[New Trailers] - 22st December 2011

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


New Teasers:
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Prometheus
Case De Mi Padre


New Trailers:
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The Hobbit
The Dark Knight Rises
Men In Black III
This Must Be The Place
Wrath Of The Titans
21 Jump Street
Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
Jack The Giant Killer

Golden Globe Nominations 2012

They Are In!

The 2012 Golden Globe nominations have been announced, and it seems the year is proving as competitive as predicted. Considered to be an indicator to the Academy Awards, the Golden Globes have always provided a great amount of 'pre-award-season' hype - enough to get anyone excited for the stream of award ceremonies that follow:

Michel Hazanavicius's 'The Artist' is leading the charge - taking a total of six nominations, while Alexander Payne's 'The Descendants' follows closely behind with five. 'The Ide Of March' and 'Moneyball' are both tied at four nominations, whilst rather unexpectedly, Martin Scorsese's 'Hugo' and Tate Taylor's 'The Help' stand on three. 

As predicted, George Clooney has once again appeared in the lime light, being the star in two of the highest nominated films, and of course, it would not be a nomination list without Meryl Streep's name presenting itself - this time, for her depiction of Margret Tatcher in 'The Iron Lady'. However, there are some new names to the world of prestigious award ceremonies, with Michael Fassbender, Rooney Mara and Jean Dujardin all enjoying their first top three nomination.  

The Full List: 

Best Drama

The Descendants
The Help
Hugo
The Ides Of March
Moneyball
War Horse

Actor (Drama)

George Clooney - The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar
Michael Fassbender - Shame
Ryan Gosling - The Ides Of March
Brad Pitt - Moneyball

Actress (Drama)

Glenn Close - Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis - The Help
Rooney Mara - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin

Best Musical Or Comedy

50/50
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight In Paris
My Week With Marilyn

Actor (Musical / Comedy)

Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Brendan Gleeson - The Guard
Joseph Gordon-Levitt - 50/50
Ryan Gosling - Crazy, Stupid, Love
Owen Wilson - Midnight In Paris

Actress (Musical / Comedy)

Jodie Foster - Carnage
Charlize Theron - Young Adult
Kristin Wiig - Bridesmaids
Michelle Williams - My Week with Marilyn
Kate Winslet - Carnage

Foreign Language Film

The Flowers Of War (China) - Zhang Yimou
In The Land Of Blood And Honey (Bosnia) - Angelina Jolie
The Kid With A Bike (France) - Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
A Separation (Iran) - Asghar Farhadi
The Skin I Live In (Spain) - Pedro Almodóvar

Animated Film

The Adventures Of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Cars 2
Puss In Boots
Rango

Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks - Drive
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Viggo Mortensen - A Dangerous Method
Christopher Plummer - Beginners

Supporting Actress

Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

Director

Woody Allen - Midnight In Paris
George Clooney - The Ides Of March
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Martin Scorsese - Hugo

Screenplay

Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash - The Descendants
George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon - The Ides Of March
Woody Allen - Midnight In Paris
Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian - Moneyball

Original Score

Ludovic Bource - The Artist
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Howard Shore - Hugo
John Williams - War Horse
Abel Korzeniowski - W.E.

Original Song

"Lay Your Head Down" - Albert Nobbs
"Hello Hello" - Gnomeo And Juliet
"The Living Proof" - The Help
"The Keeper" - Machine Gun Preacher
"Masterpiece" - W.E.

[Review] Paranormal Activity 3 - 6th December 2011

★

★

★

★

 - Leaves A Lot To Be Desired [For rating system, see information tab at top of blog]

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Release Date: 21st October 2011
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Director:  Henry Joost - Ariel Schulman
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Writer: Christopher Landon [screenplay] - Oren Peli [Story]
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Cast: Chloe Csengery - Jessica Tyler Brown - Christopher Nicholas Smith

Review

Lets go back to the beginning shall we? ‘Paranormal Activity’ – not one of the best films I have ever seen, but still a fairly original idea that provided the necessary tension and fear in parts, a successful film when you consider the budget it was made on. However in my view ‘Paranormal Activity 2’ – was far less impressive than its predecessor. The film did introduce some new elements, a baby and a dog for example, but it was basically a copy of the first, making it highly predictable, and therefore not as frightening as it might have been.

Now we have been presented with ‘Paranormal Activity 3', and I’m afraid it is not possible to have anything more positive to say about the third installment.

‘Paranormal Activity 3’ is a prequel to the stories of Katie and Kristi, the sisters who where the main characters in the previous two ‘Paranormal Activity’ films. This time, we are taken back to their childhood to see where the various supernatural hauntings of their families began.

The main problem with ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ is, like the second, that it is just far too predictable. Though the narrative and setting are slightly different, the techniques used to generate fear and suspense throughout the film are identical to its predecessors. As a viewer, you have an awareness of when you are supposed to be frightened, thus making the suspense scenes less effective.

However, for me the feature that makes ‘Paranormal Activity 3’ the worst of the trilogy is the unintentional comical elements. Throughout the film I found myself laughing at scenes that where supposed to create suspense – the complete adverse effect a horror is supposed to have on a viewer.

Several of the key scenes were dominated by unrealistic, amateurish performances and special effects resulting in the viewer feeling uncomfortably keen to see the end of such offerings, and not the intended prescribed fear.  If the way the film is created stops narrative from generating escapism, particularly in horror, then the film will ultimately be unsuccessful.

A final thought about 'Paranormal Activity 3' involves its marketing: I initially decided to go and see the film because of its trailer. However, after seeing the film, it was obvious that the trailer included scenes that were not in the film - this frustrated me, as it was these scenes that initially persuaded me to go and see the picture. To not include them in this context is a poor marketing strategy.  

‘Paranormal Activity 3’ – a substandard film that I would not recommend on many levels.