FilmDebate's Blog: August 2011

Thursday 25 August 2011

[Classic Film] Number Six - Fight Club

Trailer:

Information:
-
★★★★★★★★★ - Excellent [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]
-
Release Date: 12th November 1999
-
Director: David Fincher
-
Writers: Chuck Palahnuik (Novel) Jim Uhls (Screenplay)
-
Cast: Edward Norton - Brad Pitt - Helena Bonham Carter

Famous Quotes:

1) 'How much can you know about yourself if you have never been in a fight?'
2) 'Only after disaster can we be resurrected'
3) 'Fight Club was the beginning, now it's moved out of the basement'
4) 'Hey, you created me. I didn't create some loser alter-ego to make myself feel better. Take some responsibility!'
5) 'Listen, you can run water over your hand and make it worse or...'
6) '....Because we're the same person' 'Thats right'
7) 'My god. I havn't been fucked like that since grade school'
8) 'All the ways you wish you could be, that's me. I look like you wanna look, I fuck like you wanna fuck, I am smart, Capable, and most importantly, I am free in all the ways you want to be'
9) 'Is that your blood?' 'Some of it yeah'
10) 'When you have insomnia, you're never really asleep... and you're never really awake'
11) 'The things you own end up owning you'

Explanation

'Fight Club', staring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt, is a unique film about two men; one an office employee, the other a soap salesman, who start a fight club to vent frustration and anger. It explores the mindset around depression and insomnia, and questions the different ways in which people tackle various obstacles in life. The narrative is written to the highest standard and flows excellently, accompanied by 'The Narrators' (Edward Norton) voiceovers, it contains a range of twists and action scenes that keep you guessing and gripped to your seat.

The leading roles are performed brilliantly, Helena Bonham Carter alongside Pitt and Norton combine to make an excellent screen chemistry that blends comedy, action, rage and depression in a near perfect manner. The film is focused around the humans basic instincts and how we react to them, and the three lead actors portray this particularly effectively.

Though 'Fight Club' is now regarded as one of the most popular films of its kind, it was greatly overlooked by the award academies. It received only one nomination from the 'big three' film ceremonies, and only won four awards in total.

Now however, 'Fight Club' is featured in many 'top' film lists; the most notable being 'Total Film's 100 greatest movies of all time' in which it reached number four, and IMDB.com's top 200 films, reaching number fourteen. 'Fight Club' - a clever, exceptionally entertaining film that I would recommend to anyone.

Awards

Oscar Wins:

N/A

Oscar Nominations:

Best Sound Effects

BAFTA Wins:

N/A

BAFTA Nominations:

N/A

Golden Globe Wins:

N/A

Golden Globe Nominations:

N/A

*The videos used in this post are not mine*

Sunday 21 August 2011

[New Trailers] - 20th August 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:

N/A

New Trailers:

Final Destination 5

The Woman In Black

Underworld: Awakening

Tuesday 9 August 2011

[Review] Super 8 - 9th August 2011

★

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

Release Date: 5th August 2011
-
Director: J.J Abrams
-
Writer: J.J Abrams
-
Cast: Elle fanning - Amanda Michalka - Kyle Chandler - Joel Courtney - Riley Griffiths

Review

From producer Steven Spielberg, and primarily television writer and director J.J. Abrams, comes ‘Super 8’ a film following a group of friends who witness a train crash whilst making a film of their own. Soon after the crash, strange things begin to happen in a local town; revealing something far more sinister.

Clearly, any ‘Steven Spielberg’ production is bound to attract a large audience who will have very high expectations. However, I was personally disappointed. ‘Super 8’ is a film that worked well in parts, but was weak in others.

J.J. Abrams has made his name writing for television shows such as ‘Fringe’, ‘Lost’ and ‘Alias’, as well as directing popular films like ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Mission: Impossible III’. Therefore, considering ‘Super 8’s’ premise, you would think he was the perfect man for the job – and in terms of direction, this is correct.

J.J Abrams did not try to overcomplicate the film, but instead used simple methods that allowed it to progress at a satisfactory pace. Without trying to spoil the film (for those who have not seen it), the ‘unknown’ sinister element, once revealed, is not predictable – and does not ruin the element of suspense built up throughout the film.

The problems with ‘Super 8’ emanate from its writing. While J.J Abrams directed a good film, it has to be said he did not write to the same standard. The narrative is effective; the story flows fluently and keeps pace. However, development of characters and use of dialogue is substandard resulting in a total loss of realism in some scenes. Another consequence of the poor writing was the two dimensional performances presented by the actors who had little to work with, for example, the scenes of panic contain dialogue that make it very difficult to relate to the events portrayed in the film.

Finally, I also have to take issue with the setting of the film. Its premise states that it is set in 1979, however there was little evidence of this. Objects and props used were in keeping with this time frame, but costumes and house settings were not so appropriate for the era.

‘Super 8’ - a relatively unique film that is well directed, but containing many faults that make it a less than satisfactory experience to watch!