My Favourite 13 Action Scenes

There's nothing better than a good old fashioned action sequence is there? One of those moments in a film that, gets your heart beating a little bit quicker, makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, or just plain takes your breath away. These are the type of sequences you remember most fondly from a film. The bits you hope you haven't missed when you flick through sky movies and catch a movie halfway through.


By action sequences I don't mean just scenes from action films. The type of film that the scene is in has no bearing on it's selection, though the majority are from action films in the more classic sense. It also has nothing to do with money, a good film maker will make a good action sequence on a shoestring. It's because you have something invested in the characters, you care what happens to them. A good action scene will keep ratcheting up the tension but never drag, just cause you have a lot of money doesn't mean you should throw it all at the screen. I'm taking about the Michael Bay's, Brett Ratners and Roland Emmerich's of the world. The end of Transformers 3 goes on for so long I gave up caring. I just wanted everyone on screen to die an agonising death, just so that it would end and the chance of Transformers 4 would be out of question. Honestly though, it's a film about cars that turn into robots, why is over 2 hours long? What could possible take that long to say about some robots hitting each other on the head, whilst Shia Lebeouf does that irritating screechy nostril flaring thing. This is what passes for a leading man these days?


So here are my top 13 action sequences (not in any order). Why 13? I don't know I had to cut it off at some point otherwise it may have been top 128!


Oldboy


There are a number of sequences in old boy that stick in the mind.From live octopus eating, to tongue slicing, or ants crawling under the protagonists skin, but there are few which capture Oh Dae-su's relentless quest better than the corridor hammer scene. Made to look like one take, it has a streets of rage look to it, with one man against the world and just a hammer for company. And just when he gets to the end of the corridor? There are a few more blokes in the lift. Suffice to say they meet a sticky end as well.

Children of Men
I can never decide if I prefer the car reversing motorbike scene or the final warzone scene. Both have a very naturalistic look to them, with so much going on in the scene you don't know where to look. For me the motorbike scene is more exhilarating, made by a supremely confident film maker who knows what he's doing. It's so action packed you might just miss a major character catching a bullet.

The Dark Knight

One of two Chris Nolan films that make my list, he's become the go to guy for original action sequences. The whole of the Dark Knight has a constant sense of tension that never drops during the whole running time. The prisoner transfer scene is the best scene for me. The unpredictable nature of the joker means you never know what's going to happen next. Plus the bat mobile turns into the most awesome bat bike, takes on a HGV and there's a surprise reveal at the end as well.

Inception

Mr Nolan's second entry and I'm sure he'd have 3 if the Dark Knight Rises had been released. It's not a surprise that the corridor sequence is my pick, easily the best action scene of 2010. This is the scene everyone was talking about almost as much as the ending! It goes to prove that you don't need hugely expensive CGI, just take two blokes, a rotating corridor and add gravity.... et voilà.

The Matrix

Everyone has bullet time in their film these days it's nothing special; computer games use it, TV shows use it, even bloody quiz shows like ITV's tTe Cube have it. But there was a time when this was truly special. The first time I saw the Matrix in the cinema I was blown away. The sequels definitely bought into the more is more idea, throwing too much money at the screen but for a brief time in 1999 bullet time was a beautiful thing to behold

Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers

Some people think this is the weakest film of the trilogy, the point were the trilogy sags a bit but I don't agree. This is the film were the there's no set up or tying up of loose ends. It gets going straight away with Gandalf fighting the Balrog. It's the battle of helms deep where it all truly kicks off,with hacking and slashing of the highest variety. When Gandalf appears accompanied by Eomer riding down the hill, the sun shining behind them, it still makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. For me is the stand-out moment of the trilogy.

The Bourne Ultimatum

Once Paul Greengrass took over the reins of the Bourne films they really seemed to find their feet. That's not to say that the first film isn't good, but Supremacy and Ultimatum just move it on. Every action film since has tried to imitate the up close, quick cutting, brutal and realistic filming style. It all comes together perfectly in the chase across the rooftops in Morocco, culminating a vicious fight for survival at the end.

The Seven Samurai
What's to be said that hasn't already been said about the Seven Samurai? The original action film. It seems that every climactic battle ends in the rain these days, The Seven Samurai started it all. The final battle against the bandits in the rain soaked village is a thing of pure beauty. Kurosawa always made exceptional films, but even by his high standards this scene stands out. 

