. As time moves on the boundaries of what is expected from blockbuster cinema fluctuates and, as well as changing technology, cinema is partly ruled by what is fashionable. Each film you see will have its own merits and its own downfalls, and will be loved by different people for different reasons. For me to put a number on this makes 0 star of sense.

 

 

 

Sian’s radio recommendation of the week: The Museum of Everything

Radio 4 Extra are repeating this series from 2004, written and performed by Marcus Brigstocke, Dan Tetsell and Danny Robbins.

A sketch show revolving around a museum (of everything) it’s wickedly funny and very fun, with both recurring characters you find yourself waiting to appear each week as well as individual skits about life in museums which anyone who’s set foot in one will find easy to relate to. You have 3 days left to listen to ep 5 and ep 6 is on the way!

Another recommendation is one of the latest episodes of Chain Reaction, old episodes of which were my recommendation here. The one I’m plugging this week is a rather lovely conversation between Neil Innes (best known for his collaborative work with Monty Python ) and Graham Linehan (best known Father Ted, The IT Crowd, Count Arthur Strong). They talk about comedy and Graham’s life and career so for anyone wanting to get going in comedy there’s some pretty good tips in there.

Listen to it here.

‘Oscar-worthy’

I saw 12 Years a Slave last week, and apart from being sensational, the thing I noticed most of all was how difficult I found it to watch. And not only because of the physical torture that is shown on screen, but because of the emotional torture, and the notion that there were once people  in the world willing and happy to do these things to people.

When she appeared on Ricky Gervais’s sit-com Extras playing herself, Kate Winslet pointed out that if you do a film about the Holocaust or portray someone with disability, you’re guaranteed an Oscar. But does she have a point?

More often than not, the winner of Best Film will have been something that made you cry – Schindler’s List, Lawrence of Arabia, In The Heat of the Night. In contrast it’s pretty rare that a Best Film winner will be a comedy, with only a small few (like Annie Hall) ever getting there.

It seems intrinsically part of our love for cinema that we should make and love the films which document moments of our own past as a race, moments which you would think we’d also want to forget; the holocaust, world wars, slavery, abuse, murder. Why do we love to be reminded of these things? Or is it that by watching films about horrible wars every few years  we can remind ourselves of what might happen if we’re not careful? Films like Thirteen Days help to remind us how close we can come to the brink of disaster, and work as a mini history lesson to those who aren’t aware, putting a Hollywood spin on the education that is learning from the past, so as not to repeat it.

Cinema can be a kind of catharsis – if you cry at a film you’ll have got some of that pent up emotion out, or you’ll be able to revalue your own life. “Wow,  my boyfriend might be an arse, but at least he was never in the arms during a horrible war! Hang on..”. Or maybe by watching these films we feel above what mankind has done, as though by shedding a tear at 12 Years a Slave you have proved that you don’t like segregation or slavery. As Amy Poehler joked at the Golden Globes, “I can honestly say that after seeing that film, I will never look at slavery the same way again.”

Are actors ‘brave’ to take on difficult and challenging roles about things which might rather be forgotten? Chiwetel Eijfor is incredibly moving in 12 Years a Slave, and he no doubt would have found it difficult to film, but what about Michael Fassbender? Is he brave too, for portraying someone so awful?

Whatever the answers to these questions, it would seem that 2014 won’t be the year the trend is broken. 12 Years a Slave is a masterpiece and a cinematic landmark, there is no doubt about it.

Blue Jasmine

On a rainy Saturday last week, I FINALLY saw Woody Allen’s 2013 hit Blue Jasmine, which has earned both Cate Blanchett and Sally Hawkins many an acting nomination. I’m far too behind the times to be writing reviews about it, but I thought I’d share my thoughts.

In Hollywood today, its pretty hard to come across really well developed female characters, who aren’t constructed just to be a mother or wife. But something Woody Allen does, and has done all of his career, is write great female characters, who are flawed, majestic, normal, wonderful examples of womanhood.

And aside from Allen, who it feels difficult to praise when thinking about what Mia and Ronan Farrow have been saying, Blanchett and Hawkins are magnificent – as indeed are all of the cast, who all have a bring a very Woody Allen-esque feel to their performances.

Blue Jasmine is essentially a tale of acceptance and learning to be happy with who you are, a lesson that surprisingly doesn’t come from the main character. I think that says a lot.

Sian’s radio recommendation of the week: Chain Reaction

I was on my way home from London last week looking desperately for something to listen to on iPlayer radio when I stumbled across Chain Reaction, and what’s more, Caitlin Moran on Chain Reaction.

In case you’re unaware, Caitlin Moran is a journalist for The Times who writes about feminism, loves Sherlock, fancies Paul McCartney, heavily endorses backcombing and eyeliner and has the best twitter going – including all of her twitter conversations with her husband. She is my all time hero, and I found a whole hour of her on the radio, first being interviewed by Tim Minchin (of Matilda the musical song writing fame) and then interviewing Jennifer Saunders (of being bloody amazing fame).

They are both incredibly fun. It’s a pretty special idea, having people interview other people they like and then having those people interview other people on and on like.. a well a chain reaction.

