[Classic Film] Number Five - Saving Private Ryan

Trailer:

Information:

★

★

★

★

★

★

★

★

★

★ - A Masterpiece Of film [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

Release Date: 11th September 1998

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Director: Steven Spielberg 

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Writer: Robert Rodat

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Cast: Tom Hanks - Edward Burns - Tom Sizemore - Matt Damon - Barry Pepper - Adam Goldberg - Jeremy Davies - Giovanni Ribisi 

Famous Quotes:

1) 'There's a chain of command. Gripes go up, not down' 

2) 'Well what I mean by that, sir, is ... if you was to put me and this here sniper rifle anywhere up to and including one mile of Adolf Hitler with a clear line of sight, sir...pack your bags, fellas, war's over. Amen'

3) 'We're not here to do the decent thing, we're here to follow fucking orders'

4) 'You don't know when to shut up, you don't know how to shut up!'

5) 'Whats the pool on me up to? Hey? What is it, 300? ... I'm a school teacher. I teach English composition' 

6) 'This Ryan better be worth it. He better go home and cure a disease, or invent a longer-lasting light bulb' 

7) 'Picture a girl who took a nosedive from the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down'

8) 'Fuck! Just give us a fucking chance you son of a bitch! You son of a fucking cocksucker' 

9) 'I just know that every man I kill, the farther away from home I feel'

10) 'You gonna shoot me over Ryan?' 'Nah i'm gonna shoot you cause' I don't like you'

11) 'You wanna tell me about your wife and those rose bushes?' 'Nah, I'll save this one just for me'

12) 'Porker Get Out!'

Explanation

Directed by Steven Spielberg, 'Saving Private Ryan' follows Captain Miller and group of US soldiers on a rescue mission behind enemy lines. Their target; James Francis Ryan, a paratrooper whose brothers where killed in action. 

'Saving Private Ryan' is widely regarded as one of the best war depictions in history. It was acclaimed for its excellent cast, writing and direction whilst becoming famous for it's exceptionally realistic portrayal of combat.

The opening 'Omaha Beach' scene became particularly famous - its graphic, disturbing content is regarded as being true to the real beach landings of 1944, and caused a certain level of controversy in relation to its classification. The film as a whole received a 15 rating, however this opening scene was originally an 18 - various government bodies opted to keep the film at a lower classification, as the scene was considered to be contextually justified.

'Saving Private Ryan', not only an exceptional film in terms of construction and entertainment, but a film important in history. A true example of a film that will stand the test of time.     

Awards

Oscar Wins:

Best Cinematography

Best Director: Steven Spielberg

Best Effects, Sound Effects

Best Film Editing

Best Sound

Oscar Nominations:

Best Actor In A Leading Role: Tom Hanks

Best Art Direction

Best Makeup

Best Music

Best Picture

Best Writing: Director For The Screen

BAFTA Wins:

Best Sound

Best Special Effects

BAFTA Nominations:

Best Music

Best Cinematography

Best Editing

Best Film

Best Makeup

Best Actor In A Leading Role: Tom Hanks

Best Director: Steven Spielberg

Golden Globe Wins:

Best Director: Steven Spielberg

Best Picture

Golden Globe Nominations:

Best Music

Best Actor: Tom Hanks

Best Writing

*The Videos used in this post are not mine*

[Review] X-Men: First Class - 20th June 2011

★

★

★

★

★

★ - Worth Watching [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

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Release Date: 1st June 2011
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Director: Matthew Vaughn
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Writers: Ashley Miller - Zach Stentz - Jane Goldman - Matthew Vaughn (Screenplay) Sheldon Turner - Bryan Singer (Story)
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Cast: James McAvoy - Michael Fassbender - Kevin Bacon - Jennifer Lawrence - Rose Byrne

Review

‘X-Men: First Class’, the fifth installment in the ‘X-Men’ films, has brought a welcomed change to the saga. The film is the second prequel, ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ being the first. This prequel has seen a complete change in cast, as it is explaining the origins of the older characters; Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto).

The film follows how Xavier and Lensherr set up the famous X-Men school, and from this, a team of elite mutants that aid the CIA in the capture of the first mutant archenemy; Sebastian Shaw.