 

Hard Boiled

What happened to John Woo? If you watch his Hollywood output, you'd say it's probably for the best that he's not made many films recently. Go back to his Hong Kong days and you realise it's genuinely a shame that he seems to have lost his touch.  Hard Boiled is possibly the high watermark of his films, Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung, and balletic gun play. It makes you wish his Hollywood films had half energy of this scene.

Tell No One

This French film does have flaws. The plot is very far fetched and loses steam towards the end. The chase scene in the middle however is absolutely brilliant. There's a sense of urgency and threat that a lot of films struggle to attain. The CGI in some parts of the chase is poor but that's missing the point, this is genuinely an everyday schmo being pushed to the limit.

Heat

Michael Mann hits all the high notes during the bank robbery scene, as the meticulously planned robbery goes to shit when the cops show up. The film is a slow build but it bursts into life as soon as the machine guns start firing. Few movie heists come close to the level of excitement reached in Heat.

The Good the Bad and the Weird


A Korean homage to the good the bad and the ugly, finishes off with a barnstorming chase scene involving horses, a motorbike and the Japanese army as the titular good, bad and weird face off looking for the treasure. Funny and exhilarating in equal parts, this is a thrilling end to an excellent film.

Bullit

Who doesn't wish they were Steve McQueen? Really what more is there to say?!?

What's you favourite? No doubt I've missed something off this list which I'll regret later, c'est la vie.

Dreaded Spoilers.......

This is advance warning if you haven't seen any of the following films Ringu (or the Ring remake), Sixth Sense, Planet of the Apes, the Empire Strikes Back, and Next do not read on.

There may potentially be spoilers in the text below which may ruin you viewing of said films. If this were to happen to you I'd be fairly disappointed. This isn't like one of those warnings in a horror film "don't go down (fill in blank with cellar, road, haunted house etc.)" but they still go because otherwise the film would end and well what have you paid 8 quid to watch?  This is an actual warning: this is a discussion of spoilers do not read on if you've not seen the above films. As far as good ideas go trying to reduce the readership of a blog by advising certain people not to read it may be considered a bad idea. Next week I'll write one just for blonde haired short sighted dwarfs!

Spoilers

The release of the Cabin in the Woods makes me wonder is the spoiler not one of the most inhumane acts that can be inflicted on another person. If we think we're a civilised people surely we should be beyond the point at which we can ruin someone else's enjoyment of a film purely because of the incessant need to keep yapping, only stopping occasionally for air.

In the Internet age it has potentially become even harder to avoid spoilers, we suffer from information overload. Type any film in to Google and you'll get plot descriptions, explanations, homages, spoilers and every other possible detail you could care to imagine. I don't just mean film reviews, in the age of Wikipedia you'll find out every detail of every film you can care to imagine. 

This reminds of the bother one of my favourite film reviewers got himself into over a slip of the tongue. In an introduction to Ringu on Channel 4's extreme cinema season he said "...evil crawls out of the television - literally!" A clever description of the films big moment? Not to the people who hadn't seen it! Of course he regretted it this wasn't malicious but it just goes to show that it's so easy to drop a spoiler!

Since spoiling the Ring Mark Kermode leaves the house prepared for "fans"

This reminds me of how the Sixth Sense was ruined for one of my friends by some loose lipped idiot in French class. "He's Dead all along" was the S-bomb dropped in the middle of repeating random French phrases which would never help any one on holiday in France, Je mal a la tete one such example. This wasn't an accidental spoiler but one delivered with glee with the aim of ruining the film for as many innocent bystanders as possible. That's truly the worst sort of spoiler, an accidental slip of the tongue is one thing but to wilfully ruin a film for people you know is truly unacceptable. I won't mention his name but someone should be allowed to follow him around ruining every moment of his life with spoilers.

Time heals all?

Cover artist: "Is this giving away too much?"
Colleague: "Nah"

However is there a point at which you can give away a twist or surprise from a film? Perhaps there's a time limit by which time if you haven't seen a film it's your fault. Can a film enter the  common consciousness, so famous that almost everyone knows the ending, twist or surprise.?