You can listen to Tim Minchin interview Caitlin Moran here

and Caitlin interview Jennifer Saunders here 

I also recommend Chris Addison interviewing Derren Brown and David Tennant interviewing Catherine Tate 

Enjoy!

Sian’s radio recommendation of the week: The Unbelievable Truth

This week’s recommendation is the David Mitchell hosted The Unbelievable Truth, in which four contestants deliver a lecture made up entirely of lies, save five truths which they must smuggle through unnoticed.

It is funny, clever and educational, the perfect trio of radio comedy qualities. It’s home to a wide range of contestants, most often John Finnemore whose lectures are always brilliant. This week’s guests are the aforementioned Finnemore, as well as Rufus Hound, Hollie Walsh and Marcus Brigstocke. You have 7 days left to listen to it here!

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)

Ben Stiller directs and stars in this new adaptation of James Thurber’s 1939 story about a daydreamer who works in the photo department of Life magazine, handling the stills of the people whose lives he longs for. Walter takes drastic steps when a negative goes missing, sent to him  from hero and photojournalist Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn), intended for the last edition of the magazine. Faced with the prospect of never again getting to speak to his co-worker and crush Cheryl (Kristen Wiig) and with the loss of the publication which speaks so clearly to him looming, Walter changes his life in a way even he never would have imagined. 

There’s the bones of a good film here, amidst all the various styles jumbled together. There are comedic moments from ‘transition manager’ Adam Scott, romantic ones from Kristen Wiig and fantasy ones from Walter’s wild imagination. It’s half an hour too long, and feels on the verge of being brilliant, but as though some of the innocence of Walter’s character has diminished. There are amazing moments, such as Walter deciding to go to Greenland and running past the most iconic Life Magazine front covers, or Kristen Wiig singing Space Oddity as Walter leaps onto a helicopter mid lift off. It’s also a beautiful advert for Iceland, with breathtaking shots of the landscape.

But it’s the character writing that lets this film down for me. If Walter’s life is so quiet and boring would it really be so easy to go and talk to the girl he dreams of? And would it be so easy for him to leap on a plane, to wear cooler clothes, and to become increasingly Ben Stiller-esque?

Part of the beauty of the concept of this film comes from its simplicity. This adaptation feels like it went too large, dreamt too big and lost some heart along the way.

American Hustle (2013)

You’ve no doubt heard the hype. It’s all over the awards ceremonies like Christian Bale on a film role he has to change his weight for.

Loosely based on the real life ‘ABSCAM’ of the 1970’s, American Hustle tells a story of fakery and perception, questioning why we think we know what we do about people, and just where a lie ends.

Irving Rosenfield (Christian Bale) is a conman who falls for Sydney Prosser (Amy Adams), and the pair work together, aided by Sydney’s persona, the English Lady Edith. They are caught mid scam by FBI agent Richie Di Maso (Bradley Cooper) and are forced to avoid incarceration by helping him make more arrests, catching politicians taking bribes. But with a wife (Jennifer Lawrence) and son at home for Irving and a growing attraction between Sydney and Richie, layered lies are in increasing trouble of toppling over.

A stellar cast, a killer soundtrack and beautiful performances from Adams and Lawrence all make this film more of an experience than a viewing. The audience is taken along for the ride, where nothing seems real and probably nothing is. It’s got moments that feel like snapshots of pure life (most of which involve dancing) and flicks between a hustle film and a gangster movie, even sporting Robert De Niro as a mob boss. While this hard to pin down style might feel annoying to some, the more I think about it the more it seems apt. As an audience we don’t know what’s real, who’s lying and who’s conning who – we buy into the lie as much as the characters on screen do. And while this might mean we leave the film feeling like we’ve missed out somewhere (and don’t care about the characters as much as in David O. Russell’s last, Silver Linings Playbook) it doesn’t diminish the films intelligent attempt at taking on lies and trickery in the very form that is made up of them.

Sian’s radio reccommendation of the week: I’ve Never Seen Star Wars

Marcus Brigstocke holds the hands of actors, writers, comedians and various personalities as they are given the opportunity to do those little things that passed them by, be it buying jeans (the Ian Hislop episode) or drinking a cup of tea (Benjamin Zephaniah).

This week, (a repeat from 2011) it is the turn of Giles Coren, food critic writer and TV personality. He tries a range of things from dancing to being vegan and is very candid about just why he had never tried them before – but he’s equally not afraid to u-turn, as the episode reveals. Brilliant and fun, you have 5 days to listen to Giles’ episode here.

I do also have some film reviews coming. BAFTA season has arrived and I’m ready!

Sian’s radio recommendation of the week: Neverwhere

Radio 4 are repeating their adaptation of the Neil Gaiman TV series and novel Neverwhere, starring James McAvoy, David Harewood and Benedict Cumberbatch, to name just a few of the actors who have lent their voice to the story. Richard Mayhew (McAvoy) helps a lost looking girl and becomes inextricably involved in the magical world of London Below, changing his life forever.

It’s got a fabulous cast, it’s funny and whimsical at the same time and it all makes rather lovely listening. All the episodes are online but you only have one day left to listen to episode one. Get going!