For anyone who is a fan of the X-Men films; ‘First Class’ will have been received positively. The narrative flows effectively, it is not disjointed and answers the questions fans will have relating to the origins of the original X-Men films – thus fulfilling one of the purposes of a prequel. In terms of a stand-alone film, ‘X-Men: First Class’ is entertaining and well made, the direction from Matthew Vaughn being of a high quality whilst maintaining some of the key conventions the other ‘X-Men’ films created.

In terms of casting, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon and Jennifer Lawrence produced successful performances in their leading roles, portraying the developing relationships between the characters in a believable way. Secondary roles from January Jones, Nicholas Hoult and Rose Byrne are also effective, creating the screen chemistry that is needed in any film.

A further positive with 'X-Men: First Class' is its 1960's setting - taking into consideration the age of Magneto and Xavier in the first X-Men films, there was no other option but to do this. However it was still used to great effect. The various scenes throughout the film portrayed a realistic depiction of the era. By incorporating actual events that occurred at the time within the narrative of the story, the realism of the overall film is enhanced.

There is, however, one criticism I would make with the film’s continuity. Though it is both well made and performed, at times I find it hard to relate the characters portrayed in this prequel, with those in the previous ‘X-Men’ films – Magneto and Mystique being the main examples.

Michael Fassbender portrayed Magneto as very angry and impulsive, whereas in the previous films Ian McKellen portrays him as a much more controlled character. This however, is something that could possibly be overlooked, as arguably the character has changed with age; and both McKellen and Fassbender do play Magneto with same intrinsic set of principles and prejudices.

Mystique’s character transformation is, however; debatable  – In the original films she is portrayed as inhuman. She has little dialogue, and shows no compassion for anything other than magneto’s agenda. At one stage in ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ she refers to a human as a ‘Homosapien’ in a very derogatory manner. This portrayal is completely in contrast to the way Jennifer Lawrence plays Mystique in ‘X-Men: First Class’. Whilst her performance is perfectly acceptable, she is presented as a compassionate, conscientious character, which totally opposes that seen in the prequel. Though it could still be argued that characters change over time, Mystique seems to have made too much of a transformation.

‘X-Men: First Class’ – An entertaining, well-made film with one or two debatable continuity problems, an issue that can be overlooked. In many ways, this prequel is the best of the saga. 

[New Trailers] - 16th June 2011

Click the links for the trailers, if you know of any other recent film trailers leave a comment and I will add to the list:

New Teasers:

The Inbetweeners Movie

New Trailers:

Cowboys & Aliens
Final Destination 5
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part Two
The Smurfs
The Tree Of Life
Happy Feet 2
The Help
Green Lantern
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Blog Update - Use of pages

I have recently discovered that blogger allows a user to create a number of stand alone pages that appear at the top of the blog. You will notice that I now have three: Home, Videos & Film News Feed -

Home - This is simply a link back to my main blog, useful if you are on one of the other pages or have come to the blog from a single post link.

Videos - Though I have not made a video in a while, I am going to start again. On this page you will find all the videos I have created, organised under the following sections:

- Topical
- Best Picture Winners
- Famous Movie Scenes/Quotes
- Other Film Information Videos

Other sections might be created depending on what videos I make.

Film News Feed - Previously, each of my film news updates has been posted as a separate blog. By using one of these new pages, I am going to post each update on one link, keeping all the news on one feed. I have already updated the feed with all the previous Film News Posts I created, therefore from now on all current news will be placed on this page.

All previous News Posts have been deleted but can now be found on the feed. Link at the top of the page, or click Here

[Classic Film] Number Four - The Green Mile

Trailer:

Information:

★

★

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★ - A Masterpiece Of film [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

Release Date: 3rd March 2000

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Director: Frank Darabont 

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Writer: Stephen King (Novel) - Frank Darabont (Screenplay)

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Cast: Tom Hanks - Michael Clarke Duncan - Bonnie Hunt - Michael Jetter - David Morse - James Cromwell - Doug Hutchison

Famous Quotes:

1) 'John Coffey ma'am, Like the drink, only not spelt the same'

2) 'Do you leave the light on after bedtime?'

3) 'Percy Wetmore do a dance, listen to him squishing in his pants'

4) 'Ohhhhh, hes a-cooking now...'