Does this rule apply to the Empire Strikes Back? Surely everyone knows Luke is Vader's offspring; what a bad ass he chopped his own son's hand off (it's a shame Hayden Christensen makes him such a whiny shit in the new films). Is the film old enough and famous enough that even people who don't know the films know the ending?

The makers of the Planet of the Apes seem to care so little about the ending they give it away on the cover, really on the cover!! Maybe you need to wait till the Simpson's do a parody musical then you're allowed to say what you like.

A Public Service?

Is there such a thing as a good spoiler? Perhaps you could make it an altruistic act, only wasting your time watching a film rather than many wasting theirs a spoiler in a communist kinda way.

I've seen the whole of the truly awful Nic Cage film, Next. Never mind the absolutely shit twist ending I had enough problems with the basic premise of it. So Nic can see into the future allowing him to see the outcomes of the different decisions he could make. Okay, so what does he do whilst he's imagining the future? Does he stand still with a gormless look on his face, and how does he view the numerous paths he could take? I have a enough problem watching the the football whilst listening to my wife never mind various visions of the future. Ignoring all this the ending occurs, stuff blows up, the bad guys win and the world ends then we realise that Nic was just thinking about what could happen and now he'll do something different! At this point I was crippled with blind panic "oh god it's going to carry on again and I've got another 30 odd minutes of tosh to sit through." Luckily this wasn't the case but am I doing a public service by telling everyone the ending so no one else has to experience this colossal waste of time? Although part of me thinks I sat through it why shouldn't you but it's moral question I struggle with.

In truth I don't think spoilers are ever acceptable.  Watching good and bad films are part of life, it give us perspective, a point of comparison. After you've seen a poor film, you appreciate the next brilliant film you watch a little more.  As Thomas Sowell once said "I've always been offended by the song that says, 'Everything is beautiful in it's own way.' If everything is beautiful then the word 'beautiful' has no meaning. if everything was purple, there would be no word 'purple' in the language as it would not distinguish one thing from another."  It's just as true with films


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Does James Cameron hate the movie going public?

James Cameron has made some of the highest grossing films of all time; that's not open to debate a quick look at Wikipedia's highest-grossing films list proves this. I'm sure you're all Internet savvy enough to find this out yourself but to save you the hassle the screen shot below confirms this.

But perhaps all this proves is that the majority of the movie going public are idiots and James Cameron has gotten rich off the back of that. Avatar is a very very bland film with the most unoriginal plot imaginable, Dances with Smurfs or Fern Gulley 2: this time it personal pretty much sum it up. Titanic also has such a bland and unoriginal plot you could sleep through the film wake up with 5 minutes to go and you'd know what's gone on. Does this make him evil? Possibly not, unless you subscribe to the ideal that money is the root of all evil. So what does make him evil?

3D Bloody 3D

Not content releasing a rubbish film with Avatar he insisted on pushing his new 3D stereoscopic camera like it was the coming of a new dawn. Better than sliced bread? Better Jesus? Not really, not even better than 2D, but we've had to put up with a slew of 3D films including some truly horrendous 3D retrofits. I'm talking to you Clash of the Titans, with your ridiculous floating Liam Neeson head. That's how crazy he's made the world even the shittest films are chasing the 3D dollar. 


Forcing us to wear dark glasses over our normal glasses whilst in a darkened room reducing the vibrancy of the picture just so we can see the odd thing come out of the screen at us...... really that's all the benefit we get, floating stuff and things waved in our face. Not only that we're make to pay extra for the bloody glasses that reduce our enjoyment of the film. We should be getting a bloody discount not paying for the privilege.


King of the World!?!

Not happy with inflicting 3D on us he also gave us the worst Oscar acceptance speech EVER. "I'm King of the World," is that not the most arrogant big headed thing you've ever heard? I'm king of the world, really? Whats he think he's done bloody cured cancer, saved some orphans, no?.............. Just directed a film that some teenage girls saw 20 times and then some octogenarians at the academy thought was better than LA Confidential. That makes you king of the world? Maybe the king of the world title people are just phoning it in these days we'll be giving it to the tramp who plays the accordion at the end of my street, or a monkey playing the drums next.

Future King of the World?

Titanic again?

Why is Titanic in cinemas again? I can't for the live of me figure it out, if you have any idea please put it in the comments at the bottom I'd love to know. Maybe Mr Cameron has a payment due on that sub he's use to explore the Mariana Trench? Perhaps he's gonna explore the moon or the sun next? Announce himself king of the moon?

Encouraging the Proliferation of Shit Films

Finally the most recent heinous act? What else could he have done, drowning rabbits, stealing sweets from children, is he the cause of global warming? No worse than all that he's encouraging Arnie to make another terminator film, read the full story here. Why would another terminator film be a good idea? Ignoring the fact that 3 and 4 were god awful films with pretty much no redeeming features, particularly number 4 with the charisma vacuum that is Sam Worthington in the lead, and a plot filled with so many holes you could put James Cameron's sub through it.


Above all this another terminator film with Arnie makes no sense, he's 64 years old, why would Skynet make an unstoppable killing machine that ages? I'd love to see the Skynet Dragons Den episode where someone tried to get funding for that idea. "Well I've got an idea it's an unstoppable killing machine that can travel back in time only problem is he ages" robot Theo would be out before he could come up with some unfunny remark. The Skynet folks seem to have put a lot of effort into the T-800 you'd think they'd iron out the kinks first. He's unstoppable until his hip goes and then he'll be unstoppable again once he's had his hip replacement but he's on a waiting list. What could James Cameron possible gain from this? Clearly he just hates everyone in the world....... that includes you.

High/Low Expectations and my irrational dislike of Julia Roberts

Differing Expectations

It's strange how differing expectations can change the way we perceive good or bad films, regardless of how good or bad they actually are. We all bring our own prejudices, experience's and bias to every film we watch. The things we've been told we should like by people we respect or think talk bollocks, all go towards forming our opinion of every single film we watch.

For example I hate to watch Julia Roberts in any film; is my judgement clouded by my thoughts on Pretty Woman, her connection to Steven Soderberg films or is it just that huge joker grin which creeps me out? Really though, why the hell is grin so big, does she dislodge her jaw and eat rats whole, or a bloody deer when she's back in her trailer? I can name her films and why I don't like them, Erin Brockovich (won an Oscar and the academy rarely reward good films), the Oceans films (it's like everyone has one eye glued shut with conjunctivitis they're winking at the audience so much), Eat Pray Vomit (as one critic put it) etc etc. Do I look for reasons to dislike her films or do I genuinely dislike most of them (there are some exceptions Charlie Wilson's War for example). 

Getting ready to devour a child?

This brings me back to why this train of thought entered my brain.  Prometheus will be bursting its way onto our screens in June, a prequel to the greatest sci-fi horror film of all time; Alien. The original quadrilogy finished with two distinctly lame films culminating in a hideously deformed, massive headed, walking on two legs, creepy but more weird than scary type alien. Now Ridley Scott is back on board, with a huge budget to make a prequel and explain away all those questions about where those pesky aliens came from. 

The first Alien was creepy, had shocks and one of my favourite scenes in any film ever. It made me realise that I can be utterly entranced with a film to the point at which I want to see every film I possible can to capture those same feelings again (I was very impressionable when I saw Alien). I also remember the sense of disappointment Alien 3 and Resurrection produced in me, do I really want to experience that again? Maybe I don't want to know how it all started maybe I'm okay with the idea that the aliens like killing shit and seem to have a vendetta against Sigourney Weaver and her desire to have family or any semblance of a normal life. That they are without reason, simply killing machines who like to creep around in vents picking off the crew one at a time. This isn't me prejudging the film but can any film live up to my expectations? Is there any way I'm not going to be disappointed?

Scary? No Weird? Very

However this works both ways. Sometimes I have such low expectations that no film could be as poor as I'm expecting. A good example of this is the recent huge action film Reel Steel. On paper it looks like an awful film; fighting robots, absent father with a desperate need for money and a rich auntie. Against all my expectations I enjoyed this film but is that because I expected nothing or was it a decent film?  Is it any better than films I've hated because I expected something from them (A Very Long Engagement, Kill Bill, The Darjeeling Ltd etc). Would I really put Reel Steel above these films? Of course not. Is there any way to stop myself building films up? Probably not..............