5) 'He kill 'em with their love, thats how it is ever-day, thats how it is all over the world'

6) 'Its like pieces of glass inside me head'

7) 'I think this boys cheese slid off his cracker' 

8) 'Mr Jingles, that his name, he whispered it in my ear' 

9) 'You might wanna reconsider getting in the cell with this one Paul...He's enormous' 

10) 'Dead man, dead man walking' 

11) 'Give him to me, their might still be time'

12) 'Please boss, don't put that thing over my head, I is afraid of the dark' 

Explanation:

'The Green Mile', based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, is a film that follows the story of the guards and inmates living and working on death row. The guard's lives take an unexpected turn when a new inmate arrives, and they discover he possess very special abilities.

The narrative of 'The Green Mile' flows brilliantly, being split between the main story and several other sub-plots that eventually collide - a trait typical of Stephen King's work. The direction, performances and screen chemistry throughout is excellent, resulting in a film that has become one of the worlds most popular dramas.

Considering the film was original written by Stephen King, it is strange to learn that 'The Green Mile' is not a horror film. In parts it is chilling, and the famous scene I posted above was considered to be graphic, but most would see it as a Crime Drama. The film became famous due to it's empowering and moving scenes, as well as its Oscar-Nominated performance from Michael Clarke Duncan and writing from Frank Darabont.

Awards:

Oscar Wins:

N/A

Oscar Nominations:

Best Actor In A Supporting Role: Michael Clarke Duncan

Best Picture

Best Sound

Best Writing, Screen Play based on another material

BAFTA Wins:

N/A

BAFTA Nominations:

N/A

Golden Globe Wins:

N/A

Golden Globe Nominations:

Best Supporting Actor: Michael Clarke Duncan       

*The Videos Used In This Post Are Not Mine*

[Review] Hangover 2 - 5th June 2011

★

★

★

★

★

★

 - Worth Watching [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

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Release Date: 26th May 2011
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Director: Todd Phillips
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Writers: Craig Mazin - Scot Armstrong - Todd Phillips (Screenplay) Jon Lucas - Scott Moore (Characters)
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Cast: Bradley Cooper - Ed Helms - Zach Galifianakis - Justin Bartha - Ken Jeong - Mason Lee

Review

When I first discovered ‘The Hangover 2’ was to be released, my immediate thought was “ Cash Cow!”. I thought it was going to be another dull sequel, produced to haul millions of ‘The Hangover’ fans back to the cinema in order to extract their money. I was wrong and indeed pleasantly surprised.

‘The Hangover 2’, above all else, was simply funny. This, of course, what the viewer is looking for in a comedy, however what is interesting is the way Todd Phillips and the various writers of the film achieved this.

‘The Hangover 2’ is effectively a more extreme version of ‘The Hangover’; the trailer makes this apparent - Instead of loosing Doug, they loose Stu’s fiancé’s younger brother. Instead of finding a baby, they find a monkey and Stu receives a tattoo instead of a missing tooth. What makes ‘The Hangover 2’ more extreme in its comedic effect is the various problems the ‘Wolf pack’ get into whilst trying to resolve the problems created by their antics from the night before.

This time the film is set in Bangkok and follows the same basic narrative; the group are attending a wedding- this time Stu’s - and the evening prior to this the group decide to enjoy a few beers together. They wake next day to find themselves in a completely dysfunctional situation, presented with several problems they need to resolve before returning to attend the wedding. ‘The Hangover 2’ however has an additional element that has greatly aided in its comic success – Mr. Chow, played by Ken Jeong, has been given a larger part, and his performance adds a different element of comedy that the first ‘Hangover’ did not have.

In terms of the ascetics of the film, again, the direction by Todd Phillips is good. He does not attempt to stylize the film, but instead constructs it in a simple way that lets the comedy naturally flow from the cast and narrative of the film.

‘The Hangover 2’ however would have never been this successful without its cast. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Justin Bartha, Zach Galifianakis and now Ken Jeong create the perfect screen chemistry - each of them performing their different characters very effectively, resulting in the three dimensional character clash that is needed for this type of comedy - Special mention must go to Zach Galifianakis however, as his unique characterisation of ‘Alan’ has become a world famous favourite.

‘The Hangover 2’, a second installment that was just as comical as the first- two comedies that will stand the test of time.