............... but I still can't wait for Prometheus!

Which film have you most looked forward to that's let you down?

We all love Pixar

Top 5 Pixar films

We all love Pixar films. Anyone who says they don't is a liar, an idiot or they have no soul. Just an empty, black, vacuous hole where there heart should be or............. they've sold their soul to the devil in exchange for riches and power (I'm thinking Michael Bay). But like children, we always love one more than the others. Even if we say we don't.

So which Pixar film to you love above the others? This is my list from 1 to 5 none of this working our way backwards to built up tension.

Wall - E

I could watch Wall-E a million times and every time it would make me smile from ear to ear. I may be grumpy most of the time but, like Singing in the Rain, no film makes me smile as much as this one does. Wall-E displays more character and heart in a few bleeps, than pretty much ever character in Shrek combined.

The opening half an hour is a beautiful homage to the silent films of yesteryear, with bits of slapstick side by side with pathos, as Wall-E shows us he doesn't want to be alone. All this and there are only about three bits of dialogue in the first 30 minutes.  Despite being a robot, Wall-E has an every man appeal to him. Man,woman or defective robot they all love him and would follow him to the end of the universe. My favourite scene is the dance sequence below. Despite involving a completely inappropriate use of a fire extinguisher, I am fire warden for my department, I can't help but be bowled over by this scene every time I see it.

  

When I went to the cinema to see this film, a little girl was bawling her eyes out when Wall-E gets squashed at the end. She was utterly inconsolable to the idea that Wall-E may not survive to the credits. It's lucky for me she was, as it meant no one heard me sobbing like I'd been kicked in the nuts during the same scene!! With nods to Silent Running and even 2001, it's a bona fide classic. Computer define Pixar perfection........ Wall-E

Toy Story Trilogy

Possibly the most perfect of all cinematic trilogies, there is virtually no misstep in any of these films. Since I gave my nephew Toy Story 3 on DVD he's practically had it on a continuous loop, much to the annoyance of his parents, but hey at least it's better than Pepper Pig!

It would be perfectly acceptable to put all three films as numbers 2-4, but that would make my life much too easy. Which child hasn't imagined that their toys come to life when they turn their back, but Woody and co are more than just toys. They're fully rounded characters, who make up the sort of family we all wish we were a part of. I remember how impressive it was to see Toy Story, being bowled over by the idea that this was all computer animated. That's passed now, even rubbish animated films look impressive, but few come close to emulating Toy Story's characters or storyline. And as above had me damn near to tears during the furnace scene below!  

We'll all miss Woody and Buzz cause we've grown up with them, but at least they ended up in good home!

Finding Nemo

Finding Nemo says more about family values than any other film that you'd care to mention. The story of a clown fish wanting to protect his only son from the outside world, is a story most people can relate to, even if it does take place a thousand leagues under the sea. More than that, it shows that a family doesn't have to be related by blood, but a common idea to look out for each other. This is shown perfectly by Dory becoming an amnesiac surrogate mother to Nemo. As with nearly ever Pixar film there is a bit that brings a lump to my throat, in this one it's when Marlin thinks Nemo is dead. Seems Pixar's main modus operandi is to make grown men cry! 

My favourite scenes are whenever the seagulls appear to a cacophony of MINE, MINE, MINE, MINE. I still do this every time I see seagulls at Whitby, much to my wife's annoyance.

UP

How many children's films start with the main characters wife having a miscarriage, then dieing in the space of a few minutes.

There are few scenes in animated or live action films that are more beautifully crafted than this. No other studio would make a film out of what seems such an unsellable plot. Old man who's wife dies, in a psychotic moment attaches balloons to his house and kidnaps a small boy! As usual they nail it, making us care about the grumpy old man, whilst simultaneously perfectly capturing what dogs would say if they could talk...........SQUIRREL

Monsters Inc

Who hasn't been afraid of what might be under their bed, or in their closet? Why else do creep into our parents beds in the middle of the night, because we're afraid. Well don't worry they're not doing it to scare us, they just need electricity. Plus, if their all as huggable as Mike then there's nothing to be afraid of. Even though it's more than 10 years old, the animation looks a bit dated, the characters are still just as memorable. Who wouldn't be won over by the utterly adorable Boo, or want the evil Randall get his comeuppance. So all together now "Put that thing back were it came from oh so help me.....

And that's that. It's not to say that the other films aren't good (excluding cars which we all know is shit) just everyone has their favourites and these are mine..... so far

Murderous Children, Battleships and the British Education System

Well this is blog number 2 and I still have something to say, which is surprising as I usually consider myself the strong silent handsome type! Actually it's more a case of better to be thought a fool than removing all doubt as the old saying goes.

Battleship

The blog title may give the impression that I'm going to talk about battleship, but its slightly misleading. I have no intention of paying to see battleship at the cinema, or giving Hasbro the misguided idea that what they've produced is anything but an abomination against humanity. Some people may say that this is unfair, maybe despite the soulless money making excuse of an idea it may confound your expectations. It maybe a a barn storming, navy based action film with a brilliant story line and stunning special effects. To these people I say stop and think about what you've just said. Remember that your talking about a film based on battleships, really BATTLESHIPS. This means either playing devils advocate, in which case I say piss off, or you've been lobotomised. 


Inception proved that a special effects film, an event film, a film everyone talked about and discussed and dissected and then watched again on DVD can be intelligent, despite having a budget that runs into the hundred millions. People don't need to be treated like idiots; if given a complicated story line they will follow it, as long as it's worth following. Don't pass off your deficiencies as a film maker on the stupidity of the audience. The cinema going public are used to awesome special effects, but films like these think we just want to see them in slow motion. For instance look at Transformers 2. I still believe that that film would only be 90mins long if they ran all the slow mo bits at normal speed. More than all this the main reason I don't want to see this film is I had the misfortune of catching the IMAX trailer before Mi:4. This trailer was introduced by the director Peter Berg himself. I can honestly say I never want to meet him or see any film he makes if that's what he calls an introduction!

Give me the money

"I'll never let you go" shortly before she lets him go! possibly she's just embarrassed she's slept with him? 

Before I get onto reviewing a film that I've actually seen, let cover Titanic 3D or more money for old rope. Genuinely I don't feel 3D immerses you more in a film in the slightest. Toy Story 3 and Up would've been awesome in 2D or black and white for that matter. Avatar however would still be shit in 2D, 1D or any other dimension you can think of! To put what I can only describe as an extremely average film into 3D seems like a cash in by any stretch of the imagination.  The only thing 3D seems to do well is small floaty things and lets be honest, there's only so many of them you can have in a film.  It's fair to say that I won't be going to see this at the cinema however one of my work colleagues did. Yes, he did seem to like it despite me pointing out to him why he's wrong.  What amazed me more, was that someone behind him in the cinema genuinely seemed surprised that the ship sank! Throughout the film she made startled remarks about the iceberg, the ship splitting and the actually sinking. This goes some way to disproving my above point about cinema goers not being as stupid as Peter Berg/Hasbro think we are. Maybe this cinema goer would enjoy battleship. Is this really the state of the British education system, in the centenary year of the titanic setting sail someone really doesn't know what happened? Does she watch Saving Private Ryan and ask who won the war? Maybe she'd be amazed to know that people have been to the moon?  Then again Mel Gibson doesn't seem to know his history, and that's never stopped him making "historical epics."

The Hunger Games

The only new release I've seen this week has been the brilliant Hunger Games.  

Set in the fictional country of Panem in a post apocalyptic future. The hunger games take place every year to ensure the residents of the 12 districts of Panem don't get any ideas about rising up again, as they did pre apocalypse. In each district one boy and on girl aged 12-18  are randomly chosen to take part in a fight to the death. The fantastic Jennifer Lawrence (Winters Bone) plays Katniss, master archer, head of her family and in her last year of possible selection for the hunger games.  For her sister Primrose this is her first year in the pot, and unfortunately her number is up. Katniss however volunteers to take her place and so sets in motion events that will change her life.


I've never read the books and so had no preconceived ideas of how things should go. The pre publicity implying this could be the new twilight is unfair in the extreme. This film is more mature and grown up, with a genuinely strong female lead. Not a mopey Bella, staring into the distance looking confused, whilst the boys duke it out. The film does take some time to get going, but there is a genuine sense of apprehension as it builds towards the start of the games. The uncomfortable idea of children butchering each other in the name of entertainment is dealt with well. It would've been very easy for the reality TV aspects of the show to be grating, it's credit to Stanley Tucci that these bits fit in perfectly with the film. There is a sense of satire and a nod towards our own obsession with reality TV, and the cult of celebrity that arises from these shows. The importance of sponsors and getting the public to like you, is a essential as knocking the shit out of the nearest teenager.  The only misstep for me is the bizarre, Jean Paul Gautier esque clothing of the Capitol city residents which don't sit quite right.  I understand the need for them to look different from to the residents of the 12 districts, it just seems a step to far and at times a distraction.


As a 12A, the violence has been toned down and the blood clearly removed from some scenes (the cornucopia scene for one). I personally don't have a problem with this, if this is the route the studio wanted to go down to secure a bigger market so be it. That's the world we live in. In some ways perhaps it would be best to show the true effects of violence, uncensored to show that there is no "good" or "bad" violence, just violence.


The ambiguity of Katniss' feelings towards Peeta is played in a way that we never figure out if she genuinely cares for him, or is simply trying to make herself seem popular. This puts her in charge of the pairs interactions. It is down to the way Lawrence portrays Katniss that we never lose our affection for her character, even though we think she maybe using Peeta.


Overall I'd recommend the Hunger Games, and I'll be looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

First film related blog and a review of Contagion

Well this is it. It's been a while since I've put my opinions down in writing for any one to read. Let me get this clear my spelling is atrocious and I'm not hugely interested in how many people agree or disagree with me..... In all probability most people will be indifferent!
The angry man thing, well my wife has a theory that I get slightly too angry about films and stuff I really can't control.  I guess maybe one of these days, I'll get so angry that the time space continum may fracture allowing me to change all the things that annoy me.  Until that happens, I'll have to air my grievances in blog format or "graffiti with punctuation." Which is from a film that I didn't hugely enjoy, but there will be more of that below(in case you don't know it's Contagion which the picture below sort of gives away.)
The films I'll talk about will not necessarily be new releases (though some will).  As I have a full time job, and my boss insists I attend work if I'm to be payed, I don't quite have the time to watch every new film.  The joys of the 21st century mean, my lovefilm account keeps me up to date with almost every film I could ever want to see.  So I do get round to watching most films eventually!


Contagion

So first film I've seen this week? As mentioned above Contagion, supposedly one of the last films Steven Soderbergh will make. Contagion is about the spread of a deadly airborne disease, and the immediate aftermath on the average Joe, the military, the CDC, bloggers, teenagers in love, adulterous wives, WHO (the medical people not the band all though they would be one of the risk groups for an airborne respiratory disease due to their advancing years), the Chinese, drug companies, monkey mortality in labs and well you get the idea EVERYONE.
Having watched it I won't lie, if this is one of his last films I shan't miss him.  I've never been a massive fan of his work; I quite like Out of Sight and Syriana but the Oceans films are just that little bit too smug for their own good, and don't get me started on Solaris. 'Oh I'm married to gorgeous George but cause I'm a bit of a dippy cow I'm gonna kill myself' which is basically the gist of Solaris.

I personally found Contagion to be a little to cold and distant. It's all presented pretty matter of fact and I don't deny that it all seems very plausible but if I'm honest, I cared more about the lab monkeys than any of the actual characters.  For all it mattered to me, the whole of civilisation could have perished by the end and I wouldn't have cared one jot.  Yes people overreact or don't react enough, yes drug companies are evil and bloggers talk shit (present company excluded my word is the gospel!) but give us someone to root for. Even a doughy Matt Damon couldn't save it and I always root for Matt Damon.  On top of this when it finally ends they tell you what happens on day 1. Why do that? The only saving grace of the film is that this could happen and no one knows how ................. it could be you or him or her but in contagion, most likely from bat shit landing in a pig pen in a foreign country! This sort of stuff would never start in the US!  I preferred the ambiguity of not knowing how it started. That's life, we can't explain everything even if we think we can, but apparently Steve can explain it.  Basically I wouldn't recommend it!

There ends my first blog, I hope anyone who actually reads it enjoys, maybe I'll do a few more

The Angry